For centuries, the church at Herkenrode Abbey stood as one of Belgium’s most important religious landmarks. The Gothic structure formed the heart of a wealthy Cistercian abbey near Hasselt before war, fire, and demolition erased it from the landscape. Today, almost nothing of the original church survives.

Belgian architectural practice Gijs Van Vaerenbergh has now revived the vanished structure in a striking new form. Instead of rebuilding the abbey in stone, the studio created CLAUSURA, a monumental steel installation that outlines the former church in midair. The result feels both ancient and futuristic, like a cathedral drawn directly into the sky.

Architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh designed the project to mark the studio’s 20th anniversary. Thousands of slender steel tubes trace the church’s towers, walls, and vaulted forms at full scale. The structure remains completely transparent, allowing the surrounding ruins, trees, and shifting light to move through the work itself.

As visitors walk around the installation, the architecture constantly changes. From some angles, the lines align into a recognizable Gothic silhouette. From others, the structure almost disappears into the landscape. That tension between presence and illusion defines much of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh’s work, which often merges sculpture, architecture, and perception into one experience.

Rather than reconstructing the abbey exactly as it once stood, CLAUSURA focuses on memory and absence. The installation preserves the scale and spirit of the church without imitating its original materials. In doing so, the project transforms empty space into architecture.

The work also reflects a broader shift in contemporary sacred design. Many modern architects now explore transparency, atmosphere, and abstraction instead of relying solely on monumental stone structures. CLAUSURA embraces that approach while remaining deeply connected to the site’s history.

Alongside the installation, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh is celebrating its anniversary with a publication and exhibition titled Fictional Ruins. The project examines how architecture can preserve memory through incomplete forms, imagined structures, and spatial storytelling.

With CLAUSURA, the architects created more than a memorial to a lost abbey. They turned history into an immersive experience that feels suspended between ruin, sculpture, and mirage.

Built from thousands of slender steel tubes, CLAUSURA traces the exact footprint of Herkenrode Abbey’s lost 16th-century church.

From certain angles, the transparent installation aligns into a complete Gothic cathedral before dissolving back into the landscape.

Architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh created the monumental work to celebrate 20 years of experimental architectural design.

Gijs Van Vaerenbergh: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permissions to feature photos by Club Paradis.

Related Articles:

World’s Most Unusual and Innovative Churches: From a Chapel on a Volcano to a Cathedral Lined With Bones

Sweden Moves a Special 113-Year-Old Wooden Church to a New Home Miles Away

Architects Reveal Plans To Turn an Old Dutch Church Into a Public Swimming Pool

Artist Captures Rich History of Europe’s Ornate Architecture in Meticulous Drawings

READ: Architects Reimagine a Lost Belgian Abbey as a Transparent Steel Cathedral

Photo: bloodua/Depositphotos

For decades, seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum has meant navigating packed crowds, lifting a phone above hundreds of visitors, and catching only a brief glimpse of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous portrait. Now, the world’s most visited museum plans to completely transform that experience.

The Louvre recently unveiled the winning design team behind “Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance,” a sweeping redevelopment project focused on easing congestion, modernizing circulation, and creating a dedicated new home for the Mona Lisa. Selldorf Architects and STUDIOS Architecture Paris won the international competition alongside landscape architects Base. The project marks one of the museum’s largest architectural transformations since I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid debuted in 1989.

Instead of remaining inside the overcrowded Salle des États, the Mona Lisa will move into a purpose-built gallery beneath the Cour Carrée. The new exhibition space aims to give visitors a calmer and more immersive viewing experience while relieving pressure on the Louvre’s busiest rooms. The painting’s new setting will include a separate access point designed specifically to better manage the massive crowds that gather around the portrait each day.

The redesign centers on the Louvre’s eastern facade, known as the Grande Colonnade. Plans include new underground entrances, expanded pathways, updated infrastructure, and additional gallery spaces integrated beneath the historic palace complex. France’s Ministry of Culture praised the winning proposal for its ability to balance contemporary architecture with the surrounding heritage site while improving the overall visitor experience.

The project follows growing concern over overcrowding at the Louvre, which welcomes nearly 9 million visitors annually. The museum officials hope the redesign will encourage visitors to engage more deeply with the Louvre’s broader collection instead of rushing directly toward a single artwork.

Architecturally, the project continues the Louvre’s long history of reinvention. Early renderings show understated glass-and-stone interventions integrated into the landscape below the colonnade, creating a lighter connection between the palace exterior and the new subterranean spaces. Rather than competing with the historic architecture, the design attempts to fold contemporary elements quietly into the existing structure.

The announcement has already sparked conversation about the future of museum design and the challenge of balancing accessibility with preservation. Yet the project also reflects a larger cultural shift: major museums increasingly need to rethink how audiences move through spaces shaped by global tourism, social media, and blockbuster artworks that attract millions each year.

