David M. Childs, the architect renowned for his significant contributions to the New York City skyline, passed away on March 26, 2025, in Pelham, N.Y., at the age of 83. His career, primarily spent at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), was marked by a commitment to urbanistic values and a dedication to enhancing the civic good through architecture. Childs left an indelible mark on the built environment, balancing aesthetic considerations with the complex demands of large-scale urban projects.
Foster + Partners has just released the design for the redevelopment of Palas Iași, a major mixed-use development in Iași, a city in eastern Romania. The proposal includes a new masterplan centered around the historic Palace of Culture and aims to improve urban connectivity, enhance public green spaces, and upgrade the existing commercial infrastructure. Developed in collaboration with Romanian developer IULIUS, the project aims to bring together retail, cultural, and landscape elements within a unified and accessible framework.
Amidst the traditional streets of Antwerp, where centuries-old townhouses stand as remnants of a historic European city, a stark white volume quietly asserts its presence. Maison Guiette, designed by Le Corbusier in 1926, is an anomaly in its surroundings — a bold statement of modernity in a context that had not yet embraced it.
While today it is overshadowed by the architect's more famous works, this house holds a unique place in history: it was Le Corbusier's first built project outside France, a precursor to his later architectural experiments, and a manifestation of his emerging Modernist principles. Despite its modest scale, it was a manifesto in built form — a house that encapsulated the essence of an architectural revolution.
As educational institutions around the world adapt to shifting societal needs, the architecture of learning is also evolving. This curated selection brings together projects submitted by the global ArchDaily community, highlighting how architects are rethinking the future of schools and universities through design. These proposals reflect pressing global concerns: the importance of community-centered education, the revitalization of historical buildings and neighborhoods, the integration of natural systems, and the search for spatial expressions that accommodate both formal instruction and informal exchange. Whether situated in dense urban centers, rural villages, or coastal landscapes, these projects respond to specific cultural and environmental contexts while engaging with broader architectural questions about sustainability, access, and identity.
In 2021, the Municipality of Roosendaal began collaborating with MVRDV as an urban development consultant. The firm's partner, Winy Maas, was subsequently appointed as urban advisor, conforming a team that included MVRDV, Rebel Group, Transitiefocus, and other experts. Their task was to consolidate existing projects and initiatives into a unified strategic vision, seeking a mix of bottom-up and top-down planning approaches. The vision, also called "The Mosaic", was developed through a participatory process involving residents. It provides insight at multiple scales, from land-use adjustments across the municipality to over 40 potential projects aimed at harnessing the potential of specific locations. Published as a series of seven interconnected documents, the vision aims to provide Roosendaal with strategies to accommodate growth.
21st Europe, a new design-led think tank founded by former SPACE10 creative director Kaave Pour focused on shaping the future of the continent, has just unveiled Starline: a blueprint for a high-speed rail system that aims to connect Europe as seamlessly as a city metro. Revealed at the think tank's inaugural summit in Barcelona and developed in collaboration with creative technology studio Bakken & Bæck, Starline combines infrastructure, digital tools, and visual identity into one integrated vision for movement across the continent.
"Steven Holl – Drawing as Thought," an extensive exhibition of the American architect's original watercolors, is now on view at the Tchoban Foundation Museum for Architectural Drawing in Berlin. It reveals insights behind some of Holl's key projects and design methodology. The selected drawings range from early unbuilt winning competition entries to some of the latest visions now under construction in Europe and the United States. Occupying the museum's two levels, the show opened on February 6 with a conversation between Holl and the museum's founder and architect Sergei Tchoban, as well as addresses by Kristin Feireiss, the exhibition's curator and founding director of the next-door Aedes Architecture Forum, and Diana Carta, an architect and scholar from Rome. The show, which can be visited until May 4th, is accompanied by a catalog that states, "The work of internationally renowned US architect Steven Holl is distinguished not only by his extraordinary buildings, with a focus on cultural and public structures such as museums, art centers, concert halls, libraries and universities worldwide, but also by his artistic oeuvre, which today comprises more than 50,000 sketches, black-and-white drawings, and watercolors. […] While exhibition visitors will only encounter a small portion of his extensive body of work, each drawing should be explored and studied individually, in keeping with Holl's intent."
The way we perceive and experience spaces extends beyond aesthetics—they directly influence our emotions, thoughts, and even creativity. Spacious environments with high ceilings often evoke a sense of freedom and inspiration, while smaller, enclosed spaces encourage focus and introspection. This is not merely a subjective impression but a scientifically studied phenomenon. In the 1960s, anthropologist Edward T. Hall introduced the term "Cathedral Effect" to describe how ceiling height impacts cognition and behavior. More recent research has expanded on this idea, demonstrating how architecture shapes decision-making and emotional states in various contexts.
