A vision in concrete: Oscar Niemeyer’s Brazil

As Brasília turns 60, it’s time to reassess the legendary modernist architect on a visit to the Brazilian capital and Rio de Janeiro

Divine inspiration: rescuing run-down churches – a photo essay

Sixty-odd years ago a Welsh MP along with TS Eliot and John Betjeman formed a group to save ‘ancient and beautiful’ churches from dereliction and demolition. Today, the Friends of Friendless churches keep the doors open to more than 50 of these cultural treasures

London’s Victorian churches deserve a second gothic revival

Many of the fine monuments to London’s golden age lie undervalued and underused. It’s time these brick and stone glories were brought back to life

An architectural ski tour: Les Arcs, 50 years on

The modernist architecture of Les Arcs has not always found favour with skiers but as it marks its half-century, our writer warms to its egalitarian vision

First look: a tour of the restored Auckland Castle

When Harry Pearson last visited this Georgian gothic palace in County Durham ‘it was a jewel badly in need of a polish.’ Now its restored spires and grand state rooms are the centrepiece of an ambitious project to regenerate the Bishop Auckland area

Great modern architecture in Europe: readers’ tips

Our readers’ selection of (mostly) urban design masterpieces contrast or harmonise with traditional surroundings

Lausanne arts district launches on former train shed site

Plateforme 10 will unite three of the Swiss city’s museums and with free entry and a revamped station on the doorstep is set to be a major European arts hub

Show stoppin’: a car-free art tour along the East Sussex coast

The Coastal Culture Trail links three modern art galleries along 18 miles of this stretch of seaside. On a family trip, our writer explores by train, bus and on foot

100 years of Bauhaus: Berlin and beyond

As Germany celebrates the centenary of the influential art movement, we tour the cities where it started, flourished and, ultimately, proved too ‘degenerate’ for the Nazis

10 of the best things to do in Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs’ modernist masterpieces are celebrated in this week’s fall preview but the mountain haven for the Hollywood set is worth a visit any time of year

High society: El Alto, Bolivia, steps into the spotlight

After landing at El Alto, canny travellers don’t go straight to La Paz but soak up the exuberant architecture, culture and women’s projects of Bolivia’s second city