Magazine

Heatherwick Studio: Building Soulfulness opened on March 17 at Mori Art Museum's Tokyo City View gallery. The first exhibition in Japan devoted to the UK studio of Thomas Heatherwick, Building Soulfulness displays 28 major projects over the last three decades. Ulf Meyer visited... Ulf Meyer

OMA partner Reinier de Graaf's third book, the much-anticipated architect, verb. The New Language of Building, was released at the end of February. World-Architects editor John Hill read it to see what all the fuss is about — and discover why “architect” is a verb in de Graaf's world. John Hill

Last month David Chipperfield Architects won the competition to expand the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Ulf Meyer spoke with David Chipperfield and Alexander... Ulf Meyer

In Bold Ventures: Thirteen Tales of Architectural Tragedy a poet seeks answers to structural failures both personal and collective. Madeline Beach Carey examines the results. Madeline Beach Carey

On January 21, Arno Lederer died in Stuttgart at the age of 75 following a severe illness. He provided orientation to many, and people appreciated his wise thoughts and loved his open, friendly and approachable manner. Falk Jaeger

Ole Scheeren: Spaces of Life is a large solo exhibition now on display at ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. Presenting the work of Karlsruhe-born architect Ole Scheeren, the exhibition aims to explore “how today’s architecture creates prototypes for living tomorrow.” Ulf Meyer... Ulf Meyer

A critical exploration of architecture is needed today more than ever, but architectural criticism is in a crisis. A new book, edited by Wilfried Wang, could bring momentum back to the discipline. Elias Baumgarten

Swiss Llife Arena, host to the Zurich Lions ice hockey team, is the largest project to date for London’s Caruso St John Architects, the firm of Adam Caruso and Peter St. John. The Lions played their first match in the new arena in October. Ulf Meyer traveled to Zurich to see the building and... Ulf Meyer

Poet Christine Stewart-Nuñez is the author of numerous poetry collections and a professor at University of Manitoba. Her work explores women’s lives and art practices, as well as the body in relationship to public space. Madeline Beach Carey reviews The Poet and the Architect, published... Madeline Beach Carey

Reflective Nostalgia is an exhibition at Aedes Architecture Forum that presents the work of Neri&Hu, the Shanghai firm (with studios in London, Paris, and Milan) of Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu. Ulf Meyer visited the Berlin gallery and sent us his impressions. Ulf Meyer

The award-winning book Swissness Applied focuses its attention on New Glarus, the tiny Wisconsin town whose downtown buildings draw tourists through facades that exude Swissness. World-Architects editor John Hill delved into the book by Nicole McIntosh and Jonathan Louie of Architecture... John Hill

The sixth Lisbon Architecture Triennale is dedicated to the theme "Terra." It is about nothing less than the future of our planet. The many projects showcased in several exhibitions are groundbreaking for the future of architecture. Susanna Koeberle

World-Architects editor John Hill recently visited the studio of Dattner Architects in Midtown Manhattan, talking with partner Daniel Heuberger about some projects the firm is working on and looking around the office they moved in to earlier this year. John Hill

Ulf Meyer visited the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, Germany, to check out its newest building: the Center for Advanced Mobility, designed by studioMDA "as the epicenter of the... Ulf Meyer

Kirsty Bell’s The Undercurrents: A Story of Berlin is billed as a “hybrid literary portrait of a place [that] makes the case for radical close readings: of ourselves,... Lynnette Widder

In Year Zero to Economic Miracle: Hans Schwippert and Sep Ruf in Postwar German Building Culture, Lynnette Widder compares two intriguing architects. Ulf Meyer delves into the recently published book. Ulf Meyer

He was modest, warmhearted, and, in addition, a guiding intellectual force of sustainable construction who was full of enthusiasm and persuasive conviction. Edward Schwarz contributed greatly to Swiss and international architecture. Andreas Ruby

With summer break upon us, World-Architects has rummaged through some of the many architecture books published this year to find fifteen recommendations for summer reading, presented from small to extra-large — from a book that fits in your pocket to a two-volume title for your coffee table. John Hill

