Great Architecture on a Small Budget
2027 brings a new edition of the Detail Architecture Award - and, for the first time, a prize for affordable housing. Entries close end of October.
Topics
Everything DETAIL publishes, opened up by topic — from sustainable construction and prefabrication to structural engineering, light and urban design. Each topic leads into the search, with the articles, projects, drawings and images tagged for it.
Facades
Railway Tracks as a Supporting Structure - How Does That Work?
Around 180 kilometres of track are replaced every year on the Swiss rail network. Until now, all this scrap metal has been melted down. However, the first building with a steel framework made from recycled rails will soon be constructed in western Zurich.
Paul Van Ostaijen Culture Campus in Leuven
Lava architecten transformed an old mission building in Leuven into a place where circus arts, music, theatre, and dance coexist under one shared roof. Effective soundproofing is the precondition for the shared use of the facility.
Prefabrication and Modular construction
With a Safety Net
Speed comes at a price, and the magic box has its limits. Modular construction is both a blessing and a curse. For years, politicians have promised that modular building would deliver housing faster and more cheaply, yet in 2026 the number of new homes is heading for its lowest level in years. Extremely fast building sites on the one hand, greater planning effort on the other. A look at modular construction, between promise and the reality on site.
Routine School Construction as a Renovation Project
In 1980, Jean Nouvel's Collège Anne Frank in the south of Paris reduced the state-mandated model for industrialised school buildings to the level of farce. Mars Architectes has now renovated the dilapidated building and helped to give new relevance to this architectural provocation.
The Social Heart of Markelfingen
From yoga to retro parties: with the Markelfingen multi-purpose hall on Lake Constance, Steimle Architects have designed a meeting place for all generations. Beneath the widely cantilevered coffered ceiling, adaptable spaces have been created using timber construction.
Cultural Buildings
Self-Exploitation in the Celebrity Circus
At every Architecture Biennale, the curators face the same obstacles: a lack of funding, a great deal of red tape, and an organisation that ignores collective achievements. Why do they put themselves through this? We speak to Albena Yaneva, who spent a year observing the development process of the 2025 Biennale.
Sergio Sebastián, What Does the Past Tell You?
Sergio Sebastián discusses the restoration of the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sijena. How does he recreate the atmosphere without idealising a particular era?
Knockin' on Heavens Door
Diezinger Architekten has transformed Nuremberg's Dreieinigkeitskirche (Trinity Church) into the GoHo Cultural Church. It is not only church services, christenings, and classical concerts that happen here; metal gigs are also welcome.
Building in Existing Contexts
An End to Downcycling
In its current form, concrete recycling does little to help climate protection. The CO₂-intensive cement is lost irretrievably in the process. Boltshauser Architekten are working with a consortium from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain on the Respira research project to investigate how this can be avoided.
Un Aperitivo in the Greenhouse
Herzog & de Meuron has extended the Mandarin Oriental restaurant on Lake Como. Using local materials plus a new lighting and colour scheme, they draw attention to the surrounding landscape.
The Rebirth of a Multi-Storey Car Park
One of Switzerland's largest reuse projects is currently under construction in the southeast of Basel. Commissioned by the cantonal property management authority, the architectural practice Parabase is planning around 150 flats using the concrete elements from a demolished multi-storey car park.
Sustainable construction
Slabs Under Tension
Concrete floor slabs have the largest carbon footprint of all building elements. In the past, the material was lost irretrievably during demolition. A Swiss consortium is now cutting standard square slabs from buildings due for demolition and using them to manufacture prestressed segmental concrete elements with a higher structural performance than new reinforced concrete.
Museum of Ceramic Art in Yixing
The new UCCA Clay Museum advances the millennia-old tradition of artisanal ceramics the Chinese metropolis Yixing is renowned for. An armour of red clay tile encloses the exhibition spaces and the open timber roof constructions above them – an expressive space for the presentation of modern ceramic art.
Great Architecture on a Small Budget
2027 brings a new edition of the Detail Architecture Award - and, for the first time, a prize for affordable housing. Entries close end of October.
Masonry and Concrete
"We Wanted to Showcase the Illusionary Art of Theatre to the Outside World"
Brisbane is set to host the 2032 Summer Olympics. However, the city is also preparing for the future in cultural terms. In early 2026, Blight Rayner Architecture and Snøhetta completed the Glasshouse Theatre. Peter Brown and Michael Rayner explain the design.
A Model of Craftsmanship
Trainees are often housed in dreary rooms or anonymous flats. A new hall of residence by Dorte Mandrup shows how things can be done better, for it aims to be much more than just a temporary home.
Learning from the new generation
The Erich Mendelsohn Prize recognises emerging talent with its Newcomer Award. The three winning projects for 2026 address issues that are important to the younger generation.