Everything Passive House by OPAL is a multi-functional gathering facility in rural New Hampshire, designed to Passive House standards. Its design expresses contemporary New England rural traditions, with barn-like forms, timber frames, and natural materials, creating strong indoor-outdoor connections. The project supports leadership training, meetings, and events in harmony with the surrounding 600-acre landscape.
OPAL is an architecture practice centered on achieving excellence through sustainable, high-performance architecture. The firm exclusively follows Passive House principles, prioritizing energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and well-being, while reducing carbon impact. Their projects aim to improve the built environment, blending innovative design with measurable environmental responsibility.
स्व bhaav by Neogenesis+Studi0261, a home interior project for an affluent family in Surat, is a celebration of timeless embrace. Designed as an understated yet sophisticated home, it flaunts subtle luxury reflecting the clients’ soul. Every corner balances minimalism with functionality, blending bespoke art, natural materials, and contemporary style to create a serene, personal sanctuary of elegance and warmth.
Archidiaries is excited to share the Project of the Week – Retreat Home | Neogenesis+Studi0261. Along with this, the weekly highlight contains a few of the best projects, published throughout the week. These selected projects represent the best content curated and shared by the team at ArchiDiaries.
Walker Hall by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects features the adaptive reuse of a 1927 building at UC Davis. The project transforms a vacant, seismically unsafe structure into a graduate and professional student center. The design merges history and community with advanced learning environments, converting old shops and classrooms into flexible, active-learning spaces while celebrating original structural elements.
‘A Community Stage’ is a Bachelors Design Project by Liew Yao Rong from the ‘School of Architecture, Building and Design – Taylor’s University.’ The project aims to transform Kampung Attap into a shared creative and cultural hub where the boundaries between making and experiencing art are blurred. It seeks to foster community interaction, dialogue, and connection, turning everyday activities into a collective, participatory performance, while respecting the neighborhood’s heritage and urban context.
UH Infonavit Santa Fe by AMASA Estudio transforms a neglected, sloped corner of a housing complex into an accessible, integrated public space. A circular building adapts to the topography, preserves existing trees, and organizes terraces connecting play areas, sports facilities, and paths. The design creates a continuous, spiraling park where architecture and public space intertwine, promoting safety, use, and community life.
‘The RIV’ is an architecture thesis by Omar Abunnaja and Jasbir Bhamra from the ‘Illinois School of Architecture (ISoA).’ The project proposes to develop a high-rise that serves as a vertical extension of Chicago’s Riverwalk, aiming to revitalize a quieter section of the riverfront. It will enhance connections between the city, river, and sky while offering diverse public, residential, and cultural spaces, thus balancing bold architectural identity with urban integration and community engagement.
Leelamrut by Design Team Architects is envisioned as a residence that balances traditional yet modern functioning with a touch of sustainability. The design plays with exposed brickwork masses and exposed RCC, punctured by openings and balconies for porosity. Almost full-heighted windows with wooden frames, terracotta jali in a herringbone pattern, and an earthy material palette create a harmonious, light-filled, and intimate abode.
Design Team Architects is a multidisciplinary design practice based in Surat, India.
‘NHÀ NƠM’ is a Masters Design Thesis by Vo Duy Tai from the ‘Department of Architecture – University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City (UAH).’ The project uses landscape design as a tool to harmonize ecological conservation with community development in the Can Gio mangrove forest. By integrating sustainable aquaculture models and ecotourism activities, it seeks to restore and protect the mangrove ecosystem while creating livelihood opportunities for local residents. The project aspires to build a sustainable home where people and nature can coexist and thrive together.
NDSM Lusthof by Studio Ossidiana is imagined as a place of action, work, experimentation, and leisure: a contemporary pleasure garden on the banks of Amsterdam’s port. Within the former shipyards, it becomes a port for soil, plants, and minerals, a circular world-observatory open to people, plants, and animals, where openings frame the cardinal points and the solstices mark the passing of the seasons.
The Hub by MO-Design Studio transforms a two-floor factory building into a lively corporate office centered around an open-to-sky courtyard, envisioned as an urban jungle. The design breaks from traditional offices, emphasizing nature, openness, and visual connectivity with colors, textures, and patterns. The project offers a youthful, interactive, and flexible work environment where all functions revolve around the central courtyard.
