La Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi. Image by Maksim Sokolov, via Wikimedia Commons, License CC BY-SA 4.0
As 2025 concludes, we look ahead to 2026, a year scheduled to deliver a diverse range of significant architectural projects across the world. The year is particularly notable for the completion of new infrastructure and cultural buildings, including long-term projects. Europe will be in the spotlight of the new year with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. This event will feature projects such as the Olympic Village by SOM and the Winter Olympics Arena by David Chipperfield Architects. Also in Milan, BIG is set to complete construction of the City Wave project as part of a new business district in the city. At the same time, after more than 140 years of its establishment, the architects around the world will also be watching for the long-awaited completion of Antoni Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, announced for 2026.
Every year brings new ideas, projects, and shifts in architectural culture, but it also marks the loss of voices that have shaped the discipline across decades. Architecture moves forward, but it also advances through absence. When figures who helped articulate its language and its ambitions disappear, they leave behind more than completed works or influential texts. Their absence becomes a threshold, a moment in which the discipline pauses to understand what remains, what evolves, and what continues to guide us. These moments of loss remind us that architecture is a long, collective construction, carried not only by those shaping the present but also by those whose visions continue to orient how we think about cities and landscapes.
The architects and thinkers we lost in 2025 came from remarkably different worlds, yet the questions that shaped their work often intersected. Some approached the city through identity, symbolism, and historical continuity, seeking to ground the built environment in cultural memory. Others interpreted it through engineering precision, ecological systems, or radical experimentation, expanding what architecture could be and how it could be experienced. Their work spans contexts as diverse as postwar Britain, rapidly urbanizing China, Central European avant-gardes, and the evolving cultural institutions of Berlin and New York. Together, they form a spectrum of responses that defined, and continue to define, architectural culture over the last half-century, revealing the multiplicity of ways in which architecture can engage with society, technology, and the environment.
Shenzhen is China's first Special Economic Zone（SEZ), serving as a window for China's Reform and Opening-up and an emerging immigrant city. It has evolved into an influential, modern, and international metropolis, creating the world-renowned "Shenzhen Speed" and earning the reputation of the "City of Design." Architectural design stands as the most intuitive expression of Shenzhen's spirit of integration and innovation. Over the past decade (2015-2025), the development of urban architecture in Shenzhen has closely integrated with its open and inclusive urban character, ecological advantages of being nestled between mountains and the sea, and the local spirit of blending traditional culture with innovative technology, showcasing Shenzhen's unique charm and robust vitality across multiple dimensions.
This edition of Architecture Now brings together projects that explore how architecture is reshaping global gateways, cultural destinations, and urban living. SOM's design for a new Arrivals and Departures Hall in Austin and Scott Brownrigg's Heathrow West proposal highlight the airport as a civic threshold, while Kerry Hill Architects' three-tower precinct in Brisbane emphasizes public space and subtropical landscapes in high-density housing. Zaha Hadid Architects' beachfront tower in Florida extends Miami's sculptural coastal tradition, and Pharrell Williams and NIGO's Japa Valley Tokyo introduces a temporary cultural district blending art, hospitality, and retail. Together, these initiatives reflect how infrastructure, lifestyle, and design intersect to define contemporary urban experience.
This month, architecture has addressed a wide array of themes, from preserving cultural heritage to designing for adaptability. Around the world, architects are responding to changing needs with solutions that aim to prioritize both functionality and the environment. Notable examples include Gehl, SOM, and Bionic's ambitious redevelopment of San Francisco's India Basin waterfront, which reimagines urban living in harmony with nature, and VOID Studios' collaboration on Kenya's Masai Mara Conservation Centre, a project deeply rooted in ecological and cultural sensitivity. Elsewhere, Nokken and BIG unveiled their "Softshell structure," offering a flexible option for hospitality and residential markets. Meanwhile, the transformation of The Raleigh in Miami Beach by Peter Marino aims to preserve the site's heritage while introducing new standards. These projects, among others, reflect the ever-evolving priorities of the field. Read on to discover the latest news shaping the architectural world.
Sheikh Zayed National Museum / Foster + Partners. Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
As 2024 comes to an end, the architectural world looks ahead to 2025, a year set to unveil transformative projects across the globe. From cultural landmarks in Asia, such as Sou Fujimoto's "Grand Ring" for Expo 2025 Osaka and MAD Architects' Hainan Science Museum in China, to dynamic urban developments like OMA's Harajuku Quest in Tokyo and David Chipperfield's Elbtower in Hamburg, these projects reflect a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and preserving cultural heritage.
