The Western Sydney International Airport terminal has reached completion, marking Australia’s first new major airport in over half a century. Located in Badgerys Creek, the terminal is conceived as both a transport hub and civic landmark — an architectural statement grounded in place and shaped for the future of aviation.

First proposed by COX Architecture and Zaha Hadid Architects through a 2019 design competition, the project has since been carried forward by a collaborative team including Woods Bagot and builder Multiplex. The resulting terminal is a culmination of technical precision, spatial generosity, and cultural responsiveness, tailored to the evolving needs of Western Sydney.

‘This is a rare opportunity to define the next generation of airport design,’ says Cristiano Ceccato of Zaha Hadid Architects. ‘It’s a terminal that expresses both international ambition and a strong sense of place.’

images © Brett Boardman, Trevor Mein

a rhythmic design by zaha hadid, woods bagot & cox

Designing the expansive roofline of the Sydney Airport terminal, Zaha Hadid Architects, Woods Bagot, and COX take cues from the low-lying Cumberland Plain, echoing the contours of the land. Its ceiling, composed of sculptural, timber-lined modules, captures shifting daylight throughout the day. The filtered light creates a rhythm of brightness and shadow, offering both orientation and calm across the large volume of the departure hall.

Glass curtain walls along the perimeter draw in the landscape and provide views outward, ensuring a continuous connection between interior and environment. These gestures help shape a civic-scale structure that feels open and grounded, rather than monumental or imposing.

Working with construction company Multiplex, COX shaped the terminal as a contemporary expression of place. ‘The way light filters through the terminal shapes how people move, orient and feel,’ David Holm of COX explains. ‘For many, this space marks their first encounter with Australia, and we wanted that experience to feel unmistakably grounded in place.’

the Western Sydney International Airport terminal is Australia’s first major airport in over 50 years

a sustainable terminal for sydney

The roof canopy over the forecourt is configured by Zaha Hadid Architects, COX, and Woods Bagot to offer shelter and shade while guiding movement into the new Sydney Airport terminal. This threshold is conceived with attention to scale and detail, with natural materials and Indigenous design references shaping a quiet sense of welcome.

Warm timbers, etched details, and interpretive artworks are integrated throughout, creating an environment that honors the region’s heritage without relying on overt displays. Public consultation with Dharug custodians and First Nations consultant Murrawin informed many of the terminal’s symbolic and spatial elements.

This embedded cultural approach complements the terminal’s focus on intuitive, egalitarian movement. Sightlines are clear, signage minimal, and transitions between zones legible without requiring effort. As passengers move through arrivals, departures, and security checkpoints, the building’s architecture does the work of orientation.

its low-slung form and sculptural ceiling draw from the contours and light of the Cumberland Plain

Led by Woods Bagot, the design and delivery phase prioritized performance and longevity. ‘The ambition was to create a terminal that functions at a global standard while maintaining a distinct local identity,’ Neil Hill of Woods Bagot notes.

The architecture supports a modular expansion strategy, allowing for future growth in stages without the need for full redesign. Passive ventilation, water recycling, and energy-efficient systems earned the terminal a five star Green Star rating. From landside approach to baggage handling, every aspect was calibrated to optimize throughput and passenger comfort.

As Western Sydney International Airport prepares for its first flights, the terminal stands ready to support 24-hour international and domestic operations. Beyond its technical and environmental credentials, the project offers a new civic identity for one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions.

filtered daylight animates the terminal’s interior and guides passenger orientation

large glass walls maintain a visual connection to the surrounding landscape

the terminal favors intuitive navigation with open sightlines and understated signage

a modular layout and 5-star Green Star rating reflect long-term flexibility and environmental priorities

the terminal brings a civic-scaled space that blends global functionality with local cultural identity

project info:

name: Western Sydney International Airport

architect: Zaha Hadid Architects, Woods Bagot, COX

location: Sydney, Australia

construction: Multiplex

photography: © Brett Boardman, Trevor Mein 

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In the heart of Barcelona, where the city’s historical fabric meets the innovation-driven 22@ district, architecture firm Cierto Estudio brings a radical vision for collective housing to life with The Room Community, part of the larger Illa Glòries redevelopment. As Building A within a four-block ensemble designed by multiple architectural teams, the dwelling introduces a new model for modular, inclusive living. Comprising 51 units surrounding generous common areas, the design supports adaptable living, social equity, and sustainable practices. ‘We are incredibly proud of the Illa Glòries project. It represents a new model for urban living, one that prioritizes community, sustainability, and the well-being of its residents,’ says Cierto Estudio. 

