Heritage

Listed fabric, memory and what a culture decides to keep.

16 entries

Close-up of long, textured grey and brown brick masonry at the Kolumba Museum Cologne.

Biophilic & Wellness

Kolumba Museum: Peter Zumthor's Porous Clay and Earth Enclosure

Peter Zumthor wraps the bombed ruins of Cologne's St. Kolumba church in perforated grey Danish brick, joining lime plaster and earth pigments in quiet dialogue.

23 Oct 2026

Courtyard with old brick and stucco building left, modern concrete and glass building right, under a clear sky.

Visual Essay

Northern Italy: Three Adaptive Journeys Through Art and Architecture

Discover three significant adaptive reuse projects in Northern Italy: Carlo Scarpa's Castelvecchio, Fondazione Prada, and Gallerie d'Italia.

21 Sept 2026

View through an ornate stone archway to the Court of the Lions with a fountain, surrounded by carved stone walls and tiled co

Field Notes

Alhambra: The Lion Court as a Framed Workroom

The Palace of the Lions in the Alhambra provides a masterclass in interior architecture, using framed landscapes, strategic shadow, and water to sharpen focus and offer spatial release within its 14th-century design.

19 Sept 2026

Villa Savoye, a white concrete and glass building, stands beside a reflective pool with columns and trees in the background.

Material Notes

Villa Savoye: Landscape as Adaptive Context

Villa Savoye, a paradigm of modernist design, is re-examined through its integration with the surrounding landscape, focusing on its essential ground-level interventions and water features.

16 Sept 2026

Modern timber stairwell with metal railings and rectangular windows casting shadows across wooden walls.

Built Intelligence

Catalonia's Stone Legacies: Three Architectural Journeys

A curated guide to three significant stone buildings in Catalonia, spanning from the 12th-century Romanesque to 20th-century postmodern forms.

14 Sept 2026

Concrete staircase with bold blue tiled walls and railings winding upwards, seen from below.

Details That Matter

Zeitz MOCAA: Carving the Silos of Cape Town

The Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town repurposes forty-two concrete grain silos into a contemporary art museum, demonstrating a radical approach to adaptive reuse.

25 Aug 2026

Green slate shingles with moss meet a window set into verdigris copper cladding on a building exterior, viewed from an angle.

ARCHITECTT Cases

Ibrahim Ibn Yusuf: The Cape Dacha and Slate’s Verdant Patina

This piece examines the architectural biography of Ibrahim Ibn Yusuf, a master builder who integrated Mughal design principles and intricate slate work into Russian dachas in Cape Town.

21 Aug 2026

Earthen ksar interior with a glowing oil lamp on a stone shelf, complementing the mud plaster and timber ceiling.

Details That Matter

Aït Benhaddou: Dry-Stone Vernacular and the Ethics of Revival

Examining the dry-stone masonry of Aït Benhaddou, this piece explores the ethical considerations and practicalities of preserving and adapting heritage structures in Morocco.

15 Aug 2026

Upper perspective of a stone and timber building, with weathered green copper eaves and a planter box with ferns.

Built Intelligence

Cistercian Monasteries in Quebec: Form, Ironwork, and the Eaves of Contemplation

Cistercian monasteries in Quebec demonstrate a profound understanding of how architectural elements, from precise proportions to carefully crafted thresholds and hand-forged ironwork, influence psychological states and foster contemplation.

12 Aug 2026

Overhead view of the red tile and verdigris copper roofs of Villa Capponi architecture, surrounded by green trees and olive g

Biophilic & Wellness

Villa Capponi: Gothic Lines and Veridian Pigments in the Tuscan Hills

Villa Capponi, a Renaissance villa with Gothic origins near Florence, demonstrates a historic approach to biophilic design through its enduring structure and verdant interior palette.

6 Aug 2026

Blue tiled brick and grid panels cover a building with a blue metal roof, viewed from a low angle against a clear sky.

Architecture Travel

Tanjong Pagar: Blue Glaze and Tropical Art Nouveau

The former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in Singapore features a distinctive Art Nouveau canopy, showcasing innovative prefabrication and passive climate control principles.

27 Jul 2026

A modern courtyard of concrete, stone, and wood-paneled walls features a large rock formation with carved openings in the bac

Transformation Logic

Uchisar Castle: A Study in Cappadocian Dry-Stone Form and Material Reintegration

Uchisar Castle in Cappadocia, Turkey, stands as a prime example of adaptive reuse where historical dry-stone masonry techniques inform contemporary approaches to circular design and material reintegration within a monumental landscape.

17 Jul 2026

Terracotta-colored concrete building with rectangular forms, adjacent to an ancient stone arch aqueduct, seen from an elevate

Materials & Makers

The Aqueduct Lofts: Byzantine Traces in Provençal Adaptive Reuse

The Aqueduct Lofts in Provence exemplify adaptive reuse, transforming a section of ancient Roman infrastructure into modern living spaces while honoring its historical context with precision.

14 Jul 2026

Interior of a room with timber ceiling beams, rammed earth walls, a stone partition, and a speckled terrazzo floor.

Living Typologies

Postmodern Caravanserais: Pigment and Joinery in Andalusian Restorations

The restoration of a Postmodern caravanserai in Andalusia integrates Japanese joinery and a discerning palette of historic pigments, transforming a traditional typology for contemporary use.

10 Jul 2026

Sainte-Luce Cabin, clad in dark timber with extensive glass, cantilevers over a misty lake from a side view.

Material Notes

Lead and Light in Quebec: Tracing Biophilia in the Sainte-Luce Cabin

The Sainte-Luce Cabin in Quebec exemplifies an unexpected fusion of Ottoman classical aesthetics with localized building techniques, notably through its lead-came stained glass that fosters interior wellbeing.

1 Jul 2026

A modern building facade, featuring concrete, brick, metal panels, and glass, illuminated by sunlight from the left.

Transformation Logic

Diachronic Logic: The Synthesis of Chronological Layers

Diachronic logic in architecture explores how buildings accumulate and synthesize chronological layers, revealing material and formal traces of their evolutionary history.

17 Jun 2026

Nearby topics

Adaptive reuse Sustainability Circular economy Biophilic design Neuro-architecture Vernacular Tectonics Colour & atmosphere