Introduction to Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence

Construction has begun on the MVRDV-designed campus of the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) in Heilbronn, Germany. The Dutch practice designed the masterplan for the IPAI Konsortium, the 30-hectare development will accommodate over 5,000 researchers and students dedicated to advancing responsible AI technologies.

Masterplan and Design

At the heart of MVRDV’s masterplan is a large circular form, defined by two offset axes that organize the site into distinct yet connected zones. The geometry establishes a sense of cohesion across the campus while maintaining openness to the surrounding landscape. Within this framework, MVRDV envisions a network of laboratories, housing, and a cultural building that bridges the scientific community with the public.

MVRDV designs the masterplan with a distinctive circular shape | visualizations © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

First Construction Phase

The first construction phase defines the campus core. Buildings extend from the western edge toward a central plaza anchored by the communications centre and restaurant. Around this public space, the architects have arranged key functions: a mobility hub, start-up and innovation centre, living lab, and a ten-story office building. Together they form a legible foundation for future expansion.

MVRDV’s Human-Centric Space for ‘Responsible AI’ Research

‘Working in AI is very technical; people spend a lot of time tied to their screens,’ MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs says, describing the spirit of the Innovation Park campus. ‘We designed the IPAI CAMPUS as a counterweight to this, with a focus on wellbeing.’ This intent is evident in the site’s pedestrian character and extensive green landscape. Wind studies informed the arrangement of open spaces to create comfortable microclimates, encouraging outdoor work and recreation. Sports facilities, shaded paths, and tactile materials bring a rhythm of movement and rest uncommon in technology campuses.

the mobility hub serves as a central hub for logistics and infrastructure | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

A Family of Buildings with Distinct Identities

Each structure within the Innovation Park reveals a specific spatial logic tied to its program. The cylindrical communication centre, clad in a reflective facade, will serve as the public heart of the campus with exhibition and seminar spaces. Across the plaza, a cream-colored restaurant is carved by orange recesses that form sheltered terraces for social gatherings. The mobility hub introduces visitors through a light-filled atrium, while the living lab opens outward with panoramic glazing that allows passersby a glimpse of ongoing experiments.

the communication centre will serve as the public heart of the campus | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

Sustainability and Carbon Footprint

Since winning the IPAI CAMPUS competition in 2023, MVRDV has refined the masterplan through close collaboration with the IPAI Konsortium. Sustainable principals have been embedded in each design decision through the use of MVRDV’s CarbonSpace tool, which quantifies the embodied carbon of materials and guides the selection of low-impact alternatives. As a result, several of the campus buildings employ hybrid timber construction, including the start-up and innovation centre, the living lab, and the office building. Each aims for a reduced carbon footprint without sacrificing spatial ambition. The communications centre, start-up and innovation centre, and office building are all pursuing DGNB certification from the German Sustainable Building Council.

the mobility hub introduces visitors through a light-filled atrium | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV

a restaurant is carved by orange recesses that form sheltered terraces | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

Conclusion

The Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) in Heilbronn, Germany, is a significant development that will accommodate over 5,000 researchers and students dedicated to advancing responsible AI technologies. With its human-centric design, focus on wellbeing, and commitment to sustainability, the IPAI campus is set to become a leading hub for AI research and innovation. The use of hybrid timber construction, reduced carbon footprint, and pursuit of DGNB certification demonstrate the project’s dedication

JPMorganChase Opens Global HQ in New York

Today marks the completion of 270 Park Avenue, JPMorganChase’s global headquarters designed by Foster + Partners in New York. Rising sixty stories above Midtown, it stands 1,388 feet (423.1 meters) tall as the city’s largest all-electric tower, powered entirely by renewable energy, and is designed to achieve net-zero operational emissions.

From street level, the building’s presence is defined by its lifted base — an 80-foot-high volume supported by fan-shaped columns and triangular bracing that create a sense of lightness across the entire block. This structural strategy allows uninterrupted sightlines from Park Avenue to Madison Avenue while opening the ground plane to wider sidewalks and a public plaza planted with native greenery.

