Old Mud And Wood House Transformed Into A Labyrinth Of Bookcases
Atelier tao+c transformed an old house in a remote Chinese village made from mud walls and a wooden structure into a community library, bookstore and hotel. The grid of the bookshelves defines the layout of the building and elements like the wooden windows fit within the grid.

Studio Precht Designs A Fingerprint-Shaped Park For Physical Distancing
Austria-based studio Precht — previously known as Penda — has unveiled the design for a lush green park envisioned for physical distancing and short-term solitude. Dubbed Parc de la Distance, the open air space has been shaped in the form of a fingerprint, evoking human touch.

World’s First 360-Degree Infinity Pool Proposed For London Skyline
Compass Pools has unveiled a concept for a four-sided infinity pool atop a London skyscraper, accessed via a submarine-style door. Called Infinity London, the project is described by the swimming pool manufacturer as “only building in the world to incorporate a 360-degree infinity pool”.

The Rise And Rise Of New York’s Billionaire’s Row
With breath-taking views, luxurious interiors, endless amenities and eye-watering price tags, this new wave of properties are strictly for those with a 10-figure bank balance. But how did this area come to be? What sparked its growth in this particular district? How were planning controls addressed?

Architects Turn Empty Parking Lot Into Los Angeles’s Densest Urban Forest
SecondHome Hollywood, a Los Angeles workspace, boasts a 50,000-square-foot garden of 6,500 trees and plants and 700 tons of soil and vegetation. It is Los Angeles’s densest urban forest and is also home to 112 native species.

Adobe Fresco Drawing And Painting App
Adobe Fresco is a free drawing and painting app built especially for Apple Pencil and designed for artists who draw professionally or paint for passion. It brings together the world’s largest collection of vector and raster brushes, plus revolutionary new Live Brushes, to deliver a completely natural painting and drawing experience.

Can A Corporation “Own” A Color?
A handful of companies like Coca-Cola, 3M and Cadbury, have pushed the boundaries of intellectual property law by laying claim to individual colors. But is it really possible to “own” a color?

Prefab Needs To Be Fixed Before It Can Save Housing
Today, prefabrication in the United States is stunted. The small manufacturers that exist cannot invest in research and therefore cannot produce the more sophisticated projects that are needed today. Plus, in many cases, it can be less costly to ship a project over from a more experienced or innovative fabricator.

Is This A Chinese City In Malaysia?
Forest City is being built in the Malaysian state of Johor in the southern part of the country. Here, the Johore Strait acts as a natural border between Malaysia and the independent city-state Singapore. It is one of the most ambitious urban development projects currently underway. An entire new city built from scratch.

Smart Frames For Growing Plants In The City
French company, Urban Canopee, has developed lightweight, adaptable and flexible frames, which serve as support for climbing plants — both in isolation or in groups — and to create a verdant canopy. The company hopes the easy-to-use frames will be used to grow plants on the roofs of buildings and other public spaces.

Was The Millennium Dome Really So Bad? The Inside Story Of A (Not So) Total Disaster
Twenty years later, it is still a byword for New Labour hubris, squandered resources and hideously bungled planning. In fact, it was a byword for all of these things before it even opened. It is clear that the prevailing narrative that the Dome was a total failure is not – or at least not quite – the full story.

How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Architecture
Artificial Intelligence remains a Pandora’s Box of possibilities, with the potential to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of cities, or destroy the potential for humans to work, interact, and live a private life.

How A Small Texas City Rewrote The Rules Of Development
Last month, Bastrop, Texas, adopted a new building code, known as Bastrop Building Block, which radically alters how the city will approach development. The new flexible system was designed to address three interrelated issues hitting municipalities across the county: population growth, aging infrastructure, and outdated development patterns.

In Arizona, A Case Study In How Architecture Can Adapt To Climate Change
In Phoenix, just above the Sonoran Desert, an architecture firm has built an office space as a model of regenerative architecture, which uses existing natural resources to create more life. Through implementing a regenerative design, the firm has been able to increase biodiversity and sustainably harness the sun’s natural energy.

Inside The Sale Of The Record-Obliterating $31 Million Patek Philippe Watch
The motion made the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime the most expensive watch ever sold by a wide margin. The Grandmaster Chime is a modern watch made specifically for the Only Watch auction, which donates 100 percent of its proceeds to Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.

Banksy Crashes The Venice Art Biennale With Unlicensed Street Stall
A minute-long video documents a concealed man setting up a tableau of framed oil paintings on the streets of the Italian city. When assembled, the group of images depicts the ever-controversial cruise ships that dwarf Venice’s spectacular cityscape as they make their way past the grand canal.

The Future’s Green For Copenhagen
Copenhagen has already earned its reputation as Europe’s capital of style and sustainability. Now the city is embarking on some of the world’s most ambitious architecture projects in a bid to become the greenest on earth.

Design Schemes To Survive Climate Change
A new generation of architects, designers, and experts is creating infrastructure and buildings that respond to both extreme conditions and ongoing stress. Here’s a look at some of the most innovative approaches to living in a increasingly apocalyptic world.

Hovering Above San Francisco, This Home Office Invites Deep Reflection And Clarity
Hovering above San Francisco, ‘Aerie’ is a small addition to the Californian city. Architects Luke Ogrydziak and Zoë Prillinger from OPA completed the project as a vibrant work and study space cantilevering over a four-story drop of an existing house.

L’Oréal’s Clip-on Sensor Tracks Your Exposure To UV Rays
The future of wearable skincare technology is roughly the size of an M&M. L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay My Skin Track UV sensor clips onto clothing and measures the wearer’s exposure to UV radiation, a form of radiation that is known to damage skin and, in large amounts, cause skin cancer.

Art, Architecture And Crazy Painted Basketball Courts
It seems artists have found a new canvas on the floors and lines of basketball courts. From Modernism inspired graphics to Memphis, Pop, and styles in between, no one can accuse these courts of looking boring.