Architecture : Research Guide

Studio DERA has transformed a former school swimming pool into a sustainable multi-purpose learning and wellbeing space for Waltham Forest College. With the college rapidly expanding its student body, finding new ways to accommodate educational and extracurricular needs was a priority. Studio DERA had already run a sustainable materials workshop for WFC students while building a hempcrete and timber community center and nursery in nearby Higham Hill. College Principal & CEO Janet Gardner then invited Studio DERA directors Max Dewdney and Marcel Rahm to reimagine the long disused swimming pool site and do a feasibility study.

In the west of Berlin, nestled between the historic Grunewald forest and the old AVUS route, lies the Eichkamp estate, designed by Bruno Taut - a residential neighborhood that was conceived as a forest estate in the early 1920s. The plot is one of the last undeveloped plots in this unique ensemble. The special character of the estate, characterized by old deciduous trees, small detached houses, and an almost village-like atmosphere, despite its proximity to the ICC, can still be clearly felt here. The immediate neighborhood is heterogeneous, combining public buildings such as daycare centers and schools with private single-family homes from different eras. A new residential building has been..

With Palazzo, Benthem Crouwel Architects completes the Paleiskwartier in Hertogenbosch – a robust, warm, and open residential building that literally embraces the city. Commissioned by BV Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij Paleiskwartier, Palazzo marks the culmination of more than thirty years of urban development around the Central Station – an area where living, working, and meeting converge. Palazzo brings the whole together and gives new life to the district. The building deliberately faces the city, creates space for the square, and invites people to connect.

The Temple of Darkness Bakhoor Bakhoor by Bunga Design Atelier is an outdoor experiential installation – a contemporary temple born from smoke, scent, and silence. Inspired by the ritual of burning bakhoor, where fragrant wood releases sacred fumes into the air, the piece reimagines the temple as a space of reflection rather than worship, of darkness rather than light.

The housing is located on the top floor of a building from the 1970s. Like most penthouses in the city, it is a residual space despite being the most coveted apartment. By retracting the facade, the unit is positioned above the secondary spaces of the lower floors, with narrow frames and numerous obstacles such as downspouts or ventilation ducts. The goal is to camouflage these defects and through a process of subtraction, leave its structure exposed. Three main spaces are created beneath the original layout.

Set within a sloped, wooded site overlooking the Connecticut River, House in the Woods by Tom Lontine Architect is a 4,400-square-foot residence designed for a pair of hardworking professionals seeking a quiet home to age in place. Low-slung and clad in dark-stained cedar, the house is embedded into the hillside to minimize its visual impact and heighten the sense of immersion in the surrounding forest.

Across South America, architecture is increasingly being understood as a collective act. Rather than imposing external views, many studios and designers are building with and for communities, learning from their local practices, materials, and ways of inhabiting. These projects are repositioning the architect's role from an author to a facilitator, transforming design into a participatory process that centers collaboration, care, and mutual respect.

The project stems from the European University's initiative to establish its new urban campus in Valencia in a location that reflects the institution's values, principles, and objectives: to train professionals committed to the future while preserving the legacy and knowledge that precede them.

The remodelled building is located in a residential area, one block behind the major road in a commercial area, near Gangneung City Hall and Gangneung Bus Terminal. The project of remodelling was to convert a former office building with a statical atmosphere into a couple's house. With roads formed in a north-south direction, the building is less oriented towards the south than open to the northwest landscape, offering views of Daegwallyeong Pass.

"We approach the construction of the academies as an opportunity to reactivate community culture. The proposal seeks not only to mend the existing spatial fabric of the city but also trace and reveal the valuable cultural threads embedded in its surroundings. We hope to 'nourish' the future of the district, weaving a more generous urban space and a richer urban life through the architectural design of two new schools." Meng Yan.

The Hortensia Herrero Art Centre is located in the former Valeriola Palace in the city of Valencia, Spain, an emblematic Baroque-style building dating back to the 17th century that has served various purposes throughout its history, undergone various interventions, and, in recent decades, been unused and abandoned.

Atelier Jeumeu is a stay project located in Jeumeu Village in Gangneung, whose name means "the village where the sun sets." Conceived as a refuge from the city, the project invites visitors to step away from urban speed and embrace a moment of stillness.

Forest House was born from a deep dialogue between architecture and nature, with native trees that reinforce the environmental character. The 350 m² residence was designed to accommodate a family of three siblings and their father, based on a concept that unites affection, comfort, and respect for the original land.

A short walk from the heart of San Pedro, Belize, this oceanfront retreat was created for a retired inventor and an interior designer, partners in life and vision. The home is both a personal escape and a destination for gathering, built to host long stays with family and friends in one of their favorite places on Earth.

Amid the whispering pines of Northern Zealand, Denmark, the intimate guest house No. 16 stands as a serene coastal refuge. The 1930s Italian-inspired villa has been thoroughly restored and gently reimagined, honoring its layered past while unfolding a new and contemplative identity. Within these walls, the spaces recall the stillness of a Hammershøi interior, with gentle light falling softly across quiet surfaces, where classic proportions meet Scandinavian clarity. Subtle echoes of Japanese aesthetics, rooted in imperfection, transience, and natural restraint, create a tactile poetry that invites well-being and a sense of timeless calm. Once an annex to a seaside guesthouse, No. 16 has bee..

Adaptive reuse is shifting from simple preservation to active revitalization, a process of structurally rescuing and reprogramming architectural typologies whose original functions are no longer relevant. The obsolescence of architectural spaces occurs for varied reasons: sociological shifts, leaving spaces uninhabited; technological advances, phasing out specific machinery; and economic changes, making centralized functions necessary. The strategy of repurposing focuses on achieving spatial and functional longevity through minimal interventions, allowing the original structure to serve as the memory anchor of the project.

Located in the vibrant neighborhood of Bali, Sipat & Sauh Villa redefines the idea of a rental property by bringing the intimacy and warmth of a private home into a hospitality setting. The client's brief was simple yet challenging: to design a pool villa for rent that feels deeply personal—"homey"—while still making a strong architectural statement. The design began with an exploration of what was missing from most rental villas on the island: the sense of familiarity, softness, and spatial intimacy that makes a house feel lived in rather than staged.

In contemporary bathroom architecture, the drain has evolved from a purely functional component into a design element that guides layout, accessibility, and long-term performance. When drainage, slope geometry, and waterproofing are designed as one system, the tiled surface achieves both visual refinement and reliable function—qualities that are critical for hotels, spas, and residences. Schluter® establishes the essential drain-to-waterproofing connection in a controlled factory setting, rather than relying on field assembly.

BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group has been selected as the winner of the international competition to design the new Hamburg State Opera, a major cultural project planned for the Baakenhöft peninsula in HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany. The building will consolidate the city's opera and ballet companies under one roof, introducing new performance spaces, production facilities, and public amenities along the Elbe. The project replaces the mid-20th-century opera house on Dammtorstraße, responding to the city's call for a venue that reflects contemporary standards in acoustics, stagecraft, and audience experience.

The void left in the heart of a neighborhood when a school closes is difficult to fill. This was the case with this 1970s school, built according to the same standards as many others of its time in southeastern Spain. When the educational program was relocated, the life and activity once linked to the school disappeared, leaving behind an empty building at the center of the neighborhood.