In response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and the massive destruction of the Gaza Strip, The Granaries of Gaza by Studio nab proposes a long-term, systemic reconstruction process. Conceived as both immediate relief and sustainable rebuilding, the initiative unfolds in two phases, aiming to restore dignity and autonomy to Gaza’s communities. After months of conflict, Gaza’s housing, infrastructure, and essential services have been devastated. The population faces severe conditions. The entirety of residents are experiencing acute food insecurity; more than 1,400 healthcare workers have been killed and over 30 hospitals destroyed or rendered inoperative; the collapse of water and sanitation systems has increased the risk of disease; and electricity outages are nearly constant, hindering the operation of critical equipment.

In this context, The Granaries of Gaza is conceived not as a conventional aid program but as a civic, social, and ecological reconstruction strategy. It is grounded in two key observations: the right of Gazans to dignified housing and autonomy, and the unprecedented presence of more than 50 million tons of rubble, material that can serve as the foundation for rebuilding rather than waste to be removed. The project is a collective act of care combining architecture, agriculture, and social repair.

phase 01: onshore humanitarian platforms | phase 02: offshore extensions for housing, agriculture, and energy | all images courtesy of Studio nab

Studio nab’s Two-Phase Strategy for Civic and Ecological Rebuild

The proposal’s first phase, by interdisciplinary practice Studio nab, provides immediate yet adaptable relief. Rubble is recycled into modular concrete blocks, lightened with straw, to construct bioclimatic shelters. These offer displaced families protection, privacy, and basic services, while accommodating craftspeople and volunteers engaged in reconstruction. The shelters are designed with principles of natural ventilation, shading, and orientation, and can integrate self-sufficiency systems for water, energy, and sanitation. Transitional by nature, they form the groundwork for the second phase.

Building on the first phase, modular offshore platforms extend the city with housing, farms, markets, schools, hospitals, and renewable energy systems. Each platform is designed as a self-sufficient ecosystem, two-thirds offshore, one-third onshore, capable of producing food, water, and energy independently. The onshore shelters from the first phase are reused or relocated, with concrete modules repurposed into seawalls or urban structures.

projected photomontage showing the deployment of phase 02

Studio nab’s proposal Weaves Agriculture, Heritage, and Energy

The project integrates regenerative agriculture through aquaponics, hydroponics, poultry and goat farming, and the cultivation of traditional crops such as za’atar and olives. Shared granaries, designed with natural thermal regulation, ensure year-round food storage and distribution, reducing dependence on fragile supply chains. Construction draws on traditional Palestinian techniques such as rammed earth and references to silos, communal ovens, and clay beehives. Studio nab’s approach preserves local knowledge while strengthening material and cultural autonomy. Floating platforms generate energy through solar, wind, wave, and biogas systems. Dual water systems, seawater desalination, and natural wastewater treatment, supply crops and households, supporting long-term resilience.

The Granaries of Gaza reframes reconstruction as a collective act of care, combining architecture, agriculture, and cultural continuity. By transforming rubble into resources and linking emergency response with sustainable development, the project seeks to restore autonomy and resilience to Gaza’s population.

photograph of the existing site, showing extensive destruction

visual projection of the site, a humanitarian camp constructed from rubble

schematic diagram: recycling war debris into modular blocks

schematic diagram: shelters constructed from recycled concrete blocks

visual projection of the site, a humanitarian camp constructed from rubble

multi-purpose domestic platform: hospital, vertical farm, port, water and food storage, activity buildings, market

multi-purpose domestic platform: school, care center, diplomacy center, housing, mosque

platform for market gardening, fish farming, and livestock production

platform for renewable energy production, drinking water, and waste treatment

phase 02: view from the multi-purpose domestic platform

project info:

name: The Granaries of Gaza
designer: Studio nab

lead designer: Nicolas Abdelkader

location: Gaza Strip, Palestine

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: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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The MoMA Design Store in Soho, New York, has reopened following a renovation by Brooklyn-based Peterson Rich Office. Built in 1884, the cast iron and masonry building has been carefully restored to its original footprint, a move that re-centers circulation and opens views into the interior from Spring Street. The updated store creates a contemporary new framework which celebrates the 19th-century ‘messiness’ of its historic home at 81 Spring Street.

designboom attended a preview ahead of the public opening on September 27th, 2025, where lead architects Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich spoke about the design process and goals for the project.

