This Is What Happens When Architects Design Shelters For Cats

Oct 21, 2016

As if cats doing adorable things in weird contexts need any explanation. Feast your eyes on these creative design experiments that focus on the space occupied by everybody’s favorite felines.

Yarn? YARN! Stop. Just stop. Everyone can see you hiding there, pal. A saucer of scotch with my mahogany, please.
I should not have had so much catnip. Make house for cat. Cat sits underneath house.

Should’ve dibsed top bunk.

The structures were built and put on display as part of an awareness project called “Giving Shelter” put on by Architects for Animals. The shelters were designed by various architects in the Las Angeles area and presented at a local Herman Miller showroom in Culver City, CA.

Strange Home In Siberia Give New Meaning To “House Flipping”

Mar 28, 2015

If you happened upon this house while walking around Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, chances are you’d do more than a double-take. The surreal design of this inverted home comes courtesy They followed through with all sorts of details, from the upside down furniture inside, to the parked car in the driveway, and even the food hanging upside down in the kitchen.

1 of 8

I like shooting stories about people who belong to the “one in a million” category – unusual people doing unusual things. They can be amateur artists, builders, extreme sportsmen, winter swimmers, or people who live in difficult conditions in the modern world and manage to survive. (Source)

Photographer Ilya Naymushin took these photos, which capture the curious reactions of visitors touring the home. The house itself was constructed as a sort of tourist attraction, and we imagine it might be the main attraction in Siberia – why else would you take a vacation there?

Small House With A Yard/Doghouse Floats Down The Thames River

May 18, 2015

Airbnb just listed a home, complete with a yard that has green grass, an apple tree, and a doghouse. Doesn’t sound that interesting you say? Well, consider that it also floats down the Thames.

This 70-ton, two story home includes two bedrooms, a working bathroom, living room, and all the usual amenities you’d expect to find in a house. The home will cruise past neighborhoods like Chelsea, Westminster, and Canary Wharfy until May 22.

image © mikael buck / airbnb

This Postman Collected Pebbles During The Day. At Night He Built Something Incredible.

Mar 18, 2015

In 1879 a postman by the name of Ferdinand Cheval stepped on a small pebble, and after picking it up and examining it, he got an idea. He would spend the next 30+ years collecting pebbles of various shapes and sizes on his 18-mile-long route. After work he would mix together lime and concrete to build the Palais Idéal.

1 of 9

“I said to myself: since Nature is willing to do the sculpture, I will do the masonry and the architecture”

Located in Hauterives, the palace is a popular tourist destination and also serves as inspiration for artists. An example of “naïve art architecture”, . He spent 22 years building the outer walls, using stones he gathered in his pockets. Eventually he carried a basket and finally a wheelbarrow to collect the necessary stones to complete the project.

Ferdinand is an inspiration not just to artists, but anyone who rides a wave of inspiration to the finish. His efforts prove that with time, passion, and effort, you can achieve almost anything.

Photographs by EMMANUEL GEORGES and CLAUDE TRAVELS

It’s Alive! This Home Uses Compost For Climate Control

Jun 25, 2015

A collection of crafty and clever students at Japan’s Waseda University have developed a way to utilize the natural fermentation process of straw to heat and cool your home. On the interior, pre-fabricated acrylic boxes are stuffed full of common straw. The straw is left to ferment and compost, naturally giving off a staggering amount of heat – up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit!

The design of the home is fairly simple – meant to be more of a shell for experimentation than a display of architectural ingenuity. It serves its purpose well enough to showcase this nontraditional building technology, and the exterior is also clad in straw, showcasing its use as an effective weather barrier.

The fermentation is a result of a low-odor composting technique called “bokashi” (meaning “fermented organic matter”). The process happens over a four week period, so the real downside to this type of system would be the maintenance. If anything, the project is an example of what is possible using natural processes in building tech. The acrylic boxes are placed strategically throughout the interior so as to provide each space with the appropriate amount of heat. In the summer, the dormant straw that has already been composed acts as a natural insulator – keeping the home passively cool. They will even release moisture, which acts as a natural cooling mechanism. This floor plan shows where the boxes are hung on the interior walls.

Designed by Masaki Ogasawara, Keisuke Tsukada and Erika Mikami, the students hope the prototype ushers in new and interesting investigations into natural building technologies. Their “Recipe to Live” house is certainly an example of the possibilities as we move towards a move eco-conscious society.

Images by Waseda University.

Star Wars Inspired House In South Korea

May 4, 2015

Star Wars fans are a dedicated bunch, as this unusual home in Korea demonstrates. Built by architecture firm Moon Hoon, this inspired home takes a detour from its neighbors, bringing a spaceship-like design into the mix. The exterior draws its geometric inspiration from the Sandcrawler, which appears in the beginning of A New Hope, and a touch of gray from the Death Star.

Inside however, the theme is much more subdued, with its bright and open layout that’s decidedly modern, showing off a minimalist approach to decor and furnishings. The couple who built this home wanted to upgrade from their apartment to a small countryside home where they could raise a family, and spent about $200k to complete the build.

