The Story Behind Interesting Architecture Around the World - Bloomberg

Look at That Building

A series for the architecturally curious. With each story, Bloomberg CityLab takes a fresh look at a new design project by speaking to architects, landscape designers and historic renovation specialists.

Look at That Building: Alief Community Center in Houston — Bill Tatham/Sarah Schumacher for Bloomberg

Houston’s Alief Neighborhood Center Is a Resilience Hub for a Working-Class Melting Pot

A community center designed by SWA and Page aims to serve as a central space for a community that spans race, class and urban lines.

August 16, 2025

August 16, 2025

A London Apartment Tower With Echoes of Victorian Rail and Ancient Rome

Alison Brooks Architects’ historically minded design for Cadence, an apartment complex in Kings Cross, uses building materials to tell a story about the city’s history.

Look at that Building: Cadence in London

April 5, 2025

April 5, 2025

This Skinny Mexico City Tower Is Just 14 Feet Wide on One Side

The mixed-use building Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 780, designed by the architecture firm HEMAA, rises on a sliver of a parcel between a street and a rail line.

This Skinny Mexico City Tower Is Just 14 Feet Wide on One Side

February 2, 2025

February 2, 2025

New York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown Density

A progressive elementary school and Arabic language high school occupy a high-achieving Brooklyn building designed by Architecture Research Office.

New York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown Density

December 31, 2024

December 31, 2024

Detroit’s Michigan Central Is the Building Revival Story of 2024

Once a sign of the city’s stagnation, the long-vacant former train station is now a symbol of its revival — after a six-year restoration that cost almost $1 billion.

Detroit’s Michigan Central Is the Building Revival Story of 2024

November 9, 2024

November 9, 2024

Scoring an Architectural Breakthrough in Denver’s RiNo District

With its fractured facade and biophilic design, MAD Architects’ One River North evokes the canyons of the Rockies in one of Denver’s fastest-growing neighborhoods.

Look at That Building: One River North

October 26, 2024

October 26, 2024

A Courtyard Apartment Building Designed for Southwest Sprawl

Designed by Studio Ma, the Hollyhock brings sustainable, low-slung apartments to a single-family Phoenix suburb.

A Courtyard Apartment Building Designed for Southwest Sprawl

September 28, 2024

September 28, 2024

New Rowhouses in London That Offer a Bridge to the 19th Century

To meet the strict historic preservation standards of the Camden borough, the architects of DHaus Company designed The Arches to evoke a Victorian railway viaduct.

Look at That Building: The Arches

September 7, 2024

September 7, 2024

UC Berkeley Gives Transfer Students a Purpose-Built Home on Campus

The $300 million Anchor House at the University of California, Berkeley, was designed specifically for transfer students, who can often feel lost on campus.

Look at That Building: Anchor House

August 10, 2024

August 10, 2024

How Chicago’s Gigantic Merchandise Mart Is Still Thriving as Office Space

Once the world’s largest office building, this Art Deco behemoth has been reborn after two $40 million renovations.

Look at That Building: Merchandise Mart

June 27, 2024

June 27, 2024

How Detroit Reclaimed a Towering Relic From the Roaring ’20s

Architect Louis Kamper’s Book Tower stood vacant for years. After a painstaking restoration from New York firm ODA, the 38-story skyscraper is ready for a new century.

Book Tower

June 13, 2024

June 13, 2024

Brooklyn's Twisting Apartment Towers Solve a Waterfront Puzzle

Designed by OMA, the jumbled blocks of Eagle + West mark the culmination of a years-long push to rezone and repair Greenpoint’s industrial waterfront.

Brooklyn's Twisting Apartment Towers Solve a Waterfront Puzzle

May 18, 2024

May 18, 2024

Modern Architecture Is Bigger in Texas

An expansive new book on the adventurous mid-century buildings of Texas tracks the cultural reach and style innovations of a state coming into its own.

Texas Modernism, Texas Tech University Library Addition