‘We got a wonderful brief from MoMA,’ says Nathan Rich. ‘The first goal was to create a meaningful dialogue between the Design Store and this historic building. The second was to connect with the public, literally bringing the street in. And the third was to showcase the products themselves in special ways.‘

windows reopened to Spring Street create a stronger dialogue with Soho | images © Eric Petschek

historic details revealed

The MoMA Design Store renovation emphasizes the building’s authentic details, exposing cast iron columns, brickwork, and even portions of the original tin ceiling. Layers of later alterations were stripped back to allow the historic textures to read clearly against new interventions.

‘What we love about working in older buildings is peeling back the layers,’ explains Miriam Peterson. ‘The ceiling had been dropped, columns were covered, and the facade was blocked off. One of the first things we did was reveal the brick and arches and look at archival drawings to relocate the entrance to its original center position.’

The facade, once painted a muddy brown color called Afternoon Tea, has been restored to black with approval from the Landmarks Commission. ‘That subtle change reframed the interior from the street,’ Peterson adds. ‘It creates a stronger frame through which to view the store, while resonating with the masonry context of the neighborhood.‘

perforated steel shelving in MoMA’s signature blue brings a flexible backdrop for products

a contemporary framework

Inside the MoMA Design Store, the 6,600-square-foot space is organized through a system of flexible casework and display structures. Perforated steel shelving finished in MoMA’s signature blue, vitrines, and movable islands establish rhythm and variety, while casters allow the lower level to be cleared for talks and gatherings. A new perimeter shelving system by Rareraw, a Korean family business making its U.S. debut, integrates lighting into a versatile framework.

The architects emphasized adaptability and narrative potential. Nathan Rich describes the approach: ‘Everything here was made by brilliant creators. The store itself should help tell those stories — signage, displays, and layout all work to feature the products in meaningful ways.‘

historic cast iron and masonry details are revealed throughout the space

connecting store, street, and museum

The reopened windows and re-centered entry reinforce the link between the store and the streetscape, creating transparency and drawing the public in. This connection extends to the north wall, now home to a rotating Modern Mural program. The opening installation, LOVE NYC by Nina Chanel Abney, echoes Soho’s urban fabric while referencing MoMA’s collection, turning the wall into both an interior focal point and a street-facing canvas.

‘The mural announces from the moment you walk in that this is MoMA,’ Peterson says. ‘It frames the threshold between street and store, reinforcing the connection between the Design Store and the museum.’

The renovation balances a reverence for the building’s industrial heritage with the precision required of a retail environment. Exposed tin ceilings and rough masonry contrast with crisp steel shelving and controlled lighting. Peterson notes: ‘We embraced the messiness of the old building and saw it as part of the palette that directly engages with the new products.‘

the north wall features Nina Chanel Abney’s Love NYC mural

The news comes shortly after the opening of MoMA’s bookstore in Seoul. Residents and visitors in the Korean city will find the new space in the Dosan Park area of Gangnam, the fast-growing and now-iconic neighborhood south of the Han River. See designboom’s coverage here.

project info:

name: MoMA Design Store | @momadesignstore

renovation architect: Peterson Rich Office | @peterson_rich_office

location: 81 Spring Street, New York, NY

client: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) | @themuseumofmodernart

mural artist: Nina Chanel Abney | @ninachanel

completion: September 27th, 2025

photography: © Eric Petschek | @cb

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Studio Yione, led by architect Yi Wang, has developed Fluxwork, a proposal for an office addition above the historic Columbia Building in downtown St. Louis. The project introduces a cantilevered, lightweight volume suspended above the truncated remains of the 1892 landmark, supported by three slender columns and an elevator shaft. The preserved base is reprogrammed as a public hub, containing a lobby, auditorium, and rooftop garden, while the new structure above accommodates a flexible, data-driven workplace.

