Located at the intersection of HITEC City and the Financial District in Hyderabad, India, Nivan Sky Gardens emerges as a contemporary residential ecosystem that repositions nature at the heart of high-density living. Designed by Studio Symbiosis, the project proposes a verdant vertical community where architecture and landscape operate as an integrated, self-sustaining system. The development responds to the modern disconnect from the natural world by transforming the traditional residential tower into a living landscape. Through a modular, staggered framework, the towers create a layered-shaded facade where every projecting module functions as an inhabitable garden terrace, allowing the architecture to mature into a cultivated vertical forest over time.

Nivan Sky Gardens in Hyderabad, India | all images courtesy of VERO DIGITAL

STUDIO SYMBIOSIS FUSES URBAN DESIGN WITH NATURE

Founded on the principles of synergy, Studio Symbiosis operates across Stuttgart, London, and Delhi NCR with a collective of over 90 architects. By fusing architecture with landscape and materiality with responsibility, the studio creates spaces that interact and evolve with their surroundings rather than being imposed upon them. At Studio Symbiosis, design is not separated from performance, it is integrated into the ecological resonance of the building, forming harmony with nature.

designed by Studio Symbiosis, the project proposes a verdant vertical community

VERTICAL GARDENS FORM NATURE-CENTRIC PENTHOUSES

The spatial philosophy of Nivan Sky Gardens draws inspiration from the archetype of a traditional house with a front garden, reinterpreting it for a vertical context. Each residence, ranging from 130 to almost 700 square metres, is conceived as a self-sustaining module with an adaptable layout that allows the apartment to grow and change with its occupant. To ensure both openness and seclusion, the balconies are folded and articulated to create distinct outdoor zones, while integrated louvres provide privacy from neighbors without sacrificing natural light. These modules are vertically staggered to form generous planting pockets, reinforcing the project’s identity as a garden dwelling in the sky.

the development transforms the traditional residential tower into a vertical forest

The ground plane and clubhouse serve as a layered social infrastructure, activating the site with a blend of recreational and productive landscapes. Residents have access to sports courts, open playfields, an amphitheater, and organic farming plots, all embedded within the greenery. A central swimming pool, animated by cascading waterfalls, anchors the communal space. Indoors, the clubhouse consolidates wellness centers, a mini-theatre, and a rooftop café that overlooks the gardens. By integrating fluid circulation between these outdoor activity zones and the elevated amenities, the project successfully bridges the gap between the built environment and an active, nature-centric lifestyle.

the project bridges the gap between urban and nature-centric lifestyle

Nivan Sky Gardens repositions nature at the heart of high-density living

the reception lobby and other amenities on the ground floor serve as a layered social infrastructure

each residence is conceived as a self-sustaining module with an adaptable layout

integrated louvres provide privacy from neighbors without sacrificing natural light

the modules are staggered to form planting pockets, reinforcing the project’s identity as a garden dwelling in the sky

through a modular, staggered framework, the towers create a layered-shaded facade

every apartment is a penthouse with a terrace garden

project info: 

name: Nivan Sky Gardens
location: Hyderabad, India
design: Amit Gupta and Britta Knobel Gupta, Studio Symbiosis | @studiosymbiosisoffical
project lead: Sonal Dongre Jain, Vedant Sangal, Kartik Misra
team: Nitish Talmale, Akshay Kadoori, Dewesh Agrawal, Anjan Mondal, Chaitanya Goyal, Gaurav Gupta, Satpal Singh Chauhan, Harshi Garg, Aditya Sharma, Govinda Dey, Apurv Jain, Diksith S., Roshan Bhojwani
site area: 9.37 acre
status: under construction

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The Museum Oberamteistrasse by Wulf Architekten in Reutlingen brings a contemporary timber structure into dialogue with one of the German city’s oldest streets. The museum project restores a sequence of medieval houses and completes the corner with a new volume that traces the footprint of the former Stone House.

The surrounding fabric dates to the 12th and 13th centuries, and the surviving basements and timber frames carry more than seven centuries of construction history. The rehabilitation treats these buildings as both exhibition spaces and primary artifacts. Walls and beams are expressed and are shrouded in a dramatic facade and rooftop of translucent glass shingles.

images © Brigida González

wulf architekten’s shimmering facade of glass shingles

On the corner plot where the Stone House once stood, the team at Wulf Architekten introduces the Museum Oberamteistrasse intervention to reestablish the street edge without imitating the historic fabric. The volume follows the scale and roof geometry of its neighbors, while its surface announces a glowing, contemporary intervention. Cast glass shingles, shaped like traditional beaver-tail tiles, form a continuous skin across roof and facade.

