One of the most boldly dissenting voices of our time, architectural and urban theorist Léon Krier (born 7 April 1946) has throughout his career rejected the commonly accepted practices of Modernist Urbanism, and helped to shape the ideals of the New Urbanism movement. Through his publications and city designs, Krier has changed the discourse of what makes a city successful and returned importance to the concept of community.
Over the past few decades, interior spaces have become increasingly open and versatile. From the thick walls and multiple subdivisions of Palladian villas, for example, to today's free-standing and multi-functional plans, architecture attempts to combat obsolescence by providing consistently efficient environments for everyday life, considering both present and future use. And while Palladio's old villas can still accommodate a wide variety of functions and lifestyles, re-adapting their use without changing an inch of their original design, today, flexibility seems to be the recipe for extending the useful life of buildings as far as possible.
How, then, can we design spaces neutral and flexible enough to adapt to the evolving human being, while still accomplishing the needs that each person requires today? An ancient element could help redefine the way we conceive and inhabit space: curtains.
YAC - Young Architects Competitions and Dartagnans launch Tree House Module, a competition of ideas aiming to design and realize a tree house system to sit amidst the oneiric French castles of Vibrac, Mothe Chandeniers, and Ebaupinay. A cash prize of € 15,000 (and the realization of the first-ranking project) will be awarded to the winners selected by an outstanding jury panel including Espen Surnevik, Matthew Johnson (DS+R), Giulio Rigoni (BIG), Tue Hesselberg Foged (Effekt Architects), Peter Pichler, and Patrick Lüth (Snøhetta).
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Nothing is more rational than using the wind, a natural, free, renewable and healthy resource, to improve the thermal comfort of our projects. The awareness of the finiteness of the resources and the demand for the reduction in the energy consumption has removed air-conditioning systems as the protagonist of any project. Architects and engineers are turning to this more passive system to improve thermal comfort. It is evident that there are extreme climates in which there is no escape, or else the use of artificial systems, but in a large part of the terrestrial surface it is possible to provide a pleasant flow of air through the environments by means of passive systems, especially if the actions are considered during the project stage.
This is a highly complex theme, but we have approached some of the concepts exemplifying them with built projects. A series of ventilation systems can help in the projects: natural cross ventilation, natural induced ventilation, chimney effect and evaporative cooling, which combined with the correct use of constructive elements allows improvement in thermal comfort and decrease in energy consumption.
Humanity is facing a collective new challenge unprecedented in our lifetime. One of isolation, driven by self-quarantine, for a period unknown. It is a social experiment with no predictable outcome. But one constant in the equation is architecture.
With over half the world’s population inhabiting cities or densely populated areas, billions of people are currently residing in small spaces, disconnected from one another by brick, concrete and steel. The social housing experiment of the 1950s and 60s created a new architectural typology, which was compounded by an underlying social construct, driven by capitalism, that told us to mind our own business. Somehow, during the age of high rises that followed, turned this idea of isolation into a status symbol, as private penthouses, accessed by private elevators, today float high above the city streets.
The Midnight Charette is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by architectural designers David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features a variety of creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions. A wide array of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes provide useful tips for designers, while others are project reviews, interviews, or explorations of everyday life and design. The Midnight Charette is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina answer questions from listeners about finding a job when you're much older than your classmates, graduating from school without work experience, leaving architecture at the end of a Master's program, taking the CSE, and transferring schools because of IPAL. If you have any questions call or text the hotline at 213-222-6950.
“A House is a place (…) as physical as a set of feelings. (…) a home is a relation between materiality and mastery and imaginative processes, where the physical location and materiality and the feelings and ideas are united and influence each other, instead of being separated and distinct. (…) a house is a process of creation and comprehension of ways of living and belonging. A house is lived, as well as imagined. The meaning of house and the way it materially manifests itself, it´s something that is created and recreated in an unceasingly way through every day domestic tasks, which are themselves connected to the spacial imaginary of the house”1
The sentence above is the starting-point of the current reflection, in an exercise that will mark meaningfully my approach to the way of projecting houses.
Since the recent COVID-19 quarantine restrictions were enforced, social media has been filled with images of employees working from home, students transitioning to home-school learning, and friends and family socializing via Skype calls and Zoom meetings. With the outpouring of tips for how to work from home, and how to keep a regular routine during these certain times, many people are questioning how to create a long term plan for online studio design instruction.
This article aims to provide some practical tips to schools and students around the globe based on our experience with online design studio teaching in our Master program at Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture since February.
Addressing contextual severe healthcare problems, like the outbreak of infectious diseases or maternal mortality, MASS has helped in setting design strategies to mitigate and reduce critical medical concerns. With some projects operational, and others in the pipeline, the facilities imagined, tackle a wide range of complications.
The “smart” movement has gained traction and generated buzz over the last decade, but despite all of the hype, what even is a smart city? The dogma behind its loose definition and goals has been rather elusive, and while some claim that it relies on digitization of all urban aspects, others argue an increase in personal data collection is the sole method for improving urban lifestyles. One person’s digital paradise is perhaps another person’s technophobic doomsday. Extending beyond the mere definition of these cities, what role do designers and researchers play in creating this loosely identified futuristic landscape? As Corbusier once defined a home as a machine for living, it’s time to redefine how our buildings shed their passive exteriors and become the true machines for working that they were always meant to be.
As we successfully launched our 12th Building of the Year (BOTY) award earlier this year, we want to thank you for being part of our community for over 10 years. Together we have been growing and contributing to the architectural scene, aiming for a better world.
