MVRDV has revealed the design for WOMA, a mixed-use development planned for Wynwood Norte, Miami, in collaboration with Quito-based developer Uribe Schwarzkopf and Miami-based architect of record Kobi Karp. The development is planned on the site of a former coffee roasting company and takes cues from Wynwood Norte's industrial character and evolving creative community. Located alongside the nonprofit Bakehouse Art Complex, the project is intended to contribute to the area's growing network of spaces dedicated to art, fashion, and making.
On 1 September 2026, the Balearic Social Housing Model was announced as the recipient of the 2026 OBEL Award. The focus of this award's cycle was "Systems' Hack," calling on architecture to critically engage with the systems that underpin contemporary society and to examine how these interconnected networks might be reconfigured in response to accelerating global challenges. The Balearic Social Housing Model, created by economist and independent consultant Cris Ballester and architect and civil servant Carles Oliver, is a six-point approach to public housing developed between 2019 and 2023, providing additional value and comfort to traditional affordable housing by bringing procurement, architecture, materials, energy, tenure, public capacity and learning together as responses to current social, environmental and economic challenges. In this interview with ArchDaily, the model's creators discuss its origins, ambitions, and material challenges in making social housing a desirable place to live.
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has been selected to receive the Andrée Putman Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2027 Créateurs Design Awards (CDA). The award, one of two Legacy Awards presented by the organization, recognizes a career that has influenced architecture and the built environment across generations and geographic contexts. Kuma will receive the honor during the CDA Awards Ceremony, which will take place at the Shangri-La Paris on January 16, 2027.
Amid growing economic, political, and climatic instability, the 2026 OBEL Award highlights the need for architectural approaches that rethink both existing and emerging infrastructures. The title for this edition is "Systems' Hack," where "systems" are understood as interrelated mechanisms governed by shared rules and "hacking" is framed as a strategic intervention that seeks to alter how these mechanisms operate. Within this framework, the OBEL Foundation has announced the Balearic Social Housing Model as the winner of this year's award, while also announcing a new cycle in 2027 under the same topic. The Balearic Social Housing Model is recognized for "transforming the role of social housing administration in the Balearic Islands between 2019 and 2023," proposing new approaches in response to an acute housing shortage and a critically limited public rental housing stock in Spain.
Severe late-August wildfires across northern Algeria have brought residential areas, agricultural lands, and critical transport corridors directly into the path of rapidly spreading flames. The destruction across Jijel, Béjaïa, and Tizi Ouzou claimed at least 12 lives and forced the emergency closure of major national highways. The latest outbreak follows a summer of repeated fires across the country, with authorities recorded nearly 2,000 fires nationwide in July, while fires in the northeastern province of Annaba at the end of the month forced more than 100 people to leave their homes and damaged nearly 150 houses. The current fires have again brought residential areas, roads and other infrastructure into the path of rapidly spreading flames. Forest fires occur regularly in northern Algeria during the summer, with increasingly frequent drought and periods of intense heat contributing to more severe fire conditions.
An exhibition tracing the vision behind Herzog & de Meuron's ten selected projects in China will open on September 12, 2026, at the M+ Museum in Hong Kong. The exhibition marks the museum's fifth anniversary; since opening, M+ has built its collection around visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The museum building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron between 2012 and 2021, is located in the city's West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), a cultural hub spanning forty hectares alongside Victoria Harbour. "Herzog & de Meuron: In Focus" is curated by Ikko Yokoyama and Iris Ng and reviews projects dating from 2002 to 2021, including Tai Kwun in Hong Kong (2006–2018) and the National Stadium in Beijing (2002–2008).
Architecture across Latin America this month reflects an ongoing negotiation between environmental challenges, cultural heritage, and changing approaches to public and professional life. From Colombia's earthquake and its impact on historic architecture to new cultural projects in Argentina and environmentally responsive design in Ecuador and Medellín, recent developments highlight how architecture continues to respond to both regional conditions and broader global challenges. Questions of heritage and infrastructure also remained prominent, as UNESCO raised concerns over the impacts of the Tren Maya on Mexico's Calakmul World Heritage site, while new initiatives in Chile and Costa Rica explored ecological design and sustainable practice. The month's stories point to a regional architectural landscape shaped by resilience, adaptation, and the relationship between built environments and their wider social and natural contexts.
