Architecture

Is Qatar paying UNESCO to turn a blind eye on the Seychelles?

Is UNESCO being paid off by Qatar so it can own a private airstrip in a strategic location in the Seychelles?

Jaakko Torvinen finds that the next green building revolution is misfit trees

Crooked, forked and curved trees are often treated as second-class timber. They are considered less valuable, and not suitable for load bearing walls or support systems in building. If a tree trunk is not straight enough to become a saw log, it is frequently diverted into pulp production or burned for energy. Now, new research from Aalto University could help change that.

NEOM’s The Line is delayed as Saudi mirage hits reality

Without blinking indeed: Saudi Arabia has reportedly delayed major work on The Line,  the planned 170-kilometer mirrored city slicing through the desert, until after 2030. Tourism projects along the Red Sea are being pushed back, and Trojena, the fantasy ski resort in the mountains fueled with artificial snow, is also effectively frozen.

Shebara hotel Saudi Arabia – is it eco-luxury dream or desert illusion?

A new breed of luxury has landed on the Red Sea, mirrored pods floating above coral reefs, reflecting sky and sea like something not entirely of this Earth. Energy powered by solar powers, drinking water pulled from the sea using desalination. 

African kids born in these Star Homes are less likely to die

What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.

When peace returns, will we rediscover Saudi Arabia’s mud-brick soul?

When the region settles after the American war with Iran, and it will, American and European travelers will come back. Not just for spectacle or headline projects, but for places that feel real. Places that haven’t been engineered to impress and which get into your soul. We predict that visitors to Saudi Arabia will want to see places like Rijal Alma.When the region settles after the American war with Iran, and it will, American and European travelers will come back. Not just for spectacle or headline projects, but for places that feel real. Places that haven’t been engineered to impress and which get into your soul. We predict that visitors to Saudi Arabia will want to see places like Rijal Alma.

Hidden Archives Reveal Amazing Roman Artifacts

16,000 boxes of archaeological finds are stored in the Valkhof Museum at Nijmegen, the Netherlands. They contain a wealth of Roman artifacts left undisturbed...

A Fact-Based Reflection on Sustainability and Tourism in Hormuz

A Documented Response to the Article “The Aga Khan Is Greenwashing Their Awards” and a Reflection on the Relationship Between Development, Tourism, and the...

Kinder Rain imagines vernacular architecture for early learning

Kinder Rain reinterprets this vernacular architecture through a series of pyramidal classroom volumes, clustered together like houses in a tiny town.

Saudi Arabia cancels the Asian games at Neom’s Trojena

Neom, a bombastic collection of futuristic cities and resorts, has flopped as Saudi oil prices roll back reality. The Saudi plan of hosting the 2029 Asian games to be held at Trojena, a ski report in the desert, has been cancelled. 

BM Studios is designing systems, not just buildings in the UAE

Balsam Madi is an architect and systems thinker whose work bridges culture, sustainability, and design intelligence across the Middle East and Europe.

Earth building with Dead Sea salt bricks

Researchers develop a brick made largely from recycled Dead Sea salt—offering a potential alternative to carbon-intensive cement.

The Line’s 15 minute city failure and the limits of green futurism

The failure of The Line is not a failure of imagination. It is a failure of restraint by western architects and planners who go along with the charade. Who is holding these firms accountable? This is actually a reasonable kind of project for the UN to take on and challenge. 

Luxury tower in Jerusalem ruins its sacred heritage and eco-architects are worried

Critics of a new set of luxury towers including Israeli-Greek architect Elias Mesinas, warn that the scale of the towers, loss of public green space, and creeping luxury-led gentrification risk undermining Jerusalem’s historic skyline, community fabric, and long-standing planning principles — raising a fundamental question: not whether Jerusalem should densify, but how it can do so responsibly while preserving what makes the city unique.

Mud bricks are not just for Minecraft – they can solve real-world refugee housing

Unconfirmed photos are circulating on the internet that a Gazan family has started to rebuild their home using mud bricks. And just a few days ago we reported on a Saudi Arabian designer and his plans for using mud bricks as a solution to the refugee crisis. 

Hot this week

How Torvinen Jaakko’s ugly wood can lay the foundations for green building

Canada's forests generate billions of dollars in economic value each year, yet vast amounts of irregular timber are downgraded to wood chips or biomass. A collaboration between researchers at Carleton University and Aalto University is challenging that model, demonstrating how "ugly wood" can be transformed into high-value architecture while reducing waste and storing more carbon in buildings.