The glass cladding shifts in tone with the light. In overcast conditions the envelope appears pale and matte, while interior illumination reveals the geometry of the timber structure behind it. This layered effect gives the project a changing presence within the tight grain of Reutlingen’s old town.

the contemporary Museum Oberamteistrasse occupies a medieval street in Reutlingen

the exposed timber truss system

The structural design by Str-ucture centers on an exposed timber truss system that defines the Museum Oberamteistrasse’s interior volume. Large triangular frames span the height of the building, bracing the envelope and supporting adjacent historic walls. Their rhythm is legible from both inside and outside, where the grid reads faintly through the glass shingles.

Within, the timber structure forms a spatial framework that guides circulation. A broad stair rises alongside the trusses, offering views across excavated stone foundations below. The preserved basement walls of the former Stone House remain in situ, their rough masonry contrasting with the precise joinery of the new wooden members above.

Light filters through the glass tiles and washes the interior with a soft glow. The timber takes on a warm tone against the diffuse exterior brightness, and the triangular geometry casts a shifting pattern across floors and walls.

translucent cast glass shingles form a continuous roof and facade surface

restored houses from the 12th and 13th centuries are both exhibition space and artifact

preserved stone foundations remain visible beneath the new construction

the structural design by Str-ucture supports historic walls and frames circulation

cast glass shingles are shaped like traditional beaver-tail tiles

old and new construction techniques are presented as legible architectural layers

project info:

name: Museum Oberamteistrasse

architect: Wulf Architekten | @wulfarchitekten

location: Reutlingen, Germany

structure: Str-ucture | @str.ucture.gmbh

photography: © Brigida González | @brigidagonzalezwork

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Designed by Vi.architectuuratelier, De Zwarte Fles office renovation stands on the village square of Zwijnaarde near Gent, Belgium and brings new working life to a former country house shaped by four centuries of change. The project combines a restoration with a compact office addition fronted by a decorative facade, allowing the historic building to return to a residential presence while supporting a contemporary studio program.

Dating from 1616, the house carried layers from its time as a residence and later as a café restaurant. Past alterations focused on masking wear rather than strengthening architectural coherence, while extensive paving wrapped the building to serve outdoor seating. The renovation set out to recover the original character of the house and reestablish its role within the streetscape of Zwijnaarde.

the project restores a seventeenth century house on the Zwijnaarde village square | image © Michiel Vergauwe

vi.architectuuratelier restores proportion and atmosphere

Working on the existing structure in Belgium, Vi.architectuuratelier focused on preservation paired with selective upgrades. Interior insulation improves thermal performance, while new joinery delivers contemporary comfort. Window proportions, rhythms, and color tones follow historic patterns, maintaining a visual continuity that reads clearly from the square.

Inside, material choices shape a composed atmosphere. Earthy surfaces and restrained textures support a calm spatial experience. A central fireplace volume remains a defining feature, integrated into a revised plan that supports daily use. Exterior repairs respect the house and its immediate landscape, where subtle level changes create an intimate relationship between building and ground.

the renovation returns the building to a residential presence within the streetscape | image © Michiel Vergauwe

A restrained addition for studio work

Alongside the renovation, a separate office volume accommodates Vi.architectuuratelier’s workplace. The new structure presents a measured presence through claustra brickwork that forms a perforated skin. Light and views pass through this envelope in a controlled way, keeping the historic house visually dominant within the ensemble.

