French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmehhas been recognized on the TIME100 Next 2025 list, an annual ranking of emerging leaders and innovators across disciplines. Known for her sensitive approach to context and materiality, Ghotmeh has built an international portfolio that bridges tradition and modernity. In her TIME profile, written by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, Ghotmeh is praised for combining historical awareness with forward-looking experimentation. The acknowledgment positions her as the only architect on this year's list, highlighting the continued presence of design voices in a ranking that typically spans entertainment, politics, science, and business.
Telosa is a conceptual proposal designed by Bjarke Ingels GroupBIG in collaboration with entrepreneur Marc Lore, first announced in 2021. Planned to accommodate five million residents by 2050, the project sets out to establish a framework for sustainable and equitable urban living. Its initial phase, projected for 2030, is expected to house 50,000 people. Positioned as a purpose-built city, Telosa presents a long-term vision that combines ecological resilience, technological systems, and an alternative governance model as a possible prototype for future urban development.
NDSM Lusthof / Studio Ossidiana. Image Courtesy of Studio Ossidiana, Riccardo de Vecchi
As climate instability reshapes design priorities, architecture is increasingly drawn into ecological debates not as a spectator but as a participant. Among the concepts gaining traction is rewilding, a practice rooted in the restoration of self-sustaining ecosystems through the reintroduction of biodiversity, the removal of barriers, and the rebalancing of human presence in the landscape. Though often associated with conservation biology, rewilding also opens up new spatial and architectural imaginaries — ones that challenge conventional notions of permanence, authorship, and use.
The 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile will take place in Milan from April 8 to 13, 2025. Dating back to 1961, Salone del Mobile is a trade fair that covers a wide range of interior design products. The theme of this edition focuses on exploring the deep connections between humanity and design, aiming to establish the event as a creative platform beyond its commercial functions. The fair also serves as a laboratory for experimentation and the exchange of ideas, where new prototypes for furniture and domestic spaces are presented in settings that bring different narratives about ways of living to life. In addition to the furniture exhibition, the event will feature installations, conferences, and workshops, all taking place over the five days at Milan's Rho Fiera fairgrounds.
Mandarin Oriental Residences in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District / BIG. Image Courtesy of BIG
Recent architectural announcements showcase a global range of projects. This month, some of the most recognized architectural offices in the world have announced ambitious projects, some engaging with local communities, rediscovering and revitalizing existing structures, or contributing to complex architectural landscapes. Among them, BIG revealed their proposal for Saadiyat Island, a cultural district that gathers some of the world's most famous designers. Additionally, Populous revealed a new performance center, KCAP is developing a framework for an eco-industrial park, and Henley Halebrown is working to revitalize an overlooked structure in Belgium, reopening it to the local community. Read on to discover a collection of recent announcements from the architectural world, peeking into established architects' processes and recent announcements.
Landscape architecture firm SCAPE together with Bjarke Ingels Group have announced plans to transform Connecticut's ManresaIsland into a public-oriented development as a hub for learning, exploration, and community engagement. Originally slanted for private waterfront housing, the new scheme aims to open up the area as a public park with ample waterfront access, a project led by SCAPE. Additionally, the decommissioned coal-fired power plant is set to be converted by BIG into a community hub for multiple activities including swimming, small and large-scale events, research, and educational rooms. Supported by a private philanthropic investment from Austin McChord, the project is set to open in 2030 through a phased development.
The relationship between architecture and naval design has been a fascinating interplay of form and function that has evolved significantly. Both disciplines have a shared history of innovation, aesthetics, and functionality that have informed and inspired each other. This "love affair" has seen architects drawing inspiration from boats, particularly in the modernist era when ships' streamlined, efficient designs influenced the aesthetic of buildings. Conversely, architectural principles have also been adapted to enhance the functionality and form of boats, demonstrating a reciprocal exchange that continues to shape both disciplines.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two hijacked commercial jetliners struck the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan, a third plane struck the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania. A total of 2.977 people were killed in the terrorist attacks. In the face of this unprecedented loss, the city of New York promised to rebuild Lower Manhattan as a lively neighborhood while honoring and maintaining the memory of this day. Thus began one of the largest reconstruction projects in New York City, a process that is still ongoing now, 23 years after the tragedy.
