D5 Render is an intuitive and effective tool for creating high-quality animations, thanks to its abundant dynamic models and fast output speed.

The banker Orozimbo Roxo Loureiro created the 500 Club in the early 1950s. It followed the lines of the former 200 Club, founded by President Washington Luís to bring together influential politicians and businessmen away from the spotlight of capital cities. The initial idea of a social club did not prosper, and Orozimbo decided to develop a commercial and tourist enterprise in the area, which is well positioned between the two largest Brazilian cities.

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Sustainability needs to go further beyond inspiring speeches and promises, with visible, concrete actions. In order to see this change, it is essential for individuals, companies and governments to take responsibility and act in a sustainable manner in their daily lives and practices. By taking into account the environmental and social impacts of their decisions and seeking more conscious and responsible alternatives, they can take steps to ensure a sustainable future for the next generations. In the construction industry this is even more urgent. Responsible for a large amount of solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential for this industry to adopt sustainable practices, such as recycling, to minimize environmental impacts.

However, even though product recycling processes have significantly advanced in recent years, there are still certain challenges associated with the use of recycled materials. This is due to a variety of factors, such as performance and durability, or even due to the difficulty of obtaining suitable raw materials. But there are also successful examples that show the possibilities of recycled materials.

A heavily cited fact within the architecture industry is that the built environment accounts for 40% of global carbon emissions. The concerning statistic puts immense responsibility on construction professionals. The idea of sustainability in architecture urgently emerged as a way of bandaging environmental damage. A wide range of sustainability practices aims no higher than making buildings “less bad”, serving as inadequate measures for current and future architecture. The problem with sustainable architecture is that it stops with ‘sustaining’.

In order to maintain the current state of the environment, the architecture community has been working towards greener means of production. Conventionally, a green building employs active or passive features as a tool for reduction and conservation. Most sustainable designs view buildings as a vessel of their own rather than integrated parts of their ecosystem. With the planet’s current needs, this approach is not enough. It is not enough to sustain the natural environment, but also restore its processes.

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Taking care of a plant is not always easy. There are species that must be watered daily, while others can go for a longer period without any contact with water. By looking for the latter, it is possible to design landscaping that considerably reduces maintenance - including the amount of pruning and watering, for example - and water consumption, making it easier for greenery to exist without major headaches: a dry garden.

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Over the last few years, bike share systems experienced a renaissance as the pandemic forced a hard decline in other forms of public transportation like trains and commercial flights where people wanted to avoid close contact with strangers. While ridership is now on a slow decline, since much of the “normal life” aspects have returned, many people continue to see bike shares as a viable means of transportation, lured by the ease and affordability of getting from place to place.

The roof is one of the most essential structural elements of nearly every construction. It is the element that allows a delineated space to transform into one that feels protected. Strongly related to the climatic conditions of the context, the roof's variations in aesthetic and structural design have allowed architects to indulge their stylistic preoccupations to convert roofs not only into elements of closure and climate protection but into a character-giving feature that lends identity and flair – especially when the roof becomes a wall.

Following this opportunity, we want to highlight great examples of roofs that also become walls: 13 houses in which the roof completes the façade, delineating not only the interior in its vertical sense but also in the horizontal one.

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In the 1956 competition to design the city of Brasilia, Lucio Costa's proposal differed significantly from his competitors'. In contrast with the detailed plans and well-designed perspectives of the other competitors, the winning proposal presented the minimum required by the tender: a drawing of the pilot plan and a report. In the report, a few simple drawings supported the text, demonstrating the architect's ability to synthesize ideas in a few lines.

Having the ability to express an idea through drawing facilitates the design process for an architect or designer, whether it is to develop the concepts, or even to represent the building. A good sketch should be easy to understand, even for those without technical knowledge, and provides a visual representation of the important elements of a project, such as spaces, dimensions, circulation and relationships between elements. Although most architects now master three-dimensional tools and hand sketches are no longer indispensable, there are tools that combine several new functionalities with the good old act of drawing.

