Version 1.0.0 By Robert Jan van Pelt (Park Books, 2025) The largest artifact in the touring exhibition Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away., currently on display at the ROM in Toronto, is a wooden barracks building. It’s from the Auschwitz-Monowitz camp, a satellite to Auschwitz created to provide slave labour to the IG Farben corporation for the construction of a synthetic rubber factory.  The discovery of a sister building, back in 2012, led exhibition chief curator and architectural historian Robert Jan van Pelt, University Professor at the Waterloo School of Architecture, on a research journey to write a comprehensive history of the barracks—temporary buildings that have not only housed prisoners, but also provided shelter for military servicemen and women, refugees, and natural disaster survivors. “Many people have experienced, for shorter or longer time periods, life in a barrack, and for all of them it represented life on the edge, for better or worse,” writes Van Pelt. Worm’s eye axonometric of Renkioi Hospital Barrack, a prefabricated hospital designed by Ismabard Kingdom Brunel for a site in Turkey, 1857. Van Pelt’s book criss-crosses with ease through architectural history, military history, and the history of medicine—all of which played crucial roles in the evolving development of this seemingly simple building type. The book is arranged in a dozen episodes, with the barrack at the centre of each, serving as an anchor point for unfolding the rich intellectual and historical context shaping the way these structures were developed and deployed. The book is richly illustrated with archival materials—a feat in itself, given that the documentation for temporary buildings, particularly before 1900, is scarce. These drawings, photos, and paintings are supplemented with 20 worm’s eye views of key buildings, carefully composed by a team of Waterloo architecture school students and alumni.  Thomas Thomaszoon, View of the headquarters of the Spanish in the Huis tea Kleef during the siege of Haarlem, 1572-73. Collection of Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem; courtesy Robert Jan van Pelt Like many vernacular buildings, temporary structures larger than a tent, designed to house soldiers in the field, have existed at least since Ancient Rome. One of the first visual accounts of barracks came centuries later, in the winter of 1572, when the Spanish laid siege to the Dutch city of Haarlem, and cartographer Thomas Thomaszoon sketched the position of dozens of Spain’s wood-and-straw structures outside the city. The siege was successful, but only a few years later, the Dutch Republic gained the upper hand. As part of the creation of a standing army, they began to develop more precise instructions for the layout of camps, including the construction of temporary barracks. Antoine-François Omet des Foucaux, Barrack constructed in Hendaye, France, 1793. From Jean-Charles Krafft, Plans, coupes et élévations de diverses productions de l’art de la charpente, 1805. Collection of Bilbliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. Courtesy Robert Jan van Pelt The Napoleonic army made use of barracks in both military camps and training camps; by the mid-1800s, the construction of various barrack types was detailed in field construction manuals issued to officers in many European armies. During the Crimean War (1853-56), over 3,500 prefabricated barracks were manufactured in a Gloucester factory, as a solution to the appalling conditions at the front. But when the structures arrived at port, British forces were not able to unload and erect them—the materials for a single building weighed more than two tons, and each would require 60 horses (or 150 men) to transport to camp on the muddy roads.  The US (Union) Army’s Lincoln Hospital, Washington, DC, 1865. Collection of Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Courtesy Robert Jan van Pelt Prefabrication was also used, with somewhat more success, towards the end of the conflict to erect field hospitals designed by British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel with a priority on cross-ventilation to limit the spread of disease. Low mortality rates from similar structures led to a continued preference for “barrack hospitals” based on groupings of low-slung, well-ventilated pavilions, rather than conceived as single grand structures. The model was further refined with the addition of primitive underfloor heating and ridge ventilation by former surgeon William A. Hammond for the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861-65).  Barrack hospitals were constructed for civilian use, as well. Following the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71), such designs were built to house patients with infectious diseases in Berlin and proposed as a means to bring professional medical care to Germany’s rural areas. A barracks-inspired hospital was built in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1889, and continues to be operational.  If the barrack as an accommodation for the sick is a progressive tale, the 19th-century history of the barrack is equally checkered by the building type’s use for prisoner accommodation, including in the penal colonies of Australia and French Guiana. In North America, barracks were used in an internment camp for Native American Dakotas, and Civil War-era Union barracks at Camp Douglas were used to house Confederate prisoners. The oldest preserved barrack in the world may be in Canada, at Grosse Isle national park. Here, barrack-style quarantine sheds were used to detain thousands of Irish immigrant families during the typhoid fever epidemic of 1846-47, and their damp, fetid conditions contributed to many deaths—an episode Van Pelt describes as a “blot on the national consciousness of Canada.” A single Doecker Hut contains an operation room, pharmacy and hospital management office. The prefabricated, portable hospitals were developed in 1885, and used around the world, including in the First World War. In America, they were marketed for managing epidemics in the wake of the 1892 typhus fever outbreak in New York. Courtesy Berlin State Library and Robert Jan van Pelt   At the turn of the 19th century, the prefabricated portable barrack came to the fore with the manufacturing of the Doecker barracks, by Christoph & Unmack, a firm based in Copenhagen and Germany. Developed by a former military officer-turned-tentmaker, the technically sophisticated model used large rectangular frames that could be clipped together, and covered with “felt-cardboard”—dense felt pressed onto canvas and impregnated with linseed oil. The self-supporting structures proved easy to set up, dismount, and transport, making them suitable for both military applications—and, with little modification, for humanitarian aid. The Red Cross deployed Doecker barracks for use as field hospitals in Manchuria and Yokohama during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05).  The Barrack, 1572-1914 wraps up in in the early 20th century, but with the note that in the ensuing decades until 1945, millions of barracks were produced by many of the world’s major nations—and that most of these were erected in barbed-wire-ringed compounds. “This is the period in which tens if not hundreds of millions of people, many of whom were civilians, were forced to live in barracks, as refugees, as expellees, as civilian internees, as forced laborers, as prisoners or war, as concentration camp prisoners, and as people made homeless by the destruction wrought by war,” writes Van Pelt. Up until 1914, he notes, this building type largely carried a sense of achievement—an image that would change sharply with the Age of the Camps. But although a WWII barrack was responsible for instigating Van Pelt’s initial investigation, that time period will need to await a second volume on this simple building type with a rich, complex, and complicated history.   