Noon Repose Pavilion / CLAB Architects

Background — The Noon Repose Pavilion is located on the bank of a rural river in Huizhou, a city in southern China, along the scenic route encircling Nankun Mountain and Luofu Mountain. Huizhou was once a place of exile for the Northern Song scholar Su Shi. During his years there, exile did not result in withdrawal from life, but rather intensified his attention to its everyday rhythms. In his writings, he identified what he called the "sixteen pleasures of life," one of which he described as "resting at noon on a simple rattan pillow." The pavilion takes its name from this phrase. It is not intended as a nostalgic reference, but as a way of anchoring contemporary experience to a different understanding of time—one that allows for pause, slackening, and repose. What is recalled here is not a historical figure, but a mode of living that remains possible in the present.

Active Envelopes: Integrating Solar Energy into Architectural Design

When developing an architectural project, there are multiple possible points of departure. Some architects begin with volume, gradually carving form in dialogue with its context. Others start from the longitudinal section, while some organize the project around the functional layout of the plan. There is no right or wrong method, but rather distinct approaches that reflect different ways of thinking about and making architecture. Since the widespread adoption of solar panels and photovoltaic energy, however, a recurring pattern has emerged: these systems are almost always introduced later in the process, framed as technical optimizations or responses to regulatory and energy-efficiency requirements. As a result, they tend to be treated as secondary elements, often relegated to rooftops or less visible areas and detached from the architectural language of the building.

MVRDV and Buro Happold Reveal Design for the Lampegiet Theatre in Veenendaal, Netherlands

Designed by MVRDV in collaboration with Buro Happold, the new Lampegiet Theatre in Veenendaal, the Netherlands, is scheduled to replace the existing theatre building from 1988. Approved by the Veenendaal City Council in January 2026, the project is expected to begin construction in 2027 and reach completion in 2029. Conceived as a contemporary cultural venue that responds to both current performance requirements and the city's historical identity, the new theatre introduces a compact, multi-volume composition wrapped in a porous ceramic facade that allows the building to act as an illuminated urban landmark.

Clay Rise Home / Templeton Ford

Architecture and interior design practice Templeton Ford has completed Clay Rise, a three-bedroom home in the bucolic village of West Hoathly, West Sussex. The house explores the relationship between local tradition and form through its tiered roofline and contextually driven material palette. Shortlisted for the prestigious 2025 Manser Medal, Clay Rise stands as Templeton Ford's debut project. Architect Andre Templeton Ford and stylist Jessica Templeton Ford launched the practice in 2025, following decades-long careers in leadership positions at award-winning international architecture offices and in creative direction, design, and the arts.

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