Construction will unfold over the next several years, with completion expected in the early 2030s. When finished, the redesign could reshape the Louvre experience entirely, shifting attention away from the frantic crowds surrounding a single painting and toward a more expansive encounter with the museum itself. For the Mona Lisa, whose fame has long outgrown her gallery, the move signals the beginning of a new chapter.

The Louvre is undergoing a massive redevelopment project.

Photo: TTstudio/Depositphotos

Part of the museum’s redesign will give the Mona Lisa its own dedicated gallery beneath the historic Cour Carrée.

The Cour Carrée of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. (Photo: French Ministry of Culture)

The special project aims to ease the overwhelming crowds that flood the museum each year.

Photo: liptoncnx/Depositphotos

Louvre Museum: Website | Instagram

Sources: Catherine Pégard, Minister of Culture, announces the winning team of the Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance international architecture competition: STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects; ‘Mona Lisa’ Is Moving to a New Home. The Louvre Just Announced the Architects Who Will Design Her Private Suite; Louvre Announces Mona Lisa Will Have Her Own Building in Major Redesign to Ease Tourist Scrum.

Related Articles:

The Louvre Announces Design Competition Ahead of Ambitious $316M Renovation

Watch the Fascinating Evolution of the Louvre’s Architecture in a Centuries-Spanning Timeline

Louvre Museum Plans New Grand Entrance Through Global Architecture Competition

Louvre Decides to Limit Daily Entries to Give Visitors a Better Experience

READ: Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ Is Getting Its Own Building in Major Redesign for the Louvre

“Wells Cathedral Church of St. Andrews,” 2015-2016, archival pigment print, 54 5/16 inches x 66 1/8 inches. © Markus Brunetti. Courtesy Yossi Milo, New York.

For more than two decades, German photographer Markus Brunetti has pursued a project that feels equally archaeological and photographic. Through his ongoing FACADES series, the artist documents Europe’s cathedrals, basilicas, monasteries, synagogues, and cloisters with astonishing clarity and scale. Brunetti creates architectural studies that reveal the structural ornamentation and craftsmanship embedded within centuries-old facades.

Brunetti flattens perspective and removes the optical distortion that usually accompanies towering cathedrals. Gothic spires no longer taper dramatically into the sky, and Baroque domes remain fully visible. The facades appear symmetrical and centered in frame, making them formally satisfying and aesthetically pleasing.

This precision allows viewers to study details that often disappear from street level. Sculptural programs carved into portals, rhythmic arrangements of columns and archivolts, and mosaics embedded within tympanums emerge with extraordinary clarity. Brunetti also highlights subtle transitions between Romanesque solidity and Gothic verticality. The photographs become immersive studies in masonry, geometry, and decorative systems.

The series also emphasizes the diversity of European ecclesiastical architecture. Venetian Renaissance churches differ dramatically from French Gothic cathedrals or Tuscan Romanesque basilicas. Yet Brunetti’s consistent method creates a shared visual language that makes regional distinctions easier to recognize. Marble inlays, traceried windows, sculpted saints, rose windows, and layered pediments appear not simply as decoration, but as expressions of local material culture, theology, and engineering traditions.

Born into a family of builders and architects, Brunetti developed an early sensitivity to construction and spatial design. That architectural awareness shapes every aspect of FACADES. The series rejects traditional architectural photography and instead resembles a monumental digital elevation drawing.

Brunetti assembles each image from thousands of high-resolution photographs captured meter by meter over weeks, months, and sometimes years. He and longtime collaborator Betty Schöner travel across Europe in a converted firetruck that serves as both transportation and mobile studio. This process allows them to revisit sites repeatedly under precise lighting and atmospheric conditions.

Many of the buildings featured in FACADES required centuries to complete. Brunetti mirrors that extended timeline in his own process. Some structures require multiple visits across several years because of restorations, weather conditions, tourism, or ongoing construction. His portrait of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, for instance, began in 2007 and reached completion nearly two decades later after seven separate returns to the site.

Patience ultimately becomes central to the meaning of FACADES. The series functions as more than a photographic archive of sacred architecture. It also meditates on endurance, and the way architecture accumulates history through preservation, and time. Brunetti removes modern distractions such as signage, traffic, scaffolding, and crowds. As a result, viewers encounter these structures with rare concentration. The images feel less like contemporary documents and more like idealized architectural memories.

Photographer Markus Brunetti meticulously documents Europe’s historic churches through monumental facade portraits assembled from thousands of individual photographs.

“Amiens, Cathédrale Notre-Dame,” 2009-2016, archival pigment print, 66 1/8 inches x 54 5/16 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York.

“Koln, Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus,” 2008-2014, archival pigment print, 113 3/8 inches x 54 5/16 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York.

