Design: The Latest Architecture and News

The Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design Foundation, in partnership with the Real Estate Company ADM, has unveiled the five designs shortlisted for the international competition aimed at offering Helsinki a new venue highlighting architecture history and design. This new museum, to be located in the historic South Harbour, has received global interest, with 624 anonymized submissions reviewed since September 2024. This announcement marks the completion of the competition's first phase, as all successful entries will advance to a second stage, receiving a financial award to refine their concepts.

The first light switch has come a long way since its invention in 1884 by John Henry Holmes in Newcastle, England. Holmes' ingenious 'quick-break technology' transformed the way electricity was managed, ensuring safer and more efficient lighting control. Since then, switches evolved in both form and function, embracing diverse designs—from toggles and rockers to the LED-illuminated models and sleek touch sensors. The function of the switch has also broadened, allowing us to operate more than just light at our fingertips, revolutionizing the convenience of shaping our interior environments.

The world has lost 60 percent of animal populations since 1970. This staggering decline reflects the growing pressures on ecosystems, from habitat destruction to climate change. And 1 million species now face threats of extinction. As these problems continue to escalate, the importance of preserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems becomes clearer.

The evolution of new technologies, innovative applications, and a shift towards sustainable solutions are central to contemporary hotel architecture. These developments aim to raise awareness about environmental care while enhancing indoor comfort and well-being. From expansive resorts and tourist complexes to cabins and remote retreats, the design of common areas incorporates essential furniture for effective activities, proper climate control equipments, and wall and floor finishes that align with specific needs.

Not all people share the same routines, habits, or customs, yet we all have the same fundamental needs, regardless of age, social class, gender, culture, or religion. Designing bathroom spaces involves considering parameters of accessibility, technology, cleanliness, comfort, and durability, while offering efficient and sustainable solutions that ensure optimal performance. But what does functionality in architecture really mean? How do usage patterns evolve over time? Geberit products showcase various design proposals through their Mix and Match approach that blend furniture, sinks, and other bathroom accessories, all conceived to meet the diverse requirements of their users.

The Darlington Public School in Australia by fjcstudio has been declared the World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival 2024. fjcstudio previously won Building of the Year in 2013, making it the first practice in WAF's history to win the award twice.

The ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year, World Interior of the Year, Future Project of the Year and Landscape of the Year were announced today as hundreds of delegates from across the world convened at a final Gala Dinner at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The announcement follows the final day of WAF, in which prize winners across all 42 categories have been competing for the winning titles.

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The second round of award winners of the 2024 World Architecture Festival have been announced, following Day Two of live presentations at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, in which hundreds of shortlisted projects were presented by practices from around the world. Amongst today's category award winners in the Completed Buildings section of the world's largest international live-judged architectural event are Warren and Mahoney, CONTEXTO, and fitzpatrick+partners.

Australia led the way with seven projects announced as winners and highly commended across the categories. The United Kingdom secured four wins and highly commended projects, following Australia.

The first award winners of the 2024 World Architecture Festival have been announced, following Day One of live presentations at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, in which hundreds of shortlisted projects were presented by practices from around the world. Amongst today's category award winners in the Completed Buildings section of the world's largest international live-judged architectural event are 5468796 Architecture, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and Wallflower Architecture + Design.

Videos

Here's a question: what part of a building stands firm and unmovable? While walls, floors, and structural supports may spring to mind, in today's world, even architecture is getting in on the action. Movable walls, sliding doors, and retractable roofs were the early ambassadors of kinetic design, allowing structures to become more flexible without losing strength. What started in ancient civilizations has now evolved into a futuristic dance between practicality and nature. Buildings aren't just set in stone anymore—they're evolving, responding, and adapting. 

Creating an unbroken line between floor and ceiling is one of the most elegant ways to manipulate the spatial qualities of a contemporary interior. Floor-to-ceiling glass is a recurrent motif in the modern high-rise home, offering views out to some of the most spectacular skylines in the world. Full-height doors, meanwhile, are just as contemporary and sensational, but have more nuance and engineering involved. They don't draw the eye outside and beyond a space; instead, they create an immediate impact when you enter it. Instead of creating a frame to pass through, from room to room, these doors rise vertically and occupy the whole span of a wall. They represent cutting-edge holistic interior architecture, creating a sweeping, art-directed shift as you glide through them.

Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss the Design-Build model of home construction. They cover the definition of the Design-Build model; lack of licensed architects in Design-Build companies; efficiency and economy; quality of construction; how costs are lowered; lack of transparency; who should / shouldn't engage with Design-Build companies; and more.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In the post-pandemic era, an oversupply of underutilized churches is a growing reality. Besides offering explorations in adaptive reuse, what does this trend say about modern spirituality? Have humans lost interest in the sacred? In a recent article on Common Edge, Duo Dickinson addressed this concern by claiming that "the cultural change that is causing the abandonment of churches does not end the human search for the sacred."

While correctly stating that no formula can turn architecture into "the holy," he seemed to indicate that a new spirituality might still be found in architectural form. As we consider what changing forms of sacred space mean for the modern era, looking for a revitalization of spirituality through architecture alone risks a repeat of an error made in the last century: expecting too much of aesthetics.

Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design share their favorite aspects of being an architect. They discussed ongoing learning opportunities; building something from nothing; architecture comradery; construction; appreciation for man-made and natural objects; technical drawings; when architecture projects are finished; and more.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

About a decade ago, the term "resilience planning" became ubiquitous in climate circles. That shift, in the wake of increasingly unpredictable events, was shaped in part by the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities program, a six-year, $160 million effort to establish chief resilience officers in cities all over the world. Out of that program, which ended in 2019, emerged its successor, Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC), a New York–based nonprofit engaged in what it calls "capacity building" projects. For Climate Week, I talked to Sam Carter, one of RCC's founding principals, about his definition of resilience, the organization's planning and philanthropic method, and the challenge of scaling up climate efforts.

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It's that time of year again: students and their families are busy preparing for the start of school, while some of us are gearing up to step in front of the classroom. While preparing to teach an intro course on climate, I'm reminded of why we use the term climate change and not global warming.

Yes, the Earth is warming from a thickening layer of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by us. But climate changes range from sea level rise to increasing storms, floods, fires, and drought, which are all negatively impacting biodiversity as well. So, not just warming. Recent storms that battered the eastern U.S. coast and Bermuda remind us of this difference. While some communities face extreme heat, others brace for storms and rising waters, and many face multiple impacts.

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Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Michael Tyre, President-Elect and Design Director of Amenta Emma Architects to discuss his childhood interests; education and early career; neurodiversity in design; the Smith College Young Classroom project; fixed variation vs segregation design model; the shift from ego-driven design to co-creation; reframing social discourse to create inclusive spaces; and more.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

The vast majority of practitioners I've known over the years seek well-trained graduates who are ready on Day One to be productive employees. But that's not all an architectural education needs to deliver. Michael Monti—who for the past 20 years has served as executive director of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), which represents 5,000 architecture faculty teaching more than 30,000 students—stresses that architectural education needs to rest on strong foundation of shared values and ethics in order for graduates to make meaningful contributions to what he describes as a "civilized life," promoting the dignity, freedom, health, and well-being of the people who interact with architecture every day.