This week, the focus of architecture is on what the built environment can enable and what it demands in return. Debates about democracy and public space analyze how architecture can foster participation, equality, and community life. In parallel, new residential and cultural projects investigate how buildings can adapt to changing social needs through structural reuse, shared areas, and adaptability.
These considerations extend to exhibition venues, where the Tallinn Architecture Biennale assesses the less obvious costs of construction, while the Buenos Aires International Architecture Biennale analyzes the multiple ways architecture influences the way we live. Given these distinct scenarios, architecture emerges as a means to negotiate access, resources, sense of community, and the lasting value of the built environment.
Affordable Housing and Reuse of Existing Structures
Approaches to economic accessibility and adaptive reuse are manifested in two new European projects. In Ibiza, the firm Stefano Boeri Architetti won the competition for Sa Casa, a complex of about 190 units intended for below-market-rate rental, distributed across four volumes. This project integrates CLT prefabricated construction, flexible residential layouts, common areas, local vegetation, solar panels, and passive environmental tactics.
In Rotterdam, MAD announced plans to convert a 1923 Art Deco warehouse into Danshuis, a 9,500 square meter dance center scheduled to open in 2030. Danshuis will include 14 dance studios, in addition to spaces dedicated to performance, exhibition, education, and community use, extending towards the Mosa River and connecting to the Fenix Migration Museum, also designed by MAD.
Cost, Value, and Ways of Living in Architecture
Issues related to value and habitability are central to two major architecture biennials this period. The Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2026, under the theme 'How Much?', focuses on architectural costs that exceed construction budgets, covering labor, inputs, ecological impact, maintenance, and long-term social repercussions. Its main exhibition, held in Linnahall—a largely underutilized building—makes these issues tangible through a structure whose future remains uncertain.
At the same time, in Buenos Aires, the International Architecture Biennale celebrates its 40th anniversary with the theme 'HABITAT'. The event brings together approximately 100 architecture firms, 15 exhibitions, and 50 conferences in various parts of the city. Its program explores the distinct interconnections between people, architecture, cities, territories, and communities, featuring Pritzker Prize winner Smiljan Radić as an international guest.
Highlights of the Week
Gerhard Richter's Pavilion in Doha Brings Painting into Three Dimensions
Qatar Museums announced the Doha Pavilion: Gerhard Richter, a permanent and site-specific building designed by the artist Gerhard Richter in partnership with the firm Selldorf Architects. Located in the Islamic Art Museum park in Doha, this hexagonal pavilion will house three large-scale works from the Strip series, two vertical mirrors (Mirrors), and a central tower (Strip Tower), in addition to the external stone sculpture Brunnen (Fountain). The six exterior walls display patterns digitally generated from Richter's artist's book Patterns (2011), translating his investigation into repetition, perception, and image creation into an architectural form. The pavilion's inauguration is scheduled for November 20, 2026, preceding the inaugural Rubaiya Qatar quadrennial.
SOM Celebrates 40 Years in London with Exhibition on the Future of Construction
The firm SOM celebrates its fortieth anniversary in London with the exhibition 'Change: 40 Years of SOM London', presented at Marylebone Hall during the London Design Festival 2026. From September 12 to 19, the show traces the firm's trajectory in areas such as engineering, architecture, planning, sustainability, and interior design, while discussing how technology, materials, and construction can define future design. A central installation created by SOM's architecture and structural engineering teams consists of about 2,000 recycled wooden bricks, made from scaffolding planks and assembled without mortar or mechanical joints. This structure was erected by participants with no prior training, guided by virtual reality goggles, exploring alternative construction methods and the potential for greater accessibility in construction processes.
Het Steen Restoration Receives the Erich Mendelsohn Award 2026 Grand Prix
The renovation and expansion project of Het Steen in Antwerp, developed by the firm noAarchitecten, was awarded the Erich Mendelsohn Award 2026 Grand Prix, making it the first Belgian project to receive the top prize. Selected from over 500 proposals from 41 nations, the project was recognized for the cohesive integration between the historic castle and the contemporary addition. The intervention replaced a 1950s annex with a new volume that accentuates the building's presence along the Escalda River, using brick facades in a gradation of dark to light tones that mirrors the hues and patina of the original masonry. The complex now features a visitor center, exhibition and reception spaces, in addition to a rooftop terrace and an observation tower accessible to the public.