Window openings sit deep within the brick lattice, creating an inward focused workspace. Only two locations reveal joinery directly, including a carefully framed view toward the village square. The building remains compact in height and footprint, ensuring a quiet dialogue with its surroundings.

historic window rhythms and colors guide the renewed facade | image © Michiel Vergauwe

a central fireplace volume shapes the internal layout | image © Annick Vernimmen

interior materials favor earthy tones and restrained textures | image © Stéphanie Mathias

material continuity links old and new architecture | image © Stéphanie Mathias

the addition remains compact in scale beside the historic house | image © Stéphanie Mathias

a new office volume introduces claustra brickwork as a filtered envelope | image © Glenn Vanderbeke

project info:

name: De Zwarte Fles
architects: Vi.architectuuratelier | @vi.architectuuratelier
location: Gent, Belgium
area: 480 square meters
completion: 2025
photography: © Michiel Vergauwe, Annick Vernimmen, Stéphanie Mathias, Glenn Vanderbeke, Koen Van Damme

lead architects: David Chatcahtrian
project architect: De Smedt Kevin
structure engineer: Igenia
landscape architect: Laurent Debaere

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Curtain House, a private residence by Zero Studio, occupies a tightly packed urban fabric in Kerala. Designed for a plot edged by adjacent homes and everyday street activity, the project addresses its dense context through surface and light rather than setback or enclosure. Its presence along the street stands out for its facade of metal screening, a permeable outer layer which allows breezes and filtered sunlight.

The vertical metal screen that wraps the front and side elevations. During the day, it casts narrow bands of shadow across floors and walls. After dusk, interior light passes outward, giving the house a subdued glow that hints subtly at occupation without exposing views inside.

images © Prasanth Mohan

a home filled with sunlit gardens

Inside Zero Studio’s Curtain House, spaces are oriented away from the street, and the plan shifts focus to courtyards and landscaped edges. Living, dining, and kitchen zones share a continuous volume, organized around internal green pockets and a long water element that cools the air and slows movement through the house. The architects shape double height spaces to draw daylight deep into the interior and allow rooms to remain evenly lit across the day.

Materials remain restrained throughout. Exposed concrete ceilings and walls carry the structure honestly, while wood flooring introduces warmth underfoot. Sliding glass panels open living areas to planted perimeters. Instead of decoration, the interior atmosphere relies on its textural materials and plant life throughout.

a layered metal screen filters light, air, and views across the street edge

the climate-responsive curtain house

Across the day, Curtain House’s facade by Zero Studio performs as a responsive surface. The metal curtain modulates glare during peak sun while preserving cross ventilation, an essential consideration within Kerala’s humid climate. Vegetation along boundaries and terraces contributes additional cooling and visual relief, extending green surfaces vertically through the house.

The project demonstrates how careful layering can reconcile privacy with openness in a dense setting. With its screened courtyards and inward-facing rooms, the space remains responsive to climate and everyday to lend a calming domestic environment.

vertical slats cast shifting shadows that move slowly across concrete and wood surfaces

living, dining, and kitchen spaces share one continuous open volume

an exposed concrete structure gives the interiors a quiet tactile presence

timber floors add warmth beneath the cool weight of the ceiling slabs

the plan turns inward toward courtyards that bring daylight deep into the home

plants line the perimeters and terraces to temper heat and soften edges

project info:

name: Curtain House

architect: Zero Studio | @zerostudioofficial

location: Kochi, Kerala, India

completion: January 2025

photography: © Prasanth Mohan | @prasanth.mohans

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The Hangzhou Empathy Museum by TAOA Studio stands along a riverfront corridor in Hangzhou, where a former construction site has been reworked into a compact community arts institution. The project begins with an unfinished condition, an underground parking garage already complete and a planned structure above, and turns that fragment into a civic space with a distinct architectural presence.

TAOA approaches the museum from the inside outward, with its original massing described as a cube truncated by a cylinder. Exhibition halls carved from the basement drive the organization of the floors above, and each program presses outward to adjust the structure and facade. 

images © TAOA Studio

a facade as a ‘peeled shell’

Facing a river on one side and a major road on the other, the envelope of TAOA’s Hangzhou Empathy Museum reads as a peeled shell. The city-facing elevation opens and curves away, creating a surface that stands slightly apart from the inner volume while allowing air and light to pass between. The building gains depth through this layered construction, with exterior skin and interior rooms held in measured tension.

The architects wrap the entire exterior in a facade of curved stainless steel panels. Their inherent stiffness allows wide spans without secondary purlins, giving the surface a continuous rhythm. Under changing daylight the metal carries a soft sheen. Reflections shift with passing clouds and traffic, lending the volume a sculptural tenderness that tempers its compact form.

