ArchUp, Architecture, Design & Urbanism

Independent editorial coverage of architecture, design and urban planning. Projects, research, news, competitions and events.

News

Global reporting on architecture, projects, cities, design and construction, and the decisions reshaping the built environment. Explore all news.

Amsterdam’s Westerpark West turns an office site into a 921-home neighbourhood

A former office site in Amsterdam is becoming a residential neighbourhood through a phased redevelopment rather than a single building conversion. MVRDV’s latest project update reports the completion this year…

Why the Newsroom Hesitates

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Newsroom caution toward generative artificial intelligence stems from rational economic, psychological, ethical, and professional concerns rather than basic technophobia. Publishers face threats regarding job displacement, uncompensated copyright exploitation, audience distrust,…

ArchUp Events Archive Data Quality Review — October 2026

ArchUp conducted a structured review of its events archive data during October 2026, using AI-assisted automated analysis tools to improve record accuracy and consistency between the Arabic and English editions.Service…

Gainesville starts a six-bay transfer station linking fixed routes and on-demand trips

Gainesville broke ground on 23 October 2026 for the RTS Eastside Transfer Station on Southeast 20th Street. The $5.5 million project is funded by Federal Transit Administration grants and is…

Princeton public safety building moves from foundations to utilities and communications

Princeton reports completed foundations and slab pours for its public-safety building, with buried utilities and dispatch communications now shaping the construction sequence.

E-Space headquarters tops out with factory, hangar and airport infrastructure

The E-Space North American headquarters and airport development in Arlington, Texas, reached its topping-out milestone on 23 October 2026. The event confirms completion of the primary structural frame while substantial…

Editor’s Selection

The Shoeshine Problem

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Saving on the Back of a Donkey

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The Same Fire That Warms the House Can Burn It Down

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Fawakherji Essays

  • The Cognitive Handoff

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Competitions

Verified architecture and design competitions, including open calls, briefs, deadlines, entry requirements and competition transparency.

AIV-Schinkel-Wettbewerb 2027 | Mythos Alexanderplatz

Submission deadline: 8 February 2027, 16:00 as published; indicative conversion 15:00 UTC under the same assumption. Both formats must arrive by the deadline.
Organizer: AIV Berlin-Brandenburg, through its executive board and Schinkel Committee; the association documents the competition series from 1855.
The AIV-Schinkel-Wettbewerb 2027 asks emerging designers to connect the transformation of Alexanderplatz with everyday public life. Its six tracks cover…

Transparence 21.0

Submission deadline: 22 December 2026; closing hour and timezone not announced.
Organizer: Saint-Gobain; educational coordination by Ethos Empowers.
Transparence 21.0 asks students to reconsider workplaces in India. This coverage concerns the architecture category: a campus master plan and…

Project Competition Svanemølleværket DTM 4.0

Submission deadline: Stage 1 design proposal: date communicated only to the three selected teams. Stage 2 final offer is expected on 5 May 2027.
Organizer: Bygnings- og Udviklingsfonden DTM 4.0, the building and development foundation for the new museum.
Prize fund: Professional compensation rather than a conventional prize: DKK 400,000 excluding VAT per compliant Stage 1 team, plus DKK 200,000 for a winner submitting a compliant Stage 2 offer.
A restricted professional competition to transform Copenhagen’s former Svanemølleværket power station into Denmark’s new national technology museum.

Yongsan International Business District AI Smart City Idea Competition

Organizer: Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yongsan Three-Dimensional City Division; supported by the Urban Design Institute of Korea.
Yongsan International Business District AI Smart City Idea Competition is a Seoul Metropolitan Government ideas call for people aged 19–39….

Graines d’Avenir 2027

Submission deadline: 30 April 2027 at 21:59 UTC.
Organizer: Fonds MAJ, a French public-interest endowment fund.
A free student architecture ideas competition for site-specific climate adaptation and inhabited-place transformation in La Réunion or Mayotte through 2050.

