To reconnect a windowless basement to the outdoors, Licht Kunst Licht installed a 21-metre-long mural of the Rhine River (with vertical strata that reproduce the parallax effect of a 3D landscape) behind a false window. Also behind the glazing: RGBW LEDs in the floor to simulate natural light reflected off the water at dawn and […]

For Pujiang – a Chinese city that had lost nearly 200 hectares of river and tributaries to channelization, sand quarries and pollution over four decades of industrialization – the reclamation of a 16-kilometre stretch of riverfront was like turning back time. Pujiang has a monsoon climate, so the first step was to remediate concrete surfacing […]

In terms of function, Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge is like any other bridge: Rising to the Melbourne Park sports precinct, it serves as a main entry point for the Australian Open. But in its form, which closely follows the underlying topography atop sculptural concrete legs, it stands above. The bridge’s slender spans are encased in a […]

The ultimate testament to beautifully resolved design occurs when spectators simply gape and ask “How?” Highwire’s form consists of nothing more than individually weighted, double-sided discs strung on cables, which are in turn pulled taut. The result looks a little bit like a glowing yo-yo frozen mid-trick – a perfect laser-cut Plexiglas circle illuminated by […]

The gentle glow from Kepler’s floating translucent circles seems to come from nowhere. The suspension lamp’s wide, luminous discs, suspended like pivoting makeup mirrors inside a slim metal frame, are finished with two sheets of silk-like micro-weave fabric pulled as tight as the skin of a drum. Light from a hidden ring of LEDs bounces […]

Floating like a satellite, Daniel Rybakken’s Amisol is designed to fill the maximum amount of space with a minimum of hardware, making for a bold statement light that’s easy to handle. Held in place with thin aluminum rods, its ultra-high-powered light source beams directly onto a translucent white or mirrored membrane spanning a circular aluminum […]

Getting there is half the fun. Featuring a duo of interconnected theatres carved from two nesting volumes, this bold concept also engenders a series of stimulating in-between spaces. This sequence of “entering devices” encourages audience members to turn and pause, to shift their pace and orientation, as they make their way to their seats. For […]

This school concept beautifully illustrates how the Arctic’s extreme climate can be a generator of great design rather than an obstacle to it. Clad in charred cedar, the 1,800-square-metre ensemble of formal and informal educational spaces, including classrooms and an indoor basketball court, is imagined as a series of spatial layers, or thresholds, connected to […]

With its slanted roof and viewfinder windows, the 2017 Jim Vlock First Year Building Project is a triumph of smart single-family residential design. It’s also much more than that. The project is the result of a partnership – called Homeless:Housed – between the Yale School of Architecture and non-profit Columbus House, which team up to […]

Since oral traditions are at the heart of Maasai culture, this thoughtful design for a cultural centre for the Maasai Mara tribe of Kenya places the open-air storytelling hub at the core of a butterfly-shaped plan. The encircling wings accommodate curatorial activities, crafts studios and conferences; the welcoming nature of the entire design is underlined […]