A huge spiral roof pulled from the form of a Chinese folding fan, set on the east bank of the Huangpu River. We covered it then. Now it’s built, and the doors are open.
Snøhetta designed it alongside the East China Architectural Design and Research Institute.
At 146,000 square meters, it’s one of the largest performing arts complexes in China, though the number undersells it.
The roof is the thing. It spirals outward like a fan caught mid-motion, and you can walk it. No ticket required. Views of the river, views of Shanghai. That kind of access is baked into Snøhetta’s DNA.
Inside: four performance spaces, each with its own character. The Soar Theater, Grand Atelier, Open Stage, and Harmony Hall.
Harmony Hall is the technical centerpiece, with roughly 3,500 square meters of stage floor and a six-grid configuration that lets productions move in and out fast. It may be Asia’s largest stage system.
The building also holds galleries, rehearsal studios, libraries, screening rooms, restaurants, and public terraces.
You don’t need a show to justify the visit. The complex is the destination.
Construction wrapped in late June. Programming is coming. Completely worth the wait.
Some land is “unbuildable.” Robert Oshatz took that as a dare.
In the late 1980s, the Oregon-based organic architect looked at a steep, rock-riddled hillside in Lake Oswego and did not see a problem.
He saw a floor plan. The result is the Elk Rock Road Residence, known locally as the Funnel House, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a home that starts narrow at the bottom and widens as it climbs, spreading open like a hand reaching for the view.
It is, as Oshatz describes it, an upside-down house. The structure anchors itself into the hill on six levels, each one opening outward, each one offering its own pocket of outdoor space.
No two walls are parallel. The floor does not agree with the ceiling. The whole thing grows around the rock like something that has always been there.
Oshatz studied under Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. and the influence shows in every quietly radical decision: natural materials left in their natural colors, interior volumes that feel more sculpted than built, a seamless argument between inside and outside.
He wanted water views and could not afford a simpler site. Necessity handed him a masterpiece.
“Appearing to soar right out of the hillside, this house clings to a 30-degree slope rising above the Willamette River providing a spectacular view of the river, Mt. Hood and the rising sun.
The house is an experiment in feelings. Although providing a secure feeling of being anchored into the site, the structure achieves a feeling of floating in space, like a bird in flight.
The structure is funnel-like in shape: starting out with a small studio on the lowest level, moving to the children’s bedrooms on the middle level, and on the upper level where the view is the best, family community spaces and master bedroom suite.“
The locals called it the Funnel House. We would have called it proof that such a home could be built.
EFFEKT’s visualization of the tower’s crown, which proved remarkably true to the built structure.
When we first shared this project in 2017, the spiral was still a rendering and the opening date a hopeful promise. The promise was kept. The Forest Tower at Camp Adventure, known in Danish as Skovtårnet, opened in the spring of 2019 in Gisselfeld Klosters Skove, a historic forest about 60 kilometers south of Copenhagen, and it has since become one of Denmark’s best loved day trips.
Designed by Copenhagen studio EFFEKT with engineers at Arup, the tower rises 45 meters on an elegant hourglass frame of weathered corten steel and locally sourced oak. The pinched waist is not just a flourish. It opens the structure to daylight, steadies the geometry, and gives climbers a constantly shifting view of the surrounding beech forest. The visualizations we first spotted via BoredPanda are shown here, and the finished tower matches them to an uncanny degree.
A 45 Meter Spiral Above the Beech Canopy
The ramp coils at a gentle grade the whole way up.
From the top platform on a clear day, the view sweeps across South Zealand’s forests, lakes, and farmland, a green patchwork that stretches to the horizon. The climb itself is the point, though. The walkway spirals upward so gradually that the ascent feels like a slow reveal rather than a workout, with the canopy dropping away beneath your feet one loop at a time.
A 900 Meter Boardwalk Through the Treetops
The tower is the finale of a 900 meter elevated boardwalk that threads through some of the oldest parts of the forest, splitting into a high route through the canopy and a lower path along the forest floor. Crucially, the entire journey is ramped. There is not a single stair between the trailhead and the summit, which makes this one of the very few major lookout towers anywhere that a wheelchair user or a parent pushing a stroller can summit without help.
The route through Gisselfeld Klosters Skove, ending at the observation tower.
Planning a Visit
Camp Adventure is open year round, and the Forest Tower now draws visitors by the hundreds of thousands. Adult tickets run about 200 Danish kroner, roughly 30 dollars, with discounts for young children and for booking a few days ahead. Locals will tell you to come in autumn, when the beech canopy turns copper to match the steel, or at dawn, when fog pools between the trees below the crown.
Few structures manage to be both a serious piece of architecture and a genuine family outing. This one does both, which is why it keeps company on our list of the most extraordinary buildings and near the top of any Denmark travel itinerary.
