Austere brick walls cloak a bright skylit painting studio at the heart of Atelier Cambre in Argentina, designed by local architecture practice Esteras Perrote.

The studio sits nestled within the mountainous, forested landscape of Còrboda's Punilla Valley, and was created for Argentinian artist Juan José Cambre.

Tasked with recreating the feeling of painting outdoors, Esteras Perrote organised the studio around a five-metre-high painting space, which is illuminated by long skylights and opens onto a terrace through a set of folding glass doors.

"One of the central gestures of the project emerged from a very simple request from the client: the possibility of painting outdoors," said the studio's co-founder Gonzalo Perrote.

"From that idea, we began to explore how the architecture could incorporate that experience without losing the sense of refuge of the studio," Perrote told Dezeen.

"Rather than a collection of rooms, the project proposes a generous working environment where light, landscape and painting structure the experience of the place."

The large volume containing Atelier Cambre's main studio space is connected to a tower-like service and circulation volume via a short, glazed link.

This tower contains bathrooms and a staircase leading up onto a rooftop terrace.

Both volumes have been clad in locally-sourced red brick, a choice informed by a small structure that had formerly stood on the site as well as a desire to blend in with the landscape.

Inside, the painting area sits beneath four long, narrow skylights. At the opposite end, a study area and small kitchenette are tucked under a steel mezzanine level that offers a vantage point over the painting space.

Carefully placed openings throughout the building frame views of the surrounding woodland, with two tall, narrow openings at the end of the painting space creating cross-ventilation to facilitate drying.

White finishes and natural wood floors create a minimal backdrop to Cambre's paintings, with the only colour in the interiors being a series of green cabinet doors alongside the kitchenette.

"Rather than imposing itself on the landscape, the architecture seeks to situate itself within it, using that open space as an opportunity," fellow co-founder Lucía Esteras told Dezeen.

"In this sense, each window was conceived as a specific frame of the surroundings, almost as a device to capture fragments of the landscape and bring them back into the interior," he added.

Other painting studios recently featured on Dezeen include The Grey County Studio in Ontario by Verge Select, which comprises three intersecting weathered steel volumes that overlook a woodland, and a historic barn restored by Schack Arkitektur for the painter Michael Kvium in Denmark.

The photography is by Javier Agustín Rojas.

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Local studio Bloco Arquitetos has completed a house in Brasília surrounded by brick screens and wide entry portals that open up the central courtyard to the exterior.

Known as Casa Tupin, the 420-square-metre (4,520-square-foot) residence is rectangular with a large central courtyard.

The 2025 house, set in a gated community 20 kilometres from Brasília, was designed to integrate the interior and exterior with the courtyard, which functions as both the leisure space and the connective core of the home.

"A house without windows, that is a window itself – rather than opening punctual views, the project seeks to transform the entire architectural body into a mediator between interior life and the surrounding landscape," Bloco Arquitetos told Dezeen.

"This approach results in a building that engages the environment through performance rather than transparency," the studio said.

Instead of large expanses of glazing, the vertical planes between the raised concrete slab and deep roof structure are coral-coloured brick – arranged as solid walls or breeze block-like screen – wrapping the house in texture and filtered light.

Selected for durability and composition consistency, the brick and concrete protect the interior from excessive heat. The restrained palette allows light, shadow and time to become part of the architecture, the studio explained.

"This porous facade acts simultaneously as solar protection and as a permanent ventilation filter, allowing air to flow in all directions throughout the house," the studio said.

"All spaces are organized in relation to this system, which integrates structure, climate control and spatial experience into a single architectural strategy."

The circulation, living spaces and private areas are arranged to maximise cross ventilation and the idea of the house as a continuous architectural experience that follows the structural logic of the design.

Supported on 12 pillars, three-quarters of the plan is elevated above the ground to pull natural ventilation beneath the house, preserve the existing topography and allow the native plants of the Brazilian savana – or Cerrado – to grow beneath the residence.

"This elevation also allows the native small animals from Cerrado – mostly lizards and burrowing owls – to move freely between the outside garden and the inner courtyard," the studio said, noting that the layout also allowed for the preservation of an existing tree at the centre of the courtyard.

Suspending the house and detaching it from the ground helped the designers connect the spatial concept with the environmental goals.

"This structural clarity allowed the building to appear both stable and light, reinforcing the idea of elevation as an architectural and environmental strategy," the studio said.

"Another key achievement was reversing the perception of transparency – although the house appears closed and opaque from the outside, the interior is open, fluid and visually expansive."

Other recent residential projects that use screens for ventilation include the renovation of a Puerto Rican home by Paul Raff and a woven timber home in Goa, India, by Field Atelier.

The photography is by Joana França.

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Indian studio Compartment S4 has completed a cowshed in Maharashtra, using a palette of brick, stone and bamboo to elevate its utilitarian spaces into a "humane, climate-responsive habitat".

Named Gaughar or Cow House, the project sits within a 340-acre fruit orchard in the coastal town of Dahanu, and replaces a dilapidated shed with a series of open, airy spaces that prioritise the comfort of both staff and cows.

Rather than demolishing the existing structure, Compartment S4 retained its steel frame, which was painted red and infilled with walls of locally-sourced black basalt stone and brickwork punctured by large archways and perforated sections.

This reconstruction was guided by a new layout based around hygiene and the everyday routines of the cattle and their caretakers. The studio created alternating enclosed and open spaces that allow for easy circulation, ventilation and daylight.

"The layout balances operational efficiency with animal comfort, creating a system where architecture quietly supports the daily rhythms of care, movement, and agricultural activity," Compartment S4 co-founder Kishan Shah told Dezeen.

"These sheds are designed as breathable structures, with indoor resting areas extending directly into outdoor paddocks so that cows can move freely between shaded and open environments," he continued.

"Together, these gestures redefine the Gaughar as a humane and climate-responsive habitat, where architectural form, animal wellbeing, and ecological systems are closely intertwined."

In order to instil a sense of what Compartment S4 described as "warmth and craftsmanship" into the otherwise utilitarian spaces, various locally crafted elements were incorporated into its design.

Bamboo ceilings were made in collaboration with artisans from the Dang region, while openable windows are infilled with sections of block-printed ajrakh fabric.

Traditional jali screens informed the perforated brickwork sections on the shed's gable ends, and matka – clay pots used for storing water – were a reference point for the water troughs in both the sheds and shaded areas of the surrounding paddock.

"Much of the inspiration came from vernacular agricultural structures and traditional material practices that naturally respond to climate," said Shah.

"Elements such as arched masonry walls, porous brick jalis, and bamboo ceilings draw from regional knowledge systems while being adapted to the scale and needs of a contemporary cattle facility," he continued.

"The textiles bring colour, familiarity and cultural memory into the working environment, helping instil a sense of ownership among the people who manage and care for the cattle every day."

Elsewhere in India, architecture practice Studio Saar recently completed a dairy farm in Rajasthan, using a palette of reclaimed steel and rubble that was all sourced from within a 30-kilometre radius of the site.

The photography is by The Space Tracing Company.

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Graphic designer Melissa Price shines a light on the anatomy of the humble brick and the variety of bricklaying techniques used in construction in her book Brick Bonds.

Printed to the dimensions of a standard UK brick, the book was designed and printed by Price as a guide that illustrates "the full range of bonds in a simple form".

It follows 10 years of research into the history of bricklaying and the wide range of bond patterns, which she feels are often overlooked or written about in a highly technical way.

"The subject matter for my personal work is driven by an interest in the potential of graphic design to reveal beauty in the normally overlooked," Price told Dezeen.

"My research has led me to really appreciate the skill and craft of bricklaying," she continued.

"The language of bricklaying is beautiful – there's a rich lexicon, from the names of the surfaces of bricks, such as 'stretcher' and 'sailor', to the bond names, such as 'rat trap bond' and 'quarter staggered bond' and a personal favourite, 'nogging', which is a way of using brick patterns as infill between timbers on half-timbered buildings."

Price, who is a graphic designer at London design studio Cartlidge Levene, decided to create the book after working on a series of needlepoint-stitched artworks 15 years ago that were based on brick bonds.

"I stitched a number of different brick bond patterns in simple red and white, and through researching for that, I noticed the beauty in the variations of the bonds as well as the names and felt it was worth exploring further as a subject area," she explained.

Brick Bonds is Swiss-bound to ensure it can lie flat, facilitating use as a reference book. Its red binding is exposed, emulating mortar and referencing "the structural nature of bricks".

Red hues were chosen as the dominant colour throughout the 96-page publication in a nod to traditional red brick, including the darker tone of the textured brick-like front cover.

The book begins with an overview of the anatomy of a brick before honing in on the different kinds of brick bonds and patterns. The first two sections focus on wall bonds and paving bonds. Generally, vertical structures use wall bonds, while paving bonds are for horizontal surfaces – though there is overlap.

The final two sections illustrate diaper patterns, which are those formed from different-coloured bricks, and finally decorative patterns, which are used to create texture rather than a flat surface.

These are all visualised as clearly as possible, with a half-page illustration and the name positioned above.

Price's highlight of the book is the decorative techniques section, and her favourite pattern that she discovered is dogtoothing.

"Dogtoothing involves rotating the bricks 45 degrees in the wall so that the corners protrude, creating a beautiful texture that works so well with light and shadow," she said.

"There's a fantastic expanse of dogtooth bonded wall in the main hall at Haggerston School, a secondary school in Hackney, designed by Erno Goldfinger."

Price said she hopes the book will be enjoyed by members of the architecture industry, but also those outside of it. She said it could help non-specialists develop a greater appreciation for the built environment, but she'd particularly "love to come across a really battered copy on a building site".

Looking ahead, Price is now hoping to dedicate some time to exploring arch-building techniques.

Other architecture books recently featured on Dezeen include a colourful fold-out architecture book for children that showcases the work of architect Richard Rogers and a publication by Tadao Ando that collects drawings and models produced across his career.

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Berlin studio Kéré Architecture has revealed its design for the Ineza Clinic, which will step up a hillside in rural Burundi within a series of brick pavilions.

Designed for the city of Bubanza, around 30 miles north of Burundi's capital, the health centre will be built from predominantly local materials to reduce the cost of transportation.

Taking advantage of the site's topography, the health facility will consist of 10 buildings arranged on either side of a zigzagging road that progresses up a hill. Kéré Architecture said this arrangement will also facilitate cross ventilation.

At the base of the slope, visitors will arrive at a small entrance pavilion, before coming to a cafe and toilet block.

Halfway up the hill, the larger wards, treatment blocks and outpatient units each tend along the hillside from the main drive.

Finally, at the top of the hill is a trio of housing blocks for visitors, with a lounge topping the site.

According to the studio, which is led by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner Diébédo Francis Kéré, high fuel costs in the country led to the focus on local material sourcing.

Before designing the facility, the studio visited brick factories, welding workshops and wood-processing plants in the surrounding area to map out local resources.

All of the clinic's buildings will share a similar aesthetic, with locally sourced brick walls broken by perforated sections to allow light and air to enter.

They will be crowned with monopitch roofs wrapped with vertical timber batons, raised on retaining walls of stone sourced from nearby quarries.

"In a place where travelling less than forty kilometres can take up to three hours because of poor road conditions, having a clinic in close proximity is vital for survival," said Kéré Architecture.

"This clinic in Bubanza makes that difference. When you imagine a pregnant woman in the back of an ambulance, trying to reach care over those roads, you begin to understand just how essential nearby access to medical treatment is for the community."

Work on the health facility has already begun, with the first stage of the clinic set to open later this year.

According to the studio, the project was heavily informed by its own Léo Surgical Clinic and Health Centre in Burkina Faso, which was one of 10 of the architect's significant buildings we included in a roundup to mark Kéré winning the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Elsewhere, Kéré Architecture is also currently designing the Las Vegas Museum of Art and the Biblioteca dos Saberes in Rio de Janeiro, which will also feature facades of perforated brick.

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Local studio Proctor & Shaw looked to Mallorcan villas to create a feeling of calmness at Stone Brick House, a London home extended with walls of pale limestone brick.

The terraced house was updated for a young family in Clapham and expanded with a new kitchen and dining space overlooking the garden.

According to Proctor & Shaw founder John Proctor, "airy Mallorcan villas" were a key influence on the design, informing its pale, natural material palette, which revolves around the use of low-carbon limestone bricks.

"The Can Lis house in Mallorca by Danish architect Jørn Utzon became a key precedent, and we sought to achieve a similar purity with material restraint and craft using muted natural clay plaster tones, oak and limestone brick," he told Dezeen.

"The stone brick was pivotal. It honestly expresses the construction, gifts a light reflective tone to the space and importantly provides high levels of thermal mass that assist the environmental temperance," he added.

"But perhaps most importantly, it is an ultra-low carbon construction product using about 93 per cent less embodied carbon than fired clay bricks."

Sinking the floor level of Stone Brick House's extension enabled a generous 2.9-metre ceiling height, which creates a feeling of spaciousness in tandem with a full-height sliding door into the garden and a large skylight above the dining table framed by thin oak beams.

The steps down into the extension are framed by bespoke oak storage containing a pantry. This wraps around the corner to become a backdrop to the kitchen, a long counter and a wooden island.

Opposite, a custom dining table sits alongside a built-in bench against a brick wall. The bench extends to become a window seat overlooking a planted bed in the garden.

Complementing the expanses of limestone brick are walls of natural plaster and a terracotta tiled floor underfoot, which extends out to become the garden patio.

"Providing space for entertaining was a key brief requirement, so the dining table, associated seating, kitchen counter and kitchen island are all generous," Proctor said.

"All the elements come together here; volumetric generosity, high levels of natural light, and serene material authenticity create a powerfully tranquil space," he added.

"Of particular note is the custom kitchen island with expressed simple timber frame construction and open shelves and drawers creating an airy, joyful central piece of furniture."

In the existing home, the front room and hallway have been opened up through the introduction of sliding wooden doors, allowing light and views along the entire depth of its plan.

Other London extensions completed by Proctor & Shaw include one in Peckham, which is topped by a tiered allotment, and another in north London designed as a timber-framed "sanctuary for wellbeing".

The photography is by Ståle Eriksen.

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Promotion: brick has stood the test of time as a construction material, which supports both the appearance and long-term performance of buildings, according to clay product specialist Michelmersh Brick Holdings.

UK manufacturer Michelmersh Brick Holdings argued that brick is as relevant a cladding material today as it has been over its extensive history.

According to the company, highly durable brick stands out for its ability to balance the quality of a building's aesthetics with its long-term performance.

"Brick continues to thrive," said the manufacturer, which specialises in clay brick in a range of textures. "The material has been used in construction for centuries, valued for its reliability, versatility and quiet strength in the built environment."

"From historic cityscapes and conservation areas to contemporary housing and large-scale commercial schemes, brick continues to play a central role in shaping the appearance, performance, and longevity of our built environment," it added.

Clay brick is available in a broad range of natural colours, textures, sizes and finishes, and can be arranged in endless configurations on a building's facade depending on the creative preference of the architect.

Unlike with some more contemporary materials, with brick, designers can pay close attention to a building's context and select the right cladding to respect its surroundings.

"Whether the goal is to blend seamlessly into a historic setting or introduce contrast and rhythm to a contemporary elevation, brick provides flexibility without compromise," said the manufacturer.

Michelmersh Brick Holdings also praised clay brick's sustainability credentials, describing it as a material that performs well thermally.

A brick-clad building is able to regulate its internal temperature by gradually absorbing and releasing heat.

"Combined with modern insulation strategies, brick facades support the creation of efficient and comfortable buildings," explained the company.

Many types of clay brick are recyclable, too, reducing the building's overall carbon footprint.

"This supports long-term adaptability and offers reusability that aligns with circular economy principles," said the manufacturer.