ArchDaily China is 5 years old this year. We have been introducing Chinese architecture to the world and bringing global architecture to our readers in China. We are an open platform that benefits global audiences, making the industry more inclusive and equal. While our database, mission, and focus develop, some traditions stay with us over the years, such as our flagship award series – the Building of the Year Awards. Now, we are proud to announce that BOTY's 4th Chinese edition celebrating the best architecture in the country, as chosen by you, the reader.
By nominating and voting, you form part of an interdependent, impartial, distributed network of jurors and peers that has consistently helped us celebrate architecture of every scale, purpose, and condition, from large and small countries, and architects of all profiles. Over the coming weeks, your votes will result in 600 Chinese projects filtered down to just 10 best projects in China.
Read below for more details on how to submit, and thank you for helping us continue to democratize architectural excellence across the world.
While the world is on pause and we are all learning how to work from home trying to keep up with our usual productivity levels and fighting the lack of focus, we at ArchDaily want to help our readers keep their minds sharp through this challenge. One of the ways not to get absorbed in your daily routine is to make sure you have enough mental activity every day, and we have just the thing for you!
As a lot of projects are on hold right now, and architects struggle to find new work to take on, we have found something to keep your mind busy in the meantime — entering a competition will help you stay productive and overcome challenges while the majority of plans are postponed. Read on for a list of 7 contests you can enter right now.
When designing residential spaces, be it a new construction or a renovation, the kitchen is a space that tends to be one of the most complex. Not only does it need to serve a very specific function, but it also needs several pieces of furniture, household appliances, and the ability to adapt to electrical and plumbing considerations. Kitchens often also serve as an hub for social interactions and family gatherings, so it is critical that the space can provide a degree of flexibility.
Museums are complex organizations: curators, exhibition designers, conservationists, editors, and marketers have to work together to ensure that artworks in galleries and exhibitions are properly displayed to the public. Instrumental to this process is the use of effective display cases, which must both protect the art and highlight it aesthetically. Below, we delineate some of these visual and practical considerations with photographic examples from Goppion, giving some indication how one should choose which display cases to use.
Since the beginning of modernism, countless architects have expressed their architectural theories and concepts through the design of residential interiors. In Vanna Venturi House, Venturi exaggerated the scale of internal components to create a counterbalance to the small house, expressing complexity and contradiction. In Villa Mairea, Alvar Aalto built an ‘imperfect’ home, as a way of rebelling against the strict aesthetic standards of functionalism.
Conceptual and theoretical experimentation of housing interiors in China has had a delayed start due to political influences and differing pace of development. While the birth of communism lead to standardisation, rapid urbanisation and economic rebirth has provided the perfect catalyst for architects to challenge the status quo and conceptualise new definitions of interior and living.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we work around the world. From telecommuting and distance learning to virtual events, designers have quickly rethought traditional workflows to stay connected. With the rise of both self-imposed and mandated social distancing, as well as global turn towards remote work, ArchDaily is exploring the impact of COVID-19 and what it will mean for the future.
In a world marked by urbanization, the digital revolution, and climate change, traditional approaches to real estate are not enough. To respond to this context, students in the Master in Real Estate Development at the IE School of Architecture and Design are encouraged to go beyond traditional practices and think outside the box.
Just 2 months ago, the city of Wuhan, China announced the construction of Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, adding 1,000 beds, 30 ICUs, and new isolation wards to the city's medical arsenal to combat the Coronavirus epidemic. The building was completed in under 10 days by a team of 7,000 construction workers, a far cry from the reality many countries are facing as they scramble to quell the outbreak and wrestle with the shortcomings of their own healthcare systems. With over 14,000 dead and more than 300,000 infected worldwide, not to mention a shortage of medical supplies and facilities, health systems across the globe are feeling the strain of preparing for a crisis.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the eastern coastline of the United States and caused a level of flooding and destruction that was unprecedented for a major, densely populated city like New York. Storm surges brought a terrifying amount of water to the city streets, tunnels and subways; the National Ocean Service reported a 9.4-foot surge over Battery Park. Essential infrastructure was damaged in many areas, homes were flooded and people were trapped.
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As people are spending more and more time inside their homes, offices, and other closed areas, it is important to ensure that these spaces are safe and healthy environments, especially indoor areas designed for children and seniors. In recent years, several of the materials that shape the spaces we inhabit and directly influence the quality of the air we breathe have increasingly used a potentially dangerous chemical compound. This compound is called formaldehyde.
With a sizable portion of the world's population hunkered down at home, online activities have become the go-to for those looking to fill, often hours, of newfound free time. Thanks to the cooperation of several companies, anyone with an internet connection now has access to a trove of online educational (courses, workshops, tutorials) and recreational (documentaries, digital books, virtual tours) activities that can be enjoyed from home. Just a few years ago, Google Street View was a practical tool for virtually navigating the world's metropolitan and suburban centers. Today, thanks to technological improvements and user-driven data collection, Street View has become a way to glimpse inside some of the world's most iconic buildings.
In his book "Life 3.0", MIT professor Max Tegmark says "we are all the guardians of the future of life now as we shape the age of AI." Artificial Intelligence remains a Pandora's Box of possibilities, with the potential to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of cities, or destroy the potential for humans to work, interact, and live a private life. The question of how Artificial Intelligence will impact the cities of the future has also captured the imagination of architects and designers, and formed a central question to the 2019 Shenzhen Biennale, the world's most visited architecture event.
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How does computer programming impact the act of designing? Are digital protocols about to substitute human activity in the project of architecture, or does the human component remain an essential one - through changed paradigms? And if so, which paradigms should we refer to? Charles Driesler and Ahmad Tabbakh retrace these fundamental questions through some recent examples, and propose the application of a GAN protocol for the post-war reconstruction of Aleppo.
One of the most important cities in the world –and the most populated in the United States of America–, New York is home to a great mix of cultures and history that has been shaped over the years, while art and architecture play a fundamental role in this development.
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