Brunetti’s precisely stitched compositions flatten perspective to reveal intricate carvings, mosaics, columns, and Gothic ornamentation with remarkable architectural clarity.

“Roma, Basilica di San Pietro,” 2007-2026, archival pigment print, image 58 1/4 inches x 58 1/4 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York.

“Firenze, Santa Maria Novella,” 2016-2023, archival pigment print,
58 1/4 inches x 58 1/4 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York, shared with permission

Together, the images transform centuries-old cathedrals and basilicas into timeless studies of craftsmanship, preservation, and sacred design.

“Venezia, Santa Maria dei Miracoli,” 2006-2023, archival pigment print, 83 3/4 inches x 54 1/4 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York.

“Milano, Duomo di Santa Maria Nascente,” 2009-2017, archival pigment print, 54 5/16 inches x 66 1/8 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York.

“Amalfi, Duomo di Sant’Andrea Apostolo,” 2010-2026, archival pigment print, 58 1/4 x 58 1/4 inches. © Marcus Brunetti, courtesy of Yossi Milo, New York.

Exhibition Information:
FACADES IV
April 30, 2026–June 20, 2027
Yossi Milo Gallery
245 10th Ave, New York, New York, 10001, U.S.A.

Markus Brunetti: Website

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Yossi Milo. 

Related Articles:

Artist Captures Rich History of Europe’s Ornate Architecture in Meticulous Drawings

Photographer Captures the “Architecture of Silence” in Abandoned Towns and Empty Locations [Interview]

Hidden Interiors of Musical Instruments Look Like Secret Rooms of Old World Architecture

Awe-Inspiring Images Offer a Dizzying Glance Into Europe’s Soaring Cathedrals

READ: Photographer Compiles Thousands of Photos to Meticulously Document Europe’s Churches

Mexico City has grown into one of the most alluring destinations in the world. Part of its charm is its unparalleled mixture of tradition and modernity. Colima 71, a stylish hotel in the bustling Roma Norte neighborhood, encompasses this sentiment. Designed with a profound reverence for the culture at the door, the hotel marries warmth with style.

The property was designed by T.A.X. by Alberto Kalach, the Mexican architect best known for his work at the soaring, mind-boggling Biblioteca Vasconcelos in Mexico City. Devoted to integrating architecture with nature, the architectural team translates this vision into Colima 71’s residential-inspired design by seamlessly incorporating materials, including metal, stone, and wood. The result is a cozy yet clean environment, crowned by private balconies that overlook the hotel’s courtyard and wash the interiors in daylight.

The interior design, led by Nomah Studio and Karla Celerio, draws from Roma Norte’s current artistic splendor and grandeur of yesteryear. The creatives bring marble and wood into the rooms and shared spaces, pairing them with forward-looking furniture boasting rich fabrics like velvet and French tapestries. With this, the team achieves a luxurious yet calm atmosphere that both resets the guests and inspires them to continue exploring.

As a testament to Colima 71’s commitment to the local art scene, the hotel features some insightful art offerings within its walls. These include a towering sculptural installation by Darío Escobar, featuring bicycle tires, stainless steel, and brass, which frames the glass and metal escalator as well as the central staircase. Visitors can also browse a photography collection by contemporary artist Iñaki Bonilla, and an Art Deco-inspired latticework installation designed by artist Sofía Taboas. It’s reminiscent of the glamorous window grates found in the classic houses in Colonia Roma.

“This is a very special project for Mexico City, and in particular, Colonia Roma Norte. At Colima 71, we wish to take our guests on an immersive journey through the neighborhood’s unique culture and lifestyle that begins as soon as they set foot in our hotel,” says Ana Ongay, managing director of Colima 71 Art Community Hotel.

“We’re just minutes from the best restaurants in the city, the most inspiring art galleries, and eccentric artisan shops, all nestled among the destination’s historical architecture and natural beauty. We want to provide our guests with a comfortable, design-forward home base and encourage them to explore the vibrant surrounding neighborhoods.”

To learn more and book your stay, visit Colima 71’s website. You can also stay up to date with the hotel by following Colima 71 on Instagram.

Colima 71, a stylish hotel in the bustling Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City, marries tradition with modernity.

Colima 71: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Colima 71/Decker Royal.

Related Articles:

How To Experience Hotel EDC, a High-Energy Hub for the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas

Stylish San Francisco Hotel Combines City Living With Luxurious Accommodations

This Mexico City Museum Holds Diego Rivera’s Expansive Pre-Columbian Artifact Collection

19 Soccer-Inspired Exhibits Are Opening in Mexico City During the 2026 FIFA World Cup

READ: This Mexico City Hotel Marries Contemporary Design With Reverence for the Local Culture

For decades, fashion exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art occupied a tucked-away space beneath the museum’s iconic Great Hall. Now, that relationship has dramatically shifted. The institution recently unveiled the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a nearly 12,000-square-foot suite of exhibition spaces designed by Peterson Rich Office, relocating fashion to one of the museum’s most visible and architecturally significant locations.