June is Pride Month, marking June 28, 1969, when a group of LGBTQ+ people rioted following a police raid of New York’s Stonewall Inn. Fittingly, this June sees the release of Gay Architects: Silent Biographies, from 18th to 20th Century, which finds two German experts, Wolfgang Voigt... Ulf Meyer

Boonserm Premthada, Thailand’s most interesting architect, argues that “architecture is the physical creation of an atmosphere, serving to heighten our awareness of our natural surroundings.” Premthada revealed other interesting aspects of his unique approach to architecture in his... Ulf Meyer

Earlier this month Shigeru Ban spoke at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin as part of the "On the Duty and the Power of Architecture" lecture series. Ulf Meyer sat down with the Japanese architect after the talk,... Ulf Meyer

John Ronan became world famous with the Poetry Foundation and Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, two elegant orthogonal buildings in Chicago. Now, with the headquarters for the Chicago Park District under construction, he is on to something else. Ulf Meyer

A handful of projects in Finland’s capital find local and international architects alike grappling with masterpieces of modern architecture and tackling large-scale mixed-use developments. Ulf Meyer visited Helsinki recently to get a handle on things. Ulf Meyer

Two books and two exhibitions celebrate two decades of the Flemish government in Belgium commissioning architects for building projects through the Open Call, a unique "more-than-a-competition" process that has resulted in more than 300 completed buildings, landscapes, and infrastructural... John Hill

On March 15, Francis Kéré was named the 2022 laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered by many as architecture's highest honor. Ulf Meyer visited Kéré in his Berlin office to speak with the architect about the Pritzker, his career, and some of the buildings his firm is working... Ulf Meyer

Visitors to the American-Architects platform of World-Architects last month voted Mecanoo’s renovation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC as US Building of the Year, picking it from dozens of adaptive reuse and renovation projects. Following... John Hill

The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985 opens at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York on February 20, 2022. Eduard Kögel spoke with MoMA chief curator Martino Stierli ahead of the opening about the theme of the exhibition and... Eduard Kögel

Apartment Blossom is the second volume in the Urban Studies Degree Zero Series. This beautifully designed, delicately bound book includes short essays by Li Han, partner at Drawing Architecture... Madeline Beach Carey

The Norwegian office of Mad arkitekter, the subject of Mad About Dugnad – Work Together, Build Better, a new exhibition at Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin, has great concepts — and a ways to go. Ulf Meyer

Interventions and Adaptive Reuse is a recently published that looks back at ten years of academic journalism focused on the “responsible practice” of adaptive reuse. Looking to the past, by virtue of an approach that has preservation at its heart, the book also provides perspectives... John Hill

As 2021 — year two of the coronavirus pandemic — draws to a close, World-Architects takes a month-by-month look back at some of the stories that transpired over the last twelve months: awards, competitions, buildings, exhibitions, and passings.  John Hill

Is idealism economically sensible? Yes, says Katharina Lehmann. In an interview with Swiss-Architects editor Elias Baumgarten she talks about values, what it means to be a female boss, and why coercive measures are not enough to stop climate change. Elias Baumgarten

Luxembourg’s second city, Esch-sur-Alzette (or Esch, for short, population 36,000), is preparing for its role as the European Capital of Culture next year. Ulf Meyer visited Esch to take in different parts of the city and highlight some of the additions being made in the run up to next year’s... Ulf Meyer

Is architecture able to heal? How can the working conditions of nursing staff be improved? And is this actually affordable? These were the issues discussed by experts at the roundtable "Organismus Krankenhaus nach Covid-19" (Organism of the Hospital after Covid-19) in Vienna on October 14th. Katinka Corts

Annie Coggan — designer, artist, educator, and a principal at Coggan + Crawford Architecture and Design in Brooklyn — has created a quirky, gorgeous, singular book called The Book of Errors. This slim volume is a beautiful object, but it is also a manifesto of sorts, a primer on how “to... Madeline Beach Carey

Expo 2020 opened to the public in Dubai on October 1, 2021, one year behind schedule. Carrying the theme “Connecting Minds and Creating the Future,” Expo 2020 is the first world’s fair to take place in the Middle East. Ulf Meyer visited the Expo ahead of opening day and sent us his impressions... Ulf Meyer