PFAALL FOUNDATION MAG

Smiljan Radić, Wooden House, Lago Colico, Chile, 2015. @smiljanradic   This house is a 60 m long platform placed across the upper level of the site in order to maximize views over the forest that separates the house from the lake. The structure is an obsessive repetition of 14 x 14 cm cross-section wooden beams and columns. The use of simple technology —adjacent joints bolted together, without shims between pieces— permitted its quick, clean assembly. The exterior and interior of the entire house are coated with black-tinted varnish which generates a peaceful, shady interior. The landscape seems to enter easily through the windows, reflected on the ceiling clad with corrugated aluminium sheeting. Text source: El Croquis 199: Smiljan Radić, El Peso del Mundo. Photos ©Estudio Palma @estudiopalma @cristobalpalma ©2026 Smiljan Radić. All Rights Reserved.

Vector Architects, Yangshuo Sugarhouse Hotel, Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi, China. Design Period: 08/2013-10/2014 Construction Period: 10/2014-06/2017 @vectorarchitects Principal Architect: Gong Dong / Vector Architects Interior Architect: Bin Ju / Horizontal Space Design Landscape Designer: Qianbai Yu, Yingying Xiao Client: Landmark Tourism Investment Company Yangshuo Sugarhouse Hotel is located in a col near Li River in Yangshuo, Guangxi. Surrounded by picturesque natural landscape, the site locates in one of the most typical karst regions. An old sugar mill built in 1960s is beautifully preserved, with an industrial truss used for sugar cane transport. We envision industrial heritage as the representation of spirit of older generation. This became the premise of this project. Our main design strategies include the following. Flanked with newly-added suite building and villa, the old sugar mill and industrial truss occupy the central part of the hotel complex. The sunken plaza and reflecting pond further accentuate the spiritual symbolism and significance of the old structure. In order to create a sense of consistency, instead of simply copying the old materiality and texture, we try to seek this nuance where we use more contemporary materials and construction methods while remaining the tinge and masonry structure of the Old. Text source: Vector Architects Photos ©Chen Hao, Su Shengliang ©2026 Vector Architects. All Rights Reserved.

Slaatto Morsbøl, Hands On, Prospekt Galleri, Eriksgade 15, Copenhagen V, Denmark, 2025. @slaattomorsboel Collaboration:
NordSten Aps @nordstenaps 
LH Hockerup @lhhockerup Copenhagen Architecture Biennial 
The exhibition Hands On at Prospekt in Vesterbro was presented as part of the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial 2025, with support from Dreyers Fond and the Danish Arts Foundation, and in collaboration with NordSten Aps and LH Hockerup. When our buildings reach the end of their lifespan, the materials are transported by truck to waste sites that resemble parallel universes with their own ecosystems. Here, they are crushed and broken down into smaller fragments, forming new mountain-like landscapes. Do these terrains contain hidden potentials, possibilities, and stories? Can we view construction waste as materials in transit — where the question becomes: what will their next destination be? Hands On does not provide answers, but instead opens up a space of possibilities where the materials can be explored — by taking them into one’s hands and allowing time to feel their weight, porosity, smell, and surface. The exhibition offered insight into our work over the past two years, during which the central focus has continuously been how used and discarded materials can be given an extended lifespan within an architectural context. ©Slaatto Morsbøl 2026 . All Rights Reserved.

Common Accounts, Feel Conditions, Princeton University School of Architecture, 2025. @commonaccounts This work was commissioned for “The House Transformed” at @princetonarchitecture , curated by Monica Ponce de Leon, September 25, 2025 to February 7, 2026. Project team: Miles Gertler, Igor Bragado, Gladys Lee Curator: Mónica Ponce de León @mpdlstudio Assistant Curators: Shoshana Torn and Massimo Giannone Fabrication Assistance: Rahul Sehijpaul Physical Model: Gladys Lee Feel Conditions—a speculation developed for ‘The House Transformed’ at Princeton University School of Architecture—is an apparatus for kinship and homemaking. It takes the form of a continuous feed that stages performances of daily life for its inhabitants, and formally anticipates everyday cultures of resource sharing, ambiamory, and contact on- and offline. The project is conceived for a tightknit group of artists in Toronto. A series of interviews provided us with the programmatic structure of the building, and a series of priorities for each resident: romance in the quotidian; independent zones with their own areas for food preparation; private spaces with sonic separation for sleep, sex, and retreat; and shared spaces for hosting, rehearsing, partying, and work. Text source: Common Accounts Photos ©Common Accounts ©2026 Common Accounts. All Rights Reserved.