Positioned adjacent to the Great Hall, the galleries signal more than a physical expansion. They reflect a broader institutional statement about the role of fashion within the museum world. The new spaces debuted with Costume Art, an exhibition organized by The Costume Institute that places garments in conversation with paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts spanning centuries of human history.

Founded in 2014 by architects Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich, Brooklyn-based Peterson Rich Office has become known for culturally driven projects that balance contemporary design with historical context. Its work at The Met required navigating one of the world’s most layered architectural institutions, a museum shaped through more than twenty expansions and renovations over the past century. Rather than impose a radically contrasting identity onto the site, the architects developed interiors that feel connected to the museum’s existing architectural language.

The galleries themselves unfold through five sequential rooms adapted from what was once an interior courtyard and later the museum’s gift shop. According to Peterson Rich Office, the design embraces a “deliberate paradox,” creating spaces that feel permanent and monumental while remaining flexible enough to host ever-changing exhibitions.

To achieve this balance, the architects introduced a restrained material palette rooted in classical museum architecture. Grey marmorino plaster walls echo the texture and tonality of neighboring Greek and Roman galleries, while oversized oak doors framed by limestone arches establish a sense of procession and permanence. Structural columns conceal lighting, climate, and exhibition infrastructure, allowing curators to continuously reconfigure displays without disrupting the visual calm of the interiors.

One of the project’s greatest strengths is how naturally the new galleries fit within The Met itself. Instead of standing apart from the museum’s historic Beaux-Arts architecture, the spaces feel as though they have always been part of the building. Their open layout and thoughtful design also bring a more contemporary sense of movement and accessibility, allowing visitors to encounter fashion exhibitions directly beside some of the museum’s most iconic collections rather than tucked away underground.

The inaugural exhibition, Costume Art, further reinforces this architectural argument. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show presents roughly 200 garments and accessories alongside 200 artworks from across the museum’s collection. Themes such as “The Classical Body,” “The Aging Body,” and “The Disabled Body” explore how fashion shapes perceptions of identity, beauty, and the human figure across cultures and eras.

Importantly, the architecture was designed not simply as a neutral container for fashion, but as an active participant in the exhibition experience. The restrained interiors allow garments, artworks, and mannequins to take visual precedence while still surrounding visitors with a palpable sense of material richness. Wide limestone openings create cinematic transitions between rooms, and the sequencing of spaces encourages visitors to move slowly and contemplatively through the galleries.

The project is also part of a much larger institutional transformation underway at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Beyond the Condé M. Nast Galleries, Peterson Rich Office is reimagining the museum’s dining spaces, retail areas, and public entrance at 83rd Street and Fifth Avenue in an effort to improve circulation and create more welcoming visitor experiences throughout the building.

In many ways, the Condé M. Nast Galleries embody a larger shift happening across museums internationally, where architecture increasingly reflects changing definitions of what deserves institutional prominence. By giving fashion a luminous, monumental home at the center of one of the world’s greatest museums, The Met and Peterson Rich Office have transformed the perception of costume from supplementary material into a central form of cultural expression.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries relocate fashion exhibitions from the museum’s basement into a monumental suite of rooms beside the iconic Great Hall.

Designed by Peterson Rich Office, the galleries combine limestone arches, oak doors, and marmorino plaster walls to create interiors that feel both historic and distinctly contemporary.

By placing costume exhibitions at the center of one of the world’s most prestigious museums, the project reframes fashion as a major form of cultural and artistic expression.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Peterson Rich Office.

Related Articles:

The Brooklyn Museum’s African Art Collection Is About To Get a Major Upgrade

Get a Peek Into the Newly Opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

National Geographic’s ‘Museum of Exploration’ Will Open Its Doors This Summer

Frida Escobedo Is the First Woman to Design a Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

READ: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Unveils Its Fashion Galleries, Highlighting Fashion’s Place in Museums

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Late Mexican painter Diego Rivera is best known for his work advancing Mexican muralism, one of the most politically charged art movements of the 20th century. But he was also an avid collector of pre-Columbian art, urged by a need to protect his ancestors creative output. The Anahuacalli Museum, whose name means “house surrounded by water,” is located in the southern edge of Mexico City. It houses Rivera’s expansive collection, honoring both the artist’s vision and Mexico’s cultural legacy.

The main building of the Anahuacalli Museum was also designed by Rivera, serving as further proof of the many facets of his artistry. Made of volcanic stone, its unique structure mixes Teotihuacan and Mayan building techniques with Rivera’s distinctive vision. Even the building’s ceiling panels are works of art themselves, showcasing Rivera’s experiments, which blended art with architecture.

