Global firm Oppenheim Architecture is expanding its European interiors practice with a new dedicated studio.

D5 Mag sat down with Beat Huesler, Oppenheim’s European Director, to talk about the vision behind Smartland Villa Community and what makes it so special.

Desert Rock makes the Forbes Travel Guide-approved list of hot property debuts that luxury travelers need to have on their itineraries this season.

One of the most prestigious educational institutions for European studies, the College of Europe, unveiled its new campus in Tirana.

The Best of Practice Awards commend the overall operations and structures of companies within the AEC community. 

Across continents, leading architecture practices are striving towards robust and resilient design solutions that enhance people’s lives and stand the test of time. 

Chad Oppenheim, the architect who designs the solemn ‘Spirit of the Place’ that reinvigorates Art in the Art of Architecture, receives the nation’s highest award for Architecture.

The United States of America is the heart of modern architectural spirit, with the world’s best firms pushing the boundaries of design, innovation and sustainability.

If you’re a golf fanatic, it’s easy to track down the world’s top courses . . . But while these splendid expanses rightfully draw golfers’ attention, many top courses contain treasures hiding in plain sight: gorgeous clubhouses designed by some of the world’s top architects.

When it comes to the ultimate in ultra-luxury living, it’s hard to beat the allure of a dreamy coastal retreat. The scenic waterfront settings of these properties make them worth buying alone, but their exceptional views are even more of an added perk.

Located on the southern coast, the Jali Hotel and Residences development springs from its landscape and seaside, seeking to satisfy the wanderlust of approximately 6 million travellers who flock to the country every year. 

In 2021, Oppenheim was invited by the gallery director Anne Mosseri-Marlio to develop an immersive virtual gallery space that could meet the demand and needs of a private art market that was increasingly conducting its business online.

Exploring how homeowners freely pursue extravagant landscape ambitions limited only by their imaginations, Chad Oppenheim recalls his wildest request for the Bel Air aerie of a Hollywood movie director client. “We had to create some really intense engineering to stabilize the home, while protecting the ancient pines that geologists wanted to remove but the client loved.”

The Langham hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast is housed within a trio of Oppenheim Architecture–designed towers. “It was crucial for us to understand and uncover the spirit of place—the site’s histories and ecologies—so the architectural ‘object’ resonated with the land and its people.” The towers’ crystalline forms are inspired by gemstone shards discovered in the region. 

In designing this single-family house in Bal Harbour’s most exclusive residential community—a spec home for father-and-son real estate moguls—architect Chad Oppenheim’s mission was clear: use architecture to capitalize on the Miami vibe, and optimize it from every conceivable angle. It wasn’t just building on a site with a view—it was constructing a lifestyle.

Move over, hygge, the next big thing is chikyū—the Japanese word for earth, and a term for embracing organic materials, forms, and textures that ground us in nature. “Chikyū is about reconnection,” adds Chad Oppenheim, an award-winning architect and interior designer. “Our whole practice is focused on creating experiences that connect people with the earth.”

Star Wars and The Mandalorian may appear futuristic, but the events take place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . . Design firm Oppenheim Architecture’s projects echo the space saga’s otherworldly structures with a link to the past. “In a funny way, what informs these new, future-focused designs is the form and function of architecture from the past.”

On bimini, the closest bahamian island to the united states, a beachfront eco-chic resort is taking shape.

Chad Oppenheim weighs in with other top hospitality designers on how hotel design may evolve to overcome challenges post Covid. “Our global hospitality work inherently embraces many of the broader notions brought to light by the pandemic: the need for healthy, sustainable environments; the emphasis on both physical and mental wellness; and the craving to connect with nature.”

Oppenheim Architecture’s proposed Lago Maggiore Retreat in southern Switzerland rises above the lake, yet grounds to its spirit of place by embracing the unique landscapes and ecologies of three varied sites: an existing urban context for meandering, a lush and edible botanical garden hosting the hotel and spa, and additional buildings tucked into the site of a chestnut forest.

Metropica, one of the largest mixed-use communities under construction in the U.S., has received its temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO). Destined to transform the western corridor of Broward County in Florida, Oppenheim Architecture’s Metropica offers it all: the amenities of a luxury condominium, coupled with open spaces and a direct connection to an abundance of nature.

Oppenheim Architecture has completed the design for a resort in Ticino, southern Switzerland. Overlooking Lago Maggiore, the resort arises from the varied landscape of Alpine peaks and dense forests. Comprising over 100 private residences, a boutique hotel, and spa and wellness environment, the design embraces the region's unique landscapes and ecologies across three sites.

Oppenheim Architecture has collaborated on a residential project in Venezuela. The Jungle House appears calm and confident, set within its green setting, basking under the Caracas sun. The design was inspired by the ragged, solid volumes of ruins that have been engulfed by jungle—an iconic image of ancient Central and South American sites.

With ‘Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains,’ Chad Oppenheim and Andrea Gollin uncover the spaces of megalomaniacs who want to rule the world from secret locations.

In 2019, a number of memorable projects across the Near East and Africa were completed, including Oppenheim Architecture’s Ayla golf clubhouse in Jordan. Drawing inspiration from the desert landscape and Bedouin vernacular, Ayla’s large concrete shell drapes over the different areas, its dune-like forms making an organic and contextual connection with the rolling terrain. 

Oppenheim Architecture’s Spirit of Place is a poetic rumination on how architecture connects with the earth. This first published monograph of the work of Chad Oppenheim and his studio takes the reader to a world where boundaries are blurred between nature and architecture, heightening our awareness of the beauty that surrounds us.

When Brazilian hotelier Gustavo Filgueiras secured the opportunity to build on one of the last vacant lots along Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Copacabana, he knew the property came with a responsibility to uphold the beachfront’s illustrious design pedigree. The Emiliano hotel gives the Avenida Atlântica a stylish 21st-century flourish, while simultaneously paying tribute to the neighborhood’s mid-20th-century heyday.

Copacabana’s five-star Emiliano hotel favors natural light, but above all enhances the view to connect its guests to the pulsating city that is Rio. To accentuate this bond with the local community, a bar was installed on the ground floor, right next to the entrance, to serve as a meeting point for hotel guests and locals alike. 

Recent advancements in communications technology has made us the most connected species to roam the earth; yet we are also the most disconnected to the world in which we live. Architect Chad Oppenheim will explore strategies to re-connect with our habitat through designs for home and life.