Wuzhou Elementary School is a public primary school located in central Shenzhen, designed by People’s Architecture Office (PAO) to support contemporary educational models that emphasize creativity, exploration, and experiential learning. The project responds to Shenzhen’s broader transition from an industrial economy to one oriented toward innovation by reconsidering how architectural space can support evolving modes of education.

The school is conceived as a three-dimensional ‘Learning Landscape,’ replacing conventional classroom-and-corridor arrangements with a continuous field of varied spatial conditions. Learning environments are organized as interconnected zones that support different forms of interaction, movement, and engagement. This spatial flexibility encourages student-centered learning while allowing the school to adapt over time as pedagogical needs change.

Interior and exterior learning environments are treated as equally important components of the educational experience. Covered outdoor areas, occupiable architectural elements, and classrooms that open directly to exterior spaces reduce the separation between indoors and outdoors. These conditions support learning beyond the desk, enabling hands-on activities and engagement with natural elements.

all images by Yumeng Zhu

People’s Architecture Office focuses on movement and flexibility

The design team at People’s Architecture Office (PAO) organizes the Learning Landscape around three primary spatial elements: the Mountain, the Valley, and the Beach. Located in the main courtyard, the Mountain houses the school’s theater and cafeteria. Its stepped exterior provides vertical circulation and seating, while a raised platform at its base functions as a stage for performances and events. The Valley, designed at a smaller scale for younger students, features terraced steps descending toward a central mound, creating seating for informal gatherings and group activities. Adjacent to the Valley, the Beach is composed of gently contoured terrain that supports physical play and motor development for younger children.

Large interstitial spaces distributed throughout the school facilitate cross-disciplinary learning, collaboration, and informal interaction. Additional terraced areas, including the green roof, library, and sports facilities, are connected across multiple levels, reinforcing visual and physical continuity throughout the campus.

Vegetation is integrated across the project to address Shenzhen’s tropical climate. Planted areas contribute to passive cooling, help filter air pollution, and reduce noise from surrounding streets. These landscapes also form part of the learning environment, allowing students to engage with plant care and environmental processes. At the urban scale, the school is conceived as an extension of the large public park located to the north, while its greenery contributes to mitigating the urban heat island effect generated by adjacent commercial development.

Wuzhou Elementary School is a public primary school located in central Shenzhen

the school supports contemporary educational models based on creativity and exploration

the campus is conceived as a three-dimensional ‘Learning Landscape’

interior and exterior environments are treated as equally important learning areas

classrooms open directly to outdoor spaces, reducing the boundary between inside and outside

covered outdoor areas support hands-on learning and informal activities

stepped surfaces provide seating, circulation, and performance areas

terraced elements connect the library, green roof, and sports facilities across levels

large interstitial spaces support collaboration and cross-disciplinary learning

vegetation is integrated throughout the school to support passive cooling

architecture is used as a tool to support evolving modes of learning

the school, developed by People’s Architecture Office (PAO), connects to the adjacent public park

project info:

name: Wuzhou Elementary School

architect: People’s Architecture Office (PAO) | @peoplesarchitecture

location: Shenzhen, China

photographer: Yumeng Zhu

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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Doca Linear Park is a landscape-led urban regeneration project by Natureza Urbana located in Belém do Pará, Brazil. The project occupies the former Igarapé das Almas, a 1.2-kilometer canal running along the central median of Visconde de Sousa Franco Avenue. The intervention addresses the historical disconnection between the city and its waterways by reintroducing water as a central element of public space and urban infrastructure.

Belém’s urban development progressively buried and fragmented its rivers and igarapés, prioritizing road infrastructure and reducing the presence of water in everyday life. The canal corridor was previously characterized by limited vegetation, low soil permeability, and a lack of public amenities, resulting in an underused and environmentally compromised urban space. Doca Linear Park forms part of a broader strategy to restore ecological and spatial continuity while improving environmental performance and public accessibility.

