Architecture News

Meet Thailand's secret weapon in climate change battle

By AFP

Bangkok - Bangkok's future hangs in the balance.Rising sea levels, unchecked development, groundwater extraction, and rapid urban population growth has left millions vulnerable to natural disasters -- scientists warn the city itself may not survive the century.

Architecture's top prize awarded to two Irish women

By AFP

New York - Dublin-based Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara were awarded the Pritzker prize on Tuesday -- the first time a female duo has scooped architecture's most prestigious award.

Architecture's top prize awarded to two women

By AFP

New York - Dublin-based Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara were awarded the Pritzker prize on Tuesday -- the first time a female duo has scooped architecture's most prestigious award.

Norway authorises demolition of building with Picasso murals

By AFP

Oslo - Norway gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the demolition of a bomb-damaged building adorned with drawings by Spanish master painter Pablo Picasso.

French architects want Notre-Dame roof rebuilt in wood

By AFP

Paris - French architects want the roof of the fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral to be rebuilt in wood and not in metal or concrete.

Eight months later, Notre-Dame cathedral still broken

By AFP

Paris - Eight months after a devastating fire ravaged the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, engineers are preparing for a crucial but complicated step in the herculean restoration effort: removing a mound of scaffolding mangled in the blaze.

Tokyo unveils heat-busting stadium, 7 months before Olympics

By AFP

Apo - Tokyo formally unveiled its 60,000-seater main Olympic Stadium Sunday, more than seven months before the 2020 Opening Ceremony -- with a host of special features to beat the feared heat.

Manila's hidden reservoir to re-emerge as tourist draw

By AFP

Manila - Vaulted ceilings and rows of stone columns stretch into the humid darkness deep below the Philippine capital, where workers are transforming a more-than-century-old underground reservoir into a draw for tourists.

General rebuked after tempers flare over rebuilding Notre-Dame

By AFP

Paris - The French army general charged with the rebuilding of Paris' fire-ravaged Notre-Dame was rebuked by the government Thursday after telling the chief architect to "shut his mouth" in a sign of tension over the cathedral's future appearance.

Tempers flare over rebuilding of Notre-Dame spire

By AFP

Paris - The French army general charged with overseeing the rebuilding of Paris' fire-mangled Notre-Dame, has caused astonishment by publicly telling the cathedral's chief architect to "shut his mouth" in a sign of tension over the monument's future look.

Incas valley, Yazidi shrine: foundation warns of threatened sites

By AFP

New York - From the Sacred Valley of the Incas, threatened by a proposed airport, to a Yazidi shrine in Iraq, a foundation warned Tuesday of 25 sites in urgent need of protection.

Long-persecuted Yazidis welcome new 'sanctuary' temple

By AFP

Yeghegnut - Yazidis, an ancient ethnic group much persecuted for their faith, now have a massive new temple in Armenia to help preserve their religion and identity.

Six months on, Notre-Dame's rebirth still years away

By AFP

Paris - One day after the blaze that scarred Notre-Dame, President Emmanuel Macron addressed a nation in shock at the damage to one of its great cultural landmarks, with a promise that rang as clearly as the peal of the cathedral's bells.

In Syria's Aleppo, reconstruction makes slow start

By AFP

Aleppo - Among the destroyed buildings of Syria's Aleppo, a battered sign between two army checkpoints welcomes visitors to an area earmarked to become a beacon of post-war reconstruction."The industrial city of Aleppo thanks you for your visit," it reads.

Giant art project transforms East German housing blocks

By AFP

Halle (saale) - An enduring reminder of the communist era, the vast, concrete "Plattenbau" tower blocks that surround cities in eastern Germany are usually considered eyesores rather than works of art.

Renovation halts 'caterpillar' rides at France's Pompidou museum

By AFP

Paris - Art and architecture fans hoping to experience the glass-enclosed escalators hugging the facade of the Pompidou Centre in Paris will have to wait until next year, as extensive renovation work is carried out on the groundbreaking four-decade-old structu...

Workers in masks return to polluted Notre-Dame site

By AFP

Paris - French construction workers wearing protective masks returned to the site of stricken Notre-Dame cathedral on Monday after a three-week pause due to the risk of lead contamination.

Cesar Pelli, creator of Malaysia's Petronas Towers dies aged 92

By AFP

Buenos Aires - Cesar Pelli, the Argentine architect and creator of Malaysia's Petronas Towers and New York's One World Financial Center, died Friday at the age of 92, his family said.

French MPs agree Notre-Dame restoration as controversy swirls

By AFP

Paris - French MPs on Tuesday approved a law on the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, three months after flames ravaged the great Paris cathedral, but with the rebuilding process still mired in controversy.

French MPs to agree Notre-Dame restoration as controversy swirls

By AFP

Paris - French MPs were on Tuesday set to approve a law on the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, three months after flames ravaged the great Paris cathedral, but with the rebuilding process still mired in controversy.

Frank Lloyd Wright buildings named UNESCO World Heritage sites

By AFP

Washington - Eight masterworks by US architect Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, were selected as World Heritage sites Sunday, a first in the field of architecture for the United States.

London's Tower Bridge an icon at 125 years old

By AFP

London - London's iconic Tower Bridge celebrates its 125th anniversary on Sunday by showing off the weird and wacky alternative designs that were nearly built instead.

Versailles' Royal Chapel gets painstaking restoration

By AFP

Versailles - The Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles, the final great building work undertaken in the reign of Louis XIV, is undergoing a painstaking restoration that is expected to be finished within 18 months.

Descend, Eat, Marvel: Europe's first underwater restaurant

By AFP

For the chef and diners alike, each meal beneath the waves at Europe's first underwater restaurant is a thing of wonder.

Battered Athens turnaround a tall order for new mayor

By AFP

Athens - Battered by the crisis that ravaged the rest of Greece, Athens will have a new mayor on Sunday and a challenge to reverse the fallout from the country's long recession.

'Angry glances in the street': how Paris met Pei’s Louvre pyramid

By AFP

Paris - The modernist architect I. M. Pei, who has died aged 102, was once pilloried for plonking a glass pyramid into the courtyard of the Louvre, but his controversial creation is now a landmark of the French capital.

I.M. Pei, a pillar of modern architecture, dies at 102

By AFP

New York - I.M. Pei, the preeminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died in New York, his sons' architecture firm said Thursday. He was 102 years old.

I.M. Pei, a pillar of modern architecture, dies at 102

By AFP

New York - I.M. Pei, the preeminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died, his sons' architecture firm said Thursday. He was 102 years old.

Tired to trendy: architects give Russian provinces urban makeover

By AFP

Belgorod - For decades, the banks of the river flowing through the Russian city of Belgorod were in a sorry state of disrepair. "It was hard to get down to the water, and it was really filthy in places," said architect Jezi Stankevic.

French will have say on Notre-Dame restoration: minister

By AFP

Paris - French citizens will be consulted on how Notre-Dame should be rebuilt after the iconic cathedral was ravaged by a fire on April 15, Culture Minister Franck Riester said Friday.