TAOA transforms an unfinished parking structure into the Hangzhou Empathy Museum

the perforated skin blurs views and diffuses light

Along the Hangzhou Empathy Museum’s north facade, TAOA employs perforations to temper the brightness of the sky. From inside, the city appears as a blurred field of movement and color, similar to an abstract drawing. The effect supports the galleries, where artworks receive steady, diffuse illumination and outside distractions recede into a gentle background presence.

The second floor lifts at a calculated angle to brace the canopy below. This move introduces a profile that recalls the protective depth of traditional eaves. The overhang creates shade at the ground plane and establishes a sheltered zone where visitors gather before entering, a subtle gesture that strengthens the building’s relationship with the street.

a peeled facade forms a layered shell between the museum and the city

The entrance sits within a semi circular concavity that draws visitors inward. The geometry suggests a pull toward the doorway, easing the transition from sidewalk to interior. Above, a narrow crevice admits daylight, which falls through a three story void. This tall space, described by the architects as a spatial canyon, sets the scale for the visit and frames the first encounter with the museum.

At ground level, the plan opens toward the north and extends into a cantilevered platform. The edge between interior and exterior softens as paving and floor align. At one corner, a vertical void links all floors, transforming an awkward angle from the earlier structure into a luminous core. Light drops from above and washes the walls, giving the junction a quiet, contemplative character.

curved stainless steel panels create a continuous skin with subtle reflections

A staircase runs along the sidewall and becomes visible in fragments through the perforated metal. From the street, silhouettes of movement animate the facade, offering glimpses of activity within. The path upward feels direct and legible, and encourages visitors to easily move between levels.

Connections to the underground galleries are designed with the same level of care. Portions of the structural slabs were removed to draw daylight and planted views down into the basement. Exhibition rooms below ground gain a surprising sense of openness, and the sequence between above and below reads as one continuous environment.

perforated metal filters daylight and softens views toward the surrounding streets

a recessed entrance draws visitors into a three story canyon filled with light

vertical voids and a side stair reveal movement and connect all levels

exhibition spaces carved from the basement shape the building from the inside outward

project info:

name: Hangzhou Empathy Museum

architect: TAOA Studio | @taoarchitecture

location: Hangzhou, China

completion: 2025 

photography: © TAOA Studio

design team: Tao Lei, Chen Zhen, Cui Xiang, Tao Ye, Meng Xiangrui, Wang Shuchen, He Xiaotian
lead architect: Tao Lei
construction: Hangzhou Jingyi Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.
lighting consultant: TS Lighting
landscape design: Hangzhou Musan Landscape Design
structure design: Zhejiang Institute of Architectural Design and Research

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Sordo Madaleno, working with építész stúdió and Buro Happold, has been selected as the winner of the international competition for the 43,000-square-meter New Collection Centre of the Hungarian Museum of Natural History in Debrecen (find designboom’s previous coverage here). Chosen from a shortlist of twelve teams, the project marks the first European cultural commission for the third-generation Mexican practice, which operates between London and Mexico City. The winning scheme focuses on the quieter, long-term work of conservation, research, and scientific stewardship. ‘The Centre’s staff are stewards of the objects, and the architecture becomes an extension of that stewardship. Within this layered ecology of care, the object is framed not as an isolated artefact but as an embodiment of life-worlds and landscapes that nourish reciprocal relationships,’ notes Fernando Sordo Madaleno. ‘Our building reflects this mutuality, providing a space of unity between conservator, stakeholder, architecture, and environment.’

A defining element of the project is its layered brick facade. Soils from different regions of Hungary are used in the brick production, producing subtle tonal variations across the building envelope. These shifts in color and texture reference both the geological history of the country and the museum’s disciplinary scope, spanning geology, fossils, animal life, human activity, and ecology. The monolithic structure remains visually active without resorting to overt gestures, extending the horizontal logic of the surrounding low-lying landscape.

all renderings by BsArq

a new scientific hub for an expanding museum landscape

Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, is currently undergoing significant urban and academic expansion, including the relocation of the Hungarian Museum of Natural History from Budapest to the edge of the city’s Great Forest in a building designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The New Collection Centre forms part of this broader shift, occupying a site within the University of Debrecen Science Park, approximately four kilometers from the future exhibition museum building. Its role is to store, study, and care for more than eleven million objects under strict museum-grade environmental conditions.

