Architecture & Design — ETH Zurich Develops Fireproof Building Material from Sawdust; Niall McLaughlin Unveils Australia's First New Cathedral Precinct in Over a Century; Milan Design Week Signals Shift Toward Sensory and Collectible Design

Architecture & Design · 2026-04-14

TODAY'S SIGNAL — April 14, 2026 delivers a day where material innovation and institutional commissions converge with design-world spectacle. The most consequential development is ETH Zurich and Empa's struvite-sawdust composite — a recyclable, non-combustible material positioned as a lightweight alternative to cement-bonded particleboards for interior walls. If validated at scale, this could…