Photographer: Hisao Suzuki | ArchDaily

Smiljan Radić: Material Explorations Between Ephemerality and Permanence

Agustina Iñiguez and Eduardo Souza — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Chilean architect Smiljan Radić Clarke has developed a body of work that resists easy categorization. His buildings often seem both ancient and provisional, carrying a monumental presence while retaining an unexpected sense of fragility. Stone, concrete, timber, fabric, and fiberglass are combined in unexpected ways, producing architectures that hover between permanence and ephemerality. Rather than pursuing a stable formal language, the 2026 Pritzker laureate approaches architecture as an open field of experimentation, where material behavior and structural perception are constantly tested.

Smiljan Radić Clarke: Get to Know the 2026 Pritzker Winner's Work

Valentina Díaz — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:15:00 +0000

The 2026 Pritzker Price Award has been awarded this year to the Chilean architect of Croatian descent, Smiljan Radić Clarke. Born in Santiago, Chile, in 1965, his practice evokes a geography of extremes, shaped by the tectonic tension between the staggering weight of the Andes and the seismic instability of the territory. After graduating from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and pursuing further studies in aesthetics in Venice, Smiljan Radić Clarke established his base in Santiago. From there, he has developed one of the most singular visions in contemporary architecture. His work privileges the intensity of the moment through a fragile architecture. Within it, the building operates as a temporary and tactile refuge that places the spectator in a state of aesthetic uncertainty, oscillating between ancestral ruin and avant-garde artefact.

Design as Impact: ADF 2026 Honors Architecture That Drives Change

Agustina Iñiguez — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:45:00 +0000

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.

María Hervás Plaza in the Historic Center of Dénia, Valencian Community / DVCH DeVillarCHacon

Valentina Díaz — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000

This plaza stands as a 21st-century climate refuge for the city: a living, adaptable space, capable of responding to both people's needs and the surrounding climatic conditions.

Unfolding Privacy: Centering the Home Around the Courtyard

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Patio houses embody one of the most enduring architectural typologies, encapsulating the duality of openness and seclusion while nurturing a profound connection with nature. While the term is also used in contemporary American real estate to describe low-maintenance, single-story dwellings on small lots, its classic architectural meaning refers to an introverted design organized around a private, central courtyard. It is this traditional form, the subject of this article, that traces its origins back thousands of years. Patio houses emerged independently in various regions, responding universally to fundamental human needs: privacy, climatic adaptability, and spatial coherence. Despite diverse geographic and cultural expressions, the core principles of introversion, controlled openness, and environmental sensitivity remain remarkably consistent throughout the evolution of this typology.

“Our Projects Are like Detective Stories”: In Conversation with Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores

Vladimir Belogolovsky — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 03:30:00 +0000

Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores started their Barcelona-based practice, Flores & Prats Arquitectes in 1998 after both worked at the office of Enric Miralles. They overlapped for about one year there, from 1993 to 1994. After her nine-year stint with Miralles, Eva won the EUROPAN III International Housing Competition with a friend. The success that led to a real commission and was going to be built, served as the springboard for starting their independent practice. Shortly thereafter they won another competition. Ricardo joined Eva after working for five years with Miralles. By then they were a couple for three years and decided to start working together. Today they practice out of the same sprawling apartment where Eva’s original studio rented a room along with several other young architects and designers. Even though the office now occupies the entire space—the architects told me they typically employ ten, no more than twelve people—they keep traces and memories of the former “dwellers” alive. Curiously, Eva and Ricardo implement the same strategy in their architectural projects as well.

House Plans Under 100 Square Meters: 30 Useful Examples

José Tomás Franco — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 07:30:00 +0000

The challenge of designing a house with a tight budget and space constraints, together with the essential duty of responding correctly to the requirements of the user, is sometimes one of the most challenging and motivating tasks an architect can face. How can you take advantage of space most effectively? How can you avoid wasted material? How do you anticipate the possible future expansion of the house? And how do you develop a simple design that also delivers value to its inhabitants?

To help you in this process, we scoured our projects archives to select 30 houses that provide interesting architectural solutions despite measuring less than 100 square meters.

Chapel in Sierra La Villa / Sancho Madridejos

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:00:00 +0000

In hilly central Spain, in Cuenca, in a rural estate with centenary holm oaks and truffle cultivation, we jointly designed a chapel and a house for the owning family.