Rising beside a tropical wetland in Haikou, China, the new Hainan Science Museum looks less like a building and more like a cloud suspended above the landscape.
Designed by MAD Architects, the 46,500-square-meter structure takes inspiration from the invisible air currents that form clouds, resulting in a fluid, silver form that appears to hover over reflecting pools.
Its seamless exterior is made up of 843 uniquely shaped panels, creating a sculptural shell that feels both futuristic and organic.
Inside, visitors follow a continuous spiral path through exhibitions on space, oceans, ecosystems, and technology, with a central skylight flooding the interior with natural light.
“Its seamless exterior is made up of 843 uniquely shaped panels, creating a sculptural shell that feels both futuristic and organic. “
Rather than dividing exhibits into separate rooms, the museum encourages exploration through a single flowing journey.
Depending on where visitors begin, the experience unfolds either from earth to sky or from cosmos to coast.
Alongside galleries, the museum includes a planetarium, giant-screen theater, and outdoor learning spaces, making it one of China’s most ambitious science destinations.
Like much of MAD’s work, the project blends architecture, landscape, and storytelling into something that feels both imaginative and deeply connected to its surroundings.
Almost like Dwell’s version of a stylish beach bungalow on Alderaan from Star Wars, these architectural renderings show us fascinating curved forms and stylistic choices that feel otherworldly.
Created by Spanish digital artist Carlos Antón Varó , the series is called ArchGanics is described by the artist as “Idealized places where the mind would love to stay.”
That feels appropriate, with unique built-in planters, oval skylights to the sky, and a sense of calm.
Every so often an image comes along that stops the scroll cold, and Arran Gregory’s mirrored wolf is exactly that kind of image. At first glance it reads like a classic hunting-lodge trophy – the silhouette, the mounting board, the proud tilt of the head are all there. Then the eye adjusts and the fur resolves into hundreds of small mirrored facets, each one catching light at a slightly different angle, and the whole familiar object tips over into something uncanny and strange. It is taxidermy with its skin swapped for a thousand tiny mirrors, and it is one of those pieces of contemporary sculpture that photographs beautifully and somehow still undersells how good it is in person.
The sculpture is the work of London-based sculptor and illustrator Arran Gregory, who unveiled the wolf – alongside a faceted rhinoceros head cast from the same mirror-mosaic technique – as the centerpiece of his solo show ‘WOLF’ at Print House Gallery in London, running through September 6th alongside a series of his illustrations. Gregory builds each animal form first, then applies a dense mosaic of cut mirror shards across the surface by hand, panel by panel, until the geometry of the faceting reads as its own kind of fur – sharp, crystalline, and endlessly reflective of whatever room the piece happens to sit in.
That faceted logic is what gives the work its charge. Where a real taxidermy mount asks you to look at an animal, Gregory’s mirrored heads ask you to look at the room around the animal – and at yourself, fractured into dozens of small reflected fragments across the wolf’s muzzle and ears. It is a technique with an obvious kinship to the faceted picture planes of Cubism, translated from canvas into three dimensions and dressed up as a hunting trophy – equal parts homage to and rebellion against the taxidermy tradition it borrows its silhouette from. The effect sits somewhere between design object and sculpture, which is exactly the territory product and object design at its most inventive tends to occupy.
Below are the wolf sculptures from that Print House Gallery installation, photographed by Ravi Sidhu and Tida Finch – each angle catching a different pattern of light across the faceted surface, no two frames quite alike.
Arran Gregory is a London-based sculptor and illustrator. He recently opened a solo show entitled ‘WOLF’ at Print House Gallery in London. The exhibition, which runs through September 6th, includes both illustrations and a pair of gorgeous faux-taxidermy animals including a wolf and rhinoceros head sculpted from mirrors. You can see much more on his Tumblr and a number of prints are available in his shop. Photos above by Ravi Sidhu and Tida Finch. (via fancy)
Wild, Growing Landmark Concept Features Living Rocks
MVRDV wants to stack a mountain of living, breathing rock formations on Rotterdam’s waterfront. We’re obsessed.
Imagine looking up at a mountain of moss-draped rocks, stacked and interlocked, with greenery spilling out of every crevice, and then walking inside through what looks like the mouth of an enormous turtle.
That’s Rotterdam ROCKS!, MVRDV’s proposal for the city’s new Shift Landmark, and the most delightfully unhinged piece of architecture we’ve seen pitched in a long time.
MVRDV, based in Rotterdam, fittingly, describe it as “rocks that breathe.” Massive sculptural volumes broken apart and piled high, with air, light, and vegetation threading through every gap.
The mass is inhabited. The crevices are the point. Their team includes Joris Laarman Lab, pioneers of 3D printing for urban greening, which hints that this isn’t just a building that looks like nature, it’s one actively exploring new ways of fabricating and growing the city at the same time.
