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I bet most people will change their wishes of owning a large apartment, after seeing the compact building found in Tokyo. Called as “Reflection of Mineral”, the 44 sqm house looks just like a piece of paper art from the outside, but still features the full functionality, including a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom inside it. And the point I love most is the half-open garage on the ground—that’s really a clever way to make efficient use of space. So you’d like one such house, too? Contact with the Japanese architect Yasuhiro Yamashita then.

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Everybody knows clearly that daily consumption of water could be recycled by rainwater, which could then be purified and used again to meet our daily needs of pure water. But the problem is: we seldom know how to ‘harvest’ and recycle rainwater effectively. Possibly the ‘Capture The Rain’ skyscraper will show us a new way. The concept building features a special roof to collect as much rainwater as it possible, as well as reservoirs under the roof to store large amounts of water. Apart from meeting its inhabitants’ daily need, rainwater collected by the skyscraper will also be stored in reservoir under the building for other uses. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Why is a building famous? The reason is apparently different: some are well-known because of the ingenious architects, or due to the significant locations, but there’re still some buildings that become attractive just because they’re surprisingly ’slim’! So right here are several skinny buildings we’ve collected for you guys, the building above is Haussmann building in Paris, and continue reading for more fun! [Read the rest of this entry...]

An amazing bar recently appeared at the Oporto University in Portugal, capturing almost everybody’s eyes. Why, you may ask, the bar could be so appealing? Perhaps that mainly attributes to the special material the Temporary Bar is made of. It is built by firstly fixing 420 different-depth IKEA storage boxes on a wooden structure and then attaching them to the main metal structure. The designers, Diogo Aguiar and Teresa Otto, have folded open one of the building’s walls, to make it look exactly like a cool bar. Since LED lights are also adopted in the project, each box will give a different brightness (according to its depth) at night, adding more fun to the wonderful time. [Read the rest of this entry...]

While more and more scientists are doing their best to leave humankind’s footprints on the Moon, some designers have focused their attention on the ocean. The ‘Gyre Seascraper’, also known as a futuristic city on the ocean, is an exciting concept from them. It peaks at a depth of 400m and has the ability to accommodate up to 2000 people.

Featuring a comfortable living, Gyre consists of shops, restaurants, hotels and spaces for recreation. Even better, the concept is totally eco-friendly, obtaining electricity power via employing wind, solar, and tidal energy generation technologies. All the needed water is provided by the purification system at its base. Four 1.25 km long radial arms are built to accommodate the needs of even the world’s largest ships, apart from providing a pedestrian system for the residents. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Welcome to the Five-Stars Hotels made from cardboards…

Designed by Keung Caputo, these boxes would offer you a luxurious resort, because each of them is created with a cardboard bed, pillow and dedicate interior decorations. Four different themes are available for you to choose from. But the biggest problem with the cardboard hotels may be that no smoking is permitted if you want to be safe…Just kidding. [Read the rest of this entry...]

‘Experiencing the Void’ is an innovative concept put forward by JDS architects for the Guggenheim museum. It is based on Frank Lloyd Wright’ concepts of space, which believes that users will have a continuous spatial experience when walling up or down a spiral-shaped ramp. And therefore ‘Experiencing the Void’ is mainly about a trampoline net that spirals down from the museum’s ceiling to the floor. The playful concept not only provides a functional walking alternative, but will help enhancing the social relationship between people. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Swedish architects Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter have collaborated to bring forward the ‘Tree Hotel’ concept. It is a 4m× 4m × 4m lightweight aluminum shelter built around a tree trunk. Its exterior is covered with mirrored glass, which reflects the surroundings and the sky to make the hotel become a part of the nature. And the interior is all made of plywood. Providing a comfortable environment for two people, each shelter comes with a double bed, a small kitchen and bathroom, a living room and a roof terrace. In case birds fly into the windows, transparent stickers (visible to birds) will be added to the facades. To get into the shelter, you need to use a rope ladder or a rope bridge. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Seemingly like a huge boiled egg, the white structure is actually a mobile office designed by Belgian architectural firm dmvA. A bathroom, a kitchen, a bed, and several niches for storage are all included inside the building, ensuring the users a comfortable living. Mainly finished in polyester, the lightweight office also promises an easy transportation so that you could move it to any places you may want. But perhaps the most interesting point is the ‘nose’ design of the egg enabling one to use it as a porch too, apart from being a side door. It could also be used as a guest room or a garden house. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Arina Komarova has come out with a new shower room concept, a shower stall that you would want it to appear in the living room rather than the bathroom. It is shaped like a huge egg, allowing you to stretch yourself with sensuous pleasure in the warm Jacuzzi. Sadly it is only a concept at present and there’s no news when it will hit the market. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Possibly it’s time to take the cold and rigid architectures to a new altitude- not merely adding them with refreshing ornaments, but completely changing their structures. And then, the architecture will look more like an art rather than a place for us to live in. Just as you’ve seen from the pictures, the VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron is just an example of the instinctive buildings we’re looking for.

”By stacking, extruding and pressing – mechanical procedures used in industrial production – simply shaped houses become complex configurations in space, where outside and inside merge.”-Architecture Lab

Check out more pictures after the jump and read more about it at Architecture Lab. [Read the rest of this entry...]

‘Villa Vals’ is a holiday home built underneath the alpine slopes of Vals, Switzerland. Architectural firms SeARCH has teamed up with another firm CMA to keep the whole building surrounded by natural landscapes. And when going through an underground tunnel, you’ll then find yourself inside Villa Vals’ interior, which makes full the use of the limited space to ensure you a comfortable living. Sounds great, right? I bet you’ll be happy to know that the house is available for rent.

Continue reading for more pictures. [Read the rest of this entry...]

What, you haven’t heard of the Chocolate Theme Park? You must be kidding, right? The Chocolate Wonderland Park in Beijing is ready to accept customers on 29th, this month.

Located on the north side of the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium, the park includes five pavilions (the World’s Chocolate Hall, World’s Candy Hall, Wonderland Theme Hall, Sweet Experience Hall and Sweet Gift Hall) and two outdoor activity areas (the Sweet Stage and Sweet Shopping Street). The park features chocolate-made miniature of Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terra Cotta Warriors and other famous Chinese attractions and all those are believed to help people around the world to learn about China better. Apart from that, visitors will also be taught by expert chocolatiers to make chocolate. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Actually, you may have guessed the answer: the special thing about the window is that it also doubles as a spacious balcony if expanded. And that’s really a clever and practical way to enlarge interior space. The Bloomframe ‘balcony-on-demand’ system is made from particularly solid materials so that it would be absolutely safe for even the fattest people to stand on it. It is not merely a brilliant concept, but real products on the market. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Nothing would be better than buildings to display an architect’s rich talent. Therefore before designing brilliant buildings for others, architects should firstly design a most impressive for themselves, not merely for a good reputation, but for a vivid publicity. And rightly here is the best architect’s office I’ve ever seen, which blends with the landscape perfectly. Don’t you want one? I love it! [Read the rest of this entry...]