Designed as one of the key urban legacies for COP30, the project transforms the former canal into a continuous linear park structured around green infrastructure and water-sensitive urban design principles. The historic watercourse becomes the organizing element of the project, shaping a sequence of public spaces for leisure, sports, and everyday use. The design integrates nature-based solutions to improve water quality, reduce diffuse pollution, and support microdrainage, while resilient hydraulic systems address flood mitigation and public safety.

all images by Manuel Sá unless stated otherwise

Doca Linear Park builds A Continuous Network of Public Spaces

Increased soil permeability and the introduction of extensive native vegetation contribute to passive cooling, improved drainage, and the regulation of the local microclimate. The design team at Natureza Urbana follows these landscape strategies to support biodiversity and ecological connectivity within the urban fabric. Along its 1.2-kilometer length, the park incorporates viewpoints, elevated walkways, kiosks, playgrounds, a dog park, shaded seating areas, a continuous cycle path, and sports facilities, creating a varied sequence of spaces connected by pedestrian and cycling routes.

The design prioritizes universal accessibility, safety, and comfort, ensuring continuous use throughout the day. Community participation informed the development process through engagement with local residents, schools, and organizations, contributing to programmatic and spatial decisions aligned with local needs. Integrated within a wider framework of sanitation, drainage, and urban revitalization works in the Doca area, the project serves approximately 500,000 residents.

By converting a former canal into combined ecological and public infrastructure, Doca Linear Park reintroduces water into Belém’s urban experience and establishes a model for landscape-based regeneration within the Amazonian context.

Doca Linear Park occupies the former Igarapé das Almas canal in Belém do Pará

the 1.2-kilometer park runs along the central median of Visconde de Sousa Franco Avenue | image by Leonardo Finotti

landscape design replaces a previously underused canal corridor

nature-based solutions improve water quality and drainage performance

the project reintroduces water as a key element of public space

water-sensitive urban design supports flood mitigation and safety | image by Leonardo Finotti

elevated walkways provide views across the canal landscape | image by Leonardo Finotti

playgrounds and sports facilities activate the public realm | image by Leonardo Finotti

native vegetation contributes to cooling and ecological connectivity

Doca Linear Park combines ecological infrastructure with public space

shaded seating areas support everyday use of the park

kiosks and gathering areas support leisure and social interaction

the park integrates pedestrian and cycling routes along its length

the intervention addresses Belém’s historical separation from its waterways

project info:

name: Doca Linear Park

architect: Natureza Urbana | @naturezaurbana_br

location: Belém do Pará, Brazil

area: 40.080,24 sqm

project leader: Giulia Corsi
design team: Claudia Jaegerman, Julia Ximenes, Juliana Santos, Luan Neske, Nicollas Rangel, Yan Azevedo

coordination: Manoela Machado and Pedro Lira
partners: Vallenge Engenharia, Geasa Engenharia and Marcello Sanguinetti Estruturas Ltda

photographers: Manuel Sá | @omanuelsa, Leonardo Finotti | @leonardofinotti

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 Best Pivot Door Contest 2026, organized by FritsJurgens, brings together leading architects, designers, and makers from around the world to celebrate innovation in pivot door design. Announced in 2026 and drawing from more than 200 international submissions, the contest highlights 15 nominated projects that demonstrate how pivot doors continue to redefine architectural thresholds across private homes, cultural settings, and highly specialized environments. Evaluated by an independent jury of internationally recognized architects and engineers, including BIG, Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, KAAN Architecten, and Arup, the initiative underscores why pivot doors have become a key architectural element: they merge structural performance with spatial expression, turning functional access points into defining design moments.

the Best Pivot Door Contest 2026 by FritsJurgens highlights 15 nominated projects | all images courtesy of FritsJurgens

Founded in the Netherlands, FritsJurgens is a company rooted in precision engineering and architectural collaboration. Established by FritsJurgens, the brand emerged from a clear ambition: to develop high-performance pivot systems capable of supporting very small and light, and exceptionally large and heavy doors while maintaining effortless movement and visual restraint. From the outset, the company positioned itself at the intersection of design and technology, working closely with architects and fabricators to solve complex spatial and mechanical challenges.

Over the years, FritsJurgens has built a reputation for systems that operate invisibly yet decisively shape architectural experience. Its pivot mechanisms are designed to be concealed within the door, allowing doors to read as moving walls rather than technical objects. This philosophy naturally extends into the Best Pivot Door Contest, which functions not only as a competition but also as a platform to showcase how thoughtful engineering can expand architectural language across climates, cultures, and material traditions.

evaluated by an independent jury of internationally recognized architects and engineers, the initiative underscores why pivot doors have become a key architectural element

The 2026 edition introduced a refined nomination process, with FritsJurgens selecting fifteen standout projects from a broad global pool. These shortlisted works were assessed by a jury of renowned architects, ensuring a multidisciplinary perspective that balances architectural intent, structural logic, and material execution. Alongside the jury awards, a newly introduced Public’s Choice Award invited a wider audience to engage with and support exemplary projects, reinforcing the contest’s international reach.

