Pend has completed a sensitive renovation and expansion of Whitberry, a Grade B listed Georgian farmhouse in East Lothian, Scotland. Working alongside the clients-turned-project-managers, the Leith-based architects unified the home's fragmented rear elevation and introduced light-touch interventions to the ground floor to support contemporary family life. In contrast to its charming pink frontage, the back of Whitberry reveals a curious arrangement, a patchwork of historic and somewhat haphazard additions characterized by reddish sandstone and brickwork, each a record of the masonry techniques of its respective eras. The arbitrary nature of these successive add-ons had resulted in a difficult, cellular interior layout, requiring the family to pass through several rooms to reach the garden.

To recover, revitalize, convert—these actions have become increasingly present in contemporary cities, where architecture takes on the role of stitching together the overlapping layers of time that make up the urban fabric. Faced with this task, architects have explored a range of design strategies. Among them, one material in particular has stood out for how frequently—and effectively—it appears in interventions on historic buildings and contexts: corten steel. With its rusted surface, rich in texture and tone, it seems to offer a compelling answer to the challenging question of how to insert the new into the old. But what makes this material so recurrent in these situations? Is it simply its durability and versatility, or is there something deeper in its visual and symbolic presence?

This 2,800 SF mountain retreat was envisioned as a refuge from the busyness of daily city life. The clients had acquired 20 acres of forested land near the peak of Echo Mountain, located approximately 45 minutes from Denver. The owners shared their desire for a place free of screen time, focused on communing with nature and exploring the forest with their young family of four.

Foster + Partners has revealed designs for a retail plaza located on the northern bank of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Türkiye. The project forms part of the larger Tersane master plan, which proposes to redevelop 1.6 kilometers of previously underutilized waterfront. The master plan integrates a mix of retail, residential, hospitality, cultural buildings, and landscaped public spaces, aiming to enhance access along the shoreline. The plaza sits within close proximity to several of Istanbul's historic landmarks, drawing on the area's maritime and industrial heritage. The design's scale and material choices reflect this context, seeking to align with the site's historic layers while introducing a contemporary retail environment.