A lower section of a Himalayan glacier collapsed on Wednesday, August 26, creating an ice and rock avalanche down the Lhende River valley that triggered severe flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border. The floods destroyed entire villages, with at least 350 confirmed dead and more than 1,300 people still missing. Characterized by their sudden and violent nature, flash floods occur within the first six hours after heavy rainfall or another floodwater source. In this case, the event has been attributed to a glacier collapse higher in the Himalayas, linked, in some scenarios, to a heat wave in the area. The speed of the movement is also distinctive of this type of flood, whose path of destruction in this case follows the Trishuli River basin in Nepal. According to the International Federation of Red Cross, the most affected areas are the Nepalese Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. A more detailed assessment is expected in the coming days as floodwaters recede; in the meantime, it is already possible to outline some of the evidence from a territorial point of view.
This week's news focused on how architecture engages with what already exists and communicates beyond the building itself. Several stories explored restoration and reuse, from the renewal of a historic university hall to the preservation of an artist's exhibition spaces and the incorporation of reclaimed materials into new construction. Elsewhere, architecture continued to serve as both subject and setting for exhibition, with new museum and cultural venue announcements examining architecture's broader social, technological, and ecological contexts. On the radar, three projects to watch: in Berlin, sauerbruch hutton has won the competition to extend the Federal Ministry of Defense's headquarters at the Bendlerblock; in Santa Barbara, SOM and Mithun have unveiled designs for a major new student housing complex at UC Santa Barbara; and, addressing a different kind of construction altogether, Paulo Tavares' practice Autonoma has launched Documental, an open-source platform that lets journalists, researchers, and civil organizations turn data, images, and satellite imagery into geolocated digital stories in defense of human and environmental rights.
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose seven-decade career encompassed painting, sculpture, installation, performance, literature and film, has died at the age of 97. Kusama died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, according to a statement from Yayoi Kusama Inc. and Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc. Known internationally for her polka dots, pumpkins and Infinity Mirror Rooms, Kusama developed a distinctive artistic language around repetition, infinity, self-obliteration and the relationship between the individual and the world.
Steven Holl Architects has been selected to lead the renewal of Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago in Illinois. The project will upgrade the 111-year-old building's infrastructure, improve accessibility, and introduce new spaces for programs, events, and informal gathering while preserving its historic character. Designed by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge and completed in 1916, Ida Noyes Hall was originally conceived as a women's clubhouse and has since evolved into a broader campus gathering space. JLK Architects will serve as the historic preservation architect, with Workshop Architects leading student-life programming and operations planning.
City Tower One is a 358-meter-tall (1,175 ft.) tower in Dubai designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners. The 93-story mixed-use skyscraper completed construction and launched for leasing in June 2026. The building is located in the Trade Centre First neighborhood, on a site connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Badaa Road along Eleventh Street, and includes 608 residential units across from Hazel Wong's Emirates Towers and Killa Design's Museum of the Future. The building's presence in Dubai's skyline and everyday urban life was recently captured by local photographer Ahmad Alnaji, founder of SARAB Art Production and a contributor to the visual identity of landmark buildings across the region, including projects by architecture practices such as Foster + Partners, UNStudio and Killa Design.
The Chinati Foundation has announced plans to restore the Artillery Sheds in Marfa, Texas, the former military buildings adapted by artist Donald Judd to house his 100 untitled works in mill aluminum, created between 1982 and 1986. Led by architect Troy Schaum of Schaum Architects, the multi-year preservation project is being developed with the Getty Conservation Institute and will address the historic buildings' envelope, accessibility, environmental performance, and landscape while preserving Judd's site-specific installation. The project follows the Artillery Sheds' inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in 2025 as part of the expanded Donald Judd Historic District.
Powerhouse Parramatta, a new museum and cultural institution on the banks of the Parramatta River in Western Sydney, Australia, will open to the public on Saturday, November 7, 2026. The 30,000-square-meter building has been designed by Franco-Japanese firm Moreau Kusunoki as lead designer, with Australian firm Genton as local architect and Arup as engineer. Moreau Kusunoki won the design competition for the project in 2019, with completion initially planned for 2025. Powerhouse Parramatta is the first state cultural organization located in Western Sydney, a region whose population includes communities from more than 170 countries. At opening, the museum will present five exhibitions.
The 2026 Oslo Architecture Triennale will take place from September 17 to October 1 at Sofienberg Church in Oslo, bringing together more than 30 international architecture projects around the question "What if Nature Comes First?" For its ninth edition, the Triennale will adopt a two-week festival format, combining an exhibition with conferences, seminars, workshops, film screenings and guided walks. Curated by Line Ramstad, the programme will examine how placing nature at the starting point of architectural decision-making could influence what is built, preserved, transformed or left untouched.