What sets The Room Community apart is its full-spectrum approach to care, both social and environmental. From its cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure and passive climate strategies to its robust green infrastructure, with more than 60% of the plot being landscaped, the building meets NZEB standards while mitigating the urban heat island effect. At the social level, the project is conceived from a gender perspective, with strategies that support caregiving, safety, and shared responsibility. Wide, south-facing communal walkways double as balconies and connect homes to a rooftop garden, a shaded climate refuge and social platform that strengthens neighborly ties.

images © Jose Hevia, unless stated otherwise

dismantling the nuclear family through open, fluid typologies

Winning an international competition in 2017, Cierto Estudio, a practice founded by six women architects, proposed a housing typology that dismantles conventional domestic hierarchies. Their design challenges the nuclear-family norm, offering homes that are neutral in function yet rich in possibility. The layouts are fluid, with rooms of equal size and value, encouraging occupants to define how they live. Kitchens are no longer hidden or confined to traditional gender roles; instead, they are reimagined as open, social areas, visible from the entrance and integral to daily life. Sightlines stretch diagonally across apartments, while intersections between spaces create physical and visual continuity, allowing autonomy and collectivity to coexist.

Cierto Estudio unveils collective housing project The Room Community

The Room Community rethinks visibility as tool for spatial justice

The name of the project, The Room Community, hints at its spatial philosophy, centered on a modular system of square rooms, rotated and interconnected to create typologies without hierarchies. The central junction in the floor plan serves as a main organizing element, supporting adaptable configurations for diverse and evolving household structures. With no room dominating and no single function being fixed, the idea of home is elastic, evolving with the people who inhabit it.

Rather than isolating individual units, the building opens them to shared courtyards and balconies in a contemporary reinterpretation of the corrala typology, a traditional Spanish housing model characterized by multi-story buildings with dwellings facing inward toward a common courtyard or gallery. These communal spaces make way for spontaneous interaction and collective oversight, aiming to reduce gender-based violence by increasing visibility and mutual vigilance. 

designed as Building A within a four-block ensemble led by multiple architectural teams

what public housing can be when design leads

Commissioned by the Institut Municipal de l’Habitatge i Rehabilitació de Barcelona (IMHAB), the development represents a forward-thinking approach to public housing in a city facing growing affordability challenges. In a moment when housing is increasingly commodified and standardized, Illa Glòries signals what can be achieved when public institutions back thoughtful, community-oriented design. The collaboration between teams, including Cierto Estudio, Bayona-Valero, Cantallops-Vivente, Haz Arquitectura, and others, creates an urban block that is diverse and coherent at the same time. Alongside homes, ground-floor commercial spaces and pedestrian connections make the neighborhood more vibrant, knitting the new development into the dynamic rhythm of Barcelona. 

comprising 51 units surrounding generous common areas

the design supports adaptable living, social equity, and sustainable practices

south-facing communal walkways double as balconies and connect homes to a rooftop garden | image © Marta Vidal

the central junction in the floor plan serves as a main organizing element | image © Marta Vidal

a contemporary reinterpretation of the corrala typology | image © Marta Vidal

the name of the project, The Room Community, hints at its spatial philosophy

a modular system of square rooms, rotated and interconnected | image © Marta Vidal

no room dominates, and no single function is fixed | image © Marta Vidal

kitchens are no longer tucked away or gendered spaces | image © Marta Vidal

the layouts are fluid, with rooms of equal size | image © Marta Vidal

occupants define how they live

project info:

name: The Room Community – Illa Glòries

architects: Cierto Estudio | @ciertoestudio 
location: Plaça de las Glòries, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona, Spain

site area: 5,000 square meters
total built area: 35,000 square meters

design team: Marta Benedicto, Ivet Gasol, Carlota de Gispert, Anna Llonch, Lucia Millet, Clara Vidal with Mariana Gomes

collaborator: Franc Llonch
client: Institut Municipal de l’Habitatge i Rehabilitació de Barcelona (IMHAB)
construction company: SACYR
wood structure assembly: Velima
CLT supplier: Xilonor
landscape architects: Beatriz Borque + Miquel Mariné
structural engineering: Bernuz-Fernández Arquitectes S.L.P.
MEP engineering: Eletresjota Tecnics Associats S.L.P
environmental consultancy: Societat Orgànica +10 SCCL
acoustic consultancy: Àurea Acústica S.L.
construction management: Ángel Gil
photographers: José Hevia, Marta Vidal | @_martavidal

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Set within a volcanic expanse in southern Iceland, a recent project by Sp(r)int Studio brings a nuanced response to the Stöng ruins, one of the country’s most significant archaeological sites. Excavated in 1939 and protected since 1957 by a modest shelter, the Viking-era longhouse in scenic Þjórsárdalur stands as a rare and remarkably complete remnant of early Icelandic domestic architecture. The restoration builds upon this legacy, extending the site’s function and form and remaining attentive to the surrounding terrain.

