html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" New York-based architecture practice HWKN Architecture has released plans for the first ground up AI-driven office community in the United Arab Emirates.Called District 11, the new development is envisioned as the world's first office community built from the ground up that is positioned, created, and programmed by artificial intelligence (AI) at a time when society is at a turning point in architecture and technology is changing the design process. The world's first office community created by AIHWKN was chosen by Al Marwan Real Estate Development Group to create District 11, a ground-breaking, AI-powered work and lifestyle complex that aims to transform community and productivity in the United Arab Emirates. As District 11, guided by HWKN's Founding Principal, Matthias Hollwich, is constructed for the future of business and well-being, this creative project, which spans eleven different buildings, effortlessly combines work, leisure, and culture with HWKN's state-of-the-art design, the development's smart services, and flexible spaces. In order to create the AI prompts for the eleven buildings in District 11, HWKN did a great deal of study and immersed themselves in Sharjah's environment, history, and culture. Since there has never been a commercial neighborhood like District 11 in Sharjah, HWKN's hyper-contextual process takes into consideration the community's intense heat and the requirement for productive workspaces. The end product is a forward-thinking work resort that is a walking neighborhood with smart offices, nurseries, medical facilities, and a mosque, as well as distinctively constructed buildings that strategically create shade for the public areas.After launching the Work Resort concept at Canada Water Dockside, HWKN is now creating the first workplace community designed in partnership with AI by leveraging the technology to improve architectural designs and quality of life. For both current and potential renters, HWKN's AI-driven procedure maximizes the worker experience to promote human connection, shared experiences, and physical expression. A simplified route from concept to reality that welcomes innovative ideas, adapts to all environmental conditions, and effectively realizes ambitious ambitions is made possible by a special reverse-engineering method. In order to introduce this new kind of business environment into what was formerly a city that was exclusively residential, HWKN is using AI to create structures that blend in perfectly with Sharjah's identity as an Arab cultural capital and center for the arts, home to renowned museums like the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization and the Sharjah Art Museum, as well as hosting the Sharjah Biennial.By embracing new ideas and creating communities that will change with the design business, Matthias is setting the path for the future generation of architects. Matthias, who formerly worked with Rem Koolhas at Eisenman Architects and OMA, provides more than ten years of expertise with creative approaches to the future of architecture and strategic thinking.HWKN also completed the third tower of the iconic Journal Squared Project in New Jersey, realizing a ten-year vision for urban transformation. Based in NYC, HWKN is a global architectural innovation company. The firm, established in 2008, is headed by Matthias Hollwich and partners Jessica Knobloch, Dorin Baul, Robert May, and Olga Snowden. It has collaborating offices in Munich, Miami, Berlin, Riyadh, and London.All renderings courtesy of HWKN.> via HWKN

Architizer is thrilled to welcome Lyndon Neri, Hon. FAIA, co-founder of 2023 Firm of the Year Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, to the jury for the 2025 Vision Awards. As one of the most respected voices in contemporary architecture and design, Neri brings a deeply interdisciplinary perspective that aligns powerfully with the program’s celebration of conceptual rigor and visual innovation. To have your work seen by Neri and secure a place in the running for global publication this year, Architizer cordially invites you to submit your best architectural concepts, images and ideas to this year’s Vision Awards: Share My Vision Based in Shanghai and working globally, Architizer’s 2023 Firm of the Year Neri&Hu is known for its boundary-defying approach to design — where architecture, interiors and product design are all treated as part of a singular, research-driven narrative. With a stunning portfolio of richly layered cultural projects, Neri&Hu’s work expresses a commitment to contextual storytelling and material exploration at every scale. The firm’s projects are recognized not just for their aesthetic sensitivity, but for the conceptual clarity that underpins each spatial gesture. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Neri is equally celebrated as an educator and theorist. In recent years, he has held prominent teaching positions at Harvard, Yale, Berkeley and Princeton, where he was appointed as Visiting Faculty in 2024. His editorial and written contributions — including Persistence of Vision: Shanghai Architects in Dialogue and Neri&Hu’s monograph Thresholds: Space, Time and Practice — have helped frame an emergent dialogue around contemporary Asian architecture and its role in global discourse. Neri’s presence on the 2025 Vision Awards Jury is particularly exciting given the program’s expansive exploration of architectural ideation across every medium. Categories for architectural drawings, models, renderings and conceptual designs all speak directly to Neri’s longstanding interest in the process and craft of architecture, from concept to construction. His insights will undoubtedly help shape a new generation of design thinking through this year’s program. Sketch for Aranya Art Center by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, Qinhuangdao, China. Neri joins a stellar judging panel that includes fellow architectural luminaries such as Daniel Libeskind, Steven Holl, Winka Dubbeldam and Suchi Reddy — all united in the search for the most inspiring architectural ideas and visual work from around the world. Entries for the 2025 Vision Awards are open, with a Main Entry Deadline of June 6th, 2025. Winners will be featured in Architizer’s Visionary 100, a definitive guide to the architecture industry’s most innovative creators, and see their work published on Architizer’s new book How to Visualize Architecture. Think you belong among them? Take part in the Vision Awards and show the world your boldest architectural visions! Click the button below to get started: Enter the Vision Awards Featured image: The Walled – Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, Yangzhou, China The post Master of Architectural Research Lyndon Neri Joins the 2025 Vision Awards Jury appeared first on Journal.

By CHRIS McGOWAN This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. (Image courtesy of NASA, ESA and CSA) Special effects have been used for decades to depict space exploration, from visits to planets and moons to zero gravity and spaceships – one need only think of the landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Since that era, visual effects have increasingly grown in realism and importance. VFX have been used for entertainment and for scientific purposes, outreach to the public and astronaut training in virtual reality. Compelling images and videos can bring data to life. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) produces visualizations, animations and images to help scientists tell stories of their research and make science more approachable and engaging. A.J. Christensen is a senior visualization designer for the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. There, he develops data visualization techniques and designs data-driven imagery for scientific analysis and public outreach using Hollywood visual effects tools, according to NASA. SVS visualizations feature datasets from Earth-and space-based instrumentation, scientific supercomputer models and physical statistical distributions that have been analyzed and processed by computational scientists. Christensen’s specialties include working with 3D volumetric data, using the procedural cinematic software Houdini and science topics in Heliophysics, Geophysics and Astrophysics. He previously worked at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications’ Advanced Visualization Lab where he worked on more than a dozen science documentary full-dome films as well as the IMAX films Hubble 3D and A Beautiful Planet – and he worked at DNEG on the movie Interstellar, which won the 2015 Best Visual Effects Academy Award. This global map of CO2 was created by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio using a model called GEOS, short for the Goddard Earth Observing System. GEOS is a high-resolution weather reanalysis model, powered by supercomputers, that is used to represent what was happening in the atmosphere. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) “The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio operates like a small VFX studio that creates animations of scientific data that has been collected or analyzed at NASA. We are one of several groups at NASA that create imagery for public consumption, but we are also a part of the scientific research process, helping scientists understand and share their data through pictures and video.” —A.J. Christensen, Senior Visualization Designer, NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) About his work at NASA SVS, Christensen comments, “The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio operates like a small VFX studio that creates animations of scientific data that has been collected or analyzed at NASA. We are one of several groups at NASA that create imagery for public consumption, but we are also a part of the scientific research process, helping scientists understand and share their data through pictures and video. This past year we were part of NASA’s total eclipse outreach efforts, we participated in all the major earth science and astronomy conferences, we launched a public exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History called the Earth Information Center, and we posted hundreds of new visualizations to our publicly accessible website: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov.” This is the ‘beauty shot version’ of Perpetual Ocean 2: Western Boundary Currents. The visualization starts with a rotating globe showing ocean currents. The colors used to color the flow in this version were chosen to provide a pleasing look. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) The Gulf Stream and connected currents. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Venus, our nearby “sister” planet, beckons today as a compelling target for exploration that may connect the objects in our own solar system to those discovered around nearby stars. (Image courtesy of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center) WORKING WITH DATA While Christensen is interpreting the data from active spacecraft and making it usable in different forms, such as for science and outreach, he notes, “It’s not just spacecraft that collect data. NASA maintains or monitors instruments on Earth too – on land, in the oceans and in the air. And to be precise, there are robots wandering around Mars that are collecting data, too.” He continues, “Sometimes the data comes to our team as raw telescope imagery, sometimes we get it as a data product that a scientist has already analyzed and extracted meaning from, and sometimes various sensor data is used to drive computational models and we work with the models’ resulting output.” Jupiter’s moon Europa may have life in a vast ocean beneath its icy surface. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) HOUDINI AND OTHER TOOLS “Data visualization means a lot of different things to different people, but many people on our team interpret it as a form of filmmaking,” Christensen says. “We are very inspired by the approach to visual storytelling that Hollywood uses, and we use tools that are standard for Hollywood VFX. Many professionals in our area – the visualization of 3D scientific data – were previously using other animation tools but have discovered that Houdini is the most capable of understanding and manipulating unusual data, so there has been major movement toward Houdini over the past decade.” Satellite imagery from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows the Sun in ultraviolet light colorized in light brown. Seen in ultraviolet light, the dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Christensen explains, “We have always worked with scientific software as well – sometimes there’s only one software tool in existence to interpret a particular kind of scientific data. More often than not, scientific software does not have a GUI, so we’ve had to become proficient at learning new coding environments very quickly. IDL and Python are the generic data manipulation environments we use when something is too complicated or oversized for Houdini, but there are lots of alternatives out there. Typically, we use these tools to get the data into a format that Houdini can interpret, and then we use Houdini to do our shading, lighting and camera design, and seamlessly blend different datasets together.” While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into this large global natural color view of Saturn and its rings. This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn’s rings to the other and the entire planet in between. (Image courtesy of ASA/JPL/Space Science Institute) The black hole Gargantua and the surrounding accretion disc from the 2014 movie Interstellar. (Image courtesy of DNEG and Paramount Pictures) Another visualization of the black hole Gargantua. (Image courtesy of DNEG and Paramount Pictures) INTERSTELLAR & GARGANTUA Christensen recalls working for DNEG on Interstellar (2014). “When I first started at DNEG, they asked me to work on the giant waves on Miller’s ocean planet [in the film]. About a week in, my manager took me into the hall and said, ‘I was looking at your reel and saw all this astronomy stuff. We’re working on another sequence with an accretion disk around a black hole that I’m wondering if we should put you on.’ And I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve done lots of accretion disks.’ So, for the rest of my time on the show, I was working on the black hole team.” He adds, “There are a lot of people in my community that would be hesitant to label any big-budget movie sequence as a scientific visualization. The typical assumption is that for a Hollywood movie, no one cares about accuracy as long as it looks good. Guardians of the Galaxy makes it seem like space is positively littered with nebulae, and Star Wars makes it seem like asteroids travel in herds. But the black hole Gargantua in Interstellar is a good case for being called a visualization. The imagery you see in the movie is the direct result of a collaboration with an expert scientist, Dr. Kip Thorne, working with the DNEG research team using the actual Einstein equations that describe the gravity around a black hole.” Thorne is a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist who taught at Caltech for many years. He has reached wide audiences with his books and presentations on black holes, time travel and wormholes on PBS and BBC shows. Christensen comments, “You can make the argument that some of the complexity around what a black hole actually looks like was discarded for the film, and they admit as much in the research paper that was published after the movie came out. But our team at NASA does that same thing. There is no such thing as an objectively ‘true’ scientific image – you always have to make aesthetic decisions around whether the image tells the science story, and often it makes more sense to omit information to clarify what’s important. Ultimately, Gargantua taught a whole lot of people something new about science, and that’s what a good scientific visualization aims to do.” The SVS produces an annual visualization of the Moon’s phase and libration comprising 8,760 hourly renderings of its precise size, orientation and illumination. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) FURTHER CHALLENGES The sheer size of the data often encountered by Christensen and his peers is a challenge. “I’m currently working with a dataset that is 400GB per timestep. It’s so big that I don’t even want to move it from one file server to another. So, then I have to make decisions about which data attributes to keep and which to discard, whether there’s a region of the data that I can cull or downsample, and I have to experiment with data compression schemes that might require me to entirely re-design the pipeline I’m using for Houdini. Of course, if I get rid of too much information, it becomes very resource-intensive to recompute everything, but if I don’t get rid of enough, then my design process becomes agonizingly slow.” SVS also works closely with its NASA partner groups Conceptual Image Lab (CIL) and Goddard Media Studios (GMS) to publish a diverse array of content. Conceptual Image Lab focuses more on the artistic side of things – producing high-fidelity renders using film animation and visual design techniques, according to NASA. Where the SVS primarily focuses on making data-based visualizations, CIL puts more emphasis on conceptual visualizations – producing animations featuring NASA spacecraft, planetary observations and simulations, according to NASA. Goddard Media Studios, on the other hand, is more focused towards public outreach – producing interviews, TV programs and documentaries. GMS continues to be the main producers behind NASA TV, and as such, much of their content is aimed towards the general public. An impact crater on the moon. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Image of Mars showing a partly shadowed Olympus Mons toward the upper left of the image. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Mars. Hellas Basin can be seen in the lower right portion of the image. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Mars slightly tilted to show the Martian North Pole. (Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio) Christensen notes, “One of the more unique challenges in this field is one of bringing people from very different backgrounds to agree on a common outcome. I work on teams with scientists, communicators and technologists, and we all have different communities we’re trying to satisfy. For instance, communicators are generally trying to simplify animations so their learning goal is clear, but scientists will insist that we add text and annotations on top of the video to eliminate ambiguity and avoid misinterpretations. Often, the technologist will have to say we can’t zoom in or look at the data in a certain way because it will show the data boundaries or data resolution limits. Every shot is a negotiation, but in trying to compromise, we often push the boundaries of what has been done before, which is exciting.”

It’s time to share your vision with the world: Applications are now open to get your work featured in Architizer’s new print publication, How to Visualize Architecture! This stunning new book will highlight how architects, designers and creative thinkers shape culture, influence clients and envision what architecture can be through powerful concepts, ideas and imagery. The only way to apply for your work to be showcased in this landmark publication is to enter your work in the 2025 Vision Awards before the Main Entry Deadline on June 6th, 2025. Apply for Publication Every Vision Awards Winner will have their work published in this instructional guide, which will lift the curtain on creative processes in architecture, from early sketches and conceptual drawings, to renderings and physical models, to powerful photographs of finished projects. Don’t miss your chance to secure a spot in How to Visualize Architecture and a host of other prizes for your work! Let Your Work Lead the Conversation How to Visualize Architecture will serve as a global reference for clients, collaborators and the next generation of architects. Thematic chapters will explore key concepts that are critical to communication of architectural ideas, including: Narrative: How to craft compelling visual stories that communicate architectural vision, from concept to construction. Environment: How to root projects within their landscape, city or climate, building a powerful sense of place. Atmosphere: How to evoke emotion and spark intrigue in architecture through a variety of creative techniques. Identity: How to imbue architecture with the cultural and social meaning within a distinct, localized context. Tectonics: How to celebrate structure, materiality and craft, translating abstract ideas into physical manifestations. With so much design content living online, being published in a high-quality print anthology gives your work a lasting, tangible presence. This publication will be distributed to a global network of design professionals, making it a timeless showcase of the visionaries defining architecture today. Start My Entry Create a Lasting Legacy for Your Vision Your work is already inspiring. Winning a Vision Award and getting published in How to Visualize Architecture promises to transform it into an educational precedent for decades to come. For every emerging architect, client, student and creative professional that picks up a copy, your work will be presented as an exemplar for architectural ideation and representation — today and tomorrow. To get yourself in the running for inclusion, start your entry for this year’s Vision Awards today, and make 2025 the year your work is celebrated — both online and in print. Apply for Publication To find out more about the Vision Awards, check out our handy About pages, including FAQs, fees and deadlines, and eligibility and guidelines. If you have any questions about the program, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at visionawards@architizer.com. The post Apply for Publication in Architizer’s New Book “How to Visualize Architecture”! appeared first on Journal.

