Albania is now witnessing an influx of ambitious projects, many by world-renowned international architects, that begin to redefine the skylines of Tirana and beyond. Albania’s Prime Minister, and former Tirana mayor, Edi Rama, has even pointed out that ‘Albania produces more architecture than the rest of Europe,’ a claim that reflects a construction frenzy that has made architecture one of the most visible symbols of change in the country.

designboom discusses this creative boom with key figures shaping Albania’s transformation, including Stefano Boeri, MVRDV’s Winy Maas, Christian Kerez, Beat Huesler of Oppenheim Architecture, and the team at Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, to explore how global architecture is helping redraw the cultural and urban landscape of the country.

Pyramid of Tirana by MVRDV (read more here) | image © Ossip van Duivenbode

how leadership, planning, and global talent reshape a country

A former artist, Rama prioritized urban revitalization since his mayoral tenure in the early 2000s. He famously beautified drab facades with vibrant colors and cleared illegal structures, setting the stage for larger transformations. After becoming prime minister, Rama launched the Tirana of the New Generation initiative in 2014, personally inviting 32 international architects to reimagine the capital. Around the same time, Tirana’s government commissioned Italian architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri to craft the Tirana 2030 Master Plan, envisioning sustainable growth, vertical development, and a massive ‘orbital forest.’ Boeri describes the city as ‘the most interesting and up-to-date, and therefore the most controversial and debatable, museum of contemporary architecture in the world,’ arguing that the sheer number and speed of projects have turned Tirana into an urban school of architecture in real time. ‘Our studio Stefano Boeri Architetti, which, in addition to the 2030 Master Plan, has already completed six buildings for Tirana and is building and designing another six, is therefore now fully involved, both as a student and as a teacher, in this International Urban School of Architecture,’ he tells us.

Swiss architect Christian Kerez compares the rapid transformation of the country to early-2000s China, noting, ‘You feel an energy and vitality, which is not abstract, but you can feel in the daily life.’ What sets Albania apart, he shares with designboom, is that the transformation is curated from the top: ‘It is curated by the highest governmental official, the prime minister, Edi Rama. He is personally supervising the architectural projects for all large and exposed plots.’

Today, a mix of completed landmarks, active construction sites, and visionary proposals illustrates Albania’s unique creative surge. From repurposed communist monuments to futuristic towers and ‘vertical villages,’ these projects showcase a country in architectural flux. 

Red Sol Resort by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Built Landmarks

MVRDV’s transformation of the former Pyramid of Tirana into a vibrant youth cultural center is one of the most symbolic of Albania’s design renaissance. The brutalist landmark was preserved and reactivated with colorful, climbable structures that house tech classrooms and public gathering spaces, a clear nod to the power of adaptive reuse. Winy Maas, co-founder of the international architecture and urbanism office, reflects on this reinvention as a gesture of pride and contextual storytelling. ‘With the Pyramid of Tirana, we monumentalized the history of the building and its changed relationship with Tirana’s citizens,’ he reflects. Topped out in 2020, Downtown One, also by MVRDV, soars with cantilevered balconies shaped into a pixel map of the country – a literal vertical Albania. ‘Our projects near Skanderbeg Square make direct references to Albania’s history and geography – Downtown One with its map, the Skanderbeg Building with the statue of the former hero,’ Maas tells us.

Elsewhere in the city, built projects reveal how this architectural shift extends into public space, everyday life, and symbolic form. Stefano Boeri’s Blloku Cube introduces a compact yet highly visible intervention in Tirana’s once-restricted district, using iridescent surfaces and transparency to signal the transformation of the area into a hub for the creative economy. At the civic scale, 51N4E’s redesign of Skanderbeg Square performs a more radical act by removing traffic altogether, reshaping the city’s central plaza into a pedestrian landscape where architecture recedes in favor of collective use, ceremony, and urban calm.

This logic of hybridity carries through Archea Associati’s Air Albania Stadium, where sport, commerce, and hospitality are compressed into a single composition. Nearby, Studio Libeskind’s Magnet Residences extend symbolic thinking into the domestic realm, abstracting the Albanian eagle into curving residential forms organized around shared green spaces.

Stefano Boeri’s Blloku Cube (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Approved & Under Construction

A generation of next-wave architecture is rising across Tirana and beyond. BIG’s design for the new National Theatre broke ground in 2022 and introduces a dramatic bowtie-shaped cultural facility that anchors a new arts quarter. OODA’s Hora Vertikale rethinks the tower as a vertical neighborhood, stacking 13 modular volumes into a staggered, plant-covered form. Mount Tirana, designed by CEBRA, abstracts the silhouette of Albania’s mountains into a jagged vertical profile that could one day become the country’s tallest structure. 