The Best Exterior Pivot Door 2026 – Jury Award was awarded to Silent Giant in Switzerland, designed by Mattia Canepa architetto. Transforming a private garage entrance into a transparent architectural feature, the nearly four-metre-wide glass door operates with remarkable calm despite its 470-kilogram weight. The jury highlighted the project’s precision, proportion, and the way controlled movement elevates a purely functional threshold into an architectural experience. ‘Technically outstanding and visually serene. The door reads as a moving wall whose elegance comes from precision rather than expression,’ says Fernando Garcia, Arup.

name: Silent Giant

award: Best Exterior Pivot Door 2026 – Jury Award

design: Mattia Canepa architetto
manufacture: Cattani Falegnameria SA
photograph: Alessandro Radice

country: Switzerland

The Best Exterior Pivot Door 2026 – Public’s Choice Award went to Lost Villa in Bali, designed by Single Art. Hand-carved from locally sourced Balinese timber and finished through charring, the door stands out for its tactile richness and cultural sensitivity. Its expressive surface contrasts with the smooth, almost weightless motion of the pivot system, earning praise for material honesty and craftsmanship. ‘A beautiful example of material honesty and craft. The surface invites touch and the movement introduces a quiet theatricality,’ comments Jesper Boye Andersen, BIG.

name: Lost Villa

award: Best Exterior Pivot Door 2026 – Public’s Choice Award

design: Single Art
hardware: SIMU Indonesia

country: Indonesia

Best Interior Pivot Door 2026 – Jury Award was presented to Tafelberg in the Netherlands by Studio Massimo. Within a continuous Red Grandis interior, the pivot doors blend seamlessly into walls and ceilings, reinforcing a calm and unified spatial language. The jury valued the project’s consistency and restraint, noting how movement becomes an integral yet almost imperceptible part of the architectural composition. Dikkie Scipio from KAAN Architecten says, ‘A masterclass in consistency and spatial calm. The design allows architecture to breathe without distraction.

name: Tafelberg

award: Best Interior Pivot Door 2026 – Jury Award
design: Studio Massimo
manufacture: Broporte Exclusive Doors
photograph: Riccardo De Vecchi Photography / Christian van der Kooy

country: Netherlands

The Best Interior Pivot Door 2026 – Public’s Choice Award was awarded to the Dubai Cinema Door by Worldesignteam WDM. Concealed within a sculptural travertine wall, the door remains visually indistinguishable until it pivots open, revealing a private cinema. The project was recognized for its theatrical presence, bold geometry, and the technical achievement of integrating a heavy stone door into a seamless architectural surface. ‘A sculptural object that becomes architecture. The sense of weight and precision is impressive,’ says Alessandra Laiso, Zaha Hadid Architects.

name: Dubai Cinema Door

design: Worldesignteam WDM
manufacture: Concept 5
hardware: Chabros
photograph: Yasar Curtay

country: United Arab Emirates

Winning both jury and public votes, Villa Venezia in Italy received the Best Speciality Application 2026 – Jury Award and Public’s Choice Award, making it the only project to receive both jury and public recognition in this year’s contest. Featuring two nearly four-metre-tall thermally broken steel pivot doors with an ultra-slim profile, the project achieves a rare balance between structural rigor and visual delicacy. The jury praised its engineering refinement, precise detailing, and architectural clarity, positioning it as a benchmark for future pivot door applications. ‘A beautifully engineered composition. The balance between structural logic and visual delicacy is remarkable,’ exclaims Fernando Garcia, Arup.

name: Villa Venezia

manufacture: UKeg Group srl

evaluated by an international jury and supported by public voting, the contest highlights the expanding role of pivot doors in contemporary architecture

project info:

name: Best Pivot Door Contest 2026 

company: FritsJurgens | @fritsjurgens

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Located in Kazole Village, Zanzibar, Lei Wa Lakom Library by PARALLEL STUDIO is conceived as a lightweight, climate-sensitive structure that prioritizes openness, adaptability, and human scale. The architectural language draws from Swahili principles of shaded spaces, cross-ventilation, and visual permeability, allowing the building to remain naturally comfortable while maintaining a strong relationship with its surroundings. Rather than separating inside from outside, the library blurs these boundaries, reinforcing a sense of belonging and accessibility. The envelope is defined by perforated opaque corrugated panels that filter daylight, creating a soft, ever-changing interior atmosphere while ensuring privacy, safety, and air circulation.

