Romullo Baratto is an architect with a PhD from FAUUSP, member of the curatorial team for the 11th São Paulo Architecture Biennial in 2017. Former Managing Editor of ArchDaily Brasil, he guided the platform to win the FNA Award, the first media outlet to receive this honor. In 2023, he became Project Manager for ArchDaily Global, leading initiatives like the Building of the Year Awards and ArchDaily New Practices. Combining academic and professional experience, he communicates architecture through texts, interviews, lectures, curatorship, and photography. Follow him on Instagram: @romullobf
Following the announcement on Wednesday of the winners of the 2017 Pritzker Prize, which was awarded to architects Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta of RCR Arquitectes, architectural photographer Pedro Kok has shared with us a series of photographs of the Sant Antoni - Joan Oliver Library, located in Barcelona, Spain.
As with many of the Catalan trio's work, the library stands out for its materiality and careful construction, making intense use of transparency and light.
The 2017 Portuguese Commemorative Coins were unveiled this week in the Casa da Moeda, where the themes, authors and designs for the commemorative, chain and collector's coins to be issued throughout the year were shown.
Among the novelties, a new series dedicated to Portuguese Architecture stands out, which includes a coin dedicated to Álvaro Siza Vieira designed by Eduardo Souto Moura, two great names in Portuguese architecture.
A mere six months after the torch was snuffed, the Brazilian Olympic sites that once hosted scores of locals, tourists, and athletes in a global celebration of athleticism and camaraderie now lie in ruin. This "ghost town" cost Brazil around $4.6 billion plus an estimated $1.6 billion in budget overages, according to reports by the Financial Times and Quartz.
In stories recently published by The Guardian, Business Insider, Mashable and Bored Panda we can see the heartbreaking reality and aftermath in the disused venues.
Artist and photographer Rob Carter shared with us a video in which, through montages and digital collages, shows the urban growth of the city of Charlotte, in the state of North Carolina, USA. The video, titled Metropolis, is "an abbreviated city narrative [...] that uses stop-motion animation to physically manipulate aerial imagery, creating a landscape in constant motion."
Charlotte is one of the fastest growing cities in the US and Carter's production features the changes that have taken place in recent years in its central region. Verticality and density of buildings (not necessarily people) continue to mark the urbanization of the city.
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Graduation often leaves a void in a new architect’s life. After five years or more (lets face it, usually more) of being with the same friends, colleagues and teachers, it’s only natural that the transition from academic to professional life is accompanied by a feeling of nostalgia for long discussions in college corridors, late nights designing together, parties, and, above all, a student routine.
The most common route after receiving a degree is facing the (savage) job market. Finding an internship and becoming an architect, finding a job in a new office, and spending some time getting to know the insides of studios, offices, and architectural firms seems to be one of the options that most interests new architects. The idea of starting your own business in the long-term future seems to be adequate compensation for those years of dedication to projects that are not always tasteful or aligned with the ideals of those who have just left college.
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Thinking of continuing your studies but don't want to start a master's or a doctorate just yet? Around the world, short-term courses taken remotely are increasingly popular alternatives, and platforms such as edX, created by Harvard and MIT Universities make it even easier to dive deeper into the most diverse topics.
Of course, for long-term and undergraduate courses, the face-to-face experience cannot be replaced by online classes. However, being able to follow lessons and participate in discussions with people from around the world online is definitely an important advantage offered by the internet.
We have compiled a few courses in areas ranging from video game design to bio-cellular engineering, and from the history of Japanese architecture to courses in architectural imagination. See our list below:
Did you know Pngimg has a large number of free images available for download in .png. The best part? They are perfectly clipped and background-free! The collection is divided into categories that includes trees, people, objects, appliances, sports, clothing, and a host of other strange but perhaps useful animals/things. Just when you needed fresh trees in your renders, Pngimg comes to the rescue.
Adding contextual objects and scale figures can really give life and added value to project visualizations. See the .pngs here here and check out other tools that might be helpful, below.
"The Architect", directed by Jonathan Parker, is a film that moves between drama and comedy. It features a humorous (and some would say believable) satire of architects. In the film an egocentric, and grandiose architect named Miles Moss, played by actor James Frain, works with a couple who wants to build their dream home.
