Month: September 2021

BIG has collaborated with global technology platform for luxury fashion Farfetch and Portuguese real estate developer Castro Group to create “Fuse Valley”, a purpose-built urban fashion village on the slopes of the Leça River in Porto, Portugal. The platform’s newly unveiled HQ will feature 12 uniquely-designed interconnected buildings that represent the different elements of the company’s organization. The project is set to break ground by early 2023, and open its doors in 2025.

We have always thought about the relationships between architecture and the garden, searching for ways to enhance and extend these domains. We have also been focused on incorporating the free, undefined spatial quality of Japanese architecture into our designs by reinterpreting the idea of the eaves, canopy, and engawa (Japanese-style loggia). In this house, we are giving new thought to roofs and the spaces they create inside a natural environment.

The boundaries between different kinds of spaces are not as defined as they used to be. All around us, we are witnessing examples of blurred boundaries between private and public spaces, interiors and exteriors, and formal and informal spaces and so on.

Kengo Kuma was asked to preserve the western portal of the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice in Angers, France, to protect 12th and 17th century polychromatic sculptures displayed within the historic structure. The proposed design creates a “harmonious dialogue” with a subtle contemporary arched intervention that preserves its medieval architectural heritage and pays tribute to the original builders’ regulatory framework and unified proportions. Construction of the new arched portals have begun and are expected to be complete in 2024.

Expo 2020 Dubai‘s Sustainability Pavilion designed by Grimshaw Architects expresses the ethos of addressing the impact of human activities on the environment, acting as a catalyst for collective action. With sustainability as one of the three core themes of the Expo, the pavilion named Terra will become a platform for highlighting the urgency of the issue, sharing knowledge and exploring ideas while also providing visitors with n immersive experience. As one of the legacy buildings, the project is set to become a Science Centre after the event and aims to operate as an autonomous construction in terms of energy and water supply.

The architecture of indigenous peoples is deeply rooted in their surroundings, in the sense that materials are locally sourced and empirically tested, to discover the construction techniques and dwellings that best respond to the values of the community and their understanding of housing. The situation in the Amazon is no different. Many different groups of people have settled on the land and water, developing many unique building skills that attract a lot of architects working in these regions. As a result, there is an exchange of knowledge, combining native cultures and novel architecture.

Office work used to only be done one way. You would sit at a desk all morning, then try not to fall asleep in the afternoon meeting. However, from continent-crossing video chats to team meetings in the park, modern workplaces are using flexible workspaces and practices to lower costs but raise creativity, production, and morale in the workforce.

Caméo Moscow Villas are located in the Tverskoy district in Moscow, next to Mayakovskaya metro station. The total area of ​​the object is 7,473.9 m2. The complex consists of 17 urban villas ranging from 230 to 445 m2: six villas with two floors and ten with three floors with open terraces on the top floors, as well as one grand villa. In the concept of Architectural bureau WALL, 17 villas tell the stories of 17 families with their own unique lifestyles and identities, set around an inner garden – an urban oasis.