News – OTIIMA

OTIIMA at the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026: Architecture for a Planet in Transition

Otiima — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:18:56 +0000

Every three years, the International Union of Architects holds the profession’s largest gathering to ask a single question on a planetary scale. In 2026, that question came to Barcelona under a deceptively simple title: Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition.

OTIIMA was proud to be part of the Congress, contributing to the conversation about building solutions and the future of architecture.

A Congress Built for Changing World

Held from June 28 to July 2 at the CCIB, the former power station Three Chimneys in Sant Adrià de Besòs, and Disseny Hub Barcelona, the Congress gathered over 10,000 professionals from more than 130 countries. With approximately 250 speakers across 100 sessions, it was one of the decade’s most significant architectural events. However, its ambition extended beyond scale.

Barcelona’s selection as UIA World Capital of Architecture 2026 was intentional. Three decades after last hosting the Congress, the city served as a case study to address tourism pressure, housing scarcity, and climate adaptation. These challenges reflect many of the global issues featured in the program.

Six Ways of Becoming

The Congress structured its inquiry into six thematic lines, each addressing a distinct facet of transition: Becoming More-than-human (ecology and ecosystems), Becoming Circular (material reuse and building life cycles), Becoming Embodied (materials and construction technologies), Becoming Interdependent (housing, public space, and spatial policy), Becoming Hyper-conscious (data, geopolitics, and legislation), and Becoming Attuned (poetics, aesthetics, and culture).

As the curatorial team explained before the opening, architecture focuses on specifics such as material selection, demolition or preservation, and resource consumption. These detailed, often overlooked decisions have significant planetary impacts. This perspective aligns with our approach at OTIIMA: while a window system or thermal break may seem minor, when repeated throughout a building or city, it carries substantial environmental and social consequences.

The central exhibition, held in the turbine hall at Three Chimneys, translated these six themes into a 4,000-square-meter display. It featured research commissions and contributions from Congress speakers on topics such as water scarcity, circular construction, and the atmospheric qualities of space.

A Portuguese Presence on a Global Stage

Representing Portugal’s architecture and construction sector at an event of this scale is a significant responsibility, and OTIIMA was proud to share it with AICEP and the Ordem dos Arquitectos. Events like this allow national industries to engage in global dialogue, not only by showcasing products but also by demonstrating how their approaches to building performance, material innovation, and design culture address key questions within the profession.

Souto de Moura at the Sagrada Família

Among the Congress’s defining moments was the presentation of the UIA Gold Medal — the institution’s highest distinction — to Eduardo Souto de Moura, held at the Sagrada Família. It was a fitting setting: one of architecture’s most singular, unfinished, generational projects hosting the recognition of a career that has spent decades quietly redefining what restraint, material honesty, and contextual sensitivity can achieve. Souto de Moura’s impact on contemporary practice in Portugal and beyond continues to shape the thinking of generations of architects

Looking ahead

Congresses of this scale rarely produce consensus, nor was that the goal here. Instead, this event established a shared vocabulary—six terms describing the pressures reshaping architecture—and highlighted that the profession’s transition is tangible, procedural, and already visible in current design and manufacturing decisions.

We sincerely thank AICEP and the Ordem dos Arquitectos for their collaboration and for the opportunity to represent Portugal at one of the world’s leading architectural events.

OODA Previews Some Kind, Any Kind at the Bread & Heart Festival

Otiima — Thu, 28 May 2026 14:08:15 +0000

OODA‘s upcoming book, Some Kind of Romance, Any Kind of Existence, makes its world debut at the Bread & Heart Festival in Tirana, and OTIIMA window frames part of the story.

What does it look like when an architecture studio decides its next book should not read like an architecture book? That’s the question OODA has been considering, and at this year’s Bread & Heart Festival in Tirana, they are giving the world its first answer.

