Contemporary: The Latest Architecture and News

Selected the European Capital of Culture in 1994 and Ibero-American Capital of Culture 2017, Lisbon has been the destiny of tourists from many parts of the world over the past years. With thriving cultural programming, the city hosts important events related to art, music, movies and architecture. The Lisbon Architecture Trienniale and the Open House – event that coordinates free guided tours to remarkable buildings in cities around the world – are some of these relevant events in the architectural field, responsible to disseminate, discuss and reflect on issues of the area.

Besides programs related to architecture, in recent years, Lisbon has seen the emergence of new facilities, like museums, cultural centers and theaters, besides the requalification of public spaces. The construction or regeneration of these structures, directly or indirectly related to the cultural city movement, can be controversial, raising issues such as gentrification and the increase of mass tourism.

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In 1926, Le Corbusier developed the five points that would become the foundations for modern architecture. Once materialized in 1929 in the iconic Villa Savoye project, Le Corbusier's principles - pilotis, free design of the ground plan, free design of the facade, horizontal window, and roof garden - have been extensively explored in modern architecture and continue to influence the most diverse contemporary architectural projects to this day.

The five points became a kind of guideline for the New Architecture, as Corbusier used to call it. Even after decades, new technologies, materials, and demands of society have continued to update those architectural solutions, announced almost a century ago as the basis for a new architecture.

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After centuries of Portuguese colonization and recent conquest of independence, Mozambique has undergone a difficult period with new challenges, such as the combat against poverty, the infrastructure deficit, and uncontrolled urban expansion. On the architecture field, it is possible to notice the impact of these challenges on the evolution of the Mozambican projects. Some examples are: the prediction of the need to expand the building in the future, the adoption of climate control passive measures and the utilization of vernacular constructive techniques adapted to the local context (as a way to minimize energy consumption in the different phases of building construction and its respective costs).

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Today we celebrate Canada Day by paying a special tribute to timber construction and Canada's close ties with wood--as evidenced by its maple tree leaf emblem.

Canadian architects have excelled in timber design and architecture at various scales. These 15 examples of Canadian timber projects and their drawings range from temporary installations to an 8-story high-rise wooden structure building. With sustainability and precision in the details, wood continues, and will always remain, one of our favorite building materials.

The contemporary work environment is evolving. This new office building from Cloud Architects captures the essence of this evolution through multiple green terraces, a large atrium, and elegant materiality. The U219 Business Center in Vilnius, Lithuania, provides 15,000 square meters of rentable area into two horizontal volumes.

The history of Mexican photography has contributed to highlighting Mexico's presence in the world. Photographers like Elsa Medina, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Maya Goded, and Juan Rulfo have masterfully portrayed the life of the buildings, houses and the streets of a rapidly built, nineteenth-century Mexico. 

As a consequence, the contemporary scene of Mexican photography has become a fundamental tool for architecture and has contributed to a better visual understanding of the works that are erected every day.

Photography and architecture are two disciplines that go hand in hand and whose relationship has been reinforced thanks to the digital tools that we currently have. For that reason, we have compiled the work of contemporary Mexican photographers who record our walk through the world we live in and contribute to constructing the image of contemporary Mexico. 

Netherlands based KAAN Architecten won R&S Realty II’s competition to design three office building facades for Munich’s new iCampus. Located in the Werksviertel district, the project adds a contemporary layer to this creative, industrial neighborhood.

RKW Architektur + strove to represent today’s creative industry through transparent loft spaces in the design of office buildings named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. KAAN’s facades for the buildings maintain the architectural identity while being their own distinctive elements.