Archi News

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 offices, as happened 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 was the case in 2001 (Herzog & de Meuron), 2010 (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa from SANAA), and 2017 (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta from RCR Arquitectes).

"We know we are not born to die," often said Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. "We are born to continue." In architecture, this idea of continuity lies at the heart of heritage, not as a static inheritance, but as something that endures, transforms, and is constantly reinterpreted. Yet what continues, and what is allowed to disappear, is never neutral. Decisions about preservation are shaped by power, memory, and value, raising a fundamental question for contemporary practice: who defines what is worth carrying forward, and for whom?

"In various regions of the planet, nature imposes adverse conditions on the human body. In these places, designing a building is almost like creating a garment: an artifact that protects and offers comfort. This challenge requires technological performance that must be combined with aesthetics. Making human beings feel good involves more than just meeting notions of comfort and safety; it's also a question of working with spaces in their symbolic and perceptual dimensions." This is the beginning of the description for the design of the Brazilian Antarctic Station in Antarctica, by Estúdio 41, located on the Keller Peninsula, where the surrounding sea freezes for around six to seven months of the year, where everything and everyone arrives by plane or ship and the nearest hardware store is days away. If designing a building in normal circumstances already presents numerous complexities, it's not hard to imagine the additional challenges when developing something in an extreme environment, such as locations with very high or low temperatures, or in places susceptible to corrosion, radiation, and more. In this article, we will explore the difficulties, the main solutions and the materials used in these contexts.

"The Memory of the River" is a project located at the intersection of public art and ephemeral architecture, conceived as a transitory infrastructure capable of reactivating urban spaces in the city of Bogotá through cultural uses. The initiative arises from the Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sports (SCRD) with Secretary Santiago Trujillo, the Director of Art, Culture, and Heritage Diego Parra, and structured by the Subdirectorate of Infrastructure and Cultural Heritage of the Secretariat, led by Edgar Figueroa, with a team composed of: Edgar Bernal, Emmanuel Guerra, Juliana Mendoza, Diego Rodríguez, and Juan Sebastián Robayo. They advocate for a temporary intervention—instead of a permanent one—as a strategy to decentralize cultural uses and allow different neighborhoods in the city to host their activities.

Cielo is a compact residential building in Nagpur city, Maharashtra, India. On a relatively small site of 900 sqm, a total buildable area of 3600 sqm is built based upon the prevalent rules & client requirements.

At the foothills of Luofu Mountain, numerous streams formed, with one flowing southwest toward the plains, irrigating the farmlands.The early settlers gathered and settled against the hills, facing the stream, and ancient structures such as Wujingkui and Side Hall still remain today. From the area along Wujingkui and the fengshui-pond, the main peak of Luofu Mountain is visible. Following the launch of the Nankunshan-Luofushan Rim Pioneer Zone Architectural Art Project , Xutian Village was selected as our site due to its typical characteristics. It is carved out of the disparate leftover spaces behind the houses of 14 villagers. These spaces are linked along the fengshui-pond to form a continuous, narrow belt over 120 meters long and about 1,000 square meters in area. While sequentially connected, each of these 14 plots exists in its own unique state,currently filled with temporary sheds and toilets built by the villagers.

My Front Yard is a design project that redefines the traditional retail experience by prioritizing open-air circulation, communal "neighborhood" planning, and an unifying architectural language. Situated in front of a hillside in Phuket, the project avoids the monolithic "big box" retail approach, instead opting for a cluster of decentralized, low-rise pavilions and leisure spaces that invite curiosity and exploration.

Arupo rises serenely before the Ilaló volcano, in the Cornejo neighborhood of Conocoto. It is the home of a couple who embrace retirement not as an ending but as a threshold into a different time: slower in work, yet more intense in love for their children and grandchildren. An intimate refuge, yet open—ready to welcome family, friends, and the flow of life itself.

In Milano, on the southern edge of the city, Casa LL originates from the reuse and transformation of a postmodern office building into a private residence. The project focused on shaping the void, the space between solids, through light and through raw, abstract materials.

In the heart of the Salento region countryside, in an area known for oil production and sheep rearing, Margine completes "Casa Ulìa" (Olive House in Salento dialect) a Mediterranean-style detached residence designed for a young couple – he a building contractor and she a professor – who wanted an oasis of peace, equipped with all comforts, just a few kilometers from Lecce.