Some Kind of Romance, Any Kind of Existence, the studio’s forthcoming publication, will officially launch in October 2026. Before its release, the book is being introduced in built form as a timber pavilion at Skanderbeg Square, serving as a preview. This pavilion acts as a physical first chapter for a work that blends architecture and fiction.

Architecture as fiction

Most architecture books are retrospectives, a curated archive of completed work, annotated and photographed. Some Kind_Any Kind takes a different path. Conceived as an inner dialogue between Some Kind of Romance and Any Kind of Existence, the publication unfolds like a novel, building a world rather than documenting one.

It's a shift from the archive to the imagination — from what has been built to what architecture, at its most essential, can mean."

OODA

This is a bold and appropriate choice for a studio that views design as interpretation rather than mere execution. OODA does not simply address briefs; they consider what a building seeks to express. The book represents their most direct exploration of this question to date.

The pavilion as a first page

To bring the book’s world preview to life, OODA created a pavilion at Skanderbeg Square as the setting for Some Kind_Any Kind’s first public event. Rather than making a bold architectural statement, the pavilion supports the book as a backdrop that reflects its ideas. Exposed columns, beams, floors, and diagonal supports present architecture in its simplest form, creating a space that highlights the book’s concepts. OTIIMA window frames at two corners mark the entrance and subtly separate inside from outside, and public from private.

The Bread & Heart Festival brings together over 300 international and local teams alongside guests from the arts, media, and environmental sectors to explore how architecture can balance the pressure for new development with the need to protect the land. It’s a context where hard questions have a place, and where materials, details, and construction choices tell a story.

For OTIIMA, being part of OODA’s work shows that a window frame is more than just a technical detail. It is a choice, a statement, and a way to express what we believe about the connection between architecture and nature, and between inside and outside spaces.

We will be in Tirana from June 3 to 5. If you are there as well, come visit the pavilion and see up close what happens when timber, light, and a well-crafted window frame come together in an Albanian square.

About OODA: Founded in Porto in 2010, OODA is an internationally recognized architecture studio specializing in architecture, interiors, and urban design. The firm is known for creating bold spaces that respond to their context. With projects across several continents, OODA strives to balance innovation, functionality, and emotional impact, fostering a dialogue between culture, landscape, and contemporary life in each project.

Back to Nature | Kengo Kuma in Lisbon with OTIIMA

Otiima — Wed, 06 May 2026 07:43:58 +0000

On the evening of May 2nd, one of the most influential architects of our time took the stage at Museu do Oriente to speak about the relationship between architecture and the natural world. OTIIMA was proud to be part of it.

Setting the scene

There are few occasions in which a city becomes the right stage for a conversation that feels both urgent and timeless. The conference Back to Nature, organized by Espaço de Arquitetura and held at the Museu do Oriente in Lisbon, was one of them. On the evening of May 2nd, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma addressed an audience of architects, engineers, and cultural figures, united by a shared interest in the direction that contemporary architecture must take.

OTIIMA was honored to sponsor the event, and to witness firsthand a reflection that resonates deeply with our own values: the conviction that the built environment should not stand apart from nature, but exist in deliberate and thoughtful exchange with it.

The architect

Founder of Kengo Kuma & Associates, Kengo Kuma’s body of work spans some of the most celebrated architectural commissions of the past three decades — from the Japan National Stadium, built for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, to the V&A Dundee in Scotland, the first design museum in the United Kingdom outside of London.

What distinguishes Kuma is sensibility. His architecture is defined by a consistent pursuit of lightness: a desire to dissolve mass, to allow materials to breathe, and to create spaces where the natural and the constructed become indistinguishable. His material vocabulary, like stone, wood, bamboo, washi paper, is rooted in craft and in place, yet his practice is unmistakably global.

Kengo Kuma in Portugal

The conference carried particular resonance given Kuma’s growing presence in Portugal. His intervention at the Centro de Arte Moderna of Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon and the reconversion project at Matadouro do Porto speak to an architect who approaches Portuguese territory as an encounter with its history and materiality.

