This week, Milan once again becomes the global center of the design industry as the 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano unfolds at Fiera Milano, Rho. Running from April 8 to 13, the event welcomes over 2,100 exhibitors from 37 countries across 169,000 square meters of sold-out exhibition space. With a focus on sustainability, global outreach, and cultural programming, Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025 continues to evolve as both a marketplace and a space for critical reflection on the future of design. Featuring a notable number of first-time participants, 168 new brands, and a return of 91 previous exhibitors, the Salone continues to act as a key platform for international dialogue, innovation, and industry exchange. The ArchDaily team is on site to follow this year's highlights and share updates throughout the week.
OMA/David Gianotten, has won the competition to revitalize the historic Selman Stërmasi Stadium and its surrounding area in central Tirana, Albania. Originally built in 1956, the stadium is now being redesigned to not only expand the existing football grounds but also to foster stronger links between surrounding neighborhoods in Tirana. With the revitalization, the stadium aims to be a key connector between the Blloku and Komune a Parisit neighborhoods.
The exhibition is based on the observation that France is expected to experience a temperature rise of +4°C by the year 2100. Its current temperate climate is projected to shift toward a subtropical one. In response, the exhibition turns to warmer latitudes for architectural models that can inform how to build today in France—and in other regions currently considered temperate—an architecture capable of withstanding this increase in heat.
https://www.archdaily.com/1028990/sana-frini-and-philippe-rahm-announce-participants-for-the-2025-versailles-biennale-of-architecture-and-landscapeArchDaily Team
A moderated discussion hosted by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Holcim Foundation Awards, the EUmies Awards, the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, the OBEL Award, and the Ammodo Architecture Award will take place in Venice during the opening week of the 19th Architecture Biennale. This consortium of six architecture awards, alongside international architects associated with the prizes, will gather on Friday, May 9, 2025, at TBA21–Academy's Ocean Space to discuss the overarching impact of architecture awards and their potential to promote meaningful change. Titled "Beyond the Prize," the event aims to critically reflect on these awards' purpose, trajectory, and potential in the face of contemporary social and environmental challenges.
Garcés de Seta Bonet and MARVEL Architects' proposal won the competition to adapt and expand the Tres Xemeneies/Three Chimneys, a former power plant set to become the Catalunya Media City hub in Barcelona, Spain. With their winning design, the two studios sought to preserve the site's historical legacy while creating a space that can evolve and shape future possibilities. Scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 and expected to be completed by 2027/2028, the project is planning to offer a range of features and services designed to foster innovation, creativity, technology, training, and digital culture exhibitions.
The Los Angeles City Council has approved the revised Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (Citywide ARO), which is planned to take effect in 2025. Building on the success of the 1999 ordinance, which facilitated the creation of over 12,000 housing units in Downtown LA, the updated policy aims to address the city's ongoing housing crisis and repurpose underutilized buildings.
BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group, has been selected to design the new Hungarian Natural History Museum in Debrecen. Located on a former sports ground at the northern edge of the city's Great Forest, Nagyerdő, the 23,000 m² museum is being developed in collaboration with Vikár és Lukács Építés Stúdió, Museum Studio, and TYPSA. The new institution will replace the existing museum in Budapest, supporting the government's vision to establish Debrecen as a regional hub for education and culture by 2030. Commissioned by the Museum and the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, the new building will house permanent and temporary exhibition halls, educational and research facilities, public amenities, and back-of-house spaces.
For three weeks, from March 28 to April 20, 2025, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. will host the art festival "EARTH to SPACE: Arts Breaking the Sky." Curated by Alicia Adams, Vice President of International Programming, and Gilda Almeida, Director of International Programming, the festival includes a full agenda of performances, film screenings, talks, panels, and exhibitions. As part of the festival, Foster + Partners has designed an exhibition titled "From Earth to Space and Back," inviting visitors to imagine a future where humans have experienced life on Mars, where exploring new worlds is within reach, and where technological advancements in space revolutionize life on Earth. The festival is based on the idea that imagining life in space can inspire solutions for living on Earth, a perspective reflected in the projects presented by Foster + Partners.
