Concrete Apartments: The Latest Architecture and News

A cornerstone of architectural innovation for centuries, concrete has transformed the structural capabilities of buildings worldwide. As one of the more versatile and durable building materials, concrete has aided architects and engineers in pushing the traditional boundaries of design. Today, it is the most widely used construction material on the planet. According to the Guardian, concrete is also a “lifestyle concept,” using its “gritty, urban” aesthetic to shape the imagination of all our architectures at every scale.

When cities grow, fuelled by an expanding population, housing becomes an essential component of the urban character of a metropolis. Across the world, housing experiments have been propagated by governments and states, with mixed results, and undoubtedly mixed opinions. The Soviet-era housing estates of Central and Eastern Europe are particularly interesting in that regard. These mass housing projects have been dismissed as eyesores and viewed as unimaginative monolithic structures. The legacy of these developments, however, is a lot more complicated than that.

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Concrete is not purely a structural element. As we demonstrated in an article about kitchen projects using concrete countertops, the material is gaining significant traction in the world of residential furnishings and fixtures. To further exemplify this, we have curated a list of several projects that use concrete benches to create beautiful moments inside and outside the home.

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Concrete is one of the top building materials in the world and it is almost impossible not to associate it with architectural structures. However, the so-called brutalist style is becoming more and more popular in interior design, and concrete is replacing the traditional materials used in furniture and countertops, such as wood and stone.

Due to its polished finish and seamless surface, this waterproof and resistant material is very easy to clean, preventing mold from growing in expansion joints, and requiring little maintenance. A few months ago we published an article featuring a collection of projects for kitchen countertops and indoor/outdoor benches made of concrete. Now, we have gathered a series of interior design projects with bathrooms featuring concrete countertops, from small washrooms to roomy bathrooms. Check out below:

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With a vast built heritage, Lisbon's contemporary architectural production is rich in rehabilitation projects. Lacking space for new buildings - unless one is willing to pay for the land's high market price - Lisbon's current architecture prescinds tabula rasa and faces the challenge of working with what already exists - often limiting itself to design only interior spaces. 

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