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
It has been reported that the birth rate in Japan is the lowest it has ever recorded, continuing a steadily decreasing trend over at least two decades. This is a confluence of many factors—decreasing marriages, increasing social security costs and delayed post-pandemic economic recovery are amongst them. Data from 2021 indicates that there are under […]
Read More… from Meeting Societal Needs: Kitakami Health & Childcare Support Complex
Awarded the Best Civic Building Architecture Design 2023 title at the 2023 Asia Architecture Design Awards (AADA) held in August 2023, Buon Ma Thuot University Hospital has contributed much to the local community in terms of health and medical care since it opened. COMMUNITY & SOCIAL IMPACTS The architects shared that the project has facilitated […]
For the past year in 2023, I have been a regular at City Sprouts, a community farm in the heart of Singapore. Every Thursday at 9am, I along with five other volunteers am guided by our dedicated volunteer coordinator on a three-hour journey through the farm. The tasks vary each week, depending on the farm’s […]
Due to the tropical climate in Indonesia, the weather in various major cities is generally warm year-round with equally abundant rain and sunlight. As a rule of thumb, architects can design open-air areas inside buildings and bring in natural daylight to achieve healthier spaces, but must protect their buildings and users against rainstorms or other […]
Read More… from FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX) | 1Q 2024
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
On the northern side of Delft’s city centre sits the Kalverbos park, a valuable green space with a rich history. In the past, the area formed part of the city’s defence infrastructure, and in the 19th century it became a cemetery. In this area, a water tower dating from 1896 stands as a protected part […]
Read More… from RADIUS: A reservoir transformed into a centre for contemporary art
What distinguishes architecture that is made for the private and public realms? One aspect could be the degree of privacy that is afforded to each user by way of thresholds. But to Riken Yamamoto, who has been bestowed the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the traditional notions of freedom and privacy should be deconstructed while rejecting […]
Children’s haven in the ‘old town’ This project renovates a warehouse into a nursery school located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. A nursing home for the elderly is located next to the building and the old factory of the Guangzhou Paper Mills is nearby, lending an ‘old town’ atmosphere to the place. The existing building […]
Read More… from A sunlit space for playing and learning: XCG Nursery
Maggie’s Centres were one of the early pioneers of salutogenic design. They were the brainchild of Maggie Jencks, who, like so many others before her, felt the psychological toll of the hospital environment during her battle with cancer. In her memoir, A View from the Front Line, she wrote, “Simply finding your way round is […]
