12 museums in which to discover the new architectural frontiers

Text by

MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology

From MAXXI in Roma to V&A Dundee, by way of MAAT in Lisbon. A selection of museums fans of architecture should take in at least once in their lives

What does razing something to the ground and then rebuilding entail? Raising ethical, financial, political, social and environmental questions, indubitably. Creating architecture isn’t just playing with shapes, materials and light, it is also a complex web of agreements, politics and interests. Construction is one of the most polluting activities there is and this is something architects are well aware of, having to mediate between the desires of those who are paying for it, the needs of the community, the geographic variables and their own ideological vision, like a filmmaker rounding off a film. There are innumerable open questions and debates around architecture and many museums are committed to airing them by involving the public. A responsibility we all share, but also an exciting journey around the form of our world "for those who dream of civilization" as Gio Ponti might say. The following is a selection of places in which to get one’s head around architecture and be seduced by what has been and what is yet to come, because architecti volant, architectura manent.

salonemilano, biennale di venezia — La Biennale Venezia - Ph. Andrea Avezzù

Venice Biennale

Founded in 1895, the Venice Biennale is one of the world’s most prestigious and long-running cultural institutions. The edition devoted to architecture, set up in 1980, is held every two years and represents a platform for research into and experimentation with the transformations of the built environment, featuring hundreds of events and exhibitions. This year, the 19th International Architecture Exhibition is slated for 10th May to 23rd November 2025, and is being curated by Carlo Ratti, under the title Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. For the first time, there will be a public space for the presentation of ideas and the encouragement of architects, rather than proposals of innovative solutions for tackling the challenges of the present.

Where: Giardini della Biennale, Calle Giazzo, 30122 Venice

salonemilano, maxxi — MAXXI, Architettura Instabile, Villa Girasole, A. Invernizzi - Ph. Vincenzo Labellarte

MAXXI | Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo

Designed by Zaha Hadid, the MAXXI – National Museum of XXI century Art in Rome is an iconic project inaugurated in 2010, boasting fluid concrete and glass forms. The interconnected interior spaces and their atypical volumetry challenge traditional perceptions of exhibition galleries. The MAXXI Architecture collection contains works by masters such as Carlo Scarpa, Aldo Rossi and Pier Luigi Nervi, as well as a huge photographic collection comprising around 2,400 images by renowned photographers. Current exhibitions include Restless Architecture, curated by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which explores the concepts of movement in architecture (ends 16th March 2025).

Where: 4° Via Guido Reni, 00196 Rome, Italy

V&A Dundee

The first offshoot of the Victoria and Albert Museum outside London, V&A Dundee is the first museum of design and architecture in Scotland, opened in 2018. Designed by Kengo Kuma, The building was inspired by Scottish cliffs, with a façade composed of horizontal layers of prefabricated concrete that create an effect of moving shadows. The permanent Scottish Design Gallery is home to iconic works such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room, meticulously restored and reconstructed inside the museum. Currently, the museum is hosting A Fragile Correspondence, Commissioned by Scotland + Venice, an exhibition exploring the connection between land, language and architecture, which represented Scotland at the last Architecture Biennale (ends 25th May 2025).

Where: 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, DD1 4EZ, Scotland

MAAT

Designed by Amanda Levete's AL_A studio, the MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology is immediately recognisable by its undulating shape and glazed ceramic tile cladding that reflects the light from the Tagus River. Opened in 2016 in Lisbon, it houses a permanent collection that includes works such as Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's Pynchon Park and interactive installations that explore the intersection of art and technology. Currently, MAAT is hosting Rooms, Anthony McCall's first solo exhibition in Portugal, in which he explores the intersections between space, sculpture, cinema and performance (until 17th March 2025).

Where: Av. Brasília, 1300-598 Lisbon, Portugal

salonemilano, architettura — Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine - Ph. Nicolas Borel

Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine

One of the largest centres dedicated to architecture in the world, it opened its doors in 2007 inside the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. Its collections include full-scale models of emblematic architectural elements, such as reproductions of the façades of Chartres Cathedral and the Moissac Tympanum. The permanent gallery takes the visitor on a journey through French architecture from the 12th century to the present day. The Cité is currently hosting the exhibitions Philippe Prost. La Mémoire Vive and The History of Department Stores from 1850 to the present day (ends 6th April 2025).