As appeared in the June 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine  The post Book Review: The Barrack, 1572-1914—Chapters in the History of Emergency Architecture appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Architectural education is an important part of becoming an architect. It provides a foundation in art and architectural history, basic concepts of design, and foundational technical knowledge. It promotes critical thinking, examines social and economic complexities, and encourages creativity and teamwork. I may be biased, but I believe the camaraderie and pride that are part of architectural students’ design studio experience are unmatched by any other educational program.    In this issue of the AIA Canada Journal, Pauline Thimm, Hannah Allawi and I reached out to schools of architecture from across the country. Our conversations centred on research themes in today’s design studios, with a focus on housing affordability. Students and faculties are actively engaging in challenging the status quo on the shortage of housing. It takes a village to derive plausible solutions—and schools of architecture across the country are united in bringing their voices and minds to this pressing issue. In a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-supported partnership, AIA Canada Society is also actively participating in research on designing inclusive, sustainable and healthy cities.  We want to thank all the educators who took time to speak with us and provide their invaluable insights.  -Dora Ng, AIA Canada Society President Rick Haldenby Professor, School of Architecture, University of Waterloo Rick Haldenby, FRAIC, served as Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo from 1988 to 2013, and founded the Waterloo Rome Program in 1979. Among many accomplishments, Haldenby was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2021, and has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Council of University Schools of Architecture, the Special Jury Prize at the Kitchener Waterloo Arts Awards, and the Dr. Jean Steckle Award for Heritage Education from the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation. Q: Kitchener-Waterloo is known as a university town that is home to top Ontario post-secondary institutions. Tell us a bit about the twin cities. A: The Waterloo Region’s industrial development began with the arrival of German-speaking immigrants in the 19th century. Its cities were literally “founded on factories.” Its prosperity was influenced by a rail-based transport system. In the late 19th century, the extension of the Grand Trunk Railway contributed to the industrialization of the area. In the 1950s, visionary community leaders made concerted efforts to build educational infrastructure, and in just a few years created the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College. The region experienced significant growth in manufacturing industries, insurance companies, and high-tech businesses over time. Home to two universities and a college, it is an education hub that attracts talents and businesses, which increases the demand for housing for students and families. The once-suburban neighbourhood of Northdale, surrounded by these post-secondary institutions, saw a surge in student population in the early 2000s, including a large percentage of international students. We saw a building boom to increase medium-density housing like stacked townhomes and row houses, as well as taller buildings up to 30+ stories in what was once a primarily low-density town. Q:  Like the building boom in Waterloo, we saw many residential high-rises going up in the GTA, but this growth still does not adequately address housing demand. In many cities across Canada, there are unprecedented housing issues including affordability and homelessness. What do you see emerging as key areas of interest and inquiry among students at your school? Is housing one of them? A: Connection between affordability and homelessness is not a one-to-one problem. The housing crisis can have many dimensions. In our undergraduate design studios, we are laying the groundwork for approaches to affordability, environmental responsibility and social justice. Many of my colleagues and graduate students at the University of Waterloo are involved in various research studies, exhibitions and campaigns, including the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. We also try to keep a balance to cover diverse topics in architecture, including housing. Second- and third-year design studios focus on urban intensification amid the building boom, enabling students to discuss ideas for keeping cities habitable and attractive for future growth. Design studios have also worked with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity to support the ambitious program to build affordable housing for families in need. In partnership with the City of Cambridge, Waterloo architecture students designed and built tiny homes as prototypes for emergency shelter. Photo courtesy University of Waterloo Q: Any examples of collaboration between studio projects and practicing professionals in tackling the housing crisis? A: Through collaboration and communication with the community, the School of Architecture has engaged with social housing agencies, municipality planning authorities, Indigenous groups and aging-in-place consultants to develop housing solutions for a diverse population including seniors. Moving the School of Architecture from Waterloo to Cambridge in 2004 was a communal project with great support from the City of Cambridge. Occupying the repurposed silk mill in Cambridge, the school aims to be the design campus for the city to allow exchange of creative ideas and intellectual stimulation. Since the move, we have had many opportunities to collaborate and work closely with the municipality. The Tiny Homes project is an initiative in partnership with the City of Cambridge, whereby Waterloo architecture students were engaged to design and build prototype tiny homes that offer practical, cost-effective and dignified emergency housing solutions. It is an example of collaboration that makes a meaningful difference.  Photo by Danielle Sneesby Shauna Mallory-Hill Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba Shauna Mallory-Hill, PhD, is currently Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture. Her 25-year-long career spans teaching, research and advocacy, with a focus on building systems, universal and sustainable design, as well as building performance evaluation. Her sponsored research includes accessible design, along with post-occupancy work on how sustainably designed environments impact human health and productivity. Q: How is The University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture (FAUM) specifically engaging in design explorations addressing housing?  A: In addition to hosting public events and delivering focused design studios, we are actively engaged and support research collaborations including funded research with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). We are also committed to partnering and working with communities.    