Originally designed by Isaac Taylor, the Columbia Building was completed in 1892 as a nine-story Romanesque structure at 8th and Locust Streets. Named to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in North America, it reflected the optimism of St. Louis’s late-19th-century growth. Following economic decline and widespread demolitions in the mid-20th century, the building was truncated in 1976, leaving only a two-story fragment. Fluxwork seeks to reengage this architectural history while introducing a model for the future of work. The design creates a visual dialogue between the solidity of the historic base and the openness of the new cantilevered addition. The lower portion is anchored in community use, while the suspended volume houses adaptable workspaces. The lower four floors are organized for individual, focus-oriented work, while the upper three levels are designed with open layouts that encourage collaboration. Intermediate mezzanine areas adjacent to a scissor stair provide informal gathering points and circulation flexibility.

all images courtesy of Studio Yione

Historic Base Meets Floating Volume in Fluxwork Office

Material strategies followed by Studio Yione’s architectural team emphasize contrast and performance. The structure uses a hybrid steel-and-concrete system, with high-strength steel columns and a reinforced elevator shaft carrying the cantilevered floors. The exterior is clad in perforated metal panels that filter daylight and views, producing a sense of lightness. Interior finishes balance exposed structural expression with warmer elements such as wood ceilings and retractable curtains, enabling spatial adaptability between open and enclosed configurations. Landscape and environmental integration form another layer of the proposal. The rooftop garden and terraces extend workspaces into outdoor environments, contributing to thermal comfort and social interaction while reconnecting the site to nature.

Fluxwork incorporates a performance-responsive office model, using behavioral simulations and network analysis to study workplace interactions. These insights inform real-time spatial adjustments, allowing layouts to shift in response to evolving organizational structures. This approach positions the project as both a memorial to St. Louis’s architectural heritage and a prototype for adaptive workplaces. Through the juxtaposition of preserved history and experimental office design, Fluxwork proposes a new relationship between cultural memory, urban context, and the changing conditions of work.

facade pattern follows the structure, with gaps at column points to suggest the ‘ghost’ of the original building

Fluxwork Office proposes a future workplace vision by implementing a data-driven, performance-responsive model atop the century-old Columbia Building remnant

perforated metal panels vary in density, denser above and more open below, responding to solar exposure

upper floors provide open office space, with furniture layouts adapting to collaborative performance

lower floors offer private individual workstations and dedicated team areas designed for distraction-free focus

interiors balance raw structure with wood ceilings and retractable curtains

the Columbia Building was once a proud landmark of downtown St. Louis

project info:

name: Fluxwork Office – Columbia Building Addition Proposal

architect: Studio Yione
lead architect: Yi Wang
location: St. Louis, Missouri, US

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In the heart of the Aegean, on the island of Leros, Greece, The Monk by a+ architects emerges as a sanctuary that redefines the meaning of hospitality through architectural simplicity and an atmosphere of serenity. The residence, carefully revived with respect for local tradition, blends elements of island modernism with clean, minimalist lines.

The interiors follow a restrained aesthetic, where white light, natural textures, and linen fabrics highlight the essence of the place: authenticity, calmness, and timelessness. The choice of materials, stone, wood, linen, and handcrafted objects, serves as a bridge between the island’s environment and a universal language of contemporary design. The space conveys a sense of ‘monastic’ simplicity, translated into a form of luxury that is rooted in experience rather than display.

all images by Vice Versa Photography

The Monk Blends Island Tradition with Contemporary Design

The architecture of The Monk is not just a shelter; it is a narrative. A story of light shifting through the day, of tactile sensations unfolding in linen, of silence embracing the guest. A house that reflects the dialogue between the island’s history and today’s quest for depth and essence. The design team at a+ architects considers The Monk as not a hotel, but a living organism of hospitality, an experience shaped by space and detail, ultimately leaving guests with the feeling of having stayed in a house with a soul.

a distinct bright blue color defines the exterior

The Monk by a+ architects stands on the island of Leros

island modernism is blended with minimalist lines

respectful revival of local tradition

white light enhances natural textures

linen fabrics emphasize authenticity and timelessness

stone, wood, and linen connect design to landscape

handcrafted objects anchor the space in tradition

monastic simplicity redefined as experiential luxury

a dialogue between island history and contemporary design

a house with the essence of soul and memory

project info:

name: The Monk Leros
architects: a+ architects | @alta_plus_architects

lead architect: Ioannis Zacharakis

location: Leros, Greece

photographer: Vice Versa Photography | @viceversa.gr

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The Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture has officially opened in Almaty, Kazakhstan, marking the transformation of the city’s historic Tselinny cinema into a new cultural institution. Designed by London-based architect Asif Khan, the project extends across nearly 6,000 square meters of renovated interiors and a landscaped site of equal size, signaling a new era for the region’s artistic community.

