It is not very common to see trees take center stage in residential design projects. The perennial evergreens played a crucial role as the protagonists in the genesis of ideas that were later materialized into the design of this house. After making the decision to construct a new home for their growing family, the two owners nearly forgot the 1.38-acre land that has been in their family for 50 years, passed down through multiple generations of descendants. The land had become deserted, as it was inhabited by trees, plants, and wetlands. Upon the first survey, a walk through the damp, plant-covered path led the architects to the two massive banyan trees that stand majestically at the center of the land. These towering giants, with their expansive and beautifully lush canopies, were truly a breathtaking sight. The kind of majesty and beauty that can only be shaped by nature and the passage of time.

Among the seven winners of this year's 16th Aga Khan Award for Architecture was theRevitalisation of Historic Esna in southern Egypt. Led by the Cairo-based firm Takween, the project was far more than a simple restoration. It was a comprehensive renewal effort that combined deep community engagement with the preservation of both tangible and intangible heritage. By creating thousands of jobs and restoring the historic center, the initiative offered a powerful alternative to demolition. The Aga Khan Trust lauded it as a 'replicable model for sustainable development'.

The Chapel - Designing a funeral chapel is not the everyday business of an architect. All the more curiosity and creative interest were triggered by the commission from a family in Styria to the Austrian-Finnish office BERGER+PARKKINEN. An inspiring, atypical, and particularly exciting task, also because it was a "building freed from compromising functions," as architect Alfred Berger found.