Author: Isha Chaudhary
Isha Chaudhary
Isha Chaudhary is an architecture writer who follows and writes about current trends and emerging discussions in architecture, with a focus on design, technology, and place-making.
Hospitals have been planned as self-contained institutions where medical care remains separated from everyday urban life. The winning proposal for the new Main Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Brescia takes a radically different position. Designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, Park Associati, and Politecnica Building for Humans, together with Openfabric, DOTDOTDOT, Studio Mattioli, and Eckersley O’Callaghan, the project proposes healthcare as part of a larger ecological, social, and academic network. Selected through an international design competition, the proposal introduces the concept of the CareRing, a continuous landscape and mobility system that reshapes the entire ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia campus. Instead…
The 2026 Davidson Prize has been awarded to PLAYDECK, a visionary proposal that reimagines London’s decommissioned New Routemaster buses as traveling playgrounds designed to bring play directly into neighborhoods where public recreational space is scarce. Developed by the interdisciplinary collective R.U.A Studio, in collaboration with WW+P, Studio Egret West, and clinical psychologist Dr. Owen Walker, announced the project as this year’s winner during a ceremony held at the Vitra and Artek Showroom in Shoreditch as part of the London Festival of Architecture. The winning proposal responds to the 2026 Davidson Prize theme, “Changing the Game: Building Play into Housing,” which…
As record-breaking temperatures continue to reshape cities worldwide, one cooling technology from China has unexpectedly become the internet’s latest obsession. The “Outdoor AC” is not an air conditioner in the conventional sense. Instead, it is a high-pressure mist cooling system that uses the science of evaporative cooling to lower outdoor temperatures without enclosing a space. The viral videos, showing residential towers and public spaces releasing fine clouds of mist during extreme heat, have sparked discussions far beyond social media. For architects, urban planners, and environmental designers, the technology raises a more important question: Could cooling infrastructure become as essential to…
After years of planning, TCHOBAN VOSS Architekten, in collaboration with Barcode Architects, has completed Stadtforum Dresden, a new administrative headquarters that consolidates municipal services previously spread across multiple locations. Located on Ferdinandplatz opposite Dresden’s historic City Hall, the project forms a significant step in the redevelopment of one of the city’s most prominent urban sites while establishing a new gateway between the historic centre and the city’s eastern green corridors. Covering nearly 35,000 square metres, the building was conceived as an office complex and also a civic destination where public administration, culture, exhibitions, and community interaction coexist under one roof.…
Technology campuses have been designed as inward-looking environments, prioritizing privacy and employee-exclusive spaces. Tencent’s newly completed Tengyun Center (Tencent Cloudrise) in Shenzhen takes a markedly different approach. Designed by MAD Architects under the leadership of Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano, the headquarters elevates its primary building mass approximately 8.6 meters above ground, transforming the space beneath into an open public landscape. Completed after six years of design and construction, the 412,000-square-meter campus reframes the corporate headquarters as civic infrastructure, integrating workplace, waterfront ecology, and public life along Shenzhen’s Da Chan Bay. An Elevated Headquarters That Returns the Ground…
In the Dutch city of Beverwijk, an ordinary piece of electrical infrastructure has been transformed into an architectural artwork. Designed by Rotterdam-based Studio RAP, Powerwall introduces a large-scale 3D-printed ceramic installation to the facade of the Switchstation Beverwijk transformer station, demonstrating how design can reshape the public perception of utility buildings. The project translates the energy moving through it into a visible and tactile expression. Spanning approximately eight meters in height and five meters in width, the installation occupies a prominent position on the building’s brick facade. The transformer station itself was designed by Powerhouse Company for Dutch grid operator…
The completion of Korean Football Park marks a significant moment for football infrastructure in South Korea. Designed by UNStudio for the Korea Football Association (KFA), the expansive campus in Cheonan brings together elite training facilities, athlete accommodation, recovery spaces, administrative functions and public amenities within a single masterplan. Spread across more than 450,000 square meters, the project has been conceived as a long-term base for national teams while also creating a destination that welcomes supporters, young athletes and the wider community. Located approximately an hour from Seoul, the campus supports men’s, women’s, and youth football programs while creating spaces that…
Rising 89 metres above Fuzhou’s Jin’an District, the IGG Tianmeng Tower is a 50,000-square-metre office development designed by Woods Bagot. Conceived as a symbol of growth, resilience, and innovation, the project draws inspiration from the city’s iconic banyan trees while responding to the needs of China’s expanding digital economy. Through a combination of architecture, interior design, and sustainability strategies, the tower reimagines the contemporary workplace as a dynamic environment where technology, nature, and culture intersect. A Landmark Inspired by Fuzhou’s Banyan Trees Located at the intersection of Fuguang Road and Fuxin Road, the tower references Fuzhou’s longstanding identity as the…
Barcelona has officially opened the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026, one of the most significant international gatherings in the architecture profession. Running from 28 June to 2 July 2026, the congress brings together architects, urbanists, researchers, students, policymakers, and cultural leaders from across the globe under the theme “Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition.” Hosted by the International Union of Architects (UIA), the event marks the 29th edition of the triennial congress and coincides with Barcelona’s designation as the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture 2026. The opening ceremony took place at Les Tres Xemeneies (Three Chimneys) in Sant…
The first phase of Boston’s Enterprise Research Campus (ERC) has reached a significant milestone with the completion of One Milestone, a two-building life science complex designed by the collaborative efforts of Henning Larsen and Studio Gang. Located in Allston, adjacent to Harvard’s expanding innovation district, the project represents more than a conventional laboratory development. It introduces a new model where research, public life, landscape, and urban connectivity are deliberately woven together. Spanning approximately 47,380 square meters (about 510,000 square feet), One Milestone forms the centerpiece of Phase A of the 14-acre Enterprise Research Campus master plan, which has been jointly…