In making the map that appears on this issue’s cover, artist Sabine Réthoré ‘ignored the borders’ and instead traced the routes and rivers that link ‘the thousands of points or places of exchange’. As Laura Lo Presti writes, ‘maps of the Mediterranean have become ingrained in our minds and are accepted as if they show inherent, natural features, even though they are subjective and human-made.’ The framing of this region as ‘the Mediterranean’ is similarly a human construction, with multiple faces and identities. The sea has a dual nature – it is both a barrier and a connection, depending on which coast you stand on. Read the full editorial

For almost a decade, the W Awards, in association with The Architectural Review and the Architects’ Journal, have shone a spotlight on the work of women and non-binary people in architectural practice and culture. In our March 2024 issue, we are proud to present the winners and architects shortlisted for this year’s W Awards. These include the recipients of the Ada Louise Huxtable Prize and Jane Drew Prize, and shortlisted practitioners for the MJ Long Prize and Moira Gemmill Prize. Now in its second year, the Prize for Research in Gender and Architecture goes to Swedish design and architecture group Mycket. Read the full editorial

The February issue of the AR delves into the world of repair and restoration. Like the built-in obsolescence of electronics and household appliances, buildings too are designed with a use-by date. Reuse and restoration can break this cycle, as some of the buildings featured here illustrate – but the issue also examines the powerful economic imperatives working against repair, which can scupper the best efforts to rehabilitate existing buildings. Architectural repair has repercussions far beyond the built envelope, as seen in projects from Chicago’s South Side to the West Bank, while the most urgent repair work facing us – that of damaged ecologies – is invoked by landscaping projects in Australia and Colombia. Read the full editorial