The design team at Sordo Madaleno likens the building to a traditional Hungarian clay vessel, an object historically used to protect and preserve. This idea translates into an elongated, rectilinear volume measuring 141 by 83 meters, conceived as a solid and deliberately restrained presence. The center is not expressive through form alone, but through material logic and internal clarity.

Across three floors and a basement, the program is divided into approximately 28,000 square meters of collection storage, 6,000 square meters of study and conservation laboratories, and a triple-height, top-lit atrium that acts as the center’s primary public interface. Within this atrium, selected collection items are displayed, accompanied by lecture halls and flexible event spaces intended for students, researchers, and visiting professionals.

the project focuses on the quieter, long-term work of conservation, research, and scientific stewardship

spaces that prioritize continuity over display

Day-to-day workspaces are carefully calibrated. Controlled light and ventilation are introduced through internal courtyards, allowing views outdoors while maintaining the strict environmental stability required for long-term preservation. Circulation, logistics, and security are tightly integrated, reflecting the function of the building as a support infrastructure.

The competition jury highlighted the spatial organization of the project and its attention to sustainability, security, and logistics. Particular emphasis was placed on the building’s capacity to support long-term research, international scientific collaboration, and the preservation of collections over time.

Located away from the spotlight of exhibition halls, the Debrecen Collection Centre foregrounds an often invisible part of museum life. Through material specificity, spatial discipline, and a deliberately subdued presence, Sordo Madaleno and its collaborators propose a building that prioritizes endurance, care, and scientific continuity over spectacle.

adefining element of the project is its layered brick facade

soils from different regions of Hungary are used in the brick production

across three floors and a basement, the program is divided into three zones

selected collection items are displayed

the Debrecen Collection Centre foregrounds an often invisible part of museum life

Sordo Madaleno and its collaborators propose a building that prioritizes endurance, care, and scientific continuity

the monolithic structure remains visually active without resorting to overt gestures

project info:

name: New Collection Centre for the Hungarian Museum of Natural History

architects: Sordo Madaleno | @sordo_madaleno, építész stúdió | @epitesz_studio, Buro Happold | @buro_happold

location: Debrecen, Hungary

size: 43,000 square meters

client: Municipality of the City of Debrecen, Hungarian Museum of Natural History

competition organiser: Debreceni Infrastructure Development Ltd

renderings: BsArq | @bs_arq

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Together with Frade Arquitectos, Luca Poian Forms envisions this EMT Museum as a landmark building dedicated to the transit history of Madrid. Conceived as a large civic presence on the site of the former Vicente Calderón Stadium, the project approaches its setting with measured geometry and a lightweight facade. Its scale reads as infrastructural, yet its profile and materiality remain soft.

The exterior is wrapped in a translucent ETFE skin that tempers the building’s physical weight. Daylight filters through the envelope, softening edges and producing shifting interior atmospheres across the day. From the river path, the museum appears permeable and luminous, its surface responding to changing weather and light rather than asserting a fixed image.

visualizations © Filippo Bolognese Images

a home for Madrid’s public transport history

The EMT Museum is planned by Luca Poian Forms and Frade Arquitectos as an institutional home for Madrid’s public transport history. It has been designed as part of an international competition, with a program to focus on movement, logistics, and collective memory. Industrial references drawn from depots and hangars inform the spatial organization, translated into a contemporary architectural language centered on efficiency and long-term adaptability. The building supports public exhibition areas alongside operational zones, arranged through clear circulation routes that support smooth daily use.

Visitors enter at ground level onto an open, flexible floor that can accommodate exhibitions, workshops, conferences, and civic gatherings. Circulation paths remain legible and generous, encouraging slow movement through the galleries while maintaining operational efficiency behind the scenes. The museum functions as an active public interior, capable of shifting with changing curatorial needs and public programming.

this EMT Museum is proposed for the site of a former stadium in Madrid

industrial durability balanced by visual lightness

At the heart of the EMT Museum, Luca Poian and Frade Arquitectos plan column-free exhibition halls to house historic buses at full scale. A reinforced concrete bridge system spans these spaces, supporting the loads required for both display and movement while maintaining spatial continuity. Above and around this structure, a lightweight metal framework supports the ETFE envelope to lend a contrast between industrial durability and visual lightness.