Michelmersh Brick Holdings also noted that when properly installed, brickwork can last for generations with minimal maintenance.

This can dramatically lower the overall cost of a building over its lifetime, reducing the need for repairs and replacements.

Thanks to the robustness of clay brick, individual units can be replaced without disturbing the wider facade, making it a particularly versatile material.

The company offers a swatch book that allows architects and designers to select the brick to suit the cladding of their project.

"Brick remains a trusted material because it has proven itself over time," concluded Michelmersh Brick Holdings. "Its established heritage, combined with an unmatched range of colours and textures, makes it suitable for almost any setting."

To learn more about Michelmersh Brick Holdings, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written for Michelmersh Brick Holdings by Dezeen as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Blocky volumes clad in sand-toned bricks define the Sædalen Kirke church, designed by local practices Koht Arkitekter and Hille Melbye for a young congregation in Bergen, Norway.

Named Sædalen Kirke after the neighbourhood in which it is located, the 1,200-square-metre church sits on a low hill adjacent to a wooded meadow.

Koht Arkiteker and Hille Melbye designed a building that is unified externally but divisible internally via a folding partition wall that separates a double-height hall from community and activity spaces, responding to the church's role as both a religious and community gathering space.

"The brief asked for a modern church adapted to a young, growing congregation, but one that also builds on tradition and the particular identity of Sædalen as a place," Anders Olivarius Bjørneseth, studio partner at Koht Arkitekter told Dezeen.

"This is arguably the central challenge facing church architecture today – how to design a building that holds the gravity of the sacred while genuinely serving the rhythms of contemporary community life," he added.

"We read it as a challenge of balance: between the sacred and the everyday, between architectural ambition and material modesty, between the building as a landmark and the building as a good neighbour."

Two axes forming a crucifix organise the plan. The first, running from northwest to southeast, forms a "processional route" from the stepped entrance plaza, through the community space called the "church square" and into the light-filled double-height hall.

The second perpendicular axis allows these spaces to be divided, with separate entrances when required, using a folding wooden partition wall at the ground-floor level and a curtain above, where the first floor can overlook the main hall from a balcony.

For larger events, the two spaces can be combined to almost double the capacity of the church hall.

"The church square is the heart of the building, furnished for varied settings to accommodate everything from post-service coffee to independent community use," Bjørneseth said.

"Beyond the folding wall, the nave is oriented towards the altar, with daylight entering from multiple sources – skylights, a side window along the east-west axis and a large, high-placed side window – creating a layered, atmospheric quality of light," he added.

Along its southwestern facade, the church is buffered from the road by a service zone, which includes a kitchen and cloakroom for the community area and sacristy spaces.

This arrangement allows the opposite facade to open up towards the neighbouring wood and stream with large windows, as well as an outdoor seating terrace that connects to the entrance plaza.

Pale sand-toned brickwork was used both externally and internally to create a "cohesive whole" for the building, which is varied by the introduction of small perforated sections in the hall.

In the double-height church hall, this brickwork forms a lower datum, while the upper sections have been finished in pale plasterwork beneath timber ceilings.

Two bespoke tapestries by textile artist Kari Dyrdal hang in the interiors - one behind the altar that is based on an old stone wall close to the church and another in the sacristy informed by a nearby stream.

"Brick in a sand-bleached tone was chosen early in the process as the primary material, motivated by a desire for permanence, weight and tactile richness appropriate to a church on a hilltop," explained Bjørneseth.

Other churches recently featured on Dezeen include Tiny Church Tolvkanten in Copenhagen by Julius Nielsen, designed as a 12-sided form symbolising the twelve apostles and cloaked in black timber planks, and Højvangen Church in Skanderborg by Henning Larsen, which aims to balance the community and spiritual needs of a contemporary church.

The photography is by Thurston Empson.

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Indian studio Madras Spaces has completed The Threshold House, a farmhouse in Tamil Nadu built using a locally sourced palette of repurposed brick, timber and tiles.

Surrounded by agricultural fields in the small village of V Thuraiyur, the compact 93-square-metre home was the result of a simple client brief that prioritised local materials, daylight and natural ventilation.

Chennai-based Madras Spaces gave a third of the site's footprint over to a patio, wrapped by brick walls punctured by perforated openings and overlooked by a balcony shared by the first-floor bedrooms.

"The site was extremely tight, which became the primary challenge and design driver," principal architect Aswin Karthik told Dezeen.

"Although village houses are typically extroverted, this constraint led us to design a home that appears introverted from the outside, but gradually opens up and becomes extroverted within as one moves through the spaces," added Karthik.

"The ground floor is conceived as an open, seamless flow of spaces that change function over the course of the day. The central court becomes an extended living space, animated by light, air, and movement throughout the day."

Entering via the patio, both a wooden door and folding shutters lead into the home's main living space, the floor of which steps up to create a stage-like seating area leading through to a kitchen at the rear.

The Threshold House has a load-bearing brick structure that supports a concrete upper floor and roof, topped with traditional Mangalore tiles.

The majority of materials, including the home's doors and windows, were salvaged and repurposed.

Karthik describes this use of existing materials as a way of "reinforcing continuity" with the area's local building traditions and craftsmanship.

On the first floor, a monopitch section soars above a pair of bedrooms, which share access to both a balcony and a skylit bathroom and shower room.

The bedrooms are lined with white plaster walls, accompanied by sections of white-painted salvaged brickwork forming a headboard for the beds and exposed timber ceilings above.

"We tried to stay as close to the roots as possible in terms of sustainability and construction," explained Karthik. "This allowed us to engage deeply with local culture, ways of living, and local workmanship."

"The intent was not to create something that merely looks beautiful, but something that is truthful and sustainable — and therefore beautiful on its own. We used only what was necessary. Not more, not less," he added.

Other homes in India recently featured on Dezeen include Ananda, a dwelling in Kerela by Thought Parallels Architecture that reinterprets the southern Indian region's vernacular buildings, and Zenhouse, which Studio Nirvana designed to invite "calm and stillness".

The photography is by Syam Sreesylam.

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University of Hong Kong professors John Lin, Olivier Ottevaere and Lidia Ratoi have worked with students to overhaul an underground house in northern China, suggesting a new future for these traditional dwellings.

Underground House of the Future is a complete rebuild of a house in Zhangbian Township, a village in the Loess Plateau in Henan Province, where people traditionally dig their homes out of the earth.

Their revamped version features complex brick vaults, 3D-printed terraces and a tensile netted canopy, designed to make the building safer, more versatile and more resilient to climate change.

The project was developed in partnership with the local municipality and funded through Project Mingde, a foundation that sits under the University of Hong Kong's civil engineering department.

Similar to Lin and Ratoi's previous project, the Traditional House of the Future, the project began with an open-ended brief to examine how these historic houses are used today and how they might evolve to address current challenges.

The typical underground house centres around a rectangular courtyard, approximately eight by ten metres, excavated to a depth of six metres.

Arched doorways lead through to rooms tunnelled out from the courtyard on all sides.

The thermal mass of the surrounding earth helps to maintain a stable interior temperature, protecting residents from summer heat and winter frost.

"The underground cave dwellings, or 'dikengyuan', represent an ingenious response to inhabitation in a region historically devoid of timber and other conventional building materials," Lin, Ottevaere and Ratoi said.

"This simple yet spatially sophisticated form maintains the Chinese affinity for courtyard living while leaving the maximum possible amount of land above ground for agriculture – an elegant symmetry between living below and working above," they continued.

In their initial research, the professors found that 80 per cent of the houses in the region were still in use. But more were later abandoned after damage from a major rainstorm in 2021, revealing the threat posed by climate change.

The trio also noted how tourists typically visited the faux cave houses of the nearby Dikengyuan Folk-Custom Cultural Park, described by Ratoi as "like a Disneyland of underground houses".

Their idea was to create "a focal point for generating economic value in the village", which led them to work with local social-media star Miss Zhu.

By introducing climate-adaptive measures to Miss Zhu's home, they transformed it into a space that can host various public and community events, from weddings and funerals to parties or exhibitions.

A team led by robotic fabrication specialist Ratoi addressed the courtyard, using 3D-printing robots to create tiered concrete terraces.

These terraces integrate seating, an earthen kiln for cooking and planters for growing food. Most importantly, they can absorb large volumes of rainwater, reducing the risk of flooding.

A perimeter drainage channel was also added, diverting any excess water to underground storage so that it can later be reused.

"Traditionally, underground houses managed rainwater by tamping soil to direct runoff into a single drainage pit, an approach effective under stable climatic conditions but increasingly overwhelmed by extreme rainfall," explained the team.

The team, led by architect and Rural Urban Framework co-founder Lin, oversaw the reconstruction of the house's interior.

The single-vaulted rooms were replaced with more complex multidirectional vaults, allowing for larger spaces. New vertical voids and skylights were also added, bringing in more daylight from above.

"Construction relied on adaptations of traditional techniques, in which local craftspeople can build complex brick vaults using only a simple curved bamboo branch and string," said the team. "The public rooms extend local construction traditions rather than replacing them."

The third addition taps into designer Ottevaere's expertise in complex geometries, as demonstrated by previous collaborations with Lin, such as The Warp and The Pinch.

A huge net is stretched across steel frames to create a tensile canopy, offering sun shading while preventing anyone from falling over the edge.

The design was carefully planned to allow space for the growth of a new tree, which was installed in the courtyard as part of the project.

"The translucent fabric creates a pattern of shifting light and shadow, transforming the courtyard into a luminous space for communal events," said the team.

A model of the Underground House of the Future was exhibited as part of Carosello, an exhibition that formed part of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 curated by Carlo Ratti.

Project credits:

Design: John Lin, Olivier Ottevaere, Lidia Ratoi
Donor and funding body: Project Mingde Foundation
Project lead: Jenny Hsiao
Project team: Anila Ma, Wilson Wu, Hayden Ng, Jiun-Yu Chang, Yiran Liu and student volunteers from the HKU Department of Architecture, Department of Civil Engineering, and Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design
Construction: Anhai Liu with local masons and carpenters
Robotic printing: Weiguo Xu, Tsinghua University
Additional funding: Zhu Lin and family, 
Lee Hysan Foundation, Special Projects Fund at HKU Department of Architecture

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A faceted brick extension links a manor house and a 17th-century barn to form the Shoemakers Museum in Somerset, England, designed by UK studio Purcell.

Commissioned by local charity Alfred Gillett Trust, the museum houses collections of fossils and displays on shoemaking, including the history of shoe retailer Clarks, which was founded locally in the village of Street 200 years ago.

A brick extension that is fronted by a colonnade connects a renovated 16th-century manor house and 17th-century barn, forming an L-shaped layout around a lawn.

Gallery spaces dedicated to shoes are located in the two-storey brick extension, while fossil collections are found in the renovated barn. A cafe and offices are located in the updated manor house.

The upper portion of the Shoemakers Museum extension has a zigzagging exterior with corbelled brickwork – a technique that incorporates protusions and recesses – crafted by local bricklayer PJ Cook.

This decorative facade was designed as a nod to the sawtooth roof of Clark's former factory and design elements seen in Clarks shoes, such as perforations and zigzagging fabric edges.

"We translated Clarks' design language through delicate brick detailing – perforations like brogues, projections echoing visible stitching, pinked edges referenced in the stepped corbelling," Purcell architect Alasdair Ferguson told Dezeen.

"It creates depth and character whilst referencing the craft and quality of what's inside."

Purcell's design for the Shoemakers Museum aimed to celebrate the subject matter of its collections – shoes and fossils – as well as the history of Street.

Blue Lias limestone, which contains fossil traces, was used to construct portions of the museum walls, around 70 per cent of which was salvaged from the site.

"It was a brilliant brief – designing a shoe and fossil museum that stitches together two very different listed buildings while creating something architecturally distinctive," said Ferguson.

"This museum reconnects Street to its heritage with a building that celebrates it," he continued. "Each material grounds the building in its context while telling the story of place, making and craft."

"It's a home for the stories of generations who made those shoes, giving the community a place to honour their heritage crafted over two hundred years."

Other projects completed by Purcell include the renovation of London's National Portrait Gallery and the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Stirling Prize.

The photography is by Nick Guttridge.

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"An open auditorium" formed of stepped terraces crowns this sprawling brick-clad university building in Indore, revealed here exclusively by Indian studio Sanjay Puri Architects.

Located on the growing 13-hectare campus of Prestige University in the state of Madhya Pradesh, the five-story building contains offices, seminar halls, an auditorium, a library and a cafe.

Its defining feature is its 9,000-square-metre walkable roof, which comprises 463 stepped platforms that can be used as individual social spaces or as a singular auditorium for up to 9,000 people. Four terraces are accessible by wheelchair hoist.

According to Sanjay Puri Architects, its design was modelled on ancient stepped wells in India, which it said "were spaces not just built to store water but large social interaction spaces bringing the community together".

"Since this entire campus will provide education for over 3,000 students when completely built, we envisaged the entire stepped rooftop to be used as an open auditorium housing all the students together," studio founder Sanjay Puri told Dezeen.

"In addition, these terraces act as spaces for social interaction, studying and relaxing. The college has already held multiple functions on these terraces, including flag hoisting on Independence Day, open lectures and games."

The 30,800-square-metre building steps up diagonally from its northern point, reaching a height of 28 metres. At its base is a shallow pool, designed to help passively cool the building.

While providing events and meeting spaces, the stepped design of the building was intended to reduce the visual impact of its expansive volume, which is deliberately low-lying to minimise the amount of mechanical vertical circulation required.

The roofscape is punctured by courtyards, which draw light and ventilation deep into the plan, with the help of a diagonal "indoor street" that runs the length of the ground floor.

According to the studio, this derives "from traditional Indian architecture", which often has minimal dependence on artificial lighting and air conditioning.

The main structure of the building is formed of concrete and fly ash bricks, enveloped with clay brick cladding. The elevations also feature decorative perforated screens, formed from glass fibre-reinforced concrete screens and used to provide additional ventilation.

Inside, floors are lined with Indian sandstone while the concrete structure was left exposed.

Shared spaces, including the 700-seat cafe and indoor auditorium, are located on the ground floor alongside the university's administrative offices and the courtyards, which are open for recreational activities.

The large library sits on the first floor, featuring a bridge that spans the "street" below, while the 45 classrooms occupy the second and third floors. The top floor contains all the faculty-related administrative facilities.

Puri co-founded his studio with Nina Puri in Mumbai in 1992. Its other recent projects include a 12-storey residential building in Maharashtra wrapped in curved screens and the spiral-shaped Nokha Village Community Centre in Rajasthan.

Other landmark buildings recently completed in India include the Minerva Tower, the country's tallest completed building, designed by Mumbai firm Architect Hafeez Contractor.

The photography is by Vinay Panjwani.

Project credits:

Architect: Sanjay Puri Architects
Lead architects: Sanjay Puri, Ruchika Gupta, Madhavi Belsare
Design team: Manveer Chopra, Devendra Dugad, Arjun Gupta, Bijal Bhayani
Structural consultant: Pyramid Consultants
MEP consultant: SEED Engineering Consultants
Landscape consultant: Envision Landscape Consultants
Facade GFRC work: Everest Composite
Client: Prestige Education Society

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A scalloped facade of white brickwork overlooks a public square at Albion Street, a housing block in east London by local architecture studio Bell Phillips.

Located on the site of the former Albion Street Civic Centre in Rotherhithe, the 3,027-square-metre project provides 26 homes for social rent and shared ownership, alongside retail spaces and a public square.

For the housing block's design, Bell Phillips sought a "common language" between two distinctive Grade-II listed churches that bookend the site – the 1920s St Olav's Norwegian Church and the 1950s Finnish Church in London.

To the northeast, the older church informed a larger, five-storey red-brick block, which sits on a large plinth containing retail spaces to complement the existing shops on the opposite side of the street.