The housing catalogue includes 50 low-rise home designs, including for garden suites, duplexes, four-plexes and six-plexes. Each design was developed by local architecture and engineering teams with the intent of aligning with regional building codes, planning rules, climate zones, construction methods and materials. TEXT John Lorinc RENDERINGS Office In Search Of During the spring election, the Liberals leaned into messaging that evoked a historic moment from the late 1940s, when Ottawa succeeded in confronting a severe housing crisis.  “We used to build things in this country,” begins Prime Minister Mark Carney in a nostalgic ad filled with archival images of streets lined with brand new post-World War II “strawberry box” bungalows, built for returning Canadian soldiers and their young families.  The video also includes montages from the now-iconic design “catalogues,” published by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). These supplied floor plans and unlocked cheap mortgages for tens of thousands of simple suburban houses found in communities across the country. “The government built prefabricated homes that were easy to assemble and inexpensive,” Carney said in the voice-over. “And those homes are still here.”  Over the past year, CMHC has initiated a 21st century re-do of that design catalogue, and the first tranche of 50 plans—for garden suites, duplexes, four-plexes and six-plexes—went live in early March. A second tranche, with plans for small apartments, is under development.  Unlike the postwar versions, these focus on infill sites, not green fields. One of CMHC’s goals is to promote so-called gentle density to residential properties with easily constructed plans that reflect regional variations, local zoning and building-code regulations, accessibility features and low-carbon design. As with those postwar catalogues, CMHC’s other goal was to tamp down on soft costs for homeowners or small builders looking to develop these kinds of housing by providing no-cost designs that were effectively permit sets. The early reviews are generally positive. “I find the design really very compelling in a kind of understated way,” says SvN principal Sam Dufaux. By making available vetted plans that can be either pre-approved or approved as of right, CMHC will remove some of the friction that impedes this scale of housing. “One of the elements of the housing crisis has to do with how do we approve these kinds of projects,” Dufaux adds. “I’m hoping it is a bit of a new beginning.” Yet other observers offer cautions about the extent to which the CMHC program can blunt the housing crisis. “It’s a small piece and a positive one,” says missing middle advocate and economist Mike Moffatt, who is executive in residence at the Smart Prosperity Institute and an assistant professor at Western’s Ivey Business School. “But [it’s] one that probably captures a disproportionate amount of attention because it’s something people can visualize in a way that they can’t with an apartment tax credit.” This kind of new-build infill is unlikely to provide much in the way of affordable or deeply affordable housing, adds Carolyn Whitzman, housing and social policy researcher, and author of Home Truths: Fixing Canada’s Housing Crisis (UBC Press, 2024). She estimates Canada needs about three million new dwellings that can be rented for $1,000 per month or less. The policies that will enable new housing at that scale, she says, involve financing subsidies, publicly owned land, and construction innovation, e.g., prefabricated or factory-built components, as well as “consistent and permissive zoning and consistent and permissive building codes.”  Indeed, the make-or-break question hovering over CMHC’s design catalogue is whether municipalities will green-light these plans or simply find new ways to hold up approvals.   An axonometric of a rowhouse development from the Housing Catalogue, designed for Alberta. A team effort Janna Levitt, partner at LGA Architectural Partners, says that when CMHC issued an RFP for the design catalogue, her firm decided to pitch a team of architects and peer reviewers from across Canada, with LGA serving as project manager. After they were selected, Levitt says they had to quickly clarify a key detail, which was the assumption that the program could deliver pre-approved, permit-ready plans absent a piece of property to build on. “Even in 1947,” she says, “it wasn’t a permit set until you had a site.” LGA’s team and CMHC agreed to expand the scope of the assignment so that the finished product wasn’t just a catalogue of plans but also included details about local regulations and typical lot sizes. Re-Housing co-founder Michael Piper, an associate professor at U of T’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, came on board to carry out research on similar programs, and found initiatives in places like Georgia, Indiana and Texas. “I have not found any that moved forward,” he says. “Canada’s national design catalogue is pretty novel in that regard, which is exciting.” The noteworthy exceptions are California, which has made significant advances in recent years in pre-approving ADUs across the state, and British Columbia, which last fall released its own standardized design catalogue.  He also carried out a scan of land use and zoning rules in Ontario for 15 to 20 municipalities. “We looked to see [what] their zoning permitted and what the rules were, and as you might expect, they’re all over the place,” he says. “Hence the challenge with the standardized design.” At present, high-level overviews for the 50 designs are available, including basic floor plans, 3D axonometrics, and building dimensions. Full architectural design packages are expected to be released later this year. Levitt says the architects on the team set out to come up with designs that used wood frame construction, had no basements (to save on cost and reduce embodied carbon), and drew on vernacular architectural styles. They researched representative lot sizes in the various regions, and configured designs to suit small, medium and large properties. Some versions have accessibility features—CMHC’s remit included both accessible units and aging-in-place as objectives—or can be adapted later on.  As for climate and energy efficiency considerations, the recommended materials include low-carbon components and cladding. The designs do reflect geographical variations, but Levitt says there’s only so much her team could do in terms of energy modelling. “How do you do heat energy calculations when you don’t have a site? You don’t have north, south, east, west [orientations] and you don’t have what zone are you in. In B.C. and Ontario, there are seven climatic regions. There was a lot of working through those kinds of very practical requirements, which were very complicated and actually fed into the design work quite significantly.” As Levitt adds, “in 1947, there were no heat loss models because the world wasn’t like that.” LGA provided the architects on the team with templates for interior elements, such as bathrooms, as well as standards for features such as bedroom sizes, dining areas, storage sufficient to hold strollers, and access to outdoor space, either at grade or via a balcony. “We gathered together these ideas about the quality of life that we wanted baked into each of the designs, so that [they] expressed a really good quality of life—modest but good quality,” she says. “It’s not about the finishes. People had to be able to live there and live there well.” “This isn’t a boutique home solution,” Whitzman says. “This is a cheap and mass-produced solution. And compared to other cheap and mass-produced solutions, whether they be condos or suburban subdivisions, [the catalogue designs] look fine to my untrained eye.” A selection of Housing Catalogue designs for the Atlantic region. Will it succeed?  With the plans now public, the other important variables, besides their conformity with local bylaws, have to do with cost and visibility to potential users, including homeowners, contractors and developers specializing in smaller-scale projects.  On the costing side, N. Barry Lyons Consultants (NBLC) has been retained by CMHC to develop models to accompany the design catalogue, but those figures have yet to be released. While pricing is inevitably dynamic, the calculus behind the entire exercise turns on whether the savings on design outlays and the use of prefabricated components will make such small-scale projects pencil, particularly at a time when there are live concerns about tariffs, skilled labour shortages, and supply chain interruptions on building materials.  Finally, there’s the horse-to-water problem. While the design catalogue has received a reasonable amount of media attention since it launched, does CMHC need to find ways to market it more aggressively? “From my experience,” says Levitt, “they are extremely proactive, and have assembled a kind of dream team with a huge range of experience and expertise. They are doing very concerted and deep work with municipalities across the country.” Proper promotion, observes Moffatt, “is going to be important in particular, just for political reasons. The prime minister has made a lot of bold promises about [adding] 500,000 homes.” Carney’s pledge to get Canada back into building will take time to ramp up, he adds. “I do think the federal government needs to visibly show progress, and if they can’t point to a [new] building across the road, they could at least [say], `We’ve got this design catalogue. Here’s how it works. We’ve already got so many builders and developers looking at this.’”  While it’s far too soon to draw conclusions about the success of this ambitious program, Levitt is well aware of the long and rich legacy of the predecessor CMHC catalogues from the late 40s and the 1950s, all of which gave many young Canadian architects their earliest commissions and then left an enduring aesthetic on countless communities across Canada.   She hopes the updated 21st-century catalogue—fitted out as it is for 21st-century concerns about carbon, resilience and urban density—will acquire a similar cachet.  “These are architecturally designed houses for a group of people across the country who will have never lived in an architecturally designed house,” she muses. “I would love it if, 80 years from now, the consistent feedback [from occupants] was that they were able to live generously and well in those houses, and that everything was where it should be.” ARCHITECTURE FIRM COLLABORATORS Michael Green Architecture, Dub Architects, 5468796 Architecture Inc, Oxbow Architecture, LGA Architectural Partners, KANVA Architecture, Abbott Brown Architects, Taylor Architecture Group  As appeared in the June 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine  The post A housing design catalogue for the 21st century appeared first on Canadian Architect.