The Definitive Works of 2019 Pritzker Prize Winner Arata Isozaki

Fernanda Castro — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 04:30:00 +0000

Japanese architect and theorist Arata Isozaki, winner of 2019's Pritzker Prize, passed away at the age of 91. Since the 60s, Isozaki has been showing outstanding innovative ideas in his works, influencing eastern professionals with a forward-thinking approach that takes its roots from Japan. In a special tribute to the architect's achievements, ArchDaily highlights the immense list of Arata Isozaki’s projects and recreates the architect's professional development path since his very first works.

Crafting for Contemplation: The Minimal vs. The Ornamental

Matthew Maganga — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 04:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, this year’s edition of the Serpentine Pavilion opened to the public. Designed by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, it’s an evocative project, its cylindrical form referencing American beehive kilns, English bottle kilns, and Musgum adobe homes found in Cameroon.

2021-2022 Best Emerging Young Architects & Designers in Europe Announced

Christele Harrouk — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 06:30:00 +0000

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design have announced the winners of the "Europe 40 under 40" program for 2021-2022. The selection gathers emerging architectural and design talents spread across Europe from Albania, Austria, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, The Netherlands, and Turkey.

IESE Business School / Sancho Madridejos

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

These new buildings are within the IESE Business School Campus, as a complement to an existing building. In a pine tree-covered plot, these new buildings structure the existing uses and order the entirety of the campus, both in terms of place and organization and in the representative level. The interventions proposed the reorganization of the whole campus, its paths, relationships between pieces, and treatment of outdoor areas.

MIRALLES Series of Exhibitions and Events Celebrates the Work of the Distinguished Architect

Andreea Cutieru — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 05:30:00 +0000

The Fundació Enric Miralles has launched MIRALLES, a series of exhibitions and events celebrating the work of the influential Catalan architect, whose passing marked twenty years in 2020. Curated by Benedetta Tagliabue and Joan Roig i Duran, the program will unfold over the course of this year in different emblematic venues in Barcelona. The first three exhibitions of the circuit inaugurated this month showcase the multiple facets of Enric Miralles through archival materials ranging from drawings and collages to photography and models, exploring his legacy in architecture and artistic creation.

Otemon Gakuin University Academic-Ark / Mitsubishi Jisho Design

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 21:00:00 +0000

A learning space for the Internet age - Located in the leafy city of Ibaraki in northern Osaka Prefecture, this project forms the core of the Ibaraki Smart Community, which occupies the 185,000 m² site of a former Toshiba factory. The 40,000 m² facility will serve as a new campus for about 3,600 students at Otemon Gakuin University, or about half the student population. As Internet technology, artificial intelligence, and mobility improve and students no longer need to be on campus to attend school, what form will universities take?

Sansan Kamiyama Lab OMOYA / Shushi Architects

Hana Abdel — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Sansan has set up satellite office Kamiyama lab in Kamiyama town Tokushima prefecture since 2010. OMOYA(Main house), NAYA(barn) and KOYA (cowshed) which have around 100 years old, are located with moderate distance on site. NAYA and KOYA which are used as office were already renovated. The owner requested to improve living environment of OMOYA as accommodation and training place, and renovate it so that workers can spend comfortably.

Train Stations: Examples of Floor Plans and Sections

María Francisca González — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Train stations are usually complex programs since they must not only solve the departure and arrival of trains but also respond to the circulation of its users, provide certain services and be a connecting space between the transport systems of a city. Architects from different parts of the world have developed different solutions to this program. Below you can find 10 examples of train stations, their floor plans and sections.

Spotlight: Smiljan Radić

Marie Chatel — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 17:30:00 +0000

Mainly known outside of his home country for his design of the 2014 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, architect Smiljan Radić (born June 21, 1965) is one of the most prominent figures in current Chilean architecture. With a distinctive approach to form, materials, and natural settings, Radić builds small- to medium-sized projects that flirt with the notion of fragility.

Gare TGV de Montpellier, Montpellier Railway Station / Marc Mimram

Martita Vial della Maggiora — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Because they form part of the territorial network of railway infrastructure, train stations seem to have to be “delocalized”; detached from their fixed site so as to be incorporated into the network. We set out here to approach the project in an entirely different way: to make the new station, the Montpellier station, its own site, a Mediterranean station.