Author: Pooja Khanna Tyagi

California’s wildfire-prone landscapes continue to face recurring devastation, with recent fires across the state reinforcing the urgency for resilient design strategies. Set deep in the rugged hills north-east of Healdsburg, this rebuilt off-grid home by Faulkner Architects emerges from loss with clarity and purpose. After the 2019 Kincade Fire erased the original structure, the new design responds with a focus on resilience, accessibility, and a deeper connection to its fragile terrain, shaping a future-ready way of living in the wild. Rebuilding After Fire: A Landscape-Driven Approach Remotely accessed via a former stagecoach road in Healdsburg, California, the site carries history…

In Terrassa, near Barcelona, the Prodis Headquarters is a rehabilitation project that transforms former industrial buildings of Vapor Marqués into a place of care, dignity, and connection. The project doesn’t try to smooth over the past, but it keeps the textures, marks, and irregularities that tell its story. Instead of erasing what existed, the architecture works with it. Rough edges and layered histories become part of a more humane environment, where people feel seen rather than hidden. This approach reflects the foundation’s deeper purpose: creating spaces that support social interaction, celebrate individuality, and bring visibility to people with disabilities. What…

Set in Älmhult, the birthplace of IKEA, this project reinterprets a former IKEA warehouse as the new Museum of Furniture Studies as an evolving space where design history meets contemporary practice. Designed by Cobe, the transformation moves beyond simple adaptive reuse, turning the industrial warehouse into an open, public-facing cultural destination that brings together contemporary design, exhibitions, and learning spaces. A Precise Transformation Rooted in Industrial Heritage By retaining the building’s raw framework and introducing carefully considered interventions, the project creates a setting that supports exhibitions, learning, and experimentation, positioning furniture design as heritage and a living, forward-looking discipline. Instead…

Award-winning architecture studio Brown & Brown has released Scottish Modern, a new publication exploring its distinctive approach to contemporary home design shaped by Scotland’s landscapes, heritage, and evolving ways of living. Founded by Andrew Brown and Kate Brown, the Aberdeenshire-based practice is known for crafting contemporary homes that sit naturally within their surroundings, guided by thoughtful siting, local materials, and seamless indoor-outdoor connections, with an approach subtly rooted in a “slow work” philosophy that values precision, patience, and lasting craftsmanship. Established in Royal Deeside in 2010, the studio has built a strong reputation for delivering individual, site-responsive homes that carefully…

A fluid, landscape-driven food innovation hub in San Sebastián, Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOE) combines public terraces, research spaces, and gastronomy into one immersive architectural experience. Conceived as infrastructure and destination, the project brings together chefs, researchers, and entrepreneurs within a single, continuous form. Rising from the Terrain At the base of Mount Ulia, Gastronomy Open Ecosystem (GOE) unfolds as an extension of the land. Designed by BIG Architects and Bat Architecture for the Basque Culinary Centre, the project integrates seamlessly into a site shaped by a 10-metre slope. Partially embedded into the terrain, the building minimizes its visual presence while…

Brutalism is no longer a fixed aesthetic defined by heavy concrete and rigid geometry but is being reinterpreted through restoration, sustainability, and more responsive design thinking. What once felt imposing now adapts to contemporary life, shifting toward spaces that are more fluid, ecological, and culturally aware. This evolution reflects how architecture today is less about preserving a style in isolation and more about reshaping it to stay relevant. The new generation, especially Gen Z, engages with Brutalism as a framework that can evolve, soften, and expand its meaning. Together, these five shifts reveal how Brutalism is evolving while staying rooted…

Set in Denver’s River North Arts District (RiNo), a neighborhood shaped by warehouses, rail lines, and grain silos, the Steel House introduces a new kind of workplace. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the project transforms an industrial legacy into a contemporary, people-first office environment. Steel House doesn’t erase the past as it builds on it. The design channels RiNo’s raw, material-driven character while aligning with Denver’s outdoor culture, creating a workplace that feels both grounded and forward-looking. Focus on Industrial Heritage Steel House draws directly from RiNo’s industrial DNA. Steel, concrete, and glass form a restrained yet expressive palette that…

The Goethe-Institut Dakar is a purpose-built cultural center in Dakar, designed by Kéré Architecture. Developed between 2018 and 2026, the 1,700 sqm project marks the first fully custom-built institute commissioned by the organization globally. As a major cultural hub in West Africa, it reflects a progressive vision of exchange, learning, and collaboration. With a global presence spanning over 60 years, the Goethe-Institut conceptualizes its Dakar center as an open platform instead of a closed institution. The architecture fosters inclusivity and flexibility, allowing diverse programs, including exhibitions and performances, to coexist with language learning and informal gatherings. The space encourages interaction,…

With the rapid rise of AI and emerging digital tools reshaping architectural practice, the gap between traditional education and real-world industry demands has become increasingly visible. PAACADEMY 2.0 directly responds to this shift, making its update significant as it repositions learning to align with how designers now think, work, and communicate in a technology-driven environment. PAACADEMY 2.0 emerges as a bridge between education and practice, setting a more adaptive standard for future-ready digital design learning. As workflows evolve and expectations accelerate, the platform introduces a more intuitive and intelligent direction that reflects the changing nature of architectural and computational design.…

Now open on the KAPSARC campus in Riyadh, the Black Gold Museum by DaeWha Kang stands as a future-ready cultural landmark and one of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious adaptive reuse projects. Developed through a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture’s Museums Commission and KAPSARC, with support from the Quality of Life Program, the museum reimagines Zaha Hadid’s former research library as a 6,800 m², four-storey cultural institution, showcasing the transformative potential of adaptive reuse. Through modern and contemporary art, the museum explores oil’s transformative impact on humanity with a focus on its origins, power, contradictions, and future, offering a deeply…