+ 13

+ 29

At a time when public support for the arts is under pressure in many countries, Darat al Funun — literally "House of the Arts" — stands by its long-standing mission to champion artists. "Artists are witnesses of their time," affirms Suha Shoman, its founder. "Maybe Art does not operate change, but it does record it […] it points fingers. At the same time, it speaks of, even if it's so difficult and at times so violent, it speaks of beauty as well."

A place where the past remains present, Darat al Funun spreads in the hills of Jabal al Luweibdeh, on a rugged terrain overlooking the eye of downtown Amman, Jordan. Its landscape is warmly inviting and accessible to the public, with a lower entrance in the south and an upper one in the north. Across its cascading terraces, the site is visually permeable as well, demonstrating the foundation's core tenet: art is a civic necessity and a vessel for history.

+ 12

+ 31

Grimshaw has begun the reconstruction of 70 Mulberry Street, a historic community center in Manhattan's Chinatown, originally built as Public School 23 in the late nineteenth century. The building later became home to several of the neighborhood's cultural and nonprofit organizations before a fire in January 2020 destroyed its upper three floors and displaced five tenants. Led by the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), the project will preserve portions of the historic building while providing a renewed home for the displaced organizations.

+ 36

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has unveiled a new memorial in Freetown, Sierra Leone, honoring more than 900 members of the Sierra Leone Carrier Corps who died in the First and Second World Wars. Designed by Lagos-based Oshinówò Studio, the intervention was unveiled on November 7 and commemorates the Carrier Corps individually by name for the first time. The design was first revealed in May 2025.

+ 9

Since the earliest civilizations, the sky has shaped calendars, agriculture, and navigation. It has played a fundamental role in developing human knowledge and shaping our understanding of our place in the universe. To pursue this knowledge, people have created instruments and spaces to interpret the cosmos, linking the positions of celestial bodies, the passage of time, and life on Earth. In architecture, this enduring fascination takes shape in buildings that not only facilitate observation but also heighten our awareness of the vastness that surrounds us.

+ 12

+ 30

+ 38

+ 27

+ 23

+ 31

+ 19

+ 18

+ 7

+ 20

This article is part of our new Opinion section, a format for argument-driven essays on critical questions shaping our field.

In 2022, Tokyo's Nakagin Capsule Tower was demolished, bringing an end to one of modern architecture's most recognizable experiments in adaptability. Designed by Kisho Kurokawa and completed in 1972, the building consisted of 140 prefabricated capsules attached to two concrete cores. Its architectural proposition was radical: individual capsules could be replaced as needs evolved, allowing the building to renew itself without dismantling its principal structure. Yet over five decades, the proposed replacement system was never realized. Despite various preservation efforts, deteriorating building services and difficulties in collective decision-making eventually led to its demolition.

+ 14