For those attending the conference, this local dimension added a layer of immediacy to his reflections. Kuma’s ideas were visible, tangible, and walkable.

Back to Nature

Under the theme Back to Nature, Kuma explored what he sees as one of the central responsibilities of architecture in our time: the reconstruction of a sensibility toward territory and environment that industrial modernity has gradually eroded. Nature, in his framework is the very condition of architecture’s meaning.

He spoke of porosity, of materials that age with dignity, of buildings that respond to the surrounding environment. And in doing so, he offered something rarer than technical expertise: a coherent philosophy, expressed with clarity and conviction.

Explore the highlights of the event through our gallery:

OTIIMA expands its international partner network

Otiima — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Architecture happens through collaboration among engineers, architects, installers, and specialists who work with discipline.

We believe excellence is not scalable without rigor. For that reason, our international growth has never been based on volume. It has been based on alignment.

Today, we are opening applications to expand our global partner network.

A network built on high standards

OTIIMA systems are designed to disappear visually while performing at the highest technical level. Ultra-minimal sightlines, large spans, demanding climates, and complex customizations are the standard.

Delivering this level consistently across different markets requires shared vision and values.

Our partners are companies capable of representing OTIIMA’s philosophy locally, technically, commercially, and culturally.

This is a curated network.

Gulbenkian Modern Art Center | Kengo Kuma & Associates + OODA + VLDA | © Fernando Guerra

Across climates and cultures

Architecture is influenced by its context, including factors such as climate, regulations, construction culture, and aesthetic preferences, which differ from country to country. However, the performance of a building should remain consistent.

Our partner network spans multiple regions, all committed to delivering minimal architecture with precision and reliability, regardless of location. This consistency protects both the project and the brand.

A selective expansion

We are currently evaluating new markets and strengthening our presence in strategic regions worldwide.

Companies that believe their expertise, positioning, and operational standards align with OTIIMA are invited to submit a partnership application for review.

Every application is assessed individually, and selection is based on technical capability, strategic fit, and long-term vision.

Banánka House | Pauliny Hovorka Architekti | © Matej Hakár

Apply for a partnership

If your company is prepared to represent a global minimum standard of responsibility, we invite you to apply.

Explore the partnership criteria and submit your application here.

The Emotional Architecture of Luxury: Ritual, Repetition & the Material Memory of Place

Otiima — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Luxury architecture isn’t about price tags or grand gestures alone; it’s about presence. The kind of presence that stays in memory long after the visitor leaves. This presence comes not only from the design but also through a thoughtful choreography of materials and time that engages the body as deeply as the eye.

1. Material as Memory

In luxury design, materials are tactile narratives. A marble surface doesn’t just reflect light; it recalls centuries of craft. A timber wall doesn’t just provide warmth; it carries the subtle evidence of hands that worked it. When a person enters a space, their first architectural encounter is through sensation: the cool touch of stone, the whisper of wood grain under a palm, the shifting temperature of metal in the light.

This sensory engagement anchors spaces in memory. In high-end architecture, materials become sites of heritage that express lineage and authenticity. The selection of stones quarried near the site, woods with regional character, and surfaces rooted in local craft transforms a building into a repository of collective memory.

Villa III | © Francisco Nogueira

2. Ritual & Repetition

Luxury architecture is built over time, literally and conceptually. Rituals in construction and habitation create rhythms that have meaning. Think of the slow and iterative layering of brick or the disciplined repetition of crafted timber slats: these aren’t just patterns, they are temporal signatures.

Repetition has two powerful effects:

In construction: It celebrates labor as a core element of value. Skilled craftspeople repeating gestures over days and weeks embed narrative into surface and structure

In inhabitation: It transforms how occupants live through the architecture, waking each morning into spaces that reinforce comfort, ritual, and continuity.

Instead of focusing on speed or uniformity, luxury spaces value longevity. Materials become more meaningful not through novelty, but through being revisited and touched over the years.