Where: 1 Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, 75116 Paris

Tchoban Foundation

Inaugurated in 2013 in Berlin, the Museum für Architekturzeichnung was designed by SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov. It has a staggered block structure and façades decorated with reliefs reproducing architectural drawings, recalling the function of the museum. It is in fact entirely dedicated to architectural drawing, with a collection that ranges from the 16th century to the present day and includes works by architects such as Pietro di Gottardo Gonzaga and drawings by Sergei Tchoban himself. The exhibition Steven Holl – Drawing as Thought, showcasing drawings of some of the American architect’s most famous works, is currently on at the museum (ends 4th May 2025).

Where: 18a Christinenstraße, 10119 Berlin, Germany

A+D Museum

Located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, the building contains flexible spaces for exhibitions and events. The museum's collection includes projects by local and international architects, with a focus on innovation and sustainability. The Impossible Drawings exhibition, featuring works by Bea Martin, Perry Kulper, Bryan Cantley, Neil Spiller, and Peter Baldwin, recently closed. Founded in 2001, the A+D Museum is the only museum in Los Angeles dedicated exclusively to architecture and design.

Where: 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013, USA

National Building Museum

The slogan of the National Building Museum, the museum in Washington D.C. entirely dedicated to architecture, engineering and urban planning, is The world we design & build. Located in the majestic Pension Building and built in 1887 with a large central hall and monumental arches, it houses a permanent collection that includes models, photographs and materials documenting the history of construction in the United States. Currently, the museum is hosting the exhibitions Frank Lloyd Wright's Southwestern Pennsylvania on the architect's work in that area between the ‘30s and ‘50s (ends 17th March 2025), Capital Brutalism which explores Brutalist Soviet architecture and the line between aesthetics and capital (ends 30th June 2025) and House&Home, on the meaning of "home" in America.

Where: 401 F St NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, USA

Canadian Centre for Architectur

Founded in 1979 by Phyllis Lambert, the Canadian Centre for Architecture is a key institution in the world of architecture. It is located in a building in Montreal that integrates a historic mansion from 1874 with a modern structure designed by Peter Rose. The CCA's collection includes drawings, models and archives by architects such as Aldo Rossi and James Stirling. Currently, the centre is hosting the exhibitions To Build Law, exploring the environmental and social criticality posed by the construction industry (ends 25th May 2025), Reading Landscapes, on the ever-changing concept of 'landscape' (ends 2nd March 2025) and Oscillating Spaces, devoted to the Rhône glacier and its melting, as a case study for reflection on environmental challenges (25th April to 26th October 2025).

Where: 1920 Baile Street, Montreal, QC H3H 2S6, Canada

Danish Architecture Center

The Danish Architecture Center is located within the BLOX complex on Copenhagen's waterfront. An international cultural institution, it is dedicated to architecture, design, and urban development. Designed by the OMA studio, the complex houses exhibition spaces, offices and co-working spaces, a cafeteria, a bookstore, a fitness centre, a restaurant, twenty-two apartments and an automated public underground car park. The permanent collection includes the exhibition So Danish!, which traces the history of Danish architecture from the Viking Era to the present day. Currently, the DAC is holding a retrospective on Nanna Ditzel, a pioneer of modern furniture design (ends 11th March 2025) and the exhibition Water is Coming on how to adapt to the flood of water being driven by climate change (ends 16th March 2025). The exhibition Reclaim Beauty, on the beauty of reuse, is scheduled to open in April 2025, followed by Age of Nature, on the intertwined future of man and nature.

Where: 10 Bryghuspladsen, 1473 Copenhagen, Denmark

Center for Architecture + Design

Founded in 2005 by the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Center for Architecture and Design is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting public dialogue around architecture, design, and the built environment in the San Francisco Bay Area. Located at 140 Sutter Street, the centre is home to a public gallery and café, and is a cultural space that celebrates architecture and design. Activities include exhibitions, lectures, tours and film series, aimed at fostering public appreciation for these disciplines. Currently, the centre is featuring the archival exhibition Do Not Try to Remember: The American School of Architecture in the Bay Area, on the history of a group of architects who shaped a style and an era (ends 8th August 2025).

Where: 140 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA

Center for Architecture

The American Institute of Architects was also behind the creation of the New York centre, designed by the architect Andrew Berman, which opened in 2003 in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Manhattan. The centre is one of New York City’s cultural architectural landmarks. With galleries spanning three floors, it offers a variety of exhibitions, educational programmes for students, architectural tours, and professional seminars. It is currently hosting the Built by New York exhibitions exploring the physical and social impact of the work of the New York architecture and design community on the city (ends 5th April 2025).

Where: 536 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012, USA

21 February 2025