Kaira Looro Architecture Competition

"Kaira Looro Competition - Sacred Architecture" is an international architectural competition which has as project theme the architectural celebration of the cult in a remote place on earth, where the shortage of materials and high-performing technology pushes the architecture to the branch of sustainability and integration with landscape and culture. Kaira Looro, that in Mandingo language means "Architecture for Peace", is not just architecture, but it also represents the link to a culture, a spirituality and research of interiority.Introspection, spirituality and divinity are the elements around which the sacred architecture revolves. The light and the lightness of the materials join sacred and profane, creating an architecture that, through spaces and forms, try to invite humans to an introspective research . This book collects and describes the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes and also 5 mentions and 10 finalists of the competition, nominated by the jury. The competition is organized by the Nonprofit Organization "Balouo Salo" with the collaboration of the University of Tokyo, Kengo Kuma & Associates, CNAPPC, Embassy and Consulate of Senegal, Sedhiou Government, the City of Tanaf and others. The sponsor Four Points by Sheraton Catania provided cash prizes for the winning projects. The winning project and the finalists are named by an internationally renowned jury made up of: Kengo Kuma, Ko Nakamura (University of Tokyo), A. Ghirardelli (SBGA ), A. Muzzonigro (Stefano Boeri Architects), R. Bouman (Mohn + Bouman Architects) C. Chiarelli (Arcò), A. Ferrara (Juri Troy Architects), Pilar Diez Rodriguez, R. Kasik (X Architekten), S. D'Urso (University of Catania), I. Gomis (Tanaf Mayor), I. Lutri (InArch), W. Baricchi (CNAPPC). The goal of the contest is to create a symbolic sacred architecture for the whole nation which can improve the precarious conditions of the project area. All proceeds, derived from membership contributions of the participants, are donated to the humanitarian project "A Bridge for Life" in Senegal, to save 80,000 people now at risk of survival. The book also collects 11 projects developed during the Kaira Looro workshop. These projects are focused on the traditional economies of the Casamance region and specifically the Valley of Tanaf. Each proposal, seen in the general master plan, will have to consider the guidelines based on local socio-cultural peculiarities. All of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the non-profit Balouo Salo.

This book emphasizes the important message that architects and structural engineers must strive to ensure that the buildings they design and construct should not be major contributors to climate change. Rather, they should be exploring the use of green materials and building methods – such as timber, wood, and associated materials – in order to safeguard the environment. These sustainable materials are not only environmentally friendly, but they have the added benefit of being easy to manufacture, cost effective, often locally available, and easily replenished. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that wood and timber are viable materials in the construction of a wide variety of building types, including medium and high-rise buildings. The Importance of Wood and Timber in Sustainable Buildings brings together a distinguished group of contributors from different cultures and building traditions to address why now is the time to rethink our construction methods and explore replacing many of the carbon intensive materials that are currently being used with wood and timber.

The concrete, geometrically sculptural houses of Mexican architect Rafael Pardo The buildings of Mexican architect Rafael Pardo are almost sculptural--concrete prisms intersecting to form domestic spaces. This monograph presents eight projects built in Xalapa, Veracruz, including photographs, original sketches and an interview by Miguel Adrià.

This publication presents the results of more than five consecutive years of focused research initiatives and designs from The University of Virginia School of Architecture towards the revitalization of New Delhi, India’s water bodies. In collaboration with the Delhi Jal Board, The University of Virginia’s Yamuna River Project is an inter-disciplinary research program, proposing to revitalize the ecology of the Yamuna River in Delhi and creating vital urban links with the Yamuna River as it flows through India’s capital city. Through the research, methodologies, and designs contained within this publication, this project aims to serve as a catalyst for the urgent recovery of the Yamuna River and its tributaries, building a publically accessible body of information and expertise resulting in visions of what an alternative future would be. Only by addressing human equality and the complexity of Delhi’s urban phenomenon can the social and ecological crises manifested through these neglected water bodies be solved.

Green Obsession traces the long path that architect Stefano Boeri and his studio - Stefano Boeri Architetti - have followed in the last fifteen years of practice, aiming at the redefinition of the relationship between city and nature. The book follows a discursive thread, alternating dialogues and scientific essays by some of the main protagonists who have contributed to widening the perspective on this subject, helping to raise awareness while protecting the world and its biodiversity. Cities have contributed for centuries to the promotion of some of humanity’s greatest ideas, we must now urgently include them as among the principal players in the environmental debate and at the forefront of any policy tackling and countering – possibly reversing - climate change. Nevertheless, even today one of the most significant technologies capable of absorbing CO2 and restoring our environment is photosynthesis. Planting trees, in addition to protecting existing natural areas and biodiversity, together with de-carbonization, renewable energies, digitalization, smart mobility and the circular economy could be the set of strategies necessary to tackle climate change. Today the effects of the Anthropocene age are ever more visible, changing our environment and affecting every species that lives within it. Green Obsession offers a path to be taken, a hard but still necessary paradigm shift – even for architecture and urbanism – that aims to give a voice to this much needed ecological transition. This book aims to unveil the processes and the complexity involved in the search for a new kind of urbanism, while raising questions and opening old wounds related to the relationship between the human species and Nature and finally putting these fragments together to create a portrait of our era. We need to conceive cities as new green catalysts. Now more than ever, it is essential to act together as separate individuals and professionals, joining the cause as members of the global community with a shared environmental strategy. We all have to open the era of a new alliance between Nature and City. With Contributions from Emanuele Coccia, Jane Goodall, Paul Hawken, Cecil Konijnendijk, David Miller, Harini Nagendra, Giuseppe Sala and Giorgio Vacchiano."