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Concéntrico 2025: The Politics of Urban Presence

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Every June, the Spanish city of Logroño transforms into a space of architectural dialogue, opening its streets, plazas, riverbanks, and traffic islands to temporary structures that redefine how cities are inhabited. For ten editions, Concéntrico has worked not as a specialized fair or an architecture biennale, but as a portable museum — a curatorial gesture that brings a dispersed collection of contemporary architecture into public space. Set in a city suspended between arid plains and distant mountains, far from the circuits of capital cities and cultural institutions, Concéntrico presents itself as a temporary promise. It's a reminder that even cities that are often overlooked can host architecture that is current, diverse, and speculative. In this sense, the festival is less about celebration and more about activation.

But beyond its curatorial logic, Concéntrico operates as a political structure. In the ancient sense of polis, it invites citizens, architects, and institutions to reassess what public space can be. The interventions offer speculative proposals for urban life that reveal what is missing, what is possible, and what should be questioned. A temporary pool over a fountain, a bathhouse in a roundabout, or a shared meal on a major avenue are not just spatial gestures — they are political statements, asking how urban infrastructure might be redirected from control to care, from efficiency to encounter. In that way, the festival becomes not just a reflection of the city, but an instrument for its transformation.

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Laurie Baker’s Legacy and the Democratization of Indian Architecture

In India, brick as a construction material holds memory, meaning, and modernity. From the aligned fired bricks of the Indus Valley Civilization to the intricate brick jaalis that decorate homes, public buildings, and landmarks, the material's legacy is deeply embedded within the subcontinent's architectural identity. Yet no one has shaped the narrative of brick in modern Indian architecture more eloquently than Laurie Baker.

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Learning from Artists: New Perspectives on Public Space

Public space has long been central to architectural thought, often framed in terms of planning, infrastructure, and regulation. From Haussmann's Paris to contemporary masterplans, architects have worked to define and formalise collective life through spatial tools. Yet, outside of these frameworks, artists have continuously offered alternative ways of understanding and inhabiting public space—ways that rely not on construction or permanence, but on presence, perception, and participation. Through actions, objects, or atmospheres, artists engage the city as a site of friction and imagination. These gestures challenge architectural conventions and invite artists to reconsider public space not as a solved form, but as a contingent and open process.

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Conservation Campaign by Melbourne Citizens Successfully Extends Tadao Ando’s MPavilion until 2030

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.

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From Churches to Homes: Conversions and Contemporary Renovations That Fuse Past and Present

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What does a change in use and/or scale in buildings imply? How can a church or chapel be transformed into a home? While the architecture of many contemporary sacred spaces shows a remarkable capacity for adaptation and evolution, the creative boundaries of many professionals extend beyond their conception as structures of spirituality or worship. Globally, the conversion of large churches and small chapels into private residences reveals a wide field for intervention and exploration, one that can preserve, restore, adapt, and/or renew the character of spaces originally conceived for other uses and scales, which for various reasons have been abandoned, become obsolete, or now require transformation.

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Seville Architecture City Guide: 21 Projects Tracing the Layers of an Andalusian City

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Located in southern Spain, Seville unfolds as a layered city shaped by centuries of cultural intersections. As the former capital of Al-Andalus and a central port during the Spanish Empire's expansion, its built environment reflects a deep historical complexity. From Roman foundations to Islamic geometries, from Renaissance palaces to contemporary interventions, Seville presents a unique spatial narrative in which architecture directly reflects its political, religious, and social transformations.

The city's architectural heritage is inseparable from its climate and geography. Narrow shaded streets, inner courtyards, and water as spatial elements reveal a deep knowledge of environmental adaptation that still informs how public and private spaces are articulated today. While monumental landmarks such as the Alcázar, the Giralda, or the Cathedral preserve and reinterpret historic legacies, modern projects have begun introducing new materials, programs, and spatial typologies, challenging conventional forms and proposing alternative ways to inhabit the city.

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David Chipperfield Architects Designs Lah Contemporary Art Museum Near Lake Bled, in Slovenia

Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, Muzej Lah, a new contemporary art museum, is set to open in the summer of 2026 in Bled, Slovenia. Located at the foothills of the Julian Alps, the museum will house the Fundacija Lah art collection, developed over more than three decades by Slovenian philanthropists Igor and Mojca Lah. The collection will be made publicly accessible for the first time with the opening of the institution.

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Understanding Soft Architecture: The Shift from Monument to Moment

In recent years, architecture has increasingly embraced adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness as core design principles. This evolution reflects a shift from traditional notions of static, permanent structures to dynamic environments that can adjust to changing needs and conditions. Central to this transformation is the concept of "soft architecture", which leverages pliable materials and innovative systems to create spaces that are functional, sustainable, and user-centric. Soft architecture takes shape through membranes that breathe, façades that move, structures that inflate or fold, and surfaces that bend rather than break. It involves designing for transformation — not only in how a building performs environmentally, but also in how it can accommodate shifting functions, user interactions, or temporary occupations. This approach to building challenges traditional notions of durability and control, proposing instead a more responsive and open-ended architecture. It reflects a growing awareness that buildings, like the societies they serve, must be able to evolve.

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German Design Awards 2026: In Search of the New Global Design Vocabulary

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The German Design Awards 2026 are now open for submissions worldwide. Under the theme Connecting Global Excellence, the awards extend an invitation not just to enter, but to engage—with ideas, with places, with people. This year's open call is accompanied by a new series of Design Masterclasses in Zurich and Copenhagen, created in collaboration with DAAily platforms, offering spaces to share, learn and connect. As the Frankfurt RheinMain region prepares to take the global stage as World Design Capital 2026, the German Design Awards 2026 reflect the full spectrum of design today—from visionary innovation to cultural continuity. They are both a mirror of our diverse design landscape and a catalyst for forward-thinking transformation across all disciplines.