The tower takes shape as two sets of overlapping cylinders, clad with prefabricated panels intended to evoke clouds. PROJECT The Butterfly + First Baptist Church Complex ARCHITECT Revery Architecture PHOTOS Ema Peter When you fly into Vancouver, the most prominent structure in the city’s forest of glass skyscrapers is now a 57-storey edifice known as the Butterfly. Designed by Revery Architecture, the luxury residential tower is the latest in a string of high-rises that pop out of the city’s backdrop of generic window-wall façades.  The Butterfly’s striking form evolved over many years, beginning with studies dating back to 2012. Revery principal Venelin Kokalov imagined several options, most of them suggesting a distinct pair of architectural forms in dialogue. Renderings and models of the early concepts relay a wealth of imagination that is sorely missing from much of the city’s contemporary architecture, as land economics, zoning issues, and the profit motive often compel a default into generic glass-and-steel towers. The earliest concepts look starkly different—some evoke the Ginger and Fred building in Prague (Frank Gehry with Vlado Milunić, 1996); others the Absolute Towers in Mississauga (MAD with Burka Varacalli Architects, 2009). But one consistent theme runs through the design evolution: a sense of two Rilkean solitudes, touching.  On each floor, semi-private sky gardens offer an outdoor place for residents to socialize. Client feedback, engineering studies, and simple pragmatics led to the final form: two sets of overlapping cylinders linked by a common breezeway and flanked by a rental apartment on one side and a restored church doubling as a community centre on the other. The contours of the floorplan are visually organic: evocative of human cells dividing. The roundness of the main massing is complemented by curvilinear balustrades that smoothly transform into the outer walls of each unit. It’s an eye-catching counterpoint to the orthogonality of the city’s built landscape. The two adjacent buildings—built, restored, and expanded as part of a density bonus arrangement with the city—help integrate this gargantuan structure with the lower-rise neighbourhood around it.  The Butterfly is a high-end, high-priced residential tower—one of the few typologies in which clients and communities are now willing to invest big money and resources in creative, visually astonishing architecture. That leads to a fundamental question: what is the public purpose of a luxury condo tower?  A public galleria joins the renovated First Baptist Church to the new building. Serving as a welcoming atrium, it allows for community access to the expanded church, including its daycare, full gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, overnight emergency shelter, and community dining hall equipped with a commercial kitchen. Whatever one feels about the widening divide between the haves and have-nots in our big cities, this building—like its ilk—does serve several important public purposes. The most direct and quantifiable benefits are the two flanking buildings, also designed by Revery and part of the larger project. The seven-storey rental apartment provides a modest contribution to the city’s dearth of mid-priced housing. The superbly restored and seismically upgraded First Baptist Church has expanded into the area between the new tower and original church, and now offers the public a wider array of programming including a gymnasium, childcare facility, and areas for emergency shelter and counselling services for individuals in need.  The church’s Pinder Hall has been reimagined as a venue for church and community events including concerts, weddings, and cultural programming. The Butterfly’s character is largely defined by undulating precast concrete panels that wrap around the building. The architects describe the swooping lines as being inspired by clouds, but for this writer, the Butterfly evokes a 57-layer frosted cake towering above the city’s boxy skyline. Kokalov winces when he hears that impression, but it’s meant as a sincere compliment. Clouds are not universally welcome, but who doesn’t like cake?  Kokalov argues that its experiential quality is the building’s greatest distinction—most notably, the incorporation of an “outdoors”—not a balcony or deck, but an actual outdoor pathway—at all residential levels. For years the lead form-maker at Bing Thom Architects, Kokalov was responsible for much of the curvilinearity in the firm’s later works, including the 2019 Xiqu Centre opera house in Hong Kong. It’s easy to assume that his forte and focus would be pure aesthetic delight, but he avers that every sinuous curve has a practical rationale.  The breezeways provide residents with outdoor entries to their units—an unusual attribute for high-rise towers—and contribute to natural cooling, ventilation, and daylight in the suites. Defying the local tower-on-podium formula, the building’s façade falls almost straight to the ground. At street level, the building is indented with huge parabolic concavities. It’s an abrupt way to meet the street, but the fall is visually “broken” by a publicly accessible courtyard.   The tower’s layered, undulating volume is echoed in a soaring residential lobby, which includes developer Westbank’s signature—a bespoke Fazioli grand piano designed by the building’s architect. After passing through this courtyard, you enter the building via the usual indoor luxe foyer—complete with developer Westbank’s signature, an over-the-top hand-built grand piano designed by the architect. In this case, the piano’s baroquely sculpted legs are right in keeping with the architecture. But after taking the elevator up to the designated floor, you step out into what is technically “outdoors” and walk to your front door in a brief but bracing open-air transition.  The main entrance of every unit is accessed via a breezeway that runs from one side of the building to another. Unglazed and open to the outside, each breezeway is marked at one end with what the architects call (a little ambitiously) a “sky garden,” in most cases consisting of a sapling that will grow into a leafy tree in due course, God and strata maintenance willing. This incorporation of nature and fresh air transforms the condominium units into something akin to townhouses, albeit stacked exceptionally high.  The suites feature a custom counter with a sculptural folded form. Inside each unit, the space can be expanded and contracted and reconfigured visually—not literally—by the fact that the interior wall of the secondary bedroom is completely transparent, floor to ceiling. It’s unusual, and slightly unnerving, but undeniably exciting for any occupants who wish to maximize their views to the mountains and sea. The curved glass wall transforms the room into a private enclave by means of a curtain, futuristically activated by remote control. The visual delight of swooping curves is only tempered when it’s wholly impractical—the offender here being a massive built-in counter that serves to both anchor and divide the living-kitchen areas. It reads as a long, pliable slab that is “folded” into the middle in such a way that the counter itself transforms into its own horseshoe-shaped base, creating a narrow crevice in the middle of the countertop. I marvel at its beauty and uniqueness; I weep for whoever is assigned to clean out the crumbs and other culinary flotsam that will fall into that crevice.  A structure made of high-performance modular precast concrete structural ribs arcs over a swimming pool that bridges between the building’s main amenity space and the podium roof. The building’s high-priced architecture may well bring more to the table than density-bonus amenities. On a broader scale, these luxe dwellings may be just what is needed to help lure the affluent from their mansions. As wealthy residents and investors continue to seek out land-hogging detached homes, the Butterfly offers an alternate concept that maintains the psychological benefit of a dedicated outside entrance and an outrageously flexible interior space. Further over-the-top amenities add to the appeal. Prominent among these is a supremely gorgeous residents-only swimming pool, housed within ribs of concrete columns that curve and dovetail into beams.   The ultimate public purpose for the architecturally spectacular condo tower: its role as public art in the city. The units in any of these buildings are the private side of architecture’s Janus face, but its presence in the skyline and on the street is highly public. By contributing a newly striking visual ballast, the Butterfly has served its purpose as one of the age-old Seven Arts: defining a location, a community, and an era. Adele Weder is a contributing editor to Canadian Architect. Screenshot CLIENT Westbank Corporation, First Baptist Church | ARCHITECT TEAM Venelin Kokalov (MRAIC), Bing Thom (FRAIC, deceased 2016), Amirali Javidan, Nicole Hu, Shinobu Homma MRAIC, Bibi Fehr, Culum Osborne, Dustin Yee, Cody Loeffen, Kailey O’Farrell, Mark Melnichuk, Andrea Flynn, Jennifer Zhang, Daniel Gasser, Zhuoli Yang, Lisa Potopsingh | STRUCTURAL Glotman Simpson | MECHANICAL Introba | ELECTRICAL Nemetz & Associates, Inc. | LANDSCAPE SWA Group (Design) w/ Cornelia Oberlander & G|ALA – Gauthier & Associates Landscape Architecture, Inc. (Landscape Architect of Record) | INTERIORS Revery Architecture | CONTRACTOR Icon West Construction (new construction); The Haebler Group (heritage) | LIGHTING ARUP (Design) & Nemetz (Engineer of Record) | SUSTAINABILITY & ENERGY MODELlING Introba | BUILDING ENVELOPE RDH Building Science, Inc. | HERITAGE CONSERVATION Donald Luxton & Associates, Inc.| ACOUSTICS BKL Consultants Ltd. | TRAFFIC Bunt & Associates, Inc. | POOL Rockingham Pool Consulting, Inc. | FOUNTAIN Vincent Helton & Associates | WIND Gradient Wind Engineering, Inc. | WASTE CONSULTANT Target Zero Waste Consulting, Inc. | AREA 56,206 M2 | BUDGET Withheld | COMPLETION Spring 2025 ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 106 kWh/m2/year | WATER USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 0.72 m3/m2/year As appeared in the June 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine The post The Butterfly takes flight: The Butterfly, Vancouver, BC appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Just a few days ago, Related Companies and Wynn Resorts scrapped their casino bid for Hudson Yards West. Silverstein Properties, Rush Street Gaming, and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment have simultaneously updated their own proposal for a “first-class gaming facility” on Manhattan’s West Side, designed by CetraRuddy Architecture and Steelman Partners. The Avenir is a masterplan for 11th Avenue just north of the Javits Center, pushed up against the Port Authority Bus Terminal ramps, where construction is underway on a $10 billion replacement complex by Foster + Partners. The plan entails a 1,000-room luxury hotel, over 12 bars and restaurants, conference and meeting rooms, a spa and fitness center, an outdoor pool, a community gallery on 11th Avenue, and a casino, should the development team earn a gaming license. There will also be 100 units of permanently affordable housing available through New York’s housing lottery system. The Avenir looking east (Courtesy Silverstein Properties) The ground-floor community gallery on 11th Avenue would span the entire block between 40th and 41st Streets, the team noted. The casino would begin on the second floor, and comprise a total 12 percent of the Avenir’s footprint. It would also have natural light, making it noticeably different from other casinos. Renderings show a 785-foot tower that rests atop a podium. The base is 9 stories, and the tower tops out at 45 stories, with by a biophilic green rooftop. The casino would have a separate entrance from the community gallery and hotel to ensure good egress for both user groups. The sculptural qualities are meant to create a “rhythmic harmony within its dense urban surroundings,” developers said, “and the hotel tower is additionally sculpted to create an elegant silhouette on the skyline while creating view corridors from the surrounding neighborhood.” Entrance from 41st Street (Courtesy Silverstein Properties) Nancy Ruddy, CetraRuddy founding principal, said, the “site is located at the crossroads of diverse neighborhoods and activity districts that currently are not connected.” Ruddy said too that the Avenir will “knit together the fabric of this part of the Far West Side by creating an exciting cultural hub that reinforces New York’s character as a pedestrian-friendly and walkable city.” There are today just about a dozen major proposals for New York gaming licenses that the team behind Avenir is up against. The State Gaming Commission is scheduled to announce its decision for the three gaming licenses by December 31, 2025.

