Change is hard, especially when it’s being forced upon you. But change can often be a good thing, too. Forcing growth and refreshing vitality. Those first few months after a child flies the nest are the hardest to bear when having to get to grips with the new normal of a quiet, lonely household.
Just as many soon-to-be-parents hit a sudden period of ‘nesting’ before the stork’s arrival, those on the other end of the child-rearing timeline experience an opposing feeling of grief when their home with a child reverts back to one without. Feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and a lack of purpose are joined by anxiety for them and their new life, and the loss of parental identity.
When it comes to buildings, there are several factors that contribute to creating something truly luxurious: attention to detail, use of premium, high-quality materials, and unique designs. Lately, the environmental impact of building decisions has also entered heavily into this equation, and the development of a luxury project requires all steps and products to take sustainability into account. At One Za'abeel, the new addition to the Dubai skyline, the careful choice of all solutions, manufacturers and surfaces had a direct influence on the final look and atmosphere of the building, which aims to be an urban landmark and raise the standard of buildings in the UAE.
Perspectiva exterior por Nicolás Belcic. Image Cortesía de Bruno Stagno
From Costa Rica, architect Bruno Stagno not only reflects on how responses to the environment can be the main basis for inspiration and identity in architecture but also proposes going a little further, with contemporary tropical architecture for an entire latitude.
What happens when these limits are extended? What happens when these motivations escape outside of the tropical context? Bruno Stagno presents here the project "A Mangrove for Berlin", his participation in the 1995 competition for the Reconstruction of the Berlin Academy of Architecture, "Berliner Bauakademie", an emblematic work of the architect Friedrich Schinkel.
Finding effective and valuable solutions for agricultural waste management has been an inspiring challenge for researchers. By-products from monocultures, such as residues from soybean production, corn cobs, straw, sunflower seeds, and cellulose, are often destined for soil composting, used as animal feed, or even converted into energy in order to reduce waste and mitigate the environmental impacts associated with agricultural activities. Sugarcane production, for example, generates a significant amount of waste, totaling about 600 million tons of bagasse fiber waste from an annual production of two billion tons of sugarcane. This waste has a promising potential to replace energy-intensive building systems, such as concrete and brick, by providing building materials that combine sustainability and structural efficiency.
With this perspective in mind, the University of East London (UEL), in partnership with Grimshaw Architects and manufacturer Tate & Lyle Sugar, has developed an innovative building material called Sugarcrete™. The aim of the project is to explore sustainable building solutions by recycling biological waste from sugarcane, which in turn reduces carbon emissions in the construction industry – all while prioritizing social and environmental sustainability during the production and implementation of these building materials.
Illustrations from the Icon, where large structures provide a context for an overlapping of physical and virtual experiences. Image Courtesy of John Marx/ Form4 Architecture
This article is the fourth in a series focusing on the Architecture of the Metaverse. ArchDaily has collaborated with John Marx, AIA, the founding design principal and Chief Artistic Officer of Form4 Architecture, to bring you monthly articles that seek to define the Metaverse, convey the potential of this new realm as well as understand its constraints.
Of all the attributes that will define the Metaverse the single most important is that of experience. As we move more deeply into the Anthropocene Era humans seem to be shifting their interests from collecting things to collecting experiences. As the demand for experiences grows more intense and detailed, the need for content, and the clever and effective use of that content, will rise exponentially. From a more detailed perspective, the management and quality of those experiences will determine the initial success of the Metaverse. This is where the concept of a Responsive AI Concierge comes into play.
Parla Design is a third-generation furniture manufacturer that uses its extensive experience to inform its range of contemporary products. Image Courtesy of Parla
In today’s challenging climate for business, companies with a long and distinguished heritage have an advantage over younger enterprises as they can draw on decades of experience in overcoming market fluctuations. In the design industry, knowledge passed down over generations can be vital, as companies are required to adapt to shifts in consumer behavior or the latest revolutionary technologies. These established businesses are often able to thrive during difficult times by developing products that balance innovation with tradition and transcend trends to instead deliver lasting success.
room206 Apartment / Daiki Awaya. Image Courtesy of Daiki Awaya
Kitchens encapsulate the essence of culture, acting as dynamic museums that preserve age-old recipes, processes, and traditions. Influenced by ethnic practices and culinary customs, kitchen architecture varies greatly across continents. In this context, kitchens transcend their domestic role and become insightful manifestations of cultural, societal, and regional factors. They not only serve as functional spaces for cooking and meal preparation but also stand as reflections of the rich tapestry of culture and lifestyles embraced by the individuals who inhabit them.
When François Lévy was asked to design a country home on a substantial piece of land, he immediately faced an issue: locating the building in a spot which required as little re-grading as possible while being able to reap the benefits of solar energy. The most desirable location —given site access and a range of mature oaks— would have left the building sitting slightly out of grade. And, if he had chosen the most obvious building orientation (long and narrow with broad elevations facing north and south), part of it would jut out of the ground and some crucial trees would be lost.
The Royal Commission for AlUla has appointed Lina Ghotmeh and Asif Khan as the lead architects for two upcoming museums to be added to the cultural oasis of AlUla, a destination in North-West Saudi Arabia displaying 7,000 years of continuous human history. Ghotmeh is set to design the contemporary art museum to house works by artists from the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean in dialogue with their contemporaries from across the world. Asif Khan will design the Museum of the Incense Road, the first museum dedicated to the millennia-old network of major land and trading routes. The architects have been selected following an international competition.