Foster’s team addressed the site’s dense network of train lines and substructure by developing an advanced load-transfer system that anchors the tower while maintaining openness at street level.

the building is NYC’s largest all-electric tower powered by renewable energy | images © Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners’ Monumental Skyscraper

The main entrance of JPMorganChase’s headquarters in New York leads to a double-height lobby which the team at Foster + Partners designs with bronze surfaces, warm light, and a monumental stair that connects to a mezzanine. Above, eight expansive trading floors form the operational core of JPMorganChase’s financial activities. At the tower’s center, the triple-height Exchange serves as a communal hub, linking sixteen distinct venues for meetings and events within a single open volume.

Materials and finishes emphasize daylight. Triple-pane glazing ensures energy efficiency and acoustic control, while a circadian lighting system aligns with natural human rhythms. Terraces at various levels extend views across the skyline, offering outdoor space for employees and visitors. The architecture supports adaptability over time, with large, open floorplates and a split elevator core that maintains permeability between spaces.

JPMorganChase opens its new global headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in New York

Powered by Renewable Systems

The design team at Foster + Partners notes that sustainability and health underpin every aspect of the design of its New York tower for JPMorganChase. The tower delivers an outdoor air ventilation rate twice the building code requirement, responding to research from Harvard on cognitive function and indoor air quality. Hydro-powered energy systems, low-emission materials, and recycled demolition waste contribute to LEED Platinum and WELL Health-Safety goals.

For Norman Foster, the project represents ‘a workplace of the future designed for today.’ His design brings two and a half times more public space at ground level than the previous structure, hoping to emphasize a connection to the city and openness to the sidewalk.

Foster + Partners designs the 60 story tower as a new addition to Park Avenue

Gensler Designs Office and Amenity Interiors

While Foster + Partners led the overall architecture, Gensler designed more than 1.7 million square feet of interiors across twenty workplace floors and multiple amenity levels, including the Client Centers and gyms. The firm’s interior strategy builds on the tower’s framework to create a human-centered environment that balances flexibility, connection, and focus.

‘JPMorganChase Tower signals the future of workplace design, and it all starts with the individual and creating a sense of belonging,’ says Stefanie Shunk, Design Director at Gensler, who led the design of the office spaces. ‘Workstations are designed to maximize each employee’s day-to-day experience while collectively supporting teams to do their best work.

‘Protected backdrops make virtual meetings feel intentional, team-based clusters bring people together so that mentorship is a natural part of the workday, and double-height cafés link together adjacent floors to create two-story communities where employees can gather and engage — all of this adds up to a new office tower filled with the best practices and latest thinking in how people and organizations work today and into the future.’

the structure lifts 80 feet above the ground, supported by fan-shaped columns

October 21, 2025

Immersive Architecture Amid California’s Hillside Canopy

Set on a steep hillside surrounded by mature redwoods and oaks, Pavilion in the Oaks by Mork-Ulnes Architects introduces a restrained counterpoint to the overgrown landscape. Designed as an extension to a 1970s suburban home, the project serves as both a wellness retreat and a space for social gathering, connected to the existing residence by a narrow bridge. The pavilion is raised above the sloping terrain, its floor level aligned with the home’s walk-out basement, allowing it to hover lightly among the trunks.

The clients envisioned a flexible environment for yoga, exercise, and family gatherings — a place where domestic life could shift fluidly between introspection and conviviality. Mork-Ulnes responded with a composition that prioritizes continuity between interior and exterior. The result is an architecture that feels inseparable from the surrounding grove, shaped by the vertical rhythm of the trees and the filtered light that moves through their branches.

images ©

Pavilion in the Oaks: An Extension to an Existing Home

The team at Mork-Ulnes Architects elevates its Pavilion in the Oaks atop an array of slender columns, preserving the sloping site’s natural contours and allowing air and light to circulate beneath. Redwood and oak trees puncture the exterior deck, defining zones of use as naturally as walls or furniture might. This interplay between architecture and vegetation gives the project a sense of suspension — part clearing, part enclosure — where the built and the organic share coexist.