There are several constructive technologies to configure the structural system of a building. From the 1960s onwards, the adoption of techniques that enabled the interaction between different materials became increasingly common, diversifying the design language and seeking the main advantages each element has to face certain situations. Over the years, some mix concrete, wood, stones or steel.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In 2018, the Roman neighborhood of San Lorenzo hit the headlines when a young girl was found dead in a derelict building. The media focused on the area’s decline, ignoring its long political and cultural history. Known as a “red” territory, San Lorenzo was one of the few districts to resist Mussolini’s 1922 March on Rome. Built in the late 19th century to house a working-class population of artisans as well as rail and factory workers, there’s a gritty feel to the neighborhood, defined by remnants of its industrial past and buildings that still bear the scars of Allied bombing in World War II. This small, centrally located neighborhood is wedged between Termini, the main train station, Verano, the monumental cemetery opened in 1812, and the Città Universitaria La Sapienza (La Sapienza University).

Artificial lighting offers a range of strategies for interior design. Widely used in commercial projects and restaurants as an aesthetic device to attract customers and to create environments that stimulate the senses, it can transform rooms and create cozy and well-lit places in residential projects.

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Form and function. Terms that accompany several definitions that belong to architecture, but more is needed to summarize the practice in 2023. Nowadays, building involves understanding the cycles of materials and how each action can be linked to the extraction of natural resources and their damage to the environment. We live in an urgent need to review the way we produce built space. In this search for models that move away from linear systems and provide a constant process of transformation and redistribution of matter, strategies arising from the circular economy emerge as a possible path. Its application in architectural heritage – for maintenance or restoration – can incentive the necessary changes toward a more sustainable society.

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Every day, architects and designers tackle an ambitious task: crafting spaces that not only captivate the eye but that also nurture the health and well-being of those who inhabit them. A key part of this mission involves implementing design strategies that foster a pleasant indoor climate, as temperature, humidity and air quality all have a significant impact on users’ mood, productivity and overall health. Humans simply operate better if they are comfortable and content in their home or working environment. Although air-conditioning, ventilation and heating systems have conventionally served as popular solutions to regulate indoor climate, they often carry with them undesirable consequences –the presence of dust and bacteria, the need for regular maintenance and a cluttered, unappealing look. There is, however, an alternative solution.

Better for sight, better for eyes, better for health, and better for moods, natural light is understandably the majority’s favored method of illumination, but it’s an uncontrollable resource. It can be increased with larger windows, open-plan interiors, and reflective or light-hued surfaces, but ultimately, when those cold winter nights draw in, the majority of our time is spent fumbling around in the dark.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Well-thought-out lighting concepts can entirely transform an interior environment. This home in Japan, for example, highlights its architectural features with hidden lighting, bringing them to life at night, while this small-scale showroom cinema also uses indirect lighting strips to graphically define its interior.

The International Placemaking Week, presented by Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is an inspiring and engaging event designed as a global gathering of placemakers from different sectors to discuss thoughts and share strategies in order to push forward the concept of placemaking in the host city and on an international level. Previous editions took place in Vancouver in 2016, Amsterdam in 2017, and Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2019.

PPS, the nonprofit organization behind Placemaking Week, helps people create and sustain public spaces that build strong communities. In 1999, they elaborated “How to turn a place around”, a book that defined the placemaking movement, creating a guideline of 11 principles to follow in order to create vibrant community spaces.

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Videos

Part two of "Stories of Lisbon's Light" takes place in Cascais, a vibrant seaside resort an hour away from Lisbon, hidden on the westernmost tip of the European continent. Right on the Riviera Portuguesa, architect Bruno Novo gave his modern, minimalist touch to a holiday villa where natural light plays the leading part. Focusing on natural elements and minimal touches that open up the spaces inside and outside, the house is made with a family holiday in mind.

Subject to the forces of capital, migrating populations, and political circumstances, our planet’s cities are constantly evolving. This continuous evolution is evident in the built fabric of settlements, as architects and planners build upon layers of the built environment, with some having the strenuous task of having to integrate the historic urban areas of cities successfully with contemporary architectural interventions and systems. 

The cities of this category are frequently in an internal conflict — oftentimes having to grapple with the sometimes contradictory aims of both sustaining local populations and welcoming outside investment and national development projects.

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Over time, the kitchen has ceased to be considered only as a workspace and became a meeting and leisure area. For many, it is the heart of the home. Therefore, it is necessary to design an ambiance that can help when preparing dishes and also bring comfort during a gathering with friends and family.

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