The Espacios de Paz (Spaces for Peace) project in Venezuela is turning “zones of danger” into “zones of peace” through participatory design in violent areas of the country. Led by Venezuelan firm PICO Estudio, Espacios de Paz was a six-week long workshop that involved five groups of architects from both…
Instead of using the common block construction, bottle schools use the non-biodegradable trash to construct and insulate the walls. Plastic bottles (found in excess) are filled with trash that would otherwise be scattered around the community. The structure of a bottle school is not the bottles. Carpenters first frame the…
German-born photographer Michael Wolf documents the extreme densities of Hong Kong. His series ‘Architecture of Density’ rarely contain images of people, instead letting the extreme scale of the buildings remain as the focus. The images are stunning, though I’m not quite sure how to react. It’s overwhelming to view the…
Shanty towns are nothing new in large cities with little (enforced) regulation, but this is something you have to see to believe: everything from small shacks to multi-story structures, individual buildings to entire villages, all spread out in organic mazes over the rooftops of apartment structures and skyscrapers throughout Hong…
Abstract designs and architectural theory are well and good, but when the stuff hits the fan (or tsunami hits the land, as it were) these notions are put to the test in a very rapid and real way. The result shows who is ready to roll out workable housing solutions…
Social housing – and the architecture and design behind it – is a sensitive and important topic for those both inside and out of this industry. The limited resources mean that architects are faced with hefty monetary and logistical constraints and challenges when it comes to designing social housing for…