Architecture

This article is part of our new Opinion section, a format for argument-driven essays on critical questions shaping our field.

Constructed on historic foundations of Soviet-era military units to safeguard the Baltic coastal dune habitats as one of the world’s most vulnerable marine regions, this seaside residence introduces an alternative path of sustainable architecture. The site was discovered with four grass-covered and timeworn military bunkers, now transformed into one main home and two guest houses for a family of three generations.

MVRDV has started construction on the EU TUMO Convergence Center, a new educational and research facility in Yerevan, Armenia. Located in Tumanyan Park, the five-story building will expand TUMO’s campus, providing spaces for free technology and creative education for teenagers and adults, alongside research and co-working areas for technology and design companies. Positioned on a hilly outcrop above the Hrazdan River Gorge, the project responds to the surrounding topography while establishing visual connections with the city, the gorge, and Mount Ararat. Construction officially commenced on 24 February, with local and international representatives in attendance.

The new Crafts College in Herning, Denmark, is conceived as a living teaching tool, formed to inspire and nurture the community. Designed by Danish architecture studio Dorte Mandrup, the building celebrates the close connection between craftsmanship and architecture while responding to the decline in vocational training enrollment by offering a place where young craftspeople can thrive both personally, socially, and professionally. From the homes we inhabit to the schools, workplaces, and cultural institutions that frame our everyday life. Our built environment relies profoundly on skilled craftspeople. Yet in Denmark, as in many other countries, the value of craft professions has been increasingly overlooked, with vocational programs experiencing a marked decline in recent years. As part of a broader initiative to establish dedicated residences for apprentices, the Crafts College in Herning aims to restore pride and relevance to vocational education. It is designed to not only foster wellbeing and a sense of belonging among young craftspeople, but also to demonstrate – through form, materials, and construction – the cultural and societal significance of crafts.

Battersea Power Station is a former coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in London, originally designed by architects J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. Notable for its appearance on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 studio album Animals and in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1936 film Sabotage, the station is one of the world’s largest brick buildings and is known for its Art Deco interior fittings and décor. Recognized today as part of modern industrial heritage, the site’s transformation into a commercial development began in 2012, with the adaptive reuse guided by a masterplan designed by Rafael Viñoly. On February 16, Battersea Power Station announced the appointment of the strategic urban design practice Studio Egret West to evolve the original masterplan for the remaining 16 acres of the 42-acre riverside neighbourhood in the southwest London.

Urban masterplans remain an exploratory ground for unbuilt speculation, offering insight into how cities might recalibrate mobility, ecology, and collective life in response to accelerating environmental and social pressures. In this Unbuilt edition, submitted by the ArchDaily community, the selected projects bring together a range of large-scale proposals that examine urban centers, waterfront districts, infrastructural corridors, and cultural landscapes as spatial frameworks for reconnection and resilience. Rather than treating the masterplan as a rigid blueprint, these projects approach urbanism as an adaptive system shaped by climate, topography, infrastructure, and public space.

The Reef at King’s Dock reimagines waterfront living through the idea of an Urban Village, creating a human-scale residential environment along Singapore’s southern waterfront. Winner of the MIPIM Asia Silver Award for Best Residential Project 2025, the development sits at the historic King’s Dock in Keppel Bay, forming a gateway to the Greater Southern Waterfront and mediating between maritime heritage and contemporary living. Direct connections to HarbourFront MRT, VivoCity, Sentosa, and the Southern Ridges anchor the project within the wider city, while preserved visual links from Mount Faber to the sea maintain its relationship with the landscape.

Amoha villas is a micro resort comprised of a six-bedroom villa and three cottages, nestled on the fringe of the Gautami Godavari dam in Beze. It is strategically located on the Trimbakeshwar road, which is an ancient pilgrimage in Maharashtra. This property is designed to capture the breathtaking views of the Sahyadri mountains (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the eight biodiversity hotspots in the world) and the expansive dam backwaters.

The project is situated on a 5×20 meter plot at the intersection of two narrow alleys—an uncommon condition within the typical urban tube-house fabric. The advantage of having two open façades allows for effective use of natural light and ventilation, while simultaneously requiring careful control of sightlines to ensure privacy. In an increasingly dense urban context, where land becomes scarce and buildings press tightly against one another, daily life is often compressed within enclosed volumes. The house is therefore not merely a shelter, but a space that creates openings for people to truly breathe. From this perspective, the “void” became the central concept shaping The Gap House.