In 2022, U of M professor Lancelot Coar’s undergraduate studio engaged with One House Many Nations to develop a mobile design and construction trailer for on-site design-build work. Photo by Lancelot Coar One House Many Nations (OHMN) originally started as a grassroots movement to shed light on the housing crisis faced by Indigenous communities.  For the past four years, OHMN, led by Dr. Alex Wilson and Sylvia McAdam, has been working with faculty and students from FAUM, houseless First Nations youth, and students at Saskatoon’s Nutana Collegiate to design and construct small, affordable homes that are trucked to remote Indigenous communities in Northern Saskatchewan. After a house is delivered, it is occupied by one of the youth participants. Each year, another house is built, informed by post-occupancy data that was collected on the previous year’s house(s).  First Nations youth participants have learned to advocate for community needs while gaining skills and knowledge about home-building and maintenance.  Lancelot Coar’s 2022 undergraduate architecture studio engaged with OHMN to create a mobile design lab that can be brought onsite to design-build in First Nations communities. OHMN’s work was exhibited at the Canadian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2023.    Q: What are key areas of interest and inquiry among students at your school? Is housing one of them?  A: We are seeing that this generation is increasingly concerned about what is happening to the world—concerns about sustainability, housing, and food deserts are paramount. Students want to work on things that are meaningful. Students also really embrace hands-on learning. Any time students are encouraged and supported to engage with community, they feel like they are making a difference.     Here in Winnipeg, we can all see the encampments of the unhoused. It is apparent that there is work to do to solve this dilemma.This past year, one of our housing-themed studios worked with a local grassroots organization, St. Boniface Street Links, in the design and construction of a prototype transitional house as a safer interim housing solution. This housing project ultimately was built and included as part of the annual Warming Huts design competition at the Forks. Q: Are there any barriers to collaborating in this way, involving practitioners and real community groups? A: We often get groups who approach us to collaborate. We need to be clear that we are not providing a design service, but we are committed to the exploration of ideas and working together on important problems.     It is important to me that doing housing research work in collaboration with Indigenous communities is respectful, responsible and reciprocal. Ensuring that some benefit of the research stays with the community is crucial, given the long history of research involving Indigenous populations where this did not happen. A willingness to listen and understand community priorities and context—and adapt—is key.  It can be difficult for some to have enough capacity to deal with added administration (meetings, paperwork, report writing, etc.); a local liaison is helpful.  The Wîkiwin student-built house is part of an ongoing collaboration with Kawéchiwasik Development Corporation at York Factory First Nation. Photo by Shauna Mallory-Hill Q: Some of your current research and design work is supported by the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge. Can you tell us a bit about that project?  A: The CMHC funding in part supports the Wîkiwin Training Enterprise of York Factory First Nation project, geared to building healthy homes by leveraging local resources and tradespeople in collaboration with the Kawéchiwasik Development Corporation. The purpose is to provide design education and construction skills in the northern communities where they are needed. A key goal is that kids won’t need to leave their communities to get skills, and communities can develop capacity to increase their self-sufficiency.    In collaboration with FAUM, the project will include a comprehensive education model based on a co-created curriculum, training programs, housing designs and research on building materials. Students earn micro-credentials through distance education to get basic training in design and construction, or have the opportunity to work as research assistants to assist with collection of data, such as indoor air quality.     Focusing on sustainable construction techniques, using local materials like stone and wood, the initiative promises to employ residents, cut production costs, and enhance housing quality. Additionally, the creation of a year-round skilled trades school facility and housing for students and teachers will boost the local labour force.    Stage 2 of the project involves the building of the Wîkiwin skilled trades training and research facility and dormitory. This phase will also see the expansion of the educational curriculum in partnership with the University of Manitoba, ultimately increasing the labour force capacity of York Factory First Nation and creating more opportunities for its youth.  Sasha Tsenkova Professor of Planning and Director of the Cities, Policy & Planning Lab at the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape (SAPL), University of Calgary Sasha Tsenkova, PhD, is a professor at the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape at the University of Calgary. With a background in architecture, urbanism, and planning, her work spans over 30 years of research, teaching, and professional practice, focusing on creating more inclusive and sustainable urban environments. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada/Academy of Social Sciences. Q: Major cities across Canada are seeing unprecedented housing issues. As an educator, what have you seen in research or studio projects that tackle these issues?    A: We are a nation of suburban homeowners, where much of the wealth creation in the urban system is driven by investment in housing. Today, income and wealth inequality in Canadian cities is higher than ever before, which is exacerbated by the suburban homeownership model. In cities, newcomers to the housing market—young and old—face incredible affordability constraints. Homelessness has grown exponentially and homeownership is not within the reach of the middle class. In the design world, we must begin to address, through systemic intervention, these challenges. Many of our research and studio projects focus on sustainable urbanism through designs  that explore strategies to provide affordable homes across the income spectrum and embrace different types of housing.      We cannot continue to replicate a model of postwar city building that no longer serves the needs of the people. We encourage students to learn from successful cities in Europe, Latin America, and the United States, where a more systematic approach to neighbourhood design and redevelopment allows various types of housing to be built along the same street within a community. This is a different approach to growth premised on urban regeneration and intensification, where people come before cars and community identity evolves over time.   Q: Any examples of collaboration between studio projects and practicing professionals in tackling the housing crisis?  A: We focus on community-engaged scholarship, research and teaching at SAPL. Integration with communities of practice is necessary, but so is a direct relationship with clients, so that we situate our studio projects in the real-world. The housing crisis is multi-faceted and future professionals need to be aware of the complexity of design intervention—solutions require a nexus of policy, planning and design approaches. In a graduate school, we must prepare aspiring designers, architects and planners to embrace these challenges.      