In many cultures, fire is a sacred element used in rituals of rebirth and renewal. It carries a dual symbolism, being both a creator and a destroyer—capable of illuminating paths or consuming everything in its wake. In Greek mythology, for example, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, marking it as a symbol of progress, knowledge, and creative power. However, fire also evokes destruction, as seen in biblical tales like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, where it was used as divine punishment. This duality was also evident in the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, which devastated its historic structure. The disaster sparked a wave of solidarity and led to unprecedented technological advancements, with restoration efforts utilizing digital tools such as laser scanning and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to recreate intricate details and preserve architectural heritage.
From the Colosseum's vast arches to the Pantheon's perfect dome, Roman architecture fused engineering precision with expressive form. These buildings reshaped the urban life of antiquity but also left traces that continue to guide contemporary design. Yet much of the knowledge behind their construction has been lost or obscured over time, like the geometry, the proportions, and methods. Today, new technologies are helping to recover that hidden layer of architectural intelligence, offering fresh perspectives on how Romans built with such ingenuity.
The heritage of Mexico City is extremely rich and diverse due to a long history that overlays like layers above the urban fabric since pre-Hispanic times. Currently, it is one of the largest cities in the world, and its heritage is reflected in its architecture, museums, historical sites, cultural traditions, protected sites, gastronomy, and much more. This chronology has been evidenced through various historical records. However, contemporary recording is essential in moments where we are writing history immediately with different digital tools.
When transparent facade elements deliberately evolve from the course of the sun, we can explore a fascinating slow movement in stark contrast to the hectic urban street life on the ground. Especially the French designer Pierre Brault has responded to the accelerated rhythm of our society with facade installations that combine the principle of the sundial with colorful pop design. His three-dimensional works made of recycled colored plexiglass mesmerize through simple but dramatic movements of colored shadows. In the interview, Brault explains his inspiration, the experimental approach and his interest in working responsibly with material.
If you haven't gotten a chance to visit Brasília, Joana França's photographic projects offer a comprehensive interpretation of the capital of South America's most populous country. França has dedicated a significant part of her career as an architecture photographer to the pursuit of amassing an impressive archive of images of the city planned by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer.
We recently published an exceptional selection França's aerial photographs of Brasília divided by scale - residential, monumental, gregarious and bucolic. These overhead views solidify what, in theory, is already evident: the city lacks human scale, or the human scale of Brasília is just vast and (perhaps) not very human at all.
At different periods in history, the human scale and the approach of the building to the sensitive dimension correlated to the body were values pursued by the architects and an object of reflection for the theoretical production of the area. Although it is a virtue that a space can be perceived in a direct relation between the person and the building, there are cases, and more than that, some project scales, that can only be realized from the furthest perspective.
Capturing aerial photographs allows raising awareness of a project feature usually complex to capture using traditional methods. Based on the technological opportunities offered by small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly called drones, architecture photographers have begun to explore new ways of capturing a project in order to expose design decisions such as implantation, dialogue with the environment, or the relationship with nearby buildings.
Las Vegas Expansion, 1989/2019. Source Imagery courtesy of The European Space Agency (ESA) Paris, France
Human impacts on Earth are a common issue nowadays, and many people say that there is no turning back. Climate crisis, greenhouse gases, exploitation of natural resources, production of solid waste and atmospheric pollution are some of the most pressing issues that the global community must address if we want to ensure a sound future for the next generations.
These topics can be viewed in full-color and high-definition in the new book Overview Timelapse: How We Change the Earth, by Benjamin Grant and Timothy Dougherty, which compiles 250 satellite and drone photographs of places on Earth that are in constant transformation.
Seeing from above – the aerial vantage point – is the illusion of knowledge. This was the idea of Frenchman Michel de Certeau, a historian who was interested in the everyday practices that occur on the ground, on the streetscape. In contrast to Certeau's view, satellite images can be a powerful tool to understand, predict, and strive for a better future for humankind. This is the mission of Benjamin Grant, founder of Overview, a platform that explores human activity on Earth through aerial imagery.
Interested in fostering "an experience of awe" through elevated vantage points of our world, Overview offers snapshots featuring traces of human activity on the surface of the planet. Photos of cities and other cultural artifacts join pictures of mesmerizing topography and natural beauty in an impressive archive of drone and satellite images. Awe abounds as we face not only some of the most impressive human endeavors seen from the sky, but also as we are confronted with the rather gruesome side-effects of our very existence on Earth.
