Designers: The Latest Architecture and News

Water has always occupied a unique position in architecture: elemental yet elusive, functional yet symbolic. It is both a material and a medium that shapes cities, structures rituals, and influences how space is perceived. Across cultures, water is understood not only as a source of life but as a carrier of meaning, associated with purification, renewal, and continuity. Its presence in the built environment often extends beyond utility, becoming a device through which architecture engages the senses and constructs atmosphere.

The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of its 44th cycle of the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. Each year, the competition centers around a theme developed by a committee of past winners. This year's theme, Plot, invited participants to explore the role of plot in architecture, whether understood as land, drawing, or scheme, and consider how these frameworks shape design narratives and processes. Established in 1981, the annual competition recognizes early-career architects and designers in North America.

This year's programming follows a hybrid model. A virtual lecture series will launch on June 11 and feature presentations by the winners alongside moderated discussions. Installations by the winners will be presented either onsite or in digital formats and showcased in an online exhibition.

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The Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers is an annual portfolio competition for early-career practitioners in North America. Established in 1981, the competition is entered around a yearly theme. This year, the 2024 Young Architects + Designers Committee proposed the theme “Dirty,” prompting designers to “look beyond their presentations of professionalism, respectability, and expertise” and reject the sanitized ways of working.

The original work of the six winners of the 2024 League Prize for Young Architects + Designers is now on view in an online exhibition. The installations created for this occasion showcase the wide variety of responses and interpretations of the overarching theme. The projects presented online and in some instances also locally on-site, challenge traditional architectural practices and offer an immersive introduction to the works of the winners. In addition to the installations, a diverse program of lectures has been scheduled to develop the theme further.

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Since its launch in 2000, the Serpentine Pavilion has been providing renowned and emerging architects with a platform for design experimentation, becoming an important display of contemporary architecture. Each year, the commissioned architects and designers envision a temporary structure that speaks not only to their roots as creators, but also brings into focus what they consider to be important themes in the architectural world, from the need to redefine spaces for contemplation or conviviality, to explorations into the potential of natural materials or vernacular building techniques. On the day of the public opening of the 2024 Serpentine Pavilion, the "Archipelagic Void" designed by Korean architect Minsuk Cho and his firm Mass Studies, we look back at the last eight editions of the famous annual structure.

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Architecture and Design Festival Concéntrico celebrates its 10th anniversary from 25 April to 1 May 2024 with an edition that aims to reflect on the impact of the annual festival upon the city of Logroño, Spain, as well as to consider how the city continues to evolve. Through installations, exhibitions, lectures, performances, workshops, and activities, Concéntrico proposes a reflection of the urban environment, welcoming architects and designers to intervene and challenge it while opening conversations about pressing matters.

While the official theme of the festival focused on the future of cities, the invited architects and designers took this suggestion further. Several overarching themes and subjects emerged during this year’s event, from the incorporation of concepts of time, an unusual element to be tacked through temporary installations, to the desire to engage more honestly with a wider public, to listen to their needs and create platforms where diverse perspectives can take center stage.

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Since their introduction to the wider public, artificial intelligence technologies seem prone to change the working landscape for professionals across all fields, and architecture and urban planning are no different. While many fear their negative impact, AI technologies can also be viewed as a different set of tools in the arsenal of architects and designers. As revolutionary as they are, there is a plethora of applications and platforms being developed not to replace, but to aid, offload repetitive tasks, and help visualize ideas or large data sets, all to provide a basis for the architect's decision-making process.

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From April 25th to May 1st, 2024, in the Spanish city of Logroño, Concéntrico prepares for its 10^th anniversary edition. Envisioned as a contemplation of changing urban environments and an opportunity to share insights about these processes, this year’s International Festival of Architecture and Design incorporates new formats to engage a wider audience and explore time as a catalyst for change in urban and social design. The festival expands its program, featuring 21 installations by designers of 20 different nationalities, in addition to several other initiatives and explorations.

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The field of architecture and design is a dynamic one, often managing large-scale investments and involving a wide array of professionals. It stands to reason that, in this type of environment, success is not simply defined by just the quality of the completed structures, but also by the internal ability of architecture firms to effectively manage their business operations. For architects and designers, measuring performance goes beyond financial metrics; it encompasses a diverse range of factors that reflect the firm's efficiency, creativity, and impact within the industry.

Several key metrics can be measured, from financial goals to client relationship management, innovation, influence, and professional development, all helping architects and designers gauge their performance from different perspectives. As the famous saying goes, “What gets measured gets managed.” To help in this effort, Monograph's 2024 Architecture Business Benchmarks Report offers a thorough examination of five key metrics.

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Happening between November 7 and 12, Dubai Design Week 2023 brought together over 500 designers, architects, and creative practitioners to explore the relationship between traditional practices and emerging technologies in an effort to create more environmental sustainability and design-led social impact solutions. As one of the most important cultural events in the Middle East, the festival brings forward a wide offering of installations, artworks, and immersive experiences, all exploring important topics of eco-friendly design.

This year’s interventions and installations drew inspiration from the region’s natural ecosystems as well as local traditions and craftsmanship while merging these practices with innovative technologies, biomaterial explorations, and reimagined ways of practicing. Across the interventions, a recurring motif emerges, that of celebrating Middle Eastern heritage and engaging productively with vernacular practices.

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Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina, Partners at FAME Architecture & Design discuss the livability of designer homes. The two cover designing for function and aesthetics, material resilience, lifestyle changes, space efficiency, designing based on reference images, and the benefits of adapting to design-forward living environments.

The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of its 42^nd cycle of the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. The theme for this edition of the competition was “Uncomfortable,” asking young designers to contemplate their position while wrestling with many uncomfortable responsibilities, like challenging traditional paradigms, dismantling architectural legacies, grappling with the costs of comfort, or responding to rising ecological concerns.

Established in 1981, the competition is open to young architects and designers in an effort to recognize the visionary work of young practitioners. This year’s theme was developed by the 2023 Young Architects + Designers Committee, which included recent League Prize winners Jose Amozurrutia, Germane Barnes, and Jennifer Bonner. The jury included the committee in addition to Barbara Bestor, Wonne Ickx, Kyle Miller, and Tya Winn.

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The second edition of EDIT Napoli, dedicated to independent designers, ran from 16 to 18 October 2020, in Naples, Italy. The first onsite fair of the country during this pandemic era was created by curators Domitilla Dardi, design curator of the MAXXI museum in Rome, Architecture sector, and Emilia Petruccelli, buyer and entrepreneur, in collaboration with the Assessorato alla Cultura e al Turismo del Comune di Napoli.

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