“Ma Yansong: Architecture and Emotion” Exhibition Opens at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam

The exhibition "Ma Yansong: Architecture and Emotion," presenting the work of Chinese architect Ma Yansong and his globally recognized practice MAD Architects, has opened at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, the Netherlands' national museum for architecture, design, and digital culture. Featuring a selection of projects from MAD's international portfolio, the exhibition explores how the studio challenges conventional architectural paradigms through forms influenced by nature and guided by sensorial experience. The exhibition will be on view until 12 October, and on Thursday 26 June, Ma Yansong will be the guest of honour at the Nieuwe Instituut for "An Evening With...", a public program where he will discuss his design philosophy with Aric Chen.

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The Kitchen in the New Spatial Economy: 5 Contemporary Design Approaches

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Space has become a luxury in many of the world's most densely populated cities—a growing reality that's hard to ignore. Megacities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai, Mexico City, and São Paulo already have populations exceeding 20 million, while other urban centers across Asia and Africa continue to expand rapidly. Among these, Delhi stands out: if current trends continue, it is projected to become the most populous city by 2028. As these cities expand, housing—especially new developments—follows a new logic: as square meters shrink, furniture adapts, and daily life learns to fit and thrive in high-density environments. This change isn't just about size; it reflects a new way of living. Where spaciousness once dominated, density now rules. Every corner gains spatial and commercial value, with the kitchen emerging as one of the biggest challenges in housing design today.

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Serpentine Reveals New Details of Marina Tabassum's "A Capsule in Time" 2025 Pavilion

Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects, have been selected to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion. Titled "A Capsule in Time," the proposal takes inspiration from the ephemeral nature of architecture in the Bengal Delta, incorporating a semi-transparent structure intended to evoke a sense of community and connection. The Pavilion will open to the public on June 6th, until 26 October 2025, with a press preview two days before the opening. Tabassum's pavilion will mark the 25th year since the Serpentine's first commission of Zaha Hadid's inaugural structure in Hyde Park in 2000.

Casa da Música: Transforming Domestic Experimentation into Public Monumentality

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At the turn of the millennium, the world was gripped by the looming threat of the Y2K bug, a potential failure of computerized systems that could disrupt everything from banking to aviation. As midnight approached on December 31, 1999, people withdrew their savings, major corporations issued warnings, and governments scrambled to prevent public hysteria. But as the sun rose on January 1, 2000, the feared bug had no material impact, and the crisis faded as quickly as it had emerged. However, this era left its mark in unexpected places — particularly in architecture. Amid the anxiety surrounding digital technology, one of the most iconic concert halls of our time, Casa da Música in Porto, was born. Designed by OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), its origins can be traced to a much smaller project: the Y2K House. What began as an exploration of private domesticity during the digital scare evolved into a grand public structure — an architectural transition from home to a performance hall.

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Towards an Architecture of Many Intelligences: How Collective Knowledge Shapes the Built Environment

As architecture navigates a rapidly changing world shaped by ecological urgency, social transformation, and technological acceleration, the notion of intelligence is shifting. No longer confined to individual cognition or artificial computation, intelligence can emerge from cultural memory, collective practices, and adaptive systems. In this broader sense, architecture becomes a field of convergence, where natural, artificial, and social intelligences intersect to offer new ways of designing and building.

Vernacular traditions embed generations of environmental knowledge, often transmitted through materials, construction techniques, and spatial logics finely tuned to local conditions; participatory platforms expand decision-making to wider communities to take part in shaping their environments, redistributing agency in the design process; and computational processes simulate and respond to complex data in real time bringing the capacity to analyse, simulate, and respond to complex variables — whether environmental, social, or behavioural — offering new forms of adaptability.

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Shared Silence, Vibrant Dialogues: Design Strategies for Overlooked Spaces in the Workplace

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What is the meaning of architectural space if it is not used and enjoyed? This big picture question drills down to the essential purpose and sustainability of building architecture in the first place. It's a question that is perhaps most relevant today for offices that risk lying empty in an era of remote and hybrid work. An important challenge for design today is therefore to enhance the workplace environment to encourage attendance.

ECC Announces the 2025 Time Space Existence Exhibition in Venice as a Call to Repair, Regenerate, and Reuse

The 2025 iteration of the Time Space Existence exhibition is set to attract audiences from May 10 to November 23. Organized by the European Cultural Centre (ECC) in Venice's renowned venues—Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and Marinaressa Gardens—this seventh edition brings together a diverse cohort of 207 architects, designers, artists, and researchers from over 52 countries. All contributions are curated under the theme of "Repair, Regenerate, and Reuse" as an exploration of architecture's capacity to engage with critical environmental, social, and cultural challenges. Highlights of the Special Projects section include ArchDaily's inaugural exhibition, presenting six architecture offices previously recognized as Best New Practices as emerging voices in the field of architectural innovations.

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Venice Architecture City Guide: 15 Historical and Contemporary Attractions to Discover in Italy’s City of Canals

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.

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14 Architect-Designed Lighting, Object, and Furniture Pieces Unveiled at Milan Design Week 2025

The 2025 edition of Milan Design Week took place from April 8 to April 13, 2025. During these five days, the city of Milan hosted special events, exhibitions, installations, and discussions centered on the creative disciplines, including the 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile at Fiera Milano fairgrounds. Among the numerous activities, the event serves as an ideal opportunity to introduce the latest trends and showcase upcoming pieces from brands and designers worldwide. Among the new releases and product launches, the ArchDaily team identified a selection of products designed by architects, ranging from lighting and furniture systems to materials and small objects.

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