Time Out…

…for tea-time hiking…Ban Shan Café brings the mountains down into Beijing.  Robert3 Design selected tactile materials like wood, paper, brick, and ceramic tiles to create a warm, earthy environment.  A perfect spot for us to sip a cup of tea and visit.  By the way, ‘shan’ means ‘mountain’ in Chinese.

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Choices, Choices…

…day swimming, or…

…night swimming?
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Meow Parlour…

…for the little purrs.  Sonya Lee Architect designed NYC’s first cat cafe, Meow Parlour.  Here,  humans can enjoy a cup of joe while being reminded to play.  The kitties roam freely, while awaiting adoption.

The success of the space has led to nearly 100 adoptions, supported by their nonprofit, Kitty Kind, while embracing the idea that good design can shape how we interact with each other and animals.  Here, kitty, kitty!…

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Happy Easter…

…from cabbagerose.

pâtisserie petit lapin, montreal/architecture open form
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Easy Living…

…for a professional athlete and his family.  Concrete, wood, breezy white, and the proper accoutrement for the southern California lifestyle…brought to life by Kirkpatrick Architects and Mark J. Williams Design.

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Flower Perfect…

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School Days…

…for the littles.

childrens’ school, st-denis, france/paul le quernec

kindergarten over the vineyard, slovakia/architekti.sk

french middle school in toulouse/lcr architectes

kindergarten susi weigel/bernardo bader

infant school in vereda/rueda pizarro arquitectos
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Messages…

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Amongst the Tree Canopies…

…with a palette of oiled timber, operable glass, and broad overhanging roof planes, rests San Francisco Bay House by Fearon Hay. In my opinion, an enchanting dwelling…

…to put down roots…or eggs.
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Blue…

…word.

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Tom Dixon…

…brings bold and modern style to No. 2 Upper Riverside in London.  The interiors have been inspired by a sense of Britishness as well as taking into account the building’s unusual geometry.

The Tom Dixon kitchen features custom designed enamel splashbacks from the creators of the London Underground enamel signage, combined with copper cabinetry and ironmongery.

The bathroom boasts anodized rolled steel, custom made dichroic glass showers, and Vola copper brassware.

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Rugged in the ‘Hood…

…but not really.  120 Allen Street, on Manhattan’s lower east side is referred to by New York-based, Grzywinski + Pons, as an aparthotel…a hybrid of an apartment and a hotel.  The facade fits nicely into the ‘classical grittiness’ of the neighborhood, with the industrial interior being  warm, soft, and cozy. The exterior boasts multi-tonal brickwork, zinc panels, coal-fire bricks, rusticated masonry details, and metal louvres.

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Let’s Flow…

…acumen, creativity, and skill of Beijing studio, MAD…brilliant flowing form is brought to Harbin Opera House, China.

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Optimist Eyewear…

…utilitary objects transformed into prismatic sculpture,  texture of materiality, and reflection and absorption of light,  transform a routine trip to the optometrist into a ‘visual’ delight.  Optical shop,  C_29 /Optimist is the ‘vision’  of Athens-based,  314 Architecture Studio.

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In the Round…

…this way,

…and that!

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