After centuries of using wood for the development of window and door carpentry, the Rationalism of the 20th century began to adopt a new material for these purposes: steel. Driven by industrial production, and promoted by architects such as Adolf Loos, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, steel was evolving to generate increasingly thin and resistant frames. However, efficient and low-cost materials, such as aluminum and PVC, gradually began to replace its widespread use, increasing the size of the frames and losing steel's "clean" aesthetic when applied to a growing architecture of large glass paneled facades.

At present, new technologies have refined their production processes, developing minimal profiles of high rigidity and precision, which take full advantage of the transparency of the glass and deliver new comfort and safety features. We talked with Jansen's experts to deepen our understanding of their application in contemporary architecture.

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RIBA announced the 2020 RIBA International Prize jury and stated that it will be led by French architect and urban planner Odile Decq with the participation of Es Devlin, Jeanne Gang, Rossana Hu, and Gustavo Utrabo.

"When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like to believe that architecture connects the present with the past and the tangible with the intangible."

Richard Meier, the Pritzker Prize and AIA Gold Medal-winning architect, is well known for his abstracted, often white, buildings and unrelenting personal design philosophy. Citing Bernini and Borromini as influences as well as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, Meier received his Bachelor in Architecture from Cornell University in 1957 and took jobs with Skidmore Owings & Merrill and Marcel Breuer soon after his graduation. He began his own private practice in New York in 1963 and rocketed to architectural fame in the early 1970s, after being named as one of the "New York Five."

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Architects : Cristián Izquierdo Lehmann
Location : Condor Sur, Chicureo, Colina, Región Metropolitana, Chile
Design Team : Cristián Izquierdo y Francisco Saul
Construction : Tecton
Cálculo Estructural : Osvaldo Peñaloza
Area : 205.0 m2
Project Year : 2018
Photographs : Roland Halbe
Manufacturers : Arauco

Past, Present, Future is an interview project by Itinerant Office, asking acclaimed architects to share their perspectives on the constantly evolving world of architecture. Each interview is split into three video segments: Past, Present, and Future, in which interviewees discuss their thoughts and experiences of architecture through each of those lenses. The first episode of the project featured 11 architects from Italy and the Netherlands and Episode II is comprised of interviews with 13 architects from Spain, Portugal, France, and Belgium.

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Benedetta Tagliabue (born 24 June 1963) is an Italian architect known for designs which are sensitive to their context and yet still experimental in their approach to forms and materials. Her diverse and complex works have marked her Barcelona-based firm EMBT as one of the most respected Spanish practices of the 21st century.

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The use of steel in architecture is considered as one of the most innovative construction developments in history, allowing architects to create structures in scales they never thought they could. Fast-forward a few centuries, and steel remains as one of the most crucial materials in architecture. But there is a lot more to the material than just tensile strength and durability, some architects were well-aware of steel's potential and transformed it into lighting fixtures, facades, decorative elements, and finishes.

Here are 15 projects where architects looked beyond steel as structural support and explored its diverse possibilities in architecture.

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Why use concrete in bathrooms?

Béton brut or "raw concrete" is a naturally porous material that provides many advantages for the design and build of a bathroom. As a waterproof and pressure-resistant material, it is easy to clean, doesn't deteriorate, prevents bathroom fungus and is low maintenance. Attractive as it is functional, concrete is versatile for both on-site furniture and wall coatings, floors and even shower trays. In addition, due to its thermal mass, concrete is an excellent material for floor heating.

Pro Tip: There are a variety of concrete finishes, but for the safety of daily bathroom users, you must add a surface sealer and a certain percentage of traction to avoid slippage.

Below, we've compiled 26 concrete bathrooms that find intimacy in béton brut.

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