Skyscrapers top out nearly every day in cities across China, making it increasingly difficult for architects to distinguish themselves on the skyline. Some aspiring types believe the antidote is in ever more bizarre designs. The contours of Beijing's new HQ for the People's Daily newspaper, for instance, are alarmingly priapic; officials in Fushun commissioned a giant steel ring that appears to have no interior square footage at all.
See China's latest wave of development
Still, the past several months have brought their share of sensible, groundbreaking designs - from skilled practices both domestic and international. Not that they're less ambitious; some of these projects are astonishing to imagine and would likely be unfeasible anywhere else on earth but in China's vast and rapidly developing territory. And yet here they are as completed or near-completed works.
Seen together, they capture an image of a China on the move, not just economically, but culturally. Theatres, art museums and tourist hubs beckon for a population that, only a decade ago, had barely travelled for leisure. They're also putting regional China on the map for the rest of the world. That can only lead to a better understanding of this enigmatic country, its people and the forces behind its speedy transformation.
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Rivian hits Miami Art Week to release R1S Quad Miami Edition, a new colour and a scentVivid sights and evocative smells are part of Rivian’s quest to humanise its all-electric SUVs
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Katie Stout installs a stone menagerie across Miami's Design DistrictHorses, frogs and even a mermaid have taken over the avenues of Miami Design District. Discover ‘Gargantua’s Thumb’, a collection of stone seating by designer Katie Stout
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An analogue room planner kit makes designing your dream home a doddlePlanora, a new room planner option conceived by a team of three Swedish architects, is a beautifully produced, analogue tool to help conceptualise your new space
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Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu to curate the 2027 Venice Architecture BiennaleChinese architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu have been revealed as the curators of the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale
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Tour this Chinese eco-farm, an imaginative wonderland connecting visitors with natureLuxeIsland Farm by Various Associates is an eco-farm and visitor attraction in China’s picturesque Wuhan region; take a stroll across its fantastical landscape
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Honouring visionary landscape architect Kongjian Yu (1963-2025)Kongjian Yu, the renowned landscape architect and founder of Turenscape, has died; we honour the multi-award-winning creative’s life and work
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A new AI data centre in Beijing is designed to evolve and adapt, just like the technology withinSpecialised data centre Spark 761, designed by llLab, is conceived as a physical space where humans and AI technology can coexist
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Shanghai’s biennial, RAMa 2025, takes architectural exploration outsideRAMa 2025, the architecture biennial at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai, launches, taking visitors on a journey through a historic city neighbourhood – and what it needs
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Atelier About Architecture’s ‘house within a house, and garden within a garden’House J in Beijing, by Atelier About Architecture, is an intricate remodelling complete with a hidden indoor garden and surprising sight lines
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A nature-inspired Chinese art centre cuts a crisp figure in a Guiyang parkA new Chinese art centre by Atelier Xi in the country's Guizhou Province is designed to bring together nature, art and community
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Zaha Hadid Architects’ spaceship-like Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum is now openLast week, ZHA announced the opening of its latest project: a museum in Shenzhen, China, dedicated to the power of technological advancements. It was only fitting, therefore, that the building design should embrace innovation