all images courtesy of PARALLEL STUDIO

PARALLEL STUDIO Adopts an Environmental Design Approach

The design team at PARALLEL STUDIO complements this environmental approach with an integrated water feature, which holds cultural and symbolic significance within an Islamic tradition, where water is associated with life. Timber framing and exposed structural elements express material honesty and ease of construction, reflecting locally familiar building techniques. The roof form extends beyond the walls to provide shade and protection from heavy rainfall, reinforcing the building’s environmental responsiveness. Internally, the space is deliberately flexible and non-hierarchical. Low furniture, open floor areas, and adaptable zones support reading, learning, discussion, and communal activities, particularly for children, allowing the library to function as both an educational and social space.

Lei Wa Lakom Library is part of the Parallel Gives program, an architectural initiative that explores how small-scale, socially driven projects can generate long-term impact through thoughtful, context-responsive design.

Lei Wa Lakom Library is located in Kazole Village, Zanzibar

an integrated water feature holds cultural and symbolic meaning

water references life within Islamic tradition

openness and adaptability define the building’s architectural language

exposed construction reflects locally familiar building methods

filtered daylight creates a soft and changing interior atmosphere

interior and exterior spaces are intentionally blurred

the library by PARALLEL STUDIO functions as both an educational and social space

project info:

name: Lei Wa Lakom Library

architect: PARALLEL STUDIO | @parallel_studio

lead architect: Mai Al Busairi

location: Kazole, Zanzibar, Tanzania

area: 94.5 sqm

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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SZ-Architects transforms a former prison guard tower in Hefei, China, into a 70-square-meter, 24-hour bookstore. Titled A Very Small 24-Hour Bookstore, the project reclaims a derelict structure inside the Hechai 1972 Creative Park, once the Anhui Provincial Hefei Prison, and repurposes it as an intimate, publicly accessible reading space for the surrounding neighborhood.

The architects work with the constraints of the building’s past. The footprint of the tower measures just seven square meters on the ground floor, while its former patrol platform on the second level offers panoramic views of the park. Original window grilles, once fitted with machine-gun mounts and observation ports, remain legible, preserving the clarity of the former role of the structure. The new program, a tiny bookstore open at all hours, introduces a radically different rhythm into this formerly controlled and surveilled environment.

all images by Mata Okawa

a building discovered by chance becomes a 24-hour bookstore

The project began with an accidental discovery. While visiting the site for an unrelated restaurant project, the Shanghai- and Tokyo-based architects noticed the abandoned guard tower and learned it had been left untouched during the broader renovation of the park. They proposed converting it into a micro-bookstore for local residents, a place that would remain open and unguarded, in contrast to its original function.

This conceptual shift resonates with the philosophy of A Very Small Bookstore, which originated by the Qinhuai River in Nanjing. The bookstore operates on a principle of openness: its books come from personal collections and donations, its walls are covered with handwritten postcards, and its staff consists of four adopted stray cats. Rather than being curated as a commercial destination, it functions as a social archive shaped by its visitors.

the elevated reading room becomes visible through the surrounding greenery

reinforcing the old, suspending the new

Because the original drawings from 1997 were no longer available, the building underwent a full geotechnical and structural reassessment before renovation could begin. The architects reinforced the original frame by wrapping the corner columns with steel hoops, strengthening the second-floor slab, and enlarging the concrete beam sections of the roof. Parts of the exterior walls were treated with a high-ductility concrete joint-filling technique to increase their structural capacity.

To minimize additional loads while accommodating new uses, SZ-Architects introduced a suspended steel structural system. Eight C-shaped steel channels laid across the reinforced roof beams extend outward, allowing the new upper floor to cantilever beyond the original footprint. These channels clamp vertical steel hanger rods, which are in turn anchored to matching steel members beneath the original slab, composing a self-contained, suspended frame that supports circulation, seating, and shelving without overburdening the existing structure. An external cantilevered balcony, inserted through one of the original window openings, further extends the bookstore outward.

the small-scale structure is embedded among trees and parking areas

from surveillance to shared presence

Physical and infrastructural limitations directly shaped the form of the building. High-voltage cables running close to the west side forced the architects to rotate the roof and trim its corners, generating a four-leaf clover-like silhouette. The new floor slab is made of wood–plastic composite decking, chosen to reduce structural load.