A small home in Wayne County, Missouri was torn apart by a tornado. An aerial image by Jeff Roberson taken on March 15 depicts chunks of stick-framed walls and half-recognizable debris strewn across a patchy lawn in an eviscerated orthography of middle-American life. Elisa Iturbe, assistant professor of Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, describes this scene as “an image of climate impact, climate victimhood…these walls are doing the hard work of containment, of containing the rituals of human lifestyle.” Roberson’s image embodied the themes that emerged from the Projective Territories Symposium: The atomized fragility of contemporary American domesticity, the fundamental link between ways of living and modes of land tenure, and the necessary primacy of form in architecture’s response to the incoming upheaval of climate change. Lydia Kallipoliti talked about her 2024 book Histories of Ecological Design; An Unfinished Cyclopedia. (Andy Eichler) Projective Territories was hosted at Kent State University’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design on April 3 and 4. Organized and led by the CAED’s assistant professor Paul Mosley, the symposium brought Iturbe, Columbia University’s associate professor Lydia Kallipoliti, California College of the Arts’ associate professor Neeraj Bhatia, and professor Albert Pope of Rice University to Kent, Ohio, to discuss the relationship between territory and architecture in the face of climate change. “At its core, territory is land altered by human inhabitation,” read Mosley’s synopsis. “If ensuring a survivable future means rethinking realities of social organization, economy, and subsistence, then how might architecture—as a way of thinking and rethinking the world—contribute to these new realities?” Projective Territories kicked off on the afternoon of April 3 with a discussion of Bhatia’s Life After Property exhibition hosted at the CAED’s Armstrong Gallery. The exhibition collected drawings, renderings, and models by Bhatia’s practice The Open Workshop on a puzzle-piece shaped table constructed from plywood and painted blue. Nestled into the table’s geometric subtractions, Bhatia, Pope, Mosley, and CAED associate professor Taraneh Meshkani discussed Bhatia’s research into the commons: A system of land tenure by which communities manage and share resources with minimal reliance on the state through an ethic of solidarity, mutualism, and reciprocity. Neeraj Bhatia presented new typologies for collective living. (Andy Eichler) The symposium’s second day was organized into a morning session, “The Erosion of Territory,” with lectures by Kallipoliti and Iturbe, and an afternoon session, “The Architecture of Expanding Ecologies,” with lectures by Bhatia and Pope. Mosley’s introduction to “The Erosion of Territory” situated Kallipoliti and Iturbe’s work in a discussion about “how territories have been historically shaped by extraction and control and are unraveling under strain.” Lydia Kallipoliti’s lecture “Ecological Design; Cohabiting the World” presented questions raised by her 2024 book Histories of Ecological Design; An Unfinished Cyclopedia, which she described as “an attempt to clarify how nature as a concept was used in history.” Kallipoliti proposed an ecological model that projects outward from domestic interiors to the world to generate a “universe of fragmented worldviews and a cloud of stories.” Iturbe’s “Transgressing Immutable Lines” centered on her research into the formal potentials for Community Land Trusts—nonprofits that own buildings in trust on existing real estate. Iturbe described these trusts as “Not just a juridical mechanism, but a proposal for rewriting the relationship between land and people.” “Ecology is the basis for a more pleasurable alternative,” said Mosley in his introduction to the day’s second session. “Cooperation and care aren’t the goals, but the means of happiness.” An exhibition complementing the symposium shared drawings, renderings, and models. (Andy Eichler) Neeraj Bhatia’s lecture “Life After Property” complemented the previous days’ exhibition, problematizing the housing crisis as an ideological commitment to housing rooted in market speculation. Bhatia presented new typologies for collective living with the flexibility to formally stabilize the interpersonal relationships that define life in the commons. Albert Pope finished the day’s lectures with “Inverse Utopia,” presenting work from his 2024 book of the same name, which problematizes postwar American urban sprawl as an incapability to visualize the vast horizontal expansion of low-density development. Collectively, the day’s speakers outlined a model that situated the American domestic form at the center of the global climate crisis. Demanding complete separation from productive territories, this formal ideology of the isolated object is in a process of active dismemberment under climate change. The speakers’ proposed solutions were unified under fresh considerations of established ideas of typology and form, directly engaging politics of the collective as an input for shaping existing space. As Friday’s session drew to a close, the single-family home appeared as a primitive relic which architecture must overcome. Albert Pope’s images of tower complexes in Hong Kong and council estates in London that house thousands appeared as visions of the future. “The only way we can begin to address this dilemma is to begin to understand who we are in order to enlist the kinds of collective responses to this problem,” said Pope. Walker MacMurdo is an architectural designer, critic, and adjunct professor who studies the relationship between architecture and the ground at Kent State University’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Submitted by WA Contents Three circular volumes create Villa Noon in Sotogrande designed by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos Spain Architecture News - May 30, 2025 - 12:29   html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Valencia-based architecture practice Fran Silvestre Arquitectos has revealed design for a house composed of three circular volumes in Sotogrande, Spain.Named Villa Noon, the house is thoughtfully incorporated into a topographically defined setting, utilizing the slope of the ground to open each volume onto a distinct horizon. In order to achieve visual harmony with the natural environment without leaving an unwelcome footprint on the landscape, the house's layout, which is divided into five circular sections, was designed to seamlessly blend with the surroundings.Every one of these pieces has a rear patio that offers protection from the strongest winds and a front terrace that shields from the sun. In addition to optimizing orientation, this circular geometry reduces the volumetric impact, enabling the building to interact with the landscape in a controlled and deliberate manner. The outside materiality gradually integrates into its surroundings because it was constructed from indigenous Sierra Elvira stone, which has white veins and grey tones. This organic texture will eventually blend in as though it were a natural feature of the relief of the ground.A spacious, open vestibule that serves as a threshold between the outside and the inside of the villa is the entryway. It is surrounded by a curved wall. Visitors are introduced to a series of chambers that adjust to the various terrain levels in this transitional area. While the day area unfolds on a lower platform, open to the landscape and directly connected to the outdoors, the night area is located on a higher level, apart from the other functions.The well-being areas, like the gym, are located on the same floor and provide both practical and visual connections to the separate visitor area. Each zone's privacy is protected by this tiered arrangement, which also keeps the composition's overall spatial continuity flexible. By combining geothermal and aerothermal technologies, the house produces an excess of electricity and becomes energy self-sufficient. A mechanism for atmospheric water condensation is also included, which draws moisture from the air for household usage.Techniques including choosing native plant species based on their water requirements, utilizing natural mulch to prevent evaporation, and installing a drip irrigation system that only turns on when required are used to cut down on water usage in the garden. While infiltration trenches, also known as swales, filter and direct rainfall, green roofs enhance insulation and collect rainfall. This system is completed by permeable surfaces and cisterns, which enable the collected water to be stored and used again.By taking these steps, the house also becomes self-sufficient in water, which is a very reasonable objective in this region of Spain, which is the wettest in the nation due to the Sierra de Grazalema."We have always been fascinated by how the Namib Desert beetle collects water: in an extremely arid environment, this insect tilts its body into the wind to condense fog on its shell, whose surface combines areas that attract water and others that repel it, allowing the droplets to slide directly into its mouth," said Fran Silvestre Arquitectos."A natural lesson in efficiency that inspires and reinforces the logic of this system," the firm added.The idea is reminiscent of architectural works like Kazuyo Sejima's Villa in the Forest and Arne Jacobsen's Leo Henriksen House, whose circular shapes and attention to the environment served as inspiration. In contrast to radiocentric solutions, this proposal chooses what we refer to as "the squaring of the circle": service areas are included into irregularly shaped zones, while residential spaces are resolved through an orthogonal floor plan. In the end, we anticipate that this architecture will blend in with its surroundings over time, appearing to be a component of a karstic relief.SketchRoof level planFirst floor planGround floor planBasement floor planSectionRecently, Fran Silvestre Arquitectos unveiled design for a winery with curvacious form adressing winemaking process in Zayas de Báscones, Soria, Spain. In addition, the firm completed a house featuring irregularly shifted volumes on an irregularly shaped plot within Altos de Valderrama, in Sotogrande, Spain.Project factsProject name: Villa NoonArchitects: Fran Silvestre ArquitectosLocation: Sotogrande, Spain.Developer: Cork Oak MansionAll renderings & drawings courtesy of Fran Silvestre Arquitectos.> via Fran Silvestre Arquitectos