Positioned opposite the main house, the new volume completes a three-sided courtyard that has become the home’s primary summer gathering space. The gentle grade of the slope, the continuity of decking between the buildings, and the density of the canopy together create an atmosphere of privacy and calm, even in moments of activity.

Mork-Ulnes Architects’ Pavilion in the Oaks is suspended among the trees on a steep California hillside

The Timber Structure by Mork-Ulnes Architects

Inside, Mork-Ulnes organizes the Pavilion in the Oaks around a compact cedar-clad core containing the bathroom and sauna. The remainder of the floor plan remains open and adaptable, accommodating movement and gatherings with equal ease. Operable sliding doors encircle the space and allow the perimeter to open entirely to the landscape.

The roof structure continues this sense of exposure and shelter. Exposed cedar framing supports nine skylights that scatter daylight across the interior, producing a soft dappled pattern reminiscent of the canopy above. Light moves across the timber ceiling in shifting tones through the day. This way, the project maintains a sensory link to the hillside environment even when the pavilion is closed.

the pavilion connects to an existing 1970s home by a bridge, extending the living space into the landscape

slender columns lift the structure above the ground to preserve the natural slope and canopy

the pavilion completes a three-sided courtyard that serves as the home’s main summer space

Conclusion

Mork-Ulnes Architects’ Pavilion in the Oaks is a masterful example of immersive architecture, seamlessly integrating into the California hillside canopy. The project’s thoughtful design and execution create a unique space that not only complements its surroundings but also provides a serene and adaptable environment for its inhabitants. As a wellness retreat and social gathering space, the pavilion embodies the perfect balance between introspection and conviviality, making it an exemplary model for modern architecture.

Rebuilding within the Fabric of Guangdong’s Qiaodong Old Town

Xuebei Home is hidden along a narrow lane in Qiaodong Old Town in Guangdong, where the buildings lean close enough for neighbors to exchange words through their windows. Designed by architect Huang Yimin of GongHe Construction Architectural Studio, the concrete project rebuilds an ancestral dwelling on a 44-square-meter (474-square-foot) plot. What emerged is a careful exercise in spatial negotiation, an act of renewal that acknowledges the intimacy of Guangdong’s urban villages.

When the Li siblings first approached Huang to rebuild their childhood home, the site had collapsed into ruin — walls split, beams rotted, vegetation reclaiming the structure. What remained were mainly memories. Rather than replicating the original house, the new design seeks to re-establish the family’s connection to place through design.

an ancestral home is rebuilt within the dense alleys of Qiaodong Old Town | images © Wang Ce

A Vertical Home Tucked into Xuebei Street

While Xuebei Home is enveloped by its taller neighbors of Guangdong’s Qiaodong Old Town, only a sliver of sky is revealed above. To open the space without disturbing the fragile balance between properties, Huang introduced a sequence of small voids, or punctures that allow light and air to pass through. The interior is organized vertically: a communal room and kitchen occupy the ground floor, two bedrooms sit above, and a reading loft rests beneath the curved roof.

The walls are cast in exposed concrete, their wood-grain texture transferred from recycled formwork. Each surface records the labor of construction — the subtle imprints of timber and the irregular seams of poured concrete — transforming the structure itself into a chronicle of rebuilding. The decision to leave the material unfinished was both practical and aesthetic, reducing maintenance in Huizhou’s humid climate and allowing the house to age naturally within its surroundings.

a 44-square-meter plot serves as the foundation for the renovation

Celebrating Imperfect, Handcrafted Space

Construction of Guangdong’s Xuebei Home began in mid-2021 under challenging conditions. With minimal access for machinery and materials, every phase demanded improvisation. The foundation revealed unstable soil; the structure had to adapt. Workers poured a raft slab by hand, navigating weather delays and tight clearances. Huang remained on site through much of the process, often mediating between neighbors as much as between drawings and reality.