With its undulating facade, the design integrates contemporary cultural programming with the building’s Soviet-era legacy, offering a space that connects Central Asia’s history and its evolving creative future. Khan’s approach balances structural renewal with symbolic gestures, creating a destination that responds to Almaty’s layered past while welcoming a diverse public.

images © Laurian Ghinitoiu

a modernist soviet cinema revived

The Asif Kahn-converted Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture occupies an historic site in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Built in 1964, the original cinema commemorated the Soviet ‘Virgin Lands’ campaign, a politically charged project that reshaped the region’s relationship to its steppe landscape. Over the decades, the building fell into disrepair, its monumental auditorium subdivided and its historic sgraffito — scratched or carved — artwork partially lost.

Beginning in 2017, the Tselinny Center team initiated a careful reconstruction. Khan worked closely with local architect Zaure Aitayeva to stabilize the structure, strengthen it against seismic activity, and reintroduce its original spatial clarity. The rediscovered sgrafitto by Soviet artist Evgeny Sidorkin was restored with a restrained palette, allowing the work to coexist with contemporary art installations.

the Tselinny Center opens in Almaty as a new cultural landmark

the Tselinny Center renovation by asif kahn

The renovation removes intrusive additions while revealing the auditorium’s impressive 18-meter (59-foot) height. Acoustic treatments and integrated systems now support a range of exhibitions and performances. A continuous ribbon of stainless steel and glass wraps the ground floor, introducing daylight and linking the interior to the surrounding landscape.

A new ‘cloudscape’ of embossed symbols spans the north and south facades, drawing from Kazakh ornament and ancient petroglyphs. This abstract language appears in windows, lighting, and staircases, subtly embedding cultural memory into the architecture.

Asif Khan restores a Soviet cinema into a contemporary art venue

Asif Khan retained the building’s exposed concrete, complemented by geological finishes that ground the project in Kazakhstan’s natural history. Fossil-rich limestone from the Mangystau region forms the reception desk, while earth-toned concrete floors and river stones from Almaty’s terrain extend the connection between interior and landscape.

At the entrance, a softly curving, cloud-like threshold introduces a sense of openness and movement, counterbalancing the building’s monumental frame. Inside, a lowered ground plane eliminates level changes, creating a seamless public space that flows outward to adjacent squares and parkland.

a stainless steel ribbon brings daylight and 360 degree access

The reconfigured interior accommodates a series of flexible galleries and gathering areas, including the vast Orta 3 auditorium, the white-box Capsule gallery, and a rooftop terrace with panoramic views of the Ile-Alatau mountains. A new café, learning atelier, and quiet rooms enhance the Center’s role as a community hub.

This design prioritizes adaptable, multi-format spaces, allowing the Tselinny Center to host performances, exhibitions, and interdisciplinary events without fixed orientation. The inaugural program, BARSAKELMES, sets the tone with a live performance staged in the round, drawing on ancient Kazakh traditions.

historic sgrafitto artwork is carefully revealed and renewed

cloudlike forms soften the concrete frame of the building

the project strengthens and preserves the original seismic structure

project info:

name: Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture | @tselinnycenter

architect: Asif Khan | @asifkhan.now

location: Almaty, Kazakhstan

previous coverage: January 2025

completion: September 2025

photography: © Laurian Ghinitoiu | @laurianghinitoiu 

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The renovation of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Powell Hall by Snøhetta brings a balance of heritage and contemporary design to one of the American city’s most cherished landmarks. Located on St. Louis’ Grand Boulevard, the project expands and reimagines the 1925-built theater building while preserving its architectural character and acoustic qualites.

The global architecture firm worked alongside Christner Architects, Schuler Shook, BSI Constructors, and Kirkegaard to create a 64,000-square-foot addition in time to celebrate the hall’s centennial in 2025. The expansion improves accessibility and introduces new public spaces, educational spaces, and backstage areas to support the full scope of the Symphony’s programs and community events.

images © Sam Fentress

snøhetta’s arching addition

Visitors to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra now approach a series of canted masonry shells and arched openings, which the team at Snøhetta designs as the new front-of-house addition. These inclined surfaces and generous windows create a sense of openness, inviting passersby to glimpse the activity within. Inside, a triple-height lobby holds terraces and gathering areas that visually connect different levels, encouraging interaction before and after performances.