Steven Holl’s Expo Albania reimagines a conventional convention center as a sculptural pair of signature buildings linked by landscape and light. Oppenheim Architecture, deeply embedded in Albania’s urban evolution, is advancing the New Boulevard Tower and the Vlora Beach Tower. ‘Albania’s creative boom carries a remarkable openness, a moment where the spirit of place is being rediscovered while the country transforms at great speed. What compels us as international practitioners is the chance to learn from context and to build with the land not on the land, embracing honesty in materials and the quiet power already present,’ notes Beat Huesler, director of the team at Oppenheim Architecture Europe. ‘Our work there seeks a kind of silent monumentality, architecture that responds to this energy with humility and clarity, allowing the landscape and culture to lead.”

Christian Kerez emphasizes that realizing these designs requires long-term commitment. ‘It is easy to make a rendering and very hard and difficult to build,’ he says. ‘We always follow closely the steps from concept design to site supervision.’ This level of dedication led him to open an office in Albania, where he now spends half his time.

New Boulevard Tower by Oppenheim Architecture (read more here) | rendering by MIR

Visionary Proposals

Some of the most speculative and exhilarating designs remain on the drawing board. MVRDV’s Grand Ballroom, a spherical sports arena wrapped in apartments, challenges the typology of stadiums by merging culture, housing, and entertainment into one orbital gesture. For Maas, it is another part of Tirana’s urban narrative: ‘The Grand Ballroom acts as another part of the Tirana collection, showing the city’s ambitions and creating another landmark.’

Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, whose recent and forthcoming work spans the Albanian Riviera and the capital, engages both topography and skyline without imposing a singular formal language. The studio frames its Albanian projects as site-specific responses to radically different landscapes, from steep coastal cliffs to dense urban contexts. ‘The landscapes of Albania are all completely different,’ the architects note, ‘so naturally each project is approached in a completely different manner. We want to find the unique spirit of a place, and in Albania we have been given the freedom to do this.’ This attitude underpins a body of work that resists iconic repetition in favor of contextual continuity. ‘There has always been the temptation for an architect to plant their flag over the landscape,’ the team tells designboom. ‘We don’t approach architecture in this way. We aim for buildings that are of their context and actively looking to improve it, whether that’s bettering access, encouraging wildlife, or providing social space for the community.’

Boeri describes these proposals as part of Tirana’s unique urban ecosystem. ‘Ideas are transformed into urban artifacts with unexpected speed. Mineral artifacts, traversed by everyday life.’ he shares with us.

MVRDV’s Grand Ballroom (read more here) | image © Antonio Luca Coco, Angelo La Delfa, Luana La Martina, Jaroslaw Jeda, Stefano Fiaschi, Ciprian Buzdugan

building identity in real time

Almost every architect designboom spoke with pointed to the role of Edi Rama as an unprecedented figure in contemporary development. As Christian Kerez observes, ‘What is different from any country I know about this process of transformation is that it is curated by the highest governmental official (…) He is personally supervising the architectural projects for all large and exposed plots.’ For many, this direct involvement has helped turn architectural competitions and urban policy into a live cultural project. Bofill Taller de Arquitectura describes the boom as ‘a moment of rebirth’ enabled by Rama’s leadership, a system that ‘allows and values creative freedom.’

Winy Maas highlights how Albania offers national identity expressed through architecture. ‘Instead of producing safe, boring buildings that make every city look the same, Albania is incentivising creative innovation,’ he tells designboom. But he also sees deeper implications. The creative boom, he argues, is not just about buildings but about pride and cultural presence within Europe. ‘How does a country like Albania maintain its individual identity in a Union that features so many wealthier, larger, more populous nations? Architecture is one way.’ he tells designboom. Stefano Boeri, too, frames Albania as a model for international practice: ‘Tirana and Albania are now a real-time laboratory for the most advanced ideas in contemporary architecture… a true School where architecture can be simultaneously learned and taught.’