Toranomon Hills Station Tower. Image Courtesy of OMA and The Boundary
OMA’S inaugural tower in Tokyo and Japan, designed by Shohei Shigematsu and OMA New York, the Toranomon Hills Station Tower, will open this fall, 2023. The inauguration of the Toranomon Hills Station Tower will mark a significant milestone in Mori Building's Toranomon Hills development, an emerging global business center, and urban hub. A multi-layered transportation node integrated into the tower will establish a new gateway linking Central Tokyo with the rest of the world.
Vernacular architecture is a complex concept that has different meanings depending on where we are, and it is present in various architectural typologies. It is connected to its roots and place of origin, elements that define many of its characteristics based on specific aspects such as culture, climate, topography, vegetation, and the availability of materials and resources in each region. Its constructions are also often linked to traditional building techniques from each place. These techniques were developed by populations in a broader historical context based on available resources.
Response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Back Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Study / Curtis + Rogers Design Studio. Image Courtesy of Miami Downtown Development Authority
This Earth Day, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the many benefits of nature-based solutions and recognized the important role of landscape architects in this work. At the University of Miami, she also announced $562 million in funding for coastal resilience projects, supporting 149 projects in 30 states, through the Climate-Ready Coasts Initiative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Vice President Harris’ remarks build on the Biden-Harris administration’s support for planning and designing with ecological systems in an equitable way.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize presents The Role of Practice, the 2023 Laureate Lecture and Panel Discussion, today, Tuesday, May 23rd at 3:40 PM EEST, in partnership with the National Technical University of Athens, and with the participation of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Patras and the Technical University of Crete.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize 2023 Laureate David Chipperfield will deliver the lecture, reflecting on architectural practice's role, responsibilities, and opportunities. Moreover, the 2023 winner will explore "how market forces have dominated architecture and become increasingly detached from its place, just as the challenges of the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, and social inequality have heightened the urgency for a more proactive position". Alejandro Aravena, Jury Chair, and 2016 Laureate will introduce the lecture, which will be followed by a conversation between David Chipperfield, Francis Kéré, 2022 Laureate, and Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, 2021 Laureates, as they each "reveal the successes and failures of their respective journeys which effected their architectural philosophies and works, and led them to the shared stage of the present".
Harnessing the power of moldless manufacturing through large-scale robotic 3D printing, research at ETH Zürich in collaboration with FenX AG delves into the use of cement-free mineral foam made from recycled waste. The objective is to build wall systems that are monolithic, lightweight, and immediately insulated, minimizing material use, labor requirements, and associated costs.
Currently at 103 million, the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is continuously growing. Many seek shelter in settlements that are meant to be temporary, but where displaced people end up living years, even decades.
The Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim, global leader in sustainable building solutions, came together to form a response to this problem based on two firm beliefs: everyone has the right to a home, and everyone should have access to sustainable building.
Czech Republic Pavilion at the Universal World EXPO 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Image Courtesy of Apropos Architects - Renders by ZAN Studio
Apropos Architects has won the competition to design the Czech Republic Pavilion at the Universal World EXPO 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The architecture of the intervention prioritizes movement as a crucial component of preserving physical health.
The pavilion's content demands a creative connection with spiritual and cultural ideals while openly urging visitors to engage in physical activity. It focuses on the concept that the movement of the body and the soul can shape a place, with a dynamic ascending spiral designed as a metaphor for the ideal life path. As visitors actively move within the pavilion, the cultural content materializes, culminating in a journey that generates lasting inner energy.
Architecture involves mobilizing several aspects of the environment where the building is located: the socio-cultural, political and economic context, aesthetics, legislation, and functionality. Functionality includes use efficiency, occupancy, and comfort. Laurent Troost's work has shown the articulation between these various factors, with particular attention to comfort, especially thermal comfort. His projects prioritize natural ventilation over artificial air conditioning, which has become almost mandatory in current city models.
Environmental issues urgency and increasing temperatures on the planet are nothing new. There are many factors contributing to environmental degradation. However, two can be viewed as representative of critical points in the current world system: plastic and waste disposal, better known as garbage.
The environmental crisis cannot be attributed solely to these two examples. They are used here as examples to mobilize issues involving multiple agents, materials, and diverse methods. These issues lead to devastating consequences, increasingly irreversible.
Within the realm of commercial architecture, the design of spatiality can adopt multiple approaches, conceiving proposals that achieve a balance between aesthetics and functionality. Taking into consideration that various cultural variables, social tensions, and economic interests are involved, the construction of these spaces directly involves the interaction between users, brands, and their products, participating in the experience on-site from colors and materials to lighting, climate control, sounds, aromas, and more.
The largest exhibition of Norman Foster’s work to date, hosted by the Centre Pompidou, explores six decades of the architect’s illustrious career through a host of revealing sketchbooks, drawings, images, original models, and videos. The exhibition was designed by Norman Foster and executed with Foster + Partners and the Norman Foster Foundation. A custom-made series of modular display cases was designed by Norman Foster and a team from the Norman Foster Foundation and engineered by Goppion, world leader in the manufacture and installation of museum display cases, to display the architect’s sketchbooks and transparencies.
Architectural model of the new KNMA New Delhi. Image Courtesy of Adjaye Associates and KNMA
The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) has revealed an architectural model of its new building during the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, as part of the Curator’s Special Projects, titled Mnemonic, presented at the Arsenale - Artiglierie in Venice. The building, designed by Ghanian-British architect Sir David Adjaye in collaboration with S. Ghosh & Associates as the local architect of record, is set to become India’s largest cultural center. The project is scheduled to open in Delhi in 2026.
Wood is the concrete of the future. As timber construction becomes increasingly popular, you have probably heard this phrase. However, we are not talking about traditional construction techniques using timber, but rather about this well-known material combined with cutting-edge technology.