The interface with critical practice is the ultimate test for us to remain relevant and committed to innovation and excellence within the realm of what we can control. Studio teaching needs to address housing affordability in a systematic way, as it will make a critical difference within Canadian society and will define the future of our cities. This requires a much stronger emphasis on sustainable urbanism and community-based projects.  Q: What policies do you feel cities in Canada should create or address to aid in addressing the housing crisis and homelessness?  A: The planning regulation, upzoning, and permitting processes can be improved to enhance infill housing, gentle density and inner-city intensification. Recognizing that cities and neighbourhoods need to be built for people and not for cars requires a focus on transit-oriented development in strategic locations where low-density retail, industrial and housing sites can be redeveloped to become mixed-use urban villages with a variety of housing types. Changes to minimum parking standards and lot coverage can energize the infusion of missing middle housing to create opportunities for multi-generational living, cohousing and home sharing with renters. But the real difference in addressing the homelessness and affordability crisis is the renewed investment into affordable housing through partnerships of federal, provincial and municipal governments with non-profit organizations. We need to grow this segment of the housing market and to make sure that it is an integral part of our urban neighbourhoods through the design process. Q: What role do you think schools of architecture and design have in tackling the housing crisis in Canada?  A: We need to make a major commitment to building knowledge and capacity that focuses on solutions to the housing crisis in our curriculum. Design thinking is premised on innovation; it is part of the competency, creativity and collaboration that we try to instill in future professionals. Architects today are absent from the design of neighbourhoods on the periphery of our cities. We need to bring back that creativity and the knowledge of architects, planners, and designers, and develop the prototypes that will provide solutions to the housing crisis.     SAPL is moving downtown so that we can be a part of downtown rebuilding and innovation. Our adaptive reuse of existing office space in Calgary’s downtown will provide opportunities to connect to local businesses and residents and offer immersion in city life that is critical for our students. Our school will be a living urban design lab, where we embrace social justice, community-inspired design work and collaborate with different communities of practice to demonstrate viable solutions for changing cities and changing societies.   Sara Stevens Associate Professor & Chair – Urban Design at the School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture (SALA), University of British Columbia Sara Stevens is an architectural historian and Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her book Developing Expertise (Yale University Press, 2016) studies real estate development in 20th-century American cities. She is a member of the collective Architects Against Housing Alienation, curators of the Canada Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Q:  Major cities across Canada are seeing unprecedented housing issues (affordability issues and homelessness). As an educator, what have you seen in research or studio projects that tackle these issues?  A: There are so many great examples of design studios in Canada that are looking at housing challenges, such as the ‘Not for Sale’ study abroad course on contemporary housing that recently won the ACSA’s 2024 Architectural Education Award. McGill has a long history of housing research with the Minimum Cost Housing Group, which was the subject of a recent exhibition curated by Ipek Türeli. The work of Shawn Bailey and Lancelot Coar at the University of Manitoba is bringing really innovative pedagogy to the question of housing for Indigenous communities to design schools.  Q: Any examples of collaboration between studio projects and practicing professionals in tackling the housing crisis?  A: At UBC, questions around missing middle housing brought forth a collaboration between Haeccity Studio Architects and UBC students that resulted in a publication of the students’ work, co-sponsored by SALA and the Urbanarium, an organization in Vancouver that is a forum for sharing ideas about city building, particularly around climate change and housing affordability. The Urbananium’s design competitions have focused on missing middle housing, mixed-use neighbourhoods, and the codes and regulations that are barriers to housing affordability. Their current competition, Decoding Timber Towers, is focused on prefab and mass timber housing.  Q: What policies do you feel cities in Canada should create or address to aid in the housing crisis and homelessness?  A: I think that Canada needs to take UNDRIP and the TRC Calls to Action seriously. We can’t separate the issue of housing for Indigenous people, and the history of colonization that it’s part of, from the housing challenges everyone else faces. The United Nations Housing as a Human Right work is a great resource on this, as their work also points to the problems of financialization and the effect this has had on renters, social housing, and un-housed folks.  The Land Back Courtyard was part of the Not For Sale exhibition at the Canada Pavilion in the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Photo by Maris Mezulis Q: What role do you think schools of architecture and design have in tackling the housing crisis in Canada? A: Schools of architecture and design can play an important role by educating students about the role of architects in the housing crisis in Canada. We need the next generation of architects to understand that they have a part to play. It’s not an issue that can be solved through policy and the market alone: their expertise in design, which of course touches policy and works with the private sector, is inherently part of this issue.     To develop deeper conversations around this, I am working with collaborators in the collective Architects Against Housing Alienation to organize a super-studio across Canada for the next school year (25-26) called “End Housing Alienation Now!” that is inviting all schools of architecture to run studios on a shared set of themes and principles. (This builds off of the exhibition and campaign we did for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, which the teaching award I mentioned is also related to.) We have commitments from almost all the schools already, and have hosted a number of conversations with people from the schools to develop how this will work, balancing what is shared vs. independent, the different schedules and levels of students, etc.      For these studios, one ambition is that the studios work with local activists, advocates, and professional practices to show students how important these kinds of collaborations can be, and how important embedded local knowledge is. We hope to share resources and create opportunities for students to connect across geographies to ensure that many, many people with lots of passion and expertise are focused on this topic.     As appeared in the June 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine  The post AIA Canada Journal: Canadian educators on housing affordability appeared first on Canadian Architect.

The exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine has opened at the Chicago Architecture Center’s Skyscraper Gallery. Running from March 10 to September 1, 2025, the exhibition gathers more than a dozen architectural and design-led initiatives responding to the devastation caused by Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Originally presented at the Center for Architecture in New York in 2024, the exhibition focuses on decentralized reconstruction efforts, ranging from emergency housing solutions to the preservation of architectural memory, and positions architecture as a vital tool in fostering resilience, mutual aid, and hope.

The Photography Seoul Museum of Art (PhotoSeMA) officially opened its doors in May 2025, marking a significant milestone as South Korea’s first public institution solely dedicated to the art of photography. Situated in the Dobong District of northeastern Seoul, this architectural marvel is the result of a collaboration between Austrian firm Jadric Architektur and Korean studio 1990uao Architects. The museum’s dynamic, twisting facade not only serves as a visual landmark but also symbolizes the fluidity and transformative nature of photography itself. Spanning six levels, four above ground and two below, the museum encompasses a total area of 7,048 square meters. Its design emphasizes the interplay between light and space, with broad concrete surfaces and filtered lighting creating an environment conducive to introspection and artistic appreciation. Designers: Jadric Architektur and 1990uao Architects Interior spaces are thoughtfully punctuated by voids and light wells, allowing natural light to shape the visitor experience throughout the day. The building’s exterior features a twisting monolithic shape that integrates seamlessly with the surrounding public space, inviting visitors to engage with the museum both inside and out. This design choice reflects the architects’ intention to create a “walk-in object” that fosters community interaction and cultural engagement. PhotoSeMA’s opening is marked by two inaugural exhibitions that delve into the history and evolution of Korean photography. The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography showcases seminal works by artists such as Jung Haechang, Lim Suk Je, Lee Hyungrok, Cho Hyundu, and Park Youngsook. Drawing from a collection of over 20,000 works and archival materials dating from the 1920s to the 1990s, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at the medium’s development in Korea. Meanwhile, Storage Story features contemporary artists Dongsin Seo, Won Seoung Won, Jihyun Jung, Joo Yongseong, Melmel Chung, and Oh Jooyoung. This exhibition explores the museum itself as a subject, examining themes of classification, memory, and the evolving role of cultural institutions in society. As part of the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) network, PhotoSeMA extends the institution’s reach and reinforces its commitment to diverse artistic expressions. The museum not only provides a dedicated space for photographic art but also contributes to the cultural revitalization of the Dobong District, aligning with the city’s broader efforts to establish a “cultural mile” in the area. With its innovative design and focused curatorial approach, the Photography Seoul Museum of Art stands as a testament to the dynamic intersection of architecture and photography, offering visitors a unique space to explore and appreciate the visual narratives that shape our world. The post South Korea’s first public museum for photography now open first appeared on Yanko Design.

