Taschen's new book, published in October 2025, Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecturepresents an in-depth exploration of the Japanese architect Tadao Ando's creative process, bringing together over 750 sketches, drawings, models, and technical plans developed over nearly five decades. Created in close collaboration with Ando himself, the book provides a rare view into how his ideas take shape, from the immediacy of the first pencil lines to the precision of architectural drawings that define his built works. Through these materials, the publication highlights Ando's enduring focus on the relationship between hand, thought, and space.
As the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale enters its concluding weeks, the global architecture scene continues to unveil significant projects and recognitions. This week's highlights include Studio Libeskind's residential complex in Prague; sauerbruch hutton's Panorama Constance exhibition building in Germany, and CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati's digitally fabricated bivouac for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. In New York, Venezuelan artist Miguel Braceli designed a major public artwork for the city's waterfront, addressing themes of migration, diversity, and the complexities of geopolitical identity. The week also brought recognition to sustainable and creative achievements, from the Holcim Foundation's regional awards for sustainable construction to the publication of Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture by Taschen, celebrating nearly five decades of the architect's design process.
Uzbekistan's architectural and artistic heritage reflects a layered history shaped by centuries of cultural exchange along the Silk Road. From the monumental ensembles of Samarkand and Bukhara to the scientific and educational institutions of the Timurid era, architecture has long been a vessel of identity and knowledge across the region. In the twentieth century, Tashkent emerged as a new urban laboratory, where modernist ideals met local craft traditions and environmental pragmatism. The city's reconstruction following the 1966 earthquake became a defining moment, fusing Soviet urbanism with regional aesthetics to produce a distinctly Central Asian expression of modernity, one that translated cultural continuity into concrete, glass, and light.
"Dance, dance… otherwise we are lost." This oft-cited phrase by Pina Bausch encapsulates not only the urgency of movement, but its capacity to reveal space itself. In her choreographies, space is never a neutral backdrop, it becomes a partner, an obstacle, a memory. Floors tilt, chairs accumulate, walls oppress or liberate. These are architectural conditions, staged and contested through the body. What Bausch exposes — and what architecture often forgets — is that space is not simply built, it is performed. Her work invites architects to think not only in terms of materials and forms, but of gestures, relations, and rhythms. It suggests that architecture, like dance, is ultimately about how we inhabit, structure, and emotionally charge the spaces we move through.
Historically, architecture and dance have operated in parallel, shaping human experience through the body's orientation in space and time. From the choreographed rituals of classical temples to the axial logics of Baroque palaces, built space has always implied movement. The Bauhaus took this further, as Oskar Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet visualized space as a geometric extension of the body. This was not scenery, but spatial thinking made kinetic. In the 20th century, choreographers like William Forsythe and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker integrated architectural constraints into their scores, while architects such as Steven Holl, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Toyo Ito designed buildings that unfold as spatial sequences, inviting movement, drift, and delay.
National Museum of Uzbekistan, Render by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates. Image Courtesy of The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation
The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) has announced the groundbreaking of the National Museum of Uzbekistan, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Marking Ando's first major project in Central Asia, the museum is envisioned as both an architectural and culturallandmark in Tashkent. Planned to open in March 2028, the building reflects Ando's minimalist architectural language, integrating references to Uzbekistan's heritage with his characteristic use of geometry, natural light, and spatial clarity.
Bijoy Jain Designs the Louis Vuitton Set Inspired by Snakes and Ladders. Image Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Paris Fashion Week Men's Spring/Summer 2026 has just concluded, featuring a series of shows that highlight the relationship between architecture and fashion as creative disciplines. Through carefully curated architectural environments, these shows engage viewers on multiple sensory levels, weaving together visual impact with spatial and material stories that echo the themes and philosophies behind each collection. This intersection between fashion and architecture opens up new possibilities for storytelling, inviting audiences to explore how fashion design and spaces can resonate together to create immersive experiences.
