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Wooden house with brick rotunda
Villa Bjorland in Stavanger by Vatn Architecture
Espen Vatn and his architectural firm have renovated a residential building dating from 1955 in a suburb of Stavanger. The striking entrance area is inspired by the grain silos in the area.
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Landscape bridge in the floodplain forest
National Museum in Zhengzhou by gmp Architekten
Zhengzhou is one of the largest cities on China's lifeline, the Yellow River. In the forests on its banks, gmp Architekten has now completed a new 100 000 m² museum building, which will showcase the cultural and natural features of the river once it opens.
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Lightweight construction on solid foundations
Residential Building in the Basque Country by BeAr
The La Nanihuena residential building in Gorliz, northern Spain, plays with contrasts: four large concrete supports hold up a delicate wooden structure. Red and light green facades envelop the interior, which is largely decorated in wood tones.
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Renovation brings clarity and cohesion
Collège Maryse Bastié in Dole by Tectoniques Architectes
During the renovation of the secondary school, Tectoniques Architectes unified the disparate buildings in terms of structure and design. The labyrinthine layout was reorganised and the building was raised and clad in a new, largely uniform exterior.
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Building bridges to nature
Santiago de Compostela Railway Station by Estudio Herreros
The extension of the historic railway station in Santiago de Compostela builds bridges in two ways: it links different modes of transport and it connects the city centre with the southern suburbs surrounding the Ciudad de la Cultura.
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The tree in the house
Boathouse in Scotland by Barboza Blanco Office
On the banks of the Firth of Tay, the Portuguese firm has renovated a dilapidated boathouse and transformed it into a retreat for the client. A single tree trunk supports both the roof and floor of the house.
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Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
The Biennale, A Construction Site?
High-tech, low-tech, and AI: The 19th Architecture Biennale doesn’t refuse to showcase architecture – but does it meaningfully engage with the pressing realities its audience faces?
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Metal workshop becomes gourmet temple
Camaraderie Restaurant in Houston by Schaum Architects
Schaum architects have converted a former metal workshop in the Houston Heights district into a 75-seat restaurant. While retaining the corrugated iron aesthetic and supporting structure of the old building, the space has been given a completely new atmosphere.
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Cultural and Learning Center
Third Space in India by Studio Saar
One of Studio Saar’s latest project reimagines the third space as a dynamic cultural center rooted in Indian heritage.
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Architecture in harmony with nature
The Lake House: Life Experience Pavilion by Wutopia Lab
Wutopia Lab artfully constructed the prefabricated Lake House Life Experience Pavilion in Shanghai's Daning Park using recycled materials in a very short time.
Building in Existing Contexts
Building in existing fabric conserves resources, saves energy, and reduces carbon emissions – good reasons to choose conversion over new build. Yet there is another, less tangible dimension: time. With additions and adaptations, patina and cracks, it leaves its mark and stores memories in the buildings. The school where you learned to read, the factory that fed half the village, the church where your parents were married, or your grandparents’ farm – such places shape the identity of a community. To carry these stories forward requires sensitivity to materials, spaces, and histories. Deciding what remains and what is replaced demands careful judgment. The spectrum of approaches and solutions is wide. Some interventions are so discreet that only trained eyes notice them, often compared by architects to the restoration of a classic car. Others are more radical: ceiling panels titled and set diagonally into a room, or large atriums cut into the existing architecture. At times, we may need to rethink our ingrained aesthetics and ask whether materials with a problematic reputation – such as fibre cement panels (Eternit) – can still be used, or whether cut edges might be left uncovered. With time as a fourth dimension, building becomes a dialogue between past, present, and future. The projects in this issue that work with and on existing structures cast a special light on this theme. Take your time. Barbara Zettel
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Building for children in Canadian style
School and Kindergarten in the Czech Republic by SOA Architekti
SOA Architekti are designing the Czech Republic's first Maple Bear School in Brno, which is located in a converted industrial building as part of a larger neighbourhood project.
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Building in hot climates
Women's Mosque in Doha by Diller Scofidio + Renfro
The Al Mujadilah Education Centre is home to the world's first mosque built exclusively for women. Its 20 x 35 metre hand-knotted prayer carpet can accommodate 750 Muslim women.
Interiors & Design
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Folly in the water
Floating Sauna in Oslo by Estudio Herreros
On the Oslo Fjord, Estudio Herreros has built a small floating sauna, offering a place for retreat and contemplation near the Munch Museum.
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Surreale oasis
Residential Building in Berlin by J. Mayer H
In the inner courtyard of an apartment block in Berlin-Mitte, J. Mayer H. and their team have transformed a small, hidden building into a residential property with a garden for a family of five.
Climate & Resources
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Redensification beneath the castle ruins
Residential Buildings on Baden's Schlossberg Hill near Zurich
Menzi Bürgler Kuithan Architects have renovated a stately 1923 villa in Baden, near Zurich, and added two slender detached houses made of wood and hemp lime.