Arena Liga Portugal | OODA | © Pedro Cardigo

1. Heydar Aliyev Center – Zaha Hadid

3. Emotional Weight

In luxury buildings, it’s not just the materials that serve a purpose; they actually make you feel something. That’s because they interact with light, sound, and your touch in ways that stir emotions.

A polished bronze bar at an entrance suggests opulence and invites you in because it feels warm. Then, a hand-laid stone staircase in a house offers not just structural integrity but also a sense of gravitas and tranquility.

4. Locality & Authenticity

These days, with all the prefab and global supply chains, sourcing materials locally is what luxury is all about. Using local stone, working with local craftsmen, or reusing old timbers ties architecture to the place and community.

When materials tell a story about the landscape, the people who made them, and the culture, then architecture does too. An old beam from a barn and a terrazzo floor made from local bits hold the memory of their surroundings.

Casa AL08 | Estudio Cano Arquitectura | © Tomeu Canyellas

5. Craft & Time

Luxury architecture focuses on creating designs that people will look back on with nostalgia. It’s the materials that age well—that get a little worn, soft with use, and respond to the seasons—that help to turn a building into a living history of the people who lived there.

This is actually in line with some architectural theories that say that the choice of material is about the interaction between the human body, the environment, and time, not just something that you choose once and forget about. In practice, this means:

Designing with materials that respond elegantly to wear.

Embracing the kind of craftsmanship that takes time and celebrates small variations and the human touch.

Prioritizing long-term engagement over ephemeral fashion.

Luxury architecture, infused with rituals, repetition, and material memory, resists the commodification of space. It becomes a work of art that’s attached to the people who lived there. And that’s when space stops being something you can buy and sell—it becomes a part of you.

Triptyque Architecture: Corps Mort / Corps Vivant Exhibition in Paris

Otiima — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:57:58 +0000

In the heart of Paris’s Marais district, La Galerie d’Architecture is hosting an exhibition that invites us to rethink the essence of architecture. “Corps Mort / Corps Vivant,” by Triptyque Architecture, explores the tension between what endures and what evolves: the solid frame and the living experience.

For over 25 years, Triptyque has forged a unique path between France and Brazil, creating an architectural language nourished by tropical experimentation and the rigorous construction methods inherited from European modernism. This dual cultural heritage has shaped a practice where structure and function intertwine, allowing the built environment to constantly engage with the city, the climate, and nature.

Corps Mort / Corps Vivant Exhibition Opening | © TRIPTYQUE

The exhibition presents emblematic Triptyque projects reinterpreted through this dual lens. Visitors experience architectural concepts as lively exchanges that blend stability with change. Materials, models, and sketches dissolve the separation between structure and experience, reminding us that architecture’s vitality lies at their intersection.

Two key themes guide the visitor’s journey:

The organic, celebrating life, vegetation, informal space, and the reinvention of use;
The structural, asserting the enduring strength of rational structure and material order.

These themes interact and enrich one another, offering a fresh perspective on how architecture can respond to human needs and the environment.

Corps Mort / Corps Vivant Exhibition | © TRIPTYQUE

1. Heydar Aliyev Center – Zaha Hadid

In this time of pressing issues such as climate change, urban growth, and material resilience, “Corps Mort / Corps Vivant” views architecture as a way to explore endurance and adaptation. In this context, the poetic and the technical are intertwined: permanence does not exclude transformation, and life itself redefines the concept of structure.

The exhibition runs through January 17, 2026, at La Galerie d’Architecture in Paris.

Editor’s Choice 2025: OTIIMA Projects of the Year

Otiima — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

As the year comes to an end, OTIIMA highlights a curated selection of projects that best represent the values we worked with. Editor’s Choice 2025 brings together projects that stand out for their design, technical demands, and intelligent use of windows in different architectural contexts.

From cultural buildings to private residences, these projects reflect a shared approach to architecture: precision, performance, and a strong relationship between space and light.