Cosmology of Kyoto is a first-person horror exploration game where players navigate a deeply haunted yet surprisingly educational terrain. Originally released in 1993, Cosmology of Kyoto and its disturbing depictions of suffering have since become a cult classic. Roger Ebert, known hater, loved the game so much that he spent weeks playing it. Despite its acclaim, though, the game was a commercial failure and never got a sequel. At least, that’s what many people believed until now. In 2023, a game called TRIPITAKA 玄奘三蔵求法の旅 was listed on Yahoo Japan. The game was sold for $300 to an unknown party who, despite embarking on a bidding war that culminated in hundreds of dollars, didn’t really share anything publicly about it. The transaction was originally noticed by Mark Buckner, who brought it up in a discussion between fans about the original eerie Japanese game. Though diehard aficionados had a suspicion that the Cosmology developers had considered a follow-up, concrete evidence of it was scant. The only apparent mention of a sequel lied in the resumes of two Cosmology producers, Hiroshi Ōnishi and Mori Kōichi. Fans also spotted mention of it in an old website for a 1999 museum exhibition on the Silk Road. Though it was a work of fiction, Cosmology was rooted in the history of 10th century Japan and provided players with an in-game encyclopedia. It would make sense for a potential sequel to have enough an educational focus worthy of a museum exhibition. Despite these rumblings, it was unclear if the game had ever been published, or how far into production it got. Knowledge of the auction prompted video game academic Bruno de Figueiredo to track down the auction winner. The hope was that whoever bought it might share a copy of the game online. After all, up until this point, few knew what this game was and its mere existence lay in doubt. But if it did exist, then it was obviously significant from a historical perspective. Fans would be eager to play it. But getting collectors to share copies of rare games is tricky. If a game is widely accessible, then it’s no longer rare. Holding on to a copy ensures that it retains its aura as a prized possession. Hoarding also means that the value of a game won’t drop — in fact, it might rise. Not all collectors see their possessions as commodities, though. Holding on to a culturally significant game might be motivated by the desire to preserve it for future generations, which is relevant in instances where a copy of a game is still sealed. Uploading a game that you did not develop is also likely to be legally dubious. In this case, the owner declined to share the game in a form that others could play. The collector did however upload an hour’s worth of footage on YouTube. The game was called TRIPITAKA, and though it did not outright classify itself as a sequel, the art style, historical focus, and slightly unnerving vibe placed TRIPITAKA in a similar realm as Cosmology of Kyoto. Fans considered it a spiritual successor. Cosmology itself had been developed with the help of Japanese museums. For some, it was enough to get more of a game they loved. Even if they couldn’t personally control the gameplay, the TRIPITAKA video was lengthy enough to give a sense of what the experience would be like. Others were enraged: Couldn’t the collector see how important this game was? “I cannot understate just how disgusted I am that this piece of culture and art (that I am a huge fan of) isn’t being preserved and spread for the enjoyment of others,” one commenter on YouTube wrote. “Shame on you.” Undeterred by this roadblock, Bruno de Figueiredo continued his pursuit of TRIPITAKA. In 2025, his efforts bore fruit. On X, the expert on obscure Japanese games revealed that he had finally convinced the collector to share the game online after “years of appeals.” Figueiredo has since uploaded a playable ISO of the game online alongside a full three-hour playthrough of a game that had once been considered lost media. Figuerido did not respond to a request for comment. In a blog post, he emphasized the significance of this find by stating that “the importance of this footage could hardly be overstated.” He continued: I am delighted to have played a minor role in the unraveling of this thirty year old mystery, and can hardly contain my enthusiasm, as I now find myself equipped with sufficient information to produce a full post concerning a game about which I could not have written more than a sentence, just last year. Figuerido refers to TRIPITAKA as one of the rarest games ever made, and it’s true inasmuch as there appears to be only one known copy of it. Value and rarity are also fluid concepts that are ultimately determined by interested audiences. At the same time, TRIPITAKA’s fate and availability is shockingly ordinary when you consider how poorly the gaming industry preserves its own history. If the lack of care is evident with significant games that have arguable merit, it’s doubly true for average games. This is how a game with mixed reviews from twenty years ago suddenly starts commanding hundreds of dollars on resale sites; the scarcity happens because nobody felt a game was worth holding on to. “There are many extremely rare (and even lost) games for personal computers which, unlike consoles, don’t have any central control over who can publish a game, or what the minimum number of manufactured units needs to be,” says Frank Cifaldi, founder of the Video Game History foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving video games. Cifaldi notes that games in the 80s and 90s in particular, some of which were self-published and never got widespread circulation to begin with, are particularly prone to the type of obscurity that can lead to only a single copy of a game. “I would further suspect that there were many games and multimedia objects from Japan during this era that are just as rare, but we don’t hear about them because of their lack of historical significance in the West,” Cifaldi says. “I would bet good money that if you surveyed the collection at the Game Preservation Society in Japan, you’d come up with dozens of ‘only known copies’ of 1980s microcomputer games.”

