Christele Harrouk

Architect, Urban Designer, and Editor-in-Chief of ArchDaily.com. Based in Beirut, Lebanon, Covering the World.

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Empowering Children Through Public Spaces in Lebanon: In Conversation with CatalyticAction

Public spaces are not always shaped by planning but by the practices they host. Their existence stems from our inherent need for connection with others. As spaces of encounter, these urban, open, and accessible areas reflect how we interact with our surroundings and each other while offering places for exercise, play, socializing, and recreation.

Recognizing that public spaces are more than just physical environments, CatalyticAction is dedicated to fostering a sense of community, safety, and belonging, especially for children, who are among the most vulnerable in society. Their mission is not only to create spaces where children can play and grow but also to empower them, ensuring they have a voice in shaping their surroundings. To learn more about their work, Christele Harrouk, ArchDaily's Editor-in-Chief, spoke with Joana Dabaj, Co-founder and Director of Programmes at CatalyticAction.

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The Obel Award Announces Theme for its 6th Cycle, the 2024 Edition

The Obel Award is an international prize for architectural achievement presented annually by the Henrik Frode Obel Foundation. Each year, the jury selects a specific theme and grants an award to a promising solution. For the 2024 edition, the prize that honors architectural contributions that positively impact both people and the planet will be focused on “Architecture With”.

Previous emphasis included Adaptations, Emissions, Cities, Mending, and Well-being. In 2023, the fifth cycle recognized ‘Living Breakwaters’ in New York, a green infrastructure project off the shore of Staten Island, by SCAPE Landscape Architecture and its founder Kate Orff. In 2022, the Obel was awarded to Seratech, a carbon-neutral concrete solution, in 2021, the concept of the 15-minute city received the prize for its value in creating sustainable and people-centric urban environments, and in 2020, Studio Anna Heringer was acknowledged for Anandaloy, in Bangladesh, an unconventional, multifunctional building that hosts a therapy center for people with disabilities on the ground floor and a textile studio on the top floor producing fair fashion and art. Finally, in its first edition, fixated on well-being, the Obel Award was granted to the Art Biotop Water Garden project in Tochigi, Japan, by Junya Ishigami & Associates.

Graham Foundation Announces 56 Grants for Individuals Expanding Architecture Ideas Through Interdisciplinary Work

The Graham Foundation has announced 56 new grants to individuals, selected from nearly 600 submissions. Centered on publications, research, exhibitions, films, site-specific installations, and digital initiatives, the funded projects "expand contemporary architecture ideas through innovative rigorous interdisciplinary work on the design and the built environment." The projects are led by 84 individuals, including established and emerging architects, artists, curators, designers, filmmakers, historians, and writers.

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Watch Innovative Architecture Short Films: Winners of TRANSFER Architecture Video Award 2023

TRANSFER Architecture Video Award 2023 has just announced the winners of this year's edition of the innovative architecture short film competition. Due to the high quality and the diversity of the entries, the jury has decided to award 4 winners ex aequo and 2 honorable mentions.

The TRANSFER Architecture Video Award 2023 ceremony took place on February 22 in Lausanne, as part of the film festival Écrans Urbains. You can discover the winning, finalist, and shortlisted videos in TRANSFER.

Watch 2024 Pritzker Prize Winner Riken Yamamoto Explain his Creative Process and Architectural Journey

Last week, Japanese architect and social advocate, Riken Yamamoto, was selected as the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, the 53rd honoree of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, and the ninth architect from Japan to receive this recognition. With a body of built works that spans five decades, ranging from private residences to large-scale housing complexes, educational institutions, and civic spaces, scattered around Japan, China, South Korea, and Switzerland, Yamamoto's architecture is focused on building community and blurring the boundaries between the public and private spheres. In a series of videos produced by the Pritzker Prize, the architect goes back to the fundamentals and discusses the threshold system, transparency, community, and the landscape.

Who Should Win the 2024 Pritzker Prize?

After the Hyatt Foundation announced that the 2024 Pritzker Prize be revealed on March 5 at 9 am EST, speculation has ignited regarding which architect or architects will receive architecture's most prestigious award. The Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered to be "the profession’s highest honor," has been granted annually, since 1979, by a jury, to a living architect or architects with significant achievements to humanity and the built environment.

Discover the 7 Finalists for the EU Mies Awards 2024

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe just revealed the 7 finalists for the 2024 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards. There are 5 finalists in the Architecture category and 2 in the Emerging category. In March, the jury will visit these architectural works and will decide on the winning projects that will be announced on April 25th at the CIVA in Brussels.

Selected by the jury comprising 7 members: Frédéric Druot, Martin Braathen, Pippo Ciorra, Tinatin Gurgenidze, Adriana Krnáčová, Sala Makumbundu, and Hrvoje Njiric, from a list of 362 nominees, the "7 finalist works promote local policy references and can become global European models since all of them create inclusive and high-quality living environments."

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EU Mies Awards 2024 Announces 40 Shortlisted Projects

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have announced the 40 shortlisted works for the 2024 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards. Selected by the jury comprising 7 members: Frédéric Druot, Martin Braathen, Pippo Ciorra, Tinatin Gurgenidze, Adriana Krnáčová, Sala Makumbundu, and Hrvoje Njiric, from a list of 362 nominees, the projects “are spread out in 38 European Cities in 33 Regions and 20 Countries”, showcasing 14 different programs.

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