Month: October 2022

Recent statistics suggest that if someone lives until they are 80, around 72 of those years will be spent inside buildings. This makes sense if we bear in mind that, when not at home, humans are working, learning or engaging in fun activities mostly in enclosed, built settings. Contemplating current events, however, this number is expected to grow. In an increasingly chaotic and uncertain world, marked by the ongoing effects of climate change and the global pandemic, the desire to stay indoors in a protected, controlled and peaceful environment is stronger than ever. Architects face an important challenge: to create comfortable, productive and healthy interiors with well-regulated parameters, considering factors like indoor air quality, daylighting and biophilic features from the initial stages of design. Of course, this involves choosing materials sensitively and accordingly, whether it be by avoiding certain health-harming components or by integrating non-toxic products that soothe and promote wellness.

Architecture practice Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) has won the international competition to design a new nearly net zero operational carbon business center in the city of Vilnius, Lithuania. The competition, organized by the Lithuanian Union of Architects and the Right Bank Development Fund, requested the design of a 19,200-square meters office space in the Central Business District of the city. One of the key ambitions of the project was the reduction of embodies carbon, achieved through a number of strategies, including the use of cross-laminated timber floor planks and locally sourced materials.

Galopina is a guest house immersed in wildland that belonged to a Henequen Hacienda within the geo-hydrological Ring of Cenotes State Reserve, in Yucatan. Its objective is to offer a warm, unique and unpretentious accommodation where guests can have an experience of encountering nature and local culture through architecture.

Handel Architects designed the third tallest in Los Angeles, a 63-story high-rise 265 meters high in the Historical Downtown L.A. Featuring a 150 meters second tower, affordable residential housing, and community spaces, the “Angels Landing” will be the largest and tallest development to be built by Black developers in the United States, marking a milestone in the real estate industry, as in L.A.’s skyline. In partnership with The Peebles Corporation and MacFarlane Partners, the complex is scheduled to open in 2027 and will create more than 8,300 new jobs during construction.

Contrary to what some people mistakenly say, half-timber is not a style, but a building technique. Brought to Brazil by German immigrants, it was used mainly in regions of Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The technique has now become a strong attraction for tourists. But after all, what defines it?

The first full-size London Design Festival (LDF) for three years, and the event’s 20th anniversary year, this was meant to be a celebration. But life, as the saying goes, had other plans. Rocked by the news of HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, the country, and indeed the world started the London Design Festival in a period of mourning. Having reigned over the densest period of design innovation in human history, however, her majesty was no stranger to change.

There are significant deficiencies in how our cities worldwide operate and serve the people who live in them. Bureaucracies, red tape, and other limiting processes that publicly drive our cities towards their futures are often the aspects that cause change to happen at such a slow pace that by the time an issue is addressed, five more have popped up in its place. Over time, society has come to accept that when the systems we have in place don’t do much to serve our needs, it forces us to turn to alternatives to advocate for change. Some urban issues have found the best solutions after initiating social movements and the formation of grassroots groups. 

Designed for developer Youngwoo & Associates with Stonehill Taylor as the architect of record, the building is the first completed building by Dutch firm MVRDV in the United States. The building has a dramatic impact on the skyline of upper Manhattan, yet its design responds sensitively to the neighborhood and adds much-needed hotel, office, and hospitality amenities that were missing.