Bjarke Ingels Group and A+Architecture have revealed the design for the 12,000-square-meter Marengo Multimodal Transport Hub in Toulouse, France. The project will expand the functionality of the city’s central station, Gare Matabiau, strengthening the area’s public transport networks by creating a hub for bus, railway, and metro, all connected under one roof. The design of the new hub takes cues from the city’s distinctive roofscape and the traditional use of the rose-colored “foraine” brick, employing a mass timber structure and low-carbon concrete to ensure a sustainable intervention adapted to its environment. The Hub is set to begin construction in 2026.
BIG and HNTB have just won the competition to design an Athletics ballpark in Las Vegas. Situated along the iconic Las Vegas Strip, the ballpark for the Athletics Major League Baseball team promises to uphold the values of the “Entertainment Capital of the World.” Nestled between Tropicana Avenue and Reno Avenue on Las Vegas Boulevard, the ballpark boasts 33,000 seats in an open-air stadium sprawling across nine acres.
Located along Manhattan’s East River waterfront, the Freedom Plaza sets out to create a new civic and cultural hub, introducing a new open and green space in the crowded area, with plans to add an in-park Museum of Freedom and Democracy. Additionally, the scheme designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group includes affordable housing units, two hotels, retail, and restaurants. Developed by Soloviev Group and Mohegan, the Freedom Plaza development reimagines one of the largest undeveloped plots in Manhattan, measuring 6.7 acres located south of the United Nations headquarters in the Midtown East neighborhood.
After winning the international competition for the design of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall in May 2022, Danish studio BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group has now developed the design into a detailed architectural study. The project continues the central concept of the competition, that of connecting the riverbank with the venue’s rooftop via a meandering path that expands the public space and invites visitors to engage with the new building. Construction is expected to start in 2027, after completing the project documentation for the building permit and selecting a contractor. The Philharmonic Hall is expected to open in 2032.
BIG has released sneak peek images into their “Not A Hotel Setouchi” project in Japan. The scheme draws inspiration from the surrounding beauty and Japanese landscape artworks, situated in the southwest cape of Sagi Island, overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. Consisting of three distinct holiday villas, Not A Hotel aims to blend Japanese and Danish architectural influences.
In 2017, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) unveiled its designs for a project in central Copenhagen. The project features an urban IKEA store, a budget-friendly hotel, and residential apartments connected by green spaces. As a significant part of the development, BIG designed two high-rise residential towers known as “KaKtus Towers,” which are linked by a raised public park connecting them. Both towers, with the tallest at 80 meters high, are scheduled to be completed in 2024. A recently released new set of images showcases BIG’s development nearing completion.
BIG has just unveiled “Gelephu,” an envisioned master plan that draws from Bhutanese culture, Gross National Happiness principles, and spiritual heritage. During the 116th National Day of Bhutan, His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck introduced the plans for the prospective economic center in the country. Designed in collaboration with Arup and Cistri, the master plan is adhering to the sustainable standards of the world’s first official carbon-negative country, Bhutan.
A new set of images showcases BIG's One High Line development nearing completion. Located on the ‘Architecture Row’ in New York, the coupled twisting towers share the Hudson River skyline with neighbors such as Frank Gehry’s IAC building, Renzo Piano’s Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jean Nouvel’s The Chelsea Nouvel ('100 Eleventh Avenue'), along with future works by Thomas Heatherwick and other renown architects. The two condominium towers designed by BIG are organized to define a central public courtyard, activating the public space with retail and commercial facilities. The towers’ exterior and the majority of the interior are completed, with the courtyard expected to be finished by early 2024.
If you follow BIG, you have probably already seen Bjarke Ingels talk about hedonistic sustainability and how this concept permeates the most daring projects of the Danish office.
