ArchUp, Architecture, Design & Urbanism

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

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

Construction begins on Luton SEN school expansion adding 120 places

Construction is under way on a £24.5 million second site for Woodlands Secondary School in Luton, after a groundbreaking event at Kestrel Way. The expansion is intended to add as…

Rudee Park design advances toward construction documents in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach presented an updated design-progress report for Rudee Park to City Council on October 20, 2026, moving the waterfront project from an approved master-plan concept toward coordinated construction documents….

Espace Riopelle opens in Quebec City with visible storage and conservation spaces

Espace Riopelle – Michael Audain Pavilion has entered its opening sequence at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. A media event with a ribbon cutting is scheduled for 21…

MOCA GA’s permanent home opens in Atlanta with purpose-built collection care

MOCA GA opens its permanent Atlanta home, bringing five galleries, archives, research space and purpose-built collection storage into one facility.

Oxford Street Goes Traffic-Free as London Reorganises Access and Deliveries

Oxford Street will begin excluding through traffic from almost a kilometre of its central shopping frontage on 26 October 2026. The section between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street will…

Makkah Hotel Acquisition Sets Up a Phased Development Programme

Indonesia’s Danantara has announced completion of its Makkah hospitality acquisition. Its 19 October statement places the hotel handover on 11 August and completion of the land purchase on 18 October,…

HP’s Vancouver Research Building: A Folded Roof for Light and Services

The Shoeshine Problem

Saving on the Back of a Donkey

  • Marble Is Manufactured by Geology

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

URBAN AIR MOBILITY TERMINAL OF NEW YORK

Submission deadline: 1 February 2027, 04:59 UTC (31 January, 23:59 Eastern Time); see timing discrepancy below
Organizer: Design Unlimited
Prize fund: USD 10,000; allocation may be redistributed, subject to stated minimum awards
Organizer: Design Unlimited. Eligibility: students and young architects worldwide; 1–5 entrants, at least one aged 18–40. Fee: USD 79/99/119 per…

2026-2027 ASHRAE High School Design Competition

Submission deadline: 5 January 2027, midnight Eastern Standard Time
Organizer: ASHRAE Student Activities Committee
Prize fund: USD 1,800: first USD 1,000; second USD 500; third USD 300
Organizer: ASHRAE Student Activities Committee. Eligibility: teams of 1–5 students aged 13–18. Fee: not stated. Cash prizes: USD 1,800 total…

The International Architecture Awards 2027

Submission deadline: 1 December 2026. The official page does not publish a closing hour or time zone.
Organizer: The Chicago Athenaeum, The European Centre, and Metropolitan Arts Press. Eligibility: international architects and firms; projects designed or built…

Re:Paris Prize

Submission deadline: 22 November 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT — 23 November 2026, 03:59 UTC.
Organizer: Van Alen Institute.
Prize fund: US$35,000 for the one United States–based winner selected through this open call. The wider three-person cohort represents US$105,000 in awards.
Organizer: Van Alen Institute. Eligibility: United States–based civic-design practitioners. Fee: not stated. Prize: US$35,000. Registration: no separate advance stage. Submission:…

2027 Concrete Masonry Competition

Submission deadline: 2 June 2027, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time — 3 June 2027, 06:59 UTC.
Organizer: Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).
Prize fund: US$20,000 total: student awards of $8,000 / $4,000 / $2,000 and faculty-sponsor awards of $3,000 / $2,000 / $1,000 for first, second and third place. Honorable mentions may also be selected.
Organizer: Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Eligibility: students from specified ACSA member schools in the United States, Canada…

Comfortable Environment Through the Eyes of Future Architects — 2026

Organizer: Moscow Humanitarian-Technological University — Moscow Architectural and Civil Engineering Institute (MGTU-MASI).
MGTU-MASI student competition: university entrants in Russia, CIS and BRICS countries. Fees unspecified; non-cash awards. Application with submission by 20…

Who Sets the City’s Clock? Urban Rhythms, Attention and Social Coordination

The Gym Floor Looks Clean. Is Exercising at Home Safer?

Please Flush: What Does a Restroom Notice Reveal About Shared Space?

Coffee and Architecture: Who Designs What Happens Before the First Sip?

A camel caravan traverses the vast sand dunes of Al Wahat Al Dakhla Desert under a blue sky.

ArchUp Perspectives

The Camel Never Walks Back: A Lesson in Architecture, Integrity, and Timing

"The Camel Never Walks Back" is a sharply woven editorial reflecting on the current architectural absurdities sweeping across some regions, particularly in the Gulf. It opens with a reflective encounter, then dives into a cultural…

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

Bangkok Art Biennale

The fifth edition of the Bangkok Art Biennale will take place from October 29, 2026, to February 28, 2027, across historic temples,…

Biennale ELEKTRA 2026

The 8th edition of Biennale ELEKTRA, an international digital art festival in Montreal, will take place from October 15 to November 15,…

The ArchUp Briefing

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

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

Hanamurasaki: How a 125-Year-Old Ryokan Absorbs Contemporary Design

Hanamurasaki renews a 125-year ryokan tradition through phased interiors, low furniture, art and material craft without erasing its rituals.

Cersaie 2026: Six Tile Shifts That Change Specification, Not Just Style

Six ceramic directions from Cersaie 2026, read through colour, relief, stone effects, large formats, installation and maintenance.

Surf Road House: Turning Coastal Elevation Into an Arrival Sequence

Coughlin Scheel Architects expands a Fire Island house that survived Hurricane Sandy, using elevation, cedar screens and layered circulation as…

820 Ebony/Jet: When Workplace Identity Was Built Into Every Floor

Inside Chicago’s former Ebony and Jet headquarters, colour, pattern and circulation formed an eleven-floor workplace identity now preserved through photography.

Tilt-and-Turn Windows: Why a Better Mechanism Still Needs a Better Wall

A practical reading of tilt-and-turn windows: hardware, ventilation, screens, installation and the spatial reasons adoption remains uneven.

The Yard Theatre: Making a Temporary Venue Permanent Without Erasing Its Past

Takero Shimazaki Architects expands The Yard Theatre through retained brickwork, a curved 224-seat auditorium and visibly reused materials.

Stop! Seating Turns Road Barriers Into Social Infrastructure

Studio Martins Mezulis and 13_0663_tsx turn Dutch safety-barrier language into visible benches and stools for public gathering.

A Glass Kitchen and Curved Cabinetry Reorganise a Turin Apartment

A Turin apartment separates cooking with glass, conceals circulation within curved cabinetry and turns bedroom furniture into technical infrastructure.

Piedra Bay House: Thresholds Between Shade, Pool and Coast

Piedra Bay House uses a protected entrance, planted thresholds and a pool court to organise privacy, shade and movement in…

Outdoor Furniture: Designing for Movement, Shade and Storage

Eight outdoor designs reveal how shade, swivelling, rocking and folding change the space around furniture, from everyday use to cleaning…

The Service Ended. Why Is the Architecture Still Here?

When a service changes, what should happen to its architecture? An analysis of retained value, adaptive reuse, care and the…

What Is a View Worth?

What makes a view valuable in homes, hotels and offices? An architectural analysis of visual quality, price evidence, privacy and…

Selected Reading

Curated themes and independent contributions from across ArchUp.

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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.

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