Outside, Snøhetta has shaped a public plaza at Grand Boulevard and Samuel Shepard Drive to extend the vitality of the Symphony into the city. The sunlit square offers flexible space for gathering, integrates vehicle drop-off zones, and introduces lush planting beds that soften the urban setting while providing accessible routes from multiple directions.

the expansion by Snøhetta adds 64,000 square feet to historic Powell Hall

a fluid connection between old and new

Snøhetta plans circulation paths to flow easily through the site, allowing visitors to the St. Louis Symphony Hall to move easily between indoor and outdoor spaces. Towering groves frame the entryways, and a network of pathways ensures that the plaza is welcoming and functional, whether for pre-concert mingling or quiet daytime use.

Behind the scenes, the eastern expansion delivers state-of-the-art rehearsal rooms, recording suites, and storage areas. These upgrades provide musicians and staff with modern facilities for practice and collaboration, while community programming strengthens the project’s role as a creative hub.

a new entry sequence features canted masonry shells and arched openings

a triple height lobby creates visual connections across terraces

visitors ascend by way of a sculptural spiral stair

the renovation infuses contemporary design and preserves architectural heritage

back-of-house areas gain modern rehearsal rooms and recording suites

project info:

name: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra | @stlsymphony

project lead, design architect: Snøhetta | @snohetta

location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA

completion: September 2025

previous coverage: March 2022

photography: © Sam Fentress | @samuelfentress

architect of record: Christner Architects | @christnerarchitects

theater-planning consultant: Schuler Shook
construction manager: BSI Constructors
acoustics design: Kirkegaard

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Saint Laurent has renovated its boutique in Milan with works by local artists and designers, including Gaetano Pesce and Gio Ponti. Reopening on September 20th, 2025, the retail store at Via Montenapoleone, 8, introduces a third floor for the menswear collection, which was not present in the previous interiors. Colors, materials, and textures rooted in Parisian and Milanese designs harmonize inside the space. The Saint Laurent collections sit atop open shelves made of marble sourced from Italy, and the marble floor retains its gritty texture, complementing the industrial-sized carpets whose designs are inspired by pixelated images using threads and the paintings of Monet.

Vintage pieces occupy the same space as contemporary furniture and materials, the Maison’s hope to evoke modern classic design. Chairs from Italian architects Marcello Piacentini and Gio Ponti sit next to cherry wood and resin coffee tables made by the Austrian designer, Laurids Gallée, as well as the bubble-shaped glass coffee table shaped by the artisans in Murano, Venice. Inside the Saint Laurent boutique in Milan, there are pieces and furniture by around 70 revered and historic artists and designers, including Vincenzo De Cotiis, Marco Zanuso, Aldo Tura, Osvaldo Borsani, Carlo Scarpa, Joe Colombo, Paolo Buffa, Roberto Iera, and Giovanni Offredi, among others.

image © designboom

Materials from hand-shaped ceramic to eucalyptus wood

The Saint Laurent boutique in Milan unveils three renovated floors: the first two are for the women’s collections, while the last one, the most recent, is dedicated to menswear. Art, fashion, and design meet in the same space. Visitors walk around and find Romanesque sculptures, such as the Antinous bust from the 1800s, spread across the first floor, adding a vintage touch to the seasonal collections by the Maison as well as the shifting textures of the walls and flooring. While the entire boutique feels like an open space, the use of different materials, from marble and ceramic to iron, separates the sections with a unifying theme of earthiness and opulence.

Signature design elements come through inside the Saint Laurent boutique in Milan. The stairs, a staple in the Maison’s master stores, are entirely made of polished and refined eucalyptus wood sourced from Italy, and the large circular mirrors, another classic fixture in the other boutiques, expand the already landscape-esque breadth of the store. On the second floor, one section dials down the use of light materials from the other rooms, as the walls, gleamingly reflecting the lights, are forged from raw iron. Here, there is another open shelf, but this time, it is made of hand-shaped ceramic that reinstates the Maison’s link to the city of Marrakech.

artworks by Ugo Mulas and Irving Penn, as well as a portrait of Lucio Fontana, adorn the walls | image © designboom

Fabrics recycled from the maison’s previous collections

The intended concept of the Saint Laurent boutique in Milan is an Italian palazzo that is open to everyone. The designers’ furniture is placed to be used and interacted with, and the sudden appearances of raw wood, from tables and counters to panels and shelves, allow for a reminder that the shop is not just a store. There is also a hint of futurism in the interiors, mainly brought about by the use of large square-shaped lights on the ceiling, lightly dimmed to allow the warm backlights coming from the marble shelves to illuminate the rest of the space.

