Is Africa’s skyscraper mini-boom a cause for alarm?

by Amy Frearson |

Africa is experiencing a mini-boom in skyscraper construction, with new towers rising in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and more. But are they symbols of progress or just vanity projects? Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson investigates.

The Tour F in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, will soon become the continent’s tallest building, expected to reach its full 421-metre height later this year.

It will steal the title from the 394-metre Iconic Tower in Cairo, Egypt, which became Africa’s first completed supertall – a title given to buildings over 300 metres – when it opened in 2024.

High-rise building gathering pace

The situation is in stark contrast to a decade ago, when the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, was still the only African building to surpass the 200-metre mark.

This 201-metre tower was the continent’s tallest for 46 years, but it looks like it will be pushed out of the top 10 in the coming months.

A spate of recent completions includes the 250-metre Mohammed VI Tower in Salé, Morocco, finished in 2023, and the 209-metre Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, built in 2021. Many more are scheduled for this year.

The rate of development still pales in comparison to North America and Asia, but it appears to be gaining pace, which has triggered concerns.

Tour F under construction in Abidjan — The 421-metre Tour F in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, is set to become Africa’s tallest building. It is due to complete this year. Photo by Zaizone via Wikimedia Commons

Somalia-based architect Omar Degan, co-founder and curator of the inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture, worries that most of these skyscrapers are being built with little regard for local building traditions and lifestyle habits.

“The rapid rise of skyscraper construction across African cities raises critical questions around identity, power, climate and urban futures, particularly as many cities navigate growth through imported models rather than locally rooted architectural logics,” he told Dezeen.

“I think it’s essential to unpack both the opportunities and the risks this brings,” he said. “And to ask whether verticality can meaningfully respond to African contexts rather than simply replicate global templates.”

Degan is not opposed to skyscrapers in African cities per se, but he wants to see models that reflect African cultural identity.

“I think there have been missed opportunities to see skyscrapers as a way of identifying a nation,” he said. “I would love to see a Moroccan skyscraper or a Nigerian skyscraper.”

But what’s fuelling this mini-boom, and can we expect it to continue?

According to Jason M Barr, professor of economics at Rutgers University-Newark, the data points to a link between African skyscraper construction and economic growth.

“Iconic buildings can benefit African cities, but the economics must work”

Statistics from the Council on Vertical Urbanism reveal that South Africa and Egypt, Africa’s two largest economies, account for around 75 per cent of all buildings of more than 30 storeys in the continent.

Egypt also has more of the tallest buildings under construction than the rest of Africa combined, in both Cairo and the nation’s new capital.

“Countries generally don’t build tall buildings unless all the ‘economics ducks’ are in a row, as they are expensive to build and operate,” explained Barr, author of the book Cities in the Sky: The Quest to Build the World’s Tallest Skyscrapers.

“If you look at the breakdown of usages for all 30-plus-storey buildings in Africa, most are offices, residential or mixed-use buildings, which are compatible with the economic need for tall buildings,” he told Dezeen.

The 394-metre Iconic Tower in Cairo, Egypt, became Africa’s first supertall when it completed in 2024. Photo by Mohamed Ouda via Wikimedia Commons

Barr argues that African cities can benefit from the power of tall buildings as “confidence boosters”. He said that few appear to be “white elephants” – built as status symbols rather than to meet a real need or demand.

“Iconic buildings can benefit African cities, but the underlying economics of these buildings must work – that is to say, the revenues paid by the occupants must cover the construction and operating costs,” he said.

“Given the history of economic and political troubles in Africa, we tend to associate Africa’s rising towers as emerging from that milieu,” he added. “But rather, its rising towers appear to reflect these countries’ desire to join the global community.”

Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo is more sceptical. She sees a clear divide between skyscrapers rising in Egypt and those going up in other African cities.

“A skyscraper is ultimately a symbol of progress,” she said. “I see countries in Africa beginning to think in that capacity, not because the economies are strong enough to achieve it, but because they want to present the narrative.”

“Is this what Africa needs? I don’t think so”

As Oshinowo points out, Africa accounts for just under three per cent of global GDP and doesn’t have the same issues of land availability as other territories, such as Europe or the Middle East.

It leads her to question whether developments like Eko Atlantic City, a huge new high-rise district being built in her home city of Lagos, are appropriate. She believes density could be achieved in buildings that are more African in their scale and approach.

“The world has a narrative of what we consider progress, and anything that deviates from that is just not seen as progressive,” she said.

“But there are many ways that we can solve these problems, so it doesn’t merit the justification of this symbol. And is this symbol what the continent needs? I don’t think so.”

Oshinowo cites Africa’s shortage of steel manufacturing as one reason why skyscrapers make less sense here.

It’s expensive to import, so local contractors don’t have the necessary construction expertise. Many of the skyscrapers now under construction are being built by Chinese companies.

Electricity is another problem; unlike North Africa, cities in West and Sub-Saharan Africa regularly experience power outages.

“The tall building requires certain infrastructure and amenities that we don’t have as standard,” Oshinowo said.

“When you bring in a typology that requires them, it’s a very different ballgame. What happens if you’re in the lift and the power goes out?”

But Belgian architect and construction consultant Hans Degraeuwe, who has been working in Africa for over 15 years and lives part-time in Lagos, argues that high-rise building may be a necessity as cities develop further.

The 209-metre Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Headquarters became the tallest building in Addis Ababa in 2021, but will soon be overtaken by the 327-metre Ethiopian Electric Power Headquarters. Photo by Fanuel Leul via Unsplash

“Unlike the urban sprawl that happened in America, Africa has to go vertical because it cannot simply afford to make the road infrastructure, power infrastructure or data infrastructure,” he told Dezeen.

Backed by a sovereign wealth fund, Degraeuwe is currently developing a model for customisable, modular high-rises, with plans to roll out different versions on 24 test sites across Africa pre-fabricated in Lagos.

He believes that prefabrication technologies could offer an answer to issues around not just skyscraper construction expertise but utility shortages – with the buildings themselves providing basic infrastructure for entire neighbourhoods.

“The skyscrapers we want are not just five-star hotels,” he said. “We want to have a hotel combined with a hostel, a medical clinic and a water-purification station.”

“I’m trying to create vertical communities that mix different functions, including affordable housing.”

Whether this low-rise continent manages to adapt models of vertical urbanism to fit its needs remains to be seen. Either way, the high-rise trend isn’t showing signs of slowing just yet.

The main photograph is by Youssef Abdelwahab via Unsplash.

Donald Trump proposes subterranean White House visitor screening centre

by Tom Ravenscroft

Architecture studio AECOM has unveiled designs for a subterranean visitor screening centre as part of US president Donald Trump‘s revamp of the White House in Washington DC.

Recently submitted by the White House to the National Capital Planning Commission, the proposed permanent security screening facility would be built under Sherman Park – a small park to the southwest of the White House.

Plan for Subterranean White House visitor screening centre — The proposed White House visitor screening centre would be built under Sherman Park

Designed by AECOM, the 33,000-square-foot (3,065-square-metre) facility would be almost entirely underground. It would be connected to a single-storey, above-ground structure built alongside East Executive Avenue.

Visitors to the White House would enter the facility via a ramp on the south of the park, before progressing through security checks underground.

Visitor centre at White House — The building would be almost entirely underground

A tunnel leading to escalators would connect the underground facility to the above-ground building, with visitors emerging within the White House’s security perimeter.

The above-ground building will be designed “based upon existing security booth vocabulary used throughout the campus”. It will be wrapped in columns, with limestone cladding and a sloped metal roof.

The two structures would replace temporary tents and trailers that have been used by the US Secret Service for visitor screening since 2005.

Subterranean White House visitor screening centre — Screening would take place underground, with escalators connecting to the above-ground building

According to the planning documents, the General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument, which dominates the park, will remain in place and any trees damaged will be replaced.

“Most of the proposed structure is intentionally positioned below grade within the park’s west quadrant to reduce visual impact and to avoid infrastructure conflicts in the southeast corner of the park,” said the project summary.

“Landscape restoration, including new tree plantings, will be provided within all impacted zones to reinstate and enhance the park’s character.”

The White House intends to have the proposed screening centre operational by July 2028, with construction planned to begin later this year.

The proposals are set to be discussed by the National Capital Planning Commission at a meeting on 2 April.

Visitor building on East Executive Avenue — The above-ground building will be wrapped in columns

Architecture studio AECOM is also part of the team designing the extension to the White House, which is set to replace the East Wing and is visible in the renders of the screening facility.

We recently took a look at all the changes taking place in Washington DC as Trump aims to redesign the city in his image.

The images are courtesy of National Capital Planning Commission / AECOM.

The other part of history demolished with the East Wing: a Jackie Kennedy legacy

by Betsy Klein |

This image shows the White House and Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in August 2023.

When the historic East Wing of the White House was suddenly demolished last year to make way for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom construction, another piece of history was taken down with it.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, dedicated in 1965 by first lady Lady Bird Johnson in honor of her predecessor’s stewardship of the White House, was dismantled — its iconic I.M. Pei-designed pergola put into storage; its trees sent to various nurseries for preservation.

Kennedy’s grandson would like a word with the president about that.

“President Trump has a deep obsession with my family — from the East Wing, to the Rose Garden, the Kennedy Garden, to the plane, the list goes on. But he is attacking all families each and every day with higher costs, careless war, and a deep corruption,” Jack Schlossberg told CNN.

Schlossberg, who is running for Congress as a Democrat, continued: “My grandmother believed in the people of this nation. Every single person. She wanted us to see gardens, and color, and the brightness of life. What we have now is darkness.”

More than six decades after Johnson commended the “unfailing taste of the gifted and gracious Jacqueline Kennedy,” plans for the landscaping around the new ballroom are coming into focus, unveiled in detail by landscape architect Rick Parisi during a presentation to the National Capital Planning Commission this month. And landscape architects and other historic preservation experts are taking issue with key aspects of the designs.

Ballroom-adjacent garden plans

According to the updated designs from the East Wing construction project, a new garden will sit atop the former site of the Kennedy Garden and expand south across the length of the sprawling new ballroom. It will feature a grand staircase, a round brick patio with “original Mount Vernon brick,” large granite paver pathways, and four topiary holly trees from the former garden. A fountain from the original garden will be relocated and incorporated into the space.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is seen on April 19, 2009.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden's dog Commander sits in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on April 29, 2022.

The South Lawn driveway, part of a historic design incorporating ellipses, will be reconfigured, its circular shape disturbed and pinched in on one side to make way for the 89,000-square-foot ballroom.

That part of the plan is also the subject of much controversy.

Parisi told the NCPC the “most striking” thing about the plan is the “opportunity to really expand on one of the most beautiful things” of the old garden with ornamental, symmetrical patterned plant beds and extensive annual and perennial plantings.

“The goal we do have is to kind of re-create some of the splendor that you had in that east garden.”

Yet the new plans offer little visual reference to the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden — a grassy lawn surrounded by hedges and seasonal florals where Barron Trump once played soccer; Commander Biden, the previous president’s German shepherd, went off-leash; and presidents and their families have sought respite and fresh air.

There are no plans to move the Kennedy Garden to another location on the White House grounds, a White House official said, though some of the trees and shrubbery will be replanted. The I.M. Pei pergola, the official added, “is being preserved and will try to be incorporated in the new landscape design,” though it has not been included in any of the plans.

Circular reasoning

During the public comment portion of the NCPC meeting, which was overwhelmingly negative, experts took aim at the asymmetry of the new driveway design.

The landscape designs of the White House have followed what’s known as the Olmsted Plan for nearly a century. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1935, the plan governed changes to White House grounds around a design organized by a series of ellipses.

Priya Jain, an architect and chair of the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Society of Architectural Historians, said the “incongruous sharp bend” of the driveway “is not only visually jarring, but strays from the historic design of softly curved pathways.”

Rob Cagnetta, a building restoration specialist and president of Heritage Restoration, said the interrupted driveway design “modifies the spatial organization of the east side of the White House grounds.”

“This is not as simply as an aesthetic concern. Architecture communicates meaning. The White House is one of the most recognizable civic buildings in the world, and its physical prominence reflects its role as the center of American executive leadership. Any new construction within this should reinforce that meaning, rather than dilute it,” Cagnetta said.

Demolition work continues where the East Wing once stood at the White House on December 8, 2025.

Charles Birnbaum, a landscape architect and president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, told CNN the plans were “contradictory to everything that the secretary of the Interior established.”

Birnbaum spent 15 years as coordinator of the National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative and wrote the rulebook on the matter: “Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes.”

Asked whether the design would have been approved during his tenure, he said, “It wouldn’t have been approved by the agencies. No.”

“The cultural landscape guidelines, first and foremost, are about visual and spatial relationships. So if you think about the plan that we looked at, so many of the axial visual relationships have been severed,” Birnbaum said.

He pointed to impacts to the circulation of the driveway, trees that have been torn down, and landscape features like the I.M. Pei pergola and the structure of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.

“There’s no way this would have ever been approved,” he concluded.

Birnbaum also took issue with how the asymmetric driveway departs from the Olmsted Plan.

“You’ve got to look at … the greater notion of what the ellipse represents and what it could have represented to Olmsted, when you think of these notions of balance and harmony, cycles in nature, fluidity there. This is destroying that,” he said.

The White House has been an evolving home and workplace for centuries, and there have been constant changes to the grounds, which have housed a greenhouse, a flock of sheep and jungle gyms over the years.

But unlike first lady Michelle Obama’s installation of a kitchen garden or even the changes Trump made to the Rose Garden last year, these new landscape plans are not easily reversible and do not operate within the National Park Service’s framework of standards for rehabilitation, Birnbaum said.

The Jackie Kennedy Garden: a brief history

The idea of a garden on the east side of the White House originated with President John F. Kennedy in 1962, according to landscape designer and longtime family friend Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mellon.

Mellon, who designed the White House Rose Garden, worked closely with Jackie Kennedy on the design for the East Garden, which would be visible to visitors on tours as they walked through the window-filled East Colonnade. The women wanted a “high hedge of linden trees” for shade, “a place for the children to play,” a “lawn large enough for a small croquet court or badminton net,” and perhaps “a small plot to plant fresh herbs” for the White House chef, Mellon wrote in a 1984 article for House & Garden.

Kennedy’s suggestion of croquet inspired Mellon to think about the rosebushes in “Alice in Wonderland,” along with topiary holly trees, both incorporated into the plans.

After President Kennedy’s assassination, Lady Bird Johnson invited Mellon to the White House, where they discussed resuming the East Garden plans and dedicating it to Jackie Kennedy in honor of her stewardship.

The garden, Johnson said in her audio diary, would be “a tribute to Jacqueline Kennedy for all that she did for the White House. I think that no accolade could be enough and am all for getting it done.”

First lady Lady Bird Johnson dedicates the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House.

One year later, Johnson unveiled the new garden and a plaque honoring Kennedy, who was represented by her mother, Janet Lee Auchincloss.

“I can’t think anything that could have more meaning to all the people who care about Jackie than to have this lovely garden as a memory of the years that she shared with (President Kennedy) here,” she said.

Since then, the garden has been a stop on White House tours, until they were paused and ultimately rerouted when the East Wing was demolished.

The suddenness of its disappearance was a surprise to its designer, too.

“We learned about the more recent Rose Garden renovations (completed in 2025), as well as the removal of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, at the same time as the public did,” said a source familiar with Mellon’s archives.

Kennedy, Birnbaum said, “is a pillar of the modern preservation movement. And really, when you look at everything that this administration is doing, it’s saying, ‘We don’t care. We’re going to eradicate all of these histories, and we’re going to put a massive structure in a landscape that, in itself, is a symbol of democracy.’”

AIA sues Donald Trump over Kennedy Center renovation in unprecedented coalition

by Ben Dreith |

US organisations the American Institute of Architects and Docomomo US are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit suing US president Donald Trump over his proposed renovations for the Edward Durell Stone-designed Kennedy Center.

Eight plaintiffs submitted a lawsuit this morning in an attempt to pause proposed renovations to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

The plaintiffs include the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Docomomo US, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, DC Preservation League, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Society of Architectural Historians.

Unprecedented coalition of preservationists

According to the group of plaintiffs, the lawsuit represents one of the largest legal coalitions of preservation bodies in history.

“No plaintiff can remember an instance in which so many national and regional organisations have coalesced to defend a single historic building and its grounds, reflecting both the Kennedy Center’s significance and the breadth of concern that the administration’s approach could weaken longstanding federal protections for historic sites nationwide,” said the plaintiffs.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are president Donald Trump in his capacity as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Centre, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Capital Planning Commission, as well as other government organisations and officials.

“It’s not about the president’s tastes. It’s about the rule of law”

The lawsuit contends that the administration must adhere to the processes in the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Protection Act before proceeding with planned renovations to the centre.

Given this, the plaintiffs demand that proper review and authorisations by congressional officials should precede any renovations. The lawsuit, if successful, would halt work on the structure until such authorisations and associated public reviews are completed.

“The Trump administration appears to believe that they can skip those federal requirements and go right to alterations,” attorney and co-founder of Cultural Heritage Partners Greg Werkheiser told Dezeen.

Cultural Heritage Partners is one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, along with Foley Hoag and Lowell & Associates, all of which have open cases against the administration relating to other preservation issues, such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the East Wing expansion, and the East Potomac Golf Links.

“Each of these cases is not about the politics,” said Werkheiser. “It’s not about the president’s tastes, whether good or bad. It’s about the rule of law and doing what Congress intended.”

“I’m not ripping it down,” says Trump

Last week, the board voted to close the centre for years for renovations after voting to add Trump’s name to the centre, which was built in 1971.

On 13 March, president Trump released renderings on his Truth Social account, showing a building structurally akin to the current modernist building. In the post, the president said that the steel and some of the existing marble of the building would be maintained, saying, “I’m not ripping it down.”

Werkheiser said that the case is informed by the contradiction between the assurances given by the president about the East Wing and the reality of its demolition last fall.

“The hardest lesson for America to learn is that we cannot take for granted assurances from the White House,” he said. “For the East Wing matter, the President himself told the American public that to build the ballroom, the East Wing would not be touched, and then days later, it was gone.”

“So the lesson we’ve learned is timeliness and not to take those assurances for granted,” he continued.

Almost all the plaintiffs cited the historical significance of the building and the need for care and procedure in issues of its renovation.

“Architects have the core responsibility of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public and that includes the integrity of our nation’s civic and cultural landmarks,” said AIA president Illya Azaroff.

“The Kennedy Center is a public asset that must be shaped through transparency, expertise, and the communities it serves.”

In a statement to Dezeen, a White House spokesperson said that the administration is looking forward to “ultimate victory” in the dispute.

“President Trump is committed to making the Trump-Kennedy Center the finest performing arts facility in the world. We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” said the White House spokesperson.

The photo is by Matti Blume.

OMA completes New Museum “pair” expansion project in New York

by Ben Dreith

OMA completes “highly connected, but highly individual” expansion of New York’s New Museum

Architecture studio OMA has mirrored the programme of the SANAA-designed New Museum in Manhattan with an extension that has a unique profile and facade treatment.

Led by OMA‘s New York office, the New Museum expansion features a ground-up build abutting the structure Japanese architecture studio SANAA designed for the institution in 2007.

OMA’s project, its first public building in the city, doubles the footprint of the contemporary art museum to 120,000 square feet (11,000 square metres), adding much-needed social and gallery space and additional egress for the expanding number of visitors.

OMA New York principal Shohei Shigematsu said the conditions for the expansion were unusual, given the relative contemporaneity of the SANAA building and referenced the idea of a “twin or pair” in his studio’s design.

“We were very careful in actually understanding what it means to build contemporary against contemporary,” Shigematsu told Dezeen.

“We actually looked at the idea of the pairs, or that notion of the pair.”

New Museum extension — A massive staircase fills the atrium at the front of the building. Photo by Jason Keen

He recalled a set of reference images, such as that of a performance of Marina Abramovic and her then-husband Ulay standing naked facing each other in a doorway for in 1977 and of the fixed-service structures that support an orbital rocket pre-launch.

“I often joked, when I had to present this to the board members, that finding the love of your life is one of the most difficult things, right?” he said. “So this is what we were doing here.”

“It’s highly connected, but highly individual too,” he continued.

OMA museum project in New York City — The metal-mesh staircase was painted on the inside to produce a moire effect. Photo by Jason O’Rear.

Scrapping the initial notion of maintaining the facade of the pre-existing, mid-rise industrial building, OMA designed a building that resembles a pentagon in section. It has a steep recess at ground level and a deep setback above tapering towards a central point, where it “kisses” the facade of the SANAA building.

From the north, the structure is mostly obscured by the taller SANAA building, but it extends deeper into the block.

“It’s actually quite surprising, because from outside, it’s not so screaming for presence, but as you enter, you feel the depth,” said Shigematsu.

New Museum extension interior — Gaps in the facade near the top allow views out and up. Photo by Jason O’Rear.

The faceted facade was clad in laminated glass with metal mesh that recalls the aluminium mesh of the SANAA building, while remaining distinct.

Immediately inside the street-facing walls, an atrium between the galleries and the facade allowed for a winding staircase that connects at each landing to the levels of both buildings.

At the fourth level, there is a soaring columnless space with an auditorium that faces a glass-filled void in the facade, which has views out into the Bowery.

Shigematsu referred to the staircase atrium as a “social and visible condenser” that allows the whole museum complex to become more “open and communicative”.

Shigematsu said the vernacular front-facade fire escape played into the articulation of the stair.

Further voids in the facade hold balconies and additional panes of glass without the metal mesh form stripes running down the side of the building, giving the building a sense of publicness and transparency.

New Museum extension informed by pairs — Outdoor balconies feature along the building’s upper slope. photo by Jason O’Rear.

OMA’s building sits at the junction of a three-way intersection and faces Prince Street, acting as a terminus. The entry into the newly programmed entrance extends the street into the building and upwards, up the new staircase.

At ground level, the slope of the OMA facade was articulated again at the north side, folding inwards. This exposed more of the SANAA building, leading the team to bring in additional material to extend the original facade.

This double fold created a triangular exterior courtyard. Next to it, the primary entrance into the museum leads into a lobby that includes the unticketed ground floors of both structures.

A massive portal door leads from the original lobby into the ground floor of the extension, which centres around a concealed restaurant, clad in expanded cork painted with silver leaf, blending it into the metal ceilings and polycarbonate-clad elevator core.

New Museum extension informed by SANAA building — It sits deeper in the block but also lower than the neighbouring SANAA building. Photo by Jason O’Rear

The restaurant acts as an enclosed courtyard within the lobby, and the plan is for it to be accessible via the lobby as well as via Freeman Alley at the back of the structure after the museum has closed. Inside, it features walls and ceiling also clad in cork, this time left unpainted.

It has textured glass that obscures the interior of the restaurant from the lobby, but allows restaurant goers to look out.

In order to allow for free movement on the ground level, the ticketing was pushed to the stairwells at the front of the building.

New Museum extension by OMA — The extension terminates a street. Photo by Jason Keen

The winding stairway crisscrosses the atrium at severe angles and is clad with more mesh, painted green on the inside to create a moire effect. Exposed I-beams and highly polished meshed floors create a collage of industrial materials.

New galleries echo the relatively simple format of the original, with high ceilings and white walls.

The gallery spaces run for the first three storeys, while above level four, incubator spaces and offices form what the studio called the “brain” of the building, conceptually and formally.

New Museum artistic director Massimo Gioni referred to the prismatic quality of the new building, saying it reflects the non-collecting museum’s mission to “refract” artistic messages from all over the world.

For Shigematsu, the build represents a culmination of arts and culture work in New York for OMA and recalls the studio’s other recent museum, the faceted glass extension for Buffalo AKG Art Museum. He was also part of the failed bid for a Whitney Museum extension in 2001.

“It took 20 years, but gave me the kind of holistic understanding of the ecosystem of art,” he said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be able to do a building of this calibre in Manhattan. So we are very blessed.”

OMA’s founder, Rem Koolhaas has long theorised about New York, with his 1979 book Delirious New York being a significant work of architectural theory.

Other recent museum projects by OMA include the aluminium-clad Gallery of the Kings at the Museo Egizio in Italy

The photography is by Jason O’Rear and Jason Keen.

Futuristic Soldier Field concept urges Bears to stay in Chicago

by Ben Dreith

Local architecture studio Edward Peck Design has proposed adding a translucent canopy to the Chicago Bears’ stadium to convince the NFL team to stay in the city.

Edward Peck Design designed the concept stadium to meet the desires of the team for a next-generation stadium, with a roof, expanded seating and an entertainment complex.

The studio created the concept to demonstrate how the team could redevelop its current site and stay in the city.

Following pushback from conservationists contributed to the Chicago Bears abandoning plans to build a Manica Architecture-designed stadium slightly south of the current one, the team has seriously considered sites in the neighbouring state of Indiana.

“The Bears should stay”

“We’re not looking to be the architect of the next Bears stadium, but everyone that you talk to in Chicago says the Bears should stay,” studio founder Edward Peck told Dezeen. “They need to stay. This is the heart of Chicago.”

“They’re saying that’s not possible at Soldier Field,” said Peck. “I have an anonymous client who is a lifetime Bears fan who said, ‘I don’t believe them.'”

Chicago Bears concept stadium rendering — Edward Peck Design has designed a concept to urge the Chicago Bears to stay in the city

Peck, who is an expert in ETFE installation and has worked for architecture and engineering studios such as Helmut Jahn and Thornton Tomasetti, set out to show the feasibility of expanding the current Soldier Field complex.

This includes suspending a massive ETFE canopy over the field to enclose it, building on top of the modern 2002 addition to the 1920s stadium.

Around the complex, Peck and his team proposed a deck that would elevate an entertainment complex over the adjacent railyards and Lake Shore Drive.

Decking over Lake Shore Drive

The deck aligns with a plan put forward by developer Bob Dunn, and echoes the Chicago Park District’s suggestion of capping the lake-side highway elsewhere along the park complex that lines Chicago’s riverfront.

“The concept of decking over Lake Shore Drive and the rail station has been done,” said Peck. “Millennium Park is a result of that.”

“And so it’s part of the language of Chicago now, and the future is to start to consider things like that,” he continued.

On top of the decking would be a series of 50 to 65-storey skyscrapers with entertainment programmes on the lower floors. According to Peck, the skyscrapers would generate revenue for the city, while the ground floors could generate the team’s desired revenue.

The district would also serve the adjacent museum district and convention centre, as well as the mass of residential buildings and office structures in the southern part of Downtown Chicago.

“You have this entertainment district that needs to succeed the other 357 days of the year that there isn’t a football game, right? And so to do that, you have to have a critical mass of people,” said Peck.

“Now they are considering the stadium in Aurora, which is like 30 miles north of the city, and in Indiana, which is like 30 miles southeast of the city – those locations are not going to be able to support it.”

“I’m fearful of what this would do to this city”

Peck’s team has pointed to both the Shed complex in Hudson Yards in New York and Miami’s stadium renovation as precedents for this type of project.

Surrounding the stadium itself would be a plaza as well as additional restaurants and amenities, all covered by a “green carpet” that would reduce the amount of exposed concrete and blend the expanded complex into the park.

Peck also imagines a high-speed water taxi mooring to service the stadium.

He conceded that the deck and skyscraper portion could exceed a billion dollars in investment, but that the reuse of the stadium could allow for that portion to be built with as much as a 60 per cent reduction from a ground-up build.

“The goal is to open this dialogue and have the Bears be challenged a little bit,” said Peck on his ambition for the proposal.

“This was a proof of concept. None of this stuff hasn’t been done before. It’s, think, a creative way of looking at how you can accomplish the Bear’s mission.”

Chicago Bears concept rendering — The concept includes decking to support skyscrapers over Lake Shore Dr

On top of that, Peck said that moving the Chicago Bears from Soldier Field would throw into question the financial future of the historic stadium.

“The fact is, if you have an enclosed stadium a quarter mile away, or even if it’s in northwest Indiana, it’s going to be taking the winter concerts, take away that revenue,” he said.

“I’m fearful of what this would do to this city.”

Multiple Indiana municipalities have already put in bids for the stadium, and Bear’s ownership and NFL officials are expected to make decisions about the team’s future soon.

Other recent moves in the NFL include the Oakland Raiders moving to a purpose-built stadium in Las Vegas.

The images and video are by Edward Peck Design.

Exploring the idea of the Bears moving

Exploring the idea of moving the Chicago Bears stadium to a location outside of Chicago opens up various alternatives that could benefit both the team and the surrounding communities. Here are several considerations for such a move:

1. Suburban Development

Moving to a suburban area could attract a larger fan base from the surrounding suburbs, where many Bears fans currently reside. Suburbs like Arlington Heights or Naperville may offer more space for a stadium and parking.

2. Cost-Effective Solutions

Constructing a new stadium in a less urban area could potentially lower costs related to land acquisition and construction. This could allow for more funding to be directed toward fan amenities and experiences.

3. Better Traffic Management

A stadium located outside the city might ease traffic congestion during game days, providing more accessible entrances and exits and potentially improving the overall experience for attendees.

4. Enhanced Stadium Features

A new location could allow for the design and construction of a state-of-the-art facility, incorporating modern technology and sustainability features that could enhance the fan experience and reduce environmental impact.

5. Community and Economic Benefits

The presence of the Bears in a new location could spur local economic development, creating jobs and revitalizing areas through increased tourism and event-related activities.

Conclusion

Moving the Chicago Bears stadium outside of Chicago presents unique opportunities to strengthen community ties, improve game-day experiences, and foster economic growth. Such a decision would necessitate careful planning and collaboration with local governments to ensure mutual benefits.

Shibanee & Kamal Architects design green-roofed housing community in Texas

by Sonia Singh

Architects Shibanee Sagar and Aadi Sagar explain how they introduced green-roofed suburban housing to foster daily contact with nature in this Texas community, as shown in this exclusive video by Dezeen.

Called Tapestry, the 121-home community in Frisco, Texas, was designed by Bangalore-based architecture firm Shibanee & Kamal Architects and was built by its construction and development arm Total Environment.

The 56-acre site integrates curved planted roofs, garden access for every room and a pedestrian-friendly masterplan surrounded by creeks, waterways and more than 600 mature native trees.

CEO Aadi Sagar, who leads Total Environment in the US, explained that the project is designed to connect residents with nature through its materiality and layout.

“We like to use natural materials as much as possible,” he said in the video interview, highlighting the use of wood, marble and long-lasting brick that “develops its own character over time.”

Tapestry custom home development frisco — The homes were designed by Shibanee & Kamal Architects

Every home features a curved green roof that contributes to both thermal comfort and protection from extreme weather.

Co-founder Shibanee Sagar noted that the green roof provides insulation for the home throughout the changing seasons.

“It helps keep the home cooler in the summer and even when there are hailstorms, it actually protects the roof,” she said.

master bedroom of Tapestry by Shibanee & Kamal Architects — Every room opens up to its own garden

Indoor-outdoor connection is a central principle across the development, supported by garden access from almost every space.

“Letting the outdoors in has been one of the guiding principles of the design that we do,” Shibanee said.

Shibanee described her design approach as rooted in fluidity, emphasising natural light and ventilation. The homes incorporate sawtooth windows angled to avoid harsh sunshine, which Aadi said were oriented to bring in softer, indirect daylight.

Tapestry green roof Frisco Texas by Shibanee & Kamal Architects — The homes feature curved green roofs

He noted that the arrival sequence was designed to introduce the project’s curving geometry, with the form opening out as residents move indoors, adding that the homes incorporate geometric forms such as circles and squares to maximise natural light.

Interior spaces continue the material palette with warm, natural finishes. Wood and marble are used throughout, while a mirrored kitchen backsplash reflects the planting outside to bring views of the landscape into the home.

Tapestry custom home community in Frisco Texas — The 121-home community is located in Frisco, Texas

For Shibanee, these decisions stem from the belief that design is shaped by relationships between people and their environment.

“The only thing that is really going to carry you is your relationships – whether it is with the natural world or with people,” she said.

Shibanee & Kamal Architects is a global architecture and design studio founded in Bangalore in 1996 by Shibanee and Kamal Sagar.

The firm is known for integrating outdoor spaces and natural materials throughout its projects.

The photography is by Total Environment.

nordic office of architecture delivers phase one of oslo’s new government quarter

Nordic Office of Architecture with Haptic Architects, Scenario, and I-d. Interiørarkitektur & Design completes the first phase of Norway’s New Government Quarter in Oslo, on the site of the July 22nd, 2011, terrorist attacks, reopening the political center of the country as a reconfigured civic landscape. The masterplanconsolidates nearly all Norwegian ministries into a compact campus for around 4,100 employees. Framed as a ‘design for democracy,’ the project brings government functions together while restoring pedestrian routes, public plazas, and daily urban life to an area long defined by trauma and security barriers.

The masterplan arranges five new and two restored buildings as a ring of ministries around interconnected public spaces, stitching the quarter back into Oslo’s historic center. Phase 1 includes the restored Høyblokken alongside the new A- and D-blocks, forming what the architects describe as a public ‘front line’ facing the city. The retained G-block and future phases complete a walkable campus that balances visibility and discretion. ‘The New Government Quarter is now part of Oslo’s everyday life rather than an isolated enclave,’ says Knut Hovland, Partner and Head of Design at Nordic Office of Architecture.

all images by Hufton + Crow

New Government Quarter phase one opens to the public

Previously, the former Y-block and surrounding road infrastructure had created a car-centric enclave. In its place, the Norway-, Denmark- and Iceland-based architectslink Hammersborg, the city center, and the fjord through reopened streets, refreshed plazas at Johan Nygaardsvolds plass and Einar Gerhardsens plass, and new pedestrian and cycling connections. A future public park, Regjeringsparken, designed with SLA and Bjørbekk & Lindheim, will introduce open lawns, native planting, and clear sightlines that maintain both accessibility and security.

At the center of Phase 1 stands the A-block and its 51-meter-high Pyramid Hall, a timber-lined atrium that functions as both lobby and symbolic heart. The space is animated by Outi Pieski’s AAhkA (Mother Earth), a vertically rising artwork that addresses Sámi history and indigenous futurism. Generous glazing, visible circulation, and open ground floors position the building as a permeable threshold between state and citizen. ‘From day one, the question was how to create a place that symbolizes Norwegian democracy and identity. We were asked to design a secure government district, but also a place where people feel welcome to walk, sit, protest and remember – a government quarter that belongs to the whole of Norway,’ reflects Gudmund Stokke, founding partner and head of design at Nordic Office of Architecture.

Bridges and shared social zones form what the team calls the Collaboration District, connecting ministries at the first-floor level and encouraging cross-departmental exchange. Internally, modular floor plates and flexible office layouts are designed to adapt to evolving political structures and digital work practices over decades.

the first phase of Norway’s New Government Quarter in Oslo is completed

embedding security in landscape and long-term sustainability

The architecture responds directly to the post-2011 dilemma of reconciling security with public trust. Protective measures are integrated into landscape design, building envelopes, and controlled vehicle access. Clear sightlines, active ground levels, cafés, and accessible gardens invite everyday use.

Material choices root the complex in Norwegian geology and craft traditions. Larvikite stone clads facades and public surfaces, selected for durability and long-term patina. Locally sourced timber from Nordmarka brings warmth to interiors, while boatbuilders Risør Båtbyggeri, in collaboration with Biko, contributed to the double-curved wooden surfaces and sculpted stair elements. The buildings are designed to meet BREEAM-NOR Excellent standards, incorporating seawater-based heating and cooling, low-carbon concrete, and detailed envelopes to reduce operational energy demand. Approximately 20 percent of the 15,800 furniture items in Phase 1 are reused from previous government buildings, aligning circularity with continuity.

reopening the political center of the country as a reconfigured civic landscape

art as memory and continuity

Curated and produced by KORO, the quarter hosts Norway’s largest public art program, comprising around 300 new and re-sited works. Artworks bearing visible traces of the 2011 attack have been conserved and relocated, forming a distributed memorial embedded in daily use.

The collection includes Pablo Picasso’s sandblasted concrete mural. The Fishermen, relocated from the former Y-block to the southwest facade of the A-block; Do Ho Suh’s Grass Roots Square, a field of approximately 50,000 small bronze figures supporting stone slabs at Einar Gerhardsen’s plass; and Jumana Manna’s 800-square-meter mosaic Sebastia at Johan Nygaardsvolds plass, composed of stone offcuts donated by municipalities across Norway, turning the plaza into a literal ‘city floor.’ The project also incorporates the public 22 July Centre, dedicated to the events of July 22nd, 2011, and anticipates the unveiling of the new National 22 July Memorial in summer 2026, marking 15 years since the attacks.

the masterplan consolidates nearly all Norwegian ministries into a compact campus for around 4,100 employees

a national commission

Commissioned by the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Administration with Statsbygg as developer, the project was awarded in 2017 to the Team Urbis consortium led by Nordic Office of Architecture. Phase 1 was delivered on time and within the parliamentary budget frame of NOK 24.7 billion and is expected to be completed for more than NOK 2 billion under this ceiling.

‘The New Government Quarter is a once-in-a-generation commission that demonstrates how architecture, landscape, engineering and art can come together on one of the most sensitive sites in Norway,’ says Eskild Andersen, CEO and Partner at Nordic Office of Architecture. ‘It transforms a closed government district into an open civic heart for Oslo and the country, where everyday government and everyday life converge.’ With Phase 2 set to begin in 2026 and complete by 2030, the quarter remains a long-term national project.

framed as a ‘design for democracy’

the project brings government functions together

the space is animated by Outi Pieski’s AAhkA (Mother Earth)

Phase 1 includes the restored Høyblokken alongside the new A- and D-blocks

a public ‘front line’ facing the city

the masterplan arranges five new and two restored buildings as a ring of ministries

the architecture responds directly to the post-2011 dilemma of reconciling security with public trust

clear sightlines, active ground levels, cafés, and accessible gardens invite everyday use

1/5

historic terrazzo column and vertical timber paneling highlight material continuity across old and new

a sculpted timber staircase spirals through the atrium

a large-scale mural animates the collaboration district

the prime minister’s meeting room combines stone, timber ceilings, and curated norwegian design pieces

timber-lined informal meeting area in høyblokken

Washington Commanders share new stadium renderings by HKS

Daniel Jonas Roche |

The new renderings give a sense of what the fan experience will look like on the ground.

Visuals reveal the stadium’s perimeter shrouded in vegetation and a new spherocylindrical, capsule-shaped grass lawn for tailgating, concerts, etc. The lawn feeds into a plaza that fronts the main entry.

aerial view of Washington Commanders stadium — New renderings show the perimeter shrouded in vegetation. (Courtesy Washington Commanders)

Updated renderings also show how the stadium will appear from three major access points: East Capitol Street Northeast, the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge, and East Capitol Street Southeast.

The stadium’s concave profile will maintain sight lines from East Capitol Street Southeast of the Capital Building and Washington Monument, according to the renderings.

Architecturally speaking, the new renderings also show subtle changes in the columns.

lawn in front of washington commanders stadium — A large grass lawn will host tailgates and concerts. (Courtesy Washington Commanders)

road and view of stadium — View from East Capitol Street Southeast shows the roof of the U.S. Capitol Building and Washington Monument towering up over the roof of the stadium. (Courtesy Washington Commanders)

The last batch of renderings by HKS was issued in January; the tranche showed the stadium’s form and how it will axially respond to the U.S. Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, in alignment with the L’Enfant Plan.

Conceptual drawings by HKS were subsequently submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) for consideration on February 5. NCPC chairman Will Scharf called the design by HKS “a really incredible stadium,” while others said there was room for improvement.

Paul Ingrassia, General Services Administration acting general counsel, noted he appreciated “the references to classical architecture,” by HKS but said the columns could be redesigned to “convey a sense of heft and gravity for when people enter.”

As per Ingrassia’s direction, this latest cache shows the profile intact, albeit with perhaps more Greco-Roman influence in the columns, which seem to be different in plan.

A tall, vertical void is located at the outset of the columns, per the new renderings, creating a sense of depth and shadows.

road and view of washington commanders stadium — View from Whitney Young Memorial Bridge (Courtesy Washington Commanders)

The roofed stadium will ultimately be able to host 70,000 people and serve as an anchor of a mixed-use development. HKS noted 30 percent of the 180-acre site will be open space.

Vertical construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2027, and full completion is scheduled for 2030.

The Washington Commanders noted the design process is ongoing; the franchise is still seeking input from stakeholders, city officials, and community members.

The jury is still out on whether or not the stadium will be named after President Trump.

Obama Presidential Center opens this Juneteenth

by Daniel Jonas Roche |

The Obama Foundation announced the Obama Presidential Center campus will open to the public this upcoming Juneteenth weekend.

On June 19, the public will, at long-last, gain access to the 19-acre campus’s playground, museum building, public art installations, landscaped park space, and new Chicago Public Library branch.

The highly-anticipated opening will be a full-weekend affair with events running on June 18 through June 21, including a series of ribbon cuttings, talks, and activations.

A dedication ceremony on the John Lewis Plaza will commence June 18. The Obama Presidential Center will open its doors to the public the next day, June 19. On June 20 and June 21, community celebrations throughout the campus will take place.

President Barack Obama shared in a statement the center’s opening date is a timely one: “It is easy to look around right now and feel like the challenges we face are simply too big. But hope is not about ignoring the hard stuff. It is that thing inside us that insists something better awaits if we are willing to work for it.”

“Here on the South Side of Chicago, hope is getting a permanent home,” President Obama continued. “Starting on June 19, you can visit the Obama Presidential Center. This is not a monument to the past; it is a living destination for people who refuse to accept the status quo. If you feel that way, this is your invitation to join us.”

The Obama Presidential Center Museum was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA). The project broke ground in late 2021, after drawn-out design and planning phases riddled with controversy, community pushback, and legal challenges.

Artists such as Theaster Gates and Julie Mehrutu have contributed works to the campus’s granite-clad tower by TWBTA that can be seen from afar.

Ahead of its completion, critics have already weighed in on the project. Last month, Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bey pointed out the words—excerpted from a speech Obama gave in Selma, Alabama—lining the top of the building are difficult to discern.

The Program & Athletics Center designed by Moody Nolan, a facility dubbed Home Court, will also open to the public this upcoming June.

Valerie Jarrett, Obama Foundation CEO, noted, “The opening of the ObamaPresidential Center will be a beacon of hope to the world and a place where we hope guests will be inspired to bring change home to their communities.”