Garden of Eden? This Church’s Interiors Are Covered In Grass

Mar 17, 2015

In an effort to rejuvenate the interiors of this ancient Italian-style Church in London, artist and composer Graeme Miller has collaborated with Ackroyd & Harvey to carpet its interiors with living grass. Greenery covers the walls, floors and ceilings of the awe-inspiring space, resulting in a surreal experience that speaks to the sanctity of life and the preciousness of our relationship to faith.

1 of 6

The converted church was in complete disrepair prior to the planting and cultivation of the grass. In addition to making unique use of a once decrepit ruin, Miller and company created the installation as an experiment in human experience. They explain, “We were curious about how the architectural space, the atmosphere, and the perceptions of people entering it, would be affected by the application of our materials.”

This Crooked House Warps The Mind With Its Crazy Facade

Apr 24, 2015

Like the twisted beauty of the Polish language, the Krzywy Domek or “Crooked House” by Szotyńscy & Zaleski elegantly distorts familiar architectural convention. The street-facing facade presents an unusual collage of undulating forms that looks like it was tailor-made for the setting of Disney’s next animated film.

The building is a popular destination on Sopot, Poland’s famed Monte Cassino Street, and contains shops, restaurants and cafés. A central gazed section is bookended by two stucco masses that would resemble traditional vernacular if they weren’t pinched and bulbed to appear more fantastical. The architects were inspired by the illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg in addition to legendary Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi.

At night, the structure glows like a warped jack-o-lantern. The deep-set window openings cast dramatic shadows adding to the dream-like appearance of the facade.

The inside follows suit, imitating the the same playful forms and details, seamlessly blending the conceptual force behind the design’s iconic exterior.

5 Reasons The Legoland Hotel Is The best Vacation Option For Families

May 28, 2015

Have you ever wondered which hotel would be best for a family vacation with your two young children? The search is over. Just recently the much anticipated Legoland Hotel opened. The structure sits in Winter Haven, Florida and is styled to look like legos.

Let’s step inside, shall we?

“From the minute you walk into Legoland Hotel, you can see it’s totally designed and built for kids,” said Legoland spokesperson Julie Estrada.

The hotel includes 2000 hand built Lego items, like a massive grunt guarding the moat, waiting about to smash you.

You can eat at Bricks Family Restaurant, where everyone can enjoy a healthy and fresh meal.

Enroll the kids in a “Master Brick Building” and head to the pool to sip a cocktail.

Vibrant scenes like this won’t leave your kid wanting for imagination or claiming they’re “bored”.

Just check out the bed! The kiddos won’t have any trouble hopping in there around bedtime.

They have boys and girls options so there’s no arguing over who gets which.

Did we mention cocktails under the sun?

Can’t you summon your inner child and go floating on a lego block?

5 Incredible Buildings That Can’t Seem To Sit Still

Mar 16, 2015

1Sliding House by DRMM

In a stroke of architectural imagination and mechanical ingenuity, this seemingly ordinary home pulls itself apart revealing a secondary structure and creating a covered indoor/outdoor space. The 20-ton outer wood shell moves along two tracks via electric motors and can be stopped at different locations to configure varying degrees of opacity.

2Shapeshifting Sharifi-Ha House by Nextoffice

Each of the three floors of this home in Tehran, Iran have rotating volumes that open the spaces to views and light. With the simple push of a button, the spaces swing out and cantilever over the street below. The concept balances the desire for natural light and the regional necessity of protection and privacy.

3M-Velope Transformer House

1 of 3

This tiny temporary structure made of hinged wood-slatted walls has the ability to completely open itself up creating a much larger covered footprint. While not technically a home, the structure presents a conceptual prototype that can be applied to adaptive facades in larger scale applications.

4Eskenazi Hospital, Indianapolis by Urbana Architecture

1 of 3

Las Angeles based firm Urbana Architecture has designed an adaptive facade that transforms user experience based on proximity, position and pace of movement, pointing to a much larger shift in urban transformation. The facade is fixed with thousands of tiny bi-chromatic metal fins that rotate on vertical rods, resulting in a dynamic skin that is constantly changing

5Cafe-Restaurant OPEN, by de Architekten Cie

Each of the glazed vertical sections of this sea-side restaurant in Amsterdam hinges in accordion-like fashion, creating an undulating facade that appears to be flowing with the ocean breeze.

1 of 3

Let’s step inside, shall we?

The hotel includes 2000 hand built Lego items, like a massive grunt guarding the moat, waiting about to smash you.

You can eat at Bricks Family Restaurant, where everyone can enjoy a healthy and fresh meal.

Enroll the kids in a “Master Brick Building” and head to the pool to sip a cocktail.

Vibrant scenes like this won’t leave your kid wanting for imagination or claiming they’re “bored”.

Just check out the bed! The kiddos won’t have any trouble hopping in there around bedtime.

They have boys and girls options so there’s no arguing over who gets which.

Did we mention cocktails under the sun?

Can’t you summon your inner child and go floating on a lego block?

1Sliding House by DRMM

Photos © Alex de Rijke / GIF by Gasoline Station

2Shapeshifting Sharifi-Ha House by Nextoffice

3M-Velope Transformer House

4Eskenazi Hospital, Indianapolis by Urbana Architecture

5Cafe-Restaurant OPEN, by de Architekten Cie