SIMA Tower by Christian Kerez

campus for the College of Europe by Oppenheim Architecture (read more here) | all renders © MIR

Bjarke Ingels Group’s Faith Park (read more here) | visualization © Beauty and the Bit

Steven Holl Architects’ Expo Albania (read more here) | render by the architects

Hora Vertikale by OODA (read more here) | image © Plomp

Papuli Tower by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

Mount Tirana by CEBRA (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

CHYBIK + KRISTOF (CHK)’s ODA Tirana (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Veterinary Hospital in Tirana by Davide Macullo Architects (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Tirana’s Selman Stërmasi Stadium revitalization by OMA (read more here) | image courtesy of OMA

Valona Hills I-Cones by Davide Macullo Architects

Archi-Tectonics’ Festival City (read more here) | visualizations © Archi-Tectonics

Tirana 2030 by Stefano Boeri

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The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) emerges on the banks of Jinji Lake. Designed in collaboration with ARTS Group and Front Inc., and commissioned by Suzhou Harmony Development Group, the 60,000-square-meter complex (find designboom’s previous coverage here) is envisioned as a contemporary reinterpretation of Suzhou’s historic gardens.

The structure unfolds as a village of twelve interconnected pavilions unified beneath a flowing, ribbon-like roof whose gentle undulations echo tiled eaves. Materialism, a material-led inaugural exhibition curated by the studio, is on view through March 8th, 2026, before the museum temporarily closes and reopens this summer for its grand inauguration. 

all images by Ye Jianyuan, unless stated otherwise

fluid network of pavilions evokes garden heritage

Rooted in the cultural identity of Suzhou, BIG’s design draws from the traditional lang (廊), a long, covered corridor that guides visitors through Chinese gardens, transforming it into a fluid network of exhibition spaces, courtyards, and walkways. ‘Suzhou is the cradle of the Chinese garden,’ notes Bjarke Ingels, describing the museum as ‘a garden of pavilions and courtyards’ where architecture and landscape intertwine. Glazed galleries and porticoes link the structures together in what Ingels calls ‘a Chinese knot of interconnected sculpture courtyards and exhibition spaces.’ Seen from above, the stainless steel roofs ripple across the site like a living organism, their gentle curves tracing a silhouette that connects the city to the lake.

The architects mirror the changing colors of the sky and waters on warm-toned stainless steel and curved glass facades. Inside the museum, daylight filters through clerestories and skylights, creating reflections and shadows across the galleries. Four of the twelve pavilions contain the main exhibition halls, while the remaining spaces host a multifunction hall, theater, restaurant, and grand entrance area. Bridges and tunnels weave between the buildings above and below ground, giving the museum flexible circulation and climatic adaptability. Outside, a sequence of gardens extends the visitor journey toward the lake, where sculpture installations and public paths remain open beyond museum hours.

a sequence of gardens extends the visitor journey toward the lake

materialism: a prelude to the museum’s opening

For BIG partner Catherine Huang, the project is a tribute to Suzhou’s enduring relationship between architecture and landscape. ‘We envision the lang, a traditional element of Suzhou gardens, gracefully winding through the landscapes and transforming into pavilions,’ she explains. The museum follows China’s GBEL Green Star 2 sustainability certification, addressing technical and social dimensions of environmental design. In 2024, Suzhou MoCA was recognized as a national landmark when it appeared on an official China Post stamp celebrating the city’s urban development around Jinji Lake.

Materialism reframes architecture through the substances that give it form. Rather than organizing projects by typology or geography, the exhibition groups twenty of BIG’s works according to the materials they are made from, including stone, earth, concrete, metal, glass, wood, fabric, plastic, plants, and recyclate. Seating elements throughout the galleries are fabricated from the very materials on display, turning the exhibition into a tactile, sensory journey through texture, weight, and surface. Visitors encounter architecture not as an image or model alone, but as something to be physically experienced through matter. ‘Due to the nature of the architectural profession, the fate of the project is always decided in the early stages: the concept design or the competition,’ explains Bjarke Ingels. ‘But 90% of our work is what follows, the translation of the idea into reality, the materialization of the fiction into fact. This exhibition is dedicated to the material aspect of our profession.’ Ingels continues: ‘The ideas and concepts are still there, but here the architectural story is told through the materials and the collaborations that made them possible.’

