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Today, Michel Rojkind is widely known as one of Mexico's most successful, and at times flamboyant, architects of the 21st century. But in spite of his success, his path to architecture was never straightforward; before founding Rojkind Arquitectos, he spent over a decade as a drummer in pop-rock band Aleks Syntek y La Gente Normal, an experience which he actually credits with sparking his interest in architecture. An article released this week by Surface Magazine offers an extensive profile of Rojkind, from his childhood, through his days as a drummer, to the difficulties he experienced on his architectural work--including the disastrous opening of Mexico City's Cineteca Nacional in 2014. Read some excerpts from Surface Magazine's article after the break.

As part of a generation of designers that have, in recent years, put Mexico on the map, Tatiana Bilbao is an architect that is increasingly part of the profession’s global consciousness. But, while some Mexican architects have made their mark with spectacular architecture following the international trend of “iconic” architecture, Bilbao opted instead for a more people-focused approach. In this interview, the latest in Vladimir Belogolovsky’s “City of Ideas” series, Bilbao explains how she got into this type of community-building architecture, her thoughts on architectural form, and her ambitions for the future.

Vladimir Belogolovsky: The more I talk to architects of your generation or my generation, the more it becomes apparent that architecture has absolutely no boundaries. In other words, architecture is not just about buildings. More and more, architecture is about building communities.

Tatiana Bilbao: Absolutely. For me, that is the most important part of architecture. Architecture is not about building a building; architecture is about building a community.

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How does contemporary religious architecture adapt to the needs of the modern world? Each year, Faith & Form magazine and the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA) award acknowledges the best in religious art and architecture. This year’s winners included 27 projects spanning in religious denomination, size, and location. Beyonds this, the award recognizes three common trends present in religious architecture today: re-adaptation of existing facilities, community-based sacred spaces, and simplicity in design. Read on to see all 27 winners.

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Of all construction materials, concrete is perhaps the one that allows the greatest diversity of finishes and textures. The mixture of its ingredients, the shape and texture of the formwork, and the pigmentation of the materials all offer the opportunity to achieve an interesting design. This week we've prepared a selection of 10 inspiring images of innovative concrete, taken by renowned photographers such as Gonzalo Viramonte, Song Yousub, and Ana Cecilia Garza Villarreal.

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Videos

The official inauguration for Foro Boca by Rojkind Arquitectos was held in Veracruz, México, gathering members of the local community as well as special guest Bjarke Ingels for a concert by renowned violinist Joshua Bell and the city's Philarmonic Orchestra.

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In the second film from this year's series of PLANE—SITE's Time-Space-Existence videos, Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao shares her philosophy of how architecture should be designed with the user’s experience in mind, rather than for standalone aesthetic qualities. In the video she discusses how architects should to some extent let go of their artistic intentions for a more practical approach to serve the needs of people, discussing how architecture has become detached from its key purpose over the last fifty years due to the influence of capitalism.

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As the son of famed Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, and now the leader of the firm which he joined under his father in 1989, Victor Legorreta is one of Mexico’s most visible architects. In this interview, the latest in Vladimir Belogolovsky’s “City of Ideas” series, Legorreta discusses the complexities of following in the footsteps of his father and how, in his view, good architecture is made.

Vladimir Belogolovsky: What kind of projects are you working on at this moment?

Victor Legorreta: We work on a variety of projects—about 60 percent are in Mexico and the rest are abroad. Mexico City is increasingly becoming a vertical city in its attempt to reverse its tendency of growing into an endless and dysfunctional sprawl. We are working on several mixed-use towers with retail, entertainment, restaurants, offices, and residential uses in a single building to enable people to find everything they need within easy reach, to lessen the pressure on traffic, which in the city is now among the worst in the world. We are also working with The Aga Khan Foundation on two projects—a university in Tanzania and a hospital and university in Uganda.

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ARCHMARATHON has announced the winners of their 2017 Awards Program as the event, which took place at Faena Forum in Miami from October 12-14, comes to a close. Now in its 4th edition, the Awards focus on architecture studios that have been actively practicing in USA, Canada, Central America and Latin America.

Winners were chosen by a jury consisting of Luca Molinari, Francisco Pardo, Sebastian Salvat, Alejandro Paredes Fontanals and ArchDaily’s David Basulto and David Assael in in 8 themed categories: MOVING, LIVING, DREAMING, WORKING, CHILLING OUT, CARING, VISIONING and RE-THINKING. This year’s overall winner was awarded to Rozana Montiel | Estudio de Arquitectura + Alin V. Wallach for their community space, Common Unit.

See all the winners below:

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