Brought to life in collaboration with his daughter, architect Ruth Rivera, and fellow artist and renaissance man Juan O’Gorman, the Anahuacalli Museum opened its doors on September 18, 1964. Across its 23 galleries, visitors can take in the 2,500 pieces from a collection of 60,000 artifacts.

Rather than simply presenting this assortment like an archaeology exhibit, the museum aims to create an artistic experience, reminding the public about the merit of the works beyond their historical context. “I am returning to the people whatever I was able to salvage from their ancestors’ artistic legacy,” Rivera has said about his collection.

In addition to his personal collection, the museum holds some of Rivera’s own sketches, allowing visitors to take a peek inside the artist’s creative process and vision on a scale that’s almost opposite to that of his towering murals. The museum also welcomes temporary contemporary art exhibits, establishing a creative dialogue between the past and the present.

If you’re ever in Mexico City, the museum is located at Museo 150, San Pablo Tepetlapa, Coyoacán, and opens from Tuesday through Sunday, except for holidays. To learn more and plan your visit, check out Anahuacalli Museum’s website.

The Anahuacalli Museum, in Mexico City, houses Diego Rivera’s expansive collection of pre-Columbian artifacts, honoring both his artistic vision and Mexico’s cultural legacy.

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli. © D. R. Bank of Mexico, trustee in the Trust related to the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli. © D. R. Bank of Mexico, trustee in the Trust related to the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli. © D. R. Bank of Mexico, trustee in the Trust related to the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli. © D. R. Bank of Mexico, trustee in the Trust related to the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Photo: Courtesy of Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Museo Anahuacalli: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli.

Related Articles:

Multidisciplinary Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Exhibition To Land at the MoMA

How Diego Rivera Shaped Mexican Muralism, a 50-Year Movement Sparked by the Revolution

Take a Peek Inside Frida Kahlo’s Personal Mexican Sanctuary in New Book

Valuable Art Collection Featuring Frida Kahlo Set To Leave Mexico Sparks Concern in Art Community

READ: This Mexico City Museum Holds Diego Rivera’s Expansive Pre-Columbian Artifact Collection

View of Observation Deck looking West

Many architects are inspired by nature, but few projects have dared to make a nearly manmade replica of its source. The upcoming 595 West Georgia Street, planned for downtown Vancouver, draws influence from sea sponges—specifically, the Venus’ flower basket found primarily in the nearby Pacific Ocean. (The species is viewed with such reverence that the creatives behind the design even attach an image of the critter in their press materials as a reference.) The result is an exciting building that proves that nature is the greatest architect of them all.

Designed by Henriquez Partners Architects, 595 West Georgia Street is meant to be part of the larger Georgia & Abbott development brought to life by the Holborn Group. Made up of four buildings, this one is the crown jewel of the project. With a proposed height of 1,033 feet, it would become Vancouver’s tallest building, standing out in a city known for its glittering skyscrapers overlooking the mountains and the ocean.

The sea sponge inspiration will take the form of a diagrid exoskeleton. It will wrap the building and provide much of the supporting structure in an earthquake-prone area, and allow for expansive column-free interiors while minimizing material use. This element was developed in collaboration with international engineering leader Arup and draws from the skeletal lattice of sea sponges, a feature that is currently being researched at Harvard for its groundbreaking structural efficiency.

Atop 595 West Georgia Street, which will be home to a hotel, the architects also envisioned a publicly accessible observation deck. Designed by PFS Studio, it is described as a “forest in the sky” with unbeatable views of the city. By comparison, the Vancouver Lookout at Harbor Centre, considered the best observation deck in the city, is only 482 feet tall—less than half of the proposed height of this new building. On the ground level, a 17,000-square-foot public plaza will connect it with its three sister buildings, and it will feature retail and restaurant pavilions, a cultural center, and Indigenous art.

The other buildings in the complex are also fascinating. While 595 West Georgia Street boasts its oceanic inspiration via its sponge-like exoskeleton, the neighboring 501 West Georgia Street, which is made up of two buildings, will feature sculptural balconies and screens that evoke the texture and complexity of the sponge’s filigree form. The former will contain residential space, along with a shared rooftop amenity deck, while the latter will have social housing, an art gallery, and daycare.

“In total, the development will create more than 1,900 new homes, a 920-room hotel, 70,130 square feet of much-needed conference space, Indigenous-led reconciliation through art, and introduce significant public amenities across both sites. This project will serve as a major economic catalyst for downtown Vancouver, creating thousands of construction and permanent jobs,” the architects share. “The architectural expression of the project tells a story that is unique to British Columbia and inspired by rare and ancient glass sea sponge reefs—living structures found off the BC coast that demonstrate strength and adaptability.”

