Amanda Pimenta

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4 Best Instagram Hashtags To Follow If You Want to See Great Architecture

The hashtag officially became part of the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014, and whether you tend to use them or not, they are a pretty unavoidable internet tool that helps users connect related internet content. Maybe you’re hashtagging photos to get featured on a certain account or to poke some fun at yourself (see Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon)? But serious ArchDaily readers have been using “#” to group beautiful photographs of architecture for the better part of a decade. When Instagram announced that it was possible to follow hashtags, die-hard taggers found a way to discover and like new content without actively seeking it out.

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Félix Candela’s Concrete Shells Through Photographs, Architectural Models and Plans

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Courtesy of Alexander Eisenschmidt

Spanish and Mexican architect Félix Candela is widely recognized as one of the most prominent figures in 20th century architecture. His innovative experiments with reinforced concrete produced iconic buildings deemed cascarones, or 'shell structures', such as the Pavilion of Cosmic Rays at UNAM, Mexico City (1951); the Chapel Lomas de Cuernavaca, Cuernavaca (1958); Los Manantiales Restaurant, Xochimilco (1958); and the Palace of Sports for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

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From Rio Londoneiro to Dubaris: 14 Iconic Destinations Reimagined As Hybrid Cities

From New York to Rome, London to Cape Town and beyond, these city mash-ups blend distinct architecture and attractions to create truly unique imagined destinations. Expedia recently launched a series of campaigns that would inspire travelers by showcasing destinations from different perspectives and unique angles. They took 14 famous cities and combined their architectural DNA into 7 unique hybrid, mash-up cities.

Hello Wood Builds 5 Wooden Christmas Trees in Cities Throughout Europe

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Kecskemét. Image © Máté Lakos

Budapest-based architectural firm Hello Wood has continued its annual tradition of constructing wooden Christmas trees, this year expanding the program with a total of 5 trees throughout Europe. In London and Vienna, trees made of sleds recall a design concept first used by Hello Wood in 2013; meanwhile, two locations in Budapest and in the Hungarian city of Kecskemét are witnessing the return of the firm's "charity trees," installations made of firewood which are later dismantled and distributed to families in need for the winter season.

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Open Call to Architecture Students For Pavilion of Turkey at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale Di Venezia

The 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia will take place from May 26th to November 25th 2018, in Venice, Italy.

As the coordinator of the Pavilion of Turkey, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) will host a series of events and student workshops throughout the Biennial.

This open call by the curatorial team invites students of architecture from all over the world to apply for these workshops in the Pavilion of Turkey.

26 Firms Shortlisted to Provide Designs for US Diplomatic Buildings

The Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), whose mission is to provide safe, secure and functional facilities that represent the U.S. Government in U.S. foreign policy objectives, has shortlisted twenty-six design firms for the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Worldwide Design Services solicitation. The IDIQ provides comprehensive Architecture/Engineering (A/E) services for both new construction and modernization projects at U.S. diplomatic facilities worldwide.

OBO received 136 submissions for this IDIQ solicitation. The selected firms presented portfolios demonstrating exemplary past performance, experience and capabilities of their Lead Designer(s), and a well-defined approach to the challenge of public architecture including a commitment to sustainability and integrated design.

The shortlisted firms are:

How Architects Dress vs How Normal People Dress

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Courtesy of The Leewardists

"Does this come in black?" is probably the most used phrase during any architect's shopping trip, but nobody really knows why. Search the internet for the reason that architects wear black, you will find that numerous people have written about the subject,—there’s even a book about it! The fact is that other people don't quite understand how many shades of black there actually are like you do. And it's also a common misconception that wearing black is all in the name of convenience, since looking for a specific item in your wardrobes takes 5 times longer when everything looks the same. In short, architects will continue to wear black... at least until something darker comes out.

Federico Babina's PORTRART Illustrations Tells a Story Within a Portrait

Federico Babina, the illustrator behind the series of popular architectural interpretations including ARCHITALE and ARCHIPLAY, has just released his latest project: PORTRART, 35 illustrations that tell 35 short stories describing and relating to the individual personalities of 35 artists.

"The shapes, the sculpted and painted geometries of the artists are transformed to draw their faces," explains Babina. Each composition portrays a realistic fantasy in a series of geometric shapes around a central matrix, the portrait. 

Babina continues, "The project attempts to visualize the likeness, personality, and capture the essential features of the protagonist through simple lines, geometries, color, and ink. The idea is to achieve an almost abstract representation without losing the essence of figurative representation." 

See all the portraits after the break.

The Global Cities With the Worst Traffic Problems

Earlier this year, Dutch company TomTom(TOM2) released a detailed report that uncovered the cities around the world *that have the most traffic congestion, based on the results of the TomTom Traffic Index 2017. According to the latest analysis, Mexico City will retain its crown as the "most traffic congested city" in the world. Drivers in the Mexican capital are expected to spend an average of 66% extra travel time stuck in traffic any time of the day, and up to 101% in the evening rush hours adding a whopping 227 hours of extra travel time per year.