the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art by BIG emerges on the banks of Jinji Lake

the structure unfolds as a village of twelve interconnected pavilions

a flowing roof whose gentle undulations echo tiled eaves tops the museum | image by Studio SZ Photo

a tribute to Suzhou’s enduring relationship between architecture and landscape | image by Studio SZ Photo

in 2024, Suzhou MoCA was recognized as a national landmark 

BIG’s design draws from the traditional lang (廊)

a fluid network of exhibition spaces, courtyards, and walkways

glazed galleries and porticoes link the structures together

a landscape of light, reflection, and interwoven paths

four of the twelve pavilions contain the main exhibition halls

Materialism invites visitors on a ‘material odyssey’ | image by Studio SZ Photo

cubic stools made from various materials | Materialism at BIG’s HQ in Copenhagen, image by Yongwon Jo  

material samples | Materialism at BIG’s HQ in Copenhagen, image by Yongwon Jo  

luminous ‘BIG’ sign anchors the entrance to the exhibition | image by Studio SZ Photo & Suzhou MoCA

a 1:1 prototype of the Gelephu International Airport’s diagrid structure | Materialism at BIG’s HQ in Copenhagen, image by Yongwon Jo  

project models and photographs | image by Studio SZ Photo & Suzhou MoCA

architecture and landscape intertwine

a contemporary reinterpretation of Suzhou’s historic gardens

the museum follows China’s GBEL Green Star 2 sustainability certification | image by Studio SZ Photo

sculpture installations and public paths remain open beyond museum hours | image by Studio SZ Photo

project info:

name: Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds

location: Suzhou, China

area: 60,000 sqm (646,000 sqft)

client: Suzhou Harmony Development Group Co. Ltd

collaborators: ARTS Group Co. Ltd, Front Inc., Shanghai Shuishi Landscape Design Co. Ltd, Rdesign International Lighting

photographers: Ye Jianyuan, Studio SZ Photo | @studiosz_photo, Yongwon Jo | @yong1jo

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Ahead of its recent completion, Dymak’s new headquarters in Odense, Denmark, becomes the backdrop for a site-specific performance by local dance company KOMA Ballet, offering an early glimpse into BIG’s circular workplace designed around flexibility, material tactility, and high-energy performance. The 2,800-square-meter timber building serves as a spatial framework for both human and environmental movement, positioning the workplace as an adaptable ecosystem.

Designed by BIG LEAP, BIG’s in-house architecture, landscape, engineering, and product design studio, the headquarters is organized as a continuous loop that connects departments visually and spatially across floors. The circular configuration distributes volume to create varied spatial conditions, allowing employees to establish workstations according to changing needs. 

all images courtesy of PROFILE, unless stated otherwise

bjarke Ingels shapes climate-responsive workplace in denmark

Wood, clay, and cork line the interiors, chosen for their tactile qualities and their resonance with Dymak’s product portfolio. Recycled bricks extend across the ground floor and into the surrounding paths and courtyard. Acting as the green heart of the building, the courtyard pulls the surrounding landscape inward, forming an open-air amphitheater that supports informal gatherings, social events, and moments of pause throughout the day.

The facade opens northward to frame views of Funen’s manorial landscape, while the southern elevation integrates external lamellas for passive solar shading. Vertical stretched-metal panels gradually close off the glass surface to prevent overheating. Referencing Denmark’s half-timbered architectural tradition, the team at BIG composes a grid-like envelope using 44 radial cross-laminated timber frames, topped by an undulating roof fitted with 880 photovoltaic panels. Angled for year-round solar harvesting, the roof also mitigates noise within the inner courtyard, reinforcing the building’s role as a calm, climate-responsive workspace.

Set to achieve DGNB Gold and Heart certifications, the headquarters reflects BIG LEAP’s ambition to align environmental performance with social sustainability, creating a workplace that evolves alongside Dymak’s future growth while remaining grounded in material honesty, spatial generosity, and collective experience. Stay tuned for the full unveiling of the project, with more details, images, and spatial insights coming soon.

positioning the workplace as an adaptable ecosystem

the headquarters is organized as a continuous loop

allowing employees to establish workstations according to changing needs

wood, clay, and cork line the interiors

reflecting BIG LEAP’s ambition to align environmental performance with social sustainability | image courtesy of BIG

reinforcing the building’s role as a calm, climate-responsive workspace | image courtesy of BIG

an undulating roof fitted with 880 photovoltaic panels | image courtesy of BIG

project info:

name: Dymak Headquarters

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds

location: Odense, Denmark

area: 2,800 square meters

landscape: BIG Landscape

engineering: BIG Engineering

certification: targeting DGNB Gold + Heart

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Renowned architecture firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) reveals a new proposal for the Ulsan Performing Arts Venue in South Korea. Submitted as part of the second phase of an international design competition, the concept presents a ribbon-like structure, envisioning a cultural landmark that bridges the past, present, and future of Ulsan.