Bookshelves line all four sides of the upper level, while reading desks are integrated into the primary steel structure. The furniture combines the logic of scaffolding with suspended stainless-steel rods, making sure that everything is lightly held in place. The walls are intentionally left mostly blank. Over time, the architects hope they will once again fill with postcards, drawings, and messages, traces of everyday life replacing the rigid codes of surveillance. 

Sliding windows at each corner open to panoramic views, turning the former lookout post into a shared vantage point. The original staircase was reinforced and enclosed to form an interior service shaft. Its exterior face functions as a message wall, where visitors leave handwritten notes. Two outdoor platforms, one to the north, one to the south, host coffee service and small events, further extending the bookstore into the park.

What makes A Very Small 24-Hour Bookstore compelling is not its scale, but its inversion of meaning. A structure once dedicated to observation, control, and restriction now operates through openness, trust, and informal occupation. 

a shaded outdoor seating area extends the bookstore into the public realm

the former prison guard tower stands at a busy urban intersection

the cantilevered upper level offers panoramic views of the neighborhood

the transformed tower combines domestic scale with infrastructural elements

steel framing and suspended floor plates define the new structural system

minimal stair and platform details emphasize lightness and reversibility

bookshelves are arranged as freestanding volumes within the open plan

interior view of the compact reading room with built-in shelving and panoramic glazing

the lightweight steel structure remains visible throughout the interior

sliding glass panels open the reading space toward the city

the elevated platform offers a quiet place to sit, read, and observe street life

the former prison guard tower within the surrounding urban fabric of Hefei

the repurposed watchtower reads as a small civic landmark against the city skyline

project info:

name: A Very Small 24-hour Bookstore

location: Northwest Gate, Hechai 1972, Hefei, Anhui Province, China

architect: SZ-Architects | @sz_architecture

gross built area: 70 square meters

lead architects: Zhikun Zhang, Yue Liu

design team: Yaning Shen, Deyong Kong

client: A Very Small Bookstore

structural design: iStructure Design & Consulting Co., Ltd. (Xiaotian Yang, Kunying Wu, Zhe Wang)

structural reinforcement: Zhongbai Engineering Design Group Co., Ltd.

landscape: Nanjing Jianzhi Horticulture Co., Ltd.

contractor: Hefei Guyu Construction Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.

property management: Hefei Bintou Cultural and Creative Development Co., Ltd.

photographer: Mata Okawa | @mata_okawa, SZ-Architects

video: SZ-Architects

music: A-muzik studio

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Digital by Nature: The Art of Miguel Chevalier at Kunsthalle München presents the artist’s largest solo exhibition in Europe to date, curated by Franziska Stöhr. The exhibition surveys Miguel Chevalier’s practice from the early 1980s to the present, tracing his sustained engagement with digital technologies as both tools and subjects of artistic inquiry.

Born in 1959 in Mexico City and based in Paris, Chevalier has worked with computers as a creative medium for more than four decades. The exhibition brings together approximately 120 works that reflect the evolution of his approach, from early experiments with pixels, binary code, and algorithmic systems to recent projects that explore the intersections of digital and analog processes, technology and nature, and human interaction with computational environments.

The presentation includes a wide range of media and formats, such as 3D printed sculptures produced in ceramic and recycled plastic, robot-generated drawings, machine-produced embroidery and tapestries, and video works created using artificial intelligence. Large-scale generative and interactive installations form a central component of the exhibition. In these works, algorithmic systems continuously generate visual compositions that respond to visitors’ movements, establishing a reciprocal relationship between human presence and machine-driven processes. These installations are accompanied by sound compositions by Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, which further structure the spatial and sensory experience.

Complex Meshes | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

visualizing Interaction, Growth, and Transformation

Two works were developed specifically for Kunsthalle München. Complex Meshes Robot Drawings is a performative installation in which a robot produces drawings based on visual motifs from Chevalier’s interactive series Complex Meshes. The artist defines the parameters by selecting the paper and drawing tools, while the robot executes the marks. Originally designed for industrial repetition, the robotic system is reprogrammed to produce variable, gesture-like drawings that foreground the translation between programmed movement and hand-drawn expression.

