Archdaily
Renovation of the Ground Floor of the Prudência Building / Gui Paoliello Arquiteto
- architects: Gui Paoliello Arquiteto
- Location: Consolação, Brasil
- Project Year: 2022
- Photographs: Nelson Kon
- Area: 2797.0 m2
Wave 4 & 5 - ECR Health Care Complex / FAAB
- architects: FAAB
- Location: Sopot, Poland
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Jakub Certowicz
- Area: 4744.0 m2
House in Penumbra / Teleno Studio
- architects: Teleno Studio
- Location: Madrid, Spain
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Germán Saiz
- Area: 56.0 m2
Designed Comfort, Purchased Comfort: Passive Design and Air Conditioning in Hong Kong
Establishing thermal comfort once demanded a far more deliberate and calibrated architectural intelligence—an interplay of orientation, massing, material behavior, ventilation potential, shading, and the ways daylight and surfaces absorb and release heat. This was not simply a matter of taste, but of necessity. When many of Hong Kong's post-war modernist buildings were constructed in the late 1960s and 1970s, forming a substantial portion of the city's public housing and broader residential stock, air-conditioning was not yet a ubiquitous, default service. Cooling, where present at all, was limited and unevenly distributed; comfort had to be negotiated through passive means, through section, façade depth, operable openings, and climatic detailing. It was only later, particularly through the 1970s and 1980s, as air-conditioning became increasingly standardized across the region, that mechanical cooling began to displace this earlier matrix of architectural decision-making.
Did air conditioning negatively affect architectural space, particularly in Hong Kong and the nearby region? The more precise claim is that widespread reliance on AC has profoundly rearranged the incentive structure of building design.
Xuanpu Pavilion / UAD
- architects: UAD
- Location: No. 1 Zheda Road, Dinghai District, Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University Zhoushan Campus, China
- Project Year: 2024
- Photographs: Chen Xi Studio
- Area: 50.0 m2
Zaha Hadid’s Legacy and Büro Ole Scheeren’s Róng Museum: This Week’s Review
As architectural discourse continues to expand across cultural, educational, and civic domains, this week's developments highlight how the discipline operates simultaneously through legacy, knowledge production, and large-scale public engagement. From reflections on influential figures and their enduring impact to evolving academic landscapes and new forms of cultural infrastructure, architecture is positioned as both a repository of ideas and an active agent in shaping contemporary identities. At the same time, projects spanning entertainment, museums, and waterfront developments point to a growing emphasis on hybrid programs and experiential environments, where architecture mediates between culture, public life, and global audiences.
Toward the Sun Summerhouse / Tassos Biris - Sofia Tsiraki & Associate Architects
- architects: Tassos Biris - Sofia Tsiraki & Associate Architects
- Location: Agios Georgios, Greece
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Mariana Bisti
- Photographs: Babis Louizidis and Katerina Glinou
- Photographs: Nikos Daniilidis
- Area: 200.0 m2
UNS and Settanta7 Selected to Design Turin Metro Line 2 as a 32-Station Network
UNS's design proposal for Turin's new Metro Line 2, developed in collaboration with Settanta7, Mijksenaar, Frigorosso, 3BA, and WSP, has been selected by an international jury of experts chaired by Dominique Perrault. The proposal is based on the idea of "flow," a concept that has historically shaped the Italian city, from the Po and Dora rivers to the 18 kilometers of arcaded porticoes that structure how residents and visitors move. The project envisions Line 2 as a new "urban river," guided by three design principles to facilitate this flow: branding, transit experience, and scales of identity. With 32 stations planned in total, the initial design phase includes 10 stations, among them Mole Giardini, San Giovanni Bosco, and Carlo Alberto.
Milan Architecture City Guide: 43 Projects from Historic Landmarks to Contemporary Designs
Milan, a global hub of fashion and finance, increasingly asserts itself as a leading center for architecture and design. Its status as Italy's second-largest city underpins its vibrant cultural scene, attracting both established and emerging creative talent. Additionally, Milan is home to esteemed educational institutions recognized for their focus on heritage preservation and conservation. Its cultural and design significance is increasingly pronounced, as a growing number of creators are relocating to establish their presence in this vibrant creative hub.
Among Milan's most iconic landmarks are the flamboyant Gothic Duomo di Milano, the historically and artistically significant Santa Maria delle Grazie, and the ornate Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, along with numerous Renaissance and Baroque sites. The city also boasts some of the most innovative modern and contemporary architecture, showcasing a unique dialogue between tradition and modernity. This synergy is exemplified by the contributions of architects like Aldo Rossi, Gio Ponti, Stefano Boeri, Mario Cucinella, Zaha Hadid, Grafton Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, and Foster and Partners.
