Near the center of Helsinki, Finland, in the Töölö neighborhood, one can find the Temppeliaukio Church, an unusual-looking Lutheran church nestled between granite rocks. Approaching the square from Fredrikinkatu street, the church appears subtly, a flat dome barely rising above its surrounding landscape. An unassuming entrance, flanked by concrete walls, leads visitors through a dark hallway, and into the light-filled sanctuary carved directly into the bedrock. The exposed rock walls earned it the alternative name “The Church of the Rock.” To contrast the heaviness of the materials, skylights surrounding the dome create a play of light and shadows and a feeling of airiness.
The church is the result of an architectural competition won by the architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1961. Their original solution was recognized not only for its creativity but also for the respect it showed to the competition’s goal: “to include the organization plan for the whole Temppeliaukio Square, taking into attention that as great part as possible of the rock outcrop of the square to be preserved.” The winning proposal achieves this by embedding the church inside the rock and placing parish facilities on the edges of the hillock. This article explores the story behind the Temppeliaukio Church both narratively and visually, through the lens of Aleksandra Kostadinovska, a professional photographer from Skopje.
SPPARC architecture and design studio has revealed plans to renovate the former Ravenscourt Park Hospital in Hammersmith, London, which has stood vacant for two decades. The building, originally named the Royal Masonic Hospital and designed by Thomas S. Tait, is regarded as one of the first major modern buildings in the UK and was Europe's largest independent acute hospital when it was opened by King George V in 1933. Built to provide low-cost treatment for Freemasons and their families, the 260-bed facility operated until 1994, reopened as an NHS hospital in 2002, and was permanently closed in 2004. According to the recent announcement, the Grade II listed landmark, currently on Historic England's Heritage at Risk register, is intended to be repurposed as 140 new homes, a 65-bed care home, and spaces available for public hire.
Nestled amongst the plethora of grandiose and carefully crafted national pavilions in the Giardini della Biennale in the Italian city of Venice is one pavilion by the city's perhaps most well-known modern architect. Sited between the pavilions of Russia and Switzerland is the VenezuelaPavilion, by architect Carlo Scarpa. In many ways, the structure typifies the design approach of its architect but has its idiosyncrasies. Built for Europe's most important biennial art exhibition, it is a member of a cohort of Modernist pavilions that came after the earlier, more classicist pavilions. This is its story.
Following an extensive conservation process, the Eames House, Case Study House No. 8, has reopened to visitors after a five-month closure due to smoke damage from the Palisades Wildfire earlier this year. Although the iconic structure, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1949 as part of the Case Study House Program, was not directly damaged by flames, it required comprehensive cleaning and restoration to address the effects of smoke infiltration. As part of the reopening, the adjacent Eames Studio, previously closed to the public, will now be accessible for the first time. Designed and used by Charles and Ray as a working space, the studio will serve as a venue for rotating exhibitions, workshops, and public programs, offering an expanded architectural experience.
The Cristo Rei Cathedral is Oscar Niemeyer's design for the cathedral of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. Conceived between 2005 and 2006, it is one of the late architect's final projects in the country. The design features a domed structure approximately 60 meters in diameter, suspended by two towering elements rising 100 meters high. Niemeyer referred to the project as a "square," consisting of a cathedral with a capacity for 3,000 people and an external altar designed to accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers for mass and public events. Construction began in 2013 and is still ongoing. Earlier this year, photographer Paul Clemence visited the site, documenting the building process and capturing the emergence of Niemeyer's signature curves.
The Getty Foundation's Conserving Black Modernism initiative was launched in 2022 as a grant program to preserve and ensure the legacy of African American architects within the Modernist movement across the United States. In partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, it supports conservation efforts, training, and educational initiatives to address the historical oversight of significant architectural landmarks and their designers' contribution. For its third funding cycle in 2025, five new buildings will receive critical support, expanding the initiative's reach into new communities with the first projects in Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.
Léon Krier's Sketches. Image Courtesy of MIT Press
Léon Krier, the Luxembourg-born architect and urban theorist renowned for his critical stance against modernist planning and his influential role in the New Urbanism movement, passed away on June 17, 2025, at the age of 79. Known for his uncompromising critique of modernist planning and his vision for human-scaled, walkable communities, Krier leaves behind a substantial body of built work, theoretical writing, and educational influence.
Over a career spanning several decades, Krier advocated for a return to classical architecture and human-scaled urbanism, positioning himself as a leading critic of sprawling suburban development and high-rise modernism. His advocacy for walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods and his insistence on the cultural and social value of architecture challenged the prevailing norms of late 20th-century urban planning.
Born in the post-war period in the United Kingdom, the Brutalism movement was first met with skepticism but has found a new appreciation in the last decade, capturing the imagination of new designers fascinated with the interplay between striking geometric shapes and the exposed raw materials in which they are rendered. From Britain, the movement spread throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa, gathering different variations influenced by the cultural and socio-economic status of each area. In this article, we delve into the particularities that define Italy's contribution to the Brutalist movement, exploring the style through the lens of Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego. The two photographers have also published a photographic essay on the subject, taking the form of a book titled "Brutalist Italy: Concrete Architecture from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea".
