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Hungary's architectural landscape spent the socialist decades being redrawn from above, its cooperative farms consolidated out of family plots and its standardized housing blocks distributed across the territory in a form that would have been identical anywhere else. The sociologist Virág Molnár, whose Building the State traces the political uses of architecture in postwar Hungary and East Germany, has made the case that this reshaping of the built environment was one of the political project's primary instruments and not a byproduct of it, a mobilization that carried through socialist modernization and into the transition that followed. The British critic Owen Hatherley, whose Landscapes of Communism explores the housing estates of Budapest alongside those of Warsaw and Kyiv, describes the far end of that same inheritance, where buildings have outlasted the ideology that commissioned them and remain occupied by people with little stake in defending the reasoning behind them.

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This second year of the pandemic offered a tremendous opportunity to continue reflecting on and debating the most urgent issues in architecture. To this end, we wanted our readers to actively participate by contributing their experiences and knowledge. Throughout the year, we invited them each month to share their comments and insights on a wide range of topics—from the future of cities, automation, and multidisciplinary design, to green infrastructure, adaptive reuse, migration, equity, and well-being.

After reading and compiling all the submissions received—from construction professionals and students to architecture enthusiasts—it is now time to present the key perspectives. Thank you very much for sharing your opinions! 

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This article is part of our new Opinion section, a format for argument-driven essays on critical questions shaping our field.

Who designs architecture today? In a professional landscape increasingly defined by collaborative workflows, generative software, and distributed teams, the figure of the architect as a singular creative author feels both anachronistic and inadequate. This article argues that architectural authorship is no longer an individual act, but a collective and distributed condition shaped by institutions, technologies, and shared forms of labor. The transition from individual to collective authorship is not simply a consequence of larger offices or digital tools; it signals a deeper structural shift in how architecture is produced, communicated, and validated.

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Wine production has long been tied to place, climate, and culture, and in recent decades, architecture has become a central part of this relationship. Wineries are no longer understood only as functional facilities for fermentation, storage, and distribution, but also as spaces where landscape, materiality, and visitor experience intersect. From subterranean cellars hidden beneath fields to sculptural landmarks rising in rural territories, these buildings shape the identity of winemaking regions while offering visitors a carefully choreographed encounter with the process of production.

At the intersection of agriculture, tourism, and culture, wineries present architects with unique opportunities to merge technical requirements with a spatial narrative. They must respond to environmental conditions, manage temperature and humidity with precision, and integrate with delicate ecosystems, while also providing spaces for tasting, gathering, and celebration. As a result, the typology has given rise to a wide range of architectural solutions. Some are rooted in tradition and local craft, others are exploring advanced technologies and contemporary forms.

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Photographer Marc Goodwin has extended his Atlas of Architectural Atmospheres to Belgium, capturing the workspaces of architecture studios in Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent. The series includes large offices such as B-architecten, POLO, and Binst Architects, alongside smaller-scale practices like Studio Okami, Stand Van Zaken, and Bruno Spaas Architectuur. Many of them occupy buildings with layered pasts from former workshops, to cinemas, and from storage facilities, to waterfront structures.

In addition to photographing the studios, Goodwin asked each practice the same question: "What makes for a good office space and office culture for you?" Their responses accompany the images, offering insight into how architects define the atmosphere of their workplaces. Studio Okami describes its workplace as a "home office away from home," while Brut highlights the role of shared meals and greenery in softening their penthouse space.

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From September 6 to October 15, 2025, the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin will host an exhibition on the Finnish architectural firm Helin & Co. The show aims to examine the firm's role in shaping Helsinki over the past two decades. Titled Heart and Horizon, it reflects the practice's approach of combining the human scale ("Heart") with an engagement with urban space along the waterfront ("Horizon"). A central focus is placed on three projects that have been fundamental to Helsinki's transformation: the Kamppi Centre, a networked urban quarter with mobility hubs, cultural and residential areas; the Kalasatama Centre, a new district on the former harbour that combines urban density with views of the sea; and the Sello District Centre in Espoo, a multifunctional complex with a library, music school and concert hall.

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Porto's architectural legacy has long been shaped by the weight of history and the clarity of form. From the work of Álvaro Siza to the dense network of studios emerging from the city's schools, Porto offers a unique blend of continuity and reinvention. Here, architecture is not only a matter of design but often one of endurance — of working within constraints, of drawing with precision, and of navigating a built environment marked by permanence and resistance to spectacle.

Yet within this persistent context, a new generation of architects has been reshaping the field with quiet determination. Often formed in shared spaces, these practices balance autonomy with collaboration and meticulous detailing with broader urban concerns. Their studios tend to reflect this ethos: modest in scale, defined by adaptive reuse, and rooted in the material reality of the city. In these workspaces, architecture unfolds as a process — sometimes speculative, sometimes grounded — but always reflective of a practice that is deeply local and increasingly global.

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The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) released the 2024 edition of its “NCARB By The Numbers” report, an annual survey of the state of licensure in the United States. The numbers offer an overview of the architectural profession, showing the demographics of candidates pursuing architecture licensure. While the advancements in gender equity and racial diversity have been gradual, they highlight a positive trend supported by initiatives to make licensure more accessible to a diverse demographic, in hopes of promoting a more representative architectural community.

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