The second new work, In Vitro Pixel Flowers, expands Chevalier’s ongoing exploration of digital botanical systems. The installation presents his largest virtual herbarium to date, allowing visitors to generate plant forms through an online interface and observe their development within a greenhouse-like environment. The digitally generated plants emerge, evolve, and disappear in continuous cycles, forming a shared, participatory landscape that visualizes processes of growth, variation, and renewal.

Across its diverse works, Digital by Nature positions digital technology not only as a means of production but as a framework for examining systems, transformation, and interaction. The exhibition emphasizes Chevalier’s long-term investigation into how computational tools can shape visual form, spatial experience, and collective participation within contemporary art contexts.

Complex Meshes | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

The Origin of the World | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

Complex Meshes | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

Meta-Nature AI | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Claude Micheli, image: Nicolas Gaudelet

The Origin of the World | music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, software: Cyrille Henry, Antoine Villeret, image: Thomas Granovsky

In Vitro Pixel Flowers | software: Samuel Twidale, image: Thomas Granovsky

Complex Meshes Robot Drawings | industrial robot, felt-tip pen, paper, software: Ludovic Mallegol

The Eye of the Machine | software: Claude Micheli, image: Thomas Granovsky

In Vitro Pixel Flowers | software: Samuel Twidale, website: Ollie Smith, interface: Elise Michel

Fractal Flowers | software: Cyrille Henry, image: Thomas Granovsky

Euphorbia Alchimica Veritas of Rousseau 1 > 12 | image: Thomas Granovsky

Brain Corals Stratigraphy | image: Thomas Granovsky

project info:

name: DIGITAL BY NATURE – The Art of Miguel Chevalier Kunsthalle München / Munich
artist: Miguel Chevalier | @miguel_chevalier

location: Munich, Germany

museum: Kunsthalle München / Munich | @kunsthallemuc

dates: September 12th, 2025 – March 1st, 2026

curator: Franziska Stöhr

curatorial assistant: Jasmin Gierling

music: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi

director: Roger Diederen

exhibition production: Voxels Productions

exhibition design: Martin Kinzlmaier

photographer/videographer: Thomas Granovsky

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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Snøhetta has released new footage documenting construction progress at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. The video captures the building as it rises along the northeast edge of a butte bordering Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Here, the building’s rammed earth walls and living green roof begin to define the project’s presence within the vast and scenic Badlands.

Set across 93 acres, the site remains legible throughout construction. The camera follows graded footpaths leading toward the slowly sloping roof plane, which appears as a continuation of the land rather than a separate object dropped onto it. The building’s relationship with the landscape will be more than just formal as it is designed to be regenerative and self-sufficient, aiming toward carbon neutrality. See more visualizations of the project from its 2020 unveiling here!

Still under construction, the library is set to open on for the 250th anniversary of the United States, July 4th, 2026.

construction advances along the butte overlooking Theodore Roosevelt National Park | visualization courtesy Snøhetta

snøhetta’s living roof of native landscaping

Snøhetta‘s newly unveiled video offers a closer look at the living green roof, a central component of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Layers of reused on-site soil are already being positioned to support a Native Plant Project developed with Resource Environmental Solutions and North Dakota State University. More than sixty native species will eventually occupy this surface, reconstructing a prairie ecology of grasses, sedges, forbs, and shrubs that once defined the region.

From an architectural perspective, the roof reads as both structure and landscape. Its thickness and gentle curvature suggest insulation, water management, and plantings working together. Construction activity reveals how the roof mediates between interior spaces and the long views across the Badlands.

Snøhetta’s latest footage reveals the library emerging from graded terrain | image courtesy Snøhetta

inside the self-sufficient structure

Inside, Snøhetta’s video shows the emerging scale of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library’s galleries and circulation spaces. Structural bays frame future exhibition zones designed for immersive storytelling and digital archives, with careful attention to sound control, light modulation, and climate stability for artifacts.