Saint Laurent presented its menswear collection at Tadao Ando's Bourse de Commerce, where the building's cylindrical concrete form and filtered natural light provided a minimal and contemplative backdrop. Louis Vuitton, by contrast, staged its show in the plaza of the Centre Pompidou, where Studio Mumbai's intervention introduced a large-scale, hand-painted installation inspired by Snakes and Ladders. These site-specific choices reflected distinct approaches to engage with architectural context, illustrating how contemporary fashion presentations can extend beyond the runway to enter into dialogue with their surroundings.
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.
Every year, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation commissions an architect to design a temporary pavilion for the Queen Victoria Gardens, in the center of Melbourne's Southbank Arts Precinct. The pavilions are then transferred to the state of Victoria. The tenth edition of the MPavilion was designed by Pritzker Prize Laureate Tadao Ando as his first and only built work in Australia and the southern hemisphere. The pavilion opened on November 16, 2023, and its presence was extended until March 2025, hosting a wide-ranging program of cultural events over two summer seasons. After facing demolition, given the temporary nature of the initiative, a community-led program, "Preserve the Pavilion", was launched in hopes of preserving the building. The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has recently announced that the pavilion will remain in Queen Victoria Gardens until 2030, following a decision by the City of Melbourne.
Built on a cluster of 118 small islands in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, the city of Venice, Italy, has captivated the imagination of architects and tourists alike. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, becoming a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, as proven through the rich architecture that characterizes the city to this day. With influences from the Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance styles, the city represents a palimpsest of architectural narratives, overlapping and influencing each other. In recent years, Venice has become a major attraction for architects drawn to the La Biennale di Venezia, the most important Architectural Exhibition featuring national pavilions, exhibitions, and events to explore new concepts and architectural innovations.
Beyond the Biennale, Venice itself is an open-air museum for architecture lovers. While the city is best known for its historical buildings, Modernist and contemporary interventions add a new layer of interest, with many contemporary architects working with the historical fabric, like OMA's intervention and rehabilitation of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, or David Chipperfield's renovation of Procuratie Vecchie, one of the buildings that define Piazza San Marco. In addition to what the city has to offer, the site of the Venice Biennale is also marked by interventions by famous architects such as Carlo Scarpa, Sverre Fehn, and Alvar Aalto, made permanent due to their outstanding qualities.
Tokyo is never-ending. It is a city made up of many cities, where everything is superlative and encounters with overwhelming scale are constant. For those visiting for the first time, the cultural shock is striking. Everything is extremely clean despite the absence of public trash bins, there's a strong impression of zero violence, and society seems to follow strict disciplinary codes to the letter. There’s a sense that human relationships and individual feelings are set aside in favor of the collective, with all the benefits and drawbacks that this way of life may bring.
Sustainability in architecture is often framed as a universal challenge, leading to standardized solutions that prioritize efficiency over context. However, architecture is inherently tied to its environment — buildings interact with climate, topography, and cultural history in ways that demand specificity. Instead of relying on standardized sustainability checklists, how can architecture embrace site-specific solutions? This conversation is deeply connected to the concept of Genius Loci, or the spirit of a place, introduced by Christian Norberg-Schulz and embraced by architects advocating for designs that resonate with their surroundings. It suggests that architecture should not be imposed upon a site but rather emerge from it, informed by its materials, climate, and cultural significance. This philosophy challenges the widespread application of generic sustainable technologies, instead proposing that sustainability must be inherently tied to the location in which it operates.
The Pritzker Prize is the most important award in the field of architecture, awarded to a living architect whose built work "has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture." The Prize rewards individuals, not entire offices, as took place in 2000 (when the jury selected Rem Koolhaas instead of his firm OMA) or in 2016 (with Alejandro Aravena selected instead of Elemental); however, the prize can also be awarded to multiple individuals working together, as took place in 2001 (Herzog & de Meuron), 2010 (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA), and 2017 (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta of RCR Arquitectes).
Osaka, Japan's third-largest city, is a vibrant blend of tradition and modernity, making it a compelling destination for architecture enthusiasts. Known historically as the "nation's kitchen" for its role as a mercantile hub, Osaka is also a city of cultural and architectural diversity. Its landmarks range from the historic Osaka Castle to striking contemporary developments, each reflecting Japan's evolving urban identity.
