Located in the Sanlitun area, the Blufish Yingke is a coffee shop in the daytime and a bar in the evening. SODA Architects combines physical spatial morphologies with virtual dynamic images, allowing the atmosphere of the space to be changed over time.

dhk Architects has completed an apartment block conceived as a monolith with indentations and cut-outs. The building, which was developed by Rabie Property Group, features 85 luxury residential apartments and penthouses supplemented with small-scale commercial and retail space at ground level. Occupying a prominent corner position in growing suburb Century City in Cape Town, the landmark development has been designed to capitalize on enviable views of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean. The building connects to the environment in a myriad of strategic ways and sets a precedent for urban conscious residential developments in the city.

It has such a tranquil feel with the infinity edge pool and spa, palm trees and the sheer curtains swaying in the breeze making it feel like resort living every day. The client works for a travel company so wanted to create that holiday feeling in her own home. A strong projecting bluestone feature wall supports the cantilevering porte cochere at the entry of our new house.

Three locally known land formations can be seen from the site of this project: “Eagle Rock”, a mountain ridge, and the valley of vineyards below. The main challenge was to frame these three separate views while at the same time, preserving each existing oak tree on site. The three fingers extend precisely in between the existing trees, each oriented toward a land formation.

This private house of a total 1000m2 is located on a plot of land of 7000m2. The house was designed in order to give the sense of hovering over the water and sailing, inspired by the owners love for yachts.

The terrain is characterized by being a kind of plateau between two slopes that fall towards the Ranco Lake in southeastern orientation, having there its main view towards the landscape. The site is dominated by a large Laurel and a coihue, in addition to preexisting rocks. The north orientation is located towards the upper level of this plateau, from where the winds and rain come in winter, while the south is towards the access and the neighboring site, from where the prevailing winds come in summer.

In a new video released by Louisiana Channel, Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Aravena shares his advice to young architects. The acclaimed Chilean architect directs those just starting out to be as nerdy, free, and rebellious as possible. By absorbing and understanding as much as you can and then using that knowledge to approach a project with freedom from convention or imagined constraints, Aravena states that it’s a cycle that continually feeds itself. Listening, and particularly listening with an open mind and without preconceptions, is Aravena’s second major piece of advice. “We are not consultants, we are authors...That means to take the risk of doing proposals,” Aravena continues, describing the practice of architecture.

The busy day-to-day life in the big urban centers drives families to seek a haven for tranquility on the weekends. Luckily, the land chosen within a farm, in the interior of São Paulo, concentrated a series of positive aspects for the design of the project: views, large land, a good solar orientation, generous setbacks, high soil permeability, absence of currency walls. However, a requirement in the condominium regulation related to the houses’ roof, caught the residents by surprise.

This Article was originally published on Metropolis Magazine here.

As urban dwellers become more aware of the environmental impacts of food production and transportation, as well as the origin and security of what they consume, urban agriculture is bound to grow and attract public and political eyes. Bringing food production closer, in addition to being sustainable, is pedagogical. However, generally with small size and other restrictions, the concerns of growing food in cities differ somewhat from traditional farming.