Kansas City’s Second Attempt at a Conversion Therapy Ban: What the Proposed Ordinance Does and Why It’s Being Rewritten

Kansas City is attempting to revive protections against conversion therapy with a new ordinance carefully designed to withstand recent First Amendment challenges. Rather than banning conversion therapy by name, the proposal targets harmful therapeutic practices linked to increased risks of depression and self-harm, creating what supporters hope could become a legal model for other U.S. cities.

A Face Swap Tool for Training and Internal Comms

Corporate training videos often require repeated filming, travel, and production resources every time policies or personnel change. AI-powered face swap tools offer a more sustainable approach by extending the life of digital training content, reducing unnecessary reshoots, and helping organizations communicate more efficiently—provided they are used transparently with clear consent and ethical governance.

How a tick bite can lead to a life-threatening meat allergy AFG

Imagine developing a severe allergy to steak after a single tick bite. That's the reality for people with alpha-gal syndrome, a rapidly emerging condition linked to lone star ticks and other tick species. As researchers uncover how tick saliva rewires the immune system, health officials warn that hundreds of thousands of Americans may already be living with this unusual red meat allergy.

Russia’s Arctic superdeep oil drill revives debunked ‘infinite oil’ theory

Russia is reviving the controversial abiotic oil theory with plans to drill superdeep holes in the Arctic. While small amounts of abiotic methane exist deep within the Earth, most geologists reject the idea that commercial oil reserves originate from non-biological processes, raising questions about the environmental cost and scientific value of the project.

Topics

How Torvinen Jaakko’s ugly wood can lay the foundations for green building

Canada's forests generate billions of dollars in economic value each year, yet vast amounts of irregular timber are downgraded to wood chips or biomass. A collaboration between researchers at Carleton University and Aalto University is challenging that model, demonstrating how "ugly wood" can be transformed into high-value architecture while reducing waste and storing more carbon in buildings.

Kansas City’s Second Attempt at a Conversion Therapy Ban: What the Proposed Ordinance Does and Why It’s Being Rewritten

Kansas City is attempting to revive protections against conversion therapy with a new ordinance carefully designed to withstand recent First Amendment challenges. Rather than banning conversion therapy by name, the proposal targets harmful therapeutic practices linked to increased risks of depression and self-harm, creating what supporters hope could become a legal model for other U.S. cities.

A Face Swap Tool for Training and Internal Comms

Corporate training videos often require repeated filming, travel, and production resources every time policies or personnel change. AI-powered face swap tools offer a more sustainable approach by extending the life of digital training content, reducing unnecessary reshoots, and helping organizations communicate more efficiently—provided they are used transparently with clear consent and ethical governance.

How a tick bite can lead to a life-threatening meat allergy AFG

Imagine developing a severe allergy to steak after a single tick bite. That's the reality for people with alpha-gal syndrome, a rapidly emerging condition linked to lone star ticks and other tick species. As researchers uncover how tick saliva rewires the immune system, health officials warn that hundreds of thousands of Americans may already be living with this unusual red meat allergy.

Russia’s Arctic superdeep oil drill revives debunked ‘infinite oil’ theory

Russia is reviving the controversial abiotic oil theory with plans to drill superdeep holes in the Arctic. While small amounts of abiotic methane exist deep within the Earth, most geologists reject the idea that commercial oil reserves originate from non-biological processes, raising questions about the environmental cost and scientific value of the project.

Code Red from the Galapagos: human drugs and sunscreen are polluting the sea

Millions of visitors swim in the pristine waters of the Galápagos each year, but new research suggests sunscreen chemicals and other human-made pollutants are reaching even the islands' most protected marine habitats. Scientists are calling for urgent monitoring to safeguard one of Earth's most iconic ecosystems.

AI will crack the codes from the Dead Sea Scrolls

Artificial intelligence is opening a new chapter in Dead Sea Scrolls research. By combining machine learning with chemical analysis, scientists hope to uncover where the ancient manuscripts were produced, identify connections between scribes, and reveal hidden patterns across more than 25,000 fragments that have remained unsolved for decades.

90% of Americans worry about microplastics

Microplastics are showing up everywhere—from dollar store toys and synthetic clothing to bottled water, toothbrushes and even human sperm. A new Ocean Conservancy survey finds that nearly 9 in 10 Americans are concerned about the health impacts of microplastics, while support is growing for tougher regulations. As scientists uncover plastic particles in the heart, placenta and reproductive organs, the question is no longer whether microplastics are affecting our lives, but how much damage they are already doing.
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