Magazine

A press conference on Thursday, February 27, revealed that the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale will open as planned on May 23 despite the coronavirus outbreak in Northern Italy. Curator Hashim Sarkis unveiled additional information on the exhibition's theme and some of its participants. John Hill

The construction of the Jaurès recreation center provided the city of Athis-Mons with an opportunity to equip itself with a facility for small children adapted to open learning methods and at the same time help to reduce the pressures of the towns growing population. Graal

In a context of the human history stacked like thick sedimentary rocks, Dongxiang Culture Center was gently placed into it not with a historic vocabulary but in a modern way. CU Office

Preservation Chicago has released its annual "7 Most Endangered" list. It includes numerous repeats, most notably Helmut Jahn's James R. Thompson Center, which the State of Illinois is currently selling and could be demolished. John Hill

A major tourist attraction for well over a century, the Charlevoix region features some of Québec’s most striking landscapes. Over the last fifteen years, with the opening of a new ski resort, this already popular spot truly became a year-round destination. Bourgeois / Lechasseur architectes

"Journalism is chatting in the corridor." This bon mot by publisher Henri Nannen from Hamburg has been translated into architecture at the new Axel-Springer-AG building in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Ulf Meyer

Milan's Salone del Mobile furniture fair, a staple for globetrotting interior designers and the design press every April, has been postponed until June in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in Northern Italy.

OMA, together with Jaspers-Eyers Architects, has won the competition for the design of the new headquarters of the National Railway Company of Belgium. Designed by OMA partner Reinier de Graaf, the 75,000-sm project will create work space for 4,000 SNCB employees. John Hill

The appearance of the Edgecliff Residence is dictated by its site: a filtered facade faces the street, while expanses of glass at the rear of the house open to a vista of trees and a nearby lake. Miró Rivera Architects answered a few questions about the house in Austin, Texas’s Travis Heights... Miró Rivera Architects

Estimated decline in properties sold in the 30 biggest Chinese cities during the week... René Ammann

Visionary French architect Yona Friedman, who was born in Budapest in 1923, has died at the age of 96, as announced on his Instagram account on February 21, 2020. John Hill

ODA New York's recently completed Denizen Bushwick is a large residential development on the site of a former brewery in Brooklyn. At its heart are a series of courtyard punctuated by colorful murals behind glass walls. John Hill

The concept design for the Autobahnkirche along the A13 motorway near Andeer, Switzerland, features an above-ground chapel and three smaller chapels built into an earth berm. John Hill

Designed by Studio Zhu Pei from Beijing, the District Arts and Culture Centre is adjacent to the old city of Shouxian, in the southeast Chinese province of Anhui. Eduard Kögel

The UQAM Centre de Design is presenting Concrete in All its Forms, an exhibition of drawings and enigmatic constructions of artist and architect Mark West. UQAM Centre de Design

A judge has ruled that the "gerrymandered" zoning lot for 200 Amsterdam Avenue, a residential tower that topped out at 668 feet last summer, is invalid and the developer must remove floors to comply with zoning. John Hill

The design of the gift shop inside Jean Nouvel's National Museum of Qatar was inspired by caves, as explained by architect Koichi Takada in a short film from ERCO. John Hill

At only eleven feet wide, the narrow lot for XS House was surface parking for a long time, seen as unbuildable. Strategically using bays and other other features, ISA managed to pack seven residential units on the site, setting a precedent for other leftover spaces in and beyond Philadelphia.... ISA

Number of historical architectural icons in and around Cairo, Egypt, explored in a... René Ammann

Discourse is a new biannual publication series from Princeton University School of Architecture under dean Mónica Ponce de León. The first issue explores authorship through essays, interviews, and projects — and an impressive design that inserts posters, gatefolds, and other special... John Hill

The most recent book by Richard Sennett, grand seigneur of urban design and originally a planner himself, is Building and Dwelling: Ethics for the City. In it, following in the tradition of Jane Jacobs, he makes a vehement plea for open cities. Here are some thoughts on the book. Inge Beckel

Hollywood's Architect, a new documentary on Paul Revere Williams, celebrates the life and work of the African American "Architect to the Stars" who was the posthumous recipient of the John Hill

The National Railway Museum and Malcolm Reading Consultants have revealed the five concept designs by the shortlisted teams vying to design the Central Hall for the museum in York, England. John Hill

In just over a week Countryside, The Future opens at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Five years in the making, the much-anticipated research-based exhibition curated by OMA's Rem Koolhaas and AMO's Samir Bantal will take over the whole of the museum's rotunda. John Hill

Potato Head Studios, designed by OMA / David Gianotten, has been completed in Seminyak, Bali. It is OMA’s first hotel dedicated not only to guests but also the local community: an open ground plane for curated cultural events and daily leisure activities welcomes visitors of all kinds. OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

French President Emanuel Macron is mandating that all new public buildings in France which are financed by the government must contain at least 50% wood or other organic materials starting in 2022. John Hill

Asif Khan, renowned British architecture studio, has designed the Expo Entry Portals, three spectacular gateways to Expo 2020 Dubai that will grant entry to visitors from 20 October. The structures are the first works to be unveiled from the studio’s design of more than six kilometers of Expo... Asif Khan

Counterspace — the Johannesburg-based firm of Sumayya Vally, Sarah de Villiers and Amina Kaskar — has been selected to design the Serpentine Pavilion 2020, which will be on display in London's Kensington Gardens this summer. John Hill

Total cost, as of January, for the United States to build more than 450 miles of border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border by the end... René Ammann

Having been rebuilt and restored many times, the Kanda Myojin Shrine is one of the oldest in Japan, with a history of 1,300 years. The shrine is located in central Tokyo and is now accompanied by the new EDOCCO, Edo Culture Complex. NOMURA Co., Ltd. explained their intent behind the complex's... NOMURA Co., Ltd.

New standards that bring together all smart building solutions and customizable, intelligent lighting are the key topics at the upcoming Light + Building. Martina Metzner

Whether it's networked cities or artificial intelligence designing houses together with architects, Professor M. Hank Haeusler is certain that the integration of digital technologies into architecture will improve life in challenging times. Martina Metzner interviewed him about his... Martina Metzner

Be it for a museum, a workplace or a cruise ship—lighting designer Carla Wilkins from Lichtvision Design is looking for new solutions regarding control and customization at Light + Building. Martina Metzner spoke with the lighting designer about regional lighting cultures and colored... Martina Metzner

Since news broke on February 4th of a draft executive order that would establish a classical style for new federal buildings in and beyond Washington, DC, architecture critics have been addressing the implications of what is titled "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again." We've assembled a... John Hill

Whether wallpaper, upholstery fabrics, curtains or acoustic textiles, there was no getting around environmentally friendly materials and production processes at Heimtextil 2020. Martina Metzner

Italian architecture firm MoDusArchitects presents its recently completed TreeHugger, the new Tourist Information Office building in Bressanone, Italy, and winning entry of an international competition held in 2016. MoDusArchitects