News and views

Mallanganee Observatory-Lookout

Situated within the World Heritage Richmond Range National Park in NSW’s River Valley region is the recently opened Mallanganee Observatory-Lookout. Designed by award-winning practice TERROIR, the form of the lookout is based on an armillary sphere.

Located at the point where the centre of the Milky Way passes directly overhead, at night the sphere serves to locate individual stars, constellations, galactic starfields and dark nebulae while also registering satellites passing overhead.

During the day, carved apertures within the sphere allow for curated views out to key landmarks within the Richmond Ranges, dissolving the boundaries of the spherical form whilst maintaining the allusion of the whole.

2026 Reader’s Digest New Zealand Trusted Brands Awards

Resene was also named 11th most trusted brand overall and is one of only five New Zealand-owned companies in the top 20.

Conducted by independent research company, Catalyst Research, more than 1700 Kiwis were asked to rate the brands they trust the most from across 69 categories of products and services. The full results from the 2026 awards can be found at: trustedbrands.co.nz.

Qingdao Science & Technology Museum

Designed by von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), the recently opened Qingdao Science & Technology Museum located on Hong Island is a 40,000sqm educational facility dedicated to marine research.

Since the 1980s, Qingdao has built a reputation as a leading centre for marine research and the museum has been designed to make marine research accessible to the public, incorporating themed exhibitions around the history of the sea, contemporary research, marine habitats, and shipping.

The project is the first phase of a larger planned complex, which will be expanded to include additional functions such as a marine aquarium and a planetarium.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum

The Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum has reopened following a nearly four-year renovation by OMA – the firm’s first public commission in Japan – under the direction of Shohei Shigematsu, partner of OMA’s New York practice.

The project focused on enhancing the museum’s accessibility, visibility and spatial engagement without altering the core architectural framework, designed by internationally renowned and awarded architect, Kiyonori Kikutake, and officially opened in 1993.

As part of key interventions introduced by OMA, the west entrance has been reimagined as a procession defined by torii-inspired gateways, referencing traditional Japanese spatial thresholds while echoing early concepts from Kikutake’s original design.

CLAUSURA

Founded in the 12th century, Herkenrode Abbey is a former Catholic monastery of Cistercian nuns in Limburg, Belgium. In 1974, the buildings and the surrounding estate were designated as a national historical monument and landscape.

As part of a €5 million development and repurposing project, studio Gijs Van Vaerenbergh was commissioned to conceptualise an artistic vision for the vanished heart of Herkenrode. CLAUSURA is an artistic and spatial intervention comprising a structure of thin steel rods that bring the vanished buildings back to their true scale and original location.

Iconic details such as windows, vaults, and towers enhance the sense of recognisability, although at times, these elements dissolve back into a chaos of lines.

THESEUS: A New Housing Typology

THESEUS: A New Housing Typology has been named winner of the Large Scale category of the Buildner 2025 Unbuilt Awards.

Designed by Emma Sheffer and Joe Russell from Harvard Graduate School of Design (USA), THESEUS is a modular housing system designed to repurpose decommissioned bulk-carrier cargo ship structures to address urban resilience and housing shortages.

Situated within the industrial port city of Chelsea, Massachusetts, THESEUS proposes a 150-bed housing project comprising five, mixed-used buildings arranged around public green spaces and amenities.

blackwhite magazine

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