Month: May 2024

The limitations of the site where the Casa Taller Zapallar is located suggest the construction of a house in the form of a long block, perpendicular to the coastal strip and on the flat section of the terrain. A block narrow enough to be located at the southeast end will allow protected views of the ocean without being seen by neighbors to the west and northwest. Assuming this fact, it opens the door to integrating a range of desires on how to inhabit this building.

The act of play creates a welcome escape from the demands of daily life, encouraging joy, creativity and collaboration, with tangible benefits from stress relief to improved cognitive function. So when it comes to the interiors of spaces for play—for leisure and socializing for example—how can design enhance these effects? Specifying adaptable modular furniture that can blend the boundaries between indoor and out is one method to improving the freedom and spontaneity of space, bringing agency to moments of joy, possibilities for fresh configurations and equipping interiors for shifting future dynamics.

American architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), in collaboration with Mexico City-based Estudio AMA and interior designer Esrawe Studio, has revealed a new 190-meter-tall mixed-use tower in Guadalajara, Mexico. The new addition, which broke ground on May 24, is slanted to become the tallest building in the Andares Zapopan district of the city, offering residential units, hotel rooms, and various amenities.

Miel and Eline bought Irene’s house with accompanying pub and stable. Not long before, this house was a weekly stop for a handful of farmers from a village outside Ghent. On Thursday mornings at five o’clock there was the weekly cattle market, so every Wednesday evening the cows were unloaded here and escorted to the stable behind the house. Afterward, the former resident Irene served some beers in the café on the street side, just like in about twenty other so-called slaughterhouse cafés in what was considered one of the roughest neighborhoods in Ghent thirty years ago. Today this district is a popular neighborhood with only a few vague memories of the past.

Heatherwick Studio has just won the global competition to transform Seoul’s uninhabited Nodeul Island on the Han River into a lively public park. Titled “Soundscape,” the winning project “creates a trail of dramatic spaces on different levels that can host musical performances and artistic interventions.” Situated within a green and biodiverse landscape, the design echoes Seoul’s mountainous terrain and the patterns of sound waves.

Young Latin American architecture firms are changing paradigms in the field by promoting a new approach to the profession’s role in society. Their innovative explorations, driven by risk-taking, emerge from a deep emotional connection and thorough understanding of their context. They draw inspiration from local elements like geography, materials and available resources. With their unique identities, these firms move away from the still-prevalent modernist legacy, presenting authentic and innovative solutions to tackle contemporary challenges.