Author: Tom Brennecke

By January 1945, it was estimated that over 80% of Warsaw’s urban fabric had been either damaged or destroyed by German and Soviet bombings. Similarly, Warsaw lost two-thirds of its population between 1939 and 1945.

The public, the planned object, and the planners: The essential idea of participatory urban design is to bring these three elements into a transparent and democratic process.

In this article, Tom attempt to open and widen the field of contemporary urbanism and discuss issues and potential fields of expertise that may become more relevant to urbanists (and consequently to urban planners and architects) in the future.

One cannot start to look at the newly constructed and now biggest cruise ship in the world without considering the Covid-19 pandemic. This article will explore ten interestingly different approaches to cruise ships between gigantism, pragmatism, innovation, and quirkiness. 

Rail Baltic, one of Europe’s most ambitious railway projects, aims to connect the Baltic countries and central European nations better. With high-speed trains reaching speeds of 249 km/h, this transformative endeavor promises to bring new architecture and efficient travel experiences to the region.

The possibility of artificial intelligence replacing creative jobs – as such, architects might be counted – remains vastly uncertain. Opinions claiming that AI can fully replace architects are similarly present as opinions claiming the exact opposite.

The article explores the possibilities and challenges of colonizing Mars, including architectural considerations for human habitats, such as inspirations from the International Space Station, Moon architecture, and Antarctica research stations, as well as the potential for underground and overground architecture.

This article explores the use of 3D printed housing as post-disaster temporary shelter for disaster-affected areas. With approximately 23 million people being displaced from their homes every year since 2008, the need for innovative and efficient solutions for emergency housing is urgent.

Sagrada Familia and Park Güell are landmarks for the locals in Barcelona and are highly valued by the local government, perhaps still amazed by the unfinishedness of the Sagrada Familia; his buildings are incentives to many tourists arriving and architects and architecture students regularly study their composition and form.

Public space developed from being a central marketplace to a space where people can go without aim or arrangement, as sociologist Ray Oldenburg once defined it in the book The Great Good Place in 1989.