In North America, Studio Gang's Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in Brooklyn and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles highlight architecture's role in fostering community connections. Meanwhile, Europe anticipates Shigeru Ban's hybrid residential tower in Antwerp and Kengo Kuma's Visitor Center at Albania's Butrint National Park, showcasing the intersection of contemporary design and local context. As these projects take shape, they offer a glimpse into architecture's power to redefine spaces and inspire communities.
Humanity has become obsessed with breaking its limits, creating new records only to break them again and again. In fact, our cities’ skylines have always been defined by those in power during every period in history. At one point churches left their mark, followed by public institutions and in the last few decades, it's commercial skyscrapers that continue to stretch taller and taller.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has developed its own system for classifying tall buildings, stating that the Burj Khalifa (828 m.) is the world’s tallest building right now. Read on for the 25 tallest buildings in the world today.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) have announced plans to redevelop the 95th and 96th floors of the iconic 875 N. Michigan Avenue, formally named the John Hancock Center. The building, originally designed by SOM in 1967 and completed in 1970, is recognized as the world's first mixed-use skyscraper, having become a recognizable feature of Chicago's skyline. The redesign endeavor aims to reimagine the two floors, measuring 30,000 square feet, into an observation deck and an attractive destination in the city.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has commenced construction on the global headquarters for China International Marine Containers Group (CIMC) in Shenzhen's Qianhai district. The 270-meter-tall structure, designed by SOM after winning an international competition, will stand as a 53-story tower. The project aims to serve as a corporate hub while also incorporating sustainable practices. The development is scheduled for completion by 2029.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and GAD have been chosen to design the Hangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Central Business District (CBD) in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, China. Their proposal outlines a versatile regional hub that merges advanced transit systems with the traditional Jiangnan landscape, establishing a framework that promotes creativity and the growth of the tech sector.
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.
Modern airports have increasingly become symbols of architectural innovation, moving beyond their primary function as transportation hubs to become significant landmarks. A prominent trend in contemporary airport design is the use of curved forms to create fluid, dynamic spaces that enhance both functionality and visual impact. These curves, made possible by advancements in construction technology, allow for more flexible and expansive interiors, as well as designs that can better integrate with natural landscapes and improve passenger circulation and experience.
American architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), in collaboration with Mexico City-based Estudio AMA and interior designer Esrawe Studio, has revealed a new 190-meter-tall mixed-use tower in Guadalajara, Mexico. The new addition, which broke ground on May 24, is slanted to become the tallest building in the Andares Zapopan district of the city, offering residential units, hotel rooms, and various amenities.
Delving into the realm of unbuilt architectural projects by renowned offices offers a peak into the design principles and ethos of the studios. The curated list of unbuilt projects submitted by established architecture practices has the potential to reveal new perspectives on the socio-cultural and environmental factors shaping contemporary architecture. These designs often respond to complex challenges such as sustainability, urbanization, and cultural preservation, reflecting architects' efforts to navigate and contribute meaningfully to the built environment.
Within this curated selection, one standout project is Rafael Viñoly Architects' Médano El Pinar, marking the late architect's last contribution to the architectural landscape. Other projects such as Aedas' Ellinikon Commercial Hub explore the opportunities of new developments, such as the disused airport transformed into Europe's largest coastal park in the periphery of Athens, while others are highlighting natural landscapes or offering spaces for creative and innovative programs. Featuring internationally recognized offices like SOM, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Gensler, or GAD Architecture, the selection showcases the unrealized concepts and architectural experimentations of renowned offices.
Throughout history, San Diego has been a canvas for visionary architects who have left enduring legacies on its built environment. From iconic landmarks like the Geisel Library and the Salk Institute to the dynamic spaces of the San Diego Central Library and the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, each piece of architecture reveals hidden aspects of the layered history and the spirit of exploration of San Diego.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed the restoration works for Lever House, one of New York’s Modernist landmarks. The building was completed in 1952, following SOM’s design. At that time, architecture critic Reyner Banham said of the building “it gave architectural expression to an age just as the age was being born.” Since then, SOM has retained a level of stewardship, revisiting the building and ensuring that the restoration works preserve the original image without compromising contemporary standards of performance.
