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The Luanda Library Technology Park / Typsa
- architects: Typsa
- Location: Luanda, Angola
- Project Year: 2026
- Photographs: Flavio Ricardo Gomes
- Area: 1918.0 m2
Record Heatwaves in Europe and a New Museum of Comics in Taiwan: This Week’s Review
Covering a broad array of subjects, this week's headline stories have reflected the wide scope of architecture's practice: its potential to respond to the climate crisis, the construction and renovation of cultural infrastructure around the world, and events that promote contemporary disciplinary reflection. This does not preclude questions about the contradiction between the technical and creative skills demanded by the discipline and the role it has come to occupy in today's market. Alongside these reflections, this week we feature projects that reinforce architecture's cultural significance in preserving knowledge, hosting collective entertainment, and supporting new forms of living: a comic book museum in Taiwan, a membership club for families in London, and the renovation of a landmark stadium in Riyadh.
Animal Care: 8 Veterinary Hospitals Redefining Architecture for Health and Emotion
In 2025, the global animal health market was valued at approximately $70 billion, and projections suggest it could double by 2033. Behind this figure, however, lies a quieter transformation of the built environment, exemplified by the veterinary hospital. A building type that for decades occupied the back rooms of improvised clinics and pet shops is increasingly developing its own architectural language and identity. It is the spatial consolidation of a bond that has endured for more than 15,000 years.
Jugnoo Cabin / PMA madhushala
- architects: PMA madhushala
- Location: Panshet, Maharashtra, India
- Project Year: 2026
- Photographs: Onil Shah
- Area: 35.0 m2
Mount Martha House / Victoria Merrett Architects
- architects: Victoria Merrett Architects
- Location: Mornington Peninsula, Australia
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Courtesy of Victoria Merrett Architects
- Area: 365.0 m2
What Cladding Systems Reveal About Local Production in Architecture
Between the moment a material is specified in a project and the moment it is installed, there is an invisible layer that plays a decisive role in the final outcome: fabrication, logistics, and coordination. These factors shape timelines and costs, but more critically, determine whether the original design intent is preserved or diluted in execution. Cladding systems, especially those that function as visible and expressive components of the building envelope, make this gap particularly evident, as they are the most outward-facing layer of a project.
Selecting a cladding system is never a purely aesthetic decision. It activates a chain of dependencies: profile availability, fixing systems, tolerances, sequencing, and compliance with local codes. When elements are misaligned, the fallout is rarely subtle. Integrated cladding systems—those that anticipate assembly as much as appearance—tend to close this gap, embedding coordination into their logic and reducing the need for on-site improvisation.
Bent by Spring / HCCH Studio
- architects: HCCH Studio
- Location: Shanghai, China
- Project Year: 2026
- Photographs: Guowei Liu
- Photographs:
Nalme House / Wright Inspires
- architects: Wright Inspires
- Location: Bengaluru, India
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Studio Envy – Mr. Raaj
- Area: 1837.0 ft2
Simone Ferkul Crafts a Wellness Sanctuary at Toronto’s Solis East
The journey at Solis East begins well before you step into the 7750-square-foot sanctuary: Members ascend by elevator, peering down at St. Lawrence Street before crossing a sky bridge to the entryway. “I like to think of it as a wellness spaceship,” Blessing Adedijo, studio manager, says of the newest pilates studio in Toronto’s east end. Just inside the door, a reception and communal lounge boast wonderfully ethereal qualities — the warm, marble-patterned monolithic central desk is softly lit by a skylight carved into the ceiling, and crowned with cloudlike pendant lights by Molo Designs.
From this calm arrival to the transition of the change rooms, boutique firm Simone Ferkul Projects has sculpted a space where material and light choreograph the body through motion. Gently illuminated niches integrated into Abet Laminati-finish millwork blur the lines between storage, retail and circulation. An open lounge with bespoke couches and tables (in Ferkul’s refined and sculptural signature style and manufactured by Morphe Contract) supports a welcoming atmosphere for both visitors and staff, with plenty of room to linger between classes.
Building on lessons learned from Solis’s previous two locations, Simone Ferkul has added community amenities and discreet, designated storage for industrial-grade disinfecting equipment and other necessary back-of-house elements — without sacrificing spa-like serenity.