The new intervention introduces a spatial framework that protects the ruins without enclosing them. The studio preserves the original 1957 structure, cladding it in untreated larch that will weather naturally with the climate. A translucent roof of polycarbonate floats above the exposed ruins, diffusing light across the excavated stonework and dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior. The result is a structure that shelters without overpowering, prioritizing legibility and atmosphere over monumentality.

images © Claudio Parada Nunes

adapting to iceland’s volcanic Topography

The site geography of the Stöng ruins informs Sp(r)int Studio’s intervention. Rather than imposing a singular gesture, the architects design the structure to unfold across the valley floor, adapting to changes in elevation and framing natural contours. Carefully laid paths, a footbridge, and a new entry platform stitch together the disparate elements of the site, subtly choreographing the visitor’s experience while limiting physical intrusion on the landscape.

From the raised entrance, visitors are led onto a viewing platform that hovers above the longhouse remains. This shift in elevation positions the ruins in their full spatial context, granting clarity without encouraging contact. The intervention privileges alignment between visitor and view, and between architecture and terrain.

the Stöng ruins sit within a volcanic valley of southern Iceland

Light, Material, and Permeability

With its Stöng ruins shelter, Sp(r)int Studio’s design language remains sparse and deliberate. Larch cladding and polycarbonate are joined by concrete footings and steel connectors, each expressed with care and intention. The structure allows air to pass through and light to shift across the surfaces, sustaining the atmospheric conditions that have shaped the ruin for centuries. Glazed apertures and roof openings are positioned to capture views of specific artifacts and architectural traces, offering points of orientation and pause.

By emphasizing porosity and restraint, Sp(r)int Studio brings a sense of continuity between the original dwelling, the previous shelter, and the new construction. Nothing is obscured. Instead, the layers of intervention remain legible, forming a cumulative archive of preservation efforts across time.

a translucent polycarbonate roof hovers above the Viking-era longhouse remains

The renovation treats the 1957 shelter as an artifact worth conserving in its own right. Rather than replacing this earlier structure, Sp(r)int Studio extends its relevance by adapting it. In this way, the project foregrounds preservation as a living process which is neither finished nor frozen. Each design move seeks to extend the life of the site, resisting erasure in favor of architectural continuity.

This approach to heritage architecture emphasizes adaptability and engagement over interpretation. The architecture leaves room for temporal shifts and environmental variation, rather than imposing a fixed narrative. This way, the project becomes an open framework through which the past can be accessed without being finalized.

Sp(r)int Studio preserves the original 1957 shelter and re-clads it in untreated larch

elevated walkways and platforms guide visitors while protecting the excavation

interior spaces remain permeable to light and air, preserving atmospheric continuity

framed apertures direct views toward key archaeological details in the ruins

the shelter’s design by Sp(r)int Studio emphasizes restraint and continuity

project info:

name: Stöng Ruins

architect: Sp(r)int Studio

location: Iceland

area: 385 square meters

completion: 2024

photography: © Claudio Parada Nunes | @studiocapn

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Bershka unveils a new flagship store in the heart of Ibiza, redefining the traditional retail concept with a sculptural, sensorial space conceived as a living environment. Developed in collaboration with architecture and interior design studio El Departamento, the store departs from conventional retail typologies, positioning itself as a hybrid environment influenced by the island’s social and cultural context and resonating with Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Located at Avinguda Bartomeu de Roselló, 28–30, the project is organized into two distinct volumes with independent entrances; BERSHKA Woman covering 354 sqm, and BERSHKA Man occupying 126 sqm. Each space is designed with its own narrative, carefully curated to enhance user experience and create a sense of discovery.

all images courtesy of Bershka

El Departamento opts for neutral and tactile Materials

In the women’s store, circulation is structured around a large-scale mint-green metal installation referred to as El Lingote (‘The Ingot’). This linear intervention slices through the interior, functioning simultaneously as a catwalk, display system, and immersive experience. As customers move through the space, El Lingote reveals curated vignettes, culminating in a fitting room area bathed in translucent pink light, playful, enveloping, and unmistakably designed for social sharing. The men’s store, while more compact in surface area, utilizes verticality in the form of a double-height volume to generate spatial impact. A central column serves as the organizing element, around which custom-designed furniture is arranged to define pathways and spatial zones. Material variation and directional green lighting characterize the fitting rooms, reinforcing a distinct identity within the overall store experience.