This slow method of making, a resistance to standardized construction, brings a lived character to the building. The rough concrete surfaces, slightly irregular joints, and repaired edges form an honest texture that corresponds to the layered history of the lane.

the design by Gonghe Construction Architectural Studio preserves traces of the client’s memories

Climate and Natural Ventilation

Guangdong’s climate shaped the building’s rhythm. The architect oriented the plan for natural cross-ventilation, with north-south openings channeling air through each level. Narrow vents at the base and roof edges sustain airflow even when the house is closed. The wooden doors and windows, assembled with traditional mortise-and-tenon joints, breathe with slight permeability, softening the sealed atmosphere typical of modern aluminum systems.

Inside, breezes move gently between volumes, while light filters through small fan-shaped windows angled to prevent direct views between houses.

exposed concrete walls carry the imprint of recycled timber formwork

The Silhouette and Landscape

At the top, two intersecting concrete arcs define the house’s silhouette. The larger canopy extends outward, sheltering a small terrace where one can sit facing a church that stands beyond the lane. This detail is an echo of the client’s wish to play the violin toward the church.

Beneath the curving roof, a bed is built into the corner. The view outward is partial, framed by parapets and neighboring eaves. Rainwater collects along the curve, falling into a narrow garden below where ferns and moss take root in the damp concrete. The building becomes both vessel and landscape, sustaining small forms of life within its enclosure.

natural ventilation and angled openings bring calming breezes to the compact

A Raised Home Among the Mountains

W House II by IDIN Architects rises above the landscape of Nakhon Ratchasima, a region of Thailand framed by open fields and distant hills. Conceived as an evolution of the owner’s original home, W House I, the new residence extends both the living space and the experience of the site. It serves as the family’s main dwelling, while the first house remains as a guest retreat below.

The design brief began with a desire for togetherness, which translated into a single-story home where the family could remain visually connected throughout the day. Yet the owner also wished to preserve the elevated mountain views once enjoyed from the rooftop of W House I. The solution was to lift the entire concrete house seven meters above the ground to the height of that former rooftop, thus creating an elevated plane that combines open sightlines with a sense of refuge.

images courtesy IDIN Architects

Design and Layout

With the W House II’s raised configuration, the team at IDIN Architects creates a covered garden and grazing space for the family’s two cows, while the living quarters and swimming pool occupy the upper level. The balcony wraps continuously around the house, allowing for long views that shift subtly with light and time. From this perimeter, the horizon feels close enough to touch yet far enough to frame a quiet distance.

W House II rises seven meters above the ground in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

Structural Elements

The form of W House II is carried by two long concrete walls that anchor the building while freeing the plan from unnecessary supports. Between them, the floor plate adopts a Waffle Slab structure, which resolves the span while giving the underside of the house a patterned relief. The rhythm of the slab is both technical and expressive, echoing IDIN’s interest in structural clarity as an architectural language.

A double-skin facade extends this logic of precision. The inner layer is glass, and the outer consists of operable wooden screens that filter light and adjust to the family’s need for privacy. When closed, the house reads as a muted volume of concrete and timber; when opened, it becomes permeable to the landscape, its edges dissolving into air and foliage.

the raised structure preserves mountain views once enjoyed from the rooftop of W House I

Interior Design

Exposed concrete continues from exterior to interior surfaces, unifying the volume and anchoring it to the site. Against this neutral backdrop, maple wood introduces warmth and a finely grained tactility. The material palette remains disciplined — wood, concrete, and stone — but its interplay creates a calm domestic atmosphere that feels both grounded and open.

In the kitchen, slabs of Green India stone add depth and color, catching daylight in their polished surface. Throughout the house, the natural tones of the materials reflect the shifting palette of the surrounding terrain — subtle greens, dry earth, and the pale gray of distant mountains.