Inside: a 10,000 m² immersive experience dedicated to circular living, plus a hotel, conference centre, and sustainable food court, all within a €240 million, 30,000 m² landmark planned for Rotterdam’s emerging Waterkant waterfront district.
Rotterdam has always said yes to the audacious. The Erasmus Bridge, the Market Hall, the cube houses. Rotterdam ROCKS! fits right in. The competition winner is announced this spring. Read more on DesignBoom.
Sustainability in architecture isn’t just a trend—it’s a movement reshaping the way we design and build spaces. As architects and designers, we’re now more conscious than ever about the environmental impact of our projects. Creating spaces that are not only functional and beautiful but also sustainable is essential. One of the most powerful tools helping us achieve these goals is Building Information Modeling (BIM), and specifically, BIM electrical modeling.
BIM is more than just a digital blueprint—it’s a system that allows for collaboration, accuracy, and efficiency, all key factors in reducing environmental footprints. In the world of green building projects, BIM electrical modeling is becoming an indispensable tool. It ensures that electrical systems are optimized for energy efficiency, reducing waste and contributing to the overall sustainability of a building. In this article, we’ll explore how BIM electrical modeling powers green building projects and why it is essential for creating artful, sustainable spaces.
The Green Building Movement: What Does It Mean?
Before diving into the details of BIM electrical modeling, it’s important to understand what green building is all about.
What are Green Building Projects?
Green building refers to the practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings in a way that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient. This includes using sustainable materials, reducing energy consumption, conserving water, and minimizing waste. The goal is to create spaces that are not only energy-efficient but also improve the well-being of their inhabitants.
Why Now?
The push for sustainable architecture is driven by a growing awareness of climate change, resource depletion, and the negative impact traditional construction methods have on the environment. With the building sector contributing significantly to global emissions, it has become increasingly vital to find ways to reduce these effects. Green buildings represent a key part of this solution, offering a way to build smarter, more sustainably.
BIM Electrical Modeling: A Game-Changer for Sustainable Designs
BIM electrical modeling is a crucial technology that’s revolutionizing how electrical systems are designed, installed, and maintained in green building projects. By using digital models, BIM allows architects, engineers, and contractors to collaborate more effectively and ensure that all aspects of the electrical systems are optimized for efficiency.
Enhanced Design Accuracy
One of the most significant benefits of BIM electrical modeling is its ability to provide accurate, detailed designs. Traditional methods of designing electrical systems often result in miscalculations, material waste, and costly errors. BIM eliminates these problems by providing precise measurements and real-time data, ensuring that the correct amount of materials is used for each project. This reduction in waste contributes directly to the sustainability of the project.
Energy-Efficiency Improvements
BIM electrical modeling also plays a vital role in optimizing energy efficiency. Through detailed simulations, engineers can analyze how electrical systems impact energy consumption and make adjustments to maximize efficiency. Whether it’s optimizing lighting systems or adjusting HVAC designs, BIM ensures that electrical systems are as energy-efficient as possible, leading to lower energy bills and a reduced environmental footprint.
Collaboration Across Teams
One of the key strengths of BIM is that it allows for seamless collaboration between all parties involved in a building project. Architects, engineers, contractors, and electrical specialists can all work on the same digital model, ensuring that their designs integrate smoothly. This collaborative approach helps identify potential problems early in the design process and ensures that every system is in harmony with the others, contributing to a more sustainable and efficient building.
The Benefits of BIM Electrical for Green Building Projects
BIM electrical modeling offers a wide range of benefits for green building projects. Below, we explore the specific advantages that BIM brings to the table when it comes to sustainability.
Reduced Material Waste
In construction, waste is an inevitable byproduct, but with BIM electrical modeling, we can significantly minimize it. BIM allows for precise calculations of material quantities, ensuring that only the necessary amount of materials is purchased and used. This means less excess material is left over at the end of the project, reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
Improved Energy Efficiency
Electrical systems play a huge role in a building’s overall energy consumption. With BIM electrical modeling, the design of electrical systems is optimized for maximum energy efficiency. For example, lighting, heating, and cooling systems can be designed to work together harmoniously, ensuring that energy use is minimized throughout the building’s lifecycle. This contributes to the building’s sustainability and reduces operational costs for the owner.
Streamlined Project Timeline
Sustainability doesn’t just mean reducing waste—it also means reducing time. The efficiency gained from using BIM helps streamline the entire construction process. With accurate electrical designs and the ability to simulate real-world conditions before construction even begins, the project timeline is shortened. This reduces the environmental impact of the construction process itself, including emissions from equipment, transportation, and other logistical aspects.