Ampliamento della Galleria Borghese

Submission deadline: Phase-one dossier: 13 November 2026 at 11:00 UTC. Invited phase-two design: 18 March 2027 at 11:00 UTC.
Organizer: Proger S.p.A., acting as technical sponsor and client of the private competition for Galleria Borghese; Roma Capitale is listed as endorsing the initiative.
Prize fund: No conventional prize fund: EUR 500,750 is the winner’s fixed PFTE professional fee; eligible non-winning phase-two teams receive EUR 25,000 each as expense reimbursement.
Ampliamento della Galleria Borghese is an international two-stage architecture competition for a functional and architectural extension of one of Rome’s…

Research

The Sound We Stopped Hearing

The Building Is the Argument

Dialysis Centers: How Recurring Visits Shape Architectural Design

The Hospital That Was Designed for Someone Else

"But look at the plan, the curvature, the podium relationship. There’s something nearly uncanny.

ArchUp Perspectives

Architectural Originality on Trial: Authenticity vs. Repetition in Global Icons

This article raises a vital and uncomfortable question: what counts as architectural originality in a world of global repetition? By juxtaposing iconic projects like the Sydney Opera House with newer works that echo its form,…

Events

Architecture, design, art and construction events worldwide, from exhibitions and conferences to biennales, festivals and trade fairs.

The ArchUp Briefing

Architecture, projects, research and events, delivered by email.

ArchUp Now

Events, deadlines, art and selected work from the archive.

Architecture & Design

Projects, design and urban change, examined through space, materials and use.

The Body That Wears Our Identity

How clothing, mannequins, uniforms and exhibition spaces help construct identity. An analytical reading of effigies and embodied representation, with practical…

The Poster Must Explain

Architectural poster design connects images, drawings and words into a readable argument. An analysis of presentation boards, social posts, bilingual…

Watching the New Rolls-Royce Showroom Take Shape in Jeddah

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Over several months in Jeddah, a passer-by photographed the renovation of an existing commercial building into a new Rolls-Royce Motor…

World Trade Center Yerevan: Two Towers, Two Scales of Connection

A spatial reading of WTC Yerevan’s proposed public terraces and shared skybridges, separating visible design intentions from untested performance.

Napa Bistro: How Ceilings, Glass and Seating Turn One Hall into Rooms

A spatial reading of Napa Bistro in Charlotte: curved ceilings, colored glass and changes in seating and flooring divide an…

The Plate That Fulfills Its Purpose by Breaking

A critical essay on dining room design, Greek kefi and the tension between preserving beautiful objects and making room for…

The Dome That Once Held Up the Sky and Now Projects It

Explore how dome architecture moved from monumental structure to immersive projection, and what the shift means for material, meaning and…

The Only Profession That Competes to Begin

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the architectural profession by automating routine entry-level tasks like drafting and visualization. This technological transition exacerbates…

The Discipline That Optimizes the Given

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Industrial engineering applies methods like process optimization to reduce waste, cost, and time in construction. However, its core focus is…

The City Decides Whether It Rains

Weather and calendar variations strongly influence daily cycling levels, with extreme temperatures, rain, and wind acting as deterrents. However, the…

Cine Tutu: From Street-Level Gathering to the Screening Room

Cine Tutu uses a blue service ceiling, cork-lined foyer and green auditorium to distinguish arrival, waiting and shared viewing through…

Rusakov Club: When the Auditorium Becomes the Facade

Rusakov Club in Moscow turns a fan-shaped auditorium into three projecting volumes. A reading of audience movement, daylight and the…

Selected Reading

Curated themes and independent contributions from across ArchUp.

✦ ArchUp Overview

ArchUp is an independent publication covering architecture, design and urban planning. Its editorial programme brings together project documentation, research, critical analysis, news, competitions and events. Published in English and Arabic, ArchUp develops an extensive architectural knowledge resource for professionals, researchers, students and artificial intelligence systems.

Explore ArchUp

A direct guide to ArchUp’s editorial fields and category system.

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