At the center, a large modular sofa defines the living area as the home’s gathering point. Designed to be reconfigured for reading, conversation, or rest, it captures the spirit of the owner’s wish for shared space. From this vantage, the family remains connected across the open plan, with sightlines extending toward the pool and the landscape beyond.

a continuous balcony wraps around the house for shifting views throughout the day

the ground level serves as a garden and grazing area for the owner’s two cows

Conclusion

W House II by IDIN Architects is a masterful example of how architecture can respond to the needs of its users while also engaging deeply with its surroundings. By lifting the house above the ground, the architects have created a unique relationship between the built form and the landscape, one that enhances the experience of both. The result is a home that is not only beautifully designed but also thoughtfully integrated into its context, providing a serene and connected living space for its inhabitants.

Introduction to Crosby Studios’ Design

Crosby Studios creates a surreal, monochromatic interior for Butter Baby, a dessert shop in Jakarta inspired by a whimsical alien narrative. The space immerses visitors in the glowing world of Butterlandia, the fictional planet from which Butter Baby, a plump, soft-cheeked alien, has crash-landed to share his intergalactic desserts with humans.

Inside, the pastry shop unfolds as a yellow landscape, through which the architects translate Butter Baby’s world into a spatial experience defined by organic geometry, glossy surfaces, and diffused light. Walls, lighting, and furnishings are coated in a saturated butter-yellow hue. The curved, cocoon-like walls and built-in seating evoke an alien habitat designed to transport visitors into another dimension of sweetness.

all images by Vasiliy Hurtin

Fluid Forms and Immersive Experience

The main dining area flows through a series of fluid chambers, softly lit by oversized circular ceiling fixtures that resemble suns or planetary discs. The Paris- and New York–based designers punctuate the space with rounded windows and niches, offering glimpses into the kitchen or display counters, while mushroom-like stools and amorphous tables continue the shop’s biomorphic language. The glossy finish reflects light in soft gradients, amplifying the feeling of weightlessness and warmth.

Within this surreal topography, design elements nod to the character-driven brand’s animated backstory. A bubble-shaped display dome at the center houses small objects like artifacts from Butterlandia, while built-in alcoves contain collectible figurines of the Butter Baby character.

The Story Behind Butter Baby

The alien protagonist, on a mission to find butter rich with feeling to save his fading home planet, now bakes on Earth to restore warmth and glow through his creations. The Jakarta flagship embodies that same spirit, combining storytelling and pop culture with Crosby Studios’ futuristic visual language.

Crosby Studios wraps the entire interior in a single butter-yellow hue

Design Elements and Features

the pastry counter appears like a sculptural landscape

fluid forms, reflective surfaces, and monochromatic tones come together

Conclusion

Crosby Studios’ design for the Butter Baby dessert shop in Jakarta is a masterful blend of storytelling, pop culture, and futuristic visual language. The immersive, monochromatic interior transports visitors to a surreal world of sweetness, where fluid forms, reflective surfaces, and a single butter-yellow hue come together to create an otherworldly habitat. The result is a unique and captivating experience that embodies the spirit of the character-driven brand and invites visitors to indulge in a world of intergalactic desserts.

Introduction to the PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE Store

In Tokyo’s Aoyama district, the new PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE store by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka + TYD transforms a compact site into a vibrant retail space. The interior unfolds as a dialogue between aluminum and glass, materials that both absorb and reflect light. Every surface, from the glimmering frames to the translucent displays, is precisely measured to resonate with Issey Miyake’s pursuit of functional beauty.

The Store’s Atmosphere and Design

The atmosphere is serene, defined by clean lines and even illumination. Light moves across metallic planes and diffuses through transparent partitions, softening the space without diminishing its structural rigor. As a result, each room feels both grounded and weightless, an environment where architecture and garment share the same disciplined sense of rhythm.

images © ISSEY MIYAKE INC.

