Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

As tragic as they may be, crises often foster adaptability and resilience. In architecture, they challenge professionals to adapt their production to smaller and less frequent orders. That is the case of Diogo Aguiar Studio, a Portuguese studio based in Porto founded in 2016, in the recovery from a profound economic crisis, which, since its emergence, has been forced to reinvent ways of operating within the field of architecture.

Interested in varied scales and typologies, the studio works between the fields of architecture and art, carrying out small-scale architectural projects and spatial installations, temporary or not, for public spaces. Formed by Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Adalgisa Lopes, João Teixeira, Cláudia Ricciuti, and Marta Bednarczyk, the studio bases its practice on the belief that "there are no small projects and, above all, that there are no smaller projects." The ability to respond inventively to diverse demands and contexts earned the studio a place on ArchDaily's 2023 Best New Practices list.

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The Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 opened on November 11, 2023, with a wide program focused on the overarching theme of The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability. While on-site in Sharjah, the ArchDaily team had the chance to sit down with curator Tosin Oshinowo and discuss her curatorial view, the development of the main themes of the program, and the larger principles and intentions behind the event. Informed by her experience growing up in Lagos, Oshinowo has focused the Triennale on the celebration of places that thrive under conditions of scarcity and the alternative models that the Global South can provide in working towards a more equitable and livable future.

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The Pritzker Architecture Prize has released the ceremony video to honor of the 2023 Laureate of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, Sir David Chipperfield. Following the announcement from earlier this year, the ceremony was held on November 14th at the Ancient Agora of Athens, presented and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation. It included the 2023 Laureate Lecture and Panel Discussion, where David Alan Chipperfield was joined by Francis Kéré, the 2022 Laureate, and Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, the 2021 Laureates.

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Tadao Ando has revealed the designs for a new performing arts center in Sharjah’s Aljada. “II Teatro” is a 2000-seat auditorium with a gallery and an event space and will serve as a focal point within the Aljada master plan. Dedicated to art, culture, and design, the Naseej district will house the theater with a multi-layered cultural plaza. In collaboration with local developer Arada, The scheme is expected to be completed in 2027, acting as a true reflection of Tadao Ando’s architectural simplicity.

With an air of simplicity and wisdom, engineer Julio Vargas Neumann welcomes us. His two dogs accompany us as we descend after the necessary ascent to enter, and we are also accompanied by the stone walls defining the lot. We sit down and begin - or continue - the interview and conversation regarding the value of 'shicras', local materials, and earth construction. We also discuss criticisms of cement, aluminum, and steel, as well as perspectives on the future of materials in Peru and the world. Likewise, we delve into the long-neglected and recurrent rural problem in South America, discussing the inexorable need to change paradigms and priorities.

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Although considered common practice today, the concept of hand hygiene was not initially deeply ingrained in society. It wasn't until 1847 when the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, supported by scientific evidence, proposed that hand washing was a hygienic measure with a direct impact on people's health. From this point on, the rest is history. Hand hygiene has become a widespread practice, ranging from washing to drying, accompanied by various accessories that play specific roles in the process.

In contemporary environments, especially in the context of collective well-being, public restrooms have become a focal point. This shift in focus is, in part, a response to the post-pandemic emphasis on hygiene and the role of restroom accessories in these settings. Among the accessories available, hand dryers have garnered significant importance, even transcending their primary function. In light of this, Mediclinics has innovated by introducing a new hand dryer concept that places a strong emphasis on enhancing the user experience while offering innovative restroom equipment with a distinctive U-shaped design.

The Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada Joint Facility is taking shape as a prominent landmark in the heart of the Canadian capital. Designed by Diamond Schmitt, in collaboration with KWC Architects, the institution is envisioned as an inspiring hub for gathering, learning, and discovery. The project is progressing steadily toward its slated opening in the summer of 2026.

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Chris Bosse started LAVA, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, with his partners Tobias Wallisser and Alexander Rieck the year Watercube, the Aquatics Centre for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was completed. Bosse was one of the leading designers of Watercube when he worked at PTW Architects in Sydney. Now LAVA employs about 100 people in four offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Sydney, Stuttgart, and Berlin. There are also two satellite offices in Honduras and Parma, Italy, led by former associates. Projects range from furniture to houses and hotels to master plans, urban centers, and airports in the Middle East, Central America, Europe, Australia, and Vietnam.

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Happening between November 7 and 12, Dubai Design Week 2023 brought together over 500 designers, architects, and creative practitioners to explore the relationship between traditional practices and emerging technologies in an effort to create more environmental sustainability and design-led social impact solutions. As one of the most important cultural events in the Middle East, the festival brings forward a wide offering of installations, artworks, and immersive experiences, all exploring important topics of eco-friendly design.

This year’s interventions and installations drew inspiration from the region’s natural ecosystems as well as local traditions and craftsmanship while merging these practices with innovative technologies, biomaterial explorations, and reimagined ways of practicing. Across the interventions, a recurring motif emerges, that of celebrating Middle Eastern heritage and engaging productively with vernacular practices.

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The Guangxi China Resources Tower has just received the distinguished “Tall Building Award” from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The soaring skyscraper, standing at 403 meters in Nanning, China, was designed by Goettsch Partners (GP) and built by CR Land. This 86-story tower spanning 272,260 sqm features the Shangri-La Nanning hotel, office space, and retail space.

A home is a sacred realm, a place that embraces and honors a variety of emotions and sensations. As Gaston Bachelard asserts, it serves as our refuge in the world, our initial universe, a true cosmos in every sense of the term. Its intricate symbolism transcends mere functional aspects like room count or bathroom size. Entire universes find their place within its walls.

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Sir Peter Cook and Gavin Robotham’s CRAB Studio has unveiled the design for a new cultural center to be constructed in New Delhi, India. Located on the site of a former quartzite quarry, the BRIJ offers facilities for the visual, performing, literary, and culinary arts as well as a new arts academy. The scheme, aiming to promote interactions between artists and audiences via an immersive environment, is designed by CRAB Studio, now led by Gavin Robotham, and CP Kukreja Architects (CPKA) as Executive Architect.

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The Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning in China (MoCAUP) has recently opened an exhibition titled “Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion.” This retrospective showcases the work of MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano, spanning nearly two decades and 52 projects. Running until December 17, the display is envisioned as a platform for imaginative exploration of future urban life.

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The fabric of our cities is shaped by millions of small decisions and adaptations, many of which have become integral to our experience. Nowadays taken for granted, some of these elements were revolutionary at the time of their implementation. One such element is the curb cut, the small ramp grading down the sidewalk to connect it to the adjoining street, allowing wheelchair users and people with motor disabilities to easily move onto and off the sidewalk. This seemingly small adaptation has proven to be unexpectedly useful for a wider range of people, including parents with strollers, cyclists, delivery workers, etc. Consequently, it lends its name to a wider phenomenon, the “curb cut effect”, where accommodations and improvements made for a minority end up benefiting a much larger population in expected and unexpected ways.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Since the advent of Modernism, architects have become schizophrenic in dealing with the reality of time. This is a problem, because time and gravity are two universal forces. Architects are exquisitely good at dealing with gravity—it is present in everything we design. We study it and engineer its unrelenting requirements. Gravity does a symbiotic dance with structure. No matter how a design feigns weightlessness, its mass cannot be denied. Architects must deal with gravity, whether it’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s sagging balconies at Fallingwater or today’s steroidally enhanced parametric buildings.