According to the United Nations (UN), over 1 billion people worldwide live with disabilities, whether physical or intellectual, with 80% residing in Global South countries. Despite advancements in their rights, they still encounter significant barriers and remain among the most marginalized in accessing essential services like healthcare, education, and employment. In this context, architecture is crucial for ensuring safety and spatial independence, enabling their full and effective participation in society.

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Most of us have probably imagined living in a castle at some point, whether during childhood, enchanted by fairy tales, or as adults studying European monarchies. Considering this fascination, what would you think if you had the chance to buy your castle? In mid-2014, you could make that dream a reality in Turkey for just $370,000. Each luxurious 325-square-meter castle came complete with blue turrets and spiral staircases. The only catch? Your castle would be one of 731 identical ones. But who cares about exclusivity when you have the chance to live in a Disney fairy tale?

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Alarming cases of climate disasters are a constant presence in world news. Last month's floods in southern Brazil gained special attention from heat waves and forest fires to droughts and cyclones. This tragedy, which left over half a million people homeless, was understood to be the result of a combination of factors, including human actions that have devastated ecosystems to create environmentally irresponsible cities.

In this context, the work of Beijing-based architect Kongjian Yu, founder of the landscape architecture firm Turenscape, has gained international visibility and recognition, which included receiving the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize (“Oberlander Prize”). His "sponge cities" concept, designed to address and prevent urban flooding in the face of accelerated climate change, was adopted as national policy in China in 2013. This approach prioritizes large-scale nature-based infrastructures such as wetlands, greenways, and parks.

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Vernacular architecture has been gaining more and more space in theory and design practice, with its characteristics being studied and revised. An impulse related to different factors, but mainly to the context of climate change that we are experiencing, which calls for more sustainable and context-connected construction solutions.

Within this scope, much is said about the different vernacular techniques employed in architecture, whether it is the production of adobe bricks, thatched roofs, woven bamboo walls, among many others. However, while vernacular technique focuses on specific actions or skills, its meaning differs from vernacular technologies.

Camping, as defined in dictionaries, involves temporarily staying outdoors, setting up makeshift accommodations, and settling in natural surroundings. In architecture, tents symbolize these aspects, representing a typology that has endured across centuries and cultures, often linked with notions of impermanence and vulnerability.

In light of this common understanding, the term 'glamping' emerged in the early 2000s, blending 'camping' with 'glamour,' suggesting a fusion of camping with luxurious amenities. However, despite its recent popularization, the concept is far from original. Camping has not always been seen as the antithesis of luxury.

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Organizing, shaping, stacking. Transforming raw materials from the soil into architecture. This is a challenge that many Latin American architects embrace, demonstrating that scarcity can be daunting but also a rich opportunity to unleash creativity.

The use of materials extracted from the local soil serves a dual purpose. In regions with limited industrialization, using locally sourced materials makes economic sense because industrial materials such as concrete and steel are expensive and often require long-distance transportation, adding to their cost. Environmentally, choosing locally sourced materials from the start of a project reduces transportation needs and carbon emissions, supporting sustainability efforts.

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The world has changed, and accepting this fact is no longer a matter of choice but survival. Our rainfall patterns, periods of drought, average temperatures, sea levels—everything is in constant flux. The denialist stance of many countries, including Brazil, has led to catastrophic situations like the one we are facing now.

The floods that devastated the southern region of the country in recent days cannot be considered isolated incidents. Due to global warming, climate events like this will become increasingly frequent. In other words, unfortunately, we cannot prevent them from happening, but we can—and must—make our cities more resilient to these situations.

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The modern and futuristic architecture of Sub-Saharan Africa reflects the aspirations and progressive spirit that dominated the early years of independence for many countries in this region between the late 1950s and early 1960s. This architectural production, coinciding with economic growth, employed complex construction methods in designs that seamlessly blended interior and exterior spaces (thanks to the tropical climate), focusing on form and expression of materiality. From this fusion of specific conditions emerged architectural masterpieces of unique value that demand 'rediscovery,' among them the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya.

The world has its eyes on the Amazon. Geographical data about this vast territory, spanning 6.74 million square kilometers across eight countries in Latin America, is constantly featured in national and international media. Headlines often highlight its sheer magnitude as the largest tropical rainforest in the world, home to 10% of the planet's biodiversity, and responsible for 15% of the Earth's freshwater. However, little attention is paid to what transpires beneath its canopy, on the ground where people live.

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The opening scenes of the award-winning Brazilian film "City of God" (2002) portray a newly constructed housing complex situated on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently, this complex evolves into a hub of poverty and violence. Despite the film being set in the 1960s, the housing development depicted was a recent construction.

This choice made no difference because, despite the 40-year difference between the depicted era in the film and the time of filming, the architectural solutions employed by housing programs in the country remained stagnant. They continued to replicate outdated models, showcasing a lack of progress in the sector.

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When we think of the word "tropic," the image that typically comes to mind is an exotic space, characterized by perpetual warmth and humidity, with frequent and heavy rainfall nurturing lush vegetation. Throughout history, this tropical climate has been romanticized as a paradise and criticized for potentially fostering weakness due to its perceived clemency.

Thankfully, those judgments and associations have been relegated to the past, paving the way for theoretical and practical projects that outline the advantages and disadvantages of living in a tropical climate. These projects acknowledge the various strategies to enhance human adaptability within these distinctive climatic conditions.

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