As living spaces are becoming more scarce and expensive, design must create innovative strategies that maintain a balance between functionality and aesthetic expression, enhancing the creation of smaller spaces. With this goal in mind, Geberit has launched a competition across six European countries –Germany, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Denmark– to reimagine the bathroom inside a 6 m2 space, a common size in the urban environment that still allows for different layouts.

While offering a realistic approach, these proposals work as a guide on how to design bathrooms that optimize space and, at the same time, combine different products, materials and colors accordingly (and creatively).

Representing the values of a company, without falling into obviousness and clichés, is quite a challenge for architects. This was the case for Rezen and Templewell, who were commissioned to design the headquarters for IGO, a leading exploration and mining company based in South Perth, Australia. Contrary to the obvious "brutality and harshness" that immediately comes to mind when we think of this extractive activity, the project seeks its antithesis: a space designed for the people who work there, exploring textures, sober palettes, and pleasant surfaces. The office has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Shaw Contract Design Awards "Best of Globe".

It was in the early 1960s that the young architects Plínio Croce and Roberto Aflalo joined Gian Carlo Gasperini to participate in the biggest international competition at the time, organized by the UIA (International Association of Architects). The challenge was to design the tallest office tower in Latin America, which would house Peugeot's headquarters in Buenos Aires. Winning the competition with the 55-story building was the incentive that was needed to create aflalo/gasperini arquitetos, betting on contemporary projects, focused on technological aspects and, as they define it, presenting a clear and honest language,

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We have never stopped exploring the manifestation of traditional Chinese architectural language in modern architecture, starting with the effort of a modern volume with a traditional paradigm roof. This inheritance and expression are based on the context, which is divided into two categories: "Adoption" and "Ablation". The reinterpretation of traditions from "Form," "Sense," and "Model" is "Adoption." Ablation is a constructive compromise with the environment that respects the original rural or urban texture and appearance. It is based on old forms and building techniques, enhanced with modern design approaches and techniques. It improves conditions either by erasing them in some situations or by disappearing and integrating into them. Contemporary architecture is both the tradition of the future and the tradition of the past. The "classics" are continuously being extended by architects using new techniques

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Taking a shower goes far beyond the act of sanitizing. For many, it is the place where the best ideas and epiphanies emerge. Others turn the shower into a stage, rehearsing lines and allowing themselves to sing or pretend to receive an award. Showering can also reduce stress, as well as improve mood and body function: studies show that a shower can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is basically a network of nerves that relaxes the body after periods of stress or danger.

London and Tokyo-based arts and research practice MSCTY is the leading global agency for music and architecture established in 2010. "We believe that the things we hear are as important as those we see".

MSCTY gives a stage to urban environments through sound artists who interpret spatial qualities and architecture into their language of music. Strong connections with the Estonian music scene and a love for the fast-developing, yet raw and historically rich cityscape have led to a special incarnation of the project - MSCTY x Tallinn.

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Ambitious technologists have claimed for decades that self-driving cars are the future. Yet, looking at recent years, the biggest revolution has come from vehicles on two wheels, not four. Fueled by the pandemic, increased oil prices, climate change and the desire for healthier lifestyles, we are now living in the midst of a bicycle renaissance. But to understand how we got here, it is crucial to look back. When the automobile became more widespread in the early 1900s, it quickly became a symbol of progress along with all it entailed: speed, privatisation and segregation. Adopting a car-centric approach, urban planners had to reorganise entire cities to separate traffic. Cars took over public spaces that used to host dynamic city life and parking lots, highways and gas stations became common landscapes. Pedestrians that once ruled the streets were herded into sidewalks and children relegated to fenced playgrounds. Ironically, cities were being designed for cars (not humans).

The following Spanish buildings illustrate how it is possible to tackle sustainability from several perspectives. In one way or another, their architects and designers have succeeded in transforming what was an imperial necessity into the project's main strength.