BIG reveals a new proposal for the Ulsan Performing Arts Venue in South Korea | all images via @big_builds

two architectural ribbons connect city, river, and public life

The concept by BIG is defined by two sweeping ribbons that extend from opposite directions: one reaching into the urban fabric, the other stretching toward the river. Together, they frame the site while creating a dynamic dialogue between the city and its natural surroundings. Beneath the ribbons, a continuous public realm unfolds, featuring plazas, promenades, and outdoor stages. These open spaces are intended to encourage gathering, performance, and cultural engagement, making the venue not only a place for staged events but also a living public landscape.

With this proposal, the Copenhagen-based firm emphasizes flexibility and openness, allowing the building to host a variety of cultural programs while maintaining visual and spatial connectivity with the surrounding environment. The ribbons themselves become both architectural signature and functional structure, guiding movement across the site and shaping the experience of the venue.

beneath the architectural ribbons, a continuous public realm unfolds

the concept presents a ribbon-like structure, envisioning a cultural landmark that bridges the past, present, and future

the building hosts a variety of programs while maintaining connectivity with the surroundings

the ribbons themselves become both architectural signature and functional structure

project info: 

name: Ulsan Performing Arts Venue
architects: BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) | @big_builds
location: Ulsan, South Korea

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Construction on the third and final phase of the Skypark Business Center (SBC) in Findel, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), is moving steadily toward completion, bringing one of Europe’s largest mass-timber buildings closer to its full reveal. The 70,000-square-meter complex rises beside Luxembourg Airport as a sculptural, seven-story landmark built from more than 15,000 cubic meters of wood, an amount the team likes to equate to six Olympic-size swimming pools.

Beyond the headline numbers, the project stands out for its unusual form. Instead of a single zig-zag structure, it comprises two stacked and rotated timber bars that slip over one another, creating a sequence of terraces, courtyards, and panoramic workspaces with views toward the runway or the nearby Grand Ducal Golf Course.

all images by @corentinhaubruge

An Undulating Urban Anchor Shaping Airport City’s Future Edge

At an urban scale, SBC anchors a key site within the Airport City Masterplan in the Niederanven municipality. The team at BIG works within the constraints of a long, slim footprint, approximately 19,000 square meters on the ground and the district’s maximum permitted height of 30.5 meters, to shape a building that serves as both workplace and infrastructural buffer. In elevation, the building reads as an undulating wall, its shifting geometry functioning as an acoustic barrier for the public spaces and future developments around it. This orchestration of mass and void is also what allows daylight, greenery, and movement to flow through the project, despite its proximity to one of the busiest transit nodes in the country.

A clear stratification defines the building’s volumes: a mineral parking plinth at the base, a fully glazed ground floor open to pedestrians, and two copper-clad office bars that curl across the upper levels. The stacked zig-zag configuration is not an aesthetic flourish but a functional hinge. Each rotation unlocks new outdoor areas, green terraces every 50 meters, sheltered niches, and more private internal courtyards that receive visitors from the northern approach. The rounded corners at each turn avoid dead ends and open up sweeping, near-panoramic vistas, reinforcing the idea of a continuous, meandering workspace rather than a rigid commercial block.

one of Europe’s largest mass-timber buildings

A Flexible workspace Organized Around Overlapping ‘Snakes’

Inside, the layout is kept deliberately adaptable. All circulation cores sit where the two ‘snakes’ overlap, so every tenant has straightforward vertical access without sacrificing floorplate continuity. This enables the office levels to expand or contract according to tenant needs, with partitions that can be easily reconfigured. On arrival, visitors move through a double-door portal into the Grande Galerie, a generous internal passage running along the building’s spine. Here, restaurants, retail, and a fitness studio alternate along the glazed perimeter, creating a lively inner street that opens onto the southern gardens and direct views of the 4-kilometer runway.

The project also integrates directly with airport flows. On the east side, a lightweight canopy extends from the ground floor to meet Terminal A’s departure level, forming a sheltered pedestrian link and a landscaped plaza for travelers and workers. Below, on level B1, car rental and valet services occupy a bridge-like volume that allows arriving passengers to pick up vehicles within minutes of landing. To the west, the upper bar reaches outward in a dramatic cantilever, acting as both architectural gateway and shaded public threshold for those entering Airport City from Luxembourg’s center.