As the host city for the highly anticipated Expo 2025, Osaka is poised to showcase its architectural prowess on a global stage. The city's skyline features innovative works by renowned architects and urban planners, including cutting-edge cultural centers, transportation hubs, and waterfront redevelopments. With contributions from celebrated Japanese architects such as Tadao Ando, Kengo Kuma & Associates, and Takenaka Corporation, alongside international figures like Dominique Perrault, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and Pelli Clarke & Partners, Osaka seamlessly blends modernity with tradition, creating a unique architectural identity that reflects its past while looking boldly to the future.
ane Drew and Maxwell Fry with a model of one of their many buildings for the Gold Coast, 1945. / Tropical Modernism - Architecture and Independence at the V&A South Kensington . Image Courtesy of RIBA
Reflecting on 2024, numerous architectural exhibitions have opened worldwide, addressing various themes, exhibition formats, and featured architects. Architectural design and architecture practice influence our daily lives in subtle and often unnoticed ways, where the end-users embrace built environments as they are. This reaction may arise from a combination of factors, such as a sense of powerlessness to enact significant change after a building is constructed or the experience of growing up in environments over which individuals had little or no agency in shaping. For these reasons, architectural exhibitions serve an essential purpose, offering society a chance to pause, reflect, and critically examine the myriad issues that surface during designing and building. These issues are often overlooked or need to be acknowledged, as practitioners may prioritize delivering projects within strict timelines over exploring more profound reflections.
In 2024, museums, galleries, and curators responded to the evolving challenges within the built environment with various approaches. Some exhibitions questioned the ethics of building materials and the practices behind supply chains, drawing attention to the broader implications of material choices. Others focused on documenting architectural movements worldwide, emphasizing their cultural and historical significance and the urgent need to preserve and adapt rather than replace them with entirely new builds. These efforts highlight the role of exhibitions in raising awareness about pressing issues while fostering a more critical dialogue about the architectural discipline.
Robert Wilson embodies the roles of director, set designer, scenographer, lighting designer, and architect in a single figure. Internationally celebrated as a pioneer of stage lighting and honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale and the Praemium Imperiale, Wilson, now in his eighties, continues to travel the world, staging remarkable productions. His use of light and color is marked by precision and minimalism, creating scenes that skillfully oscillate between stillness and drama. During rehearsals at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, he elaborates on the interplay between stage and architecture, his creative process, and the profound impact of light on darkness.
In 1900, Paris hosted its first Olympic games. It had been the second city to host them after the first Olympics in Athens. It was also the year of the Exposition Universelle, where the city would again showcase how it remade itself anew in less than 30 years. To this day, Paris remains a hub for all sorts of architectural innovation and development through bold designs that affect how people live and new materials and techniques. It fascinatingly juxtaposes grandeur and monumentalism with its predominately baroque, “second empire,” and art nouveau works; while also pushing for designs that strive for social living reforms such as in Le Corbusier’s experimental works or Lacaton & Vassal’s considerate interventions.
It’s this openness to the world that attracts not only millions of visitors a year but also innovators and architects who have set up shop in Paris and made it their second home. Once again, the city reworks itself as mass construction, renovation, and restoration sites culminate all over the city to host international athletes at the 2024 Olympics.
"A bathroom is a place where everyone is equal—there is no rich or poor, no old or young; everyone is part of humanity." This reflection was shared by Wim Wenders, exponent of New German Cinema and director of the filmPerfect Days (2023) when asked about the striking sets of his most recent work. Wenders selected Tokyo's public restrooms to craft a narrative that deeply explores themes of solitude, simplicity, and the beauty of everyday life.
The story follows Hirayama, a middle-aged man working as a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo. His life is simple and routine, yet filled with small pleasures and moments of reflection. This modest lifestyle contrasts with the technological, colorful, and innovative designs of the public restrooms he cleans every day.
A new exhibition presenting the works of artist Zeng Fanzhi has opened in the historic Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice, Italy. Running from April 17 to September 30, 2024, concurrent with this year’s edition of the Venice Arts Biennale, the “Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then” exhibition showcases the latest breakthroughs in the artist’s practice in a space adapted by architect Tadao Ando.
