Palacio da Alvorada by Oscar Niemeyer

It’s Carnival time! Sexy sambas, caipirinhas, glittery costumes: Brazil knows how to throw a party. So it makes sense that the country is full of some of the most playful — and the most sizzling — architecture in the world. In honor of the festivities in Rio, which begin this Saturday, we’ve compiled some of our favorite Brazilian buildings, from Oscar Niemeyer’s sci-fi structures to Ruy Ohtake’s truly “unique” hotel. Click through to see all our picks!

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Phil the Groundhog at the Garden Shed; All Photoshop work: Peter Levins

The frost of winter is on the thaw, and spring will come early this year! At least, that’s our take on the results from this year’s Groundhog Day. No, the furry little prognosticator—that would be Phil—will not see his shadow this coming Saturday (Feb. 2), and that’s that.

So what better way to welcome the new season than with the best of “spring architecture”? It’s something we just made up, but by which we mean houses that photograph real well in the springtime, when flowers are coming into bloom, the sky is blue, and the sun hasn’t reached its greatest intensity yet. We’ve gone ahead and added Phil in there just to be festive, so see if you can spot him in the following 10 projects. Click through for the slideshow.

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Photo © Bruce Damonte

Rust usually denotes decrepitude of a sort. It’s the slow erosion and eventual disintegration of iron and steel, mechanization and industrial prosperity. It’s the nasty, depressing byproduct of vanquished hopes, dreams, and growth. After all, they don’t call it the Rust Belt for nothing.

Still, despite its metaphoric drawbacks, rust—weathered steel—is being embraced by architects all over the world (or at least by those in hospitable climates). One of the year’s most significant projects, SHoP’s Barclays Center in Brooklyn, wears a bristling coat of the stuff, though, it should be said, much to the neighborhood’s dismay. Herzog & de Meuron used it in Madrid for their much-beloved CaixaForum Madrid, where the rusty facade is paired rather nicely with a vibrant garden wall. In any case, rusted materials are indeed difficult to work with, but that isn’t stopping architects from making great use of them. Just have a look at these ten projects to see just how to use rust. Click through for the slideshow. 

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Photo:  Masao Nishikawa

The world runs on coffee. Even if you—oh, strange one—aren’t a coffee drinker, you cannot escape coffee culture. And a big part of that culture is, of course, the café. Historically, the coffeehouse has functioned as a social fulcrum of urban life, a congregation space where artistic and intellectual ideas were fostered and developed. It was also an intimate, informal place where friends could gather and talk about the 19th-century equivalent of Girls.

We’re glad to say that the café is alive and well. Despite the flashy distractions of the contemporary city, people still spend time in coffeehouses—a lot of time actually. The last few years has seen a surge of creative café design that reflects this fact, with architects both obscure and famous brandishing their talents to elevate your coffee experience. These projects are each different in their own way, but they all push the limits of what a café can be. Click through for the slideshow.

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Bad neighbors are loud, obnoxious, snooty, flashy, always putting on a show and airing out their domestic grievances, and give cheap candy away for Halloween. Oh, and they will never miss the chance to yell at your kids/pets for walking on their lawn. The same can more or less be said about these ten buildings, all of which seem to have forgotten the golden rule: do unto your fellow building as you would like your fellow building to do unto you. (In other words, be a good neighbor.)

That’s not to say we don’t like these buildings—let’s call them misunderstood—but we wouldn’t want to live next door to any of them. Imagine having to wake up every morning to a view of the “lollipop” house? Ditto the “graffiti apartments.” The jokes and/or mystery soon give way to spectacular, and worse, very permanent eyesores. Click through for the slideshow.

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Architects have a penchant for breaking with tradition, and little can be done to help the matter. Still, not all architects are the overzealous megalomaniacs that Howard Roark or Zaha Hadid make them out to be. A good architect knows that every context possesses its own charms that can and should be used in the making of something new. They’ll work to call out features and rhythms—but not necessarily forms and ornament—unique to the place and incorporate them into their work.

You might call them good neighbors, and before that State Farm jingle gets irretrievably lodged in your head—where it will play over and over and over—we thought we’d show you 10 buildings that give a better idea of what we’re talking about. All of the projects show a keen eye for detail, an impeccable sense of scale, and, most importantly, dutiful restraint, while maintaining their own sense of flair. They’re just short of ringing at your door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. Click through for the slideshow!

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You may have noticed we’re big fans of the “top 10″ here at Architizer. Our staff spends a fair amount of time debating topics that might tickle your fancy: Stellar staircases! Verdant roofs! Architecture befitting a Star Wars film! Apparently, we’re doing something right, as our roundups consistently draw loads and loads of traffic. Here, we feature the ones you loved the most in 2012. Enjoy—and if you have ideas for future themes, fire away: editorial@architizer.com.

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Photo via Interesting Buildings

Architects have a thing for science fiction: museums that look like spaceships, skyscrapers covered in fish-scaley material, and all other sorts of mind-boggling structures. The great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who died last week, was perhaps the most futuristic of them all. Some of his most famous projects, like the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (above), appear to float above the ground, while his masterwork, Brazil’s capital Brasília, represents the designer’s vision of a utopian super city. Inspired by Niemeyer’s imagination we’ve compiled a roundup of other outstanding”sci-fi” buildings. Click through to see our picks, and be sure to share your favorites in the comments section below!

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Brooklyn Grange by Bromley Caldari Architects

Architizer is hosting the world’s definitive architectural awards program, with 50+ categories and 200+ jurors. As part of an ongoing series, we’re spotlighting projects that fit into “Plus” categories, including “Farming,” that tap into topical and culturally relevant themes. To see a full list of categories and learn more about the awards, visit architizerawards.com.

It may sound gluttonous, but we just can’t stop thinking about food! It’s easy to argue that architecture plays a part in the world of a foodie; most restaurants are uniquely designed to better the dining experience after all. However, the architect’s ties to the food industry go much deeper, and designers are beginning to revolutionize the way we regard (and manage) food production.

As these cities grow, it is important that we continue to find new and innovative ways to provide for the populace. Vertical farming and urban agriculture offer relief in metropolitan environments, helping to reduce the pressure of public food supply while also changing our traditional approach to food production. See 10 great examples!

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Zaha Hadid’s Olympic Aquatics Center.

We’re down to just eight days until the London Olympics, excitement over our favorite sport–swimming!–is reaching fever pitch. Can Michael Phelps defend his titles? Will 17-year-old Lia Neal make a name for herself as the team’s second-ever African American swimmer?

Even if you’re not a fan of the sport, the aquatic events at the Olympics are fun to watch, because host cities tend to pull out all the stops when it comes to designing the venues. Remember Beijing’s Watercube? This year’s aquatics center was designed by Iraqi-born, London-based architect Zaha Hadid, and it’s a doozy: sculptural concrete, an undulated, dysmorphic ceiling, and alien-like diving boards.

As far as we’re concerned, there’s a lot for both swim fans and architecture fans to be excited about. That’s why we’re holding a pool party with our friends Duravit next week. On wednesday evening, we’ll celebrate the Olympics with swim footage, Olympic trivia, and all-American summer treats! Duravit president Tim Schroeder will lead the evening’s festivities, which’ll take place in their appropriately-blue-themed Duravit showroom in Midtown.

We hope you’ll come out and join us on Wednesday. In the event you can’t make it, though, get into the aquatic spirit with eleven remarkable pool designs, after the jump!

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