By contrast, the smaller southeastern block nods to the more modernist style of the Finnish Church, finished in white brickwork with a distinctive scalloped facade overlooking the public square.

"The two-storey red brick plinth responds to the horizontal banding of the traditionally-styled Norwegian Church, while white brickwork is used to tie together with the tone of the Finnish Church," explained Bell Phillips co-founder Tim Bell.

"The materials palette suits a building that seeks to achieve a strong civic presence, and enabled the creation of a distinctive scalloped façade that sits comfortably alongside its similarly characterful neighbours," Bell added.

"Both of these architectural elements are new, unexpected, and intriguing, but simultaneously harmonious with the existing architecture."

Albion Street contains a mix of one-, two- and three-bed apartments, with the building's shallow depth meaning that the majority are dual-aspect.

Living spaces have been positioned away from the north of the plan and the busy Rotherhithe Tunnel Approach, instead overlooking the street to the south from white-steel balconies atop the red-brick block's two-storey plinth.

At the southeastern end, balconies are deep-set into the scalloped white-brick facade to provide privacy from the public square below, which was upgraded with the area's popular Scandinavian markets in mind.

Where the block steps back at the fourth floor, a shared roof terrace has been created for residents.

Albion Street marks the first stage of a two-phase project by Bell Phillips for Southwark Council, which will be followed by a second block of 50 homes on the neighbouring Renforth Street.

The studio, founded by Bell alongside Hari Phillips in 2004, recently completed a housing block in Marylebone, which featured a similarly scalloped facade in pale brickwork, and added a series of mirrored pavilions to a science campus in Oxfordshire.

The photography is by Kilian O'Sullivan.

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Ceiling board and layers of plaster were stripped down to reveal the original brickwork of this two-storeyed terraced house in Singapore, overhauled by L Architects.

Located on Barker Road, the 252-square-metre house was originally built 30 years ago for a now-retired professor.

Named My Last Home, the client tasked the L Architects team with executing what he envisioned to be the "final renovation" of his residence.

"This house is for a professor who was returning to Singapore for his retirement and told the team that this will likely be the final renovation for this home," L Architects founder Lim Shing Hui told Dezeen.

"I left the [first] meeting feeling a certain weight on my shoulders, and wondering if we could truly give him what he was looking for – to design someone's last home," she added.

L Architects aimed to reveal the original features of the house by stripping back the layers of wall plaster and false ceiling that had been added over time.

"When we first visited the house, we sensed that it was patiently waiting to reclaim its more authentic self," Lim said.

"We wanted to rediscover the original spirit of the house, which we believed had an interesting story to tell," she continued.

The residence is organised across two storeys, with an open-plan living area, library, kitchen and study overlooking the backyard on the ground floor.

This is connected by a teakwood staircase to a primary bedroom, guest room and storage room on the first floor.

Across the house, the L Architects team – comprising Lim, Tse Lee Shing and Loo Quan Le – removed and reorganised some of the non-load-bearing walls to improve cross-ventilation.

Newly-built walls made of modern three-hole bricks were erected. On the ground floor, these were teamed with sliding doors and perforated screens to divide the common areas.

While carrying out a test removal of the wall plaster, the team discovered English bond brickwork underneath, which they decided to unmask, complemented by concrete pillars and beams.

"As we removed the plaster, a lot of the mechanical and electrical items, like the old wiring and its conduits, were also removed," explained Lim.

"Upon removing these items, we start to see the grazed tracks on the walls like battle 'scars'. We convinced our client to retain it as part of the historical story of what this house has gone through," she added.

On the first floor, false ceiling boards were peeled away to uncover the original pitched ceiling with exposed timber rafters.

Solid timber furniture was sourced for the residence, including a vintage bed and study table that had been sitting in the client's storage for several years.

Bespoke reclaimed timber benches were created for the foyer and bedroom and complemented by teak-covered built-in carpentry that is dotted across the space.

Cement screed flooring features on the ground floor, complemented with chestnut-hued timber flooring on the first floor.

The tactile material palette of the residence is contrasted by stainless steel surfaces in the kitchen and exposed mechanical services, including ducts and rainwater harvesting pipes.

In the bathrooms, L Architects installed glazed subway tiles mimicking the proportions of the bricks forming the original walls.

"The house must represent the current moment of when the renovation took place, resulting in a harmonious mix of both the past and present," Lim commented.

L Architects is a Singapore-based architecture office founded by Lim in 2016. Previously, the studio used double-bullnose bricks to overhaul a flat in Singapore, for which it was named the winner of the residential interior (small) category of the Dezeen Awards 2025.

Elsewhere in the country, Open Studio turned a 1960s school hall into a pickleball court and Park + Associates completed Singapore's "first multi-storey 3D-printed house".

The photography is by Jovian Lim. 

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Costa Rican studio FAMM Arquitectura has created a coastal house that features overhangs and a central brick volume and was designed around preexisting trees on the site in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.

Aptly named Casa Tres Pochotes, the 440-square metre (4736-square foot) house sits on a 2-acre site with three large pochote trees that drove the design.

"They gave us the orientation, the rhythm and even the spirit of the project," said San Jose-based FAMM Arquitectura on the trees' role in the project.

"Our goal was to design a home that felt completely tied to its place, where the climate, the landscape, the lessons of Costa Rican architecture and the materials guided our decisions."

Completed for one of the studio's cofounders, the house keeps the trees in focus at all times, with rooms looking out to or wrapping around them. Terraces and balconies frame the trees while using their canopies to shade outdoor gathering spaces.

"Because of this, the house feels naturally integrated with its surroundings and not just placed randomly on the land," the studio said.

"Rather than forcing a form to the site, we tried to let the site speak first and used a palette of materials that acknowledged some of our favourite features of vintage Costa Rican design," the studio said.

"The result is a house that is in a harmonious dialogue with the land and respects and understands the way life happens in the tropics."

The team used pochote wood siding to clad the exterior, as it is a water-resistant, local material that ages well. A white brick volume sets off from the rich wood tones and complements the exposed concrete beams, columns and walls that express "strength and simplicity" according to the studio.

Selected for durability and natural beauty, teak transfers from the soffit outside to the ceiling inside, where red pigmented cementitious urethane flooring adds to the material palette of wood and concrete.

"This combination of wood, concrete, glass and red accents creates a warm, modern, and grounded atmosphere that reflects both a respect for traditional Costa Rican building and a reinterpretation of tropical contemporary design," the studio said.

"The use of local materials also reduces environmental impact by minimising transportation. The design avoids unnecessary surface treatments, which saves resources and keeps the materials honest."

The white brick central volume separates two wings of the house that extend outward toward the trees, which provides an organising system. The living room and terraces are located in the site's most breezy and shaded portions, while the private sleeping quarters were oriented for light and ventilation.

"This approach helped the design feel natural and logical, because every part of the house has a clear purpose and connection to the environment," the studio said.

Large windows, shaded by the roof's deep overhangs, open the rooms to views and cross breezes.

Also in Playa Hermosa, Formafatal designed twin villas made out of rammed earth. Other projects recently completed in Costa Rica include a doughnut-shaped courtyard house in Carate and a series of hotel pods in Sardinal – both elevated on columns by Studio Saxe.

The photography is by Thibault Cartier.

Project credits:

Lead architects: Felipe Apéstegui, Mariano Mesalles
Project architects: Luis Diego Benavente, Andrés Hartman, Karina Odio, Kenneth Thompson

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The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features a multigenerational home in Sussex by British studio Templeton Ford. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

British studio Templeton Ford has completed a self-designed family home in West Sussex featuring a curvy three-tiered roof.

The two-storey house prompted lively discussion among readers, with one describing it as "deliciously baroque" while another remarked "the whole thing is grounded on nostalgia if you take out the two slopes".

Other stories in this week's newsletter included Lanza Atelier's design for this year's Serpentine Pavilion, Pharrell Williams' set for Louis Vuitton's Autumn Winter 2026 menswear show and an electric flying aircraft debuted by tech company Vertical Aerospace.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Tuesday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday, containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

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A curvy three-tiered roof tops the red brick and tile walls of Clay Rise, a house designed and built by the founders of British studio Templeton Ford in southeast England for their own family.

Architect Andre Templeton Ford and interior stylist Jessica Templeton Ford designed the residence in a village in West Sussex for themselves, their young children and Andre's parents.

Clay Rise, Templeton Ford's debut project, is a contemporary spin on the varied brick architecture of the local village, which includes archetypal homes to decorative Arts and Crafts-style buildings.

The material palette is traditional, with clay bricks forming the base of the walls, and the upper walls clad in a matching clay tile. Clay tiles also cover the roofs, but the sweeping forms give these elements a more unusual profile.

Andre Templeton Ford said that design provided a way of creating character while adhering to planning restrictions that limited the heights of eaves and gutter lines, as well as the overall building height.

"The sweeping roof form emerged as a playful response to the local context and planning constraints," he told Dezeen.

"It became a way to give the building a strong visual identity without increasing its apparent scale."

The couple chose a prefabricated timber frame system to enable a speedy and precise assembly process despite the curved geometry. This was crucial for Andre Templeton Ford, who oversaw the construction, reducing the on-site build time to just two weeks.

"Prefabrication was central to the project's efficiency and delivery," he said. "As an architect also taking on the role of contractor, it provided a high level of cost and programme certainty, particularly for the erection of the superstructure."

Clay Rise stands next to the architect's childhood home, on a plot created within its expansive garden.

The lowest level provides a two-bedroom apartment for the young family, while the main house occupies the upper two floors, giving the grandparents a flexible kitchen, dining and living space and a bedroom suite.

The sloping site made it possible for both homes to have a ground-floor entrance.

Inside, they are connected by a curvaceous CNC-cut staircase, which is coated in lime plaster for a natural finish.

Clay Rise's layout was designed with future adaptability in mind. The 193-square-metre floor plan can be subdivided to create additional rooms on the lower and uppermost floors, providing extra bedrooms or workspaces.

"This adaptability means the house can evolve as the family grows without requiring major structural alteration," said Andre Templeton Ford.

Sapele-wood-framed glazing reveals the high ceilings of the interior.

The north elevation includes an extra-high entryway and a double-height window, which flanks the main stairwell, while the south-facing garden elevation has a recessed wall that is fully glazed.

Jessica Templeton Ford oversaw the design of the interiors, which include timber and stone floors, curved oak handrails and custom joinery made with offcuts from the timber structure.

Lighting slots into curves and recesses in the walls and ceilings, and furniture includes a sculptural stone dining table, a red Pierre Paulin Tongue Chair and a selection of rustic antique finds.

"The ambition was to create a building that is friendly and approachable, yet distinct – grounded, fresh and optimistic rather than nostalgic," added Andre Templeton Ford.

"A key priority was that the house felt respectful to its context while still being expressive, something local people could recognise as belonging to the area, while also feeling confident enough to be a little daring."

Other English houses recently featured on Dezeen include a leaf-shaped dwelling in the Cotswolds countryside by Michaelis Boyd and The Cornwall Retreat by De Rosee Sa.

The photography is by French + Tye.

Project credits

Architect: Templeton Ford
Structural engineer: ADEPT Consulting
M&E consultant: Wells Sustainability
Quantity surveyor: Liberty QS
Project manager: Andre Ford
Approved building inspector: Compliance
Main contractor: Andre Ford/self build

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Colourful metalwork contrasts with the worn bricks of this former industrial courtyard in Riga, Latvia, which has been converted into a residential complex by local studio Sampling.

Named Augustine's Garden, the cluster of low-rise industrial buildings sits off a main street behind an Art Nouveau apartment block with a white plaster facade, which was also renovated by Sampling as part of the scheme.

Despite the existing industrial buildings not being heritage protected or deemed historically significant, the studio decided to alter them as little as possible, contrasting their worn brickwork with colourful metal accents.

"We are deeply interested in advancing the paradigm of adaptive reuse and in working with existing built heritage, regardless of its aesthetic or historical value," said Sampling founders Liene Jakobsone and Manten Devriendt.

"Care and repair lie at the heart of the project. The ambition was to introduce as little new material as possible, allowing the site itself to determine the material strategy," they told Dezeen.

"Our challenge was to demonstrate that even materials burdened with negative connotations, such as white silicate brick, can be reevaluated and reactivated through careful and sensitive architectural intervention."

The organisation of the apartments at Augustine's Garden was guided by the site's existing layout. A mixture of apartments with private entrances sits directly off the courtyard, while smaller duplex studios and upper-floor units are accessed via a shared staircase.

Its external courtyard is equally shared between all residents and has been divided into a series of planted bays around which a paved path winds.

"The outdoor space is shared, and there is no fencing around the terraces. Nevertheless, they feel remarkably private," Jakobsone and Devriendt explained.

"This balance is one of the qualities most appreciated by the residents, living within a small, intimate community while at the same time being located in the centre of a large city," they added.

The windows of the apartments are framed in a pastel green-toned aluminium matched by the courtyard furniture, while their brick openings have been reinforced with blue-painted steel lintels.

Red-painted metal canopies shelter the courtyard apartment entrances and a deeper shade of red was used to finish both the courtyard's hanging light fittings and metalwork around the trees.

These three colours have been carried through to the interiors of the homes, where they have been used in curtains, carpentry and furniture.

On the street frontage, a pastel green gate sits alongside red sills and a red-metal roof added to the existing apartment block's frontage, which had its white plasterwork restored and was newly insulated internally.

Sampling was founded by Jakobsone and Devriendt in 2010, with offices in both Riga and Ghent.

Other recent residential projects in Latvia include a home on the western coast with a twisting slate roof by Made and a barn-like home in Riga with a corrugated metal roof by Gaiss.

The photography is by Madara Kuplā.

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The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features David Chipperfield Architects' design for the Nobel Center in Stockholm. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

David Chipperfield Architects has unveiled its design for the Nobel Centre in Stockholm, which will feature spaces for workshops, lectures, events, and exhibitions.

Commenters hotly debated the project, with one asking "where is the humanity?" and another commenting "looks to potentially be a very nice, but partial, sea wall".

Other stories in this week's newsletter included a time capsule designed by Norman Foster, HKS' plans for the Washington Commanders Stadium and a French-fry box with a built-in ketchup compartment by Heinz.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Tuesday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday, containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

The post Readers ask "where's the humanity?" in this week's Dezeen Debate appeared first on Dezeen.

Mexican studio Lanza Atelier has released visuals of its design for this year's Serpentine Pavilion in London, which references an English brick garden wall.

Aptly named A Serpentine, the sinuous brick structure will be installed outside of the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens from 6 June to 25 October 2026.

Lanza Atelier's design specifically references a serpentine – a one-brick-thick wall with a snake-like shape, otherwise known as a crinkle-crankle wall.

They are often found in English gardens, but originated in ancient Egypt and were brought to England by Dutch engineers. They are celebrated for their structural efficiency, which means they require fewer bricks than a straight wall for stability.

"We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to share our work with a wider public and to contribute to the pavilion's ongoing legacy of experimentation and collective encounter," said Lanza Atelier.

"Set within a garden, an evocation of the natural world, the project takes the form of a serpentine wall, conceived as a device that both reveals and withholds: shaping movement, modulating rhythm, and framing resholds of proximity, orientation, and pause."

Like a traditional crinkle-crankle wall, the pavilion will be constructed from red brick. This also pays homage to the facade of the Serpentine South Gallery.

The studio's design is divided into two halves. One of these will be the pavilion's main habitable space, which will be topped with a transparent roof, and a second will be an outdoor gathering area bordered by a winding brick bench.

"Inspired by the figure of the serpent as a generative and protective force, we draw a parallel with England's winding fruit walls, which are structures that temper climate, create shelter, and enable growth," said Lanza Atelier.

"From this idea emerges a pavilion built of simple clay brick, foregrounding vernacular craft and the elemental capacity of architecture to bring people together."