Material choices emphasize durability and performance. Concrete surfaces provide thermal mass and a tactile sense of permanence, while the ETFE facade introduces softness and translucency. The interplay between these systems produces interiors that feel expansive and calm, shaped by diffuse light and long sightlines across the exhibition floor.

a lightweight ETFE facade softens the industrial urban fabric

environmental approach and future use

Environmental performance is integrated directly into the building’s systems. The ETFE air-cushion facade functions as a passive climatic layer, regulating light and heat while reducing energy demand. Its lightweight and recyclable nature supports long-term sustainability goals without compromising spatial quality or durability.

Digital tools form a parallel layer within the physical architecture. Augmented reality and interactive media are embedded throughout the museum to support interpretation and engagement, and are integrated to extend the visitor experience beyond static displays. 

the ground level opens onto a flexible space for exhibitions and conferences

column-free exhibition halls will house historic buses at full scale

the ETFE air-cushion facade regulates light and heat while reducing energy demand

project info:

name: EMT Museum

architecture: Luca Poian Forms | @lucapoianforms, Frade Arquitectos | @fradearquitectos

location: Madrid, Spain

engineer: PROINTEC

area: 10,620 square meters

visualizations: © Filippo Bolognese Images | @filippobolognese.images

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The Central Courtyard villa by NextOffice in Lavasan, Iran, follows a tunnel/bar structure that features a continuous arrangement of stacked arches. The result is an intricate residential building with a three-dimensional central courtyard. The project is a contemporary reinterpretation of one of the most enduring elements of Iranian architecture, placing a three-dimensional courtyard at its heart to address climate, privacy, and daily life in a single architectural gesture. NextOffice rethinks the traditional inward-looking courtyard typology, stretching it across the entire footprint of the residence and transforming it into a porous spatial system that organizes light, movement, and social interaction.

This courtyard offers varying degrees of permeability, evident in the floor (through the pool), the walls (open to opposing views), and toward the sky. Two L-shaped elements, both in plan and section, intersect to form an opening at the core of the mass. Unlike its predecessors, this three-dimensional central courtyard is connected with the outside at various levels, and through different configurations, it generates varying degrees of enclosure, privacy, and layers within the space.

the project reinterprets of one of the most enduring elements of Iranian architecture | image by Reza Nasseri

house rethinks traditional architecture in iran

In historic Iranian homes, the central courtyard mediates between extreme environmental conditions and deeply rooted cultural expectations. It moderates intense heat and glare while creating a protected inner world, clearly separating private life from the public realm. The Central Courtyard Villa preserves these essential qualities but refuses to treat them as fixed relics. Instead, the studio opens the courtyard outward and upward, allowing its influence to flow through every level of the building.

The project pushes the idea of the courtyard beyond its conventional boundaries. Rather than a simple open void, it becomes a layered, three-dimensional space generated by a series of stacked tunnels and ribbon-like volumes connected by continuous arches. This structural stacking produces a network of terraces, voids, and framed openings that blur the line between inside and outside. The result is a house that oscillates between introversion and extraversion, offering residents a constantly shifting spectrum of spatial experiences.

enclosed rooms and semi-open spaces remain in continuous dialogue | image by Reza Nasseri

central courtyard villa merges building typologies

Permeability shapes the entire composition. On the ground level, a pool punctures the floor plane and introduces water as both climate moderator and sensory element. Facades on opposite sides open generously toward the courtyard, while the ceiling dissolves to the sky above. These gestures create an architecture that feels soft and negotiable, where enclosed rooms and semi-open spaces feed off one another and remain in continuous dialogue.

The tectonic logic of the villa reflects this hybrid character. A conventional beam-and-column system works alongside an arched structure, both wrapped in brick surfaces that recall familiar local materials while forming unfamiliar spatial relationships. The interplay of water, light, arches, and carved openings produces an atmosphere that is at once new and deeply rooted in memory.