MO-Design Studio, founded in 2022, aims to create spaces that are a blend of beauty, functionality, and sustainability. Their design philosophy centers around a seamless integration of modern minimalism, the unique characteristics of each location, and the specific requirements of their clientele. Every project they embark on is considered a journey that transitions from inspired ideas to careful execution, emphasizing high standards of creativity and quality.
‘Parallel Construct’ is an architecture thesis by Aspen Cheung from the ‘Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA).’ The aim of the project is to repurpose Block C of Summerhall into an interdisciplinary material science facility that fosters collaboration between architecture and engineering students. By treating the existing building as a material bank and exposing structural junctions as teaching tools, the project promotes hands-on, sustainable, and accessible learning while preserving heritage and minimizing environmental impact.
Sanghvi Residence by andblack design studio is an intimate study in a spatial atmosphere, where each room carries its own temperament shaped by subtle shifts in material, light, and proportion. The interior design balances function with emotion, creating spaces that are flexible, reflective, and playful. Its strength lies not in spectacle but in quiet contrasts, composed yet informal, crafting a home that lives, breathes, and listens.
Retreat Home by Neogenesis+Studi0261 is a holiday home designed as a getaway to escape the frenzied hustle and bustle of city life. True to its name, it embraces rustic extravagance entwined with comfort, creating a space for warm interactions and lasting memories. With its earthy palette, seamless indoor-outdoor connection, and timeless eminence, the residence offers a humble yet contemporary retreat in nature.
Prairie House by Arch.lab depicts a fusion of the clients’ lifestyle requirements shaped through design ideology. Three distinct volumes house separate yet integrated spaces for each generation, connected through courtyards, terraces, and outdoor areas. Shelter is expressed as large overhangs complementing existing trees, while stone, brick, and wood create an earthy, contemporary vibe that unifies form, function, and nature.
‘MAHJONG’ is a Bachelors Design Project by Siow Qian Yin from the ‘School of Architecture, Building and Design – Taylor’s University.’ The project aims to revive the communal spirit and cultural heritage of Petaling Street by transforming mahjong into an experiential activity that encourages connection, memory, and belonging. It seeks to create a space where heritage is actively shared, promoting intergenerational interaction and reawakening the street’s vibrancy through immersive design, communal activities, and cultural storytelling.
The Huanglong Island Lighthouse Hotel by WJ STUDIO explores the essence of time by integrating architecture into the island’s existing fishing village and rugged landscape. Through stepped layouts, open walkways, and visual corridors, the design merges indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing visitors to experience the island while preserving its cultural heritage and transforming rural depopulation into an opportunity for ecological tourism.
‘Pravah’ is an architecture thesis by Anish Bhim Shinde from the ‘Aditya College of Architecture.’ The project explores regenerative architecture as a means to restore the interconnections between water, culture, and ecosystems in Poladpur. It envisions a multifunctional rural node integrating sustainable water management with community spaces, while reviving traditions, supporting livelihoods, and fostering biodiversity, resilience, and social cohesion.
Shanghai Red Depot by Milanesi | Paiusco is a renovation project that transcends spatial renewal to become a reweaving of urban memory. Embracing the philosophy “Respect Time, Begin from the Future,” the design applies adaptive reuse and follows three strategies—Connect, Preserve, and Rebuild—to integrate history with contemporary life, transforming the industrial relic into a resilient and vibrant urban memory community.
The Alcantara-MAXXI project presents ‘Seed Bed,’ an installation by Studio Ossidiana, on the island of La Certosa. Inspired by cultivation and the ancient enclosed garden, the installation imagines a fence as both boundary and threshold, protecting man-made nature. Using Alcantara, a sustainable and circular material, the work creates ephemeral architecture that invites visitors to sow seeds and engage with biodiversity.
EDGE HafenCity by HENN is designed as an energy-efficient office building that actively fosters interaction and collaboration among its users. Shaped like a small town, it combines spaces for working, meeting, leisure, and relaxation. With its open atrium, terraces, and lushly planted roof, the building connects with its social environment and blends into the urban fabric of the Elbbrücken neighborhood.