Lanza Atelier was founded in Mexico City in 2015 by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo. During the pavilion's installation, the Serpentine Gallery will publish the studio's first monograph.

Previous pavilions by the studio include a circular platform cloaked by water-dripping chains on the plaza of a Mexico City shopping centre and a temporary wood-and-steel structure to function as a gathering space in a Mexico City courtyard.

In an exclusive interview with Dezeen marking the pavilion's announcement, Lanza Atelier said "its time to bring new Mexican architecture to the table".

This year's pavilion marks the 25th edition of the Serpentine Pavilion, which began in 2000 with Zaha Hadid. To mark the anniversary, the gallery is collaborating with the Zaha Hadid Foundation on a series of talks.

"Over the last 10 years, the Serpentine Pavilion has increasingly focused on giving opportunities to younger architectural practices," said Serpentine Gallery's artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist.

"We are excited to announce that Mexican architects Lanza Atelier will design the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion. Lanza Atelier's architecture always involves a deep engagement with the local context, materials and lived experience," he said.

"As always, the pavilion will be a content machine with lectures, film screenings and performances," added Obrist.

"We will also remember Zaha Hadid, who gave us our motto that 'there should be no end to experimentation'."

Lanza Atelier is the second Mexican architect to create the Serpentine Pavilion, following Frida Escobedo in 2018. Escobedo's design took the form of a secluded courtyard framed by decorative, latticed walls.

Last year's pavilion was crafted by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum from wood and polycarbonate panels.

The renders are by Lanza Atelier, courtesy of Serpentine.

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The Berlin studio of David Chipperfield Architects has revealed a red-brick design for the Nobel Center in Stockholm, eight years after its brass-clad proposal was blocked by a Swedish court.

Working with local architecture studio Sweco Architects, David Chipperfield Architects' latest design features a series of blocky brick volumes along the waterfront on Södermalm island.

The Nobel Center will contain spaces for workshops, lectures, events and exhibitions that showcase achievements and stories of Nobel Prize laureates across science, literature and peace sectors.

David Chipperfield Architects was first announced as the architect of the Nobel Centre in 2014 following a competition for which it entered a shimmering brass-clad proposal.

The design was scaled back in 2015 in response to concerns from the public, before further design changes were revealed the following year, resulting in a triple-stack building clad in brass louvres.

In 2018, Sweden's Land and Environment Court blocked construction of the project, claiming it would cause "significant damage" to Stockholm's historic waterfront. Two years later, the Nobel Foundation decided on a different site for the centre and approached several architecture studios, including David Chipperfield Architects, to submit new designs.

Presented by the Nobel Foundation, David Chipperfield Architects' latest design will be located in Slussen, a district being regenerated with a masterplan by British studio Foster + Partners.

The building will be made up of a series of blocky forms with proportions designed to reference historic townhouses found along the water.

"The building is composed of interlocking volumes that respond to the topography of Södermalm," said David Chipperfield Architects.

"Their rhythm and proportions draw on the scale of the 17th-century merchant townhouses of the Old Town across the water, allowing the building to engage with Stockholm's historic waterfront while reading as a single, coherent structure."

A foyer, shop and restaurant will be located on the ground floor, which will open onto an outdoor terrace overlooking the water. A waterfront promenade will form a route connecting the neighbouring Fotografiska and Stadsmuseet museums.

"The ground floor is conceived as an extension of the public realm, highly permeable and transparent," said David Chipperfield Architects.

"It allows a fluid transition without thresholds between city and building, anchoring the Nobel Center in everyday urban life."

The Nobel Center's structure will be predominantly timber, with reclaimed red bricks lining its facades in a nod to significant public buildings in the city, such as City Hall.

"The selection of material reflects a commitment to sustainability as an integral societal responsibility," said David Chipperfield Architects. "The brick lends the building a sense of permanence and gravitas in its representation of the Nobel Prize."

Construction is expected to commence in 2027, and the Nobel Centre is set to be completed in 2031.

David Chipperfield Architects also made headlines last week when it was revealed that its Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will not be fully completed in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics next month.

The visuals are by Onirism.

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Czech architecture studio Opočenský Valouch Architects has completed Vida Elementary School on the outskirts of Prague, topping its red-brick volumes with a terrace of teaching spaces, play areas and vegetable gardens.

Located in the town of Chýně in Prague-West District, the three-storey building comprises an elementary school and a sports complex with indoor and outdoor courts, a football pitch and an athletics track.

Opočenský Valouch Architects (OVA) designed Vida Elementary School with a ground-floor plinth of exposed concrete that sits partially within its sloping green site.

Its upper storeys are clad in red brick and topped by two corrugated metal classroom pavilions that overlook rooftop play areas and gardens.

"The elongated, sloping site lies near the centre of Chýně, a rapidly growing municipality close to Prague," said Opočenský Valouch Architects (OVA).

"Significant residential development is expected in the surrounding area," OVA continued. "For some time, the new school may stand alone on the field at the edge of the locality, but eventually it will become an integral part of the built structure of the town."

Vida Elementary School comprises two rectilinear blocks. They are offset to make room for an entrance courtyard to the north, sheltered by a ring-shaped canopy, and a more private playground courtyard to the south.

According to OVA, this division was also used to help the school operate in two "modes" – one for everyday teaching requirements, and the other for extracurricular and public activities in the afternoons and at weekends.

"The school's shared spaces – both interior and exterior – play an equally important role in the learning process as traditional classrooms," said OVA.

"The entrance courtyard serves pupils, visitors to afternoon programs, and the general public. It includes lounging platforms for teenagers and sports surfaces for younger pupils," it added. "The second courtyard features outdoor dining tables extending the canteen's capacity. It also provides space for play during recesses and leisure between afternoon activities."

In the northern block, the majority of the classrooms are organised around a full-height atrium. On the ground floor, amphitheatre-style timber seating provides a space for larger gatherings, while study and rest nooks line the balconies above.

To the south, the indoor sports court sits above a canteen that spills out onto the private courtyard and playground. Stepped seating overlooking this courtyard leads up to the outdoor court, which sits at one end of the football pitch and running track.

Along the western edge of this sports field, the roof of a narrow facilities building has been used to create an area of grandstand-style seating.

The exposed concrete finish of the school's base is echoed internally by the walls and columns of the atrium and the roof of the sports hall, contrasted by pastel coloured changing areas and timber-lined classrooms.

Elsewhere in the Czech Republic, Atelier 6 recently completed Frič Brothers Elementary School near Prague, which contrasts red brickwork and exposed concrete surfaces with colourful patterned floors.

Other newly-completed schools on Dezeen include a timber-framed building in northern France by Coldefy and the Rausing Science Centre for a school in Canterbury, which Walters & Cohen finished in snapped flint.

The photography is by Alex Shoots Buildings.

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Curved walls and porthole windows add character to this brick home built on an infill site in north London, which has been completed by local architecture studio Nikjoo.

Designed in collaboration with London-based developer Flawk, the three-bedroom family home, named Runda, is composed of a rounded volume that sits on the corner plot of a former brickworks.

Nikjoo and Flawk drew on the curved edge of the existing site for the home's sculptural form, which sees a curved motif repeated throughout the design.

"The existing site and its context have heavily influenced the design," studio founder Alex Nikjoo told Dezeen. "The site has a gentle curved form at its edge, which has been incorporated into the home."

"This curve is further incorporated into the design of the home through playful porthole windows, gentle curved partitions and ceilings, giving the home a uniquely sculptural form," he added.

The studios employed a timber frame with brick cladding for the home's structure, which bookends a row of 1960s terraced houses.

According to Nikjoo, its two-tone brick facade was chosen to both situate the home within the existing context and reduce the building's massing.

"The design of Runda acts as a bridge between the various [neighbouring] typologies, connecting them in a meaningful and purposeful manner which resolves the somewhat contorted streetscape," he explained.

The three-storey home is composed of a main rectilinear volume that sits flush with the neighbouring house, along with a shorter, protruding curved volume that shelters an entrance at ground level.

Inside, Runda opens up to a skylit central corridor, which leads into an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, where a large opening overlooks the home's front courtyard.

Wooden floors and plaster walls unite the home's spaces. Elements designed and fabricated by Flawk include the kitchen, which pairs pine, oak and cherry cabinetry with a stainless-steel worktop and bespoke concrete corner counter.

Connecting the home's three floors is a staircase crafted from curved oak and stainless steel, complemented by a porthole window.

Upstairs, two bedrooms and a bathroom occupy the first floor, which is finished with polished plaster walls and pale timber, paired with metal fittings and ceramic knobs.

An en-suite main bedroom is held on the top floor and gains daylight from a circular roof light and full-height glazing that opens onto an external terrace.

Previous collaborations between Nikjoo and Flawk include a redbrick townhouse built on a parking space in London and the renovation and extension of a post-war home in east London.

The photography is by Jasper Fry unless otherwise stated.

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Stepped arches define the facade of Studio Weave's latest building, a brick pavilion containing a cafe, public toilets and market facilities.

Woolwich Market Pavilion is part of the rejuvenation of Beresford Square Market, a square next to the gatehouse of the historic former munitions factory, Woolwich Arsenal, in southeast London.

With its deep stepped arches and monumental chimneys, the pavilion was designed by London-based Studio Weave to echo the architectural details of the gatehouse and other surrounding buildings.

Its brick walls sit above a plinth of polished red concrete-aggregate blocks, while the window and door frames were made from solid oak.

Other distinctive features include a butterfly roof, defined by a ridgeline that runs diagonally between two corners. This gives an angled roofline to all four facades, while also framing the turret of the gatehouse.

The southwest and southeast facades both feature a trio of arches, creating windows and entrances for the yet-to-open cafe facing the market and a newly installed garden.

The northwest facade features just one arch, giving the cafe another entrance on Beresford Street, while a larger arch on the northeast elevation integrates entrances to the two public toilets and a utility room for the market.

"The architecture has to work hard – it provides an important social gathering space in the café, a backdrop for the life of the market, while offering dignity for the public who use the space," said Eddie Blake, co-director of Studio Weave.

Blake pointed out the importance of providing public toilets, " a public good", in urban centres.

"Ultimately, without accessible public toilets, we are excluding many people from places like Beresford Square," he said.

The Beresford Square Market transformation was delivered by the local authority, Royal Borough of Greenwich, with funding from the UK government's Levelling Up Fund, an initiative launched in 2020 under former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Studio Weave developed the wider landscaping in collaboration with landscape designer Tom Massey, continuing a partnership that has produced two gold medal-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The garden occupies the northwest corner of the site, designed to form a "soft green buffer" to the adjacent dual carriageway. Its planting areas are interspersed with gravel paths and stepping stones.

"These designs will transform Beresford Square into a haven for people and wildlife right in the middle of Woolwich for many decades," said Blake.

Massey and Studio Weave have teamed up on numerous projects since first working together on Hothouse, an installation for the London Design Festival in 2020.

They previously transformed Jubilee Gardens in the City of London, while upcoming schemes include a redesign of nearby Finsbury Circus and a new pavilion and landscape for the British Museum.

The photography is by Jim Stephenson.

Project credits

Client: Royal Borough of Greenwich
Architect: Studio Weave
Structure: Webb Yates
Building services: Webb Yates
Horticulture: Tom Massey Studio
Contractor: Elite

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Local architecture studio Pend has renovated a traditional semi-detached property in Edinburgh, Scotland, combining two existing flats to create a family home with living spaces housed in a brick-clad extension.

Catalog House was designed by Pend for the owners of local design store Catalog Interiors, who required a larger space in which to raise their young daughter.

The family had been living on the ground floor of a subdivided Victorian property and originally approached Pend to design a rear addition that would replace several poorly built existing extensions.

When the upstairs neighbour decided to sell, the owners bought the flat so they could reunite the two properties, creating room for an additional bedroom while retaining more of the garden space.

Pend was tasked with creating a cohesive scheme that creates a dialogue between the original house and the new 35-square-metre extension.

The project involved removing partitions installed when the building was subdivided and reorganising the two floors to create a series of spaces suited to modern family life.

Working closely with the clients, whose personal style leans towards Scandinavian modernism, the studio sought to retain as many of the original features as possible while giving the interior a clean, contemporary aesthetic.

"When the property was subdivided, the original proportions were lost and details such as the cornicing and staircase were ripped apart to allow for the altered layout," Pend associate Ben MacFarlane told Dezeen.

"We were left with a mismatch of the existing Victorian ornament and completely bare rooms, which made for an interesting challenge trying to balance that history with our own minimalist intervention," he added.

The reorganised layout positions all the living and social spaces on the ground floor, with the more private areas such as the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs.

The clients enjoy entertaining and were therefore keen for the kitchen to be located near the entrance, so it becomes a hub for socialising with more intimate, family-oriented spaces towards the rear.

With its east-facing bay window, the kitchen receives morning light and was the one room that retained its original proportions and features. The architects restored details such as the cornicing while introducing modern cabinetry that clearly distinguishes the new interventions.

Expanded openings provide a view from the entrance all the way through the dining room towards the rear extension and the garden beyond.

The extension contains a lounge space that opens onto a west-facing terrace, with its glazed patio doors and roof light helping to make the most of the afternoon sun.

"By shifting the way the ground floor is orientated, we were able to organise the spaces so they follow the sun and complement how the family uses them throughout the day," MacFarlane pointed out.

"They love coming downstairs in the morning and sitting at the table in the bay window with a coffee, then moving into the lounge in the evening to soak up the golden hour sunlight."

The materiality of the extension provides a contemporary counterpoint to the more traditional details found in the existing house, with exposed oak beams and bespoke joinery bringing warmth to the otherwise minimal palette.

Secret doors incorporated into the wooden panelling provide access to a utility space and a compact office, both of which are illuminated by carefully positioned skylights. Another skylight in the lounge ensures the central dining space also receives plenty of natural light.

A TV snug located off the lounge provides a private retreat within the mostly open-plan layout. This calming space is decorated in a deep-green hue, with soft furnishings and a heavy curtain forming a threshold with the main living space.

Externally, the architects opted for a light-coloured brick that complements but doesn't mimic the buff sandstone of the original facade.

The extension's rounded wall was informed by an interior wall in the original hallway and creates a softer transition between the patio and the side access. Internally, this curve helps to animate the small study area.

The clients lived on-site throughout the project, so they could help manage the build and keep an eye on some of the detailing as it developed.

"Their design background meant that they were coming up with ideas and they were very hands-on," MacFarlane said.

"That level of attention to detail meant that the finishing of this project is of the highest standard and the outcome is exactly what they wanted."

Architect Jamie Anderson founded Pend in 2021 after working for leading practices across the UK and Middle East.

The studio focuses on developing timeless residential projects informed by their context and the client's lifestyle, such as a fluted stone-clad extension to a Georgian farmhouse in East Lothian.

Also in Edinburgh, Costa Rican artist Juli Bolaños-Durman recently renovated her own flat, which she designed in collaboration with Architecture Office.

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Promotion: Architecture firm Gensler has partnered with manufacturer Acme Brick to complete a mixed-use development in Austin that draws on the city's historic warehouse district.

Named Centro West, the development consists of two five-storey buildings alongside 330,000 square feet of mixed-use space.

Located in East Austin within the Saltillo Transit-Oriented Development district, Gensler took cues from the materiality and scale of nearby industrial structures.

Acme Brick supplied over 230,000 bricks in seven shades to create contrasting facades for the two buildings.

Located within the Plaza Saltillo, the development incorporated over 17,000 square feet of public parkland, featuring elevated walkways and a large rain garden.

A central plaza forms a communal gathering point, while a through-block alley park connects the buildings' lobbies and provides space for public art and ground-floor retail.

In addition to residential and commercial areas, the development integrates public amenity space and opportunities for future cultural programming.

