Md Al Amin Sohan

Are living spaces getting smaller? As cities densify and the global population continues its steady migration toward urban centers—projected to reach around 70% by 2050—domestic space is becoming increasingly compressed. Rising land prices, high construction costs, and a surge in single-person households push developers toward smaller units and tighter floor plans. At the same time, cultural shifts toward resource efficiency and minimal living support this move. Shrinking living spaces require fewer materials, consume less energy, and encourage people to live closer to their means.

The project by Atelier Matteo Arnone for Quinta do Álamo represents a dialogue between past and present, between the memory of the winemaking tradition and the modernity of a house designed for two DJs. Located in Carnota, in the municipality of Alenquer, just 40 minutes from Lisbon, the Quinta is surrounded by vineyards that tell a long history of wine production, offering a unique natural and cultural setting.

Since 1895, the Venice Biennale has invited the world to witness the evolving landscape of contemporary art. In 1980, the event expanded its reach with the launch of the Architecture Biennale, which quickly became one of the discipline’s most influential global platforms. Today, alternating annually between contemporary art and architecture, the Biennale affirms itself as a space where disciplines and ideas intersect. Always timely and provocative, it fuels essential debates on the role of art and architecture in the contemporary world. Among its most recent editions are the 17th Architecture Biennale, themed How Will We Live Together? (2021), curated by Hashim Sarkis; The Laboratory of the Future (2023), by Lesley Lokko; and Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective (2025), curated by Carlo Ratti and open to the public until the end of November.

Atelier van Berlo and Ector Hoogstad Architecten designed Het Streek Lyceum in Ede. The new building redefines the secondary school as a social and spatial heart for both students and the wider community. Designed by Atelier van Berlo and Ector Hoogstad Architecten, the building fosters encounters, vitality, and a sense of belonging within a compact and circular design.

House Duas Marias I is located in Jaguariúna, in the countryside of São Paulo state. It was built on a plot of approximately 6,000 m², which already featured large mature trees, especially in its lower section.

“INHERIT” explores how architecture can retain and extend the invisible layers of a place — its history, its memories, and the quiet spirit that lives within the land.

A.K House is a compact townhouse project located in a quiet residential neighborhood with lush greenery. Situated on a modest 70m² plot with an angled layout deviating from the main street, the design challenge was to optimize the living space under spatial constraints — ensuring privacy while maximizing access to natural light and ventilation.

Located on West Tai Lake in Changzhou, Tian An Clubhouse originally served the surrounding villa community for over a decade. As residents’ lifestyles evolved, the building required renewal. HATCH Architects was commissioned to redesign the clubhouse with an architectural language that bridges Oriental philosophy and contemporary comfort—reviving a sense of harmony between nature and order.

In France, where the housing crisis meets the urgency of energy transition, rehabilitation has become both a civic act and an architectural challenge. For SOL Architecture & Urbanisme, a Paris-based practice specialising in occupied-site upgrades, the transformation of Pré de l’Enclos 2 in Villiers-le-Bel exemplifies a new way to renew the existing through design, participation, and care.

Located in a lush forest of San Simón el Alto, just 2.5 hours from Mexico City, this house redefines the concept of a family retreat in nature. On a 10,000 m² plot surrounded by trees reaching 30 meters in height, the project emerges as a reinterpretation of the traditional cabin, designed to disconnect from urban routines and create a deep connection with the natural environment and family.