In Iraq, as an estimated 900,000 people return home to the city of Mosul after liberation, many of the returnees will only find desolation. The Tamayouz Excellence Award, Rifat Chadirji Prize focuses on bringing global awareness as well as global talent toward addressing the social issues Iraq faces through design.

This year’s theme, “Rebuilding Iraq’s Liberated Areas: Mosul’s Housing Competition” asked applicants design prototypes for affordable housing. The winning housing proposals selected by the jury are practical, inspiring, and scalable, while adding capacity and density. The competition received 223 submissions from 42 countries. The Top 20 entries will be featured in a traveling exhibition that will visit Amman, Baghdad, Boston, Beirut, Milan, and London. Read on to learn about the three winning proposals and seven honorable mentions.

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In Warsaw, Poland architecture firm WXCA wins the masterplan proposal for a stretch of riverfront along the Vistula River. The Vistula River Boulevards are among the most frequented public spaces in the city, and gaining popularity as entertainment and cultural offerings become available. WXCA’s winning design for Kahla Square aims to resolve the disconnect between the river banks and to provide amenities to support waterfront activities.

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The city of New York is connecting all 32-miles of coastline with public amenities, piece by piece. To link the East River’s greenways, the interdisciplinary practice, wHY has submitted an RFP to the New York City Economic Development Corporation for the 1.1-mile long coastal stretch.

The landscape and urban design workshop as part of wHY -- wHY GROUNDS, has tackled the linear site, stretching from 53rd to 61st street, encompassing 1.72-acres of public space. The site is exceptional with its views to Roosevelt Island, the Queensborough Bridge, the Queens/Brooklyn waterfront and down to Lower Manhattan.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan proposed the challenge -- how does London become a designated National Park City-- and WATG, London-based landscape team, headed by Demet Karaoglu, accepted the challenge. In addressing the Mayor’s challenge, the team worked with Daniel Raven-Ellison, Guerrilla Geographer and Creative Explorer leading London’s campaign to become the world’s first National Park City.

With the completion of the citywide light-rail expected in 2020, connecting Tel Aviv’s city center to neighboring Ramat Gan, Ramat HaHayal, Bat Yam, Jaffa, and Givatayim brings a new wave of residential architecture to transform the skyline. The city of Tel Aviv boasts the highest land value in the Middle East, and with this new connectivity it is only projected to increase demand and value.

The city Tel Aviv is deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its collection of over 4,000 Bauhaus and Eclectic Architecture-style builds. The original city plan was made in 1925 by Sir Patrick Geddes, and is about to witness a significant shift. To promote density, the “TAMA 38” policy gives developers the opportunity to add additional units and floors in exchange for updating the existing units and infrastructure.

After 10 years of exploring the world and making LEGO interventions to city walls and masonry in disrepair, artist Jan Vormann invites you to contribute to the ongoing project Dispatchwork. Vormann began making these toy-block repairs in Bocchignano, Italy, and since has made colorful additions to Tel Aviv and Berlin.

Jan Vormann has visited nearly 40 cities across Europe, Central America, Asia, and the United States. Some of the installations use a handful of toy bricks while some have used up to 20 pounds.

Finally, a brutalist map of New York City, thanks to London-based publisher, Blue Crow Media. The Concrete New York Map marks the tenth map in the architectural guide series, highlighting over fifty of The City’s finest concrete buildings.

Not often thought of as a brutalist capitol, the concrete jungle is filled with remarkable buildings by Breuer, Pei, Rudolph, Saarinen, Wright, alongside lesser-known works, mapped out, photographed, and paired with a description of the building. The map is edited by Allison Meier, and adorned with Jason Woods’ photography and is the perfect pocket guide for any architect or brutalism lover.

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Early on in my career I had to decide between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change.

Frank Lloyd Wright is the household name of architects in the United States, with stories of his ego as widespread as his prolific work. Watching Frank Lloyd Wright at 83 years old is not your typical history lesson. The interview aired on NBC Chicago in 1958 and captures Frank Lloyd Wright telling stories to Hugh Downs about his education, early career with Louis Sullivan, an inspiration for Taliesin and Taliesin West and his own innovations in architecture (let's just say this question didn't get a humble response).

Architects and coffee go hand in hand. The aesthetic of the espresso maker has become a mundane part of the morning ritual. The designers at Montaag are changing that with the release of AnZa a show-stopping espresso maker made of concrete. After four years of prototyping and testing, the espresso maker is equipped with high-tech functionality for important things, like remotely brewing your cup as an incentive to get out of bed.

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You’re going to wish you saw this Instagram worthy art installation. Gateways (@Landofceramics) at the central fountain in Granary Square, King’s Cross closed this week. It was designed to celebrate the DesignJunction event (September 21-24) an interior design show by and for the industry, set in challenging industrial sites as part of the greater London Design Festival.

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With the common goal across their portfolio of enhancing the landscape, Camposaz has designed a tourist information pavilion in Roccamonfina, Italy. The wood pavilion is sited just off of a pedestrian path, overlooking the adjacent public park with stunning views of the nearby mountains, a driver in the design.

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Since the site was acquired in 2016, New York-based architects CetraRuddy, known for the iconic Manhattan tower One Madison, have been working on what is likely to be an icon of its own, 64 Prince Arthur. The point where The Annex and Yorkville neighborhoods meet in Toronto marks Adi Development Group and Forgestone Capital’s newest project, as well as Adi's first in Toronto. The initial renderings of the project show the commitment by the development team and CetraRuddy to making a statement on the skyline, “an iconic legacy project."

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