The summer of 2025 has brought extreme heat across Europe and beyond, with record-breaking temperatures and widespread climate-related impacts. Red alert warnings have been issued in France, Italy, and Spain as temperatures exceeded 46°C in parts of the Iberian Peninsula. These conditions have led to school closures, restrictions on outdoor work, and pressure on urban infrastructure, including power grids and public transport systems. The heatwave has simultaneously intensified wildfire risk across the Mediterranean. In western Turkey, ferocious wildfires near Izmir forced the evacuation of over 50,000 people as high winds and low humidity fueled rapidly spreading flames. In Spain's Catalonia region, two people died in a wildfire that raced across farmland and old structures in Torrefeta on July 1. Similar disasters have occurred in Greece, France, and Italy, with evacuations throughout southern Europe as widespread heat‑induced drought exacerbates fire season intensity.
BIG, artist Doug Aitken Workshop, NIRAS, Volcano, and RWDI have won a competition to redesign three public spaces surrounding major music venues in Ørestad, Copenhagen. The initiative, titled Byens Scene ("The City's Stage"), aims to revitalize the areas around DR Koncerthuset, Bella Arena, and Royal Arena, transforming them into an interconnected landscape for everyday use and public performances.
The first photographs of the long-anticipated David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) have been unveiled, captured by architectural photographerIwan Baan. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the building marks the culmination of a process spanning more than two decades. The museum recently offered an exclusive preview of the building in its raw architectural state, ahead of the installation of artworks. Major construction was completed at the end of 2024, and portions of the lower levels are already accessible to visitors. The galleries are scheduled to officially open in April 2026, when they will house LACMA's permanent collection.
Studio Libeskind has released new images of the design for the transformation of the Boerentoren tower, one of Europe's earliest skyscrapers, located in the heart of Antwerp, Belgium. Developed in collaboration with Belgian architecture firm ELD, the project reimagines the 1932 Art Deco landmark as a new public cultural hub that will house The Phoebus Foundation's art collection. The design includes the addition of exhibition spaces, a panoramic viewing platform, a rooftop sculpture garden, and new restaurants and bars. According to the architects, the original architectural features will be preserved while introducing a new architectural feature, which they are calling the "Reimagined Crown." Initially announced in 2022, the project has now received preliminary approval from the Flemish Heritage Agency and the City of Antwerp.
The NSW Independent Planning Commission has approved the public domain works for Sydney's Harbourside redevelopment, marking a significant milestone for the project designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Hassell and Mirvac. First unveiled in December 2021 as the winning entry in an international design excellence competition, the scheme aims to transform Harbourside at Darling Harbour into a new, iconic destination at the heart of the city. The proposal reimagines the waterfront at Tumbalong / Darling Harbour with more than 11,200 square meters of renewed public space, featuring significant trees, planted areas, sculptural sandstone pathways, and integrated public artworks.
The Sharjah Architecture Triennial has announced the theme for its upcoming edition: Architecture Otherwise: Building Civic Infrastructure for Collective Futures. Scheduled for November 2026, the event will unfold across the city and the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE, through site-specific installations, exhibitions, performances, workshops, and public programs. Positioned as a platform for architectural and urban exploration across West Asia, South Asia, and the African continent, the Triennial will combine practical and theoretical approaches to contemporary urban life. Conceived by its curators, Vyjayanthi Rao and Tau Tavengwa, SAT03 aims to explore how architecture can shape collective life in regions undergoing rapid urban transformation. Consequently, selected participants will take part in month-long residencies, embedding their work within the social and cultural fabric of Sharjah.
Bijoy Jain Designs the Louis Vuitton Set Inspired by Snakes and Ladders. Image Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Paris Fashion Week Men's Spring/Summer 2026 has just concluded, featuring a series of shows that highlight the relationship between architecture and fashion as creative disciplines. Through carefully curated architectural environments, these shows engage viewers on multiple sensory levels, weaving together visual impact with spatial and material stories that echo the themes and philosophies behind each collection. This intersection between fashion and architecture opens up new possibilities for storytelling, inviting audiences to explore how fashion design and spaces can resonate together to create immersive experiences.
Saint Laurent presented its menswear collection at Tadao Ando's Bourse de Commerce, where the building's cylindrical concrete form and filtered natural light provided a minimal and contemplative backdrop. Louis Vuitton, by contrast, staged its show in the plaza of the Centre Pompidou, where Studio Mumbai's intervention introduced a large-scale, hand-painted installation inspired by Snakes and Ladders. These site-specific choices reflected distinct approaches to engage with architectural context, illustrating how contemporary fashion presentations can extend beyond the runway to enter into dialogue with their surroundings.
