Asking questions is the first step toward challenging what we take for granted and opening up new possibilities for planning and building. These questions, valuable in themselves, gain new strength when shared and examined through different perspectives. As they intersect with the experiences of professionals and brands, they weave together viewpoints that enrich the discussion. Design fairs and events around the world have become spaces where these conversations gain momentum, fostering connections and encouraging collaborative dynamics. In this landscape, Colombia has emerged as a hub, serving as a platform that promotes architecture and design across Latin America and the Caribbean while bringing the region's voice to the global stage.
IOTA Seoul I mixed-use development. Render. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners has released images of the proposed design for IOTA Seoul I, a mixed-use development in Seoul, South Korea. The project would be located between Seoul Station and Namsan, a 270-meter-high peak in the Jung-gu district in the south-central part of the city. The site has been described by the architects as a landmark location due to its historical significance as one of Seoul's gateways for travelers arriving by train.
Foster + Partners has completed the modernization of Manchester United's men's first team building at the Carrington Training Complex. The project rethinks the 1999 structure to create a high-performance, collaborative environment for players and staff, integrating new facilities while retaining much of the original building's structure. The refurbishment introduces large windows and rooflights to bring natural light deep into the floor plate, complemented by timber panelling that adds warmth and a sense of permanence. Integrated MEP systems improve the building's operational performance, energy efficiency, and overall user experience.
Foster + Partners has revealed designs for a retail plaza located on the northern bank of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Türkiye. The project forms part of the larger Tersane master plan, which proposes to redevelop 1.6 kilometers of previously underutilized waterfront. The master plan integrates a mix of retail, residential, hospitality, cultural buildings, and landscaped public spaces, aiming to enhance access along the shoreline. The plaza sits within close proximity to several of Istanbul's historiclandmarks, drawing on the area's maritime and industrial heritage. The design's scale and material choices reflect this context, seeking to align with the site's historic layers while introducing a contemporary retail environment.
As Expo 2025 Osaka passes the midpoint of its six-month duration on July 13, the international exposition continues to serve as a global platform for architectural experimentation, cultural exchange, and technological innovation. Officially opened on April 13 on the reclaimed island of Yumeshima, the event is organized under the theme "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," and has already welcomed more than 13 million visitors as of late July. Conceived as a space for collaboration across disciplines and borders, the Expo brings together more than 150 national, thematic, and corporate pavilions.
Foster + Partners' Central Crossing, Hong Kong. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partner
Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for Central Crossing, a new mixed-use development in the heart of Hong Kong's Central district. Located at 118 Wellington Street and bordered by Graham, Gage, and Cochrane Streets, the project is a joint venture between Wing Tai Properties Limited and CSI Properties Limited. Positioned within a triangle formed by the historiclandmarks Tai Kwun, PMQ, and Central Market, the site offers a rare opportunity to build within one of the city's most vibrant and historically layered neighborhoods. Central Crossing continues Foster + Partners' ongoing engagement with historical contexts, following earlier interventions such as the Carré d'Art in Nîmes and the extension to the Royal Academy in London. The project seeks to balance sensitivity to its urban fabric with an architectural presence, contributing to the evolving identity of Central.
The 39 storey Sudameris Plaza office tower. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners has won an international competition to design the headquarters of Sudameris Bank in Asunción, Paraguay. The project, named Sudameris Plaza, is a 39-storey office tower featuring an exposed concrete frame and an angular form. It includes a landscaped plaza, art gallery, auditorium, and a large public garden at the tower's base. The studio aims to integrate greenery throughout the shared spaces of the building, fostering a strong connection with nature from within the tower.
Architectural landmarks often cluster together. In Tokyo, the iconic Omotesando is a well-known stretch where global "starchitects" built flagship luxury retail spaces in the 2000s. Hong Kong has a lesser-known but equally powerful architectural agglomeration along Queensway—though historically more corporate and less publicly engaging. Beginning in the 1980s, this corridor became home to a series of landmark buildings by some of the world's most prominent architects: Norman Foster's HSBC Headquarters, I.M. Pei's Bank of China Tower, Paul Rudolph's Lippo Centre, and the nearby Murray Building by Ron Phillips—now revitalized as a hotel by Foster + Partners. The area is further enriched later on by Heatherwick Studio's renovation of Pacific Place and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects' Asia Society Hong Kong Center.
