Urban regeneration

From monastery to community neighborhood The former Franciscan convent at the eastern edge of Montreal’s Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough is a compelling example of how a site once devoted to spiritual retreat and self-sufficiency can become disconnected from its urban surroundings. Its transformation into a vibrant, inclusive community offers a rare opportunity to reconnect its layered past with contemporary needs, bringing together memory, biodiversity, and collective life within a renewed urban fabric.   NÓS Architects   Echo of the past Le Couvent de la Résurrection is a convent complex inspired by neo-Gothic monastic architecture. Originally, the built ensemble included the convent, the ch... More

In the heart of Marmilla, where the gentle Sardinian hills open up to views of golden fields and ancient olive groves stretching to the Giara di Gesturi, the municipality of Siddi (South Sardinia) gains a new urban threshold. The redevelopment of Via Napoli, the main access road to the village, transcends mere infrastructural function to become an act of refined architectural and cultural sensibility. cèdric dasseson From the sidewalk to the parking area/town entrance, the project invites a walk with a view of the landscape beauties of Marmilla, transforming a peripheral route into a true story of welcome. Corten steel, local stone, and light become the three key elements that intertwine memory, identity, and landscape, welcomi... More

Life Hub @ Bund Central, a mixed-use complex comprising of a retail mall and a 180m-tall office tower, is a key component in the urban regeneration of the larger Hongkou Lot 18 in Shanghai. Yang Tao, Courtesy of DP Architects The project brief detailed the redevelopment of a 4.6ha city block to accommodate retail, commercial and cultural functions, which features Gongyi-Fang, one of the largest conserved in-situ ‘shiku-men’ neighbourhoods, as well as Shanghainese Cultural Centre and the Shanghai Literature Museum.  A Composed City Gallery Courtesy of DP Architects Courtesy of DP Architects Courtesy of DP Architects Along the south, the project anchors the junction of Haining Road and North Sichuan Roa... More

 Let's Play! reimagines an abandoned viaduct over Glasgow’s River Clyde as an interactive urban paradise. Transforming industrial relics into vibrant performance stages, it reconnects divided communities, celebrating Glasgow’s heritage through innovative spatial installations. Visitors engage through musical rain amphitheaters, marimba-inspired stairways, observation towers that cleanse the river, and a floating theatre—collectively blurring boundaries between neighborhoods, past and present, city and nature. Xinyue Geng  The project Let’s Play! – A Journey of Regeneration and Reconnection in Glasgow, authored and led by Xinyue Geng, has been awarded the Best Design at the Golden Pin Design Awar... More

The project is based on the idea of reconnecting Alcoy with its industrial past, its Art Nouveau architecture and its natural environment. The project highlights the importance of the architectural heritage from a contemporary, modern perspective, as it reinterprets the complex’ architecture in a way that promotes the new economic models that the city needs. Alfonso Calza The voids are arranged and transformed into a single space that generates a suggestive atmosphere that recalls the history of industrial settings and the wealth that they provide the city with. Alfonso Calza Alcoy cannot forget either the great cultural relevance of music in the city. As tribute, the park is organized as if it were a pentagram. Tree veget... More

The current classic building of the Reina Sofía Museum is, due to successive historical vicissitudes, a rigid structure that turns its back to the Paseo del Prado and does not offer the urban and functional appeal expected from a contemporary art museum. To transform that severe character and bring the Institution closer to a future improvement and extension of the Paseo del Prado ―which should include a renovated Atocha Station, as well as more green and pedestrian areas―, the Museum resolved in 2022 a competition of which COLL-BARREU ARQUITECTOS was the winner. From the beginning, the proposal was intended to be an intervention without intervention. That is, an intervention without the addition of any new piece, without the const... More

This brownfield corner site, formerly occupied by a scrap metal dealer, is located opposite Mitcham Common. Nick Kane The aim was to achieve a high-quality residential development well knitted to the existing fabric, employing Innovative solutions to densify a small infill site and offering amenity space, including winter garden loggias to the Commonside elevation, while minimizing impact to neighbours. It provides dual aspect properties of a variety of sizes, each with private amenity space, Nick Kane The design seeks to respond through its massing, articulation and detailing to the two very different adjacent streets and to the nearby conservation area.  Two distinctive wings seemed the right solution; a taller block, not... More

SOCIAL HOUSING and PIXEL-FARMING: a challenge on which the Mayor of Peccioli, Renzo Macelloni and architect Maria Alessandra Segantini, CEO of C+S Architects, are betting to repopulate the smaller towns in Italy.Segantini: “It is a new vision to give everyone a social home capable of generating quality food at affordable prices, regenerating impoverished landscapes, building cohesive multi-ethnic and multicultural communities, de-carbonising the construction sector and introducing innovation and circularity in the construction field to restore balance between buildings and nature.” C+S Architects (an architecture office based between Treviso and London, recent winner of the San Marino Roll of Honor and Italian Architect 202... More

Originally completed in 1975 but left largely unoccupied for decades, Piraeus Tower stood as a symbol of unfinished ambition at the port of Piraeus. Rising 88 meters, the building's concrete shell was long known as the "sleeping giant" of the port. Its recent transformation into a contemporary mixed-use tower marks a major shift in both architectural and urban terms. Led by PILA, the project reactivates the structure through a comprehensive facade retrofit and reprogramming of common spaces, aligning it with the broader regeneration of Piraeus as a dynamic, livable district. Yiannis Hadjiaslanis   Responsive facade and solar performance At the heart of the retrofit is a new facade system designed to reduce energy use and enhanc... More

Align Design and Architecture has undertaken a high street regeneration scheme for London-based real estate investor Essential Living in King Street, Twickenham. The components of the scheme range from a new set of shopfront design guidelines for King Street’s existing retailers and any new brands taking on a tenancy on the street’s conjoined parade of shops, together with new street furniture and a new identity/marketing emblem, as well as a striking, large-scale mural located at one end of the retail parade. All images by Align Design and Architecture Identity and Mural The consultancy began the regeneration project with the development of a new identity, based on the client’s idea of using the kingfisher bird as... More

Capital Square Beijing, originally Borui Plaza is located on the North Road of the East Third Ring Road in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, adjacent to Tuanjiehu Park to the south and at the intersection of the East Third Ring CBD district and the Yansha business district. With its prime location in the East Third Ring Road area, Capital Square Beijing also has a unique geographical advantage with exclusive water resources that are hard to find in Beijing. The building is surrounded by well-served public transport close to the Tuanjiehu Lake and Hujialou Station on Metro Line 10. Shu He Shu He   Shu He Shu He The façade design of the building is elegant and dignified, but the original interior is mostly ma... More