In a few of the shelves, the background shows backlit panels made of onyx, the material that the Maison repurposed from its womenswear collections in 2024 and 2025. On the third floor, the home of menswear, there is a sofa wrapped with leather recycled from the winter collection of 2024. In the same area, the walls are made from the same marble used to construct the Duomo cathedral, a way for Saint Laurent to pay homage to the city of Milan through its renovated boutique. Across the floors, artworks by Ugo Mulas and Irving Penn, as well as a portrait of Lucio Fontana, adorn the walls, sealing the attempt of Saint Laurent to allow its boutique in Milan to become an open home. The retail store reopens to the public on September 20th, 2025.

colors and materials rooted in Parisian and Milanese designs harmonize inside the space | image © designboom

view of the chairs by Gio Ponti | image © designboom

the marble floor retains its gritty texture | image © designboom

the background is made of onyx, repurposed from the Maison’s womenswear collections | image © designboom

the use of wood evokes the sensation of an open home | image © designboom

visitors walk around and find Romanesque sculptures throughout the boutique | image © designboom

hand-shaped ceramic shelves foster the link of the Maison to Marrakech | image © designboom

the carpets designs are inspired by pixelated images using threads and Monet’s painting | image © designboom

the boutique reopens on September 20th, 2025 | image © designboom

project info:

maison: Saint Laurent | @ysl

location: Via Montenapoleone, 8, Milan, Italy

opening: September 20th, 2025

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The Jialuo 110kV Power Substation in Juyuan New District, Jiading, Shanghai, has been reimagined by Ten Studio as Green Island, a project that integrates infrastructure, ecology, and public space. The design introduces a double-skin facade system that allows the utility building to function as both an energy generator and a civic amenity.

On the south and east facades, photovoltaic panels are installed to capture solar energy. Several of these panels are mechanically operable, adjusting their angle according to the season. During winter, they remain vertical to optimize solar gain, while in summer, they tilt open, creating shaded and rain-protected pedestrian areas. The north and west facades, which face residential zones, employ perforated aluminum cladding with built-in planting troughs. These elements form seasonal green walls that contribute to the building’s ecological performance while softening its visual impact.

aerial view | all images courtesy of Ten Studio

Ten Studio’s Green Island Substation acts as an Urban Park

The project extends beyond the building envelope to address its urban context. The southern facade projects outward, shielding the site from traffic along Jialuo Road and generating a linear street park. This park connects adjacent residential neighborhoods, a community plaza, and a kindergarten. Additional features include gabion walls with integrated seating, an inner courtyard, and landscaped edges, which transform the substation perimeter into accessible and safe public areas.

Materially, the design combines silver steel framing, aluminum alloy planters, metal mesh, and gabion stone walls to balance durability with ecological integration. More than 120% of the building’s roof area is covered by photovoltaic surfaces, paired with extensive planting systems to enhance environmental performance. Through the integration of renewable energy production, seasonal planting, and public programming, Green Island redefines the role of the substation within the city. Rather than remaining an isolated utility, the project by Ten Studio architectural practice operates as a functional, community-oriented, and ecologically active element of urban infrastructure.

street corner plaza | daytime

breathing & energy stored wall

street corner plaza

street linear open space | daytime

vehicular entrance and exit

internal vehicular road

growing wall

street corner plaza | nighttime

street linear open space | nighttime

project info:

name: Green Island | Jialuo 110kV Power Substation

architect: Ten Studio
design team: Xudong Zhu, Xingyu He, Yiqiu Wu, Jie Han
location: Shanghai, China

area: 1,012 sqm
client: State Grid Shanghai Electric Power Company Jiading Power Supply Company

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Located in the historic district of Miragaia, Porto, the Monte dos Judeus residential renovation project offers a contemporary take on the traditional terraces that define the area’s hillside landscape. Inspired by the organic layering of platforms that shapes Miragaia’s built environment, the design by António Bessa Cruz Architects and José Carlos Cruz Arquitecto unfolds through a sequence of stepped concrete levels, each hosting a separate apartment. These platforms follow the natural topography while maximizing views of the Douro River and surrounding roofs. Each apartment sits on its own level, with private outdoor spaces and a close connection to the landscape, recalling the terraced gardens and backyards that once covered the hillside.