The project’s regenerative ambitions include passive strategies and low-carbon materials which point toward targets of zero energy, zero emissions, zero water, and zero waste. At this phase, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library reads as a building assembled through systems that support long-term performance and seasonal use, shaped by the environmental pressures of the North Dakota plains and guided by a measured architectural logic.

native prairie plant systems are prepared as part of the roof assembly | image courtesy Snøhetta

the project’s regenerative ambitions include passive strategies and low-carbon materials | image courtesy Snøhetta

project info:

name: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library 

architect: Snøhetta | @snohetta

location: Medora, North Dakota, USA

client: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation (TRPLF) | @trlibrary

completion: expected July 4th, 2026

photography, video: courtesy Snøhetta

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Harry Nuriev collaborates with Baccarat for a unique reworking of the Maison’s historic Zénith chandelier. On view at the Crosby Gallery until January 18th, 2026, and at Maison Baccarat in Paris starting January 20th, the project repositions the chandelier as a speculative object shaped by scarcity, memory, and reuse. Drawing on his concept of transformism, Nuriev inserts pens, jewelry, bottle caps, CDs, keychains, and more fragments of everyday life into the iconic crystal structure, proposing a future where the ordinary becomes precious.

Nuriev approaches the chandelier as a carrier of cultural memory. ‘The Zenith Baccarat chandelier becomes a messenger, carrying pieces of our present into an imagined future, where repurposing becomes a way of life sustained by whatever we once overlooked,’ the designer shares. His intervention is not decorative but narrative, imagining a world in which crystal no longer exists, forcing future owners to substitute missing elements with whatever they can find. The result is a speculative archaeology of the present, where disposable objects acquire symbolic weight and emotional value.

Chandelier Baccarat x Harry Nuriev | images by Palast Studio

Crystals meet found materials in a hybrid light installation

This reimagined Zénith draws on the sculptural vocabulary of the chandelier, including twisted arms, fleurs de lys, arrowed prisms, octagon chains, and small bells, while extending its form through a visible metallic framework. This structural addition becomes part of the composition, emphasizing the hybrid identity of the work between functional lighting, installation, and emotional artifact. Fine crystal manufacturer Baccarat describes the piece as both monumental and intimate, conceived as an experience that blurs boundaries between utility and expression.

The collaboration follows Nuriev’s earlier interventions at Maison Baccarat, where he transformed the entryway into a graphic manifesto of gestures, words, and symbols associated with crystal-making. Across all of these works, the New York- and Paris-based designer‘s approach avoids nostalgia, dislocating the past and placing historical objects into speculative futures, where their meaning must be renegotiated. In doing so, the collaboration with Baccarat becomes more about value as something unstable, relational, and dependent on memory.

Harry Nuriev collaborates with Baccarat for a unique reworking of the Maison’s historic Zénith chandelier

the project repositions the chandelier as a speculative object

Nuriev inserts pens, jewelry, bottle caps, CDs, keychains into the iconic crystal structure

the designer approaches the chandelier as a carrier of cultural memory

imagining a world in which crystal no longer exists

project info:

name: Zénith Chandelier 

designer / artist: Harry Nuriev | @harrynuriev

client: Baccarat | @baccarat

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In Gregory Orekhov’s site-specific land art installation, Gravity, the landscape becomes a space in which the condition of the world becomes visible. The red sphere, originally associated with the ritual of celebration and the expectation of magic, is stripped of its function and returned to the landscape as a heavy, vulnerable form without foundation. Suspended by a hemp rope from a bare century-old tree, the object exists between ground and space; neither in fall nor at rest, but in a prolonged state of uncertainty. This is not balance, but resistance to the force of gravity. The video shifts the object from linear movement into oscillation, where no trajectory alters the initial condition.

all images by Nikita Subbotin – Studiolandon

Gravity installation records a state of ongoing instability

Dragging across the ground gives way to swinging in space, yet none of these forms becomes an exit. The human figure and the object remain bound by a shared dependence on gravity, holding them together. The red color of the sphere does not function as a decorative accent. It becomes a dense visual mass in which traces of violence, loss, and historical memory converge. The color ceases to signify celebration and begins to operate as a symptom of a time in which the tragic becomes part of the everyday background. For artist Gregory Orekhov, nature in this project does not act as a space of harmony. The tree neither saves nor supports; it merely allows the object to exist, becoming a silent witness to what unfolds. This work records a condition of the world that continues to exist without foundation and without outcome.

a red sphere is suspended from a century-old tree in a forested landscape

the sphere exists in a state of prolonged suspension

gravity defines the relationship between body, object, and site

the landscape functions as an active setting rather than a backdrop

the human figure and the sphere share a dependence on gravity

the installation places the object between ground and space

the red surface appears as a dense visual mass

the landscape bears witness to a suspended state without foundation

the object remains neither falling nor at rest

project info:

name: Gravity

artist: Gregory Orekhov | @gregory.orekhov 

photographer, videographer: Nikita Subbotin – Studiolandon | @studiolandon

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

The post reflective red sphere represents the world in gregory orekhov’s land art installation appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Ethiopian Airlines Group begins construction on what is set to become Africa’s largest airport, Bishoftu International Airport (BIA), designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and located around 40 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa. With an initial annual capacity of 60 million passengers, rising to 110 million once fully built, the project marks a major infrastructural shift for the country, positioning Ethiopia as a central aviation hub between Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. 

