Toronto architectural firm PARTISANS has conceived of and created a freestanding sauna on a private Canadian island that takes its inspiration from the undulating form of a grotto. Grotto Sauna, built on a prehistoric rock formation, straddles the line between sculpture and architecture, appearing to be a simple rectilinear volume on the outside, but masking an exquisite set of curves on — Continue reading
Danish company Vipp, best known for its pedal-activated luxury garbage bins, is now in the pre-fab housing business. Vipp Shelter, a predictably stylish steel and glass modern house, is shipped in two containers, its 590 square feet ready and waiting to be assembled onsite in 3-5 days. While pre-fab retreats — Continue reading
Creative types who find themselves afflicted with wanderlust may have found their nirvana in Behomm, which tantalizingly bills itself as “a home exchange community for designers and visual artists.” And, make no mistake, this is no Airbnb. The brainchild of Barcelona graphic designers Eva Calduch and Agust Juste—a pair of veteran home swappers with discerning tastes—Behomm (pronounced — Continue reading
In addition to vying for impossibly cool urban status, Brooklyn seems poised to become the ideal showcase for Mid Century Modern furnishings—thanks to an abundance of early 20th Century apartments defined by volume and period details particularly suited to the proportions and profiles of classic modernist pieces. This Brooklyn Heights renvoation, spearheaded by Manhattan architect Ed Kopel, — Continue reading
Well, at least we know where we’d like to stay, next time we’re in Stockholm. The city’s recently opened Miss Clara Hotel is a wow of a refurbishment, courtesy of Gert Wingårdh Architects, who have compellingly transformed a 1910 former all-girls school into a 92-room hotel, and charmingly named it for the school’s — Continue reading
This meticulously refurbished Lisbon loft has plenty to recommend it—we could begin with its decadent size and sumptuously ornamental (circa 1893) ceiling, for starters—but it’s the space-dividing open bookshelf that caught our eye. No doubt, this spare-no-details renovation by Lisbon architectural practice AVA Architects had every contemporary demarcation (and storage) device at their disposal, but how — Continue reading
Can happiness be found in 160 square feet? Well, we’d be more than willing to find out, if this house concept form Swedish architect Jonas Wagell morphs into reality. Wagell, who’s collaborated on the project with Sommarnöjen—a Swedish manufacturer specializing in the fabrication of wooden, eco-friendly holiday houses— originally developed his design as a simple wooden — Continue reading
The recently concluded Tokyo Designers Week was an occasion for Artek and Vitra to present their first joint installation since Vitra’s acquisition of the Finnish brand in 2013. Taking over the Light Box Studio exhibition space in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighborhood, the suite of installations merged the most iconic modern furniture, lighting, and decorative pieces—including Artek’s Stool 60 — Continue reading
Of the many things subway-riding New Yorkers never expect to see—a clean surface and a smiling ticket agent, notwithstanding—a ray of sunlight may be the least expected. Until now, that is—when riders taking a trip through the sparkling Fulton Center can expect to see a thick swathe of sunlight streaming down from the city’s streets, two — Continue reading
New Yorkers tempted to guffaw at the concept of ‘peace and quiet, on demand’ may want to give Breather a whirl. The year-old company has stolen a page familiar to cheap motel owners by renting rooms by the hour—a concept that will, no doubt, be lost on anyone other than urbanites, who long ago — Continue reading
Modern architecture may be most celebrated for its sun-drenched interiors, but darkness brings its own particular esthetic pleasures (why, we’ve dedicated a whole Pinterest board to the topic). Ask Australian photographer Tom Blachford, who crossed the pacific to document Palm Springs’ famous trove of Mid Century houses far from the blinding desert sun—and under the — Continue reading
An eco-sensitive pre fabricated house designed by Philippe Starck—which made the trade show rounds in 2013—has been fully constructed on the outskirts of Paris. PATH (Prefabricated Accessible Technology Homes), the acronym assigned this prototype, brings to life Stark’s dream of a “deeply modern” and environmentally responsible prefabricated house, one that can conceivably — Continue reading
“We tell stories in bohemian glass,” is the tag line of Dechem, the Prague-based design studio that has made hand cut glass its material of choice. Founded by young designers Michaela Tomišková and Jakub Janďourek, Dechem’s primary offerings are a collection of unusual, purely decorative architectural objects—houses, trees, church steeples, a mountain—each — Continue reading
Casablanca aside, Morocco without color is an anomaly. Reds, saffrons, and cobalt blues spring with abandon from labyrinthine alleyways and luxury hotels alike, presenting an endless stream of breathtakingly color-filled vignettes for traveling esthetes. Enter the anomaly: Riad Mena, a new 6-room hotel in the center of Marrakech, which blithely makes its trademark a judicious — Continue reading
Country houses, by definition, are expected to be a safe distance from the bustle of urban life—but not, typically, in another hemisphere altogether. The owner of this pristine, if modest, house on a remote stretch of property outside Sydney, Australia, spends most of his time in Europe, but was seduced enough by a visit — Continue reading
British artist Rebecca Telford makes her home in Bristol, but much of her current work is inspired by travels on this side of the Atlantic, namely the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Her paintings and prints—primarily acrylic on aluminum and screen prints pulled from hand cut stencils—focus on the built world, specifically — Continue reading
A pair of glass greenhouses mark the entry to the stunning transformation of a 300 year old paper mill on the southern coast of England into a ravishing sustainable gin distillery. The work of Britain’s Thomas Heatherwick Studio, the refurbishment of Laverstock Mill from a derelict site to Bombay Sapphire’s new distillery, is both an architectural and ecological wonder, — Continue reading
Who doesn’t enjoy an unobstructed view into the lives of others—or, in the case, of New Yorkers, a view into the lives of those with an unseemly amount of square footage? No wonder, then, that Open House New York, slated to kick off its 2014 edition October 11 & 12, is becoming an ever-more-popular way — Continue reading
Modernism isn’t always sweetness and light. The imposing urban work of Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, given the rough-hewn label, Brazilian Brutalism, is defined by massive volumes of geometric concrete and poetic juxtapositions with lush tropical vegetation. This brooding house in Sao Paulo is the very happy place of Lebanese Brazilian interior designer, Houssein Jarouche. Founder of Sao Paulo’s progressive — Continue reading
Maison Louis Carré is one of the 20th Century’s great Modernist private residences, and one of the few outside Finland to be designed by Alvar Aalto, its low-slung elegance impeccably captured here by photographer Bruno Suet. Located outside Paris in the enclave of Bazoches-sur-Guyonnes, the house was commissioned in 1956 by the — Continue reading
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