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There have been five major extinction events in Earth's history, the fifth being the obliteration of the dinosaurs by an asteroid some 65 million years ago. For many plant and animal species today, humans are now the greatest threat to their survival. This is known as the sixth extinction, and its grim ledger is the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The unrestrained destruction of animal habitats for our cities and food production is the equivalent of a slow-motion asteroid. And yet, it is only the human who has the capacity to prevent a real asteroid hitting Earth.

Smart City Expo World Congress (Barcelona, November 3-5) is the world's biggest and most influential event for cities and urban innovation. The event is a premier venue where a diverse community of industry executives, government leaders, researchers, urban pioneers and entrepreneurs gather annually to address complex issues to move cities toward a brighter future. This year's event will welcome over 27,000 professional visitors from more than 130 countries around the globe, 1,190+ exhibitors, 600+ speakers, and representatives from nearly 1,000 cities.

Introducing the Kinderspace: Architecture for Children's Development competition / Edition #4, an architectural challenge dedicated to crafting innovative educational spaces that enhance early childhood learning. As young children navigate their formative years, the environment in which they learn plays a pivotal role in their cognitive, emotional, and social development. Traditional educational settings often do not fully cater to the dynamism of early childhood, potentially stifling creativity and exploration.

The Mohamed Makiya Prize is part of Tamayouz Excellence Award's programme that champions and celebrates the best of architecture in the Middle East and North Africa. Every cycle, the prize is presented to the 'Architectural Personality of the Year', or the individual/organisation that has made the greatest contribution towards the advancement of architecture in a specific period. The winner will be celebrated during the biennial Tamayouz Excellence Award Ceremony.

We are excited to invite submissions for DARK MATTER: Revisiting the Architecture of Coal in Post-War Europe, an in-person conference hosted by the ACME (Architecture of Coal in Modern Europe) project (ERC Advanced Grant, 2024–2030), taking place at the Irish Architectural Archive, Dublin on 5+6 November 2026.

Celebrating the Dialogue Between Earthen Architecture and Landscape

What’s That Green? Governance Lab is excited to launch an open call for projects that demonstrate good practice in the long-term co-care and co-maintenance of urban green spaces together with civil society.
We are not looking for governance models where green spaces are solely managed by public or private actors, nor where citizens are acting entirely on their own. Our focus is on blended stewardship models - where cities, private organizations, and civil society care for green spaces together.

From November 7 to December 19, Friedman Benda presents "Adam Pendleton: Who Owns Geometry Anyway?", marking the gallery’s first collaboration with the artist and Pendleton’s inaugural exploration of furniture typologies. Pendleton’s works, stemming from the seeds of simple geometric figures, explore themes of the historical avant-garde that influenced modern and contemporary aesthetics.

The Arcause Social Internships Program, a one of a kind initiative by Ethos Foundation | Arcause emerges from this understanding that the future of architecture depends on how deeply it listens, learns, and responds to the world it serves. The program seeks to bridge the long-standing gap between design education and the realities of community development, sustainability, and social
impact. Through this initiative, students and early-career professionals will be placed at NGOs, community projects, and social design studios across India. Here, young and budding architects and designers will be encouraged to see beyond plans and elevations while discovering how spaces can become tools for change.

The Kingspan MICROHOME 2026 invites architects and designers to pause and reconsider what is truly essential. In a world of constant expansion — of cities, technologies, and ambitions — this competition asks a simple question: Can less be more?

The project brings together architects, artists, researchers, scientists, and social workers, the project explores how embodied, material, and technological practices can help us rethink our relationship with the planet’s energy infrastructures.

The home is often understood as the physical manifestation of one’s identity, a space shaped by the longing for reprieve from societal expectations. Historically defined by rigid heteronormative ideals of domestic life, the reproduction of these models concretizes a universal, and often restrictive, understanding of what a home should be. TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living seeks to shift this dominant social narrative, focusing on the nuanced existence of queer domesticity, belonging and resilience in spaces for self-determination.

The GAD Academy is a post-graduate certificate program where young architects can get hands-on experience in a professional architecture office while learning computer skills, theory and history.

Organized by ASF with Susan Chin of DesignConnects, in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects New York, and American Institute of Architects Continental Europe, Nordic American Connections: Conversations on Architecture and Design is a 4-part series that presents prominent architects, critics and scholars to reflect on Scandinavian and Nordic design's enduring impact in shaping modern American design since the 19th century.

ZETHAUS Symposium ININ will take place at the IUAV – Università Iuav di Venezia, gathering architects, artists, and thinkers to reflect on how we build, dwell, and imagine the world we share.

Open House Thessaloniki returns on 22–23 November, once again inviting the public to experience the city through its architecture. During the festival weekend, over 70 buildings, ranging from historic landmarks and adaptive reuse projects to innovative new constructions, will open their doors for free guided tours led by volunteers, offering a unique opportunity to explore Thessaloniki’s diverse architectural identity.

Following the success of previous editions in Venice, Chicago and New Orleans, Shaping the City is returning to the floating city for two days of conversations focusing on housing and community. The sixth edition of the conference, curated by ECC Italy in the context of its biennial architecture exhibition Time Space Existence, will take place at Palazzo Michiel on 21 and 22 November 2025, and streamed online on the YouTube channel of ECC Italy.

The exhibition “OBRA OBERTA, dedicated to the work of architect Josep Lluís Mateo, opens at the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya. Curated by María Figueras and Cristina Marcos, the show invites us to rethink the architectural act as a practice in constant transition, where the physical and the conceptual intertwine through processes, representations, and contexts.