For both interiors, the design team employs a restrained material palette focused on neutrality and tactility. Finishes include limestone, sprayed concrete, white acrylic, and terrazzo marble flooring. Lighting systems are calibrated to balance immersive effects with functional clarity, combining directional and diffused sources.

Bershka’s new Ibiza flagship redefines the retail experience as a living environment

El Departamento designs configurable store space for Bershka

Externally, the facade establishes continuity between the two volumes through a shared limestone treatment differentiated by tone, lighter on the women’s store and cooler grey on the men’s. A unified canopy bridges the two entrances, creating a visual and architectural link between the spaces.

The new Bershka Ibiza Flagship Store by El Departamento presents a redefinition of the retail environment as a configurable and multi-layered platform. Rather than emphasizing transactional function alone, the design incorporates elements that encourage exploration, engagement, and extended use. The result is a cohesive system of architectural and interior gestures that aligns with the brand’s evolving retail strategy.

designed by El Departamento, the space blurs boundaries between store and cultural venue

BERSHKA Woman covers 354 sqm, anchored by a central sculptural installation

El Lingote, a mint-green metal structure, slices through the women’s store

part catwalk, part display, El Lingote doubles as an immersive spatial framework

curated vignettes unfold along El Lingote, enhancing user navigation and discovery

a translucent pink-lit fitting room concludes the women’s store journey

each area within the flagship is conceived as part of a layered architectural system

BERSHKA Man occupies 126 sqm, using verticality to maximize spatial impact

the men’s store features a double-height volume centered around a structural column

custom-designed furniture in the men’s store defines spatial circulation

material choices, like limestone, terrazzo, concrete, and acrylic, focus on neutrality and tactility

green lighting and textural materials give the men’s fitting rooms a distinct identity

project info:

name: Bershka Ibiza Flagship Store

architect: El Departamento | @eldepartamento.estudio

lead architects: Alberto Eltini & Marina Martín

client: Bershka | @bershka

area Bershka Woman: 354 sqm
area Bershka Man: 126 sqm

location: Avinguda Bartomeu de Roselló, 28–30, Ibiza, Spain

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Set amidst a small valley of vineyards in Veneto, Italy, Texturised House by Bongiana Architetture is a carefully measured extension of a modest rural building. A contemporary retreat designed to host family celebrations and intimate gatherings, where architecture shapes atmosphere through light and raw materiality. The project is grounded in the principle of raw purity: rough surfaces, exposed materials, and details reduced to their essence. Each wall and floor is the result of a specific interpretation, turning every surface into a visual and tactile narrative.

The structure reveals its own body with pride, in a play of textures that multiplies spatial perception. At the heart of the project lies the double-height barn, conceived as a large luminous cavity. The intent is to bring in as much natural light as possible, which filters through carefully placed openings and reflects on the textured surfaces, animating the space with shifting shadows. Within this volume rises the light structure of a suspended bookshelf, creating a new intermediate, airy, and intimate space that dialogues with the openness below.

all images by Riccardo De Vecchi

decorative material motifs set Texturised House’s visual rhythm

The theme of fire weaves through the house, connecting memory and the contemporary. In the old part, the original fireplace remains, while in the barn, a cast-iron stove becomes the new focal point. Around it, the walls are clad with Split terracotta tiles, designed by Bongiana Architetture for Terraformae, where the interpretation of the joint becomes the sole decorative motif, a minimal gesture that creates a vibrant backdrop of rhythm and materiality. The new concrete floor further tells this story of reinterpreted tradition through a surface that recalls the Venetian terrazzo, but instead of marble fragments, it incorporates reclaimed terracotta slats, cut from the hollow bricks used to clad the portico’s pillars. A gesture that ties the ground to the structure, weaving memory and material in a contemporary key.

