#cultural-infrastructure

#cultural-infrastructure

Among the 2025 Aga Khan Award winners is AAU Anastas and their project, Wonder Cabinet in Palestine, whose central aim is to serve as a haven for culture and creativity and a bridge between design and production. Beyond this meaningful project, AAU Anastas-working from offices in Bethlehem, Palestine, and Paris, France-has built a broad portfolio since 2015. Notable works include Dar Al Majous, a restoration in Bethlehem that challenges

This week's architectural news reflects a broad engagement with how institutions, practitioners, and cultural platforms are positioning themselves in relation to both legacy and long-term change. Across museums, galleries, and major cultural events, architecture is being framed as an evolving public infrastructure, one that must respond to expanding collections, shifting curatorial models, and growing expectations around accessibility, sustainability, and civic presence.

Construction has kicked off on what might be Southeast Asia's most jaw-dropping cultural project-the Isola della Musica, a striking opera house designed by the legendary Renzo Piano that will literally float on Hanoi's West Lake when it opens in 2027. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more dramatic setting for world-class performances. The name means "Island of Music" in Italian, which feels fitting given Piano's heritage and the venue's extraordinary location on the Quang An Peninsula,