Osaka Pavilion | Kengo Kuma & Associates

The Osaka Pavilion was conceived as an immersive architectural space where movement and transparency are essential. The project explores openness through large glazed surfaces that guide circulation and connect interior spaces with the surrounding environment.

The integration of high-performance glazing supports the architectural concept and the functional requirements of a public building, ensuring comfort, durability, and visual continuity.

See full gallery.

Portugal Pavilion Expo Osaka 2025 | Kengo Kuma & Associates | © Fernando Guerra

Bow | Ana Costa Arquitectura e Design

Bow is defined by its distinctive curved form, which requires a high level of technical coordination between design and construction. The project demonstrates how complex geometries can be executed with clean lines and minimal visual interruption.

The glazing follows the building’s curves with accuracy, reinforcing the architectural intent while meeting demanding structural and performance standards.

See full gallery.

Bow | Ana Costa Arquitectura e Design | © Francisco Nogueira

1. Heydar Aliyev Center – Zaha Hadid

Miramar Tower | OODA

Miramar represents a different approach to vertical residential architecture. The project features large openings with controlled transparency, allowing natural light and views while maintaining comfort and privacy.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing achieves openness and functionality, contributing to a consistent architectural language throughout the building.

See full gallery.

Miramar Tower | OODA | © Fernando Guerra

Banánka House | Pauliny Hovorka Architekti

Bananka House is a private residence where minimalism is expressed through proportion, material choice, and transparency. The project prioritizes a strong connection with the exterior while preserving intimacy within the interior spaces.

The glazed openings are carefully positioned to frame views and improve daily living, supported by systems made for thermal efficiency and long-term comfort.

See full gallery.

Casa Vilassar | Aromir Arquitectes

Casa Vilassar explores the relationship between architecture and its Mediterranean surroundings. The design focuses on fluid transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, using large glazed spans to maximize natural light.

The project demonstrates how contemporary glazing solutions can support open living concepts and respond to climate and performance requirements.

Seonhyewon | SKM Architects

Seonhyewon reinterprets traditional architectural principles through a contemporary approach. The project integrates solid elements with transparent surfaces, creating a clear spatial hierarchy and controlled visual connections.

Our solutions are used strategically to connect spaces, enhance natural light, and support the architectural narrative without overpowering it.

These projects reflect the diversity of architectural challenges addressed throughout the year and share a common focus on design quality and technical performance.

Looking ahead to 2025, OTIIMA continues to work alongside professionals who value precision, reliability, and architectural coherence, delivering solutions that respond to a creative vision and real-world demands.

A New Editorial Chapter for OTIIMA

Otiima — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 12:29:10 +0000

In architecture, meaning is never accidental. Every line and every material has a purpose. At OTIIMA, this same principle guides not only the systems we design but also how we communicate them. The launch of our new catalog and newspaper marks a new editorial chapter that reflects the brand’s maturity, expertise, and the continuous dialogue with architecture at its highest level.

A Guide to OTIIMA Window Solutions

Traditionally, a catalog is expected to inform, but ours is designed to support architectural thinking.

This new edition brings together our minimal window systems with a straightforward and technical narrative. Dimensions, performance data, and engineering details coexist with full-scale imagery and carefully framed projects, allowing architects to understand how our systems work and why they exist.

It is a working tool and a reference.

The Newspaper as Architectural Discourse

Alongside the catalog, the OTIIMA Journal expands the conversation.

Here, we move beyond product and into territory: architecture, climate, landscape, materiality, and performance. The newspaper features interviews with leading architects such as Ana Costa and Laney LA, articles authored by architects, highlighted solutions, and the whole story behind our latest projects.

The newspaper reflects our belief that engineering gains meaning when it is placed in dialogue with ideas. It is designed to be read, revisited, and kept.

1. Heydar Aliyev Center – Zaha Hadid

OTIIMA Editorial Approach

This launch signals a clear direction.

