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Cartagena: The Latest Architecture and News

7 Unbuilt Houses Shaped by Site, Climate, and Constraints

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Residential architecture continues to offer a productive ground for unbuilt exploration, revealing how architects respond to site, climate, and constraint at the scale of the domestic. In this Unbuilt edition, submitted by the ArchDaily community, the selected projects bring together a range of proposals that reconsider the house not as an isolated object, but as a spatial system shaped by its environment. These works position architecture as a framework that negotiates between ground, material, and inhabitation, often emerging directly from the conditions of the site.

Across varied geographies, from Kerala and Cartagena to Amman, Tromsø, and Zwolle, the projects demonstrate diverse responses to domestic architecture. They include compact urban dwellings organized through vertical layering, courtyard houses partially embedded within the ground, residences adapted to sloping terrains, and typological transformations shaped by regulatory constraints. Some projects explore linear spatial sequences rooted in traditional proportions, while others organize domestic life around atria or excavated voids that mediate light, ventilation, and privacy. Together, these proposals examine how the house can be structured through section, material, and environmental performance rather than formal expression.

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Hotel + Social Community Center / MEII ESTUDIO

Hotel + Social Community Center / MEII ESTUDIO - Exterior Photography, Community CenterHotel + Social Community Center / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Community CenterHotel + Social Community Center / MEII ESTUDIO - Exterior Photography, Community Center, BalconyHotel + Social Community Center / MEII ESTUDIO - Community CenterHotel + Social Community Center / MEII ESTUDIO - More Images+ 11

Cartagena, Spain
  • Architects: MEII ESTUDIO
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  730
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2025

Habitat Module / MEII ESTUDIO

Habitat Module / MEII ESTUDIO - Apartment InteriorsHabitat Module / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Apartment Interiors, Lighting, Table, ChairHabitat Module / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Apartment Interiors, ChairHabitat Module / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Apartment Interiors, Lighting, Table, ChairHabitat Module / MEII ESTUDIO - More Images+ 12

  • Architects: MEII ESTUDIO
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  200
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2025

Cruda House / MEII ESTUDIO

Cruda House / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Residential Interiors, ChairCruda House / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Residential Interiors, Kitchen, CountertopCruda House / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Residential Interiors, Lighting, ChairCruda House / MEII ESTUDIO - Interior Photography, Residential Interiors, Kitchen, Countertop, SinkCruda House / MEII ESTUDIO - More Images+ 10

  • Architects: MEII ESTUDIO
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  70
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2025
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  FLOS

Revitalizing Territories in Colombia: Comprehensive Acupunctures for Urban and Social Transformation

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What urban and social transformations do our cities require today? How can urban planning and design contribute to improving the experience of their inhabitants in urban spaces? As Andreea Cutieru explains, urban acupuncture refers to the improvement of social and urban issues through precise interventions capable of revitalizing specific areas of cities and consolidating urban planning strategies. The +VIDA program represents a comprehensive strategy for urban and social transformation in territories, strategically focused on vulnerable populations in the Colombian Caribbean. It encourages the collective construction of cities through the exchange of knowledge, intelligence, and expertise, with the aim of transforming the habitat in an integrated manner.

Revitalizing Territories in Colombia: Comprehensive Acupunctures for Urban and Social Transformation - Image 1 of 4Revitalizing Territories in Colombia: Comprehensive Acupunctures for Urban and Social Transformation - Image 2 of 4Revitalizing Territories in Colombia: Comprehensive Acupunctures for Urban and Social Transformation - Image 3 of 4Revitalizing Territories in Colombia: Comprehensive Acupunctures for Urban and Social Transformation - Image 4 of 4Revitalizing Territories in Colombia: Comprehensive Acupunctures for Urban and Social Transformation - More Images+ 38

The Standardized Planning of Latin American Cities: Tracing the Blueprint of the Laws of the Indies

A look at most of the cities within Latin America reveals striking commonalities across countries, from Mexico down to Argentina: most cities have a well-defined area known as "El Centro" (The Center), anchored by a main plaza (Plaza Mayor), flanked by a church on one side and key buildings like the city hall on another. This is no coincidence, as it can be traced back to an urban planning system established during the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries. It gave standardized guidelines for city design across its viceroyalties. Unlike French and English colonies, Spanish settlements adhered to regulations that contributed to the emergence of a shared urban identity, with cities displaying similar spatial logic and architectural cohesion despite differing scales and contexts.

The Standardized Planning of Latin American Cities: Tracing the Blueprint of the Laws of the Indies - Image 1 of 4The Standardized Planning of Latin American Cities: Tracing the Blueprint of the Laws of the Indies - Image 2 of 4The Standardized Planning of Latin American Cities: Tracing the Blueprint of the Laws of the Indies - Image 3 of 4The Standardized Planning of Latin American Cities: Tracing the Blueprint of the Laws of the Indies - Image 4 of 4The Standardized Planning of Latin American Cities: Tracing the Blueprint of the Laws of the Indies - More Images+ 9

Yatch Port Changing Rooms / Estudio Huma

Yatch Port Changing Rooms / Estudio Huma - Exterior Photography, Small Scale, FacadeYatch Port Changing Rooms / Estudio Huma - Interior Photography, Small Scale, FacadeYatch Port Changing Rooms / Estudio Huma - Exterior Photography, Small Scale, FacadeYatch Port Changing Rooms / Estudio Huma - Interior Photography, Small Scale, Door, Facade, Table, ChairYatch Port Changing Rooms / Estudio Huma - More Images+ 15

  • Architects: Estudio Huma
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  151
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2020

University Hospital Santa Lucía / CASA sólo arquitectos

University Hospital Santa Lucía / CASA sólo arquitectos - Hospital
Nuevo Hospital Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  114369
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2003
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Alucoil