Beijing Daxing International Airport / Zaha Hadid Architects. Image by @seven7panda
In architecture and urbanism, both proximity and distance from a certain object of study, whether on a building scale or urban scale, are frequent strategies that help us better visualize details and also have a broader overall perception, both essential for understanding the object in question. Changing the point of view allows different perceptions of the same place. By moving from the ground level, or from the eye-level, which we are accustomed to in everyday life, to the aerial point of view, we can establish connections similar to those achieved through site plans, location plans, and urban plans.
Munich-based photographer Tom Hegen has published a set of aerial images capturing the beauty of sea salt production seen from above. Theimages, shot from a small airplane in Western Australia, demonstrate the impact of human intervention on natural environments, and depict how even seemingly rural landscapes are alive with the hyper-globalized demands of humankind.
This video tutorial will teach you how to create detailed, 3-D environments from images taken by drones, using Photogrammetry to better contextualize our architectural projects.
The video covers the entire process, from flying the drone to using the RealityCapture software, including identifying plants and trees through an application for mobile phones and lastly viewing the architecture in 3D using Lumion.
https://www.archdaily.com/916230/how-to-create-3d-environments-from-images-taken-with-droneArchDaily Team
Exploring the streets of foreign cities is profoundly engaging. Whether it's meeting new cultures, observing new architectures, or trying new food, travelers usually go for the typical sightseeing activities. However, some have quite a unique take on tourism and choose to think outside the box - or in this case, above it.
Hungarian photographer Márton Mogyorósy chose to explore the Catalonian capital from above, capturing aerial shots of the city. Drone photography has helped us see cities from a unique perspective, and with Barcelona’s dynamic urban fabric, the coastal city’s buildings and beaches have turned into vibrant geometric artwork.
ODA New York’s design for Bushwick II, a high-end residential complex on the former site of Brooklyn’s Rheingold Brewery, is coming to life in the fast-growing neighborhood of Bushwick, New York. Developed by All Year Management, 123 Melrose is already being clad. Meanwhile, Rabksy Group’s development, 10 Montieth, recently topped out.
Together, the projects will cover three full city blocks, totaling 1.35 million gross square feet. Bushwick II will be the largest housing increase this neighborhood of Brooklyn has ever seen.
Diverse, green and dynamic, in this video Singapore is shown through a new kind of lens, one that exists above the city, pans down it, rolls over it and offers a view of its architecture from an alternative angle. André Eckhardt's drone hyperlapse video takes us onto the street, up in the air, and down by the sea as the weather shifts and changes, and as people go about their day to day lives. Using clever speed adjustments, Eckhardt switches between the fast-paced movements of the city up-close and moments of pause as he takes us up over it. Picking out architectural works including the iconic Bayside projects of Moshe Safdie, PARKROYAL on Pickering and the Oasia Hotel by WOHA, the Gardens by the Bay, and the Helix Bridge, Eckhardt brings Singapore's colorful skyline to life.
The immense scales and geometric intricacies of Hong Kong have long held the fascination of the public consciousness, and has been further reinforced in recent years by mind-bending photography series such as Michael Wolf’s “Architecture of Density.”
In this new film from architect Mariana Bisti, this phenomenon is explored for the first time through drone videography. Not limited to vantage points accessible to humans, the video zooms and pans deliberately over, across and into the city’s enormous residential blocks, the cinematography bringing to mind that of Charles and Ray Eames’ seminal production, “Powers of Ten.” Special care to detail has been taken to align each composition to the Cartesian plane, resulting in mesmerizing experience that never breaks your attention.
https://www.archdaily.com/875852/this-drone-video-captures-the-mesmerizing-geometries-of-the-worlds-most-vertical-cityAD Editorial Team
In this video, drone Videographer Azeez Bakare takes us through BIG's recently-completed Grove at Grand Bay, a residential complex in South Miami featuring two twisting 20-story towers and a lush tropical landscape terrace designed by landscape architect Raymond Jungles.
Commissioned for the project by BIG, the video shows how the building transforms throughout the day: standing out as stark white sculptures during the day before turning an orange glow as the glass balconies reflect back the setting sun, and finally, lit up at night against the Miami skyline.
In this wide-ranging video, drone videographer Ian Wood captures the diversity of the built environment in Los Angeles, featuring architectural gems on equal footing with freeways and freight trains. The buildings and locations featured in the video span over a century of architectural history in LA, and cover the region’s vast geography, including such icons as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House, Cesar Pelli’s Pacific Design Center, Eric Owen Moss’ Stealth building, and Morphosis’ recently completed Emerson College Los Angeles.
But what truly sets this video apart is how it highlights the many murals spread throughout the city. Often utilizing otherwise blank facades facing parking lots and alleys, these murals are nonetheless an integral part of LA’s urban fabric, as illustrated in this video. Sadly though, as Wood notes on the video description, there were many more murals that vanished before he was able to get them on video.
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