OTIIMA continues to position itself not only as a manufacturer of minimal window systems, but as a strategic partner in architecture, supporting architects and designers from concept to execution. Our editorial approach reflects this role: knowledgeable, accurate, and closely aligned with the realities of architectural practice.

Every detail of these new editorial pieces, from content structure to graphic language, was developed to reflect that philosophy.

Explore the New Editions

The new OTIIMA catalog and newspaper are now available.

We invite architects, designers, and partners to explore them as they would approach a project: with attention, critical thinking, and curiosity.

Download here: Catalog & Journal

OTIIMA Presents the Gallery Exclusive Session at MAAT: A Tribute to Álvaro Siza Vieira

Otiima — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:53:18 +0000

In Lisbon, at the MAAT — Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology — the Gallery Exclusive Session brought together architecture’s most discerning voices for the prelude to SIZA, the highly anticipated documentary on the life and work of Álvaro Siza Vieira.

Presented by OTIIMA, this private gathering honored one of Portugal’s most influential architects through an evening that intertwined cinema, culture, and innovation.

Among the distinguished guests were Martha Thorne, Director of Institutional Relations and Curation at Gallery and former Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize; Dr. Pedro Siza, the architect’s nephew; João Simões, CEO of OTIIMA; Diogo Moura, Councillor for Economy and Innovation at the Lisbon City Council; João Pedro Xavier, Director of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Porto; and Cláudia Antunes, representative of the Portuguese Order of Architects.

Architecture and Memory

The MAAT Central building, a symbolic bridge between the historic Tejo Power Station and contemporary architecture, served as the perfect setting for this reflection on legacy and creation.

Directed by Augusto Custodio and produced by Gallery, SIZA offers an emotional journey through nine decades of Álvaro Siza Vieira’s life and creative process. The film has been selected for 24 international film festivals, placing it among the most acclaimed contemporary architectural documentaries.

Through its aesthetic precision and poetic rhythm, SIZA captures what few films can: the emotional dimension of architecture — its power to evoke memory, shape thought, and endure beyond time.

Preserving Legacy Through Image

SIZA is a living archive. It gathers rare images and personal testimonies, transforming the architect’s body of work into a narrative of modern architecture itself.

It reaffirms the mission to create a permanent dialogue between memory and modernity, where history gains new presence through the moving image.

Explore the highlights of the event through our gallery:

World Architecture Day 2025: The Meaning of Design for Strength

Otiima — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 15:15:43 +0000

Celebrated on the first Monday of October, World Architecture Day honors the art and science of designing human spaces. Established in 1949 and aligned with the UN World Habitat Day in 1996 by the International Union of Architects (UIA), it recognizes not only the discipline itself but also the vital role architects play in building a more harmonious, sustainable, and inclusive world.

In 2025, the theme “Design for Strength” highlights architecture’s ability to foster resilience: buildings that withstand the test of time, cities that adapt, and communities that find refuge and connection in the built environment. The strength referred to goes beyond structures—it is also human, creative, and symbolic, reflecting architects’ commitment to a balanced and inspiring future.

Architects act as mediators between people and their environment, interpreting collective needs and shaping urban life. Every project carries the responsibility to promote well-being, beauty, and sustainability—principles that define today’s cities and envision tomorrow’s.

OTIIMA shares this vision, reaffirming its commitment to natural light. Our solutions, which blur the boundaries between interior and exterior, make light the centerpiece of every space. Minimalist framing systems represent innovation, transparency, and the intimate connection between people and their surroundings.

In this way, OTIIMA translates architectural philosophy into designs that honor light, materials, and simplicity, fostering human-centered and authentic architecture, where each project is a dialogue between technology, nature, and sensitivity.

On this World Architecture Day, we celebrate those who transform the world with vision and courage. May “Design for Strength” inspire the creation of spaces that endure, illuminate, and welcome, reminding us that the true power of architecture lies in its ability to touch lives with beauty, light, and meaning.