On the southern edge of Vienna, a cluster of monumental terraces rises above the cityscape, their stepped balconies cascading with greenery and their rooftops crowned with swimming pools. This is the Wohnpark Alterlaa, one of the most ambitious social housing projects in postwar Europe. Designed by Austrian architect Harry Glück and built between 1973 and 1985, the complex was founded on a provocative principle: municipal housing should not only provide affordable shelter but also offer the pleasures and amenities usually reserved for the wealthy.
With more than 3,000 apartments housing nearly 9,000 residents, Alterlaa was conceived as a city within the city. Alongside its residential towers, it incorporates shops, schools, medical services, and cultural facilities, ensuring that daily life can unfold entirely within its boundaries. The project reflects a moment of optimism in Vienna's urban policy, when housing was understood as infrastructure for collective well-being rather than as a commodity.
Today, interdisciplinary learning and exchange are more important than ever in addressing increasingly complex environmental, social, and urban challenges.
Each summer, the University of California, Berkeley's College of Environmental Design (CED) becomes an intensive laboratory for architectural, landscape, and urban exploration. Through two complementary programs—Design + Innovation for Sustainable Cities (DISC) and the Summer Institutes—Berkeley offers an immersive curriculum grounded in disciplinary rigor, intentional exchange, and a shared institutional culture. Together, these programs reflect CED's long-standing multidisciplinary structure, with architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, and urban design thriving and collaborating under one roof.
The Egg is a performing arts centre located in Albany, within New York's Empire State Plaza, designed by the North American firm Harrison & Abramovitz. Construction began in 1966 and was completed twelve years later, in 1978, with the aim of hosting a broad range of cultural events and performances for New York State residents. Drawing inspiration from Brazilian modernism, the domed, egg-like concrete structure stands out as a striking counterpoint within an otherwise rational urban ensemble. Surrounded by state government towers set in an open plaza and clad in stone, the building's exposed concrete, its seemingly suspended form, and pronounced curved geometry position it as a late example of modernist Brutalism. The venue is currently undergoing restoration and, after six months of renovations, is set to reopen on January 8, 2026, in what has been described as a "refreshed and reimagined" space.
The circular economy, including the reuse of building materials, is fast becoming a key component in the fight against carbon emissions. This involves designing to minimize waste and utilize materials that can be reused at the end of the building's life. On the opposing side, the reuse of materials from partially or wholly demolished buildings can also reduce waste and carbon emissions that would have resulted from using virgin materials. Sustainability purposes aside, the reuse of building materials has a centuries-old history, both for symbolic reasons and simply out of necessity.
The opening of the new Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Paris last October sparked renewed questions around the role, form, and future of museums. As cultural institutions continue to proliferate worldwide in this digital era, the museum itself appears increasingly in need of redefinition. Rather than offering a single model or solution, Architecture for Culture: Rethinking Museums, written by architectural historian and curator Béatrice Grenier, argues for a more contextual and plural understanding of what a museum can be: an institution shaped by its environment, its public, and the specific cultural questions it seeks to address.
ArchDaily had the opportunity to discuss these ideas with the author against the backdrop of the Fondation Cartier's newly inaugurated home on Rue de Rivoli. Housed within a restored Haussmannian building that once accommodated the Grands Magasins du Louvre, the space has been radically reimagined by Jean Nouvel as a dynamic, transformable architecture.
President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order declaring 2026 the "Year of Urban Planning and Architecture" in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The decision establishes a national framework focused on urban planningpolicy, architectural culture, and sustainable development, aligning with Azerbaijan's preparations to host the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku in May 2026. According to the order, the designation aims to preserve Azerbaijan's centuries-old traditions while integrating contemporary approaches that respond to current social, environmental, and spatial challenges. The President's Administration will now prepare and submit a comprehensive action plan for the year within one month.
One month remains until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, with competitions set to run from February 4 to 22, 2026. The Opening Ceremony will take place on February 6 at the Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium and will bring together approximately 2,900 athletes from around the world competing across 16 sports, with 116 gold medals to be awarded. The Olympic Winter Games return to Italy twenty years after Torino 2006 and seventy years after Cortina 1956. This edition, however, adopts a markedly different approach, proposing a shift away from the traditional high-cost, high-waste model toward adaptive reuse, renewable energy, and long-term regional development. The most geographically dispersed Winter Games in history plan to rely on 92% existing or temporary venues, build on regions with established tourism industries, avoid major environmental disruption, and implement circular design and recycling strategies, the results of which will become evident in the coming months. The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics will follow, taking place from March 6 to 15, 2026.
Which materials have taken center stage in the architectural discourse of 2025? Which projects have rediscovered new construction practices and methods through material innovation? While the future of building materials still appears uncertain, year after year, experimentation and research continue to reveal diverse practices, initiatives, and efforts dedicated to understanding their value and responsibility within the built environment. From agricultural waste that reduces carbon footprints to recycled plastics given new life, and living materials that engage with emerging technologies while reconnecting with nature, 2025 has highlighted and strengthened the role of architects as mediators between materials, disciplines, knowledge, and interests from diverse origins.
