A Brief History of Maps and Their Role in Urban Development

Cartography, or map making, has played a critical role in representing spatial concepts for thousands of years. While the earliest forms of maps displayed geographic information carved into clay tablets and etched onto cave walls, the maps we use today have significantly evolved to creatively show a range of different information. These visualizations draw conclusions about population sizes, historical events, cultural shifts, and weather patterns to help us understand more about our world and how we impact it.

House 27 / Mario Martins Atelier

Casa 27 is situated on a spacious plot with a privileged view, it stretches away to the eat, across the intense green, slowly downward as it plunges into the Alvor estuary and its many different tides. 

Alchemy Bar On Rock / Chi.Arch

The project is a small bar and restaurant, located on a hillside overlooking the sea, where an organic garden and solar farm are planned. Bar, which organizes small activities related to essential oil extraction, is an essential oil extracted from natural ingredients such as lemongrass, rosemary, and flowers grown in organic gardens. The small restaurant, with a few tables for visitors, is located on the terraced floors according to the natural terrain, overlooking the sea, which is an ideal place to watch the sunset.

Shangen Blossom Pavilion / SpActrum

Shangen Village is a renovation project in Wenzhou, dedicated to transforming the once traditionally built village into a tourism destination. SpActrum left the project soon after we proposed the master plan during 2017-2018. The village has been hugely cleaned up since then but has lost some of its ancient ambience. The once charming chaos has turned into the blankness of purposeful building activity. The SpActrum team became involved again, aiming to recall and restore the power of ambiguity once felt on the site, and started to work on an empty plot by the village bridge.

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