AD Chimera VOL 96.2, 2026
Guest-edited by Elena Manferdini and Damjan Jovanovic, this issue of Architectural Design examines the continuing relevance of utopian thinking in contemporary architecture. Alongside her role as guest editor, Elena Manferdini contributes the essay Viral.
At a moment when technological acceleration, ecological instability, and planetary computation are reshaping the world, the issue asks whether utopias remain necessary—and for whom. Rather than presenting utopia as a blueprint for perfection, Chimera explores it as a speculative tool for reimagining possible futures. Through essays and projects by architects, theorists, and designers, the issue investigates how architectural thinking can reopen new systems, meanings, and worlds in the face of global uncertainty.
Contributors
Adil Bokhari, Federico Campagna, Robert Cha, Jennifer Chen, John Cooper and Krish Dittmer, Graham Harman, Damjan Jovanovic, Neil Leach, Elena Manferdini, Alina Nazmeeva, Antoine Picon, Carlo Ratti and Marco Santambrogio, Paulette Singley, Neil Spiller, Andrew Witt, and Natasha Wanganeen and Liam Young