Craft Narrative, Pod for Happiness, Baramati, Maharashtra, India, 2024. @craft.narrative Principal Architects: Yatindra Patil and  Vijay Kharade. Team Design Credits: Bharat Yadav, Manasi, Yatindra Patil and  Vijay Kharade. 
In the small village of Hignigada near Baramati, Maharashtra, a young village head approached us to build an outdoor play area for school children. The school campus with a large playground divided by an avenue of seven trees, with classrooms arranged along the perimeter. Villagers fondly shared how they enjoyed evening walks and sitting under the trees. Inspired by this connection to nature & community space, we designed the play area around the banyan tree, making it the centerpiece of the insert. The result was the POD for Happiness, a multi-utility pod seamlessly integrating with the banyan tree. It not only serves school children but also the entire village, creating a playful and communal space while preserving the open playground. The POD takes the form of an arc that embraces the banyan tree, its porous design connecting two playgrounds. Children can climb from one end, slide down the other, and enjoy a raised bridge offering views of the school grounds and the nearby village temple. Text source: Craft Narrative Photos © Studio f/8 @studio.f8_ ©2026 Craft Narrative. All Rights Reserved.

The Natural Materials Lab: Kitchen Recipes in Messy Transformations. Lola Ben-Alon, Assistant Professor at Columbia University GSAPP, Director of the Natural Materials Lab for PFAALL Magazine. First image: Earthen Rituals, 2025. Lola Ben-Alon and the Natural Materials Lab. For the 19th @labiennale  . Photography: Alessandro Terranova. @naturalmaterialslab “At the Natural Materials Lab at Columbia GSAPP, we often say that we run a dirty laboratory. In an architectural world increasingly organized around dematerialization and industrial cleanliness, we choose to work with the unruly, the damp, the muddy and the living. We operate at the intersection of raw earth, plant fibers, and the bio-based waste that society has forgotten. Our vision is not just about decarbonizing the building sector. It is about a fundamental metabolic shift. We view architecture as a continuous flow of geology, biology, and energy. We believe that as our world becomes increasingly reliant on the digital, a return to the sensory, tactile, and transcorporeal nature of bodies and earthly beings has never been more vital.” Read the full story in our website. Thank you @naturalmaterialslab for sharing with us and our community the amazing research you are developing! ©2026 PFAALL FOUNDATION. All Rights Reserved.

Kazuyo Sejima, S-Art House, Inujima Art House Project, Okayama , Japan, 2011 - Present. Art director: Yuko Hasegawa Organization: Fukutake Foundation @yukohasegawa1 @sanaa_jimusho Inujima "Art House Project" was launched with the objective of inspiring the local community of Inujima, allowing them to experience the beautiful landscapes of everyday life and the familiar natural environments that extend beyond the artworks. 
Three galleries, F-Art House, S-Art House, and I-Art House, designed for special displays, and Nakanotani Gazebo (a rest area) were first opened on the island in 2010. In 2013, with the opening of two new galleries, A-Art House and C-Art House, works are shown at each venue and elsewhere around the village. The galleries, scattered around the area, are constructed out of a diverse range of materials including roofing tiles and other components of old houses, transparent acrylic glass and aluminum that reflects the landscape. Text source: Benesse Art Site Naoshima Photos © Iwan Baan  ©2026 Kazuyo Sejima. All Rights Reserved.

SelgasCano & Helloeverything, Kibera Hamlets School, Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, 2016. @selgascano The  Kibera Hamlets School project, in Nairobi, - where it was reassembled and uses as a school for 600 orphaned children, is a collaboration between @louisianamuseum in Copenhagen, Spanish practice SelgasCano, the New York architecture studio Helloeverything, Kenyan architect AbdulFatah Adam, architectural photographer Iwan Baan and London creative workplace @secondhome_io .

The Kibera Hamlets School provides children with an education despite having no drainage, toilets, electricity or adequate roof to keep out the frequent rain. The school is surrounded by piles of garbage and has an open sewage running alongside its classrooms.

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art commissioned the pavilion while Second Home funded the school’s construction, paying for its shipping and reconstruction in Kibera, Nairobi. “We are proud to support this project that shows how ambitious architecture can help make a positive difference to people’s lives.” said Second Home co-founder Rohan Silva, and adds, “Iwan Baan went on an assignment to Kibera and became really engaged in the place. He’s also close friends with SelgasCano and took them there on a trip.” Text source: Metalocus Photos © Iwan Baan ©2026 Selgascano. All Rights Reserved.