Founded in 1891, Acme Brick operates 15 brick plants across four US states and manufactures bricks in 227 shades.

Its recent Texas-based projects include a renovation using two-tone clay bricks and a pearlescent office building.

Photography by Spencer Martinez, courtesy of Acme Brick.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Acme Brick as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Perforated brick walls and planted courtyards characterise Terracotta Breath, a multi-generational "home that breathes" in Vietnam, designed by architecture practice Live Out Studio.

Located on a narrow plot in Da Nang, the house contains two residences – one for the family's parents and another for their daughter – separated by a narrow courtyard that provides natural light and ventilation.

As its name suggests, Terracotta Breath is defined by a reddish-brown material palette, from the perforated brick and clay-rendered walls of the exterior to the tiled bathrooms and rendered staircase of the interiors.

"The idea was to imagine a home that does more than shelter, a home that breathes, softly and continuously, through light, air, and the warmth of local materials," Live Out Studio co-founder Van Tan Quyen Le told Dezeen.

"From the beginning, the design embraced a single, harmonious material palette - clay-toned corrugated roof, handcrafted brick façades, bamboo shade, clay-rendered walls, and brick garden paving," Quyen added.

"Woven together like an earthy carpet flowing seamlessly from inside to out, this continuity allows the home to settle naturally into its setting, as if grown from the ground itself."

Le describes the organisation of the conjoined homes as a "delicate puzzle", with each having its own individual needs and feng shui orientation.

Each home's living, kitchen and dining space occupies the ground floor, organised around two staircases – one at the front finished in timber and clay plaster and one at the rear in folded, painted steel.

The parents' living room opens onto an entrance yard shaded by a bamboo canopy, while the daughter's overlooks the central courtyard through folding, timber-framed windows above a built-in bench.

Terracotta Breath's perforated brick facade forms a double-skin for a ceremonial hall on the first floor of the parents' home. Here, a small balcony is sandwiched between the brick and sliding glass windows, allowing for natural ventilation to be mediated.

"These operable elements enable the architecture to respond continuously to changing conditions, creating shifting patterns of light and gentle airflow throughout the day," co-founder Thi Anh Nguyet Tran told Dezeen.

"This facade becomes the project’s signature moment: a distinctive yet humble interface between the home, its occupants, and the surrounding laneway, quietly demonstrating how local materials and craftsmanship can shape a living, breathing architecture," she added.

The bedroom areas are finished in more neutral pale plaster, while the bathroom and kitchen spaces feature small terracotta tiles, with the whole interior unified by pale tiled floors on the ground floors and wooden floors above.

Other homes in Vietnam recently featured on Dezeen include Kho Rèn House in Hue by M+TRO Studio, which is also sheltered by a facade of perforated brickwork, and the Earthenware House, which Naqi & Partners designed as a row of terracotta pots.

The photography is by Live Out Studio.

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A barrel vault of steel and brick fronted by glossy turquoise tiles shelters this community kitchen in Iran, designed by local studio Song Architects.

Named Aghajoon Kitchen, the 539-square-metre structure replaces an unsanitary, roofless cooking enclosure that had long stood at the centre of life in Khalilabad Village, Yazd province.

"The aim was to transform a temporary, makeshift space into a permanent, climate-responsive facility that would preserve its social and cultural significance," Song Architects architect Seyed Amirhossein Sahiholnasab told Dezeen.

"Given its longstanding role in the village's communal life, particularly during religious ceremonies, social gatherings, and wedding celebrations, there was a clear need to reimagine it as a sustainable, hygienic, and contextually integrated structure."

Passing through large doors in the building's tiled facade, a strip of turquoise tiling on the floor leads into the ground floor kitchen space, which is lined by large cooking vats beneath exposed ducting and the black steel trusses of the vaulted brick roof.

Overlooking this central space is a mezzanine rest area accessed via a steel stair with matching turquoise treads, which sits above a block of bathroom, ablution and storage spaces against the interior's fully-tiled rear wall.

Small, arched openings and skylights illuminate the interiors, set within deep reveals that have also been lined in turquoise tiles.

"The material palette was guided by availability, economy, and cultural continuity. Brick, plaster, and turquoise tile are rooted in Yazd's vernacular architecture and rely on local craftsmanship," Sahiholnasab told Dezeen.

"The arched roof is supported by a truss structure that spans the space without columns, creating openness and flexibility while reducing overall construction costs by approximately 15 percent," he continued,

"Exposed structural elements and visible ducts give the interior a contemporary expression, contrasting subtly with the earth-toned exterior that blends into the historic village fabric."

Aghajoon Kitchen's cold storage, ingredient preparation and washing areas were sunk below ground in a basement level to help stabilise their internal temperature.

This basement is offered natural light by windows positioned behind bands of perforated brickwork at the base of the kitchen's external walls, which also act to illuminate the building's exterior at night.

Other projects in Iran featured on Dezeen include KA Architecture Studio's design for the Jahad Metro Plaza in Tehran, which also made use of barrel vaulted brick forms to create a new "democratic open space."

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Further Hotel is a collection of buildings designed by architecture firm MORQ and interior design office Studio Wenden in Bali, featuring hand-made brick facades and a secluded rooftop pool.

Further Hotel's four buildings are dotted around the seaside village of Pererenan, aiming to give guests a less-insular experience than a typical resort hotel.

The idea came from Claudio Cuccu, who previously spearheaded The Slow in Canggu, and his wife, Martine McGrath. Together with co-founders Simon Digby and Tim Wiswell, they wanted to offer what they call "the diffused hotel".

With over-development rife on the Indonesian island, the team hoped to create a model for how hotels can more successfully integrate with Bali's existing infrastructure, encouraging guests to engage with local businesses.

"We built Further during a time when many were leaving Bali," said Cuccu, who is from Rome but has lived on the island for 20 years.

"Our vision was to honour Balinese culture and community while pushing hospitality further. The diffused concept allows guests to live in the village rather than just visit it – to connect, not just observe."

The architectural approach from MORQ, which has offices in Perth, Australia and Rome, Italy, took cues from traditional Balinese crafts.

The buildings are unified by facades made from handmade clay bricks, produced in nearby Tabanan. Placed at random, they create a lattice-like sunshade in front of the windows.

"The relationship between light and shadow is an underlying theme that characterises our work," said MORQ co-founder Andrea Quagliola.

"We feel it supports the experience of a changing space throughout the day, a sense of discovery and the perception of spatial depth," he told Dezeen.

The hotel's biggest surprise is its pool. Invisible from the street, it is located on a shaded rooftop space in the largest of the four hotel buildings.

"While most roof terraces are outward-looking, the Further roof terrace is conceived more like a rooftop courtyard," said Quagliola.

"It frames the sky and the water under the tropical sun at its centre, surrounded by hospitality that recedes in the comfort of the shadows."

Named Portion, the poolside restaurant offers a casual menu, while restaurant Bar Vera can be found downstairs, and coffee bar St Ali is located in one of the other buildings.

Terracotta tones continue into Further's 25 bedroom suites, where the design from Sydney-based Studio Wenden incorporates sunken beds and furniture made from cast-iron, timber and travertine.

Some rooms open to plant-filled courtyards, including some with outdoor baths.

A dedicated gallery hosts a programme of exhibitions, although stylish contemporary photography can be found on walls throughout the buildings.

There is also a shop featuring offerings from Object, a "sensory-inspired" brand developed by McGrath with Studio Wenden's Amy Wenden, and perfumery Oaken Lab, which developed a custom scent for the hotel.

The project comes at a time when Bali is becoming more of a design destination, thanks to the emergence of design festival Jia Curated and eco-conscious resort Potato Head.

Other recent openings on the island include Bi Design House, located in Canggu, and the Tri Hita Karana Tower, located on Nyanyi beach.

The photography is by Tommaso Riva.

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Double-bullnose brick referencing the older parks of Singapore informed the renovation of In a Park, a flat redesigned by architecture studio L Architects.

Located in Singapore's Hougang neighbourhood, the 98-square-metre (1,054-square-foot) flat was designed for a couple who began gardening during the Covid lockdown and wanted to refresh their home to accommodate an expanding collection of plants.

"In this project, because we had to design around quite a large collection of plants, we felt that finding good placements for them ranked quite high among our design priorities," L Architects principal Lim Shing Hui told Dezeen.

"We had to make sure that the plants would enjoy the spaces we planned for them as much as the users themselves."

L Architects drew upon the older parks of Singapore for the design scheme. The studio knocked down the walls of two of the original bedrooms to create a one-bedroom flat with an open-plan living, study, dining and kitchen space.

"As we recall the older parks in Singapore, we realised that the double-bullnose brick was commonly used for outdoor benches, walkway edges and planters that were unique to park settings," said the studio.

According to the studio, local factories had stopped producing double-bullnose bricks due to low demand, but the team managed to source the last remaining batch of 571 bricks from a local supplier.

Within the open-plan space, double-bullnose brick features on either side of the study area, separating it from the living and dining spaces.

On one side of the study, L Architects created a perforated partition wall using the bricks to separate it from the living area.

Along the intersection of the study and dining area, the team added a two-way curved bench created with double-bullnose bricks.

In the kitchen, the bricks were used to form the base of an island, topped with a limestone counter.

Terracotta-toned tiles resembling a brick pathway stretch from the entrance to the dining area. The remaining areas are filled with dark grey textured tiles.

Furniture in muted colours is dotted around the open-plan space, complemented with wood-clad kitchen cabinetry and open shelving. The clients' plants are scattered throughout.

In the dining area, a pendant lamp resembling a corrugated roof hangs over a limestone-topped dining table.

L Architects replaced the walls of the only bedroom with glass doorways and louvered windows to improve natural ventilation and the flow of daylight.

"So much effort has been put into ensuring that the plants have sufficient daylight and cross ventilation," L Architects explained.

"Unknowingly, that also created a wonderful environment for our clients where they would be able to use the space in the daytime, where they were less reliant on artificial lighting and active cooling methods."

L Architects is a Singapore-based architecture and design office founded by Hui in 2016. In a Park has been shortlisted in the residential interior (small) category of Dezeen Awards 2025.

Elsewhere in Singapore, local architecture studio Park + Associates has completed a 3D-printed house made from layered concrete and Ministry of Design has completed the interiors for The Standard hotel.

The photography is by Jovian Lim.

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Sweeping concrete and brick walls wrap a circular, water-filled courtyard at the heart of The Sanctum, a low-slung home in Punjab, India, designed by local architecture studio Renesa.

Spread across a three-acre site in Amritsar, the 1,115-square-metre dwelling comprises a cluster of geometric volumes formed with red brick and concrete.

The Sanctum's circular courtyard and surrounding arc-shaped walls define a flowing route through the home and its surrounding gardens, creating what Renesa describes as an alternative to rural India's "predictable, box-like houses".

"The design intentionally moves away from the performative grandeur typical of Indian luxury homes to instead explore an architecture of restraint, where serenity, proportion, and tactile honesty define luxury," principal architect Sanchit Arora told Dezeen.

"At its heart lies the idea of the 'void as generator'," added Arora. "The circular courtyard becomes both the spatial and emotional nucleus of the home, shaping movement, light, and experience."

"The house is not a statement of excess, but a sanctuary of emotion and reflection."

Arora described the home's layout as being based on a "gradient of intimacy", with a central layer of private family spaces around the courtyard wrapped by more communal areas such as the bar and dining room.

In the courtyard itself, concentric circles of planting, stepped benches in polished concrete and a shallow pool of water are traversed by a ramped walkway. This leads to a central sunken seating area planted with a single tree.

To the west, The Sanctum overlooks a swimming pool, small cricket pitch and gardens, which are surrounded by stepped verandas and curving walls designed to maintain privacy, but retain a feeling of openness.

"The main challenge was to articulate openness without exposure; hence, the plan adopts inward-looking geometries and low-slung volumes that shield while connecting," Arora said.

"Interspersed water bodies, shaded verandas, and open-to-sky courts modulate the microclimate and light quality throughout the day," added Arora.

"The home thus becomes an introspective retreat, embedded in its land rather than perched upon it."

The Sanctum's bedrooms have been separated from its living spaces and placed in a smaller two-storey block to the west, where they overlook the swimming pool from behind a curving section of wall.

Contrasting the roughness of the exterior's brick and concrete, the living spaces sit beneath smooth, white ceilings, with glossy stone floors and dark oak carpentry and furniture.

Based in New Delhi, Renesa was founded in 2006 by Arora's father, Sanjay Arora. Previous projects by the studio include an apartment in Pune, which balances contemporary details with traditional Indian crafts and materials.

Other Indian houses recently featured on Dezeen include a habitable bridge by Wallmakers and a cave-like structure by Earthscape Studio.

The photography is by Avesh Gaur.

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A palette of local clay, sand, hemp and wood was used to create Hedeskov Living Lab, a research and educational centre in Rønde, designed by Danish architecture studio Djernes & Bell.

Located on rewilded farmland, the centre is dedicated to research and education on regenerative practices and occupies a series of structures, including an old stone school.

Djernes & Bell's design, which was recently shortlisted in the sustainable renovation category of Dezeen Awards 2025, is intended to embody the ethos of its client, researcher Hedeskov, by using local, natural materials and vernacular construction methods.

It provides educational and co-working spaces, alongside accommodation for residencies and a barn workshop.

"The project is built around the belief that architecture should no longer be an isolated object, but an active participant in ecological repair," studio partner Justine Bell told Dezeen.

"It is a demonstration of how a building can become a living laboratory for regenerative practice – not just by reducing impact, but by actively improving the systems around it," she added.

"It's about making architecture that clearly shows the landscapes, materials, and building cultures that produced it, and in doing so, makes visible the relationships between humans, land, and time."

Collaborating with UK-based circular material specialists Local Works Studio, local farmers and craftspeople, Djernes & Bell surveyed the landscape for natural materials that could be used to construct Hedeskov Living Lab, including clay, timber, bulrush and typha fibres.

The structure of the existing school building was conserved and restored using bricks found on-site, before its ground floor was given a new lining of clay plaster pigmented a reddish-brown tone using local sand and linseed oil paint.

Inside, a double-height entrance hall connects the residency bedrooms and classroom with a large meeting room and co-working space above, positioned beneath the original timber rafters.

Built-in cabinetry on the first floor was created by repurposing the old floorboards, which were taken up and replaced to insert insulation.

An adjacent garage building was given a more extensive overhaul based on traditional Danish bindingsværk, or half-timbering. An entirely new wooden frame was infilled with hemp-lime panels and raised on limecrete foundations and a local clay floor.

"Unfired clay bricks, hemp-lime infill and clay plasters reinforced with typha fibres from the site were chosen for their low-carbon, hygroscopic, and non-toxic qualities, but also for the stories they carry of seasonal cycles, ancient craft knowledge and the slow processes that shape the land," said Bell.

"There was a huge amount of on-site reuse and re-crafting," Bell added. "All new internal walls were made from bricks found on site and all the old timber floors were recrafted to make the joinery of the project."

"It's a reminder that reuse and repair are not new ideas – they are how nature, and humans, have always built. Iterative improvement, using what is already there, is the essence of a reparative building culture."

Accompanying the garage and school building is a new green-roofed shed containing a workshop and kitchen, built on the footprint of an old shed, as well as an open pavilion with a recycled brick floor.

The timber structures of both of these have been finished in a deep shade of red, a traditional feature of many Danish agricultural barns, while large circular windows and skylights form a motif that unites both the old and new elements of the site.

As part of the centre's ongoing research in partnership with Aalborg BUILD University, students will track the centre's internal climate, emissions and moisture behaviour.

Other projects competing for sustainable renovation of the year in the Dezeen Awards 2025 include Space House in London, which was renovated and extended by British studio Squire and Partners, and the overhaul of the Palais Rameau exhibition hall in Lille by Atelier 9.81 and Perrot & Richard.

