Revisit the most read stories from the first half of 2026

While the paywall is still down, delve into some of the writing that resonated with readers the most from the AR’s first six issues of the year.

Since January, the AR has published issues about universal housing and industry, explored the Alps and scoured the coast, alongside editions celebrating the exemplary architects and projects shortlisted for the AR Public and W Awards. Spanning continents and perspectives, each issue offers diverse voices and stories – but certain pieces connected with audiences around the world in remarkable numbers.

Here are the ten stories that attracted the most readers online. Happy reading!

1. The social republic of Dublin, AR April 2026, Owen Hatherley
‘Dublin can feel like a city which has leapt from the 19th to the 21st century without having experienced the 20th – at least in an architectural sense’

2. Reputations: Peter Zumthor (1943–), AR May 2026, Catherine Slessor
‘The experiential leap from Graubünden to Miracle Mile was an exertion too far’

3. Form follows fish: industrial architectures of the North Atlantic, AR February 2026, André Tavares
‘The globalisation of markets introduced a new era of fisheries: a cod caught in Norway is now often frozen and shipped to China, where it is processed for US consumption’

4. Portfolio: Pooja Khairnar, PK Inception, AR March 2026, A Srivathsan
‘It is a diagonal, open layout and a generous covered space for informal teaching, playing and taking naps, allowing the hardworking teacher to oversee, and move effortlessly between, activities’

5. De Nieuwe Meent in Amsterdam, the Netherlands by Time to Access and Roel van der Zeeuw Architecten, AR April 2026, Mark Minkjan
‘De Nieuwe Meent shows how luxurious amenities are most attainable for the greatest number of people when they are shared’

6. Tuvalu’s digital twin, AR February 2026, Marina Otero Verzier
‘In Tuvalu’s digital twin, waves break endlessly on a simulated shore’

7. Plaça del Canòdrom in Barcelona, Spain by Peris+Toral Arquitectes, AR June 2026, Rafael Gómez-Moriana
‘The multiplay area is remarkable considering that, until recently, Barcelona had few public spaces dedicated to children’

8. Parque del Jaguar in Tulum, Mexico by Colectivo C733, AR February 2026, Juan Carlos Cano
‘Discreet, elongated limestone buildings blend into the landscape and allow the Mayan ruins to take centre stage’

9. Outrage: the American suburbanisation of football, AR online, Marianela D’Aprile 
‘ MetLife, a hunk of a building plopped down in the middle of this industrial semi-urbanity, was renamed New York New Jersey Stadium for this tournament’

10. The architecture of AI, AR July/August 2026, Hans Larsson 
‘The true inhabitants of these cities are wafers of silicon that must be built and maintained in optimum condition in order to function as prostheses for human thought’

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