Through this fusion of tradition and experimentation, the Central Courtyard Villa evokes a quiet sense of déjà vu. It invites users to recognize fragments of Iran’s architectural past while encountering them in unexpected forms, proving that the courtyard, far from being a static symbol, remains a living and adaptable space for contemporary life.

a pool punctures the floor plane and introduces water as a sensory element | image by Parham Taghioff

three-dimensional space is generated by stacked tunnels and ribbon-like volumes | image by Parham Taghioff

brick surfaces recall familiar local materials | image by Parham Taghioff

the central courtyard is opened to the entire surface of the project | image by Parham Taghioff

NextOffice create an architecture that feels soft and negotiable | image by Parham Taghioff

a porous spatial system organizes light, movement, and social interaction| image by Parham Taghioff

structural stacking produces a network of terraces, voids, and framed openings | image by Parham Taghioff

facades on opposite sides open generously toward the courtyard | image by Parham Taghioff

the courtyard the ceiling dissolves to the sky above | image by Reza Nasseri

the project is a contemporary reinterpretation of enduring elements of Iranian architecture | image by Neel Studio

project info:

name: The Central Courtyard Villa
architects: NextOffice | @nextoffice

location: Lavasan, Iran

photographers: Reza Nasseri, Parham Taghioff, Neel Studio

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: claire brodka | designboom

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Casa Batlló unveils Hidden Order, a monumental projection mapping by Matt Clark, founder of United Visual Artists, presented as a free public event on Gaudí’s facade. For the first time, the annual mapping commission also moves indoors, inaugurating a new second-floor space with Beyond the Facade, a site-specific exhibition that extends the project past the street.

Conceived as a large-scale audiovisual performance, Hidden Order transforms Casa Batlló’s facade through cycles of light, movement, and sound. Clark approaches Gaudí’s architecture as an active system shaped by geometry, natural laws, and constant transformation. The title echoes L’ordre invisible, the official motto of Gaudí Year 2026, pointing to the idea that apparent chaos often conceals deeper structures. ‘Gaudí once said that the straight line belongs to man, and the curve to God… I’ve always been drawn to the hidden systems beneath the surface—those structures that quietly shape the world around us.’ Clark notes.

The experience is further intensified by a live performance by choreographer and dance artist Fukiko Takase, activating the facade in real time and tightening the feedback loop between body, building, and public space.

Clark collaborated with the dance artist, recording her movements through motion-capture technology. Her body becomes a generative element within the projection, multiplied and transformed into dynamic visual structures that appear to grow directly from the facade. Takase’s choreography was developed through direct physical engagement with Casa Batlló, responding to its curves, textures, and spatial rhythm, treating the building as a partner.

Hidden Order mapping by United Visual Artists at Casa Batlló | all images by Claudia Mauriño

hidden order unfolds as an interior journey

An original score by composer Daniel J. Thibaut binds image, movement, and architecture into a single performative experience. Developed in close dialogue with Clark and Takase’s choreography, the composition draws on geometry and natural patterns, shifting from restrained pulses to more expansive sequences. Sound is not used illustratively,  but structurally, allowing the facade to ‘find its own voice’ as light, motion, and audio operate together over time.

Opening in parallel with the mapping, Beyond the Facade marks the launch of Casa Batlló’s contemporary art exhibition space. Conceived as an interior continuation of Hidden Order, the exhibition leads visitors on a gradual journey from daylight into darkness, tracing rhythms of day and night, order and disorder. Through light studies, motion-based projections, and kinetic sculpture, the British artist slows the tempo, offering what he describes as ‘a more reflective counterpoint to the facade mapping… an opportunity to look more closely at the ideas and processes behind the work.’

A key reference of the concept is Ramon Llull, the 13th-century Majorcan philosopher whose diagrammatic systems sought to reveal the hidden order of the world through logic and geometry. The connection situates Clark’s practice within a longer lineage of thinkers who, like Llull and Gaudí, understood nature as an intelligible system.

a monumental projection mapping by Matt Clark

a civic spectacle activating gaudí’s legacy

Now in its fifth edition, Casa Batlló’s annual mapping series has become a major public event, drawing 110,000 spectators in 2025 alone. Previous commissions by Refik Anadol, Sofia Crespo, and Quayola have reinterpreted the facade through digital and generative practices. While United Visual Artists has produced permanent public artworks worldwide, Hidden Order marks the studio’s first exploration of projection mapping. ‘We see the mapping as a gift to the city—an open moment of encounter with a living World Heritage site,’ shares Gary Gautier, General Director of Casa Batlló.