The photography is by Johan Dehlin. 

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Architecture studio Bureau de Change has revamped a Victorian house in Fulham, London, adding an extension with angular brick cladding that has "a sense of movement".

Named W House, the three-storey semi-detached residence has been reconfigured internally and extended at the rear for a couple and their two children.

Bureau de Change clad the extension in pale yellow bricks arranged in a geometric pattern that draws on Victorian architecture, ensuring the design feels in keeping with its surrounding context.

"We were keen that the extension had a story to say, so we played with how we laid the bricks by rotating and mirroring them to create a sense of movement and texture from every angle," Bureau de Change told Dezeen.

"The rear volume is inspired by a series of Victorian prefabricated moulding details found in historical joinery catalogues and pattern books of a local craftsman," said the studio.

"The striking three-dimensional mouldings with their intricate plays of light and shadow are reinterpreted at various scales."

Housed in the rear extension is a living space illuminated by skylights and angular folded glazing, with views out over the garden on both sides.

"The site is southwest facing, with the rear receiving plenty of direct sunlight, so we carefully designed the mass to avoid large expanses of glazing, instead opting for punctuated openings," said the studio.

A brushed stainless steel volume that echoes the form of the extension conceals storage space and a downstairs toilet.

"The central faceted stainless steel volume provides a focal element and solid core to the ground floor, complementing the new faceted extension," the studio said.

Alongside the metal volume, wooden steps lead up to a dining room at the centre of the house, where the studio uncovered and restored timber floorboards and revived original ceiling mouldings with white paint.

This was part of the studio's overarching plan to preserve the home's original character while adding contemporary elements.

The kitchen has been relocated to the front of the house, occupying a previously underused front room.

Triple-glazed windows fronted by tall planting in the front garden provide sound insulation and privacy from the busy street adjacent.

Bureau de Change decorated the kitchen with a "desaturated colour scheme", combining a dark blue feature wall with dusty pink floor tiles and a high-gloss green finish on the decorative ceiling.

The reconfigured interior layout is designed to improve visual connections both horizontally and vertically throughout the house.

"The site provides a unique constraint of dropping almost a metre in level," said Bureau de Change.

"This drove the creation of three distinct yet connected rooms cascading from front to back."

"Internal material choices were made due to durability, use of space and differentiation between rooms to enhance the journey from one space to another," added the studio.

"The colours in the house become lighter as you get closer to the garden, creating a gradient from the dark entrance space to the living spaces."

A double-height void has been introduced above the entrance space, where deep blue tones contrast against the original Victorian tiling and stained glass windows.

Full-height internal glazing on the corner of the first-floor playroom above allows natural light to flow into the entrance space.

Overlooking the garden on the second floor, the main bedroom features a curved tile-clad partition that encloses a freestanding bathtub.

Bureau de Change was founded by architects Billy Mavropoulos and Katerina Dionysopoulou in 2012. Previous projects by the studio featured on Dezeen include a jewellery store with an asymmetric window in Athens and an art deco annexe added to a west London home.

The photography is by Gilbert McCarragher.

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Glazed living areas shaded by a steel-framed cloister overlook a courtyard at Three Oaks Farm, a home in West Sussex designed by London studio Nick Willson Architects.

Located on the site of a disused farm on the outskirts of Ifold, Three Oaks Farm is surrounded by lawns, a wildflower meadow and a small pool, all of which are visible through the full-height glazing.

It was designed by Nick Willson Architects across a single level, ensuring the clients could continue living there comfortably in close connection to the landscape as they get older.

"The house explores what a contemporary courtyard house would be like in a semi-rural setting, one which explores the relationship of nature to building, ecology, sustainability and intergenerational living," said the studio.

"There is an intimate connection to nature between landscaping and the house. Views through the house have been carefully designed to provide a connection to nature, daylight," it added.

"The changing seasons will allow the views and colours through the house to change as the trees shed and forgo their foliage."

The facades of Three Oaks Farm contrast pale brickwork with full-height glazing that brings in light and views. They are topped by a zinc-clad roof with large overhangs, which extend to form a cloister-style space around the central courtyard and out to the gardens.

Living, dining and kitchen areas line the northern side of the courtyard on either side of a smaller herb garden, connected by a glazed link that opens onto the walkways through sliding glass doors.

A row of bedrooms encloses the courtyard's eastern edge, overlooking the wildflower meadow on the opposite side. This is hugged by the main bedroom to the north, alongside a yoga studio.

To the west of Three Oaks Farm, a garage block sits alongside a home office, plant room and utility space, divided into individual blocks that are separated by more small gardens and planters.

In both the bedrooms and living areas, sections of the roof pitch upwards to create double-height spaces with large clerestory windows, the sides of which have been clad externally in zinc shingles.

A monochromatic palette in the interiors contrasts with the more textural brickwork of the exterior, as well as the panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Above, a timber-lined ceiling creates a continuity between the courtyard canopy and living areas.

"The key component of Three Oaks Farm was to combine new technology with an element of craft," said the studio.

"The house brings together a rich mixture of crafted elements and landscaping: the textural brick wall, zinc cladding and timber joinery, which are all made by hand, employing specialist tradespeople," it added.

The operation of Three Oaks Farm is designed to be "as off-grid as possible", with photovoltaic panels and battery storage, passive heating and ventilation, rainwater collection and an air-source heat pump.

Previously a director at Willson & Bell, Nick Willson founded his eponymous studio in 2010. Its previous projects include a house in London clad with sections of flint, timber and lead.

The courtyard typology was also recently explored by UK studio Hugh Strange Architects for a rural home in Cornwall, organised around a central garden that draws on a traditional farmstead.

The photography is by Gareth Gardner.

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Perforated brick walls, courtyards and arcades are intended to imitate the bylanes of an Indian city at The Street, a community clubhouse in Pune, India, designed by local practice Studio VDGA.

The Street was created to provide facilities and communal gathering spaces for a new community on the outskirts of Pune in Maharashtra, which comprises 240 self-build plots.

Across a 15,000-square-metre site, The Street provides a gym, kitchen, multipurpose hall, restaurant and pool for this community, all connected by a series of winding streets, courtyards and arcades designed by Studio VDGA to foster "spontaneous interactions".

"The core concept for the design of The Street was to create a facility that acts as a central hub for a plotted community, moving away from the stereotypical clubhouses built merely as marketing tools," the studio told Dezeen.

"This traditional influence continues in the layout, which mimics the feeling of vibrant Indian by-lanes," added Studio VDGA.

"The design nurtures a natural, open, and connected lifestyle, emphasising shared experiences, traditional values, and a sense of belonging, with a meandering street-like layout to encourage spontaneous interactions and shared stories."

Two entrances at both the north and south of the site lead to brick paths into the heart of The Street, where the main facilities are organised around open, stone-paved plazas.

To the east, a gymnasium and bathrooms sit alongside a large swimming pool. This is overlooked by an area of outdoor seating and a variety of sheltered spaces, including a steel-framed canopy and a concrete arcade.

To the west, both the sheltered multipurpose events space and an external area of amphitheatre-style seating look towards a plaza planted with a tree, while a tower-like form to the south contains the centre's utilities and a store.

Brick walls enclose the routes around the site, as well as an elevated seating area beneath a barrel-vaulted ceiling and with perforated walls.

Small changes in level around the site are intended to evoke the feeling of moving through a cityscape.

"Red brick was selected to evoke a sense of nostalgia and to root the structure in the landscape, a nod to traditional Indian architecture," the studio said.

"This is complemented by the use of raw concrete finishes, which provide a modern contrast while maintaining the building's authentic, unrefined character," it added.

Based in Pune, Studio VDGA was founded by principal architect Deepak Gugarii in 2003. Previous projects by the studio include a home in Dubai, also organised around a series of open courtyards, and an office in India with curving walls of honeycomb cardboard.

The photography is by Edmund Sumner.

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Architecture firm X+Living has renovated a large bookstore in Tianjin, China, using layered brickwork and slatted steel to form wave-like shelves, steps and seating that flow around its central hall.

The project, which is shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2025 in the retail interior (large) category, involved the transformation of a building in Tianjin's Italian style district into a store for book retailer Zhongshuge.

The building's setting, in an area known for its early 20th-century interpretations of classical Italian architecture, informed the decision to use red brick as the primary material for the renovation.

"The original modern building clashed with its classical surroundings," X+Living said. "The brief demanded architectural and interior integration that respected the neighbourhood atmosphere while introducing contemporary innovation."

The studio transformed the existing structure by adding brick facades featuring classical proportions, along with Italianate details including decorative columns, round arches and projecting eaves.

The brickwork is laid in horizontal layers with distinct gaps intended to evoke the look of Venetian blinds.

This detail introduces a sense of lightness, transparency and rhythm that reduces the overall visual mass and lends the structure a more accessible and welcoming feel.

"The design attempts to blur the physical boundaries of the building, reminding people that the boundaries of knowledge and cognition are fuzzy, but the spiritual core is clear and firm," said X+Living founder Li Xiang.

"Just as bookstores, through their interplay of commerce and culture, dissolve the distinction between profit-making operations and public welfare sharing, they embrace a sense of openness and accessibility to the public," Li said.

"Boundaries don't represent a fixed state; on the contrary, I believe they are filled with exploration and struggle," she added. "They assert a definition while leaving gaps, inviting conflict and challenge."

The store was intended to function as an open and inclusive public realm, with its fluid layout designed to invite exploration while celebrating Tianjin's maritime history and the global exchange of ideas.

"Layered steps ascending to the main area not only symbolise humanity's pursuit of knowledge, but also reflect the port city's identity, while light-filtering blinds suggest permeable cognitive boundaries," the studio said.

The interior continues the facade's layered aesthetic, with stacked steel plates surrounding a grand central hall. The metal structures form bookshelves that flow around the space, rising up in places to create stairs and seating elements.

The pared-back palette of dark-blue steel and contrasting earthy brick surfaces emphasises how these two structural materials, which are left in their raw state, are used to achieve a variety of functions.

The bricks were custom-made in many different shapes and sizes to achieve the complex contours that define the bookstore's spatial layout and key functions.

The architects claimed that approximately 400,000 bricks were produced and carefully chosen to create sculptural forms that defy perceptions of conventional masonry construction.

"This new exploration of bricks attempts to de-emphasise technology and return to the reflection on form itself, making a fundamental and original innovation in the material," the studio added.

"The design deconstructs the spatial vocabulary of classical Western architecture, translating the core of craftsmanship with local culture, ultimately expressing the emotional narrative of the city itself."

X+Living has worked on several bookstore projects for Zhongshuge, including one in Chongqing featuring mirrored ceilings and zigzag staircases, as well as a store in Yangzhou where arched shelves and a mirrored floor create the illusion of a tunnel of books.

Li Xiang studied architecture at Birmingham City University before establishing X+Living in 2011. The firm's expressive projects aim to capture the emotion and spirit of a place using geometric forms, colour and symbolism.

The photography is courtesy of X+Living.

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Local clay and rubble from buildings razed during Apartheid were fired into bricks and fittings for the Rahmah Library in Cape Town, South Africa, completed by local studio The MAAK.

Created with literacy charity The Otto Foundation for Rahmaniyeh Primary School, the library is located in Cape Town's District Six – a neighbourhood subject to forced removals and demolition after being designated a "white area" during Apartheid.

Its entrance is paved with "District Six bricks", which were made using rubble from the area by The MAAK with artist Zayaan Khan and manufacturer Corobrik, as well as a series of "memory objects" including door push plates and decorative tiles.

"These bricks were made using natural clay salvaged from the site, sometimes containing building rubble of the demolished homes from the 60s and 70s, and have been used to detail key areas of the build," The MAAK co-founder Max Melvill told Dezeen.

"This grounds the project in both a material and sentimental way," he added.

Housed within a mono-pitched brick volume, the library has been organised as a large single space, with different zones demarcated by changes in floor level and low brick walls.

The design was developed through a series of workshops with designer Xanelé Mennen from The Otto Foundation and local schoolchildren, which informed features including reading nooks within large windows and a reading pit with cushions.

A series of colourful bookshelves, created with local furniture design studio Pedersen and Lennard, is accompanied by built-in benches that allow for a range of different reading positions.

"As much as we wanted to be sensitive to the traumatic history of the site, we wanted to create space for the young learners of the school to imagine and create new realities for a more positive future," Meville said.

"The process of 'design in dialogue' unlocked many important user-led insights and make the school learners feel seen in their own school library," he added.

The interiors are defined by low-maintenance materials, including paved floors and glass bricks in the curved entrance wall and in reading nooks to cast a warm glow while maintaining privacy.

Echoing the coloured bookshelves are a mix of pale green and yellow furnishings, alongside a yellow steel sign that extends from the library's roof to declare the library's presence to the surrounding neighbourhood.

"The project makes intentional use of low-maintenance materials, an acknowledgement of both the robust requirement of educational spaces and the general lack of funding available to South African state-run schools," said Melville.

"The use of facebrick in the building reflects this whilst echoing the material language of the historic school building," he added.

The District Six bricks were previously exhibited in the Clay, Library, Land Studies exhibition by The Maak with Khan and Kent Andreasen, which was held from 24 October to 9 November 2024 at Demo Projects during Design Week South Africa.

Other South African architecture projects recently published on Dezeen include vibrant terrace housing by UTT Empower and a coastal "sanctuary" by KLG Architects.

The photography is by Kent Andreasen.

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London studio James Grayley Architecture has used red bricks, oak shingles and terracotta floors to give a rustic character to its extension of Church Cottage, an old farmhouse in Suffolk, UK.

Located near the town of Eye, the existing Grade II-listed dwelling was originally built as two 18th-century labourers' dwellings, which were then conjoined in the 1990s.

Following a further extension by the clients in 2011, the dwelling was left with "tiny cellular rooms and eccentric circulation" that needed resolving, according to James Grayley Architecture.

Alongside the unification of its different elements, the studio added a wing at the home's northwestern end, raised on a plinth of Suffolk red bricks. It is finished with what the studio described as a "hairy shingle exterior" that nods to the cottage's thatched roof.

"An extension built by the clients provided much-needed new bathroom facilities, a small entrance hall and utility, but the diminutive dwelling still had no space large enough to accommodate a dining table, or to allow friends and extended family to gather," director James Grayley told Dezeen.

"The primary strategy was to carefully repurpose and extend these spaces and to better connect the interior with the wider landscape for the gardener, landscape painter and printmaker clients," he added.

The primary role of the extension is to provide space for dining and gathering. It contains a single living, dining and kitchen area with a brick hearth in one corner and a sloping white ceiling punctured by skylights.

Where this new addition meets the previous extension, rooms have been reordered to provide a kitchen pantry, while the original dining and living areas in the historic cottage have been converted into a study and snug.

Despite its more contemporary form, the material palette of the extension draws from  traditional architecture nearby, which helped the project achieve planning permission.

The Suffolk red brick of the exterior is carried through to the internal fireplace, where it sits alongside a herringbone quarry-tile floor that references traditional pamment floors common in the area.

Oak has been used to frame deep-set windows in the dining area, as well as a glazed sliding door that leads out onto a garden patio.

On the roof of the extension is a wildflower garden, which is intendeed to read as an extension of the natural meadow alongside the house.

"Below its oak shake jacket, the distinctively contemporary extension reveals myriad references to traditional local materials and detailing, allowing the building to bed into its location and drawing on the extensive experience of the local contractors," Grayley said.

"The roof is now an array of swaying grasses and tiny flowers, and is growing into a wild part of the local Suffolk landscape," he added.

Elsewhere in Suffolk, UK practice Mole Architects recently overhauled a 1960s coastal bungalow with a timber-framed extension and Studio Bark completed a rural home topped with an "origami-like" timber roof.

The photography is by James Retief.