When designing a space—whether at the scale of interiors, architecture, or infrastructure—materiality is a central concern. Beyond aesthetics, materials determine how a project functions, ages, and endures. Some architects—such as Wang Shu and Kengo Kuma—have built their practices on a deep sensitivity to the potential and limits of materials. But even in the most pragmatic sense, the question arises: What lasts? What doesn't? And how do materials change over time? Naturally, materials shape atmosphere and appearance—qualities that often matter most to clients. Yet increasingly, the discourse around materiality has shifted from structural substance to surface treatment. When did we start focusing more on "decorating" our spaces by layering one material over another, rather than relying on the inherent beauty and performance of the building fabric itself?
For the third year in a row, Melbourne has been selected as one of the top five most liveable cities in the world. The city is widely viewed as the leading architectural hub in Australia for its unique street culture and diverse design expression, with its layers and bold mix of architectural styles. From the very well-restored Victorian era edifices with their intricate ornamentation and detailing to the adjoining Contemporary landmarks, the city seems to achieve a nice balance of all typologies and design movements, while still being very inviting and engaging to its citizens.
The ancient city of Venice, Italy, home to both the art and architecture editions of the Venice Biennale, is known for its unique geography as an island city of canals. Its naval and mercantile prominence now diminished, the city has found a new purpose as a center of learning, exhibiting, and tourism. However, its urban morphology and, indeed, most of its buildings are historic and have remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years. Their appearance exhibits a specific Venetian vernacular that has stood the test of time and stands as a backdrop for the city's contemporary activities. How do the facades of these buildings, particularly their windows, reflect this history? And how do the few modern buildings in the city, such as the Palazzo Nervi-Scattolin, respond to this weight of history?
Founded in 2022 by art advisor Filipe Assis, ABERTO is an exhibition platform celebrating the convergence of art, design, and architecture in Brazil and beyond. Staging exhibitions in private and public modernist spaces, its past editions have highlighted the global connections forged by Brazilians from the 20th century onwards. Following three exhibitions in São Paulo, "ABERTO 4 – Brazil After Le Corbusier" marks its first international edition, taking place at Le Corbusier's Maison La Roche in Paris, from 14 May to 8 June 2025. The exhibition presents around 35 design and art pieces by Brazilian artists, spotlighting Le Corbusier's seminal connection to Brazilian modernist architecture and exploring his influence on contemporary Brazilian creatives. Previous editions of ABERTO have featured over 100 artists from Brazil and abroad in houses designed by Oscar Niemeyer (2022), Vilanova Artigas (2023), and Ruy Ohtake and Chu Ming Silveira (2024).
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. has revealed the design for the Amsterdam Avenue side of its campus, developed by Hood Design Studio, Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, and Moody Nolan. Recently released renderings illustrate a transformation that includes a new outdoor performance venue, expanded community park spaces, and the removal of the existing wall along Amsterdam Avenue. In response to long-standing calls from both Lincoln Center and local communities, the construction is expected to begin in spring 2026 and be completed by spring 2028.
Little has been written about the work of Abdelmoneim Mustafa, one of the most respected architects in his homeland of Sudan and a pioneer in his profession in the mid-twentieth century. Esra Akcan, who made extensive research of his work with a team in Sudan during a small window of opportunity between 2019 and 2021, laments this lack of recognition thus, "How could someone as gifted as Moneim Mustafa… designer of some of the most exciting mid-century modernist buildings anywhere, be so neglected, so ignored out of Sudan, that to this day there is no internationally accessible publication in his name." Akcan's writings, coupled with the personal blog of Hashim Khalifa, who trained under Mustafa, shed light on his extensive legacy.
The Mid-Century Modernist movement was more than an aesthetic or material shift in the United States, as it was a response to a rapidly changing world. Emerging after World War II, this architectural revolution rejected ornate, traditional styles of the past in favor of clean lines, functional design, and incorporation of flashy materials like steel, glass, and concrete. Modernism was a break from tradition, focusing instead on simplicity, efficiency, and a vision for the future. It reflected the optimism of a nation rebuilding itself, where technology and innovation shaped everything from cityscapes to suburban homes.
Architecture is quintessentially a place-based practice. The amount of local knowledge required to design a building has meant that architects, even many of those with widely spread works, have had concentrations of built projects in individual cities. Giovanni "Gio" Ponti, born and raised in the Italian city of Milan, is one such architect. His projects outside Milan include the Denver Art Museum in the USA and the Villa Planchart in Caracas, Venezuela, as well as university buildings in Padua and Rome, and Taranto Cathedral. However, his works in his native city, such as the Pirelli Tower, best track the development of his architecture and his contribution to product design and publishing.
As architecture navigates a rapidly changing world shaped by ecological urgency, social transformation, and technological acceleration, the notion of intelligence is shifting. No longer confined to individual cognition or artificial computation, intelligence can emerge from cultural memory, collective practices, and adaptive systems. In this broader sense, architecture becomes a field of convergence, where natural, artificial, and social intelligences intersect to offer new ways of designing and building.
Vernacular traditions embed generations of environmental knowledge, often transmitted through materials, construction techniques, and spatial logics finely tuned to local conditions; participatory platforms expand decision-making to wider communities to take part in shaping their environments, redistributing agency in the design process; and computational processes simulate and respond to complex data in real time bringing the capacity to analyse, simulate, and respond to complex variables — whether environmental, social, or behavioural — offering new forms of adaptability.