The lighting scheme, designed by Simone Ferkul and brought to life with the help of Anony and Vyvyd lighting, modulates the experience. The Reformer Pilates studio is full of light, framed by expansive perimeter windows that bring daylight deep into the space. The Sun Room — the hot yoga and mat pilates studio — utilizes infrared heating panels and layered lighting to create an immersive, sensory environment. A wide corridor stocked with colour-coordinated Pilates equipment gives space and sanctity to the ritual of preparation. During class, sunlight trickles softly through the blinds, but it feels like the celestial orb is right there with us as we cycle through bear crawls and tricep pushups in the intensifying heat.
The cooldown and transition to recovery are equally considered: Showers and locker rooms are spacious, with warm materials and flattering lighting that encourage a moment of pause. Before heading back out into the city, I replenish my water bottle at the ceremonious filling station, amid animated post-workout chatter. The deep, quartz-patterned trough elevates necessary hydration to a sacred ritual — as if I am asking the fitness goddesses for benediction after offering up all the sweat I could muster.
At Solis East, Simone Ferkul adds a wellness destination to Toronto that offers a departure from the urban grind. What leaves the deepest impression are the smallest, most carefully considered details — in an industry changing with proliferating studios and Classpass culture, these are the enriching moments that can make or break a fitness experience.
Photography by Riley Snelling.
Heath Welcomes Longer Days with the Summer Collection
Dappled light is a phenomenon that might seem mundane for some, yet is one of the most unique experiences in our universe. Other planets may have wind, and rock, and atmosphere – but we’re the only one with trees, making their shade quite a special experience. Leaves flutter to and fro, a product of thousands of distinct elements, flowing skillfully together. Pulling on this distinct experience, Heath Ceramics is proud to present the Summer 2026 Collection, inspired by the work of Bienvenue Studios, featuring their Origins print series, reflecting the rhythms of our world.
Heath is rooted in the sunbaked hues of the California sun, founded in Sausalito by Edith Heath in 1948. Since 2006, the team has released a yearly seasonal collection, to breathe life into classic designs. This year, the theme is Seeds of Summer – featuring prints crafted by Zurich-based Bienvenue Studios.
Lilting gradients and gorgeous dappled prints come in two colors, Heath always preferring quality to quantity. Komorebi is a Japanese word used to describe sunlight filtering through leaves. This dappled effect is created on ceramic by spraying thick layers of glaze, and scraping back layers in specific areas, to emulate the soft glow of a forest floor. The process takes longer, and is therefore less common, yet creates a surprisingly luminous surface on which to display food, snacks, or fruit. We frequently discuss bringing nature inside in design, yet a tougher conversation is how we prioritize natural light, especially in commercial spaces.
A natural collaboration, Heath Ceramics and Bienvenue Studios are fueled by observation. Studying the intricacies of natural phenomena, each glaze design is modern yet rooted in ancient systems, similar to the pottery it decorates. This ‘Origins’ Series focuses on the concept of seeds, and the potential they carry. The small and perhaps mundane is transformed into a lifegiving object, prepared to spring into action whenever the right conditions are met. In this way, our nature is reflected in our bowls, flourishing when we take nourishment seriously.
To learn more about the Summer 2026 Collection from Heath Ceramics, visit heathceramics.com.
Photography courtesy of Heath.
The Porch House / Vasco Burnay Arquitectura
- architects: Vasco Burnay Arquitectura
- Location: Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
- Project Year: 2024
- Photographs: Ivo Tavares Studio
- Area: 2691 ft2
These Revival Rugs Bring Summer Color Indoors and Out
With seamless flow between all areas of the home, indoor-outdoor rugs are essential in high-traffic areas where people and pets gather. While durable, most of these pieces are on the serviceable end of the spectrum, in basic shades and a few patterns.
Two new introductions from Revival Rugs offer plenty of summer-ready color and motifs that pop underfoot. Designed for easy maintenance and longevity, these versatile rugs enhance both indoor and outdoor spaces from kitchens to patios.
Shima takes its cues from floor mats traditionally made of straw, and favored in Asia. “This rug was inspired by handwoven tatami rugs in Japan, but our version is an update with additional striping,” says Ben Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Revival Rugs.
Made of recycled polyester with PET sourced from plastic bottles, this selection resists moisture and mildew, which is ideal for outdoor settings. The chunky flatweave pays homage to 1990s minimalism, with jaunty, thin bands that float on the surface. Shima’s peach colorway is as fresh as its namesake fruit, while Jungle, a verdant tone, calls to mind lush foliage.
Khder, another of the latest offerings in the line, showcases visual energy that references Moroccan design and features shapes that dazzle underfoot. “Khder is a play of asymmetrical blocks of color weaving in and out of the field of the rug,” Hyman notes. “Perfect to create movement in whatever space it is placed in, this rug looks better the more you walk, play, or snuggle on it.”