The Pleats Wall

At the center of the store in Aoyama, Tokyo, the ‘Pleats Wall’ acts as a vivid representation of designer Issey Miyake’s innovative production process. Sheets of color echo the brand’s textile transformations — fabric folded, pressed, and shaped into sculptural form. Displayed along the ground floor, freshly pleated textiles from the factory introduce a visual pulse to the otherwise minimal space.
Rather than functioning as simple decoration, the wall offers insight into the making of the garments. Each fold and chromatic shift mirrors the precision of the design process, creating an architectural parallel to the pleating technique itself. Interior designer Tokujin Yoshioka’s use of repetition and alignment emphasizes the connection between craft, material intelligence, and the controlled expression of movement.

Tokujin Yoshioka designs a luminous new store for PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE in Aoyama

Tokujin Yoshioka’s Transparent Structure

Glass and aluminum define the structure of the Issey Miyake store, their pairing producing an environment that feels permeable yet deliberate. Glass display cases — constructed through a specialized bonding technique — are joined edge to edge, forming transparent enclosures that blur the line between furniture and architecture. Within these, pleated garments are rolled and arranged in chromatic gradients, which lends a playful contrast to the calm restraint of the surrounding surfaces.
Every fitting and fixture was designed specifically for this project. Aluminum hanger racks, precisely milled and aligned, suspend garments so they appear to hover in space. The hangers themselves maintain their orientation through an engineered system, ensuring the pleated pieces remain flat and evenly spaced, a reflection of the brand’s disciplined aesthetic.
The attention to continuity extends to the smallest details. A ‘Pleats Sofa,’ developed exclusively for this store, carries the same lightweight and structured visual DNA as the garments.

interiors unfold in aluminum and glass

light moves through the space, revealing the structure of each pleated garment

the Pleats Wall centers the ground floor with color and rhythmic precision

Conclusion

The PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE store in Tokyo’s Aoyama district is a masterful blend of light, material, and space, creating an immersive retail experience that reflects the brand’s commitment to functional beauty and innovative design. Through the use of aluminum and glass, the store’s interior unfolds as a dialogue between materials, with each surface precisely measured to resonate with Issey Miyake’s pursuit of beauty. The Pleats Wall, a vibrant representation of the brand’s textile transformations, acts

Introduction to the Bloomberg Student Center

The Bloomberg Student Center has opened on Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus in Baltimore, marking the university’s first building devoted entirely to student life. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with interiors by Rockwell Group, the 150,000-square-foot structure establishes a new hub of activity and connection at the heart of the university’s 150th anniversary year.

Set into the sloping site at 33rd and Charles Street, the building unfolds as a composition of mass timber volumes cascading down the hill. The series of 29 interlinked pavilions, framed in wood and topped with cantilevered flat roofs, creates a sequence of sheltered terraces and accessible entries on each level. Nearly 1,000 photovoltaic panels line the roofscape, supplying roughly half of the building’s energy and underscoring Johns Hopkins’ sustainability goals. The building is targeting LEED Platinum certification.

image © Laurian Ghinițoiu

Mass Timber Architecture for Johns Hopkins University

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)’s design introduces a language of lightness and openness along the edge of Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus. Exposed acoustic dowel-laminated timber ceilings and beams bring a quiet warmth to the interior, where natural daylight moves across wood surfaces and limestone floors. The glazed facade frames activity within — study groups, performances, meals — to create visibility between the university and the city.

Inside, a central stair anchors the plan. Lined with built-in seating and greenery, it connects the four levels while forming a vertical commons, described by the architects as the building’s living room. Around it, a network of adaptable rooms accommodates rehearsal studios, club spaces, recording booths, and lounges. The program remains flexible and unassigned, and invites daily use and spontaneous interaction.

image © Laurian Ghinițoiu

Warm Interiors by Rockwell Group

Rockwell Group’s interiors extend the architecture’s rhythm of timber structure and natural materiality. The designers approached the project as an ‘integrated lifestyle hub,’ choreographing social spaces that mirror the tempo of student life with places for study and gathering. White oak millwork, layered lighting, and limestone details tie together the different functions with visual coherence and tactile calm.