Construction is advancing on Gothenburg Grand Central, a new station building and prominent western entrance designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter. The project is part of the West Link (Västlänken) commuter rail project at Gothenburg Central Station, consisting of 8 kilometers of railway, including three new stations: Centralen, Haga, and Korsvägen. The new route is projected to increase capacity during peak hours and reduce travel times for commuter and regional trains, connecting directly to the existing central station and the Nils Ericson Terminal. The new station is scheduled to open alongside Västlänken's Centralen underground station in December 2026, with office tenants moving in during 2027, and the rest of the tunnel planned to be ready for traffic by December 2030.
Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes has developed a multidisciplinary practice that spans sculpture, architecture, social engagement, and activism. Trained as an architect, Reyes approaches sculpture as both a material and a collective process, combining traditional stone carving with participatory projects that address contemporary social issues. His work frequently explores transformation, whether through physical materials or community action, positioning sculpture as a tool for reimagining social realities. In a 2025 interview with Louisiana Channel, Reyes discusses the influence of architecture on his artistic practice, the concept of "social sculpture," and the importance of preserving craft traditions in an increasingly automated world.
The construction of the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Science Common, the new venue at Boston's Museum of Science, one of the United States' oldest science institutions, is nearing completion. The 929 m² (10,000-square-foot) building, designed by William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc., is expected to open to the public on October 10, 2026, followed by a celebratory event on October 28. The new glazed civic venue overlooks the Charles River with views of the Boston skyline, and features movable walls and retractable seating to shift between functions and programs. The space is designed to support public dialogue around the sciences, using immersive media, production, and livestreaming technology to reach audiences beyond the city.
This week's stories explore how architecture engages with questions of culture, access, and collective life, from new cultural institutions and exhibitions to public spaces and housing. This week, the 2026 NCARB by the Numbers report provided a broader perspective on the profession itself, showing that people of color accounted for 49% of licensure candidates in 2025 and women for 47%, compared with 21% and 28% among the overall architect population. The report offers one perspective on access within the profession, while projects and cultural initiatives further examine how architecture responds to different forms of public and collective life.
Baku Expo City masterplan, ZHA, 2026. Image Courtesy of ZHA
ZHA has been selected to design a new 198-hectare urban district in Baku, Azerbaijan. The project surrounds the existing Baku Expo Center events venue in a pine forest area that is planned to be preserved. The plan responds to the city's population growth over the past decade with a masterplan to organize the provision of a wide variety of residences. This is the firm's second project in Baku, after the Heydar Aliyev Center cultural venue, completed in 2013. On a different scale, the buildings in the new district appear to follow the geometric style inherited from Zaha Hadid, in a series of white buildings with rounded edges that convey an idea of fluid architecture.
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has released the 2026 edition of its annual NCARB by the Numbers report, presenting data from 2025 on architectural licensure and demographics in the United States. The latest figures show a gradual increase in diversity among those pursuing licensure, while the demographic composition of the licensed architect population remains considerably less diverse than the current candidate pool. The report also examines attrition along the path to licensure, revealing differences in who ultimately reaches professional registration.
The Ukrainian pavilion at the 20th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is being designed by the team from CO-HATY, a local volunteer initiative restoring abandoned buildings in the country to transform them into stable homes for internally displaced people. The team is formed by METALAB and relocated members of the Ukrainian Urban Curators agency, who have been developing CO-HATY since 2022. Titled "Pool of Questions," the project poses a question the organization argues is rarely voiced in the context of survival: not simply where displaced people should live, but when they can begin to live. For Venice, the imagined installation extends the restoration and adaptive reuse work into a discourse on affordable housing, dignity and rest during an ongoing war.
OMA, led by Partner Jason Long, together with San Francisco-based Y.A. Studio, has completed 730 Stanyan, a mixed-use affordable housing development in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Developed by the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) and Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), the project provides 160 permanently affordable homes for low-income families, formerly unhoused families, and Transitional Age Youth (TAY). Located at the intersection of Haight and Stanyan Streets, adjacent to the entrance of Golden Gate Park, the development marks OMA's first completed 100% affordable housing project in the United States.
Norman Jaffe, Krieger House , Montauk, New York, 1975. Black and white photograph, 9 x 12 in. Courtesy Norman Jaffe Archives. Photo: Bill Maris. From the 2026 grant to Wandering Eye Studios for the film "Vanishing Point: An Architect’s Journey". Image Courtesy of The Graham Foundation
Since 1956, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts has fostered the development and exchange of ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. It awards project-based grants to individuals and organizations each year, and hosts public exhibitions and lectures. In June, the foundation announced the recipients of its 2026 Grants to Individuals program, awarding 54 projects that investigate architecture through exhibitions, films, publications, and research initiatives. In a second round announced this week, the organization has allocated funding to projects run by organizations with the same objective: expanding architectural discourse through diverse materials and cultural media.
