Heritage restoration has always been an intricate process that requires delicate balancing between preserving the integrity of historic materials while integrating contemporary techniques that can enhance accuracy, efficiency, and resilience. With the restoration process of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada's capital city, this intersection of tradition and technology is now on full display. The East Block, built in 1865, offers a compelling example of how digital tools can support the efforts of heritage restoration and contribute to a centuries-old craft such as stone carving.
Theaters, concert halls, and opera houses are more than just venues — they are meticulously orchestrated environments where architecture, technology, and human emotion converge. Unlike conventional buildings, these spaces must accommodate a dynamic interplay between acoustics, sightlines, stage mechanics, and audience engagement, all while maintaining an architectural identity that resonates with performers and spectators alike. Whether it is the immersive embrace of a vineyard-style concert hall or the grandeur of a proscenium theater, every design decision shapes how performances are experienced and remembered.
According to several recent studies, noise in cities has become an increasing hazard to health. Environmental noise, that is, noise from traffic, industrial activities, or amplified music, which reaches internal spaces, is not merely an annoyance. It has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, and mental health. As the world urbanizes, more people are exposed to excessive levels of noise. How can urban design and architectural strategies help to prevent this?
Symbiosis, a Prototype for Living and Working. Image Courtesy of contexo
The future of urban life is increasingly being imagined as collective, layered, and adaptable. As cities grow denser and the boundaries between work, home, and leisure blur, architects are rethinking the traditional notion of residential living, shifting from isolated units to integrated, community-driven environments. This collection of unbuilt projects, submitted by the ArchDaily community, reflects this shift: a global exploration into how design can shape more resilient, inclusive, and connected ways of living.
The exhibition is based on the observation that France is expected to experience a temperature rise of +4°C by the year 2100. Its current temperate climate is projected to shift toward a subtropical one. In response, the exhibition turns to warmer latitudes for architectural models that can inform how to build today in France—and in other regions currently considered temperate—an architecture capable of withstanding this increase in heat.
https://www.archdaily.com/1028990/sana-frini-and-philippe-rahm-announce-participants-for-the-2025-versailles-biennale-of-architecture-and-landscapeArchDaily Team
Following an international competition, Polish American architect Daniel Libeskind's firm, Studio Libeskind, in collaboration with La Compagnie de Phalsbourg, has been selected to design the flagship building for the Léon Blum district, adjacent to the future Line 15 station of the Grand Paris Express. The competition featured eight teams, including Snøhetta, Valode et Pistre, Stefano Boeri, Sou Fujimoto, and Jean-Paul Viguier. The winning project is a mixed-use building of over 20,000m², featuring a green wall and incorporating bio-sourced materials. The project is part of a broader urban development strategy for Issy-les-Moulineaux, an extra-wall area of Paris currently undergoing significant transformation.
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a significant renovation plan for the Louvre, following concerns from the museum's director about the building's deteriorating condition. The project includes the creation of a new grand entrance and broader refurbishments across the historic site.
The renovation comes after a letter from Louvre director Laurence des Cars to the French Cultural Ministry highlighted serious maintenance issues affecting both visitors and staff. According to the letter, first published in Le Parisien, conditions inside the museum have become increasingly difficult, with visitors lacking space to rest, insufficient food and restroom facilities, and outdated signage in need of a complete redesign. The letter also pointed to climate control issues, describing a greenhouse effect inside the 36-year-old glass Pyramid designed by I.M. Pei, as well as hazardous temperature fluctuations and leaks in other parts of the building.