Few places in the world have an overlap of complexities as intense as Brasília. Even so, its architecture symbolizes the Republic and democracy of Brazil, and any act of attack on these symbols carries meanings and consequences for Brazilian memory and cultural heritage. The terrorist acts of January 2023 destroyed part of the heritage and raised questions beyond objects and architecture, touching on education, culture, and national political capital.
Playgrounds are spaces with equipment dedicated to children's leisure, where they can develop motor and social skills. However, these spaces are new to our cultures and cities and emerge from the recognition of childhood as a fundamental stage of human development.
Urban public spaces can transform the life of neighborhoods and cities and, therefore, need to be open to the social, cultural and technological changes that occur in society. From urban vegetable gardens to pet spaces, from rain gardens to art pavilions, life in today's cities has created new demands and ways of using and appropriating public spaces.
The demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project will be 50 years old in 2022. Many ideas of how to live collectively have changed since then. Check out some housing projects in which the placement values encounters and community living.
The Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, is considered a landmark of modernist architecture. Its high towers, inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, which totaled almost 3000 units, set out to fill about half of the government-indicated housing deficit in the 1950s in St. Louis, USA. Besides the innovative architectural project, the government also bet on an interracial coexistence that involved poor and vulnerable strata of society - in the middle of the segregationist period in the United States.
Created by the American architect Ron Mace in the 1980s, the concept of Universal Design deals with the perception of the projects and environments that we design and inhabit, considering the possibility of its use by different user profiles: from children to the elderly, including language limitations and people with disability or temporary limitations.
One of the first decisions to be made when designing a house is where to place it on the site. Whether it's a large or small plot, house placement impacts the architecture of the building itself and its relation with the neighborhood. Therefore, it must be carefully thought out and designed.
The new technologies of the digital world caused changes in architecture and urbanism. New materials, new construction techniques, and new ways of manufacturing and building have changed how we design and think about construction. Besides, these technologies reveal possibilities of interaction between society and architecture, transforming the understanding of architecture and its purpose.
Islands have proved to be great favorites of contemporary kitchens, appearing in environments of different sizes, styles, and with different materials. Before installing a kitchen island, however, it is necessary to think about a few factors to make a better design decision.
In many cultures, the kitchen has become not only a workspace, but also a meeting place, a social environment where family and friends gather for conversation and meals. Seeking to respond to this transformation from more integrated architectural plans and appliances that also have an aesthetic appeal, as well as practical, the choice of kitchen equipment, such as the stove, is no longer restricted to its technical conditions. Check out how to combine practical, technical and aesthetic aspects when choosing a stove.
For some time now, roofs have become leisure spaces, whether in large luxurious buildings or houses on the outskirts. This condition, however, is not limited to our times. Different cultures at different times used flat roofs in their architecture, in different ways.
Playfulness is a concept often attributed to children and hardly connected with adult life. In architecture, projects dedicated to childhood propose a combination of objects, colors and solutions to encourage imagination and break the rigidity of spaces. In contrast, most conventional projects are limited to regularity and stamp the sobriety of adult life.
Brazil is one of the largest countries in the world, covering an area that goes from the Equator to beyond the Tropic of Capricorn, presenting a wide variety of climates and vegetation, which implies in the diverse natural landscape, flora and fauna for which the country is known. Residential architecture, when considered from its location, must adapt to the conditions of the surroundings, transforming its design according to the climate and morphology. We have gathered below a selection of Brazilian houses that respond to the natural environment in which they are located.
Fundamental for the development of large metropolises as we know them today, cement is a material used historically, whose technological advances have revolutionized construction technique and technology of civil construction, enabling the verticalization of construction and the densification of urban centers. Cement, both added to water and sand to make mortar and combined with steel and aggregate to form concrete, performs different functions in a work, from structure to finish.
Inherited from ancestral techniques, dealing with natural stone as a building material is, historically, linked more to the structure of a building than to the finishing stage. With the development of construction, natural stones as a structure were replaced by more efficient and cheaper systems, such as reinforced concrete or even metallic structures and structural masonry, opening space for the use of stones as finishes and coatings.
The Great Wars of the early 20th century brought several social transformations, including the introduction of women into the labor market. Decades later, work dynamics are different, but the market continues to reinforce the division of labor by gender and to explore the triple shift. However, there are gaps for possible transformations.
Community facilities are spaces for social interaction where people find leisure and information. Whether a cultural or a community center, this type of equipment aims to bring people together, creating opportunities for interaction in an environment of care and neighborhood.
In many countries around the world, October is dedicated to raising awareness for breast cancer. Pink ribbons that represent this cause, are a tribute to Susan G. Komen, responsible for the Cure's 1990 campaign in the USA. To celebrate this month and add spread awareness efforts, ArchDaily selected some projects that incorporate the color pink into façades, interiors, and details.
With the scarcity of open spaces, the high concentration of empty buildings in areas already consolidated in cities, and an awareness of the impact of new constructions on the environment, refurbishments are increasingly part of both the architect's work routine and the client's choice. At the same time, they are often synonymous with unexpected surprises and problems, causing delays and discomfort. This text presents four pre-work strategies that can help you better prepare for this moment.