The furnishings add another layer of memory. Carefully selected reclaimed pieces, such as a 1950s kitchen, are salvaged from an old house and transformed to begin a new life here. Old and new intertwine naturally, giving shape to a coherent and lived-in narrative. In Texturised House, Bongiana Architetture Studio reaffirms its poetics, an architecture of subtraction that gives strength to emptiness and depth to matter, crafting a place that is both a collective stage and a private retreat, a space where every surface speaks, and every detail tells a story.

Texturised House blends old structures with new volumes

architecture defined by raw textures and minimal detailing

textured surfaces become visual and tactile narratives throughout the house

the structure emphasizes rough exposed materiality

a double-height barn forms the luminous core of the project

carefully placed openings bring natural light into the central space

reclaimed furnishings, including a 1950s kitchen, add historical depth

old and new elements merge into a cohesive spatial narrative

split terracotta tiles create rhythm and texture

shadows and textures animate the interiors with changing light

an original fireplace remains in the old section of the house

the concrete floor recalls Venetian terrazzo with reclaimed terracotta slats

designed as a contemporary retreat shaped by light and material presence

project info:

name: Texturised House – Casa Baone

architects: Bongiana Architetture | @bongianaarchitetture
lead designer: Pietro Bongiana, Silvia Codato
location: Veneto, Italy

photographer: Riccardo De Vecchi | @riccardodevecchi.photo

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On the outskirts of Gradačac, a town in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, The House for Five Women, a vibrant residence by architecture studio TEN, rises from the countryside to defy conventional housing models through an architecture of care, resilience, and collective authorship.

Designed in collaboration with local activist Hazima Smajlović, NGO Naš Izvor, Engineers Without Borders, and the Gradačac municipality, the project provides a permanent home for five single women who have survived war, displacement, and systemic neglect. Positioned between privacy and solidarity, the house proposes a new paradigm for cohabitation with five individual living units clustered around communal spaces for gathering, working, and growing food.

Artist Shirana Shahbazi shaped the striking facade of the building, composing a vibrant arrangement of large, colored aluminum panels in shades of pink, red, green, and deep blue. Though seemingly spontaneous, the composition is carefully calibrated, with each panel being custom-made in a local car painter’s workshop. Their rippled, high-gloss surfaces catch and distort reflections, transforming the shell into a shifting, almost liquid canvas that responds to light, weather, and movement.

all images by Maxime Delvaux, Adrien de Hemptinne

Shirana Shahbazi composes colorful aluminum facade

Rather than imposing an external vision, the project, developed by Zurich-based collective TEN, emerged through years of on-site dialogue and intergenerational exchange. Each design decision, down to the textures of the floors and the species of trees planted, was made in close collaboration with local tradespeople, volunteers, and craftspeople, embedding the house deeply into both its physical and social context. Working in parallel with TEN, landscape architect Daniel Ganz orchestrated the integration of the site with the topography, planting trees sourced from the area and designing a garden meant not only for food production but also as a space of care, ritual, and shared activity.

One of the most striking elements of The House for Five Women is its facade, a lively surface orchestrated by Iranian photographer Shirana Shahbazi using vibrant color compositions and material contrasts. Shahbazi’s interventions turn the building into a living tapestry, changing with the light, the seasons, and the daily rhythms of its inhabitants. This visual dynamism signals the presence of life, creativity, and shared purpose in a landscape marked by both beauty and historical trauma.

The House for Five Women, a vibrant residence by architecture studio TEN

collaborating with local workers for solidarity design

Beneath this expressive crown, the ground level contrasts with radical clarity. A continuous band of vertically aligned glass doors and fixed windows runs the length of the elevation, framed by raw concrete volumes at either end. This transparency anchors the building to the ground and opens the communal interior to the outside world.

The process of building the house, as much as the final structure, reflects TEN’s ethos. The team approaches design as a relational practice. Collaborations with local metalworkers, car painters, and carpet repairers brought knowledge and resources together across social and cultural divides. In doing so, the project acts as a micro-institute where design, art, and social work converge to imagine new infrastructures of care. TEN sees this as a prototype for what design can become when it abandons spectacle in favor of solidarity.

