The Martin, a residential building designed by OMA and signed by David Gianotten and Mariano Sagasta, has recently been completed at Bajes Kwartier, located in Amsterdam. This development represents the latest stage of OMA's master plan to convert the former Bijlmerbajes prison complex, which operated between 1978 and 2016, into a multifunctional and energy self-sufficient neighborhood.
The delivery of The Martin follows the completion of The Jay, scheduled for 2025, and precedes The Cardinal, another residential project planned for 2030. The Martin consists of four interconnected volumes, arranged to create a cascading volume, presenting distinct characteristics on each facade. The project incorporates continuous balconies and an external aluminum grid, providing architectural unity, while transparent glass railings promote visual connection between private and public spaces.
David Gianotten, managing partner at OMA, explained that the articulated arrangement of the building was conceived to create greater permeability, contrasting with the closed nature of the former prison, and to ensure outdoor areas for all apartments through the peripheral balconies. Positioned on the main axis running through the entire Bajes Kwartier, the building also plays a crucial role in integrating the various parts of the master plan.
The Martin offers a diversity of apartment types, ranging from two-room units of approximately 50 square meters to four-room residences of up to 140 square meters. Internally, the space is organized around a central circulation core and two atriums, where vegetation is introduced into common areas through moss-covered surfaces. Additionally, there are collective terraces on the sixth and ninth floors, which expand the landscape proposal of Bajes Kwartier and provide panoramic views of Amsterdam. Other shared facilities include a multi-purpose room reservable for community events or visitor reception, and commercial spaces on the ground floor intended for the daily services of the neighborhood.
This project is part of the most extensive revitalization of Bajes Kwartier, covering an area of 135,000 square meters. The master plan was developed by OMA for a construction company led by AM, after acquiring the land from the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, the Dutch government real estate agency. The planning aims to preserve iconic elements of the former prison, such as Kalverstraat street, which will be maintained as a route for pedestrians and cyclists, along with existing courtyards, gardens, sections of the perimeter wall, the administrative building, and one of the original prison towers. These preserved structures are integrated with new residential, commercial, and cultural constructions, aiming to create about 1,350 homes, 30% of which will be designated for social housing.
Environmentally, 98% of the materials recovered from the demolition of the former prison, including reinforcing steel, concrete, and cell doors, were recycled or reused. The neighborhood was designed to achieve energy neutrality, utilizing a combination of underground systems for heat and cold storage, as well as photovoltaic installations integrated into the facades and roofs.
In other updates in the field of architecture, the Shanghai Grand Opera House, designed by Snøhetta, is nearing completion before its scheduled opening in October. In Europe, MVRDV and Balance Architettura presented their proposals for the renovation of the Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Turin (GAM). Furthermore, the metropolitan area of Paris is preparing to host 'La Grande', a new cultural institution focused on contemporary art, which will open in October 2026 in a building designed by the Catalan firm RCR Arquitectes, a Pritzker Prize winner, marking the studio's first completed work in the French capital.
SpaceX is conducting the thirteenth launch of Starship, an event that can be watched live. The broadcast will be hosted by Executive Editor Bruno Capozzi and astronomer Marcelo Zurita, an OD columnist, starting at 7:30 PM Brasília time, immediately following Olhar Digital News with Marisa Silva.
Elon Musk's company allowed a 90-minute window to initiate takeoff, and the total flight is expected to exceed one hour. The main objective is to monitor the system's operation in crucial phases, such as module separation, engine ignition, and vehicle return.
A major point of attention is the performance of the Super Heavy booster. In a mission conducted this May, this stage failed to return properly for a controlled landing, resulting in its fall into the ocean. SpaceX reported that it has implemented hardware and software corrections to address the issues detected in that flight.
In addition to testing the rocket, this operation will serve as a demonstration for new components of the Starlink network. 20 Starlink V3 satellites will be launched, following a suborbital trajectory and being destroyed upon atmospheric reentry. According to the company, the Starlink V3 models are larger and promise to substantially increase the capacity of the satellite internet network.
During the test, these satellites will also attempt to establish communication with the Starlink constellation using high-capacity lasers before reaching the atmosphere. Six of these units will be equipped with cameras to record images of Starship and its heat shield throughout the flight.
The flight history of Starship includes various milestones and challenges. Flight 1, in April 2023, ended with the explosion of Starship while still attached to Super Heavy, due to engine failures that activated the vehicle's self-destruct system.
In Flight 2, in November 2023, the spacecraft successfully separated from Super Heavy for the first time, but the subsequent booster exploded, leading to the loss of Starship before the flight concluded.
Flight 3, in March 2024, lasted approximately 50 minutes and was considered a significant advance, even though the craft was lost before the planned landing.
In June 2024, Starship achieved a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean, while Super Heavy landed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Flight 5, which occurred in October 2024, allowed SpaceX to capture Super Heavy on the launch tower for the first time, and Starship also performed a controlled reentry.
In November 2024, the booster completed a controlled landing, and the spacecraft managed to reignite an engine in space.