The proposed project has been submitted to the city of Vancouver, so time will tell if this marine-inspired architectural daydream will become a reality. To stay up to date, follow Henriquez Partners Architects on social media.

Henriquez Partners Architects designed a building inspired by Venus’ flower basket, a sea sponge found in the Pacific Ocean. It’s proposed for downtown Vancouver.

Sectionional view from Seymour Street looking East

View of Plaza at Seymour and West Georgia Streets

Aerial View of all sites looking West

Glass Sea Sponge-Venus Flower Basket (via NOAA)

View of 388 Abbott Street

Holborn Group: Website
Henriquez Partners Architects: Website

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Henriquez Partners Architects.

Related Articles:

National Geographic’s ‘Museum of Exploration’ Will Open Its Doors This Summer

Spanish Pavilion at the 2026 World Design Capital Imagines Infrastructure as a Living System

Contemporary Villas on Remote Japanese Island Built Using an Ancient Construction Technique

Get a Peek Into the Newly Opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

READ: Sea Sponges Have Inspired a New Skyscraper Proposed for Vancouver

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

Inspired by Europe’s richly ornate architecture, British illustrator Liam Hipple meticulously captures iconic landmarks and aerial cityscapes in extraordinary detail. He works with ink on watercolor paper, building each complex composition through intricate crosshatching and line work. Every facade, rooftop, and statue is captured with perfect precision, revealing the artist’s appreciation for his architectural subjects.

Over the course of two years, Hipple created his most ambitious drawing yet: the Paris Composite Project. The incredible work, which stretches 7 feet in length, is a continuous illustration of Parisian architecture, featuring key landmarks such as Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Eiffel Tower, and Hôtel des Invalides, alongside famous Parisian sculptures.

Hipple selected French landmarks that reflect key moments in the country’s history. “I began this process by considering what I imagine when thinking of Paris,” he says. “My initial thoughts went to the chaotic Revolutionary period and the drastic changes that occurred throughout France and specifically Paris in this time, not just architecturally but politically and culturally. This led me to the Hotel de Ville, the city hall of Paris witnessed some of the most consequential scenes in history including the numerous popular uprisings in the earliest days of the Revolution.”

Hipple also includes the Conciergerie, once a medieval royal residence and later a political prison during the Reign of Terror, where Marie Antoinette was famously held. He also looks to the period before the French Revolution for inspiration, incorporating churches, cathedrals, and royal estates to reflect the city’s earlier architectural heritage.

Over the years, Hipple has also illustrated the Flatiron Building in New York, the Dome of the Rock in the old City of Jerusalem, and the Venetian gothic-style Doge’s Palace in Venice. No matter his subject, there’s a clear sense that he knows these structures intimately and takes care to capture every detail in ink.

Check out the artist’s incredible work below and find more from his growing portfolio by following Liam Hipple on Instagram.

Inspired by Europe’s richly ornate architecture, British illustrator Liam Hipple captures iconic landmarks and aerial cityscapes in extraordinary detail.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

Over the course of two years, Hipple created his most ambitious drawing yet: the Paris Composite Project.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

The incredible work, which stretches 7 feet in length, features a continuous illustration of Parisian architecture.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

No matter his subject, there’s a clear sense that Hipple knows these structures intimately and takes care to capture every detail in ink.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

Watch the incredible artist at work.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by liam hipple (@liamhippleillustration)

Liam Hipple: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Related Articles:

Stunning Ink and Colored Pencil Architecture Drawings Inspired by Old-World Europe

Illuminating Architecture Drawings Feature Gorgeous Glowing Windows

Intricate Architecture Drawings Capture the Beauty of Gothic Buildings Across Europe

Incredible Pen Drawings Visualize Futuristic Cities With Densely Detailed Architecture

READ: Artist Captures Rich History of Europe’s Ornate Architecture in Meticulous Drawings

Rendering of the exterior front courtyard of the renovated National Geographic Society headquarters and Museum of Exploration.

After nearly four years of anticipation, the National Geographic Society will finally unveil its Museum of Exploration and remodeled global headquarters on June 26, 2026. Based in Washington, D.C., the site will comprise more than 100,000 square feet of new public space, all while taking guests on a sprawling adventure through the natural world—and, of course, all the wonders it holds.

The Museum of Exploration (MOE) will be nestled on the 130-year-old National Geographic campus, which is also undergoing revitalization thanks to dedicated fundraising, donor contributions, and a massive gift from Rolex originally made in 2023. On its exterior, MOE boasts a swooping architectural silhouette, greeting visitors with a grand entrance and outdoor pavilion with ample seating and greenery. Completing the entryway is the organization’s iconic rectangle logo, cleverly framing the museum and encouraging visitors to snap pictures within its yellow borders. Stepping inside reveals equally fluid forms, paired with wooden details and other organic elements that complement National Geographic’s environmentalist mission.