Made of New Zealand wool and cotton, this hand-tifted rug adds an artistic touch and elevates everyday environments. A medium .39-inch pile height provides extra softness and warmth on the ground level. And unlike many woolen textiles that can only be cleaned by hand, Khder is machine washable. With a mix of mauve and pink tones, the Rose shade provides the right mix of contemporary and vintage appeal. The Moss tint pairs light and dark green together for a more organic look.
Both Sima and Khder are offered in small, medium, and large sizes to provide coverage in a range of rooms. Optional pads in either plush or low-profile styles not only protect flooring but also preserve the integrity of the product, ensuring that these contemporary rugs will last.
To see more pieces by the brand, visit revivalrugs.com.
Photography courtesy of Revival Rugs.
Art Building – Cardenal Spellman Educational Unit / STUDIO BLUR
- architects: STUDIO BLUR
- Ubicación: Quito, Ecuador
- Año Proyecto: 2024
- Fotografías: JAG Studio
- Área: 519.0 m2
House #474 / PLATAFORMArq
- architects: PLATAFORMArq
- Location: Teixoso, Portugal
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: João Saraiva
- Area: 220.0 m2
Unearthing the Ground: Architecture and the Politics of Soil
What architecture leaves in the ground outlasts what it puts in the air. A demolished building disappears from the skyline in a matter of days, but its foundations remain embedded in the soil for generations. The contamination caused by an industrial complex does not clear when the complex is torn down. The legal boundaries inscribed across colonial territory do not dissolve when the colonial administration ends. The ground holds what architecture quickly forgets.
This is what makes soil so uncomfortable as a subject. The discipline tends to orient itself upward, toward the form, the façade, the spatial experience of inhabitation. The ground is where architecture begins and, in a certain sense, where it ends: the point at which building becomes geology, legal title becomes territorial claim, and construction becomes extraction. Treating soil as a medium rather than a datum means acknowledging that the acts of building carry consequences that run deeper than the visible object above grade.
Sorrento House / Victoria Merrett Architects
- architects: Victoria Merrett Architects
- Location: Sorrento, Victoria, Australia
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Courtesy of Victoria Merrett Architects
- Area: 313.0 m2
Buildner Announces Museum of Emotions Edition 7 Winners as Edition 8 Registration Deadline Approaches
Buildner has announced the results of its Museum of Emotions Competition Edition 7. The Museum of Emotions is an annual international design competition that tasks participants to explore the extent to which architecture can be used as a tool to evoke emotion.
The brief calls for the design of a conceptual museum with two exhibition halls: one designed to induce negative emotions; the other designed to induce positive emotions. Participants are free to choose any site of their liking, real or imaginary, as well as choose the scale of the project. The meaning of 'positive' and 'negative' is up for interpretation: What two emotions might a designer consider contrasting? How might an architect conceive spaces which elicit fear, anger, anxiety, love or happiness?
Why Software Adoption Fails Without Enablement
Moving from the drafting table to the computer screen, the digitization of drawings and documentation marked the first phase of digital transformation in architecture firms. The second introduced BIM, connecting project information through cloud platforms and collaborative workflows. Nowadays, a new phase is emerging, defined by artificial intelligence, automation, and more specialized software ecosystems. The paradox is that while previous phases were dominated by a small number of tools, today's landscape offers an abundance of highly specialized, AI-enabled, and often overlapping solutions competing for attention. While purchasing new software is often the easiest part of digital transformation, the greater challenge lies in changing established workflows and behaviors, which is why many new tools struggle to achieve lasting adoption.
Icelandic Pavilion Explores Bathing Culture as Civic Infrastructure at the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale
The Icelandic Pavilion at the 20th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will present SOAK: Rituals of Collective Belonging, an exhibition examining Iceland's bathing culture through the lens of architecture, public space, and social interaction. Commissioned by Halla Helgadóttir, Iceland Design and Architecture, the project is curated by Marcos Zotes, partner at Basalt Architects, and developed through a multidisciplinary collaboration between Basalt Architects, design studio Gagarin, and artist Rán Flygenring. SOAK marks the second Icelandic participation in the Architecture Biennale selected through an open call process, following Lavaforming by s.ap architects, which represented Iceland at the 2025 edition.
Casa Cielo / NV/design architecture
- architects: NV/ design architecture
- Location: Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico
- Project Year: 2025
- Photographs: Amy Bello
- Area: 4000.0 ft2