Month: June 2021

Cities are so deeply rooted in the history of mankind that we hardly ask ourselves why we live in them or what the reason is for us to group together in urban settlements. Ciro Pirondi, Brazilian architect, points out that we live in cities because we like to have someone to talk to, while Paulo Mendes da Rocha classifies the city as “the supreme work of architecture.” The city is the world that man builds for himself. These are immense collective constructions, palimpsests, and collages of stories, achievements, and losses.

This is a hotel in Beppu, Japan. It is owned by a traditional inn company founded in this city in 1900. It stands on a cliff overlooking the hot spring stream cityscape and Beppu Bay. All guest rooms have free-flowing hot spring baths. We designed it for those who want the emergence of a new culture connecting to local history, culture and nature. Its greatest feature is “site-specific” architecture and space. Those prompt people to interact, and the hotel acts as a new community base.

The Dubai Crown Prince has issued a Resolution to form a Supreme Committee for the Urban Planning of Dubai. The decision aims to regulate, ensure, and implement all the required deliverables of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, to make Dubai the “best city in the world to live in”. The urban planning sector will overlook all major infrastructure and urban projects, as well as focus on addressing matters of housing and regulations of the real estate sector to improve the wellbeing of the city’s residents.

The design of this detached single-family house was commissioned to us by a couple with the dream of retirement living in the middle of nature. The site is characterized by Mediterranean vegetation typical of the area and includes olive trees, pines, mastic trees, and palm hearts on calcareous soils. The plot, of about 900 m2, is located at the end of small urbanization on the edge of the Garraf Natural Park, on the coast south of Barcelona. A construction that would allow contemplating the landscape and would entail low energy consumption was the main requirement of this commission. At the same time, the project presented multiple challenges: a steeply sloping, north-facing plot, and a limited budget.

Last week, Apple opened its largest store in Europe, housed inside Rome’s 19th century Palazzo Marignoli. Designed by Foster+Partners, Apple Via del Corso celebrates the historic building by revealing its 1890s murals, frescos, and graffiti works from the 1950s, hidden from view for decades. The project creates a juxtaposition between the historical layers, the artwork and the signature minimalist aesthetic of Apple stores.

The idea of integration between art and architecture dates back to the very origin of the discipline, however, it took on a new meaning and social purpose during the Avant-Garde movement of the early twentieth century, becoming one of the most defining characteristics of Modernism. This close relationship is evident in the works of some of the greatest modern architects, such as Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Oscar Niemeyer, to name a few.