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Masonry is often perceived through its weight, depth, texture, and sense of permanence. Yet these physical qualities also have several implications for the performance of a building envelope. From the thickness of the mortar joint to the weight of the material, every masonry decision is connected to considerations of durability, stability, and long-term performance, while preserving the material character associated with solidity and permanence. At Summer Street Apartments, thin brick offered a way to retain these qualities while accommodating the insulation and envelope requirements of an all-electric, net-zero energy building. Just as importantly, it helped give the project the residential character the architects were looking for.

Every year on September 21, the United Nations marks the International Day of Peace, an observance that invites global reflection on the conditions necessary to cultivate non-violence, social stability, and human dignity. Under the 2026 theme, "Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day," the international body emphasizes that peace is neither static nor self-sustaining. Rather than an abstract condition defined solely by diplomatic agreements, peace operates as an ongoing social process, shaped by economic equity, institutional integrity, and the quality of civic life across communities.

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"Right to Housing! Now and Forever" is an official European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) to demand affordable, sustainable, and fair housing across the European Union. The ECI is a governance tool that allows citizens to propose new laws for the European Commission to consider. Initiatives must be organized by a group of at least seven EU citizens living in seven different countries and must gather 1 million valid signatures within one year of receiving official approval. The signature collection for "Right to Housing! Now and Forever" launched on September 14, 2026, and aims to collect 1.2 million signatures across the EU to require the European Commission to formally respond to and address the proposal. The project builds on the HouseEurope! European Citizens' Initiative, which focused strictly on building renovation and closed unsuccessfully on January 31, 2026. This new proposal, put forward by a broader coalition, encompasses not only renovation but also financing tools and measures to ensure access.

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Cities depend on systems that already exist around them. When architects design on water or beyond Earth, those systems are no longer available. Without fixed ground or nearby networks for energy, water, transport, and waste, architecture has to take on functions the larger city would normally provide.

The reason for moving beyond familiar ground also changes from one project to another. In the Maldives, building on water responds to the vulnerability of existing land. In Busan, floating development creates another direction for urban expansion. On the Moon, the challenge is more absolute: there is no existing infrastructure to connect to at all.

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Every evening when we get home, without ceremony, we perform a small rite. We arrive at a door, we open it, and we step through into a space that belongs to us in a way no other space does. It is such a mundane act that we rarely notice it has a structure at all, and yet philosophers and anthropologists have written entire books describing these psychological structures. Interestingly, visual works such as the animated worlds of Studio Ghibli seem to reflect this dynamic to create worlds which contain architecture and layouts that provide a path to escape by tapping into our memories in a legible yet enchanted form.

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