English: Architect from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning of the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA). Collaborator at ArchDaily. Her interests involve projecting and thinking about urban planning and architecture from people. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Instagram: @agustinainiguez_
NPO Aoyama Design Forum (ADF), a non-profit organization, has announced the ADF Design Award 2026, celebrating architecture that does more than please the eye—it aims to make a meaningful impact on society, culture, and the environment. The award aims to recognize outstanding works that challenge existing conventions, demonstrate innovative thinking, and enrich people's lives through visionary, responsible design. Architects and designers around the world are invited to submit their proposals on a unique platform that fosters connections, promotes the exchange of ideas, and encourages meaningful cross-cultural collaboration.
How does the construction sector shape the future of cities? What challenges does it face? At the crossroads of demographic, social, energy, and climate pressures, the construction sector is changing fast. Professionals, institutions, and citizens are working together to build environments that improve health and well-being, encourages durable and place-responsive solutions, cut carbon emissions, withstand climate risks, and provide affordable, high-quality housing.
Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation imagined a "vertical neighborhood," a building able to integrate housing, commerce, leisure, and collective spaces within a single structural organism. Around the same time, Jane Jacobs argued that diversity of use is what produces safety, identity, and social life at the street level. Later, Rem Koolhaas, in Delirious New York, described the skyscraper as an early experiment in "vertical urbanism," capable of stacking incompatible programs under one roof. In cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, this ambition matured into complex hybrid buildings where different uses, such as transit hubs, retail, offices, hotels, and housing, coexist and interact continuously.
Finding the right tools to represent a project idea or carry out a construction job remains an ongoing challenge for architecture and design professionals. While software for drafting, 3D modeling, and calculations has increased precision and efficiency, many architects continue using legacy tools learned in academia or practice—tools that feel familiar, but don't necessarily offer the best design experience. From overloaded interfaces and clunky workflows to endless plug-ins and constant back-and-forth between disconnected software, traditional design tools often reveal their complexity and fragmentation.
Recognizing the contemporary role of the kitchen as a social, leisure, and experimental hub within the home, the dialogue between technology and architecture becomes increasingly relevant by bringing movement, adaptability, and flexibility to domestic spaces. While kitchens embody the essence of diverse cultures, preserving everything from ancient recipes and techniques to heritage and tradition, their architectural design increasingly integrates innovative material finishes and invisible technologies, seamlessly combining durability, energy efficiency, and design.
In an era of shifting paradigms, contemporary hospitality architecture is rethinking the adoption of new technologies, the incorporation of sustainability and energy efficiency principles, as well as the personalization of user experiences. Redefining the design of both interior and exterior hotel spaces, these projects integrate everything from region-specific climate design strategies to the use of recycled materials and bioclimatic design, all aimed at minimizing environmental impact.
Faced with the combined forces of population growth, economic prosperity, and urban expansion, cities are witnessing a significant rise in the movement of people and goods—mirroring the evolution of diverse mobility systems within urban environments. As technologies advance and modes of transport evolve, the adaptive reuse of train carriages, airplane cabins, and other service infrastructures reveals opportunities to explore their creative potential. Materials, technologies, and design tools converge around a shared goal: refurbishing and repurposing disused structures to give them new life.
The design of public restrooms has historically been linked to satisfying a common need for hygiene, health, and well-being in communities. By condensing different spaces, materials, and sanitation elements within their typologies, the architecture of public restrooms has adapted to contemporary demands for hygiene, care, and aesthetics. From sinks, toilets, and drinking fountains to partition systems, showers, changing tables, or lactation rooms, these features shape the dynamics of these spaces. Whether in airports, parks, clinics, hotels, or other sites, these elements aim to provide privacy and comfort, deliver efficient cleaning solutions, and integrate accessibility criteria across all components, supported by contemporary tools and technologies.
What role does street furniture play in public spaces? In response to human social behavior, the design of public spaces is part of a complex inquiry. Alongside the analysis of uses, community participation, the study of climatic and geographical conditions, and resource efficiency—among many other factors—it involves selecting appropriate urban equipment and elements to meet the needs of a large share of the population. As the Spanish architect and urban planner Oriol Bohigas Guardiola maintained, architecture is not only an art but also a direct service to society. Consequently, harmony among the multiple disciplines involved should yield tools that improve and facilitate community life. Understanding the role of street furniture—how it supports specific activities depending on its layout, dimensions, materials, and long-term lifespan—is essential to the current and future functioning of urban spaces.
What is the link between architecture and pastry? What design strategies are applied in the contemporary interiors of bakeries and pastry shops? While architecture can serve as inspiration for the design of forms and configurations of edible elements, it also contributes the techniques of descriptive drawing, architectural composition, and staged planning to the culinary language. Focusing their thinking on people and their needs, both disciplines strive for precision, with interior design being a broad field where the use of figures, colors, materials, and various equipment can be explored to enhance user experiences.
Blending vernacular techniques with contemporary experimentation, Mexico's architectural landscape is shaped by a continuous dialogue between tradition, materiality, and modernity. As the fifth most biodiverse country in the world, Mexican architecture seeks to respond to its vast range of natural environments, climates, and cultural traditions, all within a territory marked by striking contrasts. Reflecting a visible duality, it can embody both exclusivity and act as a catalyst for social transformation.
Working with the site instead of against it, the exhibition "Architecture is Cooperation," curated by Josep Ferrando, emphasizes the value of cooperation at the essence of architecture. Showcasing the work of professionals, organizations, and communities in cooperation projects driven from Spain, the installation takes shape through an exhibition design in earth and wood. The choice of these materials is understood not only from their aesthetic or symbolic qualities but also from their functionality and commitment to the principles of the circular economy. Until September 30, 2025, the exhibition will be on view at the Casa de la Arquitectura in Madrid, highlighting the necessary attention of architecture to the demands of the most vulnerable societies and communities by aligning the constructive language with the content of the exhibition.
In the pursuit of connecting with the architectural traditions of cities and integrating their natural environments into design projects, the contemporary reinterpretation of colonial homes in Mexico faces the challenge of enhancing the contrast between the old and the new. Through the conservation of historical elements, the reuse of materials, and the fusion with contemporary design, the architecture of Mérida recognizes in its original colonial configuration new opportunities to create spaces in line with today’s demands. From achieving a direct connection with nature to naturally lighting and ventilating interior spaces, numerous ancient constructions, whether in ruins or not, choose to highlight their architecture by giving them a new life.
How do nature and landscape dialogue within spaces designed for children? How are architecture and urban design capable of shaping natural atmospheres that integrate practices of play, participation, and exploration? From participatory projects that involve children in the design process to built environments that incorporate furniture adapted to their needs, the conception of spaces for childhood entails the creation of places for encounter, learning, and coexistence. At times, these spaces are able to strengthen the relationships between interiors and exteriors, connecting their users with nature and the surrounding environment. Depending on their cultures, customs, and histories of attachment to place, several contemporary projects deploy tools and strategies that integrate architecture, nature, and pedagogy to form broad experiences of learning, play, and discovery.
