4 . Irish architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara were selected as the 2020 Pritzker Prize Laureates (获奖者), announced Tom Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt Foundation which sponsors the award that is often referred to as “architecture’s Nobel”. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have practiced architecture together for over forty years in a way that clearly reflects the objectives of the Pritzker Prize: to recognize the art of architecture and consistent service to humanity as evidenced through a body of built work.

They were awarded for their generosity toward their colleagues, commitment to excellence in architecture, responsible attitude toward the environment, ability to be cosmopolitan while embracing the uniqueness of each place in which they work, for all these reasons and more, according to the 2020 Jury Citation.

As architects and educators since the 1970s, Farrell and McNamara have created spaces that honor history while presenting their mastery of the urban environment and craft of construction. Their works never repeat or copy, but are decidedly of their own architectural style.

Their native Ireland, an island dotted with mountains and hills, breeds their acute sensitivities to geography, such as the changing climate and nature, in each of their sites. The campus of UTEC Lima, one of their works, for example, is located on a challenging site with a highway sunk in a valley on one side and a neighborhood on the other. The result is a vertical building responding to both site and climate needs. Its open spaces are designed to deliberately welcome the cool wind from the ocean and minimize the need for air-conditioning.

According to McNamara, architecture anchors us and connects us to the world as a framework for human life. She adds that possibly no other space-making discipline(科目) can do this. Farrell continues, “At the core of our practice is a real belief that architecture matters.   It is a cultural spatial phenomenon that people invent. ”

5 . Traveling is meant to be an enjoyable activity where you can relax and find pleasure. But one small town in Vermont, US, has closed its roads to the public due to the overwhelming (压倒性的) number of tourists, reported the news site Local 10.

Famous for its beautiful autumn leaves, Pomfret, a small town with over 900 people, has been crowded with tourists attracted by beautiful pictures of the town shared on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. This has led to “significant safety, environmental and quality of life issues, ” the Select Board of Pomfret wrote in a message to the community.

Admittedly, the popularity of social media has opened up more of the world for visitors to explore. By using functions such as geotagging (地理标记) through which you can share your location, people are looking for and sharing these destinations, especially in rural areas like the small town of Pomfret. A rise in social media presence also brings the potential for greater tourism income and jobs for people in these travel sites.

Social media is also often blamed for causing over-tourism. These places aren’t properly equipped to receive tourists. They can easily become overcrowded. Overcrowding leads to the worst problems of tourism: more traffic and rubbish, without more money coming in.

Social media has changed not only the destinations people travel to, but the way they behave once they get there. Getting the perfect photo is a top priority (优先事项) for many. “People are dressing for the photo rather than the destination or the customs, and there can be a big disconnect there, ” Lauren Siegel of the University of Greenwich said.

7 . The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most diverse places in America, a wonderful place filled with people from all backgrounds. Each of them drew something different from their own experience. Their stories are the focus of Status Update, an exhibition of 14 projects offered by Dundon and former WIRED contributor Pete Brook. The show at SOMarts uses personal tales to show the Bay Area’s culture.

The Bay Area is a microcosm (缩影) of the national melting pot, a place where people of color comprise 58 percent of the overall population and are a majority in four of the region’s five countries, San Francisco in particular is the type of place where you can’ t walk down the street without hearing another language. Yet the change is not all for the better. The gap between rich and poor is widening at a frightening speed, and San Francisco is becoming less diverse as minorities escape from the city for more affordable communities elsewhere in the region.

Status Update reflects these changes and the challenges they bring. Joseph Rodriguez’s Faces of Foreclosure features quiet images of people like Ethel Gist, who lost her home in the East Bay suburb of Brentwood six years ago. Photographer Sam records Oakland resident Shannon and his efforts to provide for his daughter. And Laura Morton documents millennials (千禧一代 )hoping to make their way to the top in Silicon Valley in her series Wild West Tech.

Status Update starts a conversation about how the Bay Area is changing, and what people can do to build up a more just equitable (公正的) society. “I hope people walk away from this show with a little more respect for our neighbors and communities and the ways we depend on one another.” Dundon says. “we’re all out here together”