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Reimagining the convent typology to blend spirituality and social engagement

2023-06-12T15:27:00-04:00

Italian architecture and landscape firm Mixtura has designed a wood-structured conventual complex in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, that provides both a space for worship and philanthropic services.

Image: Cesare Querci

The approximately 57,000-square-foot building, called the convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany, was completed as part of a social project that the Bethany Foundation Onlus has been carrying out in Brazil since 2010.

Image: Cesare Querci

The initiative has so far seen the construction of a kindergarten for 120 children from the neighboring favelas. It also includes the construction of a school complex for more than 500 children living in conditions of serious hardship.

Image: Cesare Querci

The complex’s design was formed via a participatory method that involved architects and clients with the shared goal of creating a space that would establish a positive relationship between the users, the built environment, and nature.

Image: Cesare Querci

"As architects, we s...

Singapore's 13th annual Archifest celebrates craft in architecture

2019-09-30T19:51:00-04:00

Archifest is the Singapore Architectural Festival that began back in 2007. It is "an annual festival for the city to celebrate architecture and the built environment."

The festival is organized by the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) which is a platform "for people from all walks of life to discuss, debate and dream about possibilities surrounding architecture, our city and the built environment at large."

For Archifest 2019, the theme is Craft. An event website poses the following question: "If the broadest definition of craft is about precision that demands laborious attention and skilled handwork, where would we locate it within the realm of architectural production or construction in an age where expediency and efficiency are privileged?"

It's a highly relevant query in today's digital landscape. Throughout the festival the aim will be to explore the idea of craft and "its multi-faceted manifestations through three different allegories, Objects, Time, and Digital, each d...