But what really distinguishes MOE is its treasure trove of galleries and exhibitions. For the first time, National Geographic will showcase more than a century’s worth of archival materials, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the organization’s history, its various global expeditions, and how its visual storytelling has evolved through its photography and magazines. One room, for instance, gathers several maps designed by National Geographic’s artists and cartographers, while another investigates the organization’s filmmaking process with behind-the-scenes perspectives. Interactive elements expand the exhibition’s scope, allowing guests to engage with a digital research station that harbors over 300 photos, film clips, artifacts, and sound recordings.

Also featured is the Rolex Explorers Landing, where visitors can meet a diverse range of National Geographic Explorers. The gallery is organized into four thematic sections, including “Spark,” “Trek,” “Purpose,” and “Impact,” and highlights the people, stories, and artifacts at the heart of the organization’s renowned Explorers program. Elsewhere, In Focus: Photographs of National Geographic provides a meticulously curated collection of National Geographic’s most influential images, ranging from George Shiras’ first photo of wildlife taken at night to Ami Vitale’s emotive photo of the last male northern white rhinoceros. Similarly, MOE will also debut with the temporary exhibition Photo Ark: Animals of Earth, encompassing wildlife portraits taken by Joel Sartore.

“The Museum of Exploration is where our legacy of storytelling meets the experiential technology of today, inviting everyone to step into the worlds of National Geographic Explorers,” Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society, said of MOE. “Every inch is designed to immerse visitors in Explorers’ journeys, the tools that move exploration forward, and the curiosity that drives our mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world.​​​​‌‍​‍​‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍​‍​‍​‍‍​‍​‍‌​‌‍​‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌​‌‍‌​‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍​‍​‍​‍​​‍​‍‌‍‍​‌​‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‍​‍​‍‍​‍​‍‌‍‍​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‍‍​‍​‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​​‍‌‌‍​‌‍‌‌​​‍‍‌‍‍‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍​‌‌‍​‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌​‍‌‍​‌‌​​‌‍‍​‌‍‍‌‌‍​​‍‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌​​‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​‌‍‍‌‌‌​​‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌​‌‍‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌‍‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍​‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌​​‌​​​‌‍​‌​‌​​​​​​‍​‌‌‍​‌‌‍‌‍​‍‌​​‌​​‌‌‍​‌‍‌‍​‍‌​‌​‌‍​‌​‌​​​‍​‍‌​‍‌​​‌‌‍‌‌‌‍​‌​‍‌​‌‌​‌‍‌‍‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍​‍​​‍‌‍‌​​‍‌‌​‌‍‌‌​​‌‍‌‌​‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‍​‌‌​‍‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌‍​‌‍​‌‍‌‌​‍‌​​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‍​​‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌​‌​‌‍​‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌​​‍‌‍‌‍‌​‌‍‌​‍‌‌​‌‌‌​​‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​‍‌‌​​‌​‌​​‍‌‌​​‌​‌​​‍‌‌​​‍​​‍​​​​​‌‍‌‍​‌​​‌​​​‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍​​​‌​​​​​‍‌‌​​‍​​‍​‍‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​‌‍‌‌​‌‍​‍‌‍​‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‍‌‍​​‌‌‍‍​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‍‌‌​​‌​​‌​‍‌‌​​‍‌​‌‍​‍‌‌​​‍‌​‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​​‍‌‌‍​‌‍‌‌​​‍‍‌‍‍‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍​‌‌‍​‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌​‍‌‍​‌‌​​‌‍‍​‌‍‍‌‌‍​​‍‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‌​‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌​​‌​​​‌‍​‌​‌​​​​​​‍​‌‌‍​‌‌‍‌‍​‍‌​​‌​​‌‌‍​‌‍‌‍​‍‌​‌​‌‍​‌​‌​​​‍​‍‌​‍‌​​‌‌‍‌‌‌‍​‌​‍‌​‌‌​‌‍‌‍‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍​‍​​‍‌‍‌​​‍‌‍‌‌​‌‍‌‌​​‌‍‌‌​‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‍​‌‌​‍‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌‍​‌‍​‌‍‌‌​‍‌‍‌​​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌‍‍​​‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌​‌​‌‍​‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌​​‍‌‍‌‍‌​‌‍‌​‍‌‌​‌‌‌​​‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​‍‌‌​​‌​‌​​‍‌‌​​‌​‌​​‍‌‌​​‍​​‍​​​​​‌‍‌‍​‌​​‌​​​‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍​​​‌​​​​​‍‌‌​​‍​​‍​‍‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍‍‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​‌‍‌‌​‍‌‍‌​​‌‍‌‌‌​‍‌​‌​​‌‍‌‌‌‍​‌‌​‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‍​‍‌‍​‌‍‍‌‌​‌‍‍​‌‍‌‌‌‍‌​​‍​‍‌‌”

To ensure maximum accessibility, exhibition signage throughout the museum will be available in English and Spanish, with Braille messaging in both languages available at key wayfinding points. Captioning, visual descriptions, and ASL are also featured in media. General admission for MOE starts at $29.99 for adults, though National Geographic is partnering with Museums for All to offer discounted admission to visitors who qualify.

