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This week's news was, for the most part, about phenomena of large spatial and social scale. In Latin America, rescue efforts continue following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia, while the discipline prepares efforts for assistance and reconstruction. UNESCO marked two international days dedicated to the world's indigenous peoples and to youth. On the first, we highlight reflections, case studies and interviews on ancestral constructive knowledge, while on the second we draw attention to how architecture can respond to the aspirations of new generations. Looking ahead, we highlight three projects in Vlorë, Chicago and Qiddiya City: two towers designed by OODA and SOM, and a vegetation-covered tennis center presented by Populous.

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UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture is a title created jointly by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA). On 5 August 2026, Beijing was named World Capital of Architecture for 2029, a title awarded every three years to a city that hosts a year of architecture-focused programming timed to coincide with the UIA World Congress of Architects. The designation was made upon the recommendation of the Joint Committee for the World Capital of Architecture, chaired by architect Dominique Perrault. It follows the recent conclusion of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 in Barcelona, current World Capital of Architecture, and builds on the experience of Rio de Janeiro and Copenhagen.

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Another year, another successful ArchDaily China Building of the Year Awards! Once more, the award has proved to be the largest architecture prize centered around people's opinion. Crowdsourced, the most relevant projects of the year were nominated and selected by our readers.

The 2026 China Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.

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Contemporary architecture has learned to celebrate living matter. Mycelium panels, algae systems, living walls, life is now welcomed into buildings, framed as innovation. Yet the same discipline that celebrates these organisms treats mold as contamination. Both are biological. Both respond to moisture, temperature, and material conditions. The difference is not scientific. It is about which forms of life architecture is willing to accept, and which it prefers to remove.

Mold is not limited to abandoned buildings or poorly maintained interiors. It appears in homes, schools, offices, historic structures, and new construction, across different climates and contexts. This makes it harder to ignore as a minor or isolated problem. If mold keeps returning, what is it telling us about the environments buildings create?

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For centuries, architecture has been defined by unmoving permanence. A building is assumed to be fixed, its walls and foundation immobile in space. A growing number of architects are now challenging this assumption by incorporating movement into the very fabric and tectonic structures of buildings.

When roofs hinge, walls slide, and entire structures respond to their occupants, something remarkable happens: the architectural spaces become an active component of daily rituals. These moments of opening, closing, shifting, and translating spaces ground buildings in the present moment and demand active engagement from users. The architecture becomes less of an object or a monument and more of a choreography of participation.

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