The 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile will take place in Milan from April 8 to 13, 2025. Dating back to 1961, Salone del Mobile is a trade fair that covers a wide range of interior design products. The theme of this edition focuses on exploring the deep connections between humanity and design, aiming to establish the event as a creative platform beyond its commercial functions. The fair also serves as a laboratory for experimentation and the exchange of ideas, where new prototypes for furniture and domestic spaces are presented in settings that bring different narratives about ways of living to life. In addition to the furniture exhibition, the event will feature installations, conferences, and workshops, all taking place over the five days at Milan's Rho Fiera fairgrounds.
The Lithuanian Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale presents Archi / Tree / tecture, a project by the National Architects Association. Commissioned by Juratė Tutlyte and curated by architect Gintaras Balčytis, the exhibition invites architects, students, communities, and visitors to reflect on the deep connections between architecture and urban nature. It positions the discipline as an interpretive medium that reveals the layered relationships shaping our cities, which in turn reflect these dynamic interactions. The proposal evokes an urban memory rooted in landscapes where fields and trees once stood, introducing the dimension of time into discussions on city ecosystems, sustainability, and resilience. The exhibition, an indoor installation designed by architects Paulius Vaitiekūnas, Andrius Pukis, and Vika Pranaitytė, will be set within the Church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti. The audiovisual and light installation in the pavilion was designed by the interdisciplinary art duo Lina Pranaitytė and Urtė Pakers, while the sculptural component of the installation was created by Kęstutis Lanauskas.
Dutch architecture firm MVRDV has won the competition to design a new multifunctional market and food hall in Zhubei, Taiwan. Developed in collaboration with local firm EKUO, the project, referred to as the "Market Cube" or "River Bank 1," aims to redefine the traditional market building through a vertically layered, highly adaptable structure. Positioned along the Touqian River at a prominent gateway between Zhubei and neighboring Hsinchu, the building is set to become a major civic destination.
Happening throughout 8 days across 12 cities from north to south of Ecuador, the "no-bienal" biennale is holding its second edition from March 25 to April 1, 2025. Its unique name is devised to stand in opposition to the competitive structure that characterizes traditional biennials in the discipline. One of the objectives of this new edition is to demonstrate that there is unity in Ecuador, resisting the political strategies of division. Escuela Radical, the educational collective at the center of the event's organization, asserts that "it is not about centralization or decentralization, but simply about sharing without competing."
David M. Childs, the architect renowned for his significant contributions to the New York City skyline, passed away on March 26, 2025, in Pelham, N.Y., at the age of 83. His career, primarily spent at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), was marked by a commitment to urbanistic values and a dedication to enhancing the civic good through architecture. Childs left an indelible mark on the built environment, balancing aesthetic considerations with the complex demands of large-scale urban projects.
Foster + Partners has just released the design for the redevelopment of Palas Iași, a major mixed-use development in Iași, a city in eastern Romania. The proposal includes a new masterplan centered around the historic Palace of Culture and aims to improve urban connectivity, enhance public green spaces, and upgrade the existing commercial infrastructure. Developed in collaboration with Romanian developer IULIUS, the project aims to bring together retail, cultural, and landscape elements within a unified and accessible framework.
In 2021, the Municipality of Roosendaal began collaborating with MVRDV as an urban development consultant. The firm's partner, Winy Maas, was subsequently appointed as urban advisor, conforming a team that included MVRDV, Rebel Group, Transitiefocus, and other experts. Their task was to consolidate existing projects and initiatives into a unified strategic vision, seeking a mix of bottom-up and top-down planning approaches. The vision, also called "The Mosaic", was developed through a participatory process involving residents. It provides insight at multiple scales, from land-use adjustments across the municipality to over 40 potential projects aimed at harnessing the potential of specific locations. Published as a series of seven interconnected documents, the vision aims to provide Roosendaal with strategies to accommodate growth.
