Pierre de Meuron: The Latest Architecture and News

The second edition of The Bread & Heart Festival will be held in Tirana, Albania, from June 3 to 5, 2026. The annual event is organised by The Bread & Heart Foundation and co-curated with the NEWROPE Chair of Architecture and Urban Transformation at ETH Zürich. The Foundation's objective is to offer an open platform for dialogue on architecture, landscape, and development in Albania, a country undergoing rapid transformation and becoming one of the most active urban environments in Southeast Europe. The purpose of the event is to connect international figures from the architectural community, such as Francis Kéré, Jeanne Gang, Ma Yansong, and Sumayya Vally, with local practitioners, institutions, and a broader audience. As in 2025, the festival will take place at 51N4E's Book Building on Skanderbeg Square, bringing together participants under the theme "Landscapes of Abundance."

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Herzog & de Meuron has been honored as the 36^th Louis I. Kahn Award winner by the Center for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia. The annual award, founded in 1983 in memory of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn, celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture. Jaques Herzog, one of the two founders of the Swiss-based architecture firm, will present a talk on behalf of this office during the official award ceremony, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology at 6:30 pm on May 31, 2023.

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Herzog & de Meuron have designed Switzerland's first middle school placed on the roof of a shopping center in Basel-Stadt. The MParc Dreispitz shopping center will accommodate a Sekundarschule (middle school) for 600 students as part of the overall transformation of Dreispitz Nord. The design aims to set a precedent for future urban developments as the school becomes a central part of the site's overall master plan.

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For its 9th edition, the Moscow Urban Forum continues to consolidate as one of the world’s most relevant urban conferences, bringing together a diverse group of architects, urbanists, city mayors, government officials, economists, developers, academics, citizens, and professionals from diverse fields and nationalities.

While Pierre de Meuron’s main keynote puts focus on ongoing developments in the city of Moscow, by showcasing the ambitious scheme to redevelop the Badaevskiy Brewery, the lectures and presentations acknowledged the diverse areas that shape the city, including topics such as mental health, lifestyle of the millennial generation, evolution of work, or delivery platforms. The evolution of the role of the architect was present, with a growing number of professionals now working on startups in the tech, infrastructure, real estate, construction, and mobility sectors, the new city makers.

There’s no doubt that one of the best things about architecture is its universality. Wherever you come from, whatever you do, however you speak, architecture has somehow touched your life. However, when one unexpectedly has to pronounce a foreign architect’s name... things can get a little tricky. This is especially the case when mispronunciation could end up making you look less knowledgeable than you really are. (If you're really unlucky, it could end up making you look stupid in front of your children and the whole world.)

To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 22 architects with names that are a little difficult to pronounce, and paired them with a recording in which their names are said impeccably. Listen and repeat as many times as it takes to get it right, and you’ll be prepared for any intellectual architectural conversation that comes your way.