Next in the global rankings are Bangkok (61%), Jakarta (58%), Chongqing (52%) and Bucharest (50%), making up the top five most congested cities in the world. You can find out more about TomTom's Traffic Index and discover where your home city ranks at after the break.

International Photography Competition "Cities Without Architecture”

The main objective of this competition is to select a photograph which will be the main image for a sensibilization campaign named "Cities Without Architecture" alerting to the need of working towards the improvement of the habitat.

A -Theme Area

According to the Un-Habitat (United Nations) Urban Observatory, it is estimated that fifty million people will move from rural areas to the cities in western Africa over the next ten years. In Mumbay, the population has recorded a four-fold increase. Half of the population live in slums, 700.000 spend the night on the streets, 100 million people in the world, mostly kids, have no permanent home.

More than half a century has passed already since Bernanrd Rudofsky exhibited at the New York MOMA a collection of pictures he took during his trips. The exhibition would be named: Architecture Without Architect. This exhibition was shown in more than 80 cities during the following 11 years, and its catalog has become a true referent in what has been called vernacular architecture.

A question arises nowadays: what have architects learned from this famous Architecture Without Architects? But these days there is an even more important question: how much aware are we in the developed countries of the existence of cities without architecture?

40 Projects Shortlisted for the 2017 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies Van Der Rohe Award

The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation have announced the 40 shortlisted works that will compete for the 2017 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The jury has chosen from 355 nominated works and the shortlist highlights the opportunities and the trends of today’s European territory: cities, housing, heritage, and memory. The five finalists will be announced in mid-February and the winner and the Emerging Architect in mid-May.

A third of the works tackle the challenge of contemporary architecture in relation with built heritage and a third of the work tackles the contemporary challenges of housing. The management of the historic urban landscape will be among the priorities highlighted by the ‘European Year of Cultural Heritage' in 2018.

"I would want the shortlisted schemes to demonstrate an interest in making places, in exploring convention and known typologies, in celebrating the pleasures of everyday use by a consideration of detail and an unspoken resistance to the current global tendency towards a self-referential architecture, one that belies context and the act of inhabitation." - Stephen Bates, Chairman of the Jury.

Seen the shortlist after the break.

How Ole Scheeren's MahaNakhon Skyscraper Transforms Bangkok's Rising Skyline

In this video from CNN Style Ole Scheeren, the former OMA partner and founder of Büro Ole Scheeren, discusses his MahaNakhon tower, a luxury mixed used skyscraper that has transformed the Bangkok skyline. MahaNakhon was recognized as the tallest building in Thailand by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) after its light show inauguration earlier this year.

Aedas Wins Two International Competitions to Design Airports in Shenzhen and Hong Kong

Aedas have recently won two international competitions to design international airport buildings: the Shenzhen Airport Satellite Concourse and Hong Kong International Airport Third Runway Passenger Building.

In recent years, Aedas have emerged as a leader in airport design, as they are also currently working on the Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 Expansion, and have previously worked on Hong Kong International Airport Midfield Concourse and North Satellite Concourse. With the two newly-won projects, Aedas hopes to reinforce their strength and growing influence in airport design.

Video: Eran Chen on How to Transform New York City: "One Green Space at a Time"

After training at the prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Israel and moving to New York in 2000, Eran Chen founded ODA New York, a boutique architectural firm based in NYC. Chen has quickly become a recognized name associated with creating buildings that are not only innovative but also ecologically responsible. ODA has participated in high profile projects such as the "super-skinny and super-tall" Manhattan Tower and "a city within a city" in Brooklyn.

AD Interviews: Sergei Tchoban, Russian Architect and Artist Shares his Collection

We had the pleasure to interview Sergei Tchoban, member of the Urban Advisory board of the City of Moscow and leading partner of the Berlin office NPS Tchoban Voss, designers of projects such as the Nhow Hotel, and of the Moscow office SPEECH. The Russian architect is also an artist and owner of a vast collection of architectural drawings.

Tchoban attended the Imperial Academy of Arts, and his fine arts background is very present in his drawings and his collection. During the interview with ArchDaily, Tchoban highlights the importance of drawing as the official language of architecture, as well as collecting and displaying it.

OMA and West 8 Team-up in The Search for The Student That Will Be Tomorrow's Architectural Influencer

Architecture and design students in the U.S. are challenged to rethink tradition by redesigning some of the world’s most iconic buildings. To participate, students need to create a variation of a well­ known iconic building and visualize it using Lumion. The software is free for U.S. students and is a unique option that allows architects themselves to create their own visualizations. 

Moscow Urban Forum Announces This Year’s Program

Last month, the eleventh edition of the Moscow Urban Forum released the topic of the 2016 forum: "Fast-Growing Megacities: Technologies for Dynamic Development." The forum will seek to answer the following questions: Why is it so important to discuss growth and development of megacities at this time? What are the rules that determine their existence? With three days to go, organizers have announced this year’s program.