Buildner has released the results of the Morocco Oasis Retreat Competition, an international design challenge inviting architects, designers, and urbanists to envision a self-sustaining oasis in the Moroccan desert. Participants were tasked with designing an architectural intervention that responds to the region's extreme climate, integrating shelter, water conservation strategies, and energy-efficient design.
The competition encouraged exploration of how architecture can support resilience in remote environments while drawing from both traditional building techniques and modern sustainability principles. Entrants had the flexibility to determine the scale and purpose of their projects. Key considerations included passive cooling strategies, resource management, and integration with the desert landscape. The competition highlights the role of architecture in creating functional and sustainable spaces in challenging environments. Full details on the winning projects are available on the Morocco Oasis Retreat Competition website.
Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, in collaboration with Lincoln Road Enterprises, a philanthropic organization advancing women's leadership, has unveiled the design for the forthcoming Women's Leadership Center at Williams Bay. Located on an 8.6-acre site overlooking Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin, the 24,000-square-foot retreat center is designed to support innovation, collaboration, and leadership programming for professional women's groups. The project broke ground in July 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2026.
Located at the edge of Rotterdam's iconic Dakpark, the new Kop Dakpark project, designed by the architectural firms INBO and h3o, stands as an innovative model of sustainable and inclusive housing. Developed by Woonstad Rotterdam, this residential complex includes 153 affordable homes —63 social and 90 middle-income— that not only address the need for housing but also integrate nature and community to enhance both the urban and ecological landscape.
The national exhibition of Uruguay at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled "53.86% Uruguay, Land of Water," explores the intrinsic relationship between architecture, territory, and water. Curated by architects Katia Sei Fong and Ken Sei Fong, along with visual artist Luis Sei Fong, the exhibition proposes that we may be entering the age of water, the "Hydrocene", and that the way humanity manages and conserves this resource will shape its future. In this context, the project highlights that Uruguay's maritime territory (53.86%) is larger than its land territory. Water, therefore, is not only a natural resource but a fundamental element of the country's history and culture, essential to its development.
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in collaboration with the Guangdong Architectural Design & Research Institute, the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre in Nansha, China, is approaching completion. Construction began in August 2023, with the main structures of the stadium and arena topping out in February 2024. Roofing and curtain wall installations were finalized in February 2025, and the project has now entered its final phase of interior finishing and landscaping. The center is set for handover in June 2025, ahead of its role as a key venue for the China National Games in November.
Forests are among the most complex yet vital ecosystems on Earth. They regulate climate, support biodiversity, and sustain human communities. With the growing realities of climate change and environmental degradation, architects, planners, and engineers now face a new imperative: designing within forests in ways that sustain the ecosystems on which they depend.
In the world of urbanization, space is becoming a scarce commodity. Cities are bursting at the seams, with limited space for both private and public development. This creates a need for a shift towards more efficient urban planning that would combine aesthetic design with high functionality. MPSystem robotic parking offers the perfect solution by combining function and architectural design freedom.
In March 2023, the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) announced the selection of UNStudio, HKS, and Gehl to lead the architecture and urban design of Project Connect, an expansion of Austin's public transportation system in Texas, United States. Led by ATP, the system aims to connect communities, enhance public spaces, and integrate with the city's evolving urban fabric. The design framework, developed by the four entities, establishes the foundation for how the light rail will interact with Austin's neighborhoods. The design team states that the project's priorities are in people-first infrastructure and the creation of dynamic public spaces, which they seek to reflect in the newly unveiled images. As a voter-approved initiative, Project Connect actively encourages public participation, allowing Austin residents to provide feedback throughout its development.
At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia 2025, the Republic of Armenia presents "Microarchitecture Through AI: Making New Memories with Ancient Monuments." The pavilion brings attention to the challenges facing cultural heritage today, particularly loss through climate change, conflict, and neglect, while exploring how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence may offer new methods for preservation and reinterpretation.
The choice of door types plays a crucial role in defining the spatial experience and atmosphere of architecture. Beyond material or style, the way a door is detailed—its movement, weight, and method of operation—can drastically influence how a space is perceived and navigated. However, what truly enables the functionality of different door types is the often-overlooked element of door hardware. Even within the same door type, the selection of hinges, tracks, pivots, and handles can significantly affect how users interact with and interpret the space.