Miguel Ramón López y Ander Bados Sesma, comisarios de la XVII Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Image Courtesy of XVII Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo
The seventeenth edition of the Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BEAU) will take place in December 2025. The event consists of an exhibition hosted in a former thermal power station repurposed as a cultural center in Ponferrada, in northeastern Spain. This edition will be curated by architects Ander Bados Sesma, from Atelier Ander Bados, and Miguel Ramón López, a Ponferrada native and architect at Estudio Lamela, under the curatorial proposal titled flujos comun.es ("common flows"). Their curatorial proposal responds to the theme of the open call: Architecture as a Policy for Change, an invitation to reflect on the role of the discipline in processes of social, economic, and environmental transformation. Within this framework, flujos comun.es presents a critical perspective on the challenges associated with hyperconnectivity. The call for proposals and project submissions is currently open, and will be until the end of July, depending on the category.
Lithuanian Airports has announced Zaha Hadid Architects as the winner of the international competition to design the new arrivals terminal at Vilnius Airport. Conceived as an integral part of the airport's evolving infrastructure, the new terminal will complement the recently completed departure terminal, enabling Vilnius Airport to accommodate up to 10.6 million passengers annually. The project marks a significant step in the airport's long-term development strategy, addressing future growth in passenger demand while enhancing Lithuania's role as a key gateway in the Baltic region.
The fifth edition of the London Design Biennale is taking place at Somerset House from 5 to 29 June 2025. The theme of this year's edition is "Surface Reflections," an invitation to explore "the dynamic interplay between internal experience and external influence." The curatorial proposal, set by British artist and designer Samuel Ross, encourages a focus on the underlying layers of the objects, systems, and spaces that shape our daily lives. The Biennale exhibition is a journey through 35 pavilions by countries, institutional design teams, and curators, presenting soundscapes, immersive experiences, and performances, as well as sculptural and evocative objects. To confront contemporary global challenges, topics include identity, memory, innovation, technology, craftsmanship, ecology, and belonging.
Léon Krier's Sketches. Image Courtesy of MIT Press
Léon Krier, the Luxembourg-born architect and urban theorist renowned for his critical stance against modernist planning and his influential role in the New Urbanism movement, passed away on June 17, 2025, at the age of 79. Known for his uncompromising critique of modernist planning and his vision for human-scaled, walkable communities, Krier leaves behind a substantial body of built work, theoretical writing, and educational influence.
Over a career spanning several decades, Krier advocated for a return to classical architecture and human-scaled urbanism, positioning himself as a leading critic of sprawling suburban development and high-rise modernism. His advocacy for walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods and his insistence on the cultural and social value of architecture challenged the prevailing norms of late 20th-century urban planning.
BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, in collaboration with HNTB, has broken ground on its first-ever realized Major League Baseball stadium, marking a new chapter for the Athletics as they relocate to Las Vegas. The new A's Ballpark is scheduled to open ahead of the 2028 MLB season and will serve as the team's permanent home in the city. The architectural vision is supported by a broad team of collaborators, including Thornton Tomasetti, Henderson Engineers, CAA ICON, Mortenson, and McCarthy Building Companies. Located in what is widely known as "The Entertainment Capital of the World," the project reflects the growing presence of major sports infrastructure in Las Vegas.
Every year, the QS World University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) releases an updated list of best university programs worldwide. In the field of Architecture and the Built Environment, the list includes 250 institutions. The ranking evaluates institutions across all continents. This year, The Bartlett School of Architecture (part of UCL) maintains its position in first place, as the top 10 list sees a reorganization of the selected universities, with no new entrants. Tsinghua University is the only one among them to improve its position since last year, rising from eighth to joint seventh.