Muharraq Architecture City Guide: 10 Projects Through the Bahraini City's Developing Pearling PathSave this picture!Pearling Path - Muharraq. Image via Shutterstock - Kirk FisherThe Kingdom of Bahrain is being widely acknowledged recently through their worldwide architectural contributions at the Expo 2025 in Osaka, with their Anatomy of a Dhow pavilion by Lina Ghotmeh; or at the Venice Biennale, where the Heatwave exhibition was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. However, for the past few years Bahraini cities like Muharraq have been lending the stage for regional and international architects to discover their typical Persian Gulf architecture and add their own touches to the local sites. It's through the works of Leopold Banchini, Anne Holtrop, or Valerio Olgiati that the old has been brought back to life, along with the efforts of the local authorities and cultural figures. The city that has been experiencing many consecutive restoration and innovative projects, that delve into its narrow alleyways and tackle its heritage sites, influenced by centuries of passing rules from Portuguese and Persian to the Khalifah dynasty that settled at the end of the 18th century. In 2019, the works on the renowned Pearling Path made it a laureate for the Aga Khan award. This area of the old city joins together some local landmarks via a promenade linked through pocket parks, courtyards, and lit up by guiding lamps. This endeavor was successful in saving many decaying buildings that were on the verge of demolition and, through the injection of some contemporary projects and cultural programs, revived the area's priceless history. Explore Muharraq's traditional and contemporary architectural interventions through this curated project selection, which will grow as the city's revival works persist.  Related Article Visiting 2019 Aga Khan Award Laureates Historical ArchitectureBeit Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa Save this picture!Kurar HouseSave this picture!Siyadi MosqueSave this picture!Fakhro HouseSave this picture!Contemporary ProjectsArchaeologies of Green Pavilion / Anne HoltropSave this picture!Khalifeyah Library / SeARCHSave this picture!House for Architectural Heritage / Noura Al Sayeh + Leopold Banchini ArchitectsSave this picture!Pearling Site Museum and Entrance / Valerio OlgiatiSave this picture!35 Green Corner Building / Studio Anne HoltropSave this picture!Four Car Parks / Christian KerezSave this picture!We invite you to visit our list of Architecture City Guides. Image gallerySee allShow less About this authorHana AbdelAuthor••• Cite: Hana Abdel. "Muharraq Architecture City Guide: 10 Projects Through the Bahraini City's Developing Pearling Path" 31 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030426/muharraq-architecture-city-guide-10-projects-through-the-bahraini-citys-developing-pearling-path&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

The Independents marks Colony’s 10th anniversary as a platform where founder Jean Lin’s personal vision and marketplace viability find rare equilibrium. The exhibition brings together 24 design studios from Colony’s orbit, each responding to what independence in design practice means to them. The resulting collection serves as both retrospective and manifesto – a declaration that independence in design isn’t merely aesthetic preference but philosophical stance. A paper cord chair with a single walnut along a corner hinge sits in the corner of Lin’s Tribeca gallery space. To the casual observer, it might register simply as a thoughtful detail of material juxtaposition. But Chen Chen & Kai Williams’ Walnut Corner Chair carries cultural memory within its form. The designers drew inspiration from the Chinese tradition of passing walnuts from one generation to the next, objects worn smooth by the hands of ancestors. This object-as-inheritance becomes a fitting metaphor for what Colony has cultivated over its decade of existence. “I’m very proud of the community of independent designers that we have built at Colony over the past decade,” says Colony founder Lin. “The Independents exhibition encapsulates my very own ‘why.’ My belief in the independent spirit is limitless, and so is my awe.” The exhibition reveals how Colony’s cooperative model has evolved beyond representation to becoming an incubator. Studios emerging from the gallery’s Designers’ Residency program – including Ember Studio, Thomas Yang Studio, and the freshly minted Studio BC Joshua from the 2025 class – demonstrate how Colony functions as both launch pad and ongoing support system. Materiality serves as a throughline connecting past and present. Current Colony designers like Hiroko Takeda, Moving Mountains, and SSS Atelier present new work that extends their material investigations. Takeda’s textiles in particular showcase how technical mastery creates spaces for expression – the constraints of the loom enabling greater creative freedom. For more information on The Independents, visit Colony at goodcolony.com. Photography by Brooke Holm.

Floyd Mayweather and Donald Trump, HBO Boxing Icon says, "No Mayweather, No Trump"Credit: Getty North America - Mayweather (Allen Berezovsky / Contributor) Trump - (Kevin Dietsch / Staff) “No Mayweather, no Trump.” That’s the heavy-duty take HBO Boxing icon Jim Lampley dropped on me during our conversation on Friday afternoon. It’s one of the most polarizing, but plausible things anyone has said to me in a while. In case you’re a relatively young sports fan or someone who didn’t pay much attention to HBO Boxing during the 1990s and early 2000s, you may not know Lampley. Without listing every accolade and distinction, I’ll say this: there are people in every industry who have a combination of experience and wherewithal that enables them to captivate a room with the stories and takes they’ve accumulated during their journey through levels of their craft and the years of their life. Lampley is one of those people.CANASTOTA, NY - JUNE 14: Boxing commentator Jim Lampley poses with his new ring and photo on the ... More wall after the induction ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction Weekend of Champions events on June 14, 2015 in Canastota, New York. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)Getty Images During our interview, we discussed his book, It Happened, his autobiography that tells the story of his 50-year career in sports broadcasting and tons of boxing stories and concepts. I asked him about the infamous post-fight moment with his longtime broadcast partner Larry Merchant—you know the one, where Mayweather snapped, “you don’t know s### about boxing,” and Merchant fired back, “if I was 50 years younger, I’d kick your a##.” It’s classic. I wanted to know from Lampley, who was there, what the deal was with Mayweather and Merchant, but I got so much more. Lampley explained, “Well, obviously it was something that built up over a long period of time. I think that Larry gave him proper credit for being a great fighter. In particular, he didn't like that Larry would sometimes say something to the effect of, well, he's great and you can't beat him, but he isn't gonna sell a single ticket with this style, that kind of thing.” Clearly, Merchant was wrong about Mayweather’s ability to sell tickets. No fighter has made more in pay-per-view revenue, and Mayweather can still command a crowd and a payday by participating in boxing exhibitions. Also, if you watch the