Expert: AKT II | ArchDaily

Zayed National Museum / Foster + Partners

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The Zayed National Museum has opened its doors to the public. Located at the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi, the new national museum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) traces the history of the Emirates, from the earliest evidence of human habitation to the civilisations that shaped its culture and identity, rooted in the values of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The building's form addresses the challenge of sustaining life in a desert environment and the strong cultural traditions of the UAE.

AlMusalla at the Islamic Arts Biennale / East Architecture Studio

Hana Abdel — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Titled "On Weaving," the winning pavilion of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation's inaugural AlMusalla Prize reconciles the historic and contemporary, giving new life to the ancient architectural traditions of Islamic prayer.

Marshgate UCL East Building / Stanton Williams

Hadir Al Koshta — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Marshgate, a 35,000 sqm state-of-the-art academic building designed by Stanton Williams, has been completed at the forefront of the UCL East campus, in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Marshgate is designed to create a collaborative and cross-disciplinary educational environment focused on finding solutions to today’s biggest social, environmental, and technological challenges, drawing on the shared knowledge and expertise of the many faculties that will converge at the new East London campus.

The JJ Mack Building / Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

Andreas Luco — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

An office for the future. The JJ Mack Building (33 Charterhouse Street, Smithfield Market, London), designed by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands for Helical plc and Ashby Capital, is a handsome stone-clad building that will facilitate new hybrid ways of working and help lure and retain top talent. Located within a three-minute walk of Farringdon Station (Elizabeth Line, Thames Link, and London Underground), it offers an easy journey to a quintessential London neighborhood with cultural locations on its doorstep and great restaurants and cafés for lunch or drinks after work in a lively scene.

London School of Economics Marshall Building / Grafton Architects

Paula Pintos — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 06:00:00 +0000

In 2016 Grafton Architects were selected as winners of an international competition to design a new university building for London School of Economics and Political Science in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Innovation Studio / Sir Peter Cook

Pilar Caballero — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The building, as with the completed Drawing Studio, encourages innovation and creativity that is especially useful to the creative industries. Such initiatives have become hallmarks of the Arts University, which has particular links into the film industry and the performing arts as well as architecture, graphic design, etc.

Drift Bridge / Volkan Alkanoglu

Alexandria Bramley — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Drift, a timber-and-steel pedestrian bridge by designer Volkan Alkanoglu, has been completed and will be installed in Fort Worth, TX in Summer 2021. Fabricated off-site with a projected installation time of just a few hours, Drift is an innovative example of plug-and-play urbanism, an emerging sustainable and affordable design strategy that proposes building infrastructural elements off-site and dropping them into place.

The Tide / Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Lead) + Neiheiser Argyros

Paula Pintos — Tue, 18 May 2021 02:00:00 +0000

The Tide is a 5-kilometre network of public spaces and gardens embedded into the daily rhythms of Greenwich Peninsula. Both an elevated and at-grade walkway, with programming split across both levels, The Tide activates spaces above and below to provide a layered network of recreation, culture, and wellness. The Tide will stitch together diverse ecosystems, emerging neighbourhoods, and distinct cultural institutions, connecting north to south, east to west, centre to the periphery, and city to river. The Tide is both fast and slow. It is simultaneously a running track, a walking promenade, a series of quiet gardens, and a network of social and cultural hubs.

North Greenwich Sculptural Screen / Neiheiser Argyros

Paula Pintos — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 06:00:00 +0000

North Greenwich Sculptural Screen is a 14-metre tall perforated metal sculptural screen that wraps around a London Underground exhaust vent and fire escape. The enclosure folds and thickens to contain a large digital media screen, a small cafe, and public restrooms. The corrugated metal skin both obscures and reveals the infrastructure contained within, creating a subtly dynamic veil that changes expression throughout the day.

Kingston University Town House / Grafton Architects

Paula Pintos — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 06:00:00 +0000

The recipient of this year’s RIBA Gold Medal, Grafton Architects, has completed Town House – a £50m landmark teaching building for Kingston University in London. The Dublin-based practice was selected to design the scheme from a five-strong shortlist following a competition initiated by Kingston University in conjunction with RIBA in 2013. Designed to act as the University’s front door and a gateway to Kingston upon the Thames, Town House is part of a new vision for Kingston, encouraging informal learning and building stronger links with the town centre and connecting its vibrant student population with the local community.

Duke of York Restaurant / Nex—

Andreas Luco — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 21:00:00 +0000

Nex- were commissioned by Cadogan following an international design competition that sought a new and distinctive restaurant which could be a focal point for the square. Nex- looked to add further value by creating a dynamic and sculptural building that respects and enhances its prestigious surroundings, while incorporating new public space and greenery. Nex-’s point of departure was a Grade II listed wall – originally part of an earlier military asylum on the site but which stood slightly incongruously at the edge of the square.

The Twist Museum / BIG

Paula Pintos — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 09:55:00 +0000

Traversing the winding Randselva river, BIG’s first project in Norway, The Twist, opens as an inhabitable bridge torqued at its center, forming a new journey and art piece within the Kistefos Sculpture Park in Jevnaker, Norway. Kistefos’ new 1,000m2 contemporary art institution doubles as infrastructure to connect two forested riverbanks, completing the cultural route through northern Europe’s largest sculpture park.

Potemkin Theatre / Maich Swift Architects

Paula Pintos — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This proposal for a small theatre draws on the changing use and cultural significance of the canalside location and presents a bold face to the Regent’s Canal. On one side the canal frontage has a flat, abstract image; the composition and arrangement of windows and stairways is a reimagination of Monsieur Hulot’s building in Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle. On the other side open galleries overlook the rooftop and surrounds. Potemkin generally describes a false or deceptive appearance; we are interested in the way it suggests the revealing of the structure behind a lively and colourful frontage.

Haus Gables / MALL

Pilar Caballero — Tue, 07 May 2019 06:00:00 +0000

The 2,200squarefoot home challenges the domestic interior through materiality, color, and form. Haus Gables is one of only a handful of residences in the country made of cross-laminated timber (CLT), an exceptionally strong wood material produced by gluing together layers of lumber that alternate in direction.

Neuron Pod / aLL Design

Andreas Luco — Sun, 24 Mar 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Since opening in 2009 Centre of the Cell (CotC) has been doing remarkable work encouraging local school children to study science and enter higher education. With insufficient space CotC had to present their science shows in whichever room was free in the University campus.

Vessel Public Landmark / Heatherwick Studio

Paula Pintos — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 03:00:00 +0000

Vessel is a new type of public landmark – a 16-storey circular climbing frame, with 2,465 steps, 80 landings and views across the Hudson River and Manhattan. It is the central feature of the main public square in the Hudson Yards development, one of the largest real estate projects in American history, which is transforming a former rail yard in Manhattan’s Upper West Side into a completely new neighbourhood, with more than five acres of new public spaces and gardens.

Dorothy Garrod Building / Walters & Cohen Architects

Pilar Caballero — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Contemporary addition to Newnham's architectural heritage that features intricate brickwork and warm, uplifting spaces. In 2014 Walters & Cohen won an invited competition to design new accommodation for Newnham College, one of the 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge.

R7 / Morris+Company

Daniel Tapia — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 06:00:00 +0000

R7 is an 11-story-high building in the fast-developing area of King's Cross. It’s a civic-minded, pink-enveloped office building, with a public lobby, cinema, restaurant and cocktail bar. With this rounded mix of uses, the architects have challenged the norm for offices and the ground floor experience is growing into a welcoming public foyer where one wants to spend time.