Studio Gang: The Latest Architecture and News

Environmental justice confronts a simple but uncomfortable truth: the benefits and burdens of the environment are not shared equally. Marginalized communities bear a disproportionate share of polluted air, unsafe water, toxic land uses, extreme heat, and the accelerating risks of climate change in cities around the world. These are the consequential products of decades of policy decisions, investment patterns, exclusionary planning practices, and planning choices that have consistently favored certain communities over others.

In cities and landscapes alike, these injustices are written into the physical fabric of places, even revealing extreme differences in environmental conditions between neighborhoods and districts. Dense neighborhoods with little tree canopy, for example, absorb and hold heat, exposing residents to higher rates of heat-related illness. Highways, industrial corridors, ports, and waste facilities cluster near low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, shaping conditions of health, air and soil quality, and long-term safety.

+ 35

Hudson Valley Shakespeare has opened the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center in Garrison, New York, marking the completion of a six-year project that establishes the company's first permanent home. The new campus, designed by Studio Gang in collaboration with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, expands the organization's long-standing open-air performance model into a permanent cultural and educational facility integrated within the Hudson Valley landscape. Construction began in September 2024 following several years of planning and fundraising.

+ 5

Health has become a central concern in architecture, planning, and design, driven by a growing awareness of how the built environment influences physical, mental, social, and environmental well-being. In 2025, this awareness moved beyond specialized building types or performance metrics and became central to architectural decision-making, informing how spaces are conceived, built, and inhabited across diverse contexts. Architects are no longer treating health as an external requirement but as an integral condition of everyday life.

+ 14

As 2025 concludes, we look ahead to 2026, a year scheduled to deliver a diverse range of significant architectural projects across the world. The year is particularly notable for the completion of new infrastructure and cultural buildings, including long-term projects. Europe will be in the spotlight of the new year with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. This event will feature projects such as the Olympic Village by SOM and the Winter Olympics Arena by David Chipperfield Architects. Also in Milan, BIG is set to complete construction of the City Wave project as part of a new business district in the city. At the same time, after more than 140 years of its establishment, the architects around the world will also be watching for the long-awaited completion of Antoni Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, announced for 2026.

+ 18

As the year culminates, it's once again time for the ArchDaily team of curators to reflect on the best-performing projects of 2025 and consider what readers were most interested in. Through this diverse overview, we assess the cross-continental similarities and differences in trends and construction development. This year brought us many grand cultural and public spaces by Lina Ghotmeh, BIG, Zaha Hadid Architects, DnA, and Serie Architects, who populated events like Expo Osaka and the Venice Biennale, as well as a surprising number of museums and public or landscape works in China and the rest of the Asian continent. However, while these were sought-after projects, the leading works remained, unsurprisingly, residential projects.

More specifically, the houses that were most viewed on the ArchDaily global site were concrete houses that bore considerable injections of greenery and landscape focus. They propose layouts highlighting voids and double heights, as well as inner courtyards or large openings to the exterior. While some references did suggest traditional or vernacular elements, modernist revivals were still predominant. Material trends are much more tame, with a recurrence of raw concrete use, as wood and stone were common accent elements. Still, the more interesting thing about the works this year is the efforts brought by architects in situating and setting the projects within their surroundings, bringing special attention to landscape and how projects merged with nature.

+ 96

What should be taken into account when designing a fire station? The answer may seem obvious: functionality and efficiency. After all, every second counts in an emergency. But can a building designed for urgent operations also be aesthetically compelling, welcoming, and connected to its community? In recent decades, architects such as Zaha Hadid and Álvaro Siza have demonstrated that it can. By rethinking this building type, they have created spaces that go beyond emergency response—spaces that strengthen social ties, support the well-being of firefighters, and become urban landmarks.

+ 19

In the complex ecosystem of architectural development, where innovative concepts meet market realities, a distinct role exists to bridge diverse professional interests and realize impactful spaces. Elisa Orlanski Ours exemplifies this function. This is the domain of Elisa Orlanski Ours, a designer, educator, and industry leader. As Chief Planning & Design Officer at Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, Elisa founded her department two decades ago. Now, her extensive portfolio spans condominium skyscraper master plans and individual branded villas across continents, including significant New York City developments like Hudson Yards and 220 Central Park South, as well as international developments in collaboration with prominent architectural firms like SHoP Architects, BIG, Herzog & de Meuron, Adjaye Associates, and SO-IL. Her strategic perspective on bringing projects from schematic phase to final sale provides valuable insights into the industry's intricate workings. ArchDaily's Managing Editor, Maria-Cristina Florian, had the opportunity to discuss these critical topics with Elisa in the following interview.

+ 31

Fireplaces have profoundly shaped architectural design, influencing how spaces are organized, experienced, and perceived. More than merely functional elements, they represent symbols of power, community, comfort, and culture, tracing humanity's evolving relationship with the built environment. From the primitive hearths that characterized early human settlements to the sophisticated ecological designs of contemporary architecture, fireplaces have reflected broader cultural, social, and technological changes, serving as enduring focal points in the spatial narrative of architecture. Scholars have frequently explored the intimate relationship between architecture and fire. Luis Fernández-Galiano, in his seminal work "Fire and Memory: On Architecture and Energy" argues that architecture fundamentally mediates the relationship between humanity and energy. By understanding how these structures have shaped spaces, symbolized cultural values, and driven technological innovation, we gain deeper insight into architecture's complex interplay between form, function, and meaning.

