The National Fund for the Arts (Fondo Nacional de las Artes) is calling for entries for the 2019 Heritage Competition. The initiative aims to support processes of valorization and revitalization, establishing the necessary conditions for Argentina's cultural heritage to thrive and yield new results in the future. Submissions will be accepted until Thursday, May 30, 2019.
The Central Society of Architects (SCA), in collaboration with ARQ Clarín, invites all architecture students in Argentina, from both public and private universities, to participate in the 2019 National Clarín-SCA Award. The primary objective of this award is to establish a launchpad for the development of the country's future architects.
Through the "Casa Violeta Parra, Collective Space" competition, and with the goal of creating an architectural space that functions as a Transitional Shelter for Women Victims of Gender-Based Violence, Proyecto Habitar and Aparecida En Red Ando invite students and graduates to develop a critical perspective on the present, investigating the production processes of current spaces to design a future space that fosters fair and democratic social relationships.
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"Horizontal Vertigo", the Argentine Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale. Image
The call for the Architectural Preliminary Project and Curatorship Competition for the selection of the official Argentine entry to the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, known as “the Venice Biennale,” is open until November 4, 2019. The exhibition will take place from May 23 to November 29, 2020. The competition includes the curatorial proposal and the preliminary project through which Argentina seeks to offer the world a faithful reflection of its work and reflections, condensing the effort and thought generated within its borders.
From May 7 to June 25, the National Fund for the Arts (FNA) is opening the call for entries for its 2019 Architecture Award, aimed at young architects who provide creative and effective design solutions for cultural spaces.
The winners of the ‘Mercado Municipal de Providencia’ competition have been announced. The call for proposals invited participants to develop architectural designs to restore the quality and identity of the original market building—located in Santiago, Chile—while reclaiming its public character. The original building, designated a “Historic Conservation Property” by the Providencia Communal Regulatory Plan, was designed by architects Carlos Cruz and Escipión Munizaga. Opened in 1947, it quickly became a vital supply center for the Providencia municipality.
To meet daily needs and ensure domestic routines function smoothly, the interior and exterior spaces of a home require certain fixtures and furniture—no matter how minimal or essential they may be. In many cases, selecting and designing the furniture that will complement the architectural project is relegated to a post-construction phase and, typically, left to the clients themselves.
However, for some architects, furniture design is considered an integral part of the project. Capitalizing on the plasticity and malleability of certain materials, they choose to integrate interior furniture directly with the architecture. In their designs, benches, shelves, and countertops merge with the spatial language, unfolding sculpturally to extend the surfaces of floors, walls, and partitions.
Courtyards are open-air areas located inside buildings, with their perimeters defined by walls or galleries. These outdoor yet contained spaces often play a crucial role in configuring and organizing the floor plan. In some cases, they function as a central lung, organizing the surrounding spaces along their perimeter. They can also be designed to organize circulation flows or as articulating elements, simultaneously connecting and separating different areas of the project.
Earth is a material that has been used for building since time immemorial. Its low environmental impact and the variety of techniques available for working with it have enabled its enduring relevance in architectural projects worldwide. Whether using rammed earth, wattle and daub, earthen wall systems, or adobe structures, various contemporary projects rework and reinterpret these traditional methods to shape their spaces.
Although the urban fabric of Buenos Aires is characterized by a heterogeneous and constantly changing morphological condition, within the range of low-density housing, it is possible to detect certain recurring typologies that emerged from the interplay of successive historical variables—such as block subdivision strategies, urban regulations and their subsequent updates, or the building traditions of those who built the city. One of these identifiable typologies is the PH, whose name derives from *Propiedad Horizontal* (Horizontal Property), a regulation that allowed the development of individual homes within a single plot.
While there is a certain lack of theoretical definition regarding the limits and scope of the term "Brutalist," there are certain constants in its aesthetic parameters that allow us to establish a relatively concrete line of analysis. In this context, Brutalist buildings—a style of the Modern Movement that experienced its boom between the 1950s and 1970s—are characterized by their tectonic honesty, exposing the materials of construction along with their structural and building logic, geometric forms, and rough surfaces. Reinforced concrete emerges as the primary material of choice; both the textures left by rough timber formwork and the imperfections of the concrete itself are no longer concealed by plaster or paint, but are deliberately displayed to highlight the building processes.
Historically, bamboo has been used as a raw material in traditional low-income construction, serving as a substitute for other woods to build structures, cabinetry, and even furniture. Today, due to its numerous advantages regarding durability, strength, versatility, and low environmental impact, it has earned the moniker "vegetal steel," securing a privileged place in the construction industry. The current search for sustainable development materials has generated new construction fusions that bring contemporary materials and techniques into play with traditional elements, merging and highlighting the unique qualities of materials from each region.
Although concrete is one of the most widely used building materials in the world, thanks to its durability, versatility, and weather resistance, we must not forget that the concrete industry is one of the largest CO2 emitters in the construction sector. Consequently, over the past few years, many architects have begun to experiment with new possibilities to optimize its performance, leveraging its technical advantages while seeking to address some of its environmental drawbacks. As a result, some designers have begun exploring the possibility of replacing traditional wooden formwork with more sustainable materials like bamboo—a plant that grows abundantly across most of the world and offers high-quality textured finishes with a low environmental impact.
Located in the central region of South America, Paraguay features a wide variety of geographical conditions, with diverse landscapes and resources. Generally, the territory is characterized by **high humidity** and **mild temperatures** that prevail year-round, with hot, rainy summers and mild winters. Under these conditions, cooling indoor spaces is highly critical, making passive ventilation systems a key consideration during the early stages of design.
The barn, closely related in nature to silos and sheds, is an essential building typology in rural and agricultural landscapes. Featuring highly simple and functional design solutions, barns serve specifically as storage spaces for large volumes of livestock feed and are commonly characterized by high ceilings, generous spans, and relative spatial flexibility, protecting hay and grain from the sun, rain, moisture, and animals.
July 20, 2019, marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 departed Earth, touching down on the lunar surface four days later. This historic milestone continues to prompt reflection on how technological advancements are making life on other worlds increasingly viable.
Aided by the evolution of 3D printing and fully automated construction technologies, we have compiled 15 architectural projects that demonstrate how life on the Moon and other celestial bodies is no longer a distant fantasy.
1° Premio - Perspectiva Exterior. Image Cortesia de Arq. Gustavo Robinsohn
The results of the International Ideas Competition for Thematic Pavilions for Expo 2023 in Argentina have been announced. Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires (CAPBA), and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architecture Organizations (FADEA), the international competition invited participants to design two pavilions to serve as exhibition spaces for the Expo's themes.
¡Houses, Houses, Houses!. Image Cortesía de Santiago Miret
Architecture, as a design discipline, relies heavily on visual communication. The advent of new technologies and the exploration of new digital graphic representation techniques reflect architects' growing interest in expressive fields. The need to convey a message and embody ideas, narrating the values and reflections that structure an architectural project, places graphic communication tools in a position of particular relevance.
If this intrinsic need to convey information exists within the architectural field, could comics, as a narrative medium, serve as a useful tool for design communication?