When it comes to the impact of architecture on health, it is clear that badly designed spaces—such as structures prone to weather damage; spaces with stagnant air circulation; poorly lit corners; or hot and stuffy rooms—have a negative impact on well-being. It has long been observed that building-related illnesses (BRIs), most often occurring in workplaces […]
Read More… from Healthy Homes: The Importance of ‘Blank Spaces’
A HOUSE THAT ‘FLOATS’ ABOVE FLOODING In the suburban setting of Thu Duc in Ho Chi Minh City, this curiously skeletal house was tailor-made for a young Vietnamese couple. The architect had to address a looming threat: flooding from the nearby river during the rainy season. Other buildings in the neighbourhood have had their ground […]
SHARING A ‘BLANK SPACE’ While the context of a private residence could be highly customised to the inhabitants’ lifestyle and needs, communal housing could not be as specific—it needs to strike a balance between having standardised services and functions while also offering variety for a diverse user base. This was what the architects aimed to […]
The residential developments of Queens Hill Estate (comprising seven public rental housing blocks) and the adjacent Shan Lai Court (comprising six subsidised sale flats blocks) are situated in the rural area of Hong Kong, at Queen’s Hill, Fanling in the New Territories. The site used to be part of an abandoned military camp before the […]
Read More… from Public Housing Developments at Queen’s Hill, Fanling
This house is located in the rural area of Cam My District in Vietnam, belonging to a farmer who is known for his expertise in crop cultivation. The residence was envisioned to be a tranquil retreat for the farmer and his family after spending time in the fields and to serve as a serene sanctuary […]
Read More… from A countryside sanctuary for a farmer: The Second by CTA
REUSING OLD INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PRESENT CHALLENGES Ryslinge is a small town with a population of less than 2,000 people in Central Denmark. It is governed by the Faaborg Midtfyn municipality, which hired Copenhagen-based architecture firm Arcgency to convert an old factory into affordable housing. Camilla Lemb Nielsen, an architect who works with Arcgency, joined in […]
Read More… from Transformation of a former factory into affordable quality housing by Arcgency
It is not often that one comes across a project that is developed with the older population’s well-being in mind, let alone one that does so with deep consideration of the physical, ecological and hydrological conditions of the site, making them central to the whole architectural and landscape scheme. The Chao Phraya, deemed the most […]
Read More… from Jin Wellbeing County by Shma Company Limited & Openbox Architects
“Water doesn’t just permeate through the lives of the Dutch people; it runs through the land itself: a fifth of the total surface area of the country consists of water. The Dutch relationship with water is one of balance, a matter of life and death.”2 Exploded axonometric diagram showing the different layers of construction and […]
The architect of Floating Bamboo (FB) House revealed that he started researching on his own in 2015, and seven years later, he was able to realise two prototypes with the cooperation of two foundation bodies. One is the floating house model (FB House 2), while the other (FB House) seeks to demonstrate the adaptability of […]
Over the years of hosting FuturArc Prize (an international design competition that focuses on Green architectural interventions in Asia), it has often been observed that a substantial number of ideas proposed—and increasingly so—were solutions for waterside communities or water-related concerns, regardless of what the cycle’s theme is about in terms of envisioning a sustainable future. […]
In the second half of 2023—reeling from the compound hydrometeorological phenomena of the El Nino climatic pattern, a positive (dry) Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) phase, the summer equinox and rising global temperatures—many areas in and around the Greater Jakarta region experienced prolonged drought.1 Some experts have forecasted that the dry season in the southern hemisphere […]
Read More… from District-Level Water Resilience: Bintaro Jaya West District Master Plan
If one ever has a dog as companion, one would likely understand the deep bond between dogs and humans. In fact, this is true for most of us who have had the opportunity to share our lives with any animal. The space in which such a relationship develops over time then becomes a primary factor […]