Tree and Design Action Group is a group that “shares the collective vision that the location of trees, and all the benefits they bring, can be secured for future generations through better collaboration in the planning, design, construction and management of our urban infrastructure and spaces.”
“Trees make places look and feel better, as well as playing a role in climate proofing our neighborhoods and supporting human health and environmental well-being, trees can also help to create conditions for economic success.” The Trees in the Townscape guide presents a modern approach to urban forestry, providing officials and professionals with the principles and references needed to realize the potential of vegetation in urban areas.
This is an approach that keeps pace with and responds to the challenges of our times. “Trees in the Townscape offers a comprehensive set of 12 action-oriented principles which can be adapted to the unique context of [any] own town or city.”
- Do you know who I'm presenting the conference with this afternoon?
- Of course I do. Paulo, one of the best architects in Brazil.
- For me, the best worldwide.
I heard by chance this conversation between Eduardo Souto de Moura, 2011 Pritzker Prize, and Joanna Helm, our Content Director from ArchDaily Brazil, in the gardens of Ibirapuera Park, as I waited to enter the auditorium for the activities of X Ibero-American Architecture and Urbanism Biennial (X BIAU). In that same afternoon, a small crowd occupied all the seats to watch and hear Souto de Moura and Paulo Mendes da Rocha sharing the stage.
History and geography lovers rejoice! You can now see and even download incredible maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection database. The website contains more than 71 thousand maps and images that span the 16th to the 21st century and illustrate everything from the seven continents, to the entire world and even celestial bodies.
The maps and images serve as useful historical and artistic references, offering rare cartographic detail and insight into the visual organization of territories. The exceptionally high-resolution images can be filtered by place, author, and date of creation.
French studio Lacaton & Vassal and Chilean studio UMWELT have been revealed as the recipients of the 2016 Lisbon Architecture Triennale's Lifetime Achievement Award and Début Award, respectively. An award ceremony will take place on the 15th November 2016 at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), followed by a conference convened by Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal.
The Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Début Award was created to celebrate the achievements, and promote the careers of, young architects and practices under the age of 35.
More than 140 applications were received, representing five continents and including 39 countries including Portugal, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico, as well as Iran, Jordan, Sudan, and Palestine. The jury have praised the very high level of the proposals across the board.
Just over a week ago in beautiful Rio de Janeiro the Olympic Games, the world's largest sporting event, came to an end. The Games, as well as the FIFA World Cup, have been a driving force for the city over the last six and a half years. In the wake of the frenzy caused by the much-anticipated event, Rio will have the Paralympics, which will take place between the 7th and 18th of September. But then what?
The word "legacy" being associated with major world events is nothing new. We see it used a lot when referring to the Olympics and the World Cup, and it’s come up time and time again in recent years when we look at the lasting effects these events have had on host cities like Barcelona (1992), Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012). Essentially, the issue revolves around some fundamental questions: Who are the major beneficiaries of the "legacy" of the Olympic Games? Were the huge public investments worth it? Will there be any improvement for the general population? Can the equipment that was built be adapted for everyday use?
Google recently launched a new platform "Rio: Beyond the Map," showing Rio's favelas using 360º videos. The tool also includes panoramas more than three thousand images and historical exhibitions of Rio de Janeiro. The project integrates Google Arts & Culture, which brings art collections from around the world.
JR is an anonymous artist who owns the biggest art gallery in the world. His exhibits are available on the streets, free of charge catching the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors. His work is thought provoking and mixes art and act.
JR is known worldwide for projects such as Portrait of a Generation (2006), Women Are Heroes (2008), and Face 2 Face (2007). The latter is a piece which through portraits of people made with a wide angle lens, printed in large scale and pasted on city walls was able to generate a reaction from the public.
Photographer and filmmaker Joe Capra, known for Scientifantastic, filmed and produced the video '10328x7760 - The 10K Demo', which is exactly what the title implies, a timelapse video resolution in 10K of the city of Rio de Janeiro. For those who are not familiar with the technical specifications, this resolution is about 10 times higher than the traditional Full HD (1920 x 1080px), which is the maximum resolution of most monitors sold today.
