#grc-facades

#grc-facades

Offsite construction has delivered measurable environmental gains, with a peer-reviewed study showing an average reduction of 78.8% in construction waste compared to conventional methods. Under controlled factory conditions, reductions can reach up to 90%, highlighting significant improvements in sustainability.

In a distinctive part of Athens' urban fabric, in the Patisia neighborhood, a corner two-story residential building from 1951 has been given a new identity.

The construction industry today faces an unavoidable paradox: the urgent need for sustainable solutions for the future of cities collides with the exhaustion of the term 'sustainability' itself, often reduced to a hollow commercial label.

The project reimagines the structure through circular thinking, ecological strategies, and new construction technologies, embracing reuse as a model for sustainable urban development.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy represents a modular technology that can be manufactured in large-scale facilities, generating economies of scale, while also being adaptable to small-scale applications. From residential rooftop systems to large-scale power generation installations, photovoltaic solar energy has established itself as a cost-effective option for electricity production in many countries around the world.

Conservation area regulations aren't on the same level as those for Listed Buildings; however, they are still much stricter than in the average home. The most common legal consideration to make is understanding Article 4 Directions. Article 4 can essentially strip away your 'Permitted Development' rights, meaning you need full blown planning permission, even for minor changes, like front doors.

Heritage is usually catalogued by what can be drawn, not by what changed temperature. In heat, buildings are learned first through skin, only later through sight. Generations learn, through their bodies, what works. Shade reduces glare and radiant heat. Air movement shifts perception by several degrees. Thick walls slow temperature swings.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo have made a prototype of botanical cement made of desert sand and plant-based additives in hopes that it can be used to build houses and roads. Once mixed, the team adds tiny pieces of wood together and presses them all with heat to produce the cement.

My family had Slide Show Night when I was growing up. Not every Saturday, but a whole bunch of Saturdays. Either my sister or I would be in charge of setting up the projector, the screen, and loading the carousel. During the show, there'd be a few landscapes or skylines taken during vacations, but almost all the shots were up close. Like most dads, mine wasn't a professional photographer, but he did a good job of capturing memory triggers: faces, gestures, and decorations.

Rather than representing a simple return to the past, this renewed interest reflects a broader reconsideration of how architecture engages with materials, local resources, and environmental conditions.

One of the earliest large-scale examples of composite materials can be found in the Great Wall of China, where stone, clay bricks, and organic fibers such as reeds and willow branches were blended to create a resilient and lasting structure. These early techniques reveal a timeless intuition: distinct materials, when combined thoughtfully, produce properties unattainable by any single element.

For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it's time we took it seriously as a building material, too. This week the Institution of Structural Engineers called for architects to be bamboo-ready as they published a manual for designing permanent buildings made of the material, in an effort to encourage low-carbon construction and position bamboo as a proper alternative to steel and concrete.

From the large industrial roofs and galleries of the 19th century to the contemporary atriums of museums and public buildings, glass has been a recurring material in shaping large and monumental interior spaces. More than a technological or engineering solution, these horizontal glazed planes introduce a distinct luminous quality: light that comes from above. Unlike lateral daylight entering through façades, zenithal light is more evenly distributed, reduces harsh shadows, and lends spaces a sense of continuity and openness that is difficult to achieve otherwise.

tqtq studio + 46 More SpecsLess Specs tqtq studio Text description provided by the architects. UNI-CENTER project renovates Hanyang University's existing Student Union, located along the main pedestrian axis connecting the subway station, the main building, and the welfare center, into a welfare-centered, multi-functional community hub for students. The design goes beyond simple functional enhancementit restores the building's sense of place and redefines it as a central node within the campus circulation network.

Life doesn't pause for grief or fear. You might be going through something devastating but you're still packing lunches, still driving your kids to baseball practice, still showing up to work. One minute I find myself prepping for a whole home presentation and the next minute I'm checking the news, hoping and praying that no one has been killed on the streets today.

The site lies within the Petite Arche joint development zone, where design considerations include the town entrance, contextual integration, and alignment with natural elements. The building's form signals its position in an urbanized area and maintains visual dialogue with the surrounding landscape, including the protected Saint-Germain-En-Laye forest. A vegetated threshold along the northern edge reinforces landscape continuity, while the southern boundary engages with the urban character of the area.

A Gothic cathedral can take centuries to complete. A world exposition pavilion may stand for six months. A ritual structure in Kolkata rises and vanishes within five days. Yet each draws pilgrimage, shapes collective memory, and reorganizes urban life. If heritage has long been defined by what endures, architecture repeatedly shows that cultural authority can also belong to what gathers people.

Prism Shelter is a by Space10 Studio located at the foot of Changbai Mountain, conceived as an inhabitable optical installation within a winter landscape defined by snow, wind, and low temperatures. Positioned to frame views of the mountain massif, the structure provides a sheltered point from which visitors can pause and observe the surrounding terrain. The project combines the typology of a small with a calibrated visual device that alters the perception of the distant ridgelines.

Forestone Cabin is a experimental dwelling designed and built by the 2025 cohort of IAAC - Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia's Master in Ecological Architecture and Advanced Construction, as part of the Bio for Piri initiative. Led by the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera and funded by the Biodiversity Foundation with European Next Generation funds, this initiative promotes regenerative forestry and the sustainable use of local timber from Pyrenean forests, specifically in Alinyà (Lleida).