Subsequent flights recorded losses: Flight 7, in January 2025, resulted in the loss of Starship after an explosion during the test, and Flight 8, in March 2025, saw the upper stage lose stability about eight minutes after launch and be destroyed.
Flight 9, in May 2025, marked the first reuse of a Super Heavy, although failures prevented some planned experiments from taking place.
Mission Flight 10, in August 2025, achieved important goals, such as tests with satellite simulators, engine reignition in space, and controlled reentry.
Flight 11, in October 2025, successfully concluded the Starship V2 phase, including the controlled landing of Super Heavy, the craft's reentry, and new operational tests.
Finally, Flight 12, in May 2026, was the first test of the Starship V3 version, showing notable progress, such as launching satellite simulators and two modified Starlink satellites. However, the Super Heavy booster failed during the return attempt because the engines did not reignite correctly after separation.
Google announced two new features for Google Vids, its video creation platform integrated into Google Workspace, on Thursday (16). These additions enable content generation using artificial intelligence from texts and images, in addition to offering the ability to create custom digital avatars.
The new tools were designed to streamline audiovisual production, allowing users to edit, adjust, and personalize their videos without needing conventional filming or extremely complicated editing processes. This feature is available to subscribers of the Google AI Pro and Ultra plans, as well as to Workspace business clients.
This update elevates Google Vids beyond its original function as a mere corporate presentation tool, aligning it with specialized AI-generated video platforms. The system utilizes the Gemini Omni model, a multimodal artificial intelligence model, combining it with sound and visual personalization features.
The main innovation lies in the integration of Gemini Omni, which allows for the creation of videos from textual descriptions and reference images. The user can input an idea in natural language and supplement it with visual elements, such as sketches or photographs, to guide the final result. Furthermore, the technology supports continuous modifications to the generated material; through written commands, it is possible to request specific changes, such as changing scenes or improving the lighting of a video shot with a cell phone, without having to restart the entire project.
According to Google, this functionality aims to simplify editing, as adjustments can be made sequentially. The company assures that this operating method applies to both videos created by the AI itself and content captured by users.
Another significant advancement is the ability to develop personal avatars that digitally represent the individual. To generate this virtual character, the user must provide a facial photo (selfie) and a brief voice recording. After that, they simply type the desired message for the avatar to present, eliminating the need for a new recording. Google clarified that these avatars are linked to the user's account and can only represent that specific person. There are access restrictions, as the tool is only available to those over 18 years old in certain locations.
Finally, the company announced that all videos produced with the aid of artificial intelligence will receive an invisible digital watermark, created by SynthID. This mechanism serves to identify AI-generated content and increase transparency regarding the origin of these materials.
The area known as Hipódromo Condesa emerged in the 1920s as one of the pioneering examples of modern urbanism in Mexico City. This neighborhood was built on the former capital's hippodrome, which gave it a unique urban identity, marked by an organic and curved design, maintaining the memory of the equestrian circuit through the current Amsterdam Avenue.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Hipódromo established itself as a avant-garde residential refuge, adopting Art Deco as the dominant style. Beyond the formal aesthetic, this movement proposed a new way of living, characterized by functional, well-lit apartments intimately connected to urban life.
In this historical and urban setting, the Popocatépetl 35 building is part of the Art Deco fabric that defines Hipódromo Condesa. The renovation of this apartment aims to establish a dialogue with this tradition, focusing not on a literal restoration, but rather on a temporal continuity that preserves the memory of the neighborhood and projects it toward new standards of living.
Originally, the apartment presented a state of deep decharacterization, due to the addition of carpets, drywall partitions, and the loss of its original finishes and arches.
Plaza Popocatépetl serves as the immediate landscape and urban reference for the project, with its roundabout being a social and spatial landmark of the surroundings. The central vaulted structure, with its clear geometry and civic function, inspires the edge vault of the intervention. This creates a sense of refuge and spatial continuity, functioning as a connection point for daily communal spaces, such as the living room, kitchen, powder room, and access.
The curved path, echoing the old hippodrome, gradually guides the resident to the center of the vault, which becomes the visual and spatial focus of the project. The master bedroom connects to the living room through a closet positioned where there was previously a dividing wall. This large piece of furniture is strategically open, allowing the bedroom to integrate with the living room space and extend its views to the plaza.
The carpentry used in the kitchen, closet, and bathrooms has a unified language, as do the curved doors. Combined with white ceramic tiles, brushed steel elements, and locally molded granilite in a curved shape in the central corridor, the project uses a limited selection of noble materials. The goal is to promote coziness and maximize the entry of natural light, which now flows continuously through the integrated environments.
The intervention revitalizes the apartment by directing visual perspectives, hierarchizing the communal spaces, and using geometries that converse with the curvature and concentric logic of both the plaza and the old hippodrome. Plaza Popocatépetl transcends the role of mere background, integrating itself as a perceptual extension of the interior, strengthening the link between architecture, urban memory, and daily life.