We’re honoured to have Olaf Grawert, Adrián Labaut, Ghizlaine Mallek, and Marie Roels as part of the MARCH Awards 2026 jury. Four voices building platforms, communities, and conversations around architecture and materials. Because every project exists within a bigger ecosystem, where ideas gain visibility. The MARCH Awards 2026 celebrate projects built with bio-based, circular, and local materials. Meet our Ecosystem Builders Jury: @olafgrawert , Co-founder & Managing Director at @houseeurope.eu @alabauth , Founder at @pfaallfoundation @theindoorsytype , Researcher at @healthymaterialslab @roelsmmarie , Co-founder & CEO at MARCH Submissions are now closed, but the competition is far from over. Next week, the People’s Choice Awards open. This is the time to vote for your favourite project. While the jury selects the winning projects throughout May, the public will also have its say in which projects deserve to be highlighted. Stay tuned to discover (and vote for) the projects shaping the future of architecture. → marchmaterials.com/competition-2026 With the support of: @hessler.kalk and @hanfstein.eu

Anna Heringer, METI school, Rudrapur, Dinajpur district, Bangladesh. Construction period: 6 months (September to December 2005,  March - April 2006).
 Design/ Concept: Anna Heringer 
Technical Planning: Eike Roswag  @studioannaheringer Rudrapur lies in the north of the most densely populated country on the earth. Poverty and the lack of an infrastructure drive many people from the countryside into the cities. The local NGO Dipshikha attempts to follow new paths with its development programme: the intention is to give the rural population perspectives and to help people learn about the value of the village in all its complexity. Part of this is a special school concept that instils in the children self-confidence and independence with the aim of strengthening their sense of identity.  The institution behind the school, the Modern Education and Training Institute (METI), promotes the development of its students’ individual skills and interests, which is reflected in its schedule. Alongside core subjects—language, mathematics, natural and social sciences—the school offers artistic disciplines, with teaching methods that include debate, group work, and meditation. On the ground floor, connected to three classrooms enclosed by thick earthen walls, there is a cave-like space with soft, organic surfaces where children can experience states of introspection, exploration, and concentration. The upper floor, by contrast, provides light and openness, with bamboo walls that open onto views of the trees and the village. Light and shadow filter through the bamboo onto the earthen floors, contrasting with the colorful sari fabrics suspended from the ceiling. Text source: Anna Heringer, AV Photos © Kurt Hoerbst ©2026 Anna Heringer. All Rights Reserved.

Marina Tabassum Architects, Bait Ur Rouf Jame Mosque, Faidabad, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2012. 
 @marinatabassum The initial idea is to search for the essence if Islam devoid of ritualistic and symbolic attributes - To question conventional typology; to hark back to the time of the beginning - to question 'WHAT IS A MOSQUE'. According to Qur'an: IN THE HOUSES [of worship] which God has allowed to be raised so that His name be remembered in them, there [are such as] extol His limitless glory at morn and evening - (Qur'an, 24:36) Mosque is essentially a place of congregation of devoted Muslims, gathered in brotherhood facing qibla in submission to one God, Omni present. It is a clearly defined space directed towards Ka'ba. Clarity of space is prerequisite as there is no mystic myth to ponder up on, no hierarchy. A carefully scaled and proportioned volume that is contemplative in nature is evenly lit to enhance the feeling of all as equal. Light remains at the core of the design. Text source: Marina Tabassum Architects ©2026 Marina Tabassum Architects. All Rights Reserved.

Gabriel Alonso, Alternatural, La Posada, Asturias, España, 2019. @ggggaaaaaaaaabbbb “In the beginning there was nothing. And this nothing was neither empty nor undefined: it was complete in itself. Nothingness was more than enough; it filled everything. […] Tubes are a peculiar fusion of fullness and emptiness, of hollow matter—a membrane of existence sheltering a bundle of nonexistence.” 
           —Amélie Nothomb, Métaphysique des tubes, Éditions Albin Michel, Paris, 2000

Alternatural is a work that resists straightforward categorization, unfolding instead at the intersections of sculpture, architecture, and landscape. It proposes a critical reflection on our relationship with nature by compressing the space it inhabits, creating a hollow or void to be charged with meaning through lived experience.

The work disrupts the pacified image of “the natural” and instead articulates a more complex and unsettled conception—one that demands constant renegotiation. Acting as a porous membrane between meadow (the artificiality of a domesticated nature) and forest (the wild), Alternatural creates a transitional threshold. Within this passage, the viewer is invited to recalibrate established boundaries and to dissolve binary oppositions such as nature/culture, human/animal, territory/landscape, and inside/outside. Text source: Gabriel Alonso ©2026 Gabriel Alonso. All Rights Reserved.