To learn more and plan your own visit, check out the Museum of Exploration website and stay updated via the MOE Instagram.

On June 26, 2026, the National Geographic Society will open the Museum of Exploration in Washington, D.C.

Rendering of the exterior front courtyard of the renovated National Geographic Society headquarters and Museum of Exploration.

Rendering of the museum’s Grosvenor Auditorium.

Rendering of the museum’s outdoor pavilion.

Rendering of the museum’s Magazine Gallery.

Rendering of the museum’s archives section.

The museum, which will be nestled on the organization’s 130-year-old campus, will offer visitors an unprecedented glimpse into National Geographic’s history, its photographic archives, its Explorers program, and more.

Rendering of the exterior front courtyard of the renovated National Geographic Society headquarters and Museum of Exploration.

Rendering of the interior of the museum’s pavilion.

Rendering of the museum’s Learning Launchpad section.

Rendering of the museum’s Photo Gallery.

Rendering of the museum’s archives section.

Rendering of the museum’s terrace.

Rendering of the entrance to the museum’s Learning Launchpad section, powered by Cengage.

Rendering of the museum’s nighttime courtyard experience.

National Geographic Museum of Exploration: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by National Geographic.

Related Articles:

The Brooklyn Museum’s African Art Collection Is About To Get a Major Upgrade

Immersive teamLab Museum and Wetlands Expansion Coming To Gardens by the Bay in Singapore

Get a Peek Into the Newly Opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

READ: National Geographic’s ‘Museum of Exploration’ Will Open Its Doors This Summer

Every two years, the World Design Organization bestows the title of World Design Capital on a city (or region). The 2026 World Design Capital (WDC) is Frankfurt Rhein-Main in Germany, with pioneering projects and programming to explore the depths of design and its potential. Temporary architecture (pavilions) is one part of WDC, and beginning April 30, 2026, the Spanish Design Pavilion will open its doors to the public.

Spain’s reversible pavilion redefines temporary architecture as a circular, public system. The project positions architecture as an adaptable infrastructure for cultural exchange rather than a fixed object, and it activates its Instituto Cervantes garden as a site for exhibitions, performances, and public gatherings.

Architects José Ramón Tramoyeres and Javier Cortina designed the pavilion as a fully reversible structure that disassembles, relocates, and reassembles without generating architectural waste. They organized the system through modular components in wood, ceramic, and textile, which establishes a lightweight structural logic and enables repeated cycles of construction and deconstruction. This approach shifts emphasis from permanence to material efficiency and reuse within temporary cultural infrastructure.

The design draws from Antoni Gaudí’s spatial and structural principles, particularly his integration of geometry, material behavior, and structural continuity. The architects translate these references into a modular framework that produces continuous curved forms through repetition rather than mass carving. They embed historical reference into a contemporary system that prioritizes fabrication logic and adaptability over imitation.

The pavilion will showcase exhibitions, performances, and civic dialogue throughout its installation period. Its open configuration encourages circulation and interaction, and it integrates environmental responsiveness through filtered light, ventilation, and low-energy illumination that shifts the spatial atmosphere between day and night. This programmatic flexibility aligns the structure with the broader goals of WDC 2026.

The project advances a model of architecture defined by reversibility, mobility, and material recovery rather than permanence. It establishes a framework in which temporary structures operate as repeatable systems that adapt to multiple contexts over time. The pavilion demonstrates how circular design principles can transform cultural architecture into a transferable methodology rather than a singular object.

The Spanish Design Pavilion opens in Frankfurt on April 30, 2026, as a temporary cultural structure for World Design Capital 2026.

It showcases reversible, modular architecture in a public setting.

The design translates Gaudí’s geometric and structural principles into a lightweight system of wood, ceramic, and textile components that form a flexible and reusable pavilion for exhibitions and events.

The pavilion demonstrates how reusable architecture can extend beyond a single site by relocating and reconfiguring itself across future contexts without relying on permanence.

Spanish Design Pavilion: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permissions to feature photos by ICEX. 

Related Articles:

This Living Concept Reimagines Architecture for Islands Vulnerable to Climate Change

Designer Unveils How the Burning Man Temple Will Look in 2026, and It’s Inspired by a Rare Flower

Rammed Earth-Inspired Concept House Looks Like a Rocky Formation in the Desert

Sagrada Família Reaches Full Height as Gaudí’s Central Tower Is Completed

READ: Spanish Pavilion at the 2026 World Design Capital Imagines Infrastructure as a Living System