Three tiers of roof gardens top the building, giving users access to greenery and open air across multiple levels. Together with the extensive use of mass timber in the upper structures, bridges, and slabs, these outdoor layers contribute to the SBC’s broader ambition: to demonstrate how large-scale workplace infrastructures can adopt lower-carbon construction while cultivating more humane, nature-connected environments.

a sculptural, seven-story landmark built from more than 15,000 cubic meters of wood

stacked and rotated timber bars that slip over one another

the building reads as an undulating wall

αll circulation cores sit where the two ‘snakes’ overlap

οn arrival, visitors move through a double-door portal into the Grande Galerie

the shifting geometry functions as an acoustic barrier for the public spaces and future developments around it

project info:

name: Skypark Business Center (SBC)

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds

location: Findel, Luxembourg

area: 70,000 m² total

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The new Hamburg State Opera by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will establish a contemporary home for the State Opera and Hamburg Ballet. The project is set to be located on the Baakenhöft peninsula in HafenCity — a sprawling waterfront development — and will replace the company’s mid-century house on Dammtorstraße. It will extend the German city’s long tradition of pairing cultural architecture with the harbor’s open horizon.

Imagined as both a working opera house and a civic landscape, the 45,000-square-meter building combines production, rehearsal, and performance spaces with a new public park that reaches to the river’s edge.

BIG’s proposal was selected by unanimous jury decision, recognizing its ability to synthesize the demands of a major cultural institution with the fluid urban fabric of HafenCity. The opera is envisioned as an island structure of terraced green roofs and a new hinge in Hamburg’s waterfront transformation.

the design forms a terraced landscape that links city and water | visualizations © Yanis Amasri

BIG’s landscape of concentric terraces

Architect Bjarke Ingels describes the design as ‘a landscape of concentric terraces,’ expanding outward from the main hall like ripples on the surface of the water. The building’s roofline forms a continuous, circular geometry that opens toward the harbor, creating a sequence of terraces accessible from multiple directions.

These landscaped paths weave between gardens, plazas, and lookout points, turning the entire site into a three-dimensional park open to residents and visitors throughout the day.

The transition from exterior to interior is fluid. Stone pavements from the park extend into the foyer, unifying ground and building. This large, timber-lined hall functions as an urban living room, animated by two central staircases that rise toward upper levels. Every main floor connects directly to outdoor terraces, which can host events or serve as informal gathering spaces overlooking the Elbe and the city skyline.

a continuous circular roofline shapes a walkable topography across the building

an auditorium of sculptural wooden layers

At the heart of the Hamburg State Opera, the main auditorium is enveloped in bands of horizontally layered timber that modulate both sightlines and sound. The wood surfaces create a warm tonal register, visually linking balconies and walls into a single flowing form.

BIG partner Jakob Sand says: ‘The main hall is the heart of the project – — space with state-of-the-art acoustics and perfect sightlines to the stage.’ Concentric wooden rings shape the hall and its balconies and dissolve the divide between performers and audience.

the foyer acts as an urban living room animated by central timber staircases

Landscape as infrastructure

Supporting spaces — including a smaller studio stage, rehearsal rooms, and workshops — are organized directly behind the main hall, enabling seamless movement between preparation and performance. The plan reflects BIG’s ongoing exploration of buildings as networks of connected activity rather than fixed hierarchies of front and back.

Partner David Zahle emphasizes this openness: ‘Visitors can move along the facades and glimpse into the foyer, rehearsal rooms, backstage areas and offices, revealing the complexity behind a working opera house.’

BIG Landscape’s design extends the opera’s design language into the surrounding park. Flood management is integrated through a system of terraces, planted dunes, and wetlands that absorb and slow water flow. Rain basins collect and filter runoff, creating habitats for local flora and fauna. This way, a resilient ecological zone is created which responds to the tides of the Elbe while framing the opera as a living landscape shaped by natural movement.

the main hall features layered timber surfaces that guide acoustics and sightlines

visitors can move along the facades and see into working areas of the opera

wetlands, terraces, and rain basins form a resilient landscape that adapts to the tides of the Elbe

stone paths from the waterfront park flow directly into the foyer to create a unified ground plane

project info:

name: Hamburg State Opera

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds

location: Hamburg, Germany
client: Kühne Foundation, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg represented by the Ministry of Culture and Media, Hamburgische Staatsoper GmbH

collaborators: Theatre Projects, Bollinger + Grohmann, Transsolar, K+H, Duschl, Yanis Amasri

size: 45,000 square meters

visualizations: © Yanis Amasri

project team:
partner-in-charge: Bjarke Ingels, Jakob Sand, David Zahle
design lead: Sarkis Sarkisyan, Michael Leef
team: Mariia Nakonechnaia, Carlos Ramos Tenorio, David Benjamin Wilden, Jianuo Xuan, Jacob Engelbrecht Ødum, Celia de la Osa Muñoz, Gilana Antonova, Giovanni Vergantini, Mathis Paul Gebauer, Hou Ming Ng, Martino Hutz, Veronica Hamilton
BIG landscape: Giulia Frittoli, Ulla Hornsyld, Gaspard Del Marmol, Lucia Ayala

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Located in Astoria, New York, Wildflower Studios is a new vertical film production complex designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The development is led by Robert De Niro and establishes a new urban typology for filmmaking in Queens’s dense industrial landscape.