In the mountainous regions of Vietnam, the borderlands of Thailand, and the rugged Western Ghats of India, building school projects remains a challenge defined by logistics. In areas where infrastructure and industrial supply chains are limited or distant, transporting each kilogram of material can significantly increase costs and logistical complexity. During 2025, several school projects in rural contexts in Asia showed how the architect's role often shifted from a designer of form to a strategist of procurement. The primary challenge was not merely aesthetic but a matter of durability: using locally available materials and protecting them from monsoon rains, high-velocity winds, and sometimes seismic instability.
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta will present Isamu Noguchi: "I am not a designer" from April 10 to August 2, 2026. The exhibition examines the design work of Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) across sculpture, furniture, lighting, landscape, and stage design, marking his first major design-focused retrospective in nearly 25 years. Following its presentation in Atlanta, the exhibition will travel to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, from September 19, 2026, to January 3, 2027, and to the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester in spring 2027.
Public space is often understood as belonging to no one in particular, collectively accessible yet institutionally maintained, yet a growing number of initiatives are challenging this assumption by testing shared management and distributed ownership models. In Paris, Adoptez un banc introduces a sponsorship-based approach, allowing individuals and groups to support temporarily and symbolically claim responsibility for historic public furniture without compromising its collective use. Elsewhere in the city, community gardens operating under the Main Verte framework demonstrate a self-managed model, in which public and private landowners retain ownership while delegating day-to-day control to citizen associations for food production and shared use. In New York, Common Corner represents a third pathway, based on institutional collaboration and participatory design, where public agencies, nonprofits, designers, and residents co-produce public space within a public housing context. Taken together, these three cases suggest that care, authorship, and responsibility can be distributed across citizens and institutions, producing more resilient, locally grounded urban environments.
Founded by Senegalese architect Nzinga Mboup and French architect Nicolas Rondet, Worofila is a studio dedicated to bioclimatic and ecological architecture. Based in Dakar, Senegal, the firm explores the potential of vernacular materials like earth bricks and typha, applying modern techniques to create effective construction solutions. Their work addresses key issues of the environment, sustainability, and urbanization, merging traditional materials with innovative practices.
In this interview, Nzinga and Nicolas share their vision for a distinctly African modernity that integrates contemporary methods with traditional knowledge and resources. They advocate for a development approach that not only meets immediate needs but also empowers communities and fosters meaningful, long-term progress. Their insights provide a compelling perspective on how architecture can drive a more sustainable and contextually relevant future for African cities.
In contemporary architectural discourse, scale is often mistaken for influence. Large firms, landmark projects, and master-planned developments dominate visibility. It goes on to reinforce the idea that architectural ambition is measured by size, reach, or spectacle. Yet across India and similar contexts, a quieter but equally consequential body of work is emerging. It is led by small but mighty practices operating with limited resources, close client relationships, and an intimate understanding of local conditions.
Health has become a central concern in architecture, planning, and design, driven by a growing awareness of how the built environment influences physical, mental, social, and environmental well-being. In 2025, this awareness moved beyond specialized building types or performance metrics and became central to architectural decision-making, informing how spaces are conceived, built, and inhabited across diverse contexts. Architects are no longer treating health as an external requirement but as an integral condition of everyday life.
There is not enough that can be said about the benefits of incorporating plants in interiors or Plantscaping. Integrating vegetation indoors serves many purposes, whether practical, aesthetic, or psychological. Although there are basic requirements for incorporating greenery into Homes, well-thought-out plant selections and placements are characteristically different across the world. By going over recent interior works, a few recurrent plantscaping design patterns arose, each reflective of distinctive climates, building styles, and traditional building techniques.
While the type of the chosen plants varies depending on favorable conditions for growth and local availability, the main distinctions are related to the direct environment and display method in which the vegetation is set, as well as its intended purpose. While plants are there to offer mental wellness to some, they are essential for cooling to others, or could even be meant for small-scale farming.
In this interview with Louisiana Channel, Mexican architect Gabriela Carrillo introduces us to the challenges that drive her work, particularly the projects carried out as a member of Colectivo C733, in which she currently participates alongside Carlos Facio, José Amozurrutia, Eric Valdez, and Israel Espin. Through an exploration of her definition of architecture, she offers reflections on the design of public spaces, the relationship between architecture and land art, and the role of the preexisting in the transformation of space. She defends architecture as a "powerful tool" for fostering connections between people and their environment, defining her practice as optimistic.