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Promotion: the slender Fusion thin bricks by brick manufacturer Acme Brick lend a pearlescent quality to the facades of this office building in Texas, designed by US studio An.onymous.

Located in North Richland Hills, the 836-square-metre building was created for dermatologist Northstar Dermatology and is intended as a contemporary take on healthcare architecture.

The building's defining feature is its facades, which are enveloped in thin, glazed bricks from Acme Brick's Fusion range, placed at unexpected angles.

The specific product used by An.onymous is the modular Panama City Glossy brick, which has a pearlescent quality that changes with the movements of the sun.

To enhance their iridescent, ever-changing look, the bricks are mounted to the elevations at various angles and with a mix of stacked and running bonds.

This is magnified further with irregularly placed movement joints and window cutouts that break the brick facades into deliberately asymmetrical sections.

Acme Brick said it is a "visual playground" that "challenges traditional notions of brick construction".

"Acme Brick Fusion plays a crucial role in achieving this unique design," said the brand. "Thin brick enables creative applications impossible with traditional brick construction. In designing a facade that is both visually striking and symbolically rich, An.onymous challenges our understanding of what brick can do."

An.onymous described the facades as "oblique drawings of the buildings themselves".

"The thin brick system, used with varied stacked and running bond patterns in horizontal and diagonal arrangements, conforms to the drawn projections on the facades, while exposing the symbolic quality of the material as a non-brick – a tiling system that only signifies brick," said the studio.

The facades also nod to the building's asymmetrical floor plan, which was developed from a computer-generated study on circulation.

Acme Brick said these details collectively give rise to a building that "presents a bold, contemporary take on healthcare design".

Founded in 1891, Acme Brick claims to be the world's largest US-owned brick manufacturer. Today, it operates from 15 brick plants across four US states.

To find out more about the manufacturer and its slender Fusion Thin Bricks, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Acme Brick as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Architecture studio Snøhetta has completed a sculptural addition to the home of St Louis Symphony Orchestra in St Louis, USA, while revamping historical interiors and creating a public-facing plaza.

Snøhetta restored and expanded Powell Hall, adding a series of arched forms that hug the side of the historic building, which was designed in the early 20th century by Rapp & Rapp as a movie palace, before becoming the home of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLO) in the 1960s.

The addition expands the space toward the street, and holds circulation, an expanded lobby, educational spaces and back-of-house facilities. Its form was conceived of as complementary to the existing building.

"The new expansion was conceived not as an add-on, but as a complementary 'dance partner' to Powell Hall – gently leaning against it and smaller in scale, to preserve the original building’s iconic silhouette," Snøhetta director Takeshi Tornier told Dezeen.

Snøhetta also designed a public plaza for public programming and carpool, which leads visitors up towards the arching forms of the new structure, with its expansive panes of glass framed by a canted shell that comes to points at the apex.

According to Snøhetta founding partner Craig Dykers the building was designed with direct reference to musical instruments. The "arcing windows" were informed by the waist of a violin and "mimicking the path of the conductor’s baton as they lead the orchestra".

The facade is made up of corbeled masonry designed, specifically according to Dykers, for beauty in the winter months, layered with snow. The slope too angles eyes toward the sky, negating what Dykers called the "alienating" effect of the current building.

"We aimed to break with the existing building's vertical massing. This verticality has been perceived as somewhat alienating over the years, particularly along the facades of Grand and Delmar Boulevards," Dykers told Dezeen.

"Leaning the facades toward the sky provides a softer visual language, especially in connection with the scalloped forms in plan."

When asked about the juxtaposition in styles between the Beaux-Arts building, Dykers said that while formal elements such as grand open spaces and massing were references to the original, the addition was intended to stand apart and show the time frames of the structure and institution.

He compared this gesture to archaeology.

"While there are simple details in the new wing, the general atmosphere is very dynamic and sculptural, inspired by the lobbies and hall of the existing building," he said.

"However, the new wing is clearly not a copy of the existing structure. This allows visitors to understand the time frames within which each building was built."

"This is a thinking often used in archeological conservation, where the new restorations are clearly understood as separate from the older structures. There is also a great deal of grace and verve in the latest design, so although simple and controlled, the design is not severe."

Inside the addition, a grand staircase weaves the atrium into the existing structure and provides circulation. When viewed from below, the twisting structure forms an oculus up to the ceiling.

According to Tornier, it serves as a beacon from outside the building and provides a procession to the terraces that line the atrium space in the addition.

In terms of interior pallette, the addition is quite minimal, contrasting again the style of the original, with white walls and wooden battens on select details such as the soffit above the ticket counter.

The studio also restored the interior of the theatre, making it accessible and opening up sightlines, making it not just an extension but an adaptive reuse project.

Tornier spoke to the sustainability benefits generated by this repair and of the new structure.

"Sustainability is central to the project, beginning with the adaptive reuse of the 100-year-old Powell Hall – preserving its historic character while transforming it to meet the needs of a modern symphony," he said.

"Energy efficiency is improved through state-of-the-art mechanical systems, high-efficiency lighting, and the strategic use of daylight in back-of-house areas. Stormwater is managed on-site through permeable surfaces, new planting areas, and silva cells integrated beneath paved tree zones."

Elsewhere, the studio has completed a curved fish-farming facility wrapped in black-glass panels in Norway and added a curving outdoor space as part of a renovation of a 1960s office building in Milan

The photography by Sam Fentress. 

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Australian architect Jos Tan has completed Melville, a compact home in Melbourne with a simple, pale brick form that mimics the appearance of the neighbouring buildings.

Located along a row of shops in the suburb of Brunswick West, the home stands directly on the street with no setback within its small, 90-square-metre plot.

Tan, founder of local studio Tan Architecture, took this as an opportunity to "celebrate city living," with tall, narrow openings that balance a connection to the street with privacy for the home's inhabitants.

"The site is an unusual one to build a house on in Melbourne, being a small six-by-15-metre subdivision on a shopping strip along a main road," he told Dezeen.

"This situation provided an opportunity to pursue a typology uncommon in Melbourne – a house with no front setback that opens directly onto the footpath; one that celebrates city living, engages with the street, and encourages face-to-face interaction," he continued.

"I think the building succeeds in having a conversation with its surroundings and about its place in the city while expressing a distinct and contemporary character."

Taking advantage of a 1.2-metre change in level from the front to back of the site, the entire ground floor level of the home was raised up to avoid direct visibility from the street.

This allowed a previous vehicle crossover to be replaced with a new pedestrian footpath in front of the home, from which a metal entrance alongside the home's front door leads directly into a "bike garage".

On entering Melville, a short stair leads up into the home's living areas, which are organised into two halves – a more public, street-facing side and a side facing onto a rear garden, described by Tan as a "private oasis."

At ground floor level, the lounge was placed at the front of the home and a dining and kitchen area at the rear, where it opens onto the garden patio through a full-height sliding glass door.

Above, two children's bedrooms and a study occupy the first floor, while the main bedroom is housed within a smaller metal volume on the second floor, which opens onto a private roof deck.

"By raising the ground floor level to match this rise and obscuring the lower section of the ground floor window facing the street, a sense of privacy is maintained without compromising visual connection to the street and sky," said Tan.

"Road and tram noise was mitigated by using thick double-glazing, cladding the house in brick, and sensible spatial arrangement."

The home's external finish of pale brick was selected for is noise-attenuating properties as well as to "honour" both the older buildings on the street and the pale-render of the neighbouring structures.

Simple, minimal finishes define the home's interiors, which feature white walls ceilings alongside floors and fittings made from salvaged timber.

Elsewhere in Melbourne, Matt Gibson Architecture + Design recently extended a 19th-century terraced home with a series of contrasting brick extensions informed by Arts and Crafts-style architecture.

The photography is by Tom Ross.

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Reclaimed bricks, timber and ventilation pipes determined the form of the Inside Out, Downside Up pavilion, hand-built by architecture studio Slaatto Morsbøl for the inaugural Copenhagen Architecture Biennial.

Opened today at Søren Kierkegaards Plads, the pavilion was designed by Slaatto Morsbøl as a demonstration of the value of salvaging, processing and repurposing discarded materials and slowing down in construction.

Inside Out, Downside Up is one of two pavilions selected by Copenhagen Architecture Biennial through its Slow Pavilions open call, which invited structures designed in response to its theme Slow Down.

Slaatto Morsbøl's goal was to invite passersby to discover the potential of discarded materials that are typically deemed low-value in bringing tactility to architecture.

All of the materials used in the pavilion's construction were hand-cut and processed by the studio in a deliberately slow process that challenges the modern world's fast-paced construction industry.

"We would love people to come up to the walls and see the qualities in something that is used, that has past lives," Slaatto Morsbøl co-founder Thelma Slaatto told Dezeen during a tour of the pavilion.

"People say that it takes too much time and too much money to work with used materials, but maybe the problem is actually that it takes too little time and it's too cheap to produce the way we do today," Slaatto continued.

"Now we need to change this mentality, and we think that to change people's mentality, it's ok to start with the aesthetics, and it's okay to focus on making something beautiful and attractive to people. And if people think it's nice, then maybe they will start allowing for more."

The defining feature of the pavilion is its grooved brick facades, which are formed from old perforated bricks that the studio cleaned, cut in half and slotted into reclaimed timber frames by hand.

This idea evolved from its founders' gap years working as brick cleaners, where they discovered the potential of perforated bricks discarded as waste and deemed low-value because they are difficult to clean.

"We saw the potential from all of the bricks, and really loved that all the differences, the different colours and different sizes," said co-founder Cecilie Morsbøl.

"The holes in the brick are what make a perforated brick a perforated brick, but it's also what makes it have lower value," added Slaatto. "So we wanted to turn this thing into something that is highlighted, so that the thing that makes the brick unique is really showcased, and it's not hidden."

Inside Out, Downside Up is accessed by a narrow ramp framed by the walls, which winds up into an open room with a bench and a large opening framing the harbour.

Its cube-shaped form evolved from the bricks themselves, which have been arranged into modular wall and floor panels that will allow the building to be easily dismantled and reused after the biennial.

"The size of the pavilion started with the size of the brick," explained Slaatto.

"So we wanted to see how we could showcase the brick without mortar, and so we needed to have this specific size to hold them in place. And then it was the fact that it was an element that you should move so it shouldn't be bigger, because then it would be too heavy."

The roof of the structure is topped with old ventilation pipes that have been cut in half and positioned with their curved edges facing upwards, emulating temple roofs common in Japan.

Beneath, the ceiling of the pavilion is lined with dense thatching reeds that hang downwards and sway with the wine. The flowers of the reeds are left exposed, offering a playful interpretation of thatch roofs in traditional Danish architecture.

Copenhagen Architecture Biennial opens today across the Danish Capital. The Inside Out, Downside Up will remain on view until close on 19 October 2025.

The inaugural event is being run by the Copenhagen Architecture Foundation (CAFx) and directed by Josephine Michau. In an interview with Dezeen, Michau said the goal is for the Biennial to offer practical solutions to the global challenges that are being exacerbated by the built environment.

"It's time for activism," she said. "I see ourselves as maybe more 'soft activists', but we really want to push for change."

The photography is courtesy of Copenhagen Architecture Biennial, of which Dezeen is a media partner.

Copenhagen Architecture Biennial runs from 18 September to 19 October 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Architecture studio Harp and Harp has finished a residential development in London with pale bricks, red roof tiles and pale green window frames in a characterful take on its Art and Crafts-style neighbours.

Named 158 Purley Downs Road, the project comprises seven family homes and replaces a single home and large garden in the suburban village of Sanderstead, Croydon.

The creation of 158 Purley Downs Road was enabled by the Croydon Suburban Design Guide – an initiative by the Mayor of Croydon to alleviate housing shortages through the densification of the suburbs. It was announced in 2018, but was revoked in 2022.

In the face of significant backlash from the surrounding residents, Harp and Harp designed the housing to demonstrate how this densification could be achieved "sensitively and comfortably".

"The project faced a really difficult planning process with significant organised NIMBYism that opposed its planning and delivery at every step," studio director Steve Harp told Dezeen.

"While on the one hand we understand the concerns, we are now at a point where we are in a crisis of housing with the capital and a huge number of new homes need to be built quickly to address this," he explained.

"We hope this project can serve as an example of how intensification can be implemented to not only provide good quality housing at a much higher density but also still deliver an interesting design that works sensitively and comfortably within the existing character of these contexts."

To lessen its visual impact, the development occupies two separate blocks separated by car parking areas. A block of three units occupies the footprint of the former home to the north, while a block of four units sits on the former garden site to the south.

Setbacks, individual front doors, irregular dormer window placements and subtle material differences were all used by Harp and Harp to make the blocks read more as varied terraces rather than a single, homogenous development.

"Understanding that the character of the area is defined by larger detached and semi-detached houses, and to not want to disrupt this visually, terraces were designed to read as fewer larger units – a trick also often used on the terraces of the garden city movement," said Harp.

"Front doors placed on side elevations enhance this feeling whilst actively providing more animation and outlook to the street."

Facing an adjacent road, the smaller block has been finished in pale brickwork that references the rendered facades of its neighbours.

Further south, the contrasting appearance of the neighbouring buildings informed a finish of red brickwork in various bond patterns as well as tiles laid flat on their sides like bricks.

The two blocks are united by their pale green window frames and doors, and at either end, each one has been "sliced" to address a corner and finished with a porthole-like window.

"The material choice follows the overall design strategy for the site, which is to use a palette of materials that feel both sensitive and comfortable in their suburban context without slavishly replicating what is there now," said Harp.

Inside, each home is organised around a central stair and bathroom core, with living rooms facing the street. Kitchen and dining areas open onto individual gardens through folding doors and bedrooms are tucked beneath the steeply pitched roofs above.

Other projects on Dezeen that have recently addressed ideas of suburban densification include Houses with One Pillar by Buero Wagner – a pair of conjoined homes that replaced a single dwelling.

Elsewhere in London, Wendover recently converted a police station into rental housing and DRDH used red brickwork to bring "civic character" to a housing block.

The photography is by Adam Scott.

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A design by Finnish studio JKMM Architects with sloped facades made from recycled brick has been announced as the winner of a contest for a design museum in Helsinki, which is set to be built on the site of the city's ill-fated Guggenheim museum.

Set to be built on a vacant plot on Helsinki's South Harbour, the museum will host exhibitions on the architecture and design of Finland, showcasing over 900,000 objects that explore the works of architects Aino and Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, and design brands such as Marimekko and Nokia.

One of five finalists selected from 624 proposals, JKMM Architects' design will be built on a plot previously earmarked for the Guggenheim Helsinki, which was scrapped by the Finnish government in 2016.

JKMM Architects' design aims to be a flexible and inclusive cultural landmark that is welcoming to visitors, designed to stand out in its surroundings while complementing the scale of the neighbouring buildings.

Renders show a geometric building arranged around a triangular central atrium, with triangle-shaped windows puncturing sloped facades that will be made from recycled brick.

As well as exhibition space, the Museum of Architecture and Design Helsinki will contain a design library and an outdoor terrace wrapping the upper level.

Construction on the geometric building is expected to commence in 2027, with plans to open the museum to the public in 2030.

"I hope that the planning and realisation of the new Museum of Architecture and Design can show the way for how new things can be built responsibly and with skill," said JKMM Architects founding partner Samuli Miettinen.

"Architecture and design are deeply human," he continued.

"They are born from dreams and longing, and they gain their meaning in the places where we can experience and live together."

JKMM Architects' design for the waterfront museum was recently selected as the winning design in an international competition, in which it was known as Kumma.

"Kumma blends into the cityscape, protecting valuable views of the historic waterfront, while at the same time standing out as a recognisable landmark," said competition jury chair Mikko Aho.

"The use of recycled brick on the facade brings sculptural, architectural warmth, and the terrace surrounding the building strengthens the connection to the city."