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Brazilian architectural icon
Metro Arquitetos Expand Museu de Arte de São Paulo
57 years after the inauguration of Lina Bo Bardi's iconic Museo de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), the museum recently unveiled its latest extension, called Edifício Pietro Maria Bardi, designed by Metro Arquitetos.
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New use for industrial hall
Greenhouse in Shanghai by Delugan Meissl
In the Expo Cultural Park in Shanghai, the former site of Expo 2010, a greenhouse with a floor area of almost 50 000 m2 has been built according to plans by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects. The backdrop for the new building is the gutted hall of a former steelworks.
Books
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Refurbishment Manual student priceSpecial Price €30.00 Regular Price €79.90Incl. 7% VAT , excl. Shipping Cost
Current Topics Detail 12.2024
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Fired and unfired clay
Hotel Leo in St. Gallen by Boltshauser Architects
The Hotel Leo in the garden of the Villa Wiesental is clad in greenish and white-grey clinker brick. The interior walls are made of clay bricks and earth blocks.
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Provisional as a concept
House 14a in Copenhagen by Pihlmann Architects
From the outside, the house from the 1950s has changed very little. Inside, Pihlmann Architects and art historian Marianne Krogh have created open, flowing spaces.
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Sculptural monolith
Performing Arts Centre in Brighton by krft
For the Performing Arts Centre at Brighton College, Krft and Nicholas Hare Architects designed a solitaire with a shell of flint blocks and light grey Seeton bricks.
Natural Building Materials
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In the midst of nature
Student-Built Observatory near Barcelona
The Flora observatory built near Barcelona for observing nature was developed and erected by a team of students and researchers at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.
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Interview with Sarah Wigglesworth
Creative Solutions to Combat the Climate Crisis
British architect Sarah Wigglesworth drew international attention with her Straw Bale House in London. In this interview with Heide Wessely, she describes how to design cities more sustainably.
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Sustainable and single-origin
London’s Tallest Circular-Design Office Building Made of Wood
With the Black & White Building, Waugh Thistleton have not only created London’s tallest solid-wood office building, but have also made a significant contribution to the circular economy.
Sustainable Construction
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Repurposing
Wilkinson Eyre Overhaul Battersea Power Station in London
On behalf of an investor from Malaysia, Wilkinson Eyre have transformed London’s Battersea Power Station into a shopping mall featuring offices and flats. For the most part, the interiors of the impressive turbine halls have been preserved.
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Theatre factory in old foundry
The Mercury Store in New York by CO Adaptive Architecture
Assigned the task of repurposing an industrial building into a performing arts centre, the architects consistently set their focus on retaining and opening its historical structure.
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Pivoting walls
The Plato Art Gallery in the Czech Republic by KWK Promes
In the Czech city of Ostrava, KWK Promes have transformed an old slaughterhouse into an art gallery. The dilapidated condition of the exposed-brick building represented both challenge and inspiration for the planners.
Videos & Podcasts
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Hotels, hostels, resorts
Where’s the Journey Headed? – Editorial Detail 3.2023
The current issue of Detail takes a look at new beginnings. Few sectors of the economy were so battered during the corona years as the hotel industry.
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Meet the Architects
DIIIP, Loft M in Cologne
In our video series #Meet the Architects, architects present current projects from their offices. Jochen Reetz from DIIIP explains the design for the Loft M project in Cologne.
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Refurbishment
Taking Stock – Editorial Detail 1/2.2023
Apart from the ecological, social, and economic necessity to do so, adaptive reuse often raises unforeseen structural and detailing issues, which we address at the start of the year. We document seven selected projects energy-efficient renovations, the addition of new functions to existing buildings, the densification of inner-city areas, and conversion.
Videos
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Ecological resistance
The Rambla Climate House in Spain
In a suburb of the Spanish city of Molina de Segura, Andrés Jaque and his office Offpolinn have created the Rambla Climate House, a single-family dwelling conceived as a climate- and eco-house. The project won the 2022 Simon Architecture Prize.
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Structural fire protection
Frame House in California
Mork-Ulnes are designing a single-family house that will withstand future disasters.
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Surrounded by nature
Modular House in Madrid
The DelaVegaCanolasso architecture studio specialize in small houses using modular techniques. In this video, Ignacio de la Vega and Pilar Cano-Lasso shed light on their latest project, the Fresnos house in Madrid.
Products & References
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Advertorial
ArchDaily Names 20 Winners of Next Practices 2025
ArchDaily announces 20 winners of the 2025 Next Practices Awards, celebrating global firms redefining architecture through sustainability, community, care and innovative, interdisciplinary design.
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Formats and surfaces
Variability in ceramics
At Cersaie 2025, Casalgrande Padana is expanding its Lithos and Concept series. The new formats, thicknesses and surfaces make these collections highly versatile for indoor and outdoor spaces.
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Ceramics and Design
Cersaie 2025: a platform for showcasing new surfaces
At Cersaie 2025, the focus is shifting towards sustainable tiles, XXL slabs and hybrid materials, with these materials becoming key players in architectural strategies.