Monte dos Judeus rises in Porto’s Miragaia district | all images by Alexander Bogorodskiy

a dialogue between historic structures and present architecture

Monte dos Judeus’ intervention is built upon a pre-existing structure that had fallen into ruin, from which the original facade tiles had been carefully removed for later reapplication. For the street-facing elevation, the strategy was to reconstruct the original facade and add an abstract volume whose cladding of corrugated metal sheets is highly characteristic of this area. The collaborative team between creative practice António Bessa Cruz Architects and design studio José Carlos Cruz Arquitecto adopts a sober, contemporary language that respects the site’s scale without relying on imitation. The choice of materials, volumes, and the back facade treatment reflects a sensitive reading of the context and a strong connection to the site’s memory.

a contemporary interpretation of traditional hillside terraces

design by António Bessa Cruz Architects and José Carlos Cruz Arquitecto

corrugated metal cladding reflects local building traditions

apartments unfold across a sequence of stepped platforms

the layout follows the site’s natural topography

historic character is retained while adding new layers

the design recalls terraced gardens once on the hillside

private outdoor spaces connect living to landscape

each level maximizes views of the Douro River

the project bridges memory and modern living

a dialogue between past structures and present architecture

project info:

name: Monte dos Judeus
architects: António Bessa Cruz Architects | @antoniobessacruz_architects + José Carlos Cruz Arquitecto | @jcc_architects

location: Miragaia, Porto, Portugal

photographer: Alexander Bogorodskiy | @alexanderbogorodskiy

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Located in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, ROCA Pilates Studio is a renovation project that integrates architectural expression with the practice of Pilates. The design by Taller de Arquitectura y Diseño, led by Daniela Bucio Sistos, draws from the name ‘ROCA,’ using mineral tones and stone materials as the primary language while incorporating lighter elements that reflect movement and fluidity.

The facade is defined by granite, marked by an incision shaped as the pilates studio’s logo. Entry occurs through an opening, leading visitors into a reception space anchored by a large piece of Michoacán cantera stone. This stone element extends through the lobby, where it transforms into a bar finished with tile, creating the impression of a mineral embedded within rock. The reception contrasts solidity with lightness through the use of fabric curtains that span much of the space. Their movement introduces softness and dynamism, evoking the qualities of Pilates practice.

all images courtesy of Taller de Arquitectura y Diseño

Mineral tones and stone define the material palette

The design team at Taller de Arquitectura y Diseño organizes the program into four main areas. The lobby includes a bar that serves both as a hostess station and café, complemented by a communal seating area and integrated restroom core. The practice spaces consist of three rooms, one for mat exercises, one for Cadillac equipment, and one for reformers, each designed for specific training requirements.

Circulation is defined by a wide corridor that connects the reception with the studios. This passage benefits from natural light provided by preexisting windows. Circular openings are introduced along the corridor’s wall to align with structural bays, generating a visual rhythm and strengthening the relationship between interior and light. On the opposite side, the wall transitions into a half-vaulted ceiling, creating a sense of enclosure. Each studio entrance is framed by a border of tile and accented by a line of light, reinforcing continuity and guiding users through the space. ROCA Pilates Studio establishes a dialogue between the permanence of stone and the transience of fabric, balancing weight and lightness while creating an environment suited to both practice and community.

ROCA Pilates Studio is located in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

the project reimagines an existing structure as a Pilates studio

Taller de Arquitectura y Diseño, led by Daniela Bucio Sistos, designed the space

the concept draws on the name ‘ROCA,’ meaning rock

mineral tones and stone define the material palette

light fabric curtains contrast with the solidity of stone

curtains introduce softness and movement into the space

circular openings align with the structural bays to create rhythm

tile cladding carries the mineral texture into the internal spaces

each entrance is framed with tile and illuminated by a line of light

three dedicated practice rooms accommodate mat, Cadillac, and reformer exercises

project info:

name: ROCA Casa de Pilates

architects: Daniela Bucio Sistos – Taller de Arquitectura y Diseño | @danielabsistos

location: Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

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