The following guide highlights key historical landmarks alongside exemplary contemporary architecture curated by ArchDaily. This guide serves as an indispensable resource for those planning to explore Milan during the 2026 Design Week, presenting a blend of essential sites designed by renowned local and international architects.
Zara Store at Rossio / Contacto Atlântico
- architects: Contacto Atlântico
- Location: Lisboa, Portugal
- Project Year: 2023
- Photographs: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
- Area: 10110.0 m2
PBR House / Studio Saransh
- architects: Studio Saransh
- Location: Vapi, Gujarat, India
- Project Year: 2024
- Photographs: Ishita Sitwala
- Area: 1300.0 ft2
Youth Commons / Studio RE+N
- architects: Studio RE+N
- Location: Shuinan Sub-district, Songyang County, Zhejiang Province, China
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Kejia Mei
- Photographs:
- Area: 1300.0 m2
Unbearable Lightness of Being Installation / Saiqa Iqbal Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury
- architects: Saiqa Iqbal Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury
- Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Project Year: 2026
- Photographs: Courtesy of Studio Morphogenesis
- Area: 113.0 ft2
LUAA House / Ana Smud
- architects: Ana Smud
- Location: Vicente López, Argentina
- Project Year: 2024
- Photography: Estudio Palma
- Area: 260.0 m2
New Nursery School in Bergamo / Studio Capitanio Architetti
- architects: Studio Capitanio Architetti
- Location: Romano di Lombardia, Italy
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Stefano Tacchinardi
- Area: 845.0 m2
Apartment A / heros
- architects: heros
- Location: Paris, France
- Project Year: 2023
- Photographs: Stijn Bollaert
- Area: 160.0 m2
Designing Coexistence: Meet the Winners of the First Edition of ArchDaily Student Project Awards
In November 2025, ArchDaily launched its first edition of the Student Project Awards. The decision to introduce this new award came from a place of hope; hope in the next generations of architects, their talent and vision, and the importance of giving them visibility and recognition. After all, the future of architecture is being shaped right now, in classrooms, studios, and workshops around the world, and it is vital to support those shaping it. The response was remarkable, with projects from students in every continent, showcasing a wealth and breadth of viewpoints, solutions and visions.
Five months after the launch of the open call, and following the announcements of a longlist of 104 projects and a shortlist of 20, our external jury of architects and practitioners carefully reviewed the proposals to select the three winners and four honorable mentions of the ArchDaily Student Project Awards. Approaching each project with care, the jury looked beyond final outputs, focusing on the ideas, questions, and positions driving the work. The result is a selection of winning projects that reflect both the spirit of the awards and the shifting priorities shaping architecture today.
The Illusion of Lightness: Designing Civic Voids for Public Life
In our current cities, urban density and rising land values often force a choice between large-scale civic buildings and open public space. Traditionally, plazas have been treated as areas surrounding a building's footprint, but this strategy was modified when pilotis were introduced by the early 20th-century modernist movement. While the original intent was to create a sense of lightness that would allow circulation and light to flow beneath a structure, contemporary requirements for seismic loads, fire egress, and heavy occupancies render thin columns insufficient for the needs of current large-scale civic projects.
However, the pursuit of architectural lightness is not a strictly contemporary phenomenon. Following the modernist introduction of pilotis, several mid-century projects began experimenting with the illusion of suspension to achieve civic transparency. In 1953, the National Congress of Honduras in Tegucigalpa, designed by Mario Valenzuela, applied these principles to a legislative setting. The building consists of a solid assembly chamber elevated on a series of slender columns. Because the site sits on a terrace at the end of a sloping street, the resulting void does more than just provide circulation; it frames views of the city, creating the impression that the heavy legislative mass is lightly suspended above the urban fabric.
Flow Third Place / Office Zola architectes
Reversible Cultural Pavilion Activates Public Space in Frankfurt 2026
At a moment when architecture is being pushed to respond more directly to environmental and social pressures, Spain's pavilion for World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhein-Main 2026 positions itself as more than a temporary installation. While materiality is at the center of its design, the project explores how a reversible cultural infrastructure can activate public space without permanent construction. Discussions about material use, circularity and reutilization in architecture are closely tied to cultural contexts, environmental conditions, and historical influences that reveal how time shapes the built environment. Beyond its construction, Spain's pavilion expresses identity by reinterpreting the architectural method of Antoni Gaudí, the creator of the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. It also demonstrates how Spain's creative and industrial sectors address current challenges with innovative construction solutions.