urbanNext

urbanNext urbanNext is a multiplatform aimed at expanding architecture to rethink cities.

urbanNext is promoted by Actar Publishers, a publishing house based in New York and Barcelona, with more than 25 years of experience publishing books on architecture, photography and design. This project emerged as the logical next step for a group of editors engaged in redefining the task of disseminating, and generating content, by harnessing the capacities of the digital medium: its multiple fo

rmats, and the interaction with readers. For more than 4,000 years, human beings have been organizing collectively in different urban conditions. Information technologies, advances in engineering, social participation, ecological challenges, and new cultural references all add dimensions to this urban framework, making its discussion and conceptualization a much more complex task. Expanding on traditional categories like the megalopolis or the rural village, the small town or the city, we believe it is more relevant to talk about urbanization processes and how density and complexity are forces for differentiation. This expanded urban condition plays an active role in shaping and rethinking architecture and design practices as a whole: that is the focus of urbanNext. urbanNext’s main goal is to generate a global network to produce content focused on rethinking architecture through the contemporary urban milieu —urbanity that is conditioned by the specificities of the information society, sustainable awareness, globalized knowledge and leisure. urbanNext is designed to establish a working structure and a multidisciplinary authorial platform for collaborations between people who have an interest in working, thinking and reflecting on design practices and their future. Finally, urbanNext is dedicated to distributing content through multiple channels, formats and media (print, digital, audiovisual, and even exhibitions or events). This convergence of resources, teams and media allows for a new collective narrative, which we call transmedia.

18/09/2025

Something is changing… any guesses? Drop us what you think it is in the comments 👇

A school that teaches before class starts.In Soa, Cameroon, African Flow by Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez (Urbanitr...
16/09/2025

A school that teaches before class starts.
In Soa, Cameroon, African Flow by Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez (Urbanitree) reimagines learning through ancestral design, local craft, and low-tech materials.
A climbable tree, a grotto, and chapel-like spaces shape how children move, think, and grow.
Built with local artisans, it’s a living classroom of identity, care, and place.

🚦 In Nairobi’s hustle, boda bodas cut through traffic like no other. For Nelson Mangwali, riding through Gigiri and West...
15/09/2025

🚦 In Nairobi’s hustle, boda bodas cut through traffic like no other. For Nelson Mangwali, riding through Gigiri and Westlands isn’t just work — it’s a mission to get passengers safely and on time. But behind the ride: safety risks, fierce competition, and a city trying to regulate its fastest (and riskiest) transport.
🛵 Fast, flexible, and fraught — welcome to the world of boda bodas.

14/09/2025

🎥 The Shell as Space Enclosure — Part 3 of 4
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“Candela’s church doesn’t just hold up a roof—it makes space. Curved, collective, and raw.”
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In this episode, Alexander Eisenschmidt explores Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, one of Candela’s most daring experiments in “full design,” where structure and space merge seamlessly.⁠
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From challenging trabeated concrete to redefining architectural curvature, Candela’s thin shells become both a spatial system and a social invitation.⁠
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📚 Félix Candela: From Mexico City to Chicago, published by Actar Publishers .publishers
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Interview by
Film editing by
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What if the unfinished could speak?Francisco Ibáñez’s Non-Structures captures London’s buildings in flux — caught betwee...
13/09/2025

What if the unfinished could speak?
Francisco Ibáñez’s Non-Structures captures London’s buildings in flux — caught between rise and ruin. These fleeting forms question permanence and suggest that the city’s most honest art might be accidental.

Beyond the concrete walls of CP Vietnam’s HQ, LJ-Group crafts a living landscape where well-being and ecology meet. A ko...
12/09/2025

Beyond the concrete walls of CP Vietnam’s HQ, LJ-Group crafts a living landscape where well-being and ecology meet. A koi pond anchors tradition, shaded paths invite pause, and rooftop gardens offer sunset views—all woven into the daily rhythm of work. 🌿☀️

What if repair wasn’t about going back, but moving forward—together?In settler-colonial Australia, architecture must fac...
10/09/2025

What if repair wasn’t about going back, but moving forward—together?
In settler-colonial Australia, architecture must face its complicity in erasure and extraction. But another kind of making is possible: one that listens to the ground as story, relation, and life. From the Western Plains to the heart of empire, remnant grasslands teach us that repair is not restoration—but composting. A way of walking-with, designing-with, and imagining otherwise.

From Mauro Baracco & Louise Wright with Linda Tegg’s book “Knowing and Unknowing” (.publishers)

Guess what? 🎉 We’ve officially teamed up with City Expo World Congress as partners! 🌐This year marks 25 years into th...
09/09/2025

Guess what? 🎉 We’ve officially teamed up with City Expo World Congress as partners! 🌐

This year marks 25 years into the Century of Cities, where collaboration is key to building better urban spaces.

📍 Meet us in Barcelona, November 4–6, as we accelerate the transformation!
🎟️ https://www.smartcityexpo.com/passes-and-prices/
 

From mill to museum. TRANSAT architekti reimagines Josef Gočár’s iconic Automatic Mills as a contemporary gallery, blend...
09/09/2025

From mill to museum. TRANSAT architekti reimagines Josef Gočár’s iconic Automatic Mills as a contemporary gallery, blending raw industrial heritage with precise climate control. Vertical circulation, original materials, and civic spaces converge to house art within architecture’s own archive.

08/09/2025

Something is changing… Stay tuned!

What if parking could build better cities?Tallinn’s metaPARK turns asphalt into a tool for urban equity. With dynamic pr...
08/09/2025

What if parking could build better cities?
Tallinn’s metaPARK turns asphalt into a tool for urban equity. With dynamic pricing and transit-based zones, the city encourages walkable, active streets.
Fewer parked cars. More public life.

07/09/2025

🎥 From Playground to Constraint: Candela’s Shift — Part 2 of 4
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“When I said I was going to see Candela’s work in Mexico, my colleagues said: Of course—you’re from Chicago. That moment changed everything.”
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In this episode, Alexander Eisenschmidt recounts how a chance remark sparked an eight-year investigation into Félix Candela’s overlooked years in Chicago.⁠
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From hands-on experimentation in Mexico to institutional constraints in the U.S., discover how Candela navigated two radically different architectural worlds.⁠
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📚 Félix Candela, published by Actar Publishers

Interview by
Film editing by
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urbanNext is promoted by Actar Publishers, a publishing house based in New York and Barcelona, with more than 20 years of experience publishing books on architecture, photography and design. This project emerged as the logical next step for a group of editors engaged in redefining the task of disseminating, and generating content, by harnessing the capacities of the digital medium: its multiple formats, and the interaction with readers. Introduction For more than 4,000 years, human beings have been organizing collectively in different urban conditions. Information technologies, advances in engineering, social participation, ecological challenges, and new cultural references all add dimensions to this urban framework, making its discussion and conceptualization a much more complex task. Expanding on traditional categories like the megalopolis or the rural village, the small town or the city, we believe it is more relevant to talk about urbanization processes and how density and complexity are forces for differentiation. This expanded urban condition plays an active role in shaping and rethinking architecture and design practices as a whole: that is the focus of urbanNext.