According to the latest survey carried out by the World Health Organization - WHO, in 2019 there were more than 700,000 suicides worldwide. In Brazil, records approach 14,000 cases per year, that is, on average 38 people commit suicide per day. In this context, “Yellow September” was created in Brazil, the largest anti-stigma campaign in the world that encourages everyone to actively act in the awareness and prevention of suicide, a topic that is still seen as taboo.

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Contrary to what some people mistakenly say, half-timber is not a style, but a building technique. Brought to Brazil by German immigrants, it was used mainly in regions of Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The technique has now become a strong attraction for tourists. But after all, what defines it?

By re-energising the existing building’s meeting floors, the EY Melbourne Project takes a step forward towards collaborative spaces and the way to reinvent workplaces. Within an architectural layout that combines adaptive reuse with the incorporation of featured products, Gensler designs a flexible space which has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Best of Globe Winner.

Across Europe, more and more companies are investing in refurbishment. Hoteliers are increasingly seeking out creative design solutions to develop more creative, unique offerings. Airports and train stations are hiring passenger experience experts to create more human centric design solutions. Companies are downsizing physical offices, while exploring ways to enhance remote workplace culture. Employees are prioritizing meaningful work, smaller teams, and opportunities to collaborate, coach, develop skills and get inspired. 

And as the line between the physical and digital world is increasingly blurred, a future of interacting in virtual spaces like the Metaverse is quickly becoming a reality.

Equal Saree is an architecture studio based in Barcelona, led by three young architects: Helena Cardona Tamayo, Julia Goula Mejón, and Dafne Saldaña Blasco. All three studied at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB), Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, where they met while taking the subject "Architecture and Politics", taught by Zaida Muxí and Josep María Montaner. The studio is composed of 15 other women architects, in addition to the founding partners.

Largely driven by rural migration to cities and overall population growth, 68% of people worldwide will live in urban areas by 2050. By doing so, many will benefit from greater access to basic services, proximity to public transportation, and better education and employment opportunities. But the pursuit of living urbanized lives also leads to isolation from the outdoors –be it a forest, a meadow or the mountains– that can negatively impact our physical and mental health. Exposure to nature has long been proven to reduce stress levels, boost mood, foster productivity and, above all, enhance well-being. So, considering we typically spend around 93% of our time indoors (and that the pandemic has magnified that statistic), now more than ever we find ourselves seeking a connection with the outdoors and all its inherent benefits. Architects thus face the important challenge of bringing nature in, which is precisely where biophilic design comes into play.

This year saw another round of amazing submissions for the FritsJurgens Best Pivot Doors 2022, with an astonishing amount of high-end pivot doors collected – both for interior and exterior doors, movable walls, hidden passages, and more. After a period of deliberation, the jury has made their decision: take a look below at the winners of FritsJurgens Best Pivot Doors of 2022.

Cities concentrate opportunities and exchanges, culture and business, while, at the same time are a key contributor to climate change. They are highly complex organisms, with multiple actors involved, that bring to light underlying social interests and conflicts present in society. In 2007, the world's urban population surpassed the rural and this difference has been increasing ever since. According to the 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects report, 55% of the world's current population lives in urban areas, rising to 68% by 2050. This will represent an increase of 2.5 billion people in urban areas, with almost 90% of this increase occurring in Asia and Africa. The Smart Sustainable Cities: Reconnaissance Study also points out that urban centers account for 67% of global energy demand, emit 70% of greenhouse gases and, on top of it all, buildings consume 40% of all energy worldwide. The prospect of a mostly urban world, along with the alarming onset of climate change, both raise challenges regarding living conditions in the coming decades and centuries, and all the implications that will accompany these changes.

For some time now, roofs have become leisure spaces, whether in large luxurious buildings or houses on the outskirts. This condition, however, is not limited to our times. Different cultures at different times used flat roofs in their architecture, in different ways.