These annual rankings were last updated on May 30, 2025. Want to see your firm on next year’s list? Continue reading for more on how you can improve your studio’s ranking. Ireland’s architecture is a rich tapestry of vernacular craft, foreign architecture, and, most importantly, good ol’ grit. Like any nation, Ireland’s complex history is easily contextualized through its urban makeup. Dublin and Cork, for example contain a wealth of Georgian and Victorian structures that directly speak to the republic’s past ties to Britain through churches, libraries and courthouses. In the 20th century, Irish designers turned to modernism and other international trends, this time on their own terms. Art Deco, Brutalism and sleek Modern structures began to appear around the country, generating an architectural expression to mirror the republic’s newfound independence. Ireland’s traditional architecture — specifically the thatched cottage — was again made popular by tourists seeking a quintessential ‘Irish experience.’ Today’s designers continuously engage with discourse surrounding nationalism. What is the quintessential ‘Irish experience’, and how does it inform today’s architecture? With a built environment rooted in pluralism, Irish architects have an incredible opportunity to recreate and rectify an architectural language that best represents today’s Irish folk. With so many architecture firms to choose from, it’s challenging for clients to identify the industry leaders that will be an ideal fit for their project needs. Fortunately, Architizer is able to provide guidance on the top design firms in Ireland based on more than a decade of data and industry knowledge. How are these architecture firms ranked? The following ranking has been created according to key statistics that demonstrate each firm’s level of architectural excellence. The following metrics have been accumulated to establish each architecture firm’s ranking, in order of priority: The number of A+Awards won (2013 to 2025) The number of A+Awards finalists (2013 to 2025) The number of projects selected as “Project of the Day” (2009 to 2025) The number of projects selected as “Featured Project” (2009 to 2025) The number of projects uploaded to Architizer (2009 to 2025) Each of these metrics is explained in more detail at the foot of this article. This ranking list will be updated annually, taking into account new achievements of Ireland architecture firms throughout the year. Without further ado, here are the 30 best architecture firms in Ireland: 30. Hussey Architects © Hussey Architects Hussey Architects was established in 2009 in Dublin. The practice has grown from working on small domestic projects then to large healthcare, housing and hospitality projects now. We are a small practice with experience completing large projects. Over the past decade we have completed seven Primary Care Centres, two hotels, a nursing home, ten masterplans and over one hundred houses. Our focus is on designing simple economical buildings that respect their context. Our style has evolved from our more angular early buildings and projects to a more classical simple architectural language in traditional materials. Some of Hussey Architects’ most prominent projects include: National Leprechaun Museum Cafe The Hendrick, Dublin, Ireland Navan Road Primary Care Centre, Dublin, Ireland Celbridge Primary Care Centre, Celbridge, Ireland Balbriggan Primary Care Centre, Balbriggan, Ireland The following statistics helped Hussey Architects achieve 30th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Total Projects 14 29. Donaghy & Dimond Architects © Donaghy & Dimond Architects Based in Dublin, Donaghy + Dimond Architects was established in 2001 by Marcus Donaghy and Will Dimond, two architects with extensive experience of working on urban and rural design projects in Ireland and abroad. The practice has developed a reputation for high-quality, innovative and sustainable design, and has been selected for numerous national and international awards for completed projects. Their work has been published and exhibited in Ireland, Europe and the USA. Some of Donaghy & Dimond Architects’ most prominent projects include: Laneway Wall Garden House, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped Donaghy & Dimond Architects achieve 29th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 28. ABK Architects © ABK Architects Established in 1961, ABK Architects is a design-led practice with an international reputation for the delivery of buildings of the highest quality. It is renowned for its work in many fields including master-planning, education, healthcare, housing and the arts. The practice offers skills in architecture and related fields such as urban design and planning, interior and furniture design and is one of the leading exponents of sustainability in the field of architecture. Implicit in the work of ABK is a search for quality, which concerns the character and atmosphere of spaces and a sense of place. Each building proposal is a unique response, integrating the general and the particular into a coherent whole. Some of ABK Architects’ most prominent projects include: Roscommon Civic Offices, Roscommon, Ireland The following statistics helped ABK Architects achieve 28th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 27. de Siún Scullion Architects © de Siún Scullion Architects We are a new Dublin-based Architecture practice offering a broad range of experience and specialist expertise in high quality, innovative and sustainable design to both public and private sector clients Some of de Siún Scullion Architects’ most prominent projects include: 5Cube, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped de Siún Scullion Architects achieve 27th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 26. TAKA architects © TAKA architects TAKA is an architectural practice based in Dublin, Ireland. Our practice is focused on creating buildings, places and moments which have a distinct character. Our approach involves a careful and economic approach to materials and construction and a first-principles approach to sustainability. We collaborate closely with clients, professional consultants, and expert makers to ensure the ambitions of projects are met and exceeded. A continuing level of excellence in the built work of the practice is recognized by multiple national and international awards and worldwide publication. Some of TAKA architects’ most prominent projects include: Merrion Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped TAKA architects achieve 26th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 25. NOJI Architects © NOJI NOJI Architects are a practice based in Sligo Town working on individual and collaborative projects throughout Ireland. NOJI architects have been in existence for 4 years, now with two staff and the principle architect being John Monahan. The practice has been primarily involved with residential work ranging from renovation extensions of period properties to one off houses and the possibility of community level buildings in the near future. In parallel to the mainly residential work there is an emphasis on the smaller scale design projects allowing an artistic expression and shorter build fruition periods. NOJI architects aim to have craft and innovative design solutions at the core of their work. Some of NOJI Architects’ most prominent projects include: Scale of Ply, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped NOJI achieve 25th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 24. Carr Cotter Naessens Architects © Dennis Gilbert, VIEW Box Architecture was created in 1997. Since conception, the company has been established as a leading design practice in the nation. Quality has remained the focus of Box throughout and this has been employed to a variety of projects including urban schemes, apartment units, award-winning private commissions, corporate offices, crèches and housing developments. The success of Box Architecture is achieved through a personal approach to understand client needs. With a hands-on approach, technical expertise, creative execution and a commitment to continued education, the company applies a philosophy of the highest principle in order to contribute to a sustainable future and maintain quality architecture. Some of Carr Cotter Naessens Architects’ most prominent projects include: dlrLexicon, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped Carr Cotter Naessens Architects achieve 24th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 23. Box Architecture Timber elements mark the transition between openness and enclosure - © Box Architecture Box Architecture was created in 1997. Since conception, the company has been established as a leading design practice in the nation. Quality has remained the focus of Box throughout and this has been employed to a variety of projects including urban schemes, apartment units, award-winning private commissions, corporate offices, crèches and housing developments. The success of Box Architecture is achieved through a personal approach to understand client needs. With a hands-on approach, technical expertise, creative execution and a commitment to continued education, the company applies a philosophy of the highest principle in order to contribute to a sustainable future and maintain quality architecture. Some of Box Architecture’s most prominent projects include: BALLYROAN PARISH CENTRE Ballyroan Library The following statistics helped Box Architecture achieve 23rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 2 22. Kingston Lafferty Design © Donal Murphy Kingston Lafferty Design are an award-winning, international multi-disciplinary design company run by Roisin Lafferty based in Dublin, Ireland. At KLD we think differently about design. Our designs take people on a journey, delivering fun and unexpected experiences. With a holistic approach, we study the way in which people live and work to create tactile and meaningful design, putting human behavior at the centre of every project. Some of Kingston Lafferty Design’s most prominent projects include: Dublin Residence, Dublin, Ireland Ballsbridge Residence, Dublin, Ireland Ranelagh Residence, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped Kingston Lafferty Design achieve 22nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 3 21. Architecture Republic © Architecture Republic Architecture Republic with offices in Dublin (Ireland)and Lyon (France) operates in the fields of architecture, urbanism and landscape design. We engage with engineers, artists, researchers, policy-makers, and other professionals through research, analysis and cross