Lighthouses have stood along the margins of continents and islands for centuries as points of light in vast maritime territories. Rising in solitude from rocky cliffs, reefs, and headlands, these towers were tools for navigation and instruments of spatial clarity, shaping coastlines and marking the boundary between land and sea. Built to guide, warn, and locate, they constituted a global network of visibility long before the advent of digital mapping. Yet as maritime technologies evolved, many of these structures lost their original purpose. The typology, once essential, now stands at the edge of obsolescence. What remains is not merely an architectural relic, but a powerful spatial form — resilient, symbolic, and increasingly open to reinterpretation.
A series of recently announced projects across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America reflects an ongoing shift in architectural thinking toward approaches that integrate buildings with their landscapes, programs with public life, and design with long-term environmental goals. In Nantes, France, a healthcare campus redefines medical education through climate-conscious planning, while in San Antonio, Texas, a new arboretum transforms a former golf course into a research-driven public landscape. Residential towers are rising beside Bangkok's Lumphini Park, a new coastal community is underway in the UAE, and an expansion to the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City reconsiders how cultural institutions connect with their surroundings. Together, these announcements point to a growing interest in projects that embed architecture within broader ecological and civic systems, proposing new models of spatial integration, accessibility, and resilience.
Clockwise from top left: Foster + Partners with Yinka Shonibare and Michel Desvigne Paysagiste; WilkinsonEyre with Lisa Vandy and Fiona Clark, Andy Sturgeon Design, Atelier One and Hilson Moran; J&L Gibbons with Michael Levine RDI, William Matthews Associa tes, Structure Workshop and Arup; Heatherwick Studio with Halima Cassell, MRG Studio, Webb Yates and Arup; Tom Stuart - Smith with Jamie Fobert Architects, Adam Lowe (Factum Arte) and Structure Workshop. Image Courtesy of the teams and Malcolm Reading Consultants
The UK Government has revealed five shortlisted design concepts for the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial, set to be located in the historically significant landscape of St James's Park in London. The proposals, now accessible through a newly launched online gallery, mark a key stage in the development of a national tribute to the late monarch. Public feedback on the exhibited proposals will be gathered until 19 May 2025 and will inform the Committee's decision on the winning design team, expected to be announced in early summer 2025. The final design is anticipated to be unveiled in 2026, coinciding with the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II's birth.
Huizhen High School by Approach Design Studio - Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group Co.,Ltd_Huizhen High School by Approach Design Studio. . Image Courtesy of WAF23
The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is set to host its 17th edition in Miami, marking the event's first appearance in the United States. This year's festival theme, announced as Hearts and Minds, will explore the intersection between rational design strategies and emotional resonance. Through a series of talks and panel discussions, speakers will examine how architecture operates both as an intellectual pursuit and a sensory experience, engaging perception, memory, and affect. Scheduled from November 12-14 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida, the festival will gather architects and designers from around the globe for a three-day program featuring talks, awards, exhibitions, and fringe events. The event will highlight international practices, showcase new projects, and facilitate discussions on key issues shaping the built environment.
The 2025 edition of Milan Design Week took place from April 8 to April 13, 2025. During these five days, the city of Milan hosted special events, exhibitions, installations, and discussions centered on the creative disciplines, including the 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile at Fiera Milano fairgrounds. Among the numerous activities, the event serves as an ideal opportunity to introduce the latest trends and showcase upcoming pieces from brands and designers worldwide. Among the new releases and product launches, the ArchDaily team identified a selection of products designed by architects, ranging from lighting and furniture systems to materials and small objects.
Foster + Partners is developing a comprehensive masterplan for Maratué, a 1,045-hectare site located along the Puchuncaví coast in Chile. Developed for Inmobiliaria Maratué, the project seeks to reconnect the existing town of Puchuncaví with its coastal edge, while conserving and enhancing the region's diverse natural landscapes. The masterplan aims to create a sustainable framework for long-term development, balancing residential growth with environmental protection.
In recent weeks, a number of architecture firms have unveiled new projects that reflect an ongoing shift toward integrated, environmentally responsive urban planning. From Europe to the Middle East and North America, these proposals balance spatial innovation with long-term sustainability, whether through car-free living, passive performance strategies, or adaptive modular construction. While some projects reimagine infrastructure and public institutions, others explore how urban density can coexist with natural ecosystems. This edition of Architecture Now highlights a selection of recently announced masterplans, cultural buildings, and residential communities that offer new models for ecological and social resilience in the built environment.
