Santiago Cirugeda: The Latest Architecture and News

In the past 10 years, the Curry Stone Design Prize has grown to become one of the world’s preeminent awards honoring socially impactful design professionals and the influence of design as a force for improving lives and strengthening communities.

This year, in honor of the prize’s 10th anniversary, the Curry Stone Foundation will acknowledge the largest group of influential practices yet, recognizing 100 firms over the next twelve months as members of the “Social Design Circle.” Each firm will be profiled on the award website, as well as participate in the foundation’s new podcast, Social Design Insights, beginning on January 5th, 2017.

The International Summer School "The City and the Water. Architecture, arts and self-construction experiences: the regeneration of the Two Lakes artisan area in Pietrasanta" is going to start. The organizers of the Summer School are the University of Pisa, in particular the Master Degree Course in Architectural Engineering (DESTeC, School of Engineering), the CAV Visual Arts Center and the Municipality of Pietrasanta, with the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.

Curated by the Charles Correa Foundation, the Z Axis is an annual conference bringing together pioneers, thought leaders, influencers, professionals, and students in the fields of architecture and urban design to create an intellectual community focused on issues related to the context of India and the developing world. Fifteen speakers will gather from across the globe to explore the theme of Great City…Terrible Place, including Charles Correa, David Adjaye, Alfredo Brillembourg of Urban Think Tank, Spain's "guerrilla architect" Santiago Cirugeda, Simone Sfriso of Studio TAM Associati and more.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced 13 Honorary Fellowships and 11 International Fellowships which it will award at an event on February 3rd, along with the recently announced RIBA Royal Gold Medal.

Among others, the Honorary Fellowships include Director of Architecture at the British Design Council Vicky Richardson and academic Dalibor Vesely; the International Fellowships include Pritzker Prize Winners Thom Mayne and Wang Shu and his Partner Lu Wenyu. The Honorary and International Fellowships entitle winners to use the initials 'Hon FRIBA' and 'Int FRIBA,' respectively after their names.

Read on after the break for the full Fellowship lists

Last night the first episode of Al Jazeera’s new series “Rebel Architecture” was launched, featuring Spanish architect Santiago Cirugeda. Based in Seville, Cirugeda reclaims abandoned urban spaces for the public, despite the fact that self-building is illegal in Spain. His buildings are often fast-build, mobile structures made from recycled materials, but the key is that they all serve a social function. In this 25-minute episode, Al Jazeera looks at his latest project: converting an abandoned cement factory into a vibrant cultural center. Will Cirugeda successfully complete his biggest challenge yet?

Watch the full episode above and read on after the break for a full episode synopsis and to learn more about the series and upcoming episodes...