Palestinian Architecture

Heritage sites constitute complex spatial archives in which architecture, history, and collective memory converge. They encompass a wide spectrum of contexts—from archaeological remains, ancient and historic townscapes, UNESCO-listed landscapes, to early modern civic structures and industrial infrastructures. Yet these environments confront challenges: climate change, urban transformation, disaster, shifting social needs, and the gradual erosion of material fabric. Revitalization and restoration projects respond to these conditions by positioning architectural and spatial practice as an active mediator between preservation and the contemporary topologies.

Qalandiya: the Green Historic Maze, developed by RIWAQ – Centre for Architectural Conservation, has been awarded the Grand Prize at the Holcim Foundation Awards 2025, recognizing its sensitive and deeply contextual approach to heritage conservation in Palestine, selected among the 20 winners of this year's edition. Located in Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem, the project reactivates a historic village center long affected by political fragmentation, neglect, and spatial disconnection. Through an incremental rehabilitation strategy, the project restores deteriorated structures using traditional knowledge, local stone masonry, and native materials, transforming abandoned fabric into active public spaces while reinforcing environmental resilience through passive climate strategies and landscape-based infrastructure.

Among the 2025 Aga Khan Award winners is AAU Anastas and their project, Wonder Cabinet in Palestine, whose central aim is to serve as a haven for culture and creativity and a bridge between design and production. Beyond this meaningful project, AAU Anastas—working from offices in Bethlehem, Palestine, and Paris, France—has built a broad portfolio since 2015. Notable works include Dar Al Majous, a restoration in Bethlehem that challenges the boundary between domestic and public realms; the Tulkarm Courthouse (2015), one of their first projects that redefined civicness and social gathering on a prominent corner site in Tulkarm; and The Flat Vault, a commercial intervention that adds a juxtaposed stone vault to an existing monastery shop associated with a church built in the 12th century by the Crusaders.

Palestinian architect Suad Amiry has been awarded the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award in the Architecture and Design category. Founder and director of the Riwaq - Centre for Architectural Conservation, Amiry was recognised for her long-standing work in documenting, preserving, and reusing Palestinian architectural heritage through conservation practices that link historic structures with contemporary community needs. Her approach positions architecture as both a repository of collective memory and an active social framework, emphasising the role of heritage in everyday urban and rural life.

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Today, September 2, the seven winners of the 16th Cycle (2023–2025) of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture were announced, following on-site reviews of the 19 shortlisted projects revealed in June. Established in 1977, the Award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that respond to the physical, social, and economic needs of communities with a significant Muslim presence, while also addressing their cultural aspirations. To understand the vision behind this cycle's winners, ArchDaily's Editor-in-Chief, Christele Harrouk, spoke with Farrokh Derakhshani, who has been with the award for over four decades. He described the initiative as "a curated message to the world," a message that evolves with the times.

The independent Master Jury of the 16th Award Cycle (2023–2025) of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture has announced seven winners, selected following on-site reviews of projects shortlisted earlier in June. Collectively, the awarded works demonstrate architecture's potential to act as a catalyst for pluralism, community resilience, social transformation, cultural dialogue, and climate-responsive design. Two projects from Iran, and one each from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Pakistan, and Palestine, will share a prize of $1 million, among the most significant awards in the field of architecture.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) has announced the 19 shortlisted projects for its 2025 cycle. Selected from a pool of 369 nominations, these projects will compete for a share of the USD 1 million prize, one of the most significant awards in the field. The shortlist was determined by an independent Master Jury composed of nine members: Azra Akšamija, Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop, Lucia Allais, David Basulto, Yvonne Farrell, Kabage Karanja, Yacouba Konaté, Hassan Radoine, and Mun Summ Wong. The Jury will meet later this summer to review on-site evaluations and select the final recipients of the 16th Award Cycle (2023–2025).

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Kabage Karanja, co-founder and director of Cave_bureau based in Nairobi, Kenya, and Kathyrn Yusoff, professor of Inhuman Geography at the University of London, are the curators of the British Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale. Together, they form the UK-Kenya curatorial team behind GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair, an exhibition that rethinks the Pavilion as both a symbolic and material site. Their approach reflects on Britain's architectural legacy and its entanglement with histories of colonialism, geological extraction, and the urgency of the climate crisis. In recognition of their exploration of the relationship between Great Britain and Kenya, focusing on themes of reparation and renewal, the Pavilion curators and commissioner were awarded a Special Mention for National Participation by the Biennale jury. While on site in Venice, ArchDaily's editors had a chance to discuss with the curators about the ideas that shaped the British Pavilion.

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has announced its 2025 World Monuments Watch, highlighting 25 sites facing significant challenges. This biennial program, launched in 1996, aims to raise awareness and mobilize action for the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. The 2025 list includes diverse locations across five continents and, notably, the Moon, representing the need to protect artifacts from humanity's first lunar missions. The selection process involved over 200 nominations, revealing regional trends such as climate change impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa and urbanization challenges in Asia and the Pacific.

Master plans are comprehensive design strategies that guide the future development of cities, districts, or large-scale projects. From a design and architectural perspective, they strive to balance the need for flexibility, long-term vision, and the integration of infrastructure with the public realm. Key themes in master planning often include sustainable development, urban connectivity, and cultural integration. Master plans shape not only the physical environment but also the social fabric of communities by emphasizing walkability, mixed-use spaces, and the blending of natural and built environments. These large-scale frameworks showcase the role architecture plays in shaping the future of urban life.