This summer, the Arbour adds two new lines to an already growing list of honours: the Architizer A+ Award in the Architecture for Good category, and the 2026 Governor General's Medal in Architecture, presented by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the Canada Council for the Arts.

In a city that moves at its own speed, a new 142 Sq. Mt. (1528 Sq. Ft.) room in Minsk, Belarus, asks visitors to do something increasingly rare: stay a while. MARKS Coffee & Books is not built for the rushed transaction of a to-go cup. It is built for lingering — for opening a book, ordering a second coffee, and watching the light shift across warm timber walls.

For decades, high-end design has focused almost entirely on the eyes. Top-tier architects obsessed over the perfect marble countertops, the flow of natural light, and the perfect colour palette. But today, the definition of luxury has expanded to include a different sense altogether: hearing.

In 2026, the real estate market is experiencing a quiet but massive shift. The days of chasing the largest possible house with unused rooms and sprawling lawns are fading. Today, homebuyers are embracing a different philosophy: housing diversity and "right-sizing."

Designing a fourplex isn't just scaling up a house. It's a structural, mechanical, and bureaucratic puzzle that forces architects to rethink assumptions baked into single-family practice for generations. Here's where the friction really lives—Canadian edition.

If his personality were a material, he says, it would be wood: strong yet flexible, natural and down to earth, dynamic and renewable. It is a fitting metaphor for a architect who has spent his career finding the balance between structure and adaptability — bending toward his clients' visions without losing the integrity of his own design instincts.

SONO is not a cottage dressed in regional costume, nor a modernist object dropped into the wilderness. It is something quieter and more considered: a structure that emerged from the site itself, shaped by its contours, its light, and the particular way two people wished to share a life without dissolving into one.

When a space requires a bold refresh, the standard flat white paint can finally be left behind. By embracing deep colours and seamless transitions, any room can become a perfectly balanced sanctuary. Ultimately, the most brilliant design choices are often found simply by looking up.

Set above the bay of Navarino, a stretch of coastline that has witnessed history on an almost operatic scale, the resort arrives at a moment when the very meaning of luxury is being renegotiated. Today's discerning traveller seeks not spectacle, but resonance — spaces that feel genuinely of their place, rooted in culture and material reality. Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino delivers both, and then some.

The end of the open concept is not a step backward in design; it is a step toward everyday comfort. By layering rich textures, warming up the color palette, and creating clearly defined spaces, homes are stepping away from the showroom look. Instead, they are turning back into true, private sanctuaries.

Modern homes are reaching for the sky with higher ceilings and taller entryways, but safety can never be sacrificed for style. For years, finding a high-quality, 8-foot-tall door that also met strict fire safety codes was a frustrating challenge for builders and architects.

True luxury has always been about comfort and peace of mind. By hiding the wires and silencing the screens, invisible tech allows homeowners to escape the digital noise of the outside world. The ultimate smart home isn't the one with the most gadgets—it's the one that lets people forget the gadgets exist at all.

here is a stretch of the Eastern Townships where the land does not ease into the water — it plunges. Along the western shores of Lake Memphremagog in the Potton region of Québec, steep forested slopes fall sharply to a narrow lakeside strip, and the light, filtered through dense stands of old trees, arrives late and leaves early. It is a site of elemental drama: ancient, quiet, and not easily won over. This is where the Counter-Slope House stands — or rather, where it settle

Canada's climate doesn't do subtlety. A building might face -30 °C in January and +35° C in July, sometimes within the same year, sometimes within the same week if you're in the Prairies. For architects and builders, this isn't just a design challenge—it's a physics problem that, if ignored, shows up later as mould, drafts, ice dams, and heating bills that make clients wince. The solution isn't more insulation. It's smarter envelopes.

In a city where architectural trends shift as quickly as its skyline, there is something quietly radical about staying the course. For 26 years, one Toronto-based studio has been doing exactly that, refining a singular approach to residential design rather than chasing the next big thing. Now operating as Michael Taylor Architecture + Design (MTA+D), the practice marks a new chapter while holding firm to the values that built its reputation in the first place.

Design studio CIVILIAN has unveiled the stunning interiors for the college’s new North Campus Residence Complex. Working alongside the renowned architecture firm KPF and project management group DBI Projects, CIVILIAN has transformed a massive 134,360-square-foot footprint into a vibrant, design-forward community for over 400 students.