The Taichung Art Museum officially opened on December 13, 2025, with an inaugural exhibition titled A Call of All Beings: See You Tomorrow, Same Time, Same Place. The building, designed by SANAA, is part of the Taichung Green Museumbrary project, developed in collaboration with local firm Ricky Liu & Associates. Conceived as a major cultural initiative, the project combines a contemporary art museum, library resources, and public parkland. Through interactive education and outreach programmes, it aims to establish a new institutional model for Taichung, one that supports artistic exchange while positioning the city as an international cultural hub. On view through April 12, 2026, the opening exhibition explores the relationships between people and nature, the city and memory, interspecies connections, and the future, beginning with an examination of the complex's own context in central Taiwan.
As the solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, it also draws attention to something architecture has long negotiated but often overlooked: time. Beyond form or function, buildings and spaces are continuously shaped by cycles of light and darkness, seasonal shifts, and environmental rhythms that affect how they are inhabited.
In recent years, a growing number of architectural projects have begun to work explicitly with these cycles. Rather than designing spaces to function in a single, fixed way, architects are creating environments that change throughout the day, across seasons, or in response to natural phenomena such as the sun's path, lunar phases, wind patterns, or circadian rhythms. These projects operate in dialogue with time, appearing, transforming, and activating differently depending on environmental conditions.
The 2025 Osaka Expo has captured widespread attention—not only for its architectural ambition and spectacle, but also for breaking records and generating controversy. Its most iconic feature, a monumental timber ring designed by Sou Fujimoto, has already made headlines as a Guinness World Record-breaking wooden structure. Built on the reclaimed island of Yumeshima, the site has attracted praise and critique in equal measure. Beyond its awe-inspiring 2-kilometer circumference—parts of which extend dramatically over the water—the structure has also drawn concerns, including questions about health & safety, extreme heat, and swarms of insects that may affect the visitor experience.
This year also marks a significant anniversary: the 55th year since the 1970 Osaka Expo, held under drastically different socio-economic conditions. Comparing these two expos—both hosted in the same city—offers a rare opportunity to reflect on how the rhetoric, curatorial themes, and architectural ambitions of world expos have evolved over time. From "Progress and Harmony for Mankind" in 1970 to "Designing Future Society for Our Lives" in 2025, the shift in thematic focus reveals changing global priorities. Meanwhile, the scale and nature of architectural involvement have also transformed, from the futuristic visions of Japanese Metabolism to a more internationally dispersed group of designers concerned with sustainability, technology, and civic engagement.
Across different geographies and scales, this week's architecture news reflects a sustained focus on how cities and buildings are being recalibrated in response to evolving patterns of movement, work, and collective life. Across multiple contexts, public space and mobility remain central concerns, with streets, downtowns, and large-scale developments serving as testing grounds for new approaches to accessibility, resilience, and everyday use. Pedestrianisation initiatives and community-led visions point to evolving governance models and long-term urban strategies, while cultural and research-driven platforms continue to frame these changes within broader public discourse. In parallel, progress on major mixed-use and corporate projects underscores the growing integration of digitalinfrastructure, environmental performance, and flexible spatial frameworks within contemporary architecture.
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, in collaboration with Betaplan Architects (Athens) and landscape architect Camille Muller (Paris), has broken ground on a new cultural center in Piraeus, the port of Athens. Commissioned by The Dinos and Lia Martinos Foundation (DLMF), the project seeks to establish an international hub connected to similar art centers abroad, open to the local community, students, and visitors, and contributing to the urban and cultural fabric of the Athens metropolitan area. The complex, called KYKLOS, is planned to host contemporary art collections and cultural programming with an international outlook. Initiated in 2023, the project is currently in development, with construction planned to extend through the last quarter of 2028.
Detail of the Garifuna Kiosk Network. Image Courtesy of 24 Grados Arquitectura
How can architecture restore relevance to forgotten places? What dialogues can emerge when buildings and landscapes are treated not as blank slates, but as layers of memory, identity, and potential? For the Honduran architecture firm 24 Grados, these questions shape an approach rooted in adaptation, reuse, and contextual design. Their projects range from the restoration of old Spanish plazas and cultural centers to interventions in natural parks and coastal villages in Honduras. Each one is grounded in the belief that design can reweave relationships between people, place, and heritage.
MVRDV and Delft University of Technology Release _Le Grand Puzzle_, an Urban Study of Marseille in the South of France. Image Courtesy of HÇläne Bossy, Manifesta
In architecture, most practices revolve around delivering projects to clients. Offices are shaped by deadlines, budgets, and clear briefs. While this structure produces buildings, it rarely leaves space for architects to question broader issues — about how we live, how cities are changing, or what the future demands of design. But alongside this production-focused system, a quieter movement has emerged: studios, collectives, and foundations that prioritize research, experimentation, and reflection. These are the architecture think tanks — spaces designed not to build immediately, but to think first.
The idea of a think tank is not new. Traditionally found in politics, economics, or science, think tanks bring together experts to study complex problems and propose solutions. In architecture, their rise reveals a tension at the heart of the discipline. If architecture is to remain socially and environmentally relevant, can it continue to rely only on client-driven practice? Or must it carve out space for slower, deeper inquiry?