disciplinary collaboration. We find the seeds of our inspiration in the rich and complex realm of ordinary everyday life. We believe in the social engagement and spatial power of architecture more than its visual or plastic expression. We believe in architecture that creates public spaces and democratic cities. An architecture that revitalizes redefines and strengthens existing buildings and neighbourhoods. Some of Architecture Republic’s most prominent projects include: The Plastic House, Dublin, Ireland Formwork Studio Brick a Back, Gordon Street, Dublin, Ireland Orla Kiely’s New York Store, New York, New York The following statistics helped Architecture Republic achieve 21st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 4 20. Conneely Wessels Architects © F22 PHOTOGRAPHY Conneely Wessels Architects is an Award Winning Architectural Practice, established in 2008 and based in Kinsale, County Cork. Our practice provides a responsive, imaginative and professional service, tailored to the aspirations of each of our clients, and to deliver quality results, regardless of commission size or type. Some of Conneely Wessels Architects’ most prominent projects include: Three Pavilions, House Clancy, Kinsale, Ireland Peek-a-Boo!, Kinsale, Ireland Cardinal Point, Kinsale, Ireland Ardgwee House, Kinsale, Ireland The following statistics helped Conneely Wessels Architects achieve 20th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 4 19. ARCHITECTSTM © Ros Kavanagh ARCHITECTSTM is a design practice founded by Tom Maher. Based in Dublin, Ireland the firm boasts a portfolio of residential, cultural and commercial designs. Some of ARCHITECTSTM’s most prominent projects include: K HOUSE, Ranelagh, Ireland GARDENER’S WORLD (FUTURE), Callan, Ireland SLATE STOREY EXTENSION, Dublin, Ireland COTTAGE, County Kilkenny, Ireland 8BY4, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped ARCHITECTSTM achieve 19th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 5 18. Paul Dillon Architects © Paul Dillon Architects In 1999, architect Paul Dillon established his full-service practice in Galway, which quickly earned a reputation for combining design sensitivity with professional management and delivery. Each year, paul dillon architects complete a small number of challenging everyday projects, ranging from domestic extensions and garden designs to large commercial, retail, industrial and public projects. This commitment to the process of building, has been recognized with numerous national and international publications and awards. The completed work, both public and private, is receiving growing understanding and appreciation from those who take responsibility for their built environment. Some of Paul Dillon Architects’ most prominent projects include: Carnaun Primary School, Athenry, Ireland Extension to Secondary School, County Galway, Ireland Kilrickle Primary School, Kilreekill, Ireland Art Room, Secondary School, Aran Islands, County Galway, Ireland Art Room, Inis Mór, County Galway, Ireland The following statistics helped Paul Dillon Architects achieve 18th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 5 17. Isabel Barros Architects © Robert Mullan Photography isabel barros architects are driven by a passion for creating high quality contemporary architecture. Our goal is to make good design available to the general public while maintaining a strong focus on the energy efficiency and sustainability of our designs. Some of Isabel Barros Architects’ most prominent projects include: Seaview House, Wexford, Ireland Conservation Works at Brandon House Hotel, New Ross, Ireland Extension to House Over 100 Years Old, Ireland River House Kilkenny, Kilkenny, Ireland Shaolin Cottage, Ireland The following statistics helped Isabel Barros Architects achieve 17th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 6 16. Solearth Architecture © Solearth Architecture Solearth Architecture specialise in design that is both beautiful and deeply sustainable. We have for 15 years been Irelands leading green design firm and now provide architecture, design and consulting services further afield. All projects and client types are of interest to us but our key experience to date lies in hospitality, visitor, environment, wellness and buildings for spirituality as well as housing and private houses. We also have expertise in sustainable masterplanning and urban design. We are Europes only Living Building accredited practice. Some of Solearth Architecture’s most prominent projects include: Airfield Evolution, Dublin, Ireland Castle Espie, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom The Daintree Building, Dublin, Ireland Ballybay Wetland Centre, Ballybay, Ireland Dechen Shying, Cork, Ireland The following statistics helped Solearth Architecture achieve 16th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 7 15. Foley Architects © Foley Architects, CAMPUS Foley Architects is an architectural practice based in Dublin led by Stephen Foley and Marta Lopez driven by creating sustainable buildings and considered spaces that connect to their physical and social contexts. Our mission is to uncover what is special about each project to create unique spaces and buildings which can inspire communities. The concept of our first built project, the Eastbourne Beach Hut took inspiration from a local story involving fossils and was developed using digital fabrication tools. The pavilion’s translucent skin allows it to transform at night, emitting light and expressing its structure. The Cork Butter museum involved the adaptive reuse of an existing space, it’s remodelling and installation of elements for a collection of artefacts, using economic materials like mild steel and birch plywood. Some of Foley Architects’ most prominent projects include: The Lark Theatre, Dublin, Ireland Eastbourne Beach Hut, Eastbourne, United Kingdom Rossaveel Small Craft Harbour, Galway, Ireland 12th Lock Area Masterplan, Lucan, Ireland Killybegs Small Craft Harbour, Donegal, Ireland The following statistics helped Foley Architects achieve 15th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 9 14. David Flynn Architects © David Flynn Architects Ltd We are award-winning Architects in Dublin specializing in residential projects, including newbuild houses, reconstruction and significant refurb / extension / transformation of existing. We are currently engaged as Architects in a small number of projects across Dublin with construction values ranging from €400,000 up to €1.5m. The majority of our houses will end up as highly efficient A-rated homes for life. We have a track record in delivering highly bespoke residential architecture projects which run smoothly through design, planning and construction stages, many of which have received awards and been widely published. We use highly detailed 3D Digital models to plan, visualise and clearly communicate from early in the design process to ensure a successful outcome. Some of David Flynn Architects’ most prominent projects include: Garden Retreat, Blackrock, Ireland Mount Merrion, Dublin, Ireland 1930s Extension Renovation, Booterstown, Ireland 1870s period house extension, Sandymount, Ireland Rebuild & Renovation, Clonskeagh, Ireland The following statistics helped David Flynn Architects achieve 14th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 10 13. ODKM Architects & Designers © ODKM Architects & Designers ODKM are highly experienced award-winning architectural practice, with accolades and publications both in Ireland and abroad. We love design, how it makes us feel, and what it offers us every day, and we are passionate about how important this is in creating new spaces, identities and places that exceed our clients expectations. Ultimately, buildings are about people, and we believe in quality driven design to create environments with a sense of place. Our team each bring unique and diverse skills to the practice, all stemming from a common holistic design philosophy; that design can improve the quality of our lives, and make us happier. Some of ODKM Architects & Designers’ most prominent projects include: Ranelagh House, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped ODKM Architects & Designers achieve 13th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 1 Total Projects 1 12. Architectural Farm © Ste Murray | Photography & Design Architectural Farm is a design focused architectural studio based in Dublin. The studio has been led by Shane Cotter and Kathryn Wilson since 2010. To date the practice has worked on a variety of projects specializing in residential and public commissions in both urban and rural settings but also have collaborated on retail, commercial and landscaping projects. Some of Architectural Farm’s most prominent projects include: Walled Garden, Ballsbridge, Ireland St Declans Terrace, Saint Declan’s Terrace, Ireland The following statistics helped Architectural Farm achieve 12th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 2 11. GKMP Architect © GKMP Architect GKMP Architects is a Dublin-based practice that designs high quality modern architecture. Our recent projects include house design, domestic extensions, public spaces and tourist facilities. Some of GKMP Architect’s most prominent projects include: Hedge House at Leeson Walk, Dublin, Ireland House Extension at Silchester Park, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped GKMP Architect achieve 11th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 2 10. Aughey O’Flaherty Architects © Aughey O'Flaherty Architects Since the start, in 1999, we have been blessed with great clients. We work closely with them to understand their needs and create buidings to fit those needs. By 2003, the practice had won the first of many awards and in 2005, we won the prestious RIAI award, best building in the landscape.As conservation architects, we have Grade II RIAI Conservation Accreditation. Some of Aughey O’Flaherty Architects’ most prominent projects include: Fethard House on Mount Anville, Goatstown, Ireland New House The following statistics helped Aughey O'Flaherty Architects achieve 10th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 3 9. BRENNAN | FURLONG Architects & Urban Planners © BRENNAN | FURLONG Architects & Urban Planners BRENNAN | FURLONG Architects, founded in 2015 by Gareth Brennan and Séamus Furlong, is an award-winning RIAI-registered practice based in Clontarf, Dublin. The practice is accredited in Conservation (Grade III), can act as Project Supervisors for the Design Process (PSDP) and holds full Professional Indemnity Insurance. The