The House for Five Women builds a foundation for dignity, autonomy, and interconnected living. In a region where the aftermath of war still shapes daily life, the project reclaims the built environment as a site of healing. 

a vibrant arrangement of large, colored aluminum panels fronts the building

the composition is carefully calibrated, with each panel being custom-made in a local car painter’s workshop

each design decision was made in close collaboration with local tradespeople, volunteers, and craftspeople

the project emerged through years of on-site dialogue and intergenerational exchange

the project provides a permanent home for five single women who have survived war and displacement

concrete, wood and tiles clad the interior

The House for Five Women builds a foundation for dignity, autonomy, and interconnected living

reclaiming the built environment as a site of healing

the project acts as a micro-institute where design, art, and social work converge

project info:

name: The House for Five Women

architect: TEN | @ten_studio

location: Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina

collaborators: Hazima Smajlović, NGO Naš Izvor, Engineers Without Borders, Municipality of Gradačac, Bessire Winter (initial phase)

structure: Dr. Miodrag Grbić

landscape architect: Daniel Ganz

facade artist: Shirana Shahbazi | @shiranashahbazi

supporter: foundation Naš Izvor

photographer: Maxime Delvaux | @maxdelv, Adrien de Hemptinne | @adriendehemptinne

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Helder da Rocha Arquitectos presents its newly completed Casa em Pedrantil, sited within the undulating terrain of northern Portugal. The home waits behind a hill on Rua de São João, its silhouette withheld from view at first. When the team first arrived on site, the only clear vantage point was from a small rise near the road. It was from there, just two or three meters of elevation, that the western landscape unfolds. That moment became the foundation for everything that followed.

The initial design was a grand gesture, cutting through the hill to open the site from the street. This plan was eventually tempered by the cost of excavation, retaining walls, and structural reinforcement proved too high. But the instinct remained. And the revised approach held onto that original sense of revelation, finding another way to guide the eye toward the distant view.

images © Ivo Tavares Studio

Casa em Pedrantil: a cluster of scattered volumes

Rather than alter the slope, the Portugal-based design team at Helder da Rocha Arquitectos allow it to shape its Casa em Pedrantil. A series of independent volumes were introduced across the site, placed in response to the land’s existing contours. The structures, finished in a pale cappotto insulation render and anchored with bands of exposed concrete, settle onto the terrain with restraint.

Their arrangement is loose, without formal symmetry, but carefully considered. Each volume steps and shifts in height, bringing variation inside and out. The layout is not intuitive at first, but gradually makes sense as one moves through it, just as the landscape is gradually revealed.

the house is hidden from view at street level behind a natural rise in the terrain

the subdued material palette

The journey through Casa em Pedrantil is designed with a particular cadence. First the hill, then the pathway, and then the slow appearance of built forms. The house holds back from offering too much at once. Even the garden plays a role in shaping this experience, with initial plantings that restrict the panorama. The architecture works like a lens slowly brought into focus.

Eventually, the sequence opens up to a single large window in the living room, oriented west. This is the only aperture with generous dimensions, and it is placed with care. There is no competition, no redundancy. In the soft light of late afternoon, the view appears just as it did from the top of the hill during that first visit.

The material palette is subdued. The smooth, rendered facades do not catch much attention, but the raw concrete at the bases and around the openings offers weight and texture. These elements also anchor the forms visually to the site. The materials are consistent throughout, avoiding embellishment and allowing shadow and proportion to carry the composition.

the western landscape is revealed gradually as visitors move through the site

volumes are placed gently across the slope to avoid heavy earthworks

the exterior is finished in cappotto with exposed concrete accents

the landscaping is designed to delay and control the unfolding panorama

each volume varies in height to create a dynamic spatial experience

a single large window in the living room frames the western view

project info:

name: Casa em Pedrantil

architect: Helder da Rocha Arquitectos | @helderdarocha.arquitectos

location: Penafiel, Portugal

builder: Avelar e Pias
engineering: Massa Cinza Engenheiros
landscape: SL Paisagistas

completion: 2025

photographer: © Ivo Tavares Studio | @ivotavaresstudio

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Five years after their first spatial intervention, Clap Studio returns to Valencia, Spain, for the redesign of OVEN Club, which transforms the beloved nightlife venue into an immersive furnace of sound and sensation. Tapping into the visceral imagery of the club’s name, the new interior concept channels the intense, kinetic environment of an actual oven, where heat, transformation, and vibration converge. 