The project forms part of Casa Batlló Contemporary, the ongoing program of the institution dedicated to commissioning new work in dialogue with Gaudí’s legacy. The year 2026 marks the centenary of Gaudí’s death, officially designated Gaudí Year 2026 by the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Spain, and coincides with Barcelona’s role as World Capital of Architecture. Hidden Order and Beyond the Facade treat Gaudí’s work as a living framework, one that continues to generate new forms of artistic thinking today.‘Gaudí’s work is already alive. Casa Batlló Contemporary exists to create the conditions for that legacy to continue expanding through contemporary artists, for the world of today.’ explains María Bernat, Director of Casa Batlló Contemporary.

Hidden Order transforms Casa Batlló’s facade through cycles of light, movement, and sound

Clark approaches Gaudí’s architecture as an active system shaped by geometry, natural laws, and transformation

Beyond the Facade marks the launch of Casa Batlló’s contemporary art exhibition space

Casa Batlló’s annual mapping series has become a major public event

treating the building as a partner

Hidden Order marks the studio’s first exploration of projection mapping

Fukiko Takase’s body becomes a generative element within the projection

the experience is further intensified by a live performance by choreographer and dance artist Fukiko Takase

conceived as a large-scale audiovisual performance

the title echoes L’ordre invisible, the official motto of Gaudí Year 2026

the annual mapping commission also moves indoors

inaugurating a new second-floor space with Beyond the Facade exhibition

The post united visual artists animates gaudí’s casa batlló facade through embodied motion appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Casa Tam is a comprehensive renovation by Iván Bravo that rewrites a house on the foothills of the Andes, on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. The project transforms a residence that has already been expanded twice into a new spatial continuity that sits somewhere between new construction and architectural palimpsest. Rather than erase its past, the renovation works with fragments of the original layouts, extending them and weaving them together with axes from later interventions to form a layered domestic landscape that openly carries its own history. The house presents an urban face to the street, lifting its front facade as a deliberate gesture while turning away from the mountains behind. Its roof follows the natural slope of the land, descending almost to the ground and compressing the rear elevation into a thin, semi-buried strip that connects the house directly to the garden. This move anchors the building to its site while quietly reshaping its relationship to the surrounding landscape. 

the house lifts its front facade as a deliberate gesture | all images by BARO

chilean house keeps function-based interior plan

Inside, the architect‘s plan splits in two. The open, double-height space facing the interior garden holds the living and dining room alongside the main bedroom, creating a shared domestic core. Toward the street, the more utilitarian functions — the kitchen and the owner’s ceramics workshop — form a compact service wing. Above, two children’s bedrooms are connected by a shared central studio, reinforcing the idea of communal space through vertical layering.

On the lower level, new reinforced concrete elements stitch together the different construction systems accumulated over time, acting as a structural mediator between eras. The upper floor, by contrast, is built as a lightweight structure to respect the limitations of the original foundations, which were designed to carry only a single story. This careful balance between weight and lightness allows the house to grow without overwhelming its past.

the entire volume is wrapped in a standing seam metal skin, giving the house a monolithic presence

spatial fragments make up layered domestic landscape

Material transitions remain intentionally visible throughout the interior. Shifts between old and new surfaces are unified only by a coat of white paint, while openings carved through walls expose their original thickness and texture, revealing the house’s previous lives. Outside, however, the entire volume is wrapped in a standing seam metal skin, giving the house a monolithic, almost abstract presence that conceals the complexity within.

The only entirely new addition appears in front of the main facade: a kiln room for the ceramics workshop. Clad in wood and painted white, it stands slightly apart from the house, marking the latest chapter in this ongoing process of rewriting. More than an extension, it becomes a quiet signature: a plastic and programmatic trace of the house’s most recent transformation.

the roofline follows the natural slope of the land

the layered domestic landscape openly carries its own history

the only entirely new addition is in front of the main facade: a kiln room for the ceramics workshop

clad in wood and painted white, it stands slightly apart from the house

on the lower level, new reinforced concrete elements stitch together the different construction systems

toward the street, the kitchen and the owner’s ceramics workshop form a compact service wing

rather than erase its past, the building works with fragments of the original layouts

material transitions remain intentionally visible throughout the interior

the ceramics workshop marks the latest chapter in an ongoing process of rewriting

the added studio becomes a programmatic trace of the house’s most recent transformation

The post iván bravo weaves original brick fragments into casa tam renovation in chile appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.