Articles by Katherine Allen

Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena and founder of ELEMENTAL has been named the 2018 laureate of Royal Institute of British Architect’s (RIBA) Charles Jencks Award. The prize is given in recognition of an individual’s exceptional contributions to the field of architecture, both in built and theoretical works. Aravena will receive the prize and give a lecture at RIBA’s London headquarters on 15 October.

Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena and founder of ELEMENTAL has been named the 2018 laureate of Royal Institute of British Architect’s (RIBA) Charles Jencks Award. The prize is given in recognition of an individual’s exceptional contributions to the field of architecture, both in built and theoretical works. Aravena will receive the prize and give a lecture at RIBA’s London headquarters on 15 October.

Zaha Hadid Architects have released images of their latest project, a sculptural billboard named for its location in Kensington, London. The project, a collaboration between the late Zaha Hadid and partner Patrik Schumacher, marks the firm’s first direct foray into advertising.

Safdie Architects have released their design for ‘Quorner’, a new residential tower to be built in Quito, Ecuador. The 24-storey structure, a collaboration with Ecuadorean construction firm Uribe & Schwarzkopf, is to be one of Quito’s largest buildings and Safdie’s first in Ecuador.

It is in moments of disaster – natural, military, or otherwise – that the value of our built environment as a form of cultural identity comes most noticeably and tragically to light. The fire that ripped through Brazil’s Museo Nacional on Monday night destroyed not just invaluable historic artefacts, but a building that stood as a symbol for both a country and a people. The erasure of the urban landscape is the erasure of identity, culture, and people.

It is in moments of disaster – natural, military, or otherwise – that the value of our built environment as a form of cultural identity comes most noticeably and tragically to light. The fire that ripped through Brazil’s Museo Nacional on Monday night destroyed not just invaluable historic artefacts, but a building that stood as a symbol for both a country and a people. The erasure of the urban landscape is the erasure of identity, culture, and people.

Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architect and founder of the Rotterdam-based firm OMA, has been announced as the closing keynote speaker at the World Architecture Festival. The event will take place in Amsterdam at the RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre on from 28-30 November.

Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne and architect Dominique Perrault have jointly announced a new MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) exploring the subterranean architecture of cities. The course, entitled “Groundscape Architecture Design Lab, rethinking cities underground” is available on open course hub edx and is free to registered users. Classes will begin on the 15 October.

R. Buckminster Fuller remains, 35 years after his passing, one of architecture’s preeminent minds. His proposals in construction, housing, mapping, and even transportation have a continued influence in the fields of architecture and engineering today, despite many of them having been designed nearly a century ago.

R. Buckminster Fuller remains, 35 years after his passing, one of architecture’s preeminent minds. His proposals in construction, housing, mapping, and even transportation have a continued influence in the fields of architecture and engineering today, despite many of them having been designed nearly a century ago.