The Grand Palais in Paris has reopened to the public after the most comprehensive renovation in its 120-year history, led by Paris-based Chatillon Architectes. Originally built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the Grand Palais has long stood as a symbol of French cultural excellence, technical ingenuity, and architectural ambition. Following the reveal of the restored Nave for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the entire 77,000-square-meter building has now been renewed to enhance spatial clarity, restore original volumes, and transform the visitor experience. The project introduces expanded public access, new exhibition spaces, restaurants, and improved circulation, while remaining rooted in the building's architectural legacy.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its Global Liveability Index for 2025, assessing 173 cities worldwide across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. This year, Copenhagen has taken the top position, ending Vienna's three-year run as the world's most liveable city. The Danish capital earned high scores in stability, education, and infrastructure, narrowly surpassing Vienna, which saw a decline in its stability rating following recent security incidents. The average global liveability score for 2025 remains steady at 76.1 out of 100, unchanged from 2024. While year-on-year improvements were recorded in healthcare, education, and infrastructure, these were offset by a continued decline in stability, driven by rising geopolitical tensions, civil unrest, and increased security threats in several regions.
Brave New Axis by Spyridon Loukidis, Markos Georgios Sakellion, Georgios Thalassinos from National Technical University of Athens, Greece. EUmies Awards Young Talent winner. Image Courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe
The 11th edition of Concéntrico, the International Festival of Architecture and Design, is currently taking place in Logroño, Spain, from June 19 to 24, 2025. This year's edition broadens the scope of the festival with a multifaceted programme that includes not only temporary installations but also permanent projects, exhibitions, educational initiatives, and traveling events. Through 24 urban interventions, Concéntrico 2025 explores themes such as material reuse and circular design, food as a collective practice, the recovery of water-related spaces, the activation of urban voids, and interspecies connections in the urban context, while emphasizing the need to imagine new ways of inhabiting the city, placing care, sustainability, empathy, and active listening at the core of public architecture.
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has unveiled images of a master plan for Khalid Bin Sultan City in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Located adjacent to its BEEAH Headquarters, the development draws inspiration from that building's design, incorporating fluid architectural forms reminiscent of wind-swept desert dunes. Planned as a design and business district, the new urban area will consist of seven residential neighbourhoods connected by shaded walkways and anchored by a two-kilometre-long central oasis.
The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) launched a documentary and exhibition, "With an Acre", the third and final chapter of the series Groundwork, which explores how contemporary architects cultivate alternative modes of practice to address the ecological crisis. The documentary follows the work of architect Carla Juaçaba in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where she is developing pavilions in a coffee field where collectives resist extractive industrial agriculture. The narrative examines the role of architects in extractivist contexts facing land regeneration challenges and unstable climatic conditions, as well as the tools smallholder farmers can use to cope with the environmental and social consequences of colonial settlement, urbanization, and industrialization.
Friends of + POOL has announced the next steps in the realization of New York City's first water-filtering floating swimming pool, to be installed at Pier 35, north of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. The project seeks to provide safe public access to swimming in the city's rivers by integrating a custom-designed filtration system into a floating pool structure. Installation at Pier 35 is scheduled for May 2026, when the pool will enter its final phase of evaluation. Public access will be contingent on the successful completion of large-scale filtration testing and the full build-out of the facility for safe public use.
Every year, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation commissions an architect to design a temporary pavilion for the Queen Victoria Gardens, in the center of Melbourne's Southbank Arts Precinct. The pavilions are then transferred to the state of Victoria. The tenth edition of the MPavilion was designed by Pritzker Prize Laureate Tadao Ando as his first and only built work in Australia and the southern hemisphere. The pavilion opened on November 16, 2023, and its presence was extended until March 2025, hosting a wide-ranging program of cultural events over two summer seasons. After facing demolition, given the temporary nature of the initiative, a community-led program, "Preserve the Pavilion", was launched in hopes of preserving the building. The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has recently announced that the pavilion will remain in Queen Victoria Gardens until 2030, following a decision by the City of Melbourne.
The Canada Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka features interactive exhibits and installations that present the country's innovation, culture, and diversity. Designed under the creative direction of Robert Lepage, the pavilion offers an immersive experience aimed at introducing Canada's values and capabilities to a global audience. Additionally, it aims to showcase Canadian innovation, resources, investment, and education to the broader Indo-Pacific region. Centered around regeneration, the design is in line with the broader theme at the Expo: "Designing the Future Society for Our Lives."
The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly in Paris has officially approved the Registration Dossier for Expo 2030 Riyadh, formally confirming Saudi Arabiaas the host of the upcoming World Expo. With this milestone, the next phase of preparations will begin, including the official invitation of participating countries through diplomatic channels. Coinciding with the approval, the initial masterplan for the Expo site designed by LAVA, the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, has been unveiled. Scheduled to take place from October 1, 2030, to March 31, 2031, the event will be held on a site in Riyadh, designed to accommodate more than 40 million visits and host over 195 participating nations.