Founded in 1998 by Asmo Jaaksi, Teemu Kurkela, Samuli Miettinen and Juha Mäki-Jyllilä, JKMM Architects has completed numerous projects in Finland, including the underground Amos Rex museum in Helsinki.

Recently, the studio completed a mixed-use building that united housing and a football stadium in Tampere, and an art hall in Tammisaari clad in glulam and black spruce.

The images are by JKMM Architects and Mir, and the video is by Younite AI.

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Local studios Sukchulmok and BRBB Architects have created a curving brick and concrete form to frame a central vegetable garden at this home near Seoul, South Korea.

Named Pojeon House, meaning "a house that embraces the field", the 128-square-metre residence was designed for an elderly couple who wanted privacy without sacrificing a connection to their garden, which they had cultivated for over a decade.

Sukchulmok and BRBB Architects achieved this by creating two interlocking, curved volumes in concrete and brick, presenting a blank "fortress wall" to the nearby road but overlooking the central garden through sliding glass doors.

"The core concept of Pojeon House lies in the gesture of two volumes merging together to embrace the field, ultimately becoming one unified mass," Sukchulmok's lead architect Hyunhee Park told Dezeen.

"I aimed to amplify this gesture by allowing different textures to repeat with equal rhythm, guiding them to visually cohere as a singular form," added Park.

"Positioned toward the road, its massing gives the appearance of a fortress wall, subtly concealing the interior," he added.

The volume to the south of Pojeon House is finished in red bricks with contrasting white mortar. This volume contains the main home, including a curved living, dining and kitchen space that is flanked by a bedroom at one end and a bathroom, utility and entrance at the other.

Along the entire inner wall of this volume is a row of sliding glass doors, which open onto a low-lying, built-in brick bench overlooking the central garden.

To the north of the site, a staircase leads up to a higher volume containing a guest bedroom for when the owner's adult children visit, finished in exposed concrete and sheltered from the street by a curving section of concrete wall.

Polycarbonate panels wrap this smaller guest space, offering privacy from the garden below while also creating a lantern-like effect at night.

"For the second-floor exterior, polycarbonate was chosen to emphasise the sense of two large volumes intersecting and to align with the overall tone and manner," explained Park.

"The translucent polycarbonate complements the tone of the concrete, accentuating the upper volume while, at night, allowing exterior lighting to softly illuminate the garden - almost like a streetlamp," he added.

A warm palette of timber defines the interiors, lining both the ceiling that slopes up towards the garden view, and the partitions with built-in storage that divide different areas.

This is contrasted by areas of exposed concrete in the living and entrance areas, and by the small green tiles that envelop the entire bathroom and the kitchen's floor and splashback.

"While the overall interior reads in brown tones, each wood retains its own natural hue and texture, creating a rich and layered atmosphere," said Park. "This was a conscious effort to preserve the inherent qualities of both wood and concrete."

Previous projects by Sukchulmok include the renovation of a bakery in Seoul, which features areas of mirrored stainless steel, and a photography studio in Daejaeon informed by wooden toys.

The photography is by Hong Seokgyu.

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Mexico City studio CAAM + Arquitectos has vaulted a metal roof over a Japanese restaurant with brick walls in Querétaro, Mexico, referencing the industrial character of the area.

Sōko opened in 2024 to serve Japanese teppanyaki – or hibachi – in a space that respects both the culinary tradition and local building methods, but through a contemporary lens.

CAAM + Arquitectos worked to merge functionality and aesthetics in a linear building with a variety of spatial zones.

Visitors enter the restaurant through an outdoor garden that is isolated from the street by red brick walls, set on a concrete foundation wall that creates a foot to connect with the ground plane.

The bricks separate into screens along the rounded corners, revealing small glimpses of the patio.

Trees cast shadows on the lobby and dining area and bounce light off the water in a small, round pool, "creating a dynamic visual effect that stimulates the senses and enhances the overall feeling of calm and contemplation throughout the space," the studio said.

The Japanese word sōko, meaning "warehouse," informed the design and prompted the team to preserve the industrial materials characteristic of the area – brick, metal and concrete – and integrate them into the design.

From above, the building seems to dissolve, removing layers and revealing space at the western corner.

Metal I-beams run the length of the building, supporting an oblong vault of corrugated metal that encloses the restaurant.

Trapezoidal concrete brackets divide the space into smaller, more private areas for an intimate dining experience.

The brackets "facilitate a seamless transition between the indoors and outdoors, improving both the functional and visual distribution of the project," the studio said.

A suspended concrete planter set on top of the brackets serves as the centrepiece of the design.

"This structure not only organizes the space but also transforms the atmosphere, establishing a connection between the interior and exterior," the studio said.

"Beyond its practical functions – such as ventilating the teppanyaki stations and optimizing lighting – the planter becomes a decorative element by incorporating greenery, adding freshness and vitality to the setting."

The planter runs along the south side of the space, separating dining tables. Meanwhile, the northern third of the building includes open seating and a feature teppanyaki bar with rust-coloured countertops and a wavy, mat backdrop.

The kitchen is set at the east end of the building with a small mezzanine level where private parties can dine in the arch of the roof.

The warehouse-like materials are complemented by wood furniture, subdued lighting and decorative details, creating a balance between industrial and modern environments. Polished concrete floors provide a flat relief to the geometries and textures of the interior.

Other restaurants recently completed in Mexico include an "urban greenhouse" clad in corrugated polycarbonate by OPA, a Singaporean restaurant made with 50 per cent recycled materials by Locus and a fast-casual restaurant with green metal mesh walls by MYT+GLVDK.

The photography is by Zaickz Moz.

Project credits:

Architecture: CAAM (@caam.arq)
Project team: Camilo Moreno Oliveros, Daniel Moreno Ahuja, Emilio Díaz, Erika Rodríguez
Collaboration: KRIM (Karen Rauch and Isabella Medrano), GERMINA (Cecilia Díaz)
Construction: CIMERA (Héctor Anselmo and María Anselmo)
Graphic design: Tana Campagna Oliveros

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Promotion: US brand Acme Brick's clay bricks in two tones adorn the dynamic facade of a former Austin thrift store, which was renovated into a mixed-use complex.

Saint Vincent was refurbished by US-based practice Lake Flato Architects, with the studio transforming the 5,100-square-foot store into retail and office spaces, while adding a further 14,900 square feet by building an adjacent car park.

Located on the corner of Austin's South Congress Avenue and East Gibson Street, Lake Flato Architects chose Acme Brick's Marble Gray Modular and Slate Gray Utility brick to design a visually interesting facade and capture the attention of passing pedestrians.

Some of the bricks were inserted into the structure lengthways to extend further than others, creating a diagonal pattern that adds tactility, while displaying different shadow patterns throughout the day.

"In addition to the blends, we wanted the building to have great brick details," said architect Jonathan Smith. "We designed a window inset detail to create larger punches and deeper, more distinct shadow lines."

"We were pleased that Acme Brick was able to produce solid bricks for the overhanging brick studs on the facade," Smith continued. "The overhanging pattern gave us something special for the corner."

Smith explained that the team carefully chose the bricks to ensure the refurbished building complemented the neighbouring masonry buildings from the early 20th century.

"Throughout the design phase, the team spent a lot of time testing different brick blends and combinations of colours and textures," he said. "We worked through several blend options and ultimately chose a grey blend colour combination, which complemented the natural wood and painted steel finishes on the job."

While adding a striking feature to the building, the bricks also frame the rows of windows across each floor, which provide natural light and ventilation to the rooms and form outdoor meeting spaces.

South Congress Avenue is situated within a community of eclectic shops and architecture in Austin, including the city's cultural hotspots, the Continental Club and Hotel San José.

The project was granted the 2019 Brick In Architecture award by the Brick Industry Association, winning the Best in Class Commercial category.

To learn more about Acme Brick's products, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Acme Brick as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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US studio David Baker Architects has used pine wood, polycarbonate panels and steel for the adaptation of a 1900s masonry building into the Wyatt Builds office space in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

Completed in 2024, the Wyatt Builds space occupies 5,530 square feet (513 square metres) on a half-acre plot and serves as an airy and functional space to hold meetings for the construction company, which also served as the general contractor for the project.

Then, the team did some "selective demolition" to understand the built conditions and preserve as much of the building's original character as possible.

Created for Mary Wyatt, who led the construction company following the death of her husband, the resulting design embodies the client's "strength and resilience balanced with a personal touch," according to David Baker Architects.

"As an office, we always start with two driving questions: Can we use what is here? Can we do more with less?" said Amanda Loper, principal of David Baker Architects, which has offices in California and Alabama.

The studio used LiDAR scanning techniques to capture the existing conditions of the single-story building and convert its hidden quirks to a digital model.

Then, the team did some "selective demolition" to understand the built conditions and preserve as much of the building's original character as possible.

"We opened up the existing windows and removed the opaque film to have some eyes on the street," Loper said, noting that the team replaced the front door and awning, repainted the brick facade and added new lighting and hand-painted signage.

In addition to a new landscape and an accessible path, the "small but mighty" touches revitalised the space, complete with a new vine-filled courtyard.

Upon entry, clients are welcomed into a new entry gallery with soft seating, an open kitchen and gallery spaces.

The entry is centred around a custom steel stair and catwalk that leads to offices and coworking space.

Working with the existing building trusses to drive the plan, the studio organised a large open space between the two rows of offices, known as the Commons. The collaborative space features custom millwork and a large work surface.

The space celebrates the existing materials that served as the foundation of the palette, Loper explained.

After sand blasting the brick walls and cleaning the existing structural terracotta block and concrete slab, the studio "uncovered the warm tone of the brick and discovered some moments of terracotta tile on the floor". The terracotta details were kept, where possible.

Within the build, new pine-wood structures connect with the painted wood of the preexisting structure to divide the space.

"The existing materials are warm, textured and heavy," the studio said.

"We unified the varying ceiling and steel structural components with warm white paint to reflect light around the space."

The wood framing and millwork add warmth, while polycarbonate panels allow for muted privacy and diffused lighting within the offices.

New skylights bring light down into the space, negating the regular use of overhead lights.

"We were able to see the potential and future life of a structure that already existed and transform it into the functional space it is now, mitigating the use of additional resources that would otherwise have been required to build a new structure," Loper said.

Previously, David Baker Architects completed a modular complex to house formerly homeless residents, clad in folded metal perforated panels, and a set of market-rate micro-units clad in black tile – both in San Francisco.

The photography is by Chris Luker.

Project credits:

Architect/interior architect: David Baker Architects
Client/owner: Wyatt Builds
General contractor: Wyatt Builds

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Australian studio Matt Gibson Architecture + Design has expanded a 19th-century terraced house in Melbourne, adding two contrasting brick extensions informed by Arts and Crafts-style architecture.

Named Mygunyah by the Circus, the long, narrow home in North Fitzroy has been renovated and extended by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design to better accommodate a family of seven.

The word Mygunyah, which is inscribed on the home's parapet, is a term derived from Australian Aboriginal languages that means "my hut" or "my home", while the word circus refers to the nearby circular road system.

Mygunyah by the Circus is one of a pair of terraced homes originally built in the 1880s. Matt Gibson Architecture + Design doubled its area with the addition of two brick pavilions, which sit to the side and rear.

While providing additional space for the large family, the two distinct volumes, described by the studio as "pavilions", are designed to help tie the existing home in with its surroundings.

"Over time, the terrace had seen little improvement or alteration, while its neighbour had long been renewed in the ornate Arts and Crafts style, boasting steep roof pitches, asymmetry, exaggerated chimneys and extensive use of brick," explained the studio.

"This became a source of inspiration for the design team, ultimately applied in interpretive, abstracted and innovative ways, as they sought to reestablish the long-lost connection between these adjacent properties," added Matt Gibson Architecture + Design.

"The result is a robust and relaxed home, replete with idiosyncrasy and references to a storied past and soundly positioned for a long and bright future," it continued.

The existing volume, which the studio described as "compartmentalised and poorly lit", has been reconfigured to form the core of the home and house a series of bedrooms.

On the western side of the original home, an abandoned strip of garden has been replaced with a black-brick pavilion containing a large shared family area that opens onto a timber-decked terrace.

Designed to reference the neighbouring Arts and Crafts home, this volume features a steeply pitched, timber-lined roof with a skylight at its centre, and an exaggerated chimney protruding from a wood burner.

At the back of the home, a previous addition was demolished to make way for a new extension on the same footprint, which contains a ground-floor kitchen and dining space and a bedroom above.

Finished in pale, rough brickwork and topped by an asymmetrical gable roof, this volume is punctured by narrow arched windows and extends to shelter a paved terrace overlooking the garden.

The divisions between new and old have been demarcated internally with a mixture of exposed and white-painted brickwork, while a narrow gap between the two pavilions forms part of a walkway that cuts through the entire site.

"The original structure is elevated to a position of preeminence within the new design scheme, and earmarked to house a variety of more formal living spaces and master bedroom suite, as it would have in the past," said the studio.

"Freed of its unsympathetic rear addition, it is restored to its former grandeur with captivating and characterful elements highlighted, raw materials exposed, and craftsmanship celebrated."

Mygunyah by the Circus's garden has been divided into a series of "rooms", including a kitchen and picnic area. They are separated by walls of climbing jasmine and punctuated by metal-framed openings that align with an opening in the side extension to create a layering of views.

Matt Gibson Architecture + Design was founded in 2003. The studio has completed several other residential renovations in Australia, including a black metal-clad extension in South Yarra and an extension linked by a glazed bridge in Melbourne.

The photography is by Derek Swalwell.

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Dutch studio Monadnock has completed Volante, a social housing block in the Netherlands featuring colourful glazed brickwork and window frames.

Stepping between five and seven storeys, Volante occupies the site of a former care facility on the southern edge of Hilversum.

It is described by Monadnock as a "garden building" and is positioned at the centre of a communal green space that does not directly border any surrounding streets.

Volante contains 108 social rent apartments, including 22 for young people with disabilities and 30 care homes.

It is finished with a multicoloured glazed-brick facade intended to complement the surrounding greenery while setting it apart from its surroundings in the Nieuw-Zuid neighbourhood.

Built for social housing provider Dudok Wonen, Nieuw-Zuid comprises a mix of private and social homes across five blocks designed by different architects. It also includes a physiotherapy practice, a children's nursery and a restaurant.

"The building is surrounded by greenery and conceived as a garden building," said Monadnock founder Sandor Naus.

"The distinct palette of soft colours complements this, creating a contrast between the inner world of the development and its outer edges, with the four more restrained buildings," he told Dezeen.

Monadnock designed the multicoloured facade with a repeated element comprising a window, a balustrade, and a frame of specially formed, semi-rounded bricks.

Meanwhile, bold, strategically placed accents, such as the yellow entrance and the building’s gables, are used to give the housing a strong presence even when viewed from a distance.

"The design of Volante required a careful balance between the rigorous repetition of one well-detailed facade element and the strategic incorporation of a limited number of strong, figurative accents like the main entrance and the building's gables," said Naus.

Volante's single main entrance leads into a double-height hall complete with mailboxes and doorbells.

A circular void at the heart of the hallway connects the first five floors. From here, two corridors extend to either end of the building, where windows provide natural light.

Each apartment measures approximately 50 square metres and has two main spaces, a living room with a kitchen and a bedroom, both of which feature a generous window with a French balcony.

The apartment block is gas-free and equipped with a modern climate control system for heating, cooling and hot water. On the lowest floor of the building is a parking garage with a green deck on top.

Other social housing projects featured in Dezeen include an 85-unit block in Barcelona by Peris+Toral Arquitectes, which won the RIBA International Prize in 2024, and a Passivhaus project in London by Levitt Bernstein, which also features detailed brickwork.

The photography is by Stijn Bollaert. 

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