SOMBRA Pavilion: MVRDV’s Living Ode to the Sun Debuts in Venice

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SOMBRA, a name fusing the Latin words for sun (sol) and shade (umbra), is more than a temporary pavilion—it’s a living laboratory. Shaped like a heliodon, the structure mimics how the sun moves through the sky, providing an intuitive experience of solar patterns. It operates without motors, electronics, or external energy. Instead, it breathes, opens, and closes using only passive physical principles.

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Five Innovative Architecture Firms Building with Bamboo

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Bamboo, often referred to as the "green steel" of the future, is quickly gaining popularity as a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials. With its fast growth cycle, minimal environmental footprint, and impressive strength, bamboo is emerging as a game-changing material for the construction industry. Not only is it an eco-friendly choice, but its versatility allows it to be used in everything from flooring to scaffolding, and even entire buildings.

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5 Brilliant eco-architect alternatives to Foster + Partners

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In the world of architecture and design, there’s a growing movement towards exploring new, uncharted territories. While renowned firms like Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid have undeniably shaped the skyline of modern architecture, there’s a wealth of untapped potential in emerging voices that can offer bold, innovative, and sustainable alternatives. These next five studios are pushing the boundaries of creativity, blending technology with art, and designing spaces that respond to the future needs of communities and the planet. Let’s take a closer look at these pioneers who are crafting tomorrow’s architectural landscape today.

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Vernacular Architecture in America: A Tradition Rooted in Adaptation

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Vernacular architecture refers to structures built using local materials, knowledge, and cultural influences rather than formal architectural styles. It is often associated with deep-rooted traditions, yet in a country like the United States—where many people have historically lived in temporary or nomadic housing—one might ask: Does America even have a vernacular architectural tradition? How can […]

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BIG Palliative Care: Denmark’s Nature and Spirituality in Dignified End-of-Life Care

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Bjarke Ingels Group has won the competition to design the new Sankt Lukas Hospice and Lukashuset, a 8,500 m² palliative care center envisioned as a village nestled within nature. Building on the legacy of the Sankt Lukas Foundation, established in the 1930s, this project will significantly expand Denmark's palliative care capacity, tripling its current facilities to serve approximately 2,100 patients each year.

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What is regenerative design? A UK crew develops a future-thinking handbook

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Sustainability has been championed for four decades to manage and minimize damage to the Earth’s resources but has been slow to penetrate the industrialized world. The guidebook’s authors note that contemporary net-zero emissions efforts and global climate target policies do not prescribe a way forward for “human systems to contribute positively to natural systems.”

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Al Faya Lodge: Sustainable Architecture Meets Desert Serenity

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The lodge's design takes the region's extreme climate into careful consideration. Sharjah’s desert environment presents a unique set of challenges, from searing heat and prolonged sun exposure in the summer to chilly nighttime temperatures. Jonathan Ashmore, Anarchitect’s founder, emphasized that any design in such an environment must account for these factors.

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Build a fire-proof home with hemp blocks

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Researchers tested the fire safety and strength of hemp blocks, a sustainable building material made from hemp, lime, and water. The study, published in the Journal of Building Engineering, found that Hemp blocks don’t catch fire with open flames but instead smolder slowly, producing very little smoke. In fact, walls made of hemp blocks stayed structurally intact for 2 hours during fire tests.

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