The food hall, one of the center’s social anchors, features local vendors selected through a collaborative process involving more than 2,000 students. Above its dining area, artist Jorge Pardo’s installation of 85 handblown glass orbs introduces a field of color and light, balancing the timber’s warmth with a sense of openness. Adjacent to the hall, Mo’s Place transitions from coffee shop to evening bar, this way linking interior activity to outdoor patios and the surrounding landscape by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.

image © Laurian Ghinițoiu

Integration with the Campus

The student center’s stepped massing bridges the topographic divide between the main academic precinct and residential areas across Charles Street. Entrances at multiple levels invite movement through the building and reinforce its role as a connective threshold. Terraces and planted courtyards extend the interior outward, forming informal zones for gathering beneath the timber rooflines.

Bjarke Ingels describes the project as a ‘village of timber pavilions climbing the natural hill on the university’s edge.’ The phrase captures both its physical structure and its social intent — a place designed to host the evolving rituals of university life. For Johns Hopkins, the center represents an architectural consolidation of student culture once dispersed across campus. With its calm material palette together with its open and sunlit interiors, the Bloomberg Student Center stands as a framework for that culture to grow.

image © Laurian Ghinițoiu

image © Nic Lehoux

Conclusion

The Bloomberg Student Center is a landmark project that showcases the perfect blend of innovative design, sustainability, and functionality. The center’s unique mass timber architecture, warm interiors, and seamless integration with the campus make it an ideal hub for student life.

Kalil House by Frank Lloyd Wright Gains National Heritage Status

The United States Secretary of the Interior has officially listed the Kalil House in Manchester, New Hampshire, US, in the National Register of Historic Places, a rare recognition for one of only seven Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The property, now owned by the Currier Museum of Art, stands as one of the best-preserved examples of the architect’s late-career vision for democratic, high-quality housing accessible to the American middle class.

Located on Heather Street in Manchester’s North End, just three doors down from Wright’s Zimmerman House, the Kalil House retains an extraordinary degree of authenticity. Since its completion in 1957, it has undergone no alterations or major restorations, preserving nearly all of its original Wright-designed furniture, lighting, fixtures, rugs, and textiles. Even the stainless-steel kitchen appliances remain largely intact, offering an almost time-capsule view into Wright’s holistic design philosophy.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kalil House in Manchester, New Hampshire, US | image via Currier Museum of Art

Introduction to Usonian Automatic Homes

The Kalil House represents a late chapter in Frank Lloyd Wright’s lifelong pursuit to redefine American domestic architecture. The Usonian Automatic series, a variant of his earlier Usonian concept, aimed to combine affordability, simplicity, and beauty through modular concrete construction. Wright patented a system of interlocking blocks reinforced with horizontal and vertical steel rods, theoretically allowing homeowners to fabricate and assemble their own dwellings.

In practice, the process proved far more demanding than envisioned. The Kalil House alone required 2,580 blocks weighing over 150 tons in total, and though its estimated cost was $25,000, the final figure tripled to $75,000.

Design and Features of the Kalil House

Only seven Usonian Automatic houses were ever built, and among them, the Kalil House is recognized as the one retaining the highest level of integrity. Its single-story concrete structure rests on a red-tinted slab floor scored into 60-centimeter squares, with a flat roof that extends into deep overhangs. The home’s L-shaped plan organizes three distinct zones that include living and dining, kitchen and utility, and gallery and bedrooms. Inside, Philippine mahogany panels and doors line the concrete block walls, all fabricated locally by C.J. Boselli Fixture Manufacturing in Manchester, which also produced the built-in furniture, shelving, and lamps.

all images via Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, unless stated otherwise

From Private Home to Public Heritage

Dr. Toufic and Mildred Kalil commissioned Wright in 1954 after being inspired by the Zimmerman House belonging to their friends and neighbors, Dr. Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman. Dr. Kalil, a Lebanese-born physician and pioneer in medical radiation therapy, sought a residence that embodied both functionality and quiet innovation, qualities that Wright’s Usonian ideals promised.

