Copenhagen Architecture Biennial slows down to highlight caring approaches to people and the planet

Across exhibitions, installations and a talks programme, the inaugural edition explored gentler ways of designing and inhabiting the world. Beneath its official theme slowness ran a deeper current and turn toward care for materials, communities and fragile ecologies

The newly opened Darsena Listening Suite at Il Sereno in Lake Como is a playground for audiophiles

The hotel's owner-audiophile Luis Contreras and designer Patricia Urquiola team up to turn 200 sq m of lakefront space into a dedicated hi-fi sanctuary 

How Lake Como Design Festival became the quiet leader of a slow, local design revolution

The seventh edition, held under the theme Fragments, took place earlier this month and proved to be one of the strongest to date. ICON travelled to Como to find out how this city is rewriting the rules of the design fair

Architects join forces to design birdhouse project for charity auction at Christie’s

Coinciding with Frieze Week in London, the exhibition will showcase a collection of ten birdhouses by world-leading architects

Triennale Milano presents 24th International Exhibition under the title Inequalities

Following Broken Nature in 2019, which tackled themes of sustainability, the international cultural institution spotlights the world's growing inequalities with 24th International Exhibition

Lee Broom unveils his first Landmark commission for London Design Festival

With London Design Festival returning to the capital next month, British designer Lee Broom has announced his first Landmark commission which will be on display outside the Royal Festival Hall

Architectural practice Local Local unveils a new contemporary art gallery in the heart of Athens

Located at the foot of the Acropolis in the heart of Athens, Melas Martinos is a new contemporary art gallery conceived by architectural firm Local Local

Archikon Architects uses prefabricated panel structure to build Hungary’s first smart kindergarten

The Budapest-based architecture firm has completed Gyöngyszem Kindergarten, a small-scale retail building, kindergarten and school in Hungary that features a flat-roofed, prefabricated panelled house with a central corridor

Meet Me Here exhibition by Spacon & X at Danish Architecture Center explores community and sense of place in a digital world

Copenhagen’s Danish Architecture Center has unveiled an immersive exhibition in collaboration with architecture firm Spacon & X, which highlights the value of third places

A slice of heaven: The Puglian trulli offering pure escapism

When embarking on the restoration of a historic trulli and olive mill in the heart of Puglia, Dianne Hekstra and her family wanted to share the magic of the region with the world. She discusses the project with Roddy Clarke. 

Ismael Medina Manzano designs small apartment in San Sebastián with flexible living spaces

The Spanish architect’s transformative apartment project in San Sebastián defies traditional domestic boundaries, advocating for a more flexible and inclusive approach to modern living

The Brecon designed by Nicemakers combines local craftsmanship and Welsh design touches to create midcentury-inspired interior

High in the Swiss Alps, a traditional wooden chair chalet hotel opens up to reveal a relaxing midcentury-influenced interior that mixes local craftmanship with subtle design touches from its owner’s home country of Wales

Return of a legend: Gathering revives Cologne’s iconic Café Central

Contemporary art gallery Gathering opened its newest location in Cologne last month, breathing life back into one of the city's most legendary spaces

worc.studio blends earthy colours and natural materials at Casa Símera in Polanco, Mexico City

The Mexican architecture firm pairs curved elements with natural materials from the region - and positions Casa Símera as a multifunctional venue that's part café and studio

Meet the creative duo preserving a slice of history in the Cilento National Park

Nestled in the heart of the Southern Italian region’s mountainous landscape, Convento Francescano holds a story fuelled with purpose, passion and a personal connection to the region.

StudioAC adds soft pink curves and stainless-steel to interior of popular cookie shop in Toronto

Located on a lively downtown stretch, the Canadian architecture practice creates a contemporary and playful design for andrea's cookies

How do we define completeness in architecture? Build of Site examines the case for building on what’s already here

Curated by architect Søren Pihlmann, the Danish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale is a hybrid exhibition space and renovation site that offers visitors food for thought on the value of as-found materials

Pelletier de Fontenay transforms century-old home in Quebec’s Eastern Townships

The architecture practice has completed the overhaul and extension of an early 20th century stone house in Canada called Sutton House

Universal Design Studio and AKQA design interiors for new Georg Jensen flagship showroom on New Bond Street

For the new London flagship shop, Universal Design Studio and AKQA draw on the light and nature of Denmark to create a soft and welcoming interior with natural materials and organic forms 

Note (design studio) presents first architecture project in Sweden’s rural Jämtland

Located in the steep mountain terrain of Ottsjö, south of Åre Ski Resort, Note's inaugural architectural project is a modern rural home designed to maximise mountain views

Architecture Icon: How the Noguchi Musuem advances the appreciation of its founder’s art and legacy

The Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York, chartered as The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, was the first museum in the United States designed by a living artist to show their own work, and reflects the diversity of his sculptural approach