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Play is not a luxury – and our cities need to reflect that

Design should embrace children and their development by enabling diverse play wherever possible, argue Amica Dall and Penny Wilson

Opinion
29.10.21

Rethinking the future of the Los Angeles River

Waterways have the potential to make cities more sustainable and joyful – but it requires collaboration, creativity and community, explains Mia Lehrer

Opinion
05.10.21

Behind Greece’s new tallest building, a neighbourhood reshaped by profit

Plans for Foster + Partners’ Marina Tower herald the greenwashed privatisation of an Athens suburb

Opinion
17.08.21

Jony Ive and Prince Charles will save us all with design, apparently

The pair has teamed up to launch the Terra Carta Design Lab, inviting RCA students to develop solutions to the climate crisis

Opinion
24.07.21

‘For Indigenous communities, architecture is a symbol of colonisation’

First Nations people in Canada still suffer from unacceptable housing conditions – that must change, writes Caroline Monnet

Opinion
13.07.21

The promise of Hip-Hop Architecture

In his new book, US architect Sekou Cooke shapes a powerful manifesto for marginalised voices

Opinion
29.06.21

The design industry too often leaves people behind

Design has been seduced by hypergrowth, leaving behind those with needs not considered profitable, explains Harriet Gridley

Opinion
17.06.21

Environmentally sustainable projects need to be socially sustainable too

The two aspects are inextricably linked, says Ton Venhoeven

Opinion
02.06.21

UK housing design needs to be more Scandinavian

Communal spaces are far more important in Scandinavian housing – Britain could learn a thing or two

Opinion
05.05.21

Who is London building upwards for?

A new report on the capital's tall towers reveals a city still gripped by real estate speculation and unaffordable housing, despite ongoing crises

Opinion
15.04.21

Ending the destruction of our planet is a design challenge

We need to leave behind toxic materials, systems and products whose damage we can’t justify any longer, argues Parley's Cyrill Gutsch

Opinion
05.04.21

No more new: why architecture’s future lies in the past

We have an urgent collective duty to retrofit and repurpose, argue Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd

Opinion
23.03.21

Amid a climate crisis, what does the ‘ideal city’ look like?

A new book showcases projects that contribute to more inclusive, sustainable and desirable cities. But does its optimism tackle the scale of the problem?

Opinion
19.02.21
Road closed sign

In the low-traffic neighbourhoods debate, designers need to talk about ownership 

Pedestrianisation has become a flashpoint as cities learn to live with the impacts of Covid-19. But democratic decision-making and community investment should be central to the conversation

Opinion
07.12.20

Architectural visualisations need to be more representative of our diverse societies

Architecture can play a role in helping to heal unconscious racial biases – and that starts with depicting an accurate, inclusive array of users

Opinion
19.11.20

Taking the ‘master’ out of masterplans: why we need to rethink the role of the architect

If we want cities to be more inclusive, we should design them collaboratively

Opinion
10.11.20
Milan Magis Stand Salone 2

Will design weeks survive the pandemic?

Writer and curator Max Fraser goes head to head with designer and author Seetal Solanki on the future of design weeks

Design
01.09.20

Vox pop: Dockless E-Bikes

Will shared e-bikes continue to be a part of the city furniture? Peter Smisek ventured to Shoreditch to find out more about dockless e-bikes and their users

Opinion
27.08.20

The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China’s Instant City

Once just a rural borderland, today Shenzhen is a city of twenty million and a technology hub

Opinion
25.08.20

Review: Feminist City by Leslie Kern

A new book from the American urban geographer interrogates how women experience the barrier-riddled 'city of men'

Opinion
17.08.20

Does design hold the answer to later-life loneliness?

It may not be an infectious disease, but loneliness is an epidemic that has significant consequences for health and disproportionately affects older people. Eugene Marchese, founder and CEO of Guild Living, believes that residential designs appropriate for later life could be the remedy.

Opinion
22.06.20

Editor's choice

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Lexus brings Discover Together to Milan with a focus on space

ODD Voices by ICON takes Milan Design Week

Snøhetta and Annabelle Schneider turn USM’s Modular System into pavilion

Isola Design Festival presents TEN: The Evolving Now

ICON 219 : Spring/Summer 2026

SANAA connects museum and library in new Taichung complex




Architects

Snøhetta and Annabelle Schneider turn USM’s Modular System into pavilion

SANAA connects museum and library in new Taichung complex

How a Singapore apartment was rebuilt around a discontinued brick

Travel architecture gets a vivid rethink in Dream in Progress

Practice on Earth transforms Ningbo farmland with inflatable architecture

YOD Group designs contemporary Ukrainian mazanka guesthouses

Luca A. Caizzi explores Milan through metal surfaces in new book

LANZA atelier uses curving brick design for Serpentine Pavilion 2026

This new build in North London features a playful exterior by architecture practice NIKJOO


More

WATCH: Kohler Cocktail Party at Milan Design Week 2026

Light up your space with ICON’s top design picks

ICON Picks: 10 best new-season design and lifestyle launches

Lexus brings Discover Together to Milan with a focus on space

ODD Voices by ICON takes Milan Design Week

Isola Design Festival presents TEN: The Evolving Now

Kasthall and Barber Osgerby debut Atlas and Bonbon rug collections for Milan Design Week

ICON Awards 2026: Recognising influential architecture, design, and culture

How designers turn raw materials into objects at Aram’s Mould exhibition



Videos

WATCH: Kohler Cocktail Party at Milan Design Week 2026

Light up your space with ICON’s top design picks

ICON Picks: 10 best new-season design and lifestyle launches

Lexus brings Discover Together to Milan with a focus on space

ODD Voices by ICON takes Milan Design Week

Snøhetta and Annabelle Schneider turn USM’s Modular System into pavilion

Isola Design Festival presents TEN: The Evolving Now

ICON 219 : Spring/Summer 2026

SANAA connects museum and library in new Taichung complex