Contextualism: The Latest Architecture and News

In an interview with Louisiana Channel, Rafael Moneo, the celebrated Spanish architect and 1996 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, reflected on his career and philosophy. Born in Tudela, Navarra, Spain, in 1937, Moneo described how his early academic interests and professional experiences shaped his approach to architecture, resulting in a distinguished body of work that integrates historical, cultural, and environmental contexts.

+ 1

The 2024 Beta Architecture Biennial, in Timișoara, Romania, marks the tenth anniversary of this influential event. Curated by Oana Stănescu, this year's biennial, titled "cover me softly," explores the nuanced relationship between originality and influence, challenging conventional notions of copying, imitation, and appropriation. In addition to the Beta Awards, aiming to highlight significant contributions to architecture from across Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, the main exhibition offers a distinctive interpretation of recurring themes of the architectural field.

+ 16

The ArchDaily projects library is managed by our curators who constantly seek to populate our stream with the most interesting global works, showcasing evolving focuses and criteria. While we usually share our reader’s top 100 favorites, this year, we also decided to initiate our editor’s picks on the ArchDaily Instagram account, where our curators highlight some projects that include interesting themes and unique traits. 

+ 26

Exploring materiality, contextuality, and approach, our editors developed thought-provoking articles seeking to question and describe some of the aspects that make any Architecture, a good one.

Discover in this piece a selection of editorial writings that aim to answer this interrogation, grouped under the themes of cities, materials, history, context, and Interior Spaces. Moreover, find at the end an excerpt from the ArchDaily book.

+ 2

For the Indian subcontinent, the mid-1900s marked a transformative period, brimming with turmoil and hope. Leaving a century of British rule, India and the newly formed countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh held onto an optimistic vision of a transformed society. The newfound independence invited the international Modernist movement to envision a fresh identity for the nations. Spearheading the movement in Bangladesh was the architect Muzharul Islam whose work continues to influence contemporary Bangladeshi architecture.

+ 1

Videos

In an age where humanity's detrimental impact on the environment has become increasingly evident, the concept of rewilding is emerging as a powerful approach to conservation and ecological restoration. In line with growing attention on landscape architecture in recent years, the idea of removing human intervention from our natural surroundings in order to restore a stable equilibrium seems to offer a low-effort, ethereal way to right fundamental climate wrongs. But is a lack of meddling in nature really all there is to rewilding, and how does this relate to architecture and design? We look at key concepts, applications, and examples to find out.

+ 3

Mario Cucinella Architects has unveiled the design for the new Piazza dei Navigatori in Rome, Italy. Planned as a mixed-use development, the design is predominantly for residential spaces, with a retail and office component, parking, and "plant rooms". The development is located in an area rich in natural elements, which heavily inspires this urban agglomeration.

+ 2

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

It’s finally time to write this down. For years—in meetings, on-campus tours, and informal conversations—I have talked about the University of California Berkeley’s Wurster Hall, now Bauer Wurster Hall, encouraging people to see and appreciate the significance, and beauty, of this building. It hasn’t been an easy case to make.

Bauer Wurster Hall is the home of the school’s College of Environmental Design (CED). Originally, it housed the departments of architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and design. The building was purpose-designed and built for the CED, a new college founded in 1959 that brought these departments together for the first time. William Wurster, for whom the building was originally named, was the college’s founding dean and the building’s visionary client.