Rising sea levels. Urban heat islands. Social instability. The challenges related to climate change and other factors are daunting, but the potential solutions — especially those spearheaded by architects and designers — offer hope. In our November/December 2020 issue, we explore some of the many design-driven resiliency strategies being adopted by imperilled cities worldwide, from the planting of two million trees in the heart of Shanghai to redirecting a river in Toronto.

When it comes to community resilience, moreover, few architects are doing as much to boost local livelihoods and traditions as Eloisa Ramos and Moreno Castellano, whose practice in remote Cape Verde generates joyful, sensitive buildings as supportive of people as they are reflective of place.

And on the opposite side of the world, near Whistler, British Columbia, a climate-positive house prototype designed for the Delta Group by Perkins and Will proves that low-impact architecture can also be luxe.

Plus, 2021 design trends to look out for include primordial forms, indoor/outdoor fluidity and a robust focus on equity, the first project in the U.S. by MAD Architects incorporates the country’s largest living wall, and a creative repurposing in Prague delivers new energy to a long-neglected riverfront.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Landscape

In a suburb of Mexico City, Productura turns a formerly forlorn median into a vital new public park

Workspace

Colourful corporate makeovers, the latest safety screens and new WFH wares

Retail and Hospitality

Stunning showrooms, modular pop-ups and other innovative concepts for a sector currently in flux