"Feeling at home" is more than just an expression—it is the sense of warmth and comfort that transforms a space into a true refuge. To achieve this, elements like color, texture, lighting, and materials play a crucial role in shaping an environment that fosters relaxation and well-being. Backed by research in environmental psychology and neuroscience, the connection between physical spaces and human behavior highlights how architecture can directly influence the atmosphere, turning chaos into tranquility.

The house is a characteristic expression of the firm's design philosophy, marked by simplicity and modesty in the use of materials, textures, finishes, and furnishings. Positioned as a largely linear volume on an elevated site, the form refrains from overpowering its context. Instead of exploiting the site's height advantage over the surrounding terrain, the architecture integrates a laterite wall that functions both as a compound wall and the main building skin along the eastern elevation. This wall stretches across the larger volume that houses the common areas.

Observed annually on February 2, World Wetlands Day marks the adoption of the Ramsar Convention in 1971 and provides an international framework for recognizing the role of wetlands in environmental protection and sustainable development. The 2026 edition is held under the theme "Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage," drawing attention to the long-standing relationships between wetland ecosystems and the cultural practices, knowledge systems, and governance structures developed by communities over centuries. The theme highlights how inherited ecological knowledge, often embedded in rituals, seasonal calendars, land-use practices, and spatial organization, has shaped resilient interactions between human settlements and water-based landscapes.

GLØDE (Norwegian verb) means to glow from within with a warm, soft light. The word evokes an inhabited architecture, where matter itself seems to radiate life and presence. Built as a small fireplace shelter, GLØDE was developed during a three-week journey across Europe, with ten days fully dedicated to its construction. The project covers 24 m² (6 × 4 m) and was conceived as a resting place for gathering, warmth, and shelter.

The 10th edition of the DAM Preis 2026 has been awarded to Peter Grundmann Architekten for the ZK/U Center for Art and Urbanistics, an adaptive reuse project in Berlin, Germany. The project transforms a former single-story warehouse at a freight station in Berlin-Moabit into a cultural meeting place. The jury recognized the practice's transformative approach, highlighting the use of an above-average amount of manual labor and a modest budget to encase the existing hall in a lightweight steel-and-glass structure and add an additional floor. Developed in close collaboration with the non-profit association KUNSTrePUBLIK e. V., the project supports a wide-ranging public program established at the former freight station since 2012, including exhibitions, performances, artist residencies, repair workshops, neighborhood markets, and public viewings. Peter Grundmann Architekten was selected through a Europe-wide tender process and commissioned to build the acclaimed extension in 2019.

Across South America, environmental comfort is understood not as an interior condition, but as one shaped through space. In regions marked by heat, humidity, intense sunlight, and seasonal variation, architecture has long relied on spatial decisions to moderate climate and support daily life. Comfort emerges from how interiors are opened, shaded, ventilated, and inhabited over time.

The Córrego do Bispo Linear Park is a landscape and urban infrastructure project located in the Cachoeirinha district in the northern zone of São Paulo, in a strategic transitional area between the consolidated urban fabric and the Cantareira State Park. Developed by the Natureza Urbana office, the project was commissioned by the Secretary of Green and the Environment (SVMA) for the review of the preliminary study and the preparation of the basic and executive projects of the Main Core, encompassing architecture, urban planning, landscaping, and urban infrastructure.

This renovation project reinterprets a 60-year-old house in Hakone by transforming layers of enclosure—ranging from valley-scale topography to interior living spaces—into a continuous spatial experience.

The Operations and Maintenance Building is north of Hub 08, which is the gateway to the northern side of the park. The landscape concept for the Operations and Maintenance building is to provide a green aspect that carries on from the green roof of Hub 08 and conceals the back-of-house delivery areas and parking from view. The green facade of the outer building forms three bands of green that undulate along the primary access road and provide a pleasant edge to an otherwise industrial use.

Confronted with an irregular original site, SHISUO returned to the fundamental element of fashion display: the hanging rail. A "single continuous rail" is allowed to morph in response to the existing walls, columns, and rainwater pipes. It traces the walls, bends to evade columns, and rises to allow passage, absorbing the chaotic nature of the environment and transforming it into a dynamic vitality.