Where were we?
Travel often feeds our best ideas, and we have a big appetite
Did you guess the locations of some of the team’s recent adventures? Clockwise from top left: Madrid, AlUla, Alentejo, Berlin, Harlem, Athens.
Madrid-Barajas Airport (T4)
On a recent work-and-play trip to the Spanish capital, Tony had the pleasure of passing through the RSHP and Estudio Lamela-designed Madrid-Barajas Airport (T4). The modular, light-filled structure with wavy bamboo-clad roof and rainbow gradient structural pillars – which assist wayfinding and navigation – has all the joyous hallmarks of Richard Rogers at his best.
It is hard to believe that this pulitzer prize-winning airport is 20 years old. It looks and feels as new and progressive as it did when it opened in 2006.
AlUla, Saudi Arabia
As a guest of the the Royal Commission of AlUla (RCU), Tony was privy to a host of cultural endeavours in the ancient Arabian oasis city. Highlights included Material Witness – an exhibition showcasing the fruits of the second edition of the AlUla Design Residency and the latest iteration of the renowned and spectacular site-specific art exhibition, Desert X. Tony also attended the grand announcement of the forthcoming AlUla Contemporary Art Museum, a partnership with Paris’ Centre Pompidou, and designed by Lina Gotmeh. As a taster of what’s to come, a temporary site hosted the exhibition Arduna (meaning Our Land). It explores our relationship with nature and land, and features over 80 works from both institutions alongside masterpieces from Musée National d’Art Moderne.
Alentejo, Portugal
São Lourenço do Barrocal is a study in quiet, vernacular design, where restored farm buildings and lime-washed walls echo the tones of the Alentejo landscape. The renovation, led by Pritzker Prize-winning Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, unfolded between 2008 and 2016, thoughtfully transforming the historic monte into a contemporary rural retreat. It has taken Georgia Dehn a deacde to finally make the pilgrimage.
The 780-hectare estate, which has been owned by the same family for over 200 years, is also home to a remarkable olive tree believed to be over 3,200 years old – a living link to its ancient past.
Berlin
Callum visited the Feuerle Collection, a Second World War telecommunications bunker converted into a museum by collector Désiré Feuerle, designed in 2016 by John Pawson. The space houses Southeast Asian sculpture and furniture dating from the 7th century, alongside an array of contemporary works, including Anish Kapoor and Nobuyoshi Araki.
Harlem
On a recent trip to New York City, Zulum stepped into the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a cultural jewel in the heart of Harlem. With the centre celebrating its centennial, Zulum explored the exhibition 100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity, which includes Aspects of Negro Life: Song of the Towers by Aaron Douglas (1934) – one of four murals portraying the African American journey through struggle, resilience and the pursuit of the American dream.
Athens
Fuelled by the natural wines at kissa-style listening bar Birdman, Fred climbed the steps to the Acropolis to see the scaffold-free Parthenon. After 20 years of restoration, the scaffold was briefly removed from the facade in late 2025 to show the ancient wonder in its naked beauty, before conservation work resumed.
