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From Design Movements to Materials: Reflecting on Architectural Exhibitions in 2024

December 28

Reflecting on 2024, numerous architectural exhibitions have opened worldwide, addressing various themes, exhibition formats, and featured architects. Architectural design and architecture practice influence our daily lives in subtle and often unnoticed ways, where the end-users embrace built environments as they are. This reaction may arise from a combination of factors, such as a sense of powerlessness to enact significant change after a building is constructed or the experience of growing up in environments over which individuals had little or no agency in shaping. For these reasons, architectural exhibitions serve an essential purpose, offering society a chance to pause, reflect, and critically examine the myriad issues that surface during designing and building. These issues are often overlooked or need to be acknowledged, as practitioners may prioritize delivering projects within strict timelines over exploring more profound reflections.

In 2024, museums, galleries, and curators responded to the evolving challenges within the built environment with various approaches. Some exhibitions questioned the ethics of building materials and the practices behind supply chains, drawing attention to the broader implications of material choices. Others focused on documenting architectural movements worldwide, emphasizing their cultural and historical significance and the urgent need to preserve and adapt rather than replace them with entirely new builds. These efforts highlight the role of exhibitions in raising awareness about pressing issues while fostering a more critical dialogue about the architectural discipline.

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Light as an Active Participant in Space: Robert Wilson’s Minimalist Approach to Stage Lighting

September 18, 2024

Robert Wilson embodies the roles of director, set designer, scenographer, lighting designer, and architect in a single figure. Internationally celebrated as a pioneer of stage lighting and honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale and the Praemium Imperiale, Wilson, now in his eighties, continues to travel the world, staging remarkable productions. His use of light and color is marked by precision and minimalism, creating scenes that skillfully oscillate between stillness and drama. During rehearsals at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, he elaborates on the interplay between stage and architecture, his creative process, and the profound impact of light on darkness.

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Headed to the 2024 Olympics: 20 Innovative and Iconic Architectural Projects to Explore in Paris

July 26, 2024

In 1900, Paris hosted its first Olympic games. It had been the second city to host them after the first Olympics in Athens. It was also the year of the Exposition Universelle, where the city would again showcase how it remade itself anew in less than 30 years. To this day, Paris remains a hub for all sorts of architectural innovation and development through bold designs that affect how people live and new materials and techniques. It fascinatingly juxtaposes grandeur and monumentalism with its predominately baroque, “second empire,” and art nouveau works; while also pushing for designs that strive for social living reforms such as in Le Corbusier’s experimental works or Lacaton & Vassal’s considerate interventions.

It’s this openness to the world that attracts not only millions of visitors a year but also innovators and architects who have set up shop in Paris and made it their second home. Once again, the city reworks itself as mass construction, renovation, and restoration sites culminate all over the city to host international athletes at the 2024 Olympics.

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Perfect Days: An Ode to Tokyo's Public Toilets

July 03, 2024

"A bathroom is a place where everyone is equal—there is no rich or poor, no old or young; everyone is part of humanity." This reflection was shared by Wim Wenders, exponent of New German Cinema and director of the film Perfect Days (2023) when asked about the striking sets of his most recent work. Wenders selected Tokyo's public restrooms to craft a narrative that deeply explores themes of solitude, simplicity, and the beauty of everyday life.

The story follows Hirayama, a middle-aged man working as a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo. His life is simple and routine, yet filled with small pleasures and moments of reflection. This modest lifestyle contrasts with the technological, colorful, and innovative designs of the public restrooms he cleans every day.

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Tadao Ando Transforms Historic Scuola Grande in Venice into an Exhibition Dedicated to Artist Zeng Fanzhi

May 14, 2024

A new exhibition presenting the works of artist Zeng Fanzhi has opened in the historic Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice, Italy. Running from April 17 to September 30, 2024, concurrent with this year’s edition of the Venice Arts Biennale, the “Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then” exhibition showcases the latest breakthroughs in the artist’s practice in a space adapted by architect Tadao Ando.

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Tadao Ando's MPavilion Announces Year-Long Extension in Melbourne, Australia

April 30, 2024

In Melbourne, Australia, the tenth edition of the MPavilion, designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando, has been extended until March 2025. Marking the architect’s sole-built project in Australia, the extension presents an opportunity for Melburnians and visitors to enjoy the space and its diverse offerings. The pavilion welcomes guests daily, serving as a serene oasis, a communal gathering space, and a landmark architectural destination throughout the year.

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When Sunlight Meets Tadao Ando’s Concrete

March 28, 2024

If there is any consistent factor in his work, says Pritzker-winning architect Tadao Ando, then it is the pursuit of light. Ando’s complex choreography of light fascinates most when the viewer experiences the sensitive transitions within his architecture. Sometimes walls wait calmly for the moment to reveal striking shadow patterns, and other times water reflections animate unobtrusively solid surfaces. His combination of traditional Japanese architecture with a vocabulary of modernism has contributed greatly to critical regionalism. While he is concerned with individual solutions that have a respect for local sites and contexts Ando’s famous buildings – such as the Church of the Light, Koshino House or the Water Temple – link the notion of regional identity with a modern imagining of space, material and light. Shoji walls with diffuse light are reinterpreted in the context of another culture, for instance, filtered through the lens of Rome’s ancient Pantheon, where daylight floods through an oculus. Ando’s masterly imagination culminates in planning spatial sequences of light and dark like he envisioned for the Fondation d’Art Contemporain François Pinault in Paris.

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A Look Back at the 9 Japanese Architects Honored with the Pritzker Prize

March 13, 2024

Last week, Japanese architect and social advocate Riken Yamamoto was announced as the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, becoming the 9th Japanese architect honored with the profession’s most prestigious award. Throughout the 45-year history of the Pritzker Prize, Japan stands out as the nation with the highest number of laureates. While geography is not a criterion in the selection of the laureates, Japanese architecture consistently impresses with its interplay of light and shadow, the careful composition of spaces, soft transitions between interior and exterior, and attention to detail and materiality. An ingrained culture of building also celebrates diverse designs and encourages global dialogue and the exchange of ideas and best practices. Read on to rediscover the 9 Japanese Pritzker laureates and glimpse into their body of work.

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Who Has Won the Pritzker Prize?

February 28, 2024

The Pritzker Prize is the most important award in the field of architecture, awarded to a living architect whose built work "has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture." The Prize rewards individuals, not entire offices, as took place in 2000 (when the jury selected Rem Koolhaas instead of his firm OMA) or in 2016 (with Alejandro Aravena selected instead of Elemental); however, the prize can also be awarded to multiple individuals working together, as took place in 2001 (Herzog & de Meuron), 2010 (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA), and 2017 (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta of RCR Arquitectes).

30 Japanese Homes that Use Metal for Interior Accents

January 03, 2024

Contemporary Japanese interiors incorporate elements both of tradition and modernity to embody the country's innovative spirit while maintaining a profound respect for its history and cultural heritage. Though traditional materials like wood, paper, and bamboo continue to hold significance, modern Japanese interiors also often feature a fusion of glass, steel, concrete, and metals. The juxtaposition of smoother, sleeker textures and finishes with warmer and more organic ones reflects a dynamic synthesis of old and new, and results in visually striking and functional spaces that honor the essence of the country's design principles.

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A Look at the First 10 Editions of the MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia

December 07, 2023

The MPavilion represents one of the most important architectural events happening annually in Melbourne, Australia. Initiated and founded by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the event was first launched in 2014 and has since brought internationally recognized architects to design a temporary structure in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens in a system similar to London’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. From Sean Godsell's solar-actioned panels to Studio Mumbai‘s experimental bamboo structure, each pavilion explores craftsmanship and contemporary design while fostering a rich cultural program for several months before being disassembled and donated to one of the city’s parks. As the latest pavilion was recently inaugurated by Tadao Ando, we look back at the previous editions of Australia’s most famous annual structure.