The architectural concept draws from Ethiopia’s geography and cultural diversity. A central spine organizes the terminal and its piers, reducing transfer times while acting as a spatial anchor. Each pier features distinct interior material palettes and colors, referencing the country’s varied regions. The overall layout takes inspiration from the Great Rift Valley, which runs close to Bishoftu, using a continuous linear geometry to organize the complex and simplify wayfinding.

all renderings by X-Universe

planned around transfer passengers and long layovers

Designed by the international design firm ZHA in collaboration with lead consultant and airport planner DAR (Dar Al-Handasah), the new terminal is conceived primarily around transfer travel. Ethiopian Airlines estimates that up to 80% of future passengers will be in transit, moving between destinations without leaving the airport. In response, the terminal integrates extensive amenities for long layovers, including an airside hotel with 350 rooms, dining and entertainment zones, and outdoor gardens and courtyards.

BIA’s location also plays a strategic operational role. Sitting nearly 400 meters lower in elevation than Addis Ababa’s existing Bole International Airport, and paired with longer runways, the new site will allow aircraft to take off with higher maximum payloads using less fuel. This will enable Ethiopian Airlines to operate longer nonstop routes while carrying more passengers and cargo, a logistical advantage that directly influences the airline’s future network planning.

Environmental performance has been embedded into the planning of the project, with the terminal targeting LEED Gold certification. The building will be naturally ventilated, incorporate solar shading, and include semi-open and outdoor spaces that respond to the region’s temperate highland climate. Water management systems will redirect stormwater from runways and rooftops into wetlands and bioswales, supporting reuse while contributing to local biodiversity. Photovoltaic arrays will generate on-site energy, and construction will rely on modular methods using locally produced or recycled materials.

the terminal unfolds from a central spine, with branching piers arranged to shorten transfer distances

Phased construction toward a four-runway hub

Beyond aviation, the airport is conceived as the anchor of a broader urban development. A high-speed rail link will connect BIA with central Addis Ababa and the existing Bole Airport, while an adjacent Airport City will introduce mixed-use buildings, public parks, and employment opportunities for a projected local population of 80,000. Designed for 24-hour operation without curfews, the new hub aligns with Ethiopian Airlines’ long-term Vision 2035 strategy, which seeks to expand the airline’s passenger, cargo, and maintenance services globally.

Cristiano Ceccato de Sabata, director of aviation at Zaha Hadid Architects, frames the project in broader social terms. ‘Bishoftu International Airport is a visionary project for Ethiopia and Africa as a whole. Airports bring people together and bridge national divides. ZHA is honored to be part its development—connecting every region of the continent as Africa’s global gateway,’ he shares.

The first phase of Bishoftu International Airport is scheduled to open in 2030, featuring two independently operating parallel runways and a 660,000-square-meter terminal. Later stages will expand the complex to four runways and parking for 270 aircraft, reflecting the scale of growth forecast by IATA for East Africa over the coming decade.

the landside forecourt integrates gardens, water features, and shaded pedestrian routes

a covered retail promenade combines structural ribs with integrated planting

a vertically layered atrium filters daylight through a ribbed roof structure

departure lounges form continuous open-plan interiors beneath a daylight-filtering canopy

interior terraces stack public circulation around planted voids at the heart of the terminal

the main concourse is defined by long-span columns and a layered ceiling system

check-in halls use linear timber surfaces and deep overhangs to regulate light and movement

the terminal integrates extensive amenities for long layovers

project info:

name: Bishoftu International Airport (BIA)

architect: Zaha Hadid Architects | @zahahadidarchitects

location: Bishoftu, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

client: Ethiopian Airlines (Federal Government of Ethiopia)

lead consultant & airport planner: DAR (Dar Al-Handasah) | @daralhandasah_

executive interiors architect: Pascall + Watson

airfield and apron planning: Landrum & Brown

airport city planner: SPADA Ltd.

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