history of post-fight interviews between Mayweather and Merchant, the latter is particularly abrupt and a little antagonistic toward the fighter. Even during the aforementioned interview, the conversation starts off with Mayweather having his arm around Merchant. However, Merchant’s tone and verbiage was off-putting to Mayweather as it came just moments after the controversial ending to his fight with Victor Ortiz, but I digress. That aspect of Lampley’s answer was mostly what I expected to hear. The broadcast journalism legend delivered a punchier concept as he delved deeper into Mayweather’s dynamic and his overall influence on American culture.NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 26: Floyd Mayweather Jr. visits "Making Money With Charles Payne" at ... More Fox Business Network Studios on February 26, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)Getty Images “One of the things I say, have said over and over and will continue to say until proven otherwise, no Mayweather, no Trump,” Lampley said. Trump is a boxing fan, Trump watched what Floyd did. Trump realized from what Floyd did that you could build and develop a social media audience and you could do it with negativity. You didn’t have to be happy talk. You didn't have to be a great guy. There were some people who would rather that someone was channeling their angst and their frustration and venting it on the web. And I believe to this day, no Mayweather, no Trump.” The concept is wild, but not completely unfathomable. I used to say this about Mayweather, ‘it takes a special kind of person to be at peace with being the most hated person in a room.’ In that sense, it’s easy to see tons of people in every industry who have adopted that approach–whether they got it from Mayweather or someone else.DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 18: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, ... More brings boxing legend Thomas Hearns to the stage during a campaign rally on October 18, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan. There are 17 days remaining until the U.S. presidential election, which will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Getty Images Donald Trump’s involvement with boxing dates back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Trump Plaza in Atlantic City became a key venue for major fights. At its peak, the hotel and casino played host to several heavyweight title bouts, including, Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks in 1988 and Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman in 1991. Trump didn’t just rent out space for the fights—he appeared to actively positioned himself as a central figure in these events, often appearing ringside, hosting press conferences, and getting photographed with the fighters.ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JANUARY 22: Businessman Donald Trump in ring with boxer Mike Tyson after ... More knocking out opponent Larry Holmes at Tyson vs Holmes Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey January 22 1988. (Photo by Jeffrey Asher/ Getty Images)Getty Images Some may argue Trump used these moments to build prestige, associate himself with dominance and success, and to thrust himself into the spotlight. Needless to say, it seems to have worked.ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JANUARY 22: Businessman Donald Trump and Champion Boxer Evander Holyfield at ... More Tyson vs Holmes Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey January 22 1988. (Photo by Jeffrey Asher/ Getty Images)Getty Images Putting a bow on the Mayweather-Merchant beef: “So Floyd was the original social media genius and the essence of the genius was to prove that you could be negative rather than positive and you would build an audience that way,” Lampley continued. “And so Floyd didn’t like the honest straightforward evaluations that Larry offered on the air and most particularly about his style of fighting that he was a hide-and-seek fighter, that he was not trying to do damage in there, et cetera, et cetera. And I thought that was palpably visible. Floyd just didn’t want anybody to say it. So they didn't like each other and it was really more Floyd disliking Larry than vice versa." Mayweather’s rise to global prominence began in the mid-2000s. Specifically, his bet-on-myself fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. The fight marked Mayweather’s triumphant separation from Top Rank Boxing and it also was the cornerstone moment of his shift from “Pretty Boy” to “Money.” Mayweather and Trump’s paths would more publicly cross years later. In Mayweather may have used social media to push negative concepts in the past. However, to his credit, I interviewed him earlier this year, and he formally apologized for every time he used social media to be toxic. That admission actually adds some credence to Lampley’s concept. I’ve never had an opportunity to speak to President Trump, but I can promise you, if I do, I will ask him if he learned anything from his encounters with Mayweather. Whether Trump truly studied Mayweather’s moves or simply mirrored them instinctively, the similarities are clear—and Lampley might be one of the only people to call it out this directly.

All images courtesy of Marshmallow Laser Feast, courtesy of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, shared with permission In ‘Of the Oak,’ a Magnificent Tree at Kew Gardens Gets an Immersive ‘Digital Double’ May 30, 2025 Kate Mothes “We believe in the power of stories to tickle senses and shift perceptions,” says Marshmallow Laser Feast, an experiential artist collective merging art, extended reality (XR), and film into large-scale, immersive exhibitions. MLF’s latest work, Of the Oak, situates a monumental, six-meter-tall, double-sided video of the titular tree in London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The piece focuses on the garden’s Lucombe oak, portraying a “digital double” using real-world data. Photo by Barney Steel MLF collaborated with researchers from Kew to create a vibrant, scientific rendering, blending advanced technologies with artistic imagery. The team stitched together thousands of images, used LiDAR to map the tree’s form with laser pulses, CT-scanned soil samples, employed ground-penetrating radar to trace the root system, and recorded a series of 24-hour soundtracks. “Of the Oak is a celebration for the oak tree as a living monument of vital ecological relationships and species interdependence,” MLF says. “It is an invitation to witness the oak as a keystone in the web of life, majestic and unassuming, stretching its branches skyward and its roots deep into the soil, embodying both quiet strength and boundless generosity.” Visitors can access a stunning digital field guide on their phones or via desktop from anywhere, featuring a series of meditations that “tune into the invisible bond between humans and trees.” The app also includes an interactive species guide highlighting the diverse range of birds, insects, fungi, and other inhabitants that rely on oak trees for survival. Of the Oak continues at Kew through September 28. Marshmallow Laser Feast is also currently presenting an immersive, seven-room exhibition titled YOU:MATTER at the National Science and Media Museum as part of Bradford 2025 U.K. City of Culture. See more projects on the collective’s website. Photo by Sandra Ciampon Photo by Barney Steel Previous articleNext article