Clap Studio juxtaposes cold, reflective stainless steel with richly hued Alpi wood finishes in red and black, creating a visual temperature gradient that mirrors the emotional arcs of a night out. The result is an atmosphere that feels simultaneously industrial and psychedelic, minimal yet sensorial. Light bounces, textures shimmer, and surfaces breathe with energy. A horizontal screen behind the DJ booth adds another layer of immersion, pulsing in sync with sound and light to draw the crowd deeper into the experience.

all images by Simone Marcolin

enhancing the spatial and sonic experience with led grids

Located in the heart of Valencia, OVEN Club has long been a staple in Spain’s electronic music circuit, known for its eclectic programming that ranges from house to techno and everything in between. With the latest transformation, Clap Studio cements the reputation of the venue as a cultural landmark, using design to intensify the spatial and sonic experience. The DJ booth remains the nucleus of the layout, flanked symmetrically by two bars that feature embedded LED grids—custom-programmed to shift with the night’s tempo. These light structures mimic the heating elements of an oven, reinforcing the sense of a space in constant flux.

Clap Studio returns to Valencia, Spain to redesign OVEN Club

transforming the nightlife venue into an immersive furnace of sound and sensation

the new interior concept channels the intense, kinetic environment of an actual oven

heat, transformation, and vibration converge

Clap Studio cements the reputation of the venue as a cultural landmark

a horizontal screen behind the DJ booth adds another layer of immersion

light structures mimic the heating elements of an oven

richly hued Alpi wood finishes in red and black

project info:

name: OVEN club
architect: Clap Studio | @weareclapstudio
location: Valencia, Spain

photographer: Simone Marcolin | @simoneemarcolin

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

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There is a clarity to the City of Jihlava’s decision to place the new Multipurpose Arena in the center — a vision CHYBIK + KRISTOF embraced and developed. It defies the pull toward peripheral land, choosing instead to deepen the relationship between civic life and sports infrastructure. As construction advances, the team’s vision for a permanent, public presence in the urban core becomes increasingly legible. The placement of the arena ensures it becomes part of the rhythm of daily life. It is walkable, visible, and open to passersby.

Jihlava, a regional capital with a population of around 50,000, is betting on architecture as a driver of both cultural exchange and economic growth. The new arena is designed to serve more than HC Dukla’s storied ice hockey legacy. With a capacity of 5,650, the venue is equally prepared to host concerts, exhibitions, and festivals. Its shape and program are defined by this range of activity, embedded with the expectation of constant adaptation.

CHYBIK KRISTOF designs the complex as an integrated civic space | visualization © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

CHYBIK + KRISTOF brings new construction to jihlava

Four buildings make up the Jihlava Multipurpose Arena, as two are preserved, while two are newly completed by CHYBIK + KRISTOF. The arena is joined by a mixed-use volume that folds together accommodation, a gym, a pub, and rooftop running track. The architects anchor this companion building in the corner of the site, extending the program well beyond the confines of sport and turning the ensemble into a civic cluster.

Open spaces draw a line between built forms. A stepped plaza, cut diagonally through the plan, becomes a generous threshold between the arena and the nearby university. It operates as a social surface, hosting informal gatherings and supporting programmed events. This attention to urban texture, how people move, linger, and return, is evident throughout the project.

the arena remains in the city center to strengthen its urban role | visualization © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

the colorful, multipurpose arena

There is no mistaking the Jihlava Multipurpose Arena from a distance, as CHYBIK + KRISTOF curate its color and form with intent. Pigmented red concrete tribunes circle the stadium’s core, giving it a graphic edge that helps orient visitors from almost any angle. These pre-cast curves echo the movements of the sport inside, while also nodding to architectural languages found across the Vysočina region.

Above, the roofline extends with a sculptural sharpness, creating a silhouette that crowns the project. It is less a cap than a signal. The geometry reads as deliberate and crisp, elevating the arena to landmark status without overpowering the city’s scale.

the arena supports hockey games, concerts, exhibitions, and festivals | visualization © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

The process behind the design has been just as layered as the program it contains. CHYBIK + KRISTOF have made collaboration a central part of the work. Seating has been developed alongside mmcité, while Czech lighting studio BOMMA has created integrated installations that sit flush within the brickwork of circulation spaces. These interventions do more than illuminate. They echo the industrial heritage of the region and create tactile points of engagement for visitors.

Landscape architect Zdeněk Sendler, a long-time collaborator of the studio, has been tasked with the adjoining park’s renewal. The green space is being carefully restored, reconnecting it with the new public zones and enhancing the site’s permeability.

a new mixed use building includes a pub, gym, rooftop, and track | photo © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

Public investment, led by the City of Jihlava with support from Vysočina and the state, underscores the regional ambition behind the arena. For city councillor David Beke, the building is both a response to the area’s proud hockey tradition and a foundational piece of infrastructure for what lies ahead. ‘It becomes a modern regional colosseum,’ he said, ‘elevating the importance and development of both the city and the region.’