Sustainability Compliance
As the demand for green buildings rises, so do the standards and certifications for sustainability. BIM electrical modeling can help ensure that green building projects meet the necessary standards, such as LEED or BREEAM certification. These certifications require a high level of energy efficiency and sustainability, and BIM helps meet these requirements by providing detailed, accurate data on every aspect of the building’s electrical systems.
Real-Life Applications: BIM Electrical in Green Building Projects
To better understand how BIM electrical modeling works in practice, let’s look at some real-life examples of its application in green building projects.
Case Study 1: The Bullitt Center, Seattle
The Bullitt Center is one of the greenest commercial buildings in the world. It uses a range of sustainable technologies, including solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and energy-efficient HVAC systems. BIM electrical modeling played a crucial role in the building’s design, ensuring that all electrical systems were optimized for maximum energy efficiency. By using BIM, the team was able to reduce waste, lower energy consumption, and meet the stringent standards required for the building to achieve its LEED Platinum certification.
Case Study 2: The Edge, Amsterdam
The Edge in Amsterdam is another example of a sustainable building that relied heavily on BIM electrical modeling. The building’s electrical systems were designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, with advanced sensors controlling everything from lighting to temperature. BIM allowed the design team to simulate how these systems would work together and make adjustments before construction began. As a result, the building is now one of the most sustainable office buildings in the world, with a near-zero energy consumption rate.
Lessons Learned
These projects show how BIM electrical modeling can lead to greater sustainability in architecture. Not only does it ensure that buildings meet green certification standards, but it also results in significant cost savings and energy efficiency over the building’s lifespan.
Overcoming Challenges: Is BIM Electrical Accessible for All Projects?
Despite its many advantages, implementing BIM electrical modeling in green building projects does come with some challenges.
Cost vs. Benefit
One of the main obstacles to adopting BIM electrical modeling is the initial cost. The software and training required to implement BIM can be expensive, especially for smaller companies or projects with tight budgets. However, the long-term benefits—such as reduced material waste, lower energy costs, and faster construction timelines—often outweigh the initial investment.
Training and Expertise
BIM requires a certain level of expertise to be used effectively. Architects, engineers, and contractors must be trained in the software and familiar with its capabilities. This can be a barrier for smaller firms or those new to the technology. However, as BIM becomes more mainstream, training programs are becoming more widely available, and the software is evolving to be more user-friendly.
Access to Technology
While BIM is becoming more accessible, there are still technological barriers, especially for smaller projects. High-end BIM software requires powerful computers and extensive data storage capabilities, which might not be available to everyone. However, with advancements in cloud computing and the increasing availability of affordable software options, this barrier is slowly being overcome.
Looking Ahead: The Future of BIM Electrical and Sustainable Architecture
The future of BIM electrical modeling is bright. As sustainability becomes an even greater priority in architecture, BIM will continue to play an essential role in ensuring that electrical systems are optimized for energy efficiency and minimal environmental impact.
Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, are being integrated with BIM to make electrical modeling even more precise and efficient. In the future, BIM electrical systems may automatically adjust based on real-time data, further enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability.
As the demand for sustainable buildings grows, BIM electrical modeling will be at the forefront of this shift, driving the next generation of green buildings and making our built environment more sustainable for future generations.
In conclusion, BIM electrical modeling is a critical tool for creating sustainable, energy-efficient buildings. By reducing waste, improving energy use, and enabling seamless collaboration, it plays a key role in green building projects. With its growing adoption and the continued evolution of technology, BIM will undoubtedly remain a cornerstone of sustainable architecture for years to come.
Heatherwick Studio has shared a fresh vision for the Daegyo Apartments in Yeouido, Seoul.
The plan would replace a 1975-era complex with four new residential towers along the Han River, shaped with soft, rolling rooflines that nod to the mountains around the city.
Instead of the usual straight, repeatable high rise look, the proposal leans into curves and texture, aiming for something that feels more warm and lived-in.
The redevelopment would grow the site from 576 homes to about 900, with design input gathered from hundreds of resident union members.
At street level, the idea is to make the place calmer and more walkable. Portions of the site edge are lifted to help block traffic and create sheltered paths, plus sunken courtyards that feel like little breaks from the city.
A generous ground floor is planned to be open to residents and the public, with community facilities like play areas and welfare services woven in.
More Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio on Moss and Fog
The Bunkie – small space architecture by Evan Bare + Nathan Buhler Via DesignBoom:
There is a particular kind of clarity that only shows up when a designer stops asking “how do we add more?” and starts asking “how little do we actually need?” The Bunkie is what happens when that question is answered with total conviction. It is not a cabin in the rustic, hand-hewn sense – no reclaimed barn timbers, no romantic lean-to charm. It is something closer to a piece of furniture that grew up into a building: crisