The New Mexico Literacy Institute (NMLI), a 31,000-square-foot educational center designed by Multistudio in collaboration with Albuquerque-based Design Plus Architects, is scheduled to open in December 2026. Located in New Mexico, the project is a legacy initiative of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and is intended to provide a statewide facility for literacy education, serving learners of different ages and abilities. The design brings together educational, recreational, and community spaces, approaching literacy as a process that extends beyond conventional classroom settings.
Developed in collaboration with educators experienced in literacy programs and the professionals who will operate the facility, the project incorporates a range of spaces for different learning activities and forms of engagement. Rather than organizing the building around rooms with fixed functions, the design allows environments to accommodate individual study, group activities, teaching, play, and informal interaction. The interior and exterior spaces are designed to host more than 550 learners and educators simultaneously, with visitors able to move between areas according to their needs and interests.
The interiors combine vibrant colors, tactile materials, sculptural forms, and smaller-scale spaces intended to encourage exploration. Books, writing tools, paper, and toys are integrated throughout the building, while built-in bookcases and reading nooks extend learning activities into circulation areas. Staircases and unexpected passageways introduce additional connections between spaces, creating opportunities for visitors to encounter different activities as they move through the building. According to Multistudio Associate Principal Steve Valev, the design aims to provide different settings for learning rather than prescribing a single way of using the building.
A central courtyard extends the educational program into the landscape, providing additional spaces for individual and group activities. Framed by native planting, the outdoor area includes sheltered study spaces, interactive play elements, amphitheater seating, seating decks, and a traditional chiminea storytelling space. The courtyard also accommodates informal gatherings and community events, connecting the building's interior programs with its outdoor environment.
The building's sculpted roof and sloping forms respond to the site while directing rainwater toward a centralized collection point. These features form part of the project's environmental strategies, which also include a pursuit of LEED Gold certification. By combining flexible interior spaces with an outdoor learning environment, the project accommodates a range of educational activities, from individual reading and study to workshops and larger community gatherings.
Other project announcements include the Sharjah Design Centre, designed by Taller de Arquitectura – Mauricio Rocha with Daniel Rosselló, which is scheduled to open in 2029 as part of the Sharjah Creative Quarter, bringing together design research, material experimentation, and production. In California, the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity has unveiled the masterplan for its future archives in Marin County, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and EHDD, which will transform a mid-century modern warehouse into a cultural destination, with landscape design by Field Operations. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Art has commissioned AD—WO, led by Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood, to redesign its Heinz Architectural Center as a contemporary space for exhibitions, research, and public engagement.