+ 21

Studio Gang is an architecture and urban design practice founded in 1997 by Jeanne Gang and based in Chicago, with additional offices in New York, San Francisco, and Paris. Comprised of over 100 professionals, including architects, designers, and planners, the studio is known for its research-driven approach to design. On Friday, July 11, the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin will inaugurate an exhibition on Studio Gang's work, organized in collaboration with AW Architektur & Wohnen magazine. Titled Studio Gang: The Art of Architectural Grafting, the exhibition explores the studio's design methodology through six recent projects.

+ 11

Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, has revealed its design for the Colorado 150 Pedestrian Walkway, a new civic infrastructure project commissioned by Governor Polis and the America 150-250 Commission. Spanning 11,000 square feet, the walkway is conceived as both a connective urban thread and a commemorative landscape, marking the 150th anniversary of Colorado's statehood. Strategically sited in downtown Denver, the intervention links key public spaces and monuments, enhancing pedestrian accessibility while fostering a layered experience of art, culture, and history. Set to be completed by July 2026, various features, such as viewing platforms, monuments, new public artworks by Colorado-based artists, play areas, and interpretive elements, aim to invite users to explore, gather, and reflect along the route.

Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, in collaboration with Lincoln Road Enterprises, a philanthropic organization advancing women's leadership, has unveiled the design for the forthcoming Women's Leadership Center at Williams Bay. Located on an 8.6-acre site overlooking Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin, the 24,000-square-foot retreat center is designed to support innovation, collaboration, and leadership programming for professional women's groups. The project broke ground in July 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2026.

+ 3

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, United States, has reached a critical moment in its expansion project, revealing six finalist designs that propose new ways to engage visitors, integrate the museum with its surroundings, and create an open and inviting cultural space. The shortlisted teams - Kengo Kuma & Associates, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Selldorf Architects, Studio Gang, Weiss/Manfredi, and WHY Architecture - bring a range of approaches, each responding to the museum's architectural legacy and evolving role within Kansas City.

+ 7

Architectural grafting, a concept recently popularized by Jeanne Gang in The Art of Architectural Grafting, presents a transformative approach to urban regeneration and sustainability. Drawing inspiration from botanical and horticultural practices — where new growth is added to existing plants for enhanced resilience — this architectural method integrates new structures with existing ones, allowing them to coexist and adapt. Rather than pursuing demolition, grafting prioritizes adaptation, extending the life of buildings while safeguarding their cultural and historical significance.

While Studio Gang has played a pivotal role in advancing this method, architectural grafting embodies a broader principle that architects have long used to enhance sustainability, conserve resources, and honor heritage. Across scales — from individual buildings to urban landscapes —grafting reshapes the relationship between past and present, adapting existing structures for contemporary needs while addressing environmental demands. By reimagining historic buildings for modern use, this approach fosters a sustainable evolution of cityscapes.

+ 59

Studio Gang's Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center has officially broken ground in Garrison, New York. Designed as the new permanent home for Hudson Valley Shakespeare (HVS), this 14,850-square-foot venue marks a significant development for the theater company, which is known for its open-air productions. The facility will be the first purpose-built, LEED Platinum-certified theater in the U.S., reflecting a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. It is located on a 98-acre campus along the Hudson River, providing a natural setting that integrates architecture with the surrounding landscape.

Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) has announced the International High-Rise Award 2024/25. Selected from more than 1,000 new high-rises worldwide dating from the past two years, the nominated projects are located in 13 counties from 5 continents. In autumn, the five finalists will be announced, followed by the winner announcement scheduled for November 12, 2024. The main objective of the award is to highlight good practices in the ongoing trend of mixed-use high-rises.

With the increase in the construction of high-rises, special features such as the introduction of greenery in the design, unusual shapes, or the construction of clusters of towers, have become the new normal. DAM’s research this year also shows a growing eco-awareness, as the focus in high-rise construction is increasingly on the use of existing buildings. While the majority of tall buildings continue to be erected in China, followed by the USA, Australia, and Singapore have emerged as new hubs of high-rise architecture.

+ 29

Studio Gang has just released the design for the new Marlboro Agricultural Education Center in Brooklyn, New York. Reimagining a more equitable and inclusive food system, the design transforms a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) campus into a hub for multigenerational education, job training, and community leadership in urban agriculture. Operated by the nonprofit organization The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH), the Center seeks to leverage longstanding efforts across the city to enhance food autonomy and security in underserved neighborhoods.

Brutalist buildings are a significant component of Washington, D.C.’s architectural identity. In the National Building Museum’s new exhibition, Capital Brutalism, this identity is explored further. Co-organized with the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA), Capital Brutalism is a comprehensive exhibition of Brutalist architecture in Washington, D.C., to date, running until February 17th, 2025.

+ 25

Milan Design Week stands as one of the most important events in the global design calendar, serving not only as a showcase of innovation but also as a catalyst for critical discourse and creative exchange. This year, the event unfolds with a multitude of exhibitions, installations, and talks happening throughout Milano during the week of April 15-21, 2024. By bringing together diverse voices, perspectives, and talents, Milan Design Week becomes relevant for architects and serves as a nexus for interdisciplinary dialogue. To help you better navigate the plethora of events, conferences, and installations, this article highlights the main venues hosting activities revenant for architects and designers, from the expansive trade fair Salone del Mobile in Rho Fiera to design districts across the city and unexpected locations hidden in Palazzo courtyards or reimagined industrial heritage sites.

+ 7