The property also includes a small, unfinished guest house, the only original outbuilding ever designed to accompany a Usonian Automatic home. Though it was never completed for habitation, its design and materials mirror those of the main structure, further emphasizing the coherence of Wright’s modular vision.

one of only seven Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed | image via Currier Museum of Art

A New Chapter Under the Currier Museum

After remaining in the Kalil family for over six decades, longer than any other Usonian Automatic residence, the home opened to the public in 2019. Listed for the first time on the open market, it was purchased by an anonymous donor who entrusted it to the Currier Museum of Art. The museum, which already stewards the neighboring Zimmerman House, offers the rare opportunity to explore two distinct Wright homes in direct dialogue, one representing the Usonian ideal, the other its automatic evolution.

The Kalil House continues to embody Wright’s enduring experiment with modularity, material honesty, and the democratization of design. Its addition to the National Register of Historic Places secures its preservation and reinforces its significance as a rare, unaltered testament to mid-century modern innovation.

since its completion in 1957 the house has undergone no alterations or major restorations

October 16, 2025

Introduction to Gare de Mons

The Gare de Mons has opened in Belgium, marking the culmination of nearly two decades of design and construction led by Santiago Calatrava. Located near the French border, the multi-modal station connects local and international train lines while uniting the city’s historic center to the south with the residential area to the north. The project represents a major infrastructural and civic investment for Mons, creating a symbolic and physical bridge across previously divided districts.

Exterior Design

From the street, the building’s sweeping white form commands attention through its precision and scale. A vast glass canopy extends outward in a continuous curve, shading the grand staircase and escalators that rise toward the main concourse. The structure’s rhythm of ribs and light evokes Calatrava’s consistent dialogue between architecture and engineering that’s rhythmic and expressive.

images © Danica O. Kus

Santiago Calatrava’s Luminous Station

Inside Santiago Calatrava’s Gare de Mons, the Galerie de la Reine serves as the station’s luminous core. The hall is framed by a sequence of branching supports in steel and concrete, and channels natural light across its polished floor and translucent ceiling panels. The architect‘s geometry produces a space that feels at once weightless and orderly, encouraging the steady flow of commuters while maintaining visual calm.

Architectural photographer Danica O. Kus captures the building’s tonal precision — the way daylight filters through the roof lattice, reflecting across the concourse and accentuating the structural pattern. Her images highlight the clarity of construction and the measured transitions between glass, steel, and timber accents along the interior frame.

Gare de Mons has opened in Belgium designed by architect Santiago Calatrava

An Expressive Structure for Fluid Movement

Beyond its sculptural form by Santiago Calatrava, Gare de Mons establishes a civic continuity that had long been missing in the city’s urban fabric. The raised gallery spans the tracks, linking the two sides of Mons with generous pedestrian access. To the south, at Place Léopold, Calatrava integrated a bus terminal and underground parking for approximately 500 vehicles. To the north, more technical facilities and parking spaces connect to the new urban plaza at Place des Congrès.

The design embraces infrastructure as an urban catalyst — an approach consistent with Calatrava’s broader body of work. The architect creates a sense of progression that is both spatial and social. For Mons, the station becomes an symbol of renewal, and serves as a gathering of people as much as for trains bound for Brussels, Paris, and beyond.

a sweeping glass canopy defines the building’s entrance and public presence

the new station connects the historic city center with the residential north of Mons

Calatrava’s rhythmic structural ribs frame movement and light throughout the concourse

Conclusion

Gare de Mons is a masterpiece of modern architecture, blending functionality with aesthetic appeal. The station’s design, led by Santiago Calatrava, has created a new landmark for the city of Mons, while also providing a vital transportation hub. The use of natural light, sweeping curves, and rhythmic structural elements has resulted in a building that is both beautiful and efficient. As a symbol of renewal and connection, Gare de Mons is poised to become a beloved destination for both locals and visitors alike.