work of the practice – a mix of residential and commercial projects — centers on the principle that the well-considered and carefully developed design of buildings and spaces we use every day helps to enrich and enliven our experience and interaction with the built environment. Some of BRENNAN | FURLONG Architects & Urban Planners’ most prominent projects include: GLENTORA, Howth, Dublin, Ireland FOUR WINDS, Dublin, Ireland STRAND ROAD, Dublin, Ireland LERRIG, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped BRENNAN | FURLONG Architects & Urban Planners achieve 9th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 4 8. Ambient Architecture © Ambient Architecture At Ambient Architecture we design exclusive residences for private clients in new builds, renovation and conservation projects. For our commercial partners, we develop innovative, sustainable, and sound feasibility and planning solutions. As architects we focus on providing the best outcome for our clients, in terms of design, costs, and buildability. Some of Ambient Architecture’s most prominent projects include: New house in Malahide, Malahide, Ireland Rathgar Redbrick, Dublin, Ireland Loreto Abbey Dalkey Sportshall, Dalkey, Ireland Rathmines Redbrick, Dublin, Ireland 2SEMIS, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped Ambient Architecture achieve 8th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 5 7. Coady Architects © Coady Architects Coady Architects is an award winning practice of highly skilled professionals, specializing in healthcare, residential, workplace and education design. We are passionate about understanding our clients’ and end users’ needs. We understand commercial drivers and add value at every opportunity. We enjoy design, we listen and explore, we innovate and challenge to deliver better environments and better buildings. Some of Coady Architects’ most prominent projects include: Scholen van Morgen. VIIO, Tongeren, Belgium Eolas, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland Clinical Education and Research Centre, Limerick, Ireland Scholen van Morgen. Heilig Hart van Mariainstituut, Berlaar, Belgium Scholen van Morgen, Virga Jessecollege, Hasselt, Belgium The following statistics helped Coady Architects achieve 7th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 5 6. Architecture 53seven © Architecture 53seven Architecture 53seven is focussed on the delivery of inventive architecture and urban design, with a particular interest in developing new programmatic forms that reflect the complexities of the contemporary city. Established by Jason O’Shaughnessy in 2000, Architecture 53seven has developed a series of acclaimed projects in Ireland and overseas and was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2009. Some of Architecture 53seven’s most prominent projects include: Egans Juice Bar and Roof Terrace, Main Street, Portlaoise, Ireland Tullow Ciivic Offices and Library Montenegro Villa, Dobra Voda, Montenegro Villa Petrovic, Dobra Voda, Montenegro Renaasance day hospital The following statistics helped Architecture 53seven achieve 6th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 2 Total Projects 37 5. FKL architects © FKL architects FKL architects is committed to contemporary design with a focus on the application of abstract ideas to built form. Each project is approached from first principles by responding to the specifics of site and program and formulating a singular concept that informs all aspects of the design. This individual concept is firmly rooted in the pragmatics of the project. We seek to condense ideas to their essentials, from the building form to the detail of junctions between materials with all decisions re-affirming and complementing the primary concept. The form and language of each project grows out of this approach leading to a diversity in the work, within a framework given by enduring interests; in space, atmosphere, assemblage, pattern, hierarchy, texture and materiality. Some of FKL architects’ most prominent projects include: A House, Rathmines, Ireland A house, Rathmines, Ireland St John’s House Nursing Home, Dublin, Ireland Brick House Reuben Street Apartments, Dolphins Barn, Ireland The following statistics helped FKL architects achieve 5th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 17 4. Heneghan Peng Architects © Iwan Baan heneghan peng architects is a design partnership practicing architecture, landscape and urban design. The practice was founded by Shih-Fu Peng and Róisín Heneghan in New York in 1999 and in 2001 opened an office in Dublin, Ireland. We take a multi-disciplinary approach to design and have collaborated with many leading designers and engineers on a range of projects which include larger scale urban masterplans, bridges, landscapes and buildings. Current projects include the Canadian Canoe Museum, The Old Library refurbishment at Trinity College Dublin, the Visitors’ Centre at the Berlin Botanic Gardens and the Grand Egyptian Museum. Some of Heneghan Peng Architects’ most prominent projects include: The Palestinian Museum, Bir Zayt Air BnB European Operations Hub, Dublin, Ireland School of Architecture and Design/Library at the University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom The following statistics helped Heneghan Peng Architects achieve 4th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 3 Total Projects 3 3. Scullion Architects © Scullion Architects SCULLION ARCHITECTS are a Dublin-based Architectural Studio established by Declan Scullion MRIAI, providing architectural services for both the public and private sector. The practice’s work is characterized by a particular attention to user experience supported by an interest in things well-made. Our ambition is to provide a dedicated and professional service delivering exceptional buildings. Some of Scullion Architects’ most prominent projects include: Grand Canal Street, Dublin, Ireland Glass Ribbon, Dublin, Ireland Blackrock House, Dundalk, Ireland Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland The Liberties, Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped Scullion Architects achieve 3rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 5 2. ODOS © ODOS The constant questioning of how people work, rest and play in today’s society is the fundamental driving force behind the practice. We strongly believe our clients deserve to be challenged and that buildings need to inspire their occupants. As architects we have a duty to expose such possibilities. We hope to instill a sense of curiosity and excitement, stimulating a response, confronting and challenging traditional conceptions of architecture Some of ODOS’s most prominent projects include: Flynn Mews House, Dublin, Ireland Dwelling at Maytree, Wicklow, Wicklow, Ireland 3 Mews Houses, Dublin, Ireland Grangegorman, Dublin 7, Dublin, Ireland 31 Carysfort Road, Dalkey, Ireland The following statistics helped ODOS achieve 2nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: A+Awards Finalist 1 Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 9 1. McCullough Mulvin Architects © McCullough Mulvin Architects McCullough Mulvin Architects is an architecture and urban design practice based in Dublin. Much of our work has been in the design of cultural and civic buildings around Ireland, projects working to define a new public realm in a changing society, dealing with Ireland’s diffuse light and stark materiality. The work is based around an idea of experimentation – from small domestic work through to larger civic projects – testing at all scales, the work is original and the response to each brief particular. There is no house style, rather a concern for improving the lives of people by designing public and private spaces where life is played out. Some of McCullough Mulvin Architects’ most prominent projects include: Medieval Mile Museum, Kilkenny, Ireland Featured image: Trinity Long Room Hub, Dublin, Ireland Z Square House, Temple Gardens, Dublin, Ireland Beaufort Maritime Research Building, Cork, Ireland one up two down , Dublin, Ireland The following statistics helped McCullough Mulvin Architects achieve 1st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Ireland: Featured Projects 4 Total Projects 6 Why Should I Trust Architizer’s Ranking? With more than 30,000 architecture firms and over 130,000 projects within its database, Architizer is proud to host the world’s largest online community of architects and building product manufacturers. Its celebrated A+Awards program is also the largest celebration of architecture and building products, with more than 400 jurors and hundreds of thousands of public votes helping to recognize the world’s best architecture each year. Architizer also powers firm directories for a number of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapters nationwide, including the official directory of architecture firms for AIA New York. An example of a project page on Architizer with Project Award Badges highlighted A Guide to Project Awards The blue “+” badge denotes that a project has won a prestigious A+Award as described above. Hovering over the badge reveals details of the award, including award category, year, and whether the project won the jury or popular choice award. The orange Project of the Day and yellow Featured Project badges are awarded by Architizer’s Editorial team, and are selected based on a number of factors. The following factors increase a project’s likelihood of being featured or awarded Project of the Day status: Project completed within the last 3 years A well written, concise project description of at least 3 paragraphs Architectural design with a high level of both functional and aesthetic value High quality, in focus photographs At least 8 photographs of both the interior and exterior of the building Inclusion of architectural drawings and renderings Inclusion of construction photographs There are 7 Projects of the Day each week and a further 31 Featured Projects. Each Project of the Day is published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories, while each Featured Project is published on Facebook. Each Project of the Day also features in Architizer’s Weekly Projects Newsletter and shared with 170,000 subscribers.     We’re constantly look for the world’s best architects to join our community. If you would like to understand more about this ranking list and learn how your firm can achieve a presence on it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com. The post 30 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Ireland appeared first on Journal.