From the designers’ perspective, scale demands responsibility. ‘Architecture is a tool for the creative reuse of our cities,’ says Ondřej Chybik. ‘We are creating a space that fosters engagement and long-term resilience.’ The arena is intended to move fluidly between uses, inviting both everyday interaction and extraordinary experience.

the design emphasizes pedestrian access with plazas and urban connections | photo © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

Design Director Jiří Richter sees the transparency of the building — both literal and conceptual — as a mechanism for integration. A long strip of glass at pedestrian level opens the interior to its surroundings, allowing glimpses into practices and events. ‘The façade connects the arena with the park and the university,’ he notes. ‘The city has decided to restore the park itself, and we are happy this area will be returned to the people.’

the venue has a capacity of 5,650 | photo © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

collaborations with local designers bring custom lighting, seating, and landscape | photo © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

a transparent facade invites the public to observe events | photo © CHYBIK + KRISTOF

project info:

name: Jihlava Multipurpose Arena (construction update)

architect: CHYBIK + KRISTOF | @chybikkristof

location: Jihlava, Czech Rebublic

landscape: Zdeněk Sendler

seating: mmcité

lighting design: BOMMA

The post CH+K reveals construction updates of its multipurpose arena in jihlava, czech republic appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

A quiet spatial pressure defines the first encounter of Panov — Scott’s Window Window Window House. It begins subtly with a lowered ceiling, a downward step, a line of shadow cast across the floor. The proportions are just enough to evoke a slight shift in perception, a nudge inward. The sensation is architectural rather than stylistic. Here, the Australian architects have composed a sequence of rooms that seem to slow time.

The newly added portion of the house is discreet in scale, embedded beneath the original structure and tracing its footprint. From the outside, its presence registers through fine adjustments to light and entry. From the inside, the atmosphere is shaped by how the window operates as an instrument—projecting outward, reframing the coastal canopy, tuning the interior to the shifting patterns of place.

images © Hamish McIntosh

Minimal Addition, Maximum Presence

In one room of Panov — Scott’s house in New South Wales, a window pulls forward into space and offers a ledge at the edge of the garden. The detail is pared back, yet it holds complexity in how it engages the body. This is a place to pause, to settle in briefly or linger with another, close enough to read the texture of leaves or listen for visitors along the ridge. The view expands gently, unspooling the distance between the beach, the trees, and the house.

The architects design the spaces to work in deliberate contrast. Contraction precedes openness. One room yields to another, modulated by thresholds and ceiling angles. Their approach draws from the architectural staging of places like the Laurentian Library, where compression and release are orchestrated to shape experience.

the new rooms are tucked beneath the original house with minimal impact on the site

panov — Scott Holds the Intangible

Designing the Window Window Window House, the brief for Panov — Scott was straightforward, calling for three new rooms and a relocated stair. However, the result does not rest in program. It resides instead in how subtly the additions register within the landscape, how lightly the structure touches the ground. The house remains close to the beach, but never declares itself. What has been added remains nearly invisible from a distance, nestled into the slope beneath the original timber frame.

This small act of expansion becomes a study in discretion. It is an architecture of minimal gesture, careful proportion, and quiet alignment with country. The project privileges the atmospheric over the formal. It draws its strength from how the body feels within it, how the light moves across a surface, how the wind is caught at the edge of a frame.

The new stair is practical, but even here, the space is tuned for pause. As visitors ascend, light draws the eye toward the upper landing, where materials soften the transition. White walls sit above timber, without ornament, allowing the window to do the expressive work. Throughout the house, the framing of views and the calibration of dimensions carry a calm but resonant charge.

each space is shaped by proportion and bodily awareness rather than surface expression

a projecting window creates a place to sit and observe the surrounding canopy

thresholds and ceiling angles guide movement and frame experience

Panov — Scott use architectural compression to heighten spatial perception

light and shadow are composed carefully throughout the interior

material simplicity lets the landscape take visual precedence

project info:

name: Window Window Window House

architect: Panov — Scott | @panovscott

location: Pearl Beach, New South Wales, Australia

completion: 2023

photography: © Hamish McIntosh | @hamishmcintosh

The post window window window: panov — scott frames views with australian beach house appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.