Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

Designed by 3LHD Architects, the new campus for the Croatian electric hypercar manufacturer Rimac brings together a wide array of programs and spaces, from production plant and offices to kindergarten, dormitory and even a sheep meadow. Located in the outskirts of Zagreb, within a natural landscape, the Rimac Campus is organized around two main volumes that follow the site’s natural topography, with several accompanying facilities tucked underneath a green roof that stretches out, meeting the surrounding landscape.

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Concéntrico, Logroño's International Architecture and Design Festival, has announced the winning proposals for their three open competitions in three locations in the historic center of Logroño, in Spain.

This edition of the competitions sought to create a Pavilion in the Plaza de Escuelas Trevijano and two interventions, one in the River Ebro walk and the other in Viña Lanciano by Bodegas LAN.

In this episode of “Behind the Scenes”, where we showcase the work of visionary artists and ask about their experiences beyond what is seen by the public, we are presenting Nicolás Castagnola: an illustrator, animator, and architect born in Buenos Aires and based in Berlin. Through his illustrations and animations, he brings different meanings to architecture by opening an imaginative field about the infinite possibilities that the built environment can provide.

This article was originally published on Common Edge as "Five Women Architects Revitalize a Giant Public-Housing Project in Rome."

Corviale is one of Italy’s biggest postwar public housing projects and, arguably, one of the most controversial. Both revered and abhorred, the complex remains a pilgrimage site for architectural schools from around the world. Il Serpentone (The Big Snake), as it is affectionately called, stretches nearly a kilometer in a straight line, a monolithic, brutalist building that hovers over the countryside on the outskirts of Rome. But there is nothing sinuous about a construction made up of 750,000 square meters of reinforced concrete condensed into 60 hectares. This hulking horizontal skyscraper is formed by twin structures, each 30 meters high, connected through labyrinths of elongated hallways, external corridors, and inner courtyards. Divided into five housing units, each with its own entrance and staircase, it contains 1,200 apartments and houses up to 6,000 people.

The winners of the competition for the reform of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) have just been announced.HARQUITECTES with Christ & Gantenbein have been selected to rethink and expand the exhibition areas of the original museum, designed by American architect Richard Meier in the 90s.

Designers have created civic institutions, governmental centers, public plazas, and many other spaces as testaments to individual and shared values. As spaces for gathering and exchange are necessary elements to urban life, architecture can also act as a vehicle to encourage understanding. Advocating knowledge while empowering the public, libraries celebrate ideas, curiosity and empathy.

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For the 17th international architecture exhibition – la biennale di Venezia 2021, Denmark is creating a water cyclic system that connects people with each other and with nature. The national pavilion, titled “Con-nect-ed-ness”, is curated by Marianne Krogh and Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects, and will be on display from May 22nd to November 21st, 2021.

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Ateliers Jean Nouvel's new mixed-use development in the Greater Paris area defines a complex vertical neighbourhood that caters to the latest changes in living, working and leisure. Located in the Gennevilliers Neighbourhood, on the banks of the river Seine, Jeuneville aims to create a sustainable and inspiring living environment, a place of synergy designed for a new generation of city dwellers and a new economy.

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According to the United Nations’ latest report on populations in cities, by 2030, “urban areas are projected to house 60 percent of people globally and one in every three people will live in cities with at least half a million inhabitants”. Growing in both size and number, cities are hubs of government, commerce, and transportation, and in 2021, the world’s 20 largest cities are home to half a billion people. In fact, one in five people worldwide lives in a city with more than 1 million inhabitants.

Below, we have rounded up the top 20 megacities in the world of 2021, according to the number of people that live in their metropolitan area. While Tokyo is the largest city on a global level, with a total of more than 37 million residents, the majority of the most populous cities in the world are in the two most populated countries, China and India. Among these, we have 5 metropolises in China, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, and 3 in India, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. The largest city in the American continent is Sao Paulo in Brazil with 22 million people, followed by Mexico City and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Istanbul takes the 13th position with one part of the city lying in Europe and the other part in Asia.

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Designed by SPF:architects, the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Center in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, celebrates the center’s rich history and community commitment in an eco-friendly, prefabricated facility. Formerly known as the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, the center will expand the pre-existing structure and provide additional recreational facilities but in a cost-effective way. Construction has been ongoing since 2018 and is set to be complete mid-summer of 2021.

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Videos

Working remotely throughout the past year has accelerated the introduction of new approaches to real-time rendering, and with it, a new necessity was born: how can a person feel physically present inside a space, without actually being there? Ultimately, designers resorted to the virtual world, a vast realm of interactive built environments that can be accessed from the comfort of one's home. Even the tools utilized, such as headsets and goggles, have become more accessible to the vast majority of the public and are being sold at a lower price than they initially were. We have become accustomed to build, modify, and navigate between different environments, going back and forth between what is real and what isn't. Truth is, virtual has become the new normal.

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The Clark Centre for the Arts is undergoing a revitalization as part of the Guild Park and Gardens in Toronto. Designed by Taylor Hazell Architects, the new multipurpose facility will house art studios and be home to creative programs for residents and visitors. Clark Centre for the Arts (CCA) will offer a public gallery, five specialized art studios and two on-site cabins, providing over 6,000 square feet of new, dedicated studio, exhibition and event space.

Titled "Trouble in Paradise", the Polish pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, will explore the countryside and observe how rural areas are an important element of building sustainable human environments, given the crises the world is surrounded with today. Curated by PROLOG +1 along with an international group of architects and artists, the national pavilion will be on physical display at the Giardini di Venezia, and online from May 22nd to November 21st, 2021.

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PLP revealed its design for a luxury residential tower in Singapore, featuring a lush vertical garden inspired by the city’s greenery. The biophilic design that blurs the line between indoor living areas and outdoor spaces strives to redefine metropolitan living by promoting health and wellbeing.

Nestled in the heart of Yuhang District, Bjarke Ingels Group’s design for the new OPPO R&D Headquarters, China’s largest smartphone company, combines aesthetics and innovative technology in a building that will be an environmental, economical, and socially sustainable hub for innovation.

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Designed by Studio Gang architects, together with landscape design firm SCAPE and Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) reaches an important construction milestone with the recent completion of its signature new roof. Spanning the entire length of the project and connecting the various buildings, both renovated and new, the folded plate concrete roof establishes the museum’s new architectural identity as the leading cultural institution for the state of Arkansas.

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Fifty-one years ago, in 1970, a Japanese roboticist named Masahiro Mori came up with the concept of the “Uncanny Valley”. Around the same time, architectural renderings done using analog methods were still in vogue – collages and photomontages used to get ideas across to clients. A decade later, personal computers came along, and that saw the emergence of CAD and the wider adoption of digital rendering. Today’s architectural renderings are almost imperceptible from reality, with the increase in sophistication of rendering sofware. We struggle to tell the difference between what is a rendering and what is not – or rather we are able to tell a slight difference and it leaves us slightly uncomfortable, which brings us to Mori’s uncanny valley.

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In Louisiana Channel's latest interview, Indian architect Anupama Kundoo shares her thoughts on the importance of balancing between traveling and being in solitude with oneself. "I think travel is important, but if you're not rooted yourself, you will go to a hundred places and not see anything", explained the architect, "traveling helps you step back from what you take for granted".

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