21st Europe, a new design-led think tank founded by former SPACE10 creative director Kaave Pour focused on shaping the future of the continent, has just unveiled Starline: a blueprint for a high-speed rail system that aims to connect Europe as seamlessly as a city metro. Revealed at the think tank's inaugural summit in Barcelona and developed in collaboration with creative technology studio Bakken & Bæck, Starline combines infrastructure, digital tools, and visual identity into one integrated vision for movement across the continent.
Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, in collaboration with Lincoln Road Enterprises, a philanthropic organization advancing women's leadership, has unveiled the design for the forthcoming Women's Leadership Center at Williams Bay. Located on an 8.6-acre site overlooking Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin, the 24,000-square-foot retreat center is designed to support innovation, collaboration, and leadership programming for professional women's groups. The project broke ground in July 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2026.
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Courtesy of Katia Sei Fong, Ken Sei Fong, Luis Sei Fong
The national exhibition of Uruguay at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled "53.86% Uruguay, Land of Water," explores the intrinsic relationship between architecture, territory, and water. Curated by architects Katia Sei Fong and Ken Sei Fong, along with visual artist Luis Sei Fong, the exhibition proposes that we may be entering the age of water, the "Hydrocene", and that the way humanity manages and conserves this resource will shape its future. In this context, the project highlights that Uruguay's maritime territory (53.86%) is larger than its land territory. Water, therefore, is not only a natural resource but a fundamental element of the country's history and culture, essential to its development.
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in collaboration with the Guangdong Architectural Design & Research Institute, the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre in Nansha, China, is approaching completion. Construction began in August 2023, with the main structures of the stadium and arena topping out in February 2024. Roofing and curtain wall installations were finalized in February 2025, and the project has now entered its final phase of interior finishing and landscaping. The center is set for handover in June 2025, ahead of its role as a key venue for the China National Games in November.
In March 2023, the AustinTransit Partnership (ATP) announced the selection of UNStudio, HKS, and Gehl to lead the architecture and urban design of Project Connect, an expansion of Austin's public transportation system in Texas, United States. Led by ATP, the system aims to connect communities, enhance public spaces, and integrate with the city's evolving urban fabric. The design framework, developed by the four entities, establishes the foundation for how the light rail will interact with Austin's neighborhoods. The design team states that the project's priorities are in people-first infrastructure and the creation of dynamic public spaces, which they seek to reflect in the newly unveiled images. As a voter-approved initiative, Project Connect actively encourages public participation, allowing Austin residents to provide feedback throughout its development.
The Winter Stations annual design competition celebrates its 11th edition in 2025. The competition challenges international artists and designers to reimagine lifeguard stations as captivating, interactive art installations. Designed to harmonize with the environment at Woodbine Beach in Toronto, Canada, these installations encourage immersive engagement with art in a public space, offering a transformative experience. Following its 10th anniversary in 2024, Winter Stations introduced an additional challenge, inviting participants to consider the future of the stations and their evolving relationship with the public and the environment. The theme for the 2025 edition, Dawn, calls on designers to explore how the stations can adapt, grow, and transform in the coming years.
In recent weeks, a series of notable architectural projects have been announced, reflecting a broad spectrum of design approaches aimed at enhancing urban life, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability. From cultural venues to large-scale masterplans and infrastructural advancements, these developments highlight how architecture continues to shape cities and communities. Among them, Knight Architects' Kruunusillat Bridge in Helsinki marks a milestone as Finland's tallest and longest bridge, designed to support sustainable mobility. Meanwhile, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's masterplan for Croydon sets out a vision for a vibrant mixed-use district, integrating historic preservation with contemporary urban renewal. At Kew Gardens, Mizzi Studio's Carbon Garden introduces a new permanent installation that explores carbon cycles through landscape design. This collection of recent announcements underscores the evolving priorities in architecture, from connectivity and urban regeneration to climate-conscious interventions.
