Rooftop Garden: The Latest Architecture and News

French architecture studio Coldefy and Italian architecture practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati have unveiled ‘Theatrum Naturae’, or ‘Theatre of Nature,’ the project selected as France’s national pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025. The proposal welcomes both natural and artificial habitats, aiming to illustrate how design can connect human and non-human worlds while showcasing France’s contribution to culture and the natural environment. In the exhibition, the visitors will be invited to explore France’s multiple ecosystems and rediscover a connection to nature.

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Built on a former airport site in Hong Kong, Snøhetta Asia has unveiled its latest project in Hong Kong, Airside. This mixed-use landmark was actually Snøhetta’s first project in the country and serves as a central hub in a redeveloped business district. The project boasts ample public areas and gardens, including outdoor plazas and rooftop gardens that may be used for events, dining, urban farming, and leisure. As the first project in Hong Kong to obtain five of the highest green building certifications, this development integrates several sustainable practices.

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Heatherwick Studio has unveiled the design of an exhibition hall situated on Shanghai's emerging West Bund waterfront, in China. Known as the 'West Bund Orbit,' this building will be the focal point of the new Financial Hub in the Xuhui District. Set to become a prominent landmark along the Huangpu riverside, the project is a pivotal public space for passersby, welcoming visitors to its cultural design program.

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Foster + Partners’ project for BENCH, one of the Philippines’ leading clothing and lifestyle brands, has started construction in Manila. The 24-storey headquarters building offers offices, design studios, event spaces, and the necessary amenities to create an enjoyable environment for the company’s employees. Located on the east-west axis in the Bonifacio Global City, the building opens up the ground floor to create a visual connection to the green space surrounding it.

CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati and architect Italo Rota have developed a project to transform an 18^th-century hospital complex in Modena, Italy, into a multidisciplinary cultural and innovation hub. The master plan for the new hub, called AGO Modena Fabbriche Culturali, includes an origami-inspired kinetic roof designed in collaboration with artist-engineer Chuck Hoberman. The feature will cover a triangular-shaped plaza in the center of the complex. The restoration plan also aims to create flexibility so that the structure can easily adapt to changing future configurations.

EUROPARC, a pan-European design collective, has been announced as the winners of the international competition to renew the Paul Henri SPAAK Building in Brussels, Belgium. The building housing the Parliament of the European Union has many shortcomings, yet the winners of the competition recognize that demolishing and replacing it might not be a responsible or sustainable solution. The existing building is, therefore, reimagined and adapted better to fit the needs and the identity of the EU. EUROPARC is made up of five architectural studios from five European countries: JDS Architects (DK/BE), Coldefy (FR), CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati (IT), NL Architects (NL), and Ensamble Studio (SP), with the support of engineering companies from UTIL (BE) and Ramboll (DK).

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During the modern period, the buildings that used the traditional sloping roofs with tiles, draining the waters as quickly as possible, have begun to give way to the well-known 'waterproof flat roofs.' In spite of delivering a clean aesthetic to the project, allowing the use of the last slab as a space for living and contemplation, this solution can become a headache for its occupants if its execution and design are not careful. It is no accident that there have been infiltrations in famous modern buildings, such as the Vile Savoye or the Farnsworth House, designed by great masters of architecture. Currently, the civil construction industry has developed more sophisticated products and techniques that drastically reduce the chances of subsequent infiltration. However, we could say that waterproof flat slabs continue to be fragile points in buildings. The architects from Brasil Arquitetura have improved an inventive and very simple solution to avoid infiltrations in flat slabs, much used in the 70's by architects like Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Ruy Ohtake, filling them with vegetation.

Facebook is moving into new offices in London’s King’s Cross. The announcement from King’s Cross details the social media giant’s commitment to take over 600,000 square feet (55,000 square meters) of office space across three buildings, namely 11 and 21 Canal Reach by Bennetts Associates, and P2 by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.

The July 23rd deal between Facebook and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) represents one of the most significant such commitments in London in the last decade, encompassing around 15% of King’s Cross’ 4-million-square-foot (370,000 square meters) commercial portfolio.

James Corner Field Operations has completed a nearly 6,000 square foot rooftop garden located in the heart of the DUMBO neighborhood in Brooklyn. The garden is located on top of a seventeen-story apartment complex designed by Leeser Architecture and developed by Two Trees Management. The Dock Street Rooftop Terrace allows residents to view the panoramic scenery of the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, East River, and Manhattan Skyline.