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Designed by Tadao Ando, MPavilion 10 Opens in Melbourne, Australia

November 16, 2023

The tenth edition of the MPavilion opens in Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. The structure was designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando, marking the architect’s first built project in Australia. The pavilion follows his signature use of geometric shapes in harmony with the natural landscape and the precise use of exposed concrete. On November 16, 2023, the official opening inaugurates the space with a public celebration and a wide array of art commissions selected by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. The MPavilion will remain free and open to the public from 16 November to 28 March 2024, inviting visitors to engage with its diverse cultural program and find opportunities for contemplation and tranquility in its spaces.

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Tadao Ando Reveals Designs for New Performing Arts Center in Sharjah, UAE

November 15, 2023

Tadao Ando has revealed the designs for a new performing arts center in Sharjah’s Aljada. “II Teatro” is a 2000-seat auditorium with a gallery and an event space and will serve as a focal point within the Aljada master plan. Dedicated to art, culture, and design, the Naseej district will house the theater with a multi-layered cultural plaza. In collaboration with local developer Arada, The scheme is expected to be completed in 2027, acting as a true reflection of Tadao Ando’s architectural simplicity.

The Top 20 Most Visited AD Architecture Classics

October 21, 2023

AD Classics presents you with some of the greatest buildings of the past that have influenced and shaped architecture today. Throughout ArchDaily's 13 years, more than 200 classics were published, and for this edition, we have rounded up the top 20 most visited Architecture Classics to date.

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MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando Reveals a Striking, Concrete Geometric Intervention

May 12, 2023

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has revealed the design of its tenth MPavilion, designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando, set to open during Australian summer, on November 16, 2023. Reflecting the architect’s architectural approach, the design unveiled the “use of striking geometric interventions in nature and […] concrete.” Once ready, the intervention will become the architect’s first commission in Australia. Created as a new gathering place situated within Melbourne's cultural and botanical garden precinct, MPavilion 10 responds directly to the park's surroundings by emphasizing spatial purity and utilizing the geometric shapes of circles and squares.

Venice Architecture City Guide: 15 Historical and Contemporary Attractions to Discover in Italy’s City of Canals

May 11, 2023

Built on a cluster of 118 small islands in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, the city of Venice, Italy, has captivated the imagination of architects and tourists alike. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, becoming a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, as proven through the rich architecture that characterizes the city to this day. With influences from the Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance styles, the city represents a palimpsest of architectural narratives, overlapping and influencing each other. In recent years, Venice has become a major attraction for architects drawn to the La Biennale di Venezia, the most important Architectural Exhibition featuring national pavilions, exhibitions, and events to explore new concepts and architectural innovations.

Beyond the Biennale, Venice itself is an open-air museum for architecture lovers. While the city is best known for its historical buildings, Modernist and contemporary interventions add a new layer of interest, with many contemporary architects working with the historical fabric, like OMA’s intervention and rehabilitation of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, or David Chipperfield’s renovation of Procuratie Vecchie, one of the buildings that define Piazza San Marco. In addition to what the city has to offer, the site of the Venice Biennale is also marked by interventions by famous architects such as Carlo Scarpa , Sverre Fehn, and Alvar Aalto, made permanent due to their outstanding qualities.

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Tadao Ando Designs the Exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

May 05, 2023

Architect Tadao Ando has been commissioned to design this year’s Costume Institute exhibition highlighting the work of Karl Lagerfeld. The opening of the exhibition titled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” was marked by the world-renown Met Gala, a fundraising event attended by celebrities and personalities perceived to be culturally relevant in the fashion scene. Perceived as a thematic and conceptual essay on Lagerfeld’s work, rather than a traditional retrospective, the exhibition aims to illustrate the designer’s method of creative expression and its significance in the industry.

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Contemporary Architecture Guide of Puerto Escondido, Mexico

March 27, 2023

Although there is no exact record of the specific moment in which Puerto Escondido began to become a reference of contemporary Mexican architecture, various waves have been experienced. Perhaps the first one started in 2016 when the construction of Casa Wabi began, a Tadao Ando project where the Mexican office BAAQ´ collaborated as associates to develop the executive project and coordinate its construction. However, in 2019 another wave was experienced that was later reinforced by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work, which radically aroused interest in returning to the provinces and costs where there was less population and overcrowding.

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Tadao Ando: The Latest Architecture and News