Film studios are traditionally organized across expansive ground-level lots, each stage accessed directly by truck. In Queens, where space is constrained, Bjarke Ingels Group condensed that familiar model into a vertical arrangement — stacking sound stages and production spaces to form what the architects describe as a ‘studio village.’ The design rethinks the logistics of production, integrating movement, delivery, and collaboration within a reduced footprint that reflects the spatial realities of the city. See designboom’s previous coverage here!

images © Laurian Ghinițoiu

a vertically-stacked building of eleven modules

The program is composed of eleven studio modules, each containing a large-span stage, vertical transport, and support spaces including dressing rooms and scene shops. Organized in two-story rows within a single volume, the modules are connected by a central spine that acts as the building’s internal street. This shared corridor forms the social core of the complex, linking stages with offices and communal terraces while drawing daylight deep into the structure.

One entire floor of Wildflower Studios is dedicated to office and production support, while additional spaces like cafés and fitness areas encourage collaboration among actors, writers, and technical crews. This hybrid environment creates a working community among the practical infrastructure of filmmaking.

Wildflower Studios rises in Astoria, Queens as a new vertical model for film production

a ‘floating village’ in astoria

Clad in precast concrete panels, the 145-foot-tall building changes character as sunlight shifts across its angled facade. Two open-air terraces cut into the envelope, offering framed views toward the Manhattan skyline and a direct connection to the waterfront. The roof supports a 150,000-square-foot solar array, supplying power and demonstrating the project’s environmental intent.

BIG lifts the structure above the floodplain, allowing service vehicles to operate beneath the building and freeing the street edge for public access. The site design extends this openness with a walkway along the creek, creating a connection between the industrial block and the riverfront. The overall form is described by the architects as a ‘floating village.’

Folded planes in the facade open the building to daylight and break down its massing, linking interior circulation routes to the outdoor terraces and public realm. Within, the continuous envelope creates a sense of cohesion across the various stages and workspaces.

BIG reimagines the traditional horizontal sound stage as a compact stack for the city

the modules form a dense production village tailored to the spatial constraints of New York City

the building integrates cafés and lounges to encourage collaboration among production teams

a central spine connects stages, offices, and communal terraces to bring daylight deep inside

the structure is elevated above the floodplain, creating sheltered loading areas and a public walkway below

open air terraces lend views of the Manhattan skyline and direct access to the waterfront

project info:

name: Wildflower Film Studios

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group | @big_builds

location: Astoria, Queens, New York, NY

previous coverage: September 2019, February 2022

photography: © Laurian Ghinițoiu | @laurianghinitoiu 

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The Row Saadiyat, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group for Aldar Properties, introduces a new residential quarter within Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District. Positioned beside the Zayed National Museum and within walking distance of Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the development engages directly with the city’s emerging cultural landscape.

Comprising seven buildings, each rising to nine stories, which will bring 315 contemporary residences, The Row Saadiyat establishes a horizontal rhythm that mirrors the surrounding museums and coastal topography. Its plan is defined by shaded walkways and air-conditioned bridges that link residents to Saadiyat Grove’s retail precinct and Mamsha Beach. This connective structure brings a walkable, social environment while offering protection from the desert heat.

The Row Saadiyat is a new residential quarter designed by BIG for Aldar Properties | images © Aldar Properties

a masterplan of luminous homes at The Row Saadiyat

In composing The Row Saadiyat, Bjarke Ingels Group’s design approach privileges proportion, material restraint, and clarity. The architects plan curving facades, which are expressed through a consistent grid of deep balconies and fine metal fins that filter light and frame views toward the museum’s sculptural wings.

Light-toned cladding and pale metal detail contribute a quiet material palette suited to the desert-edge context. Inside, apartments wrapped in interiors by Kettle Collective feature a restrained selection of finishes — deep wood flooring, pale stone surfaces, and floor-to-ceiling glazing that frames the cultural landscape beyond.

seven mid rise buildings form a composition of curving residences

Spatial Balance and Material Calm

Bjarke Ingels Group designs The Row Saadiyat to balance civic life with private retreat. Ground floors are animated by cafés, wellness studios, and community venues, while the residences above open onto private terraces and horizon views. Circulation is placed at the edges, allowing open living areas oriented toward natural light. Throughout, Bjarke Ingels Group’s design prioritizes measured exposure: shading and depth modulate the desert sun, maintaining comfort without isolating interiors from their surroundings.

By day, light moves across facades in slow gradations of tone. By evening, glass surfaces absorb the muted reflection of sea and sky. The quarter’s rhythm of solids and voids gives it an understated coherence, lending the district a sense of continuity rather than contrast.

facades of pale cladding and fine metal fins filter light and frame museum views

Sustainability and Well-being

The Row Saadiyat development targets a 3-Pearl Estidama rating and 2-star Fitwel certification, integrating passive strategies such as orientation, shading, and daylight optimization. Smart systems manage energy use and climate comfort. Communal spaces — a wellbeing club, co-working lounge, children’s facilities, and a pet spa — extend the architecture’s focus on balance and shared living.

interiors by Kettle Collective use natural materials and soft tones to extend the building’s quiet character

project info:

name: The Row Saadiyat

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group | @big_builds

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

developer: Aldar Properties | @aldar

interior designer: Kettle Collective | @kettlecollective

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A study finds that Zaha Hadid and Wes Anderson are some of the top architects and artists used in prompts to generate AI images and videos on Midjourney. Conducted by the web-based video editing platform Kapwing, the research has studied how users refer to famous names and styles when creating their images and videos with AI. The findings show that the most used architect name on Midjourney was Zaha Hadid, with 63,103 mentions, with the next one being Frank Lloyd Wright at 13,361 mentions. Other architects frequently used on Midjourney to generate AI images and videos include Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry, Peter Zumthor, Kengo Kuma, Bjarke Ingels, Le Corbusier, Richard Meier, and Jean Nouvel. 

For the directors, Wes Anderson was the most mentioned, with 92,378 prompts. His name was used more than the combined total for Tim Burton (57,000), Christopher Nolan (22,246), Ridley Scott (20,109), Guillermo del Toro (19,755), and Stanley Kubrick (16,758). Among illustrators, the fantasy artist known as WLOP was the most used name, with 166,415 mentions. Then, there’s Greg Rutkowski following with 134,695 mentions, who is also involved in a legal case against AI companies for using his name and style without permission. The study on the most copied architects and artists on Midjourney to generate AI images and videos also found that anime is one of the most repeated visual subjects in prompts. The most used titles were Akira with 53,333 mentions and Naruto with 40,494. Works by Studio Ghibli, such as Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, also appeared frequently.

Zaha Hadid as the most used architect in AI prompt | all images courtesy of Kapwing

Midjourney Discord server counts keyword frequency

The study team started by building a list of 897 keywords, and each keyword was a name or topic used to inspire AI-generated images. These keywords came from eight groups: artists, illustrators, film directors, architects, cities, media franchises, fast-food chains, and anime. The researchers used a public online database called Midlibrary to collect examples of popular names from each category. 

Then, they used the Midjourney Discord server to count how many times these keywords appeared in AI image and video prompts (for example, one prompt could be ‘in the style of Wes Anderson,’ or ‘a building by Zaha Hadid’). The total data included 4,929,594 prompts, showing how often people use references from real architects, directors, and artists when working with AI.

Wes Anderson is the most used artist for AI prompts on Midjourney

Art Nouveau poster designer, Alphonse Mucha is the most-used artist appearing in 230,794 Midjourney prompts

digital artist, WLOP is the most prompted Illustrator, appearing in 166,415 Midjourney images and videos

Akira with 53,333 mentions is the most-used anime on Midjourney prompts

Star Wars with 160,495 mentions is the most-used franchise as AI prompts

New York is the most prompted city on Midjourney with 156,598 video or images

project info:

name: The Most-Used Prompts For AI Videos and Images

platform: Kapwing | @KapwingApp

study: here

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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. See designboom’s previous coverage with early renderings here!

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

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

image © Nic Lehoux

image © Nic Lehoux

image © Nic Lehoux

project info:

name: Bloomberg Student Center

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group | @big_builds

interior architect: Rockwell Group | @rockwellgroup

location: Baltimore, Maryland

client: Johns Hopkins University | @johnshopkinsu

landscape: Michael van Valkenburgh Associates | @mvva.inc

previous coverage: November 2020

completion: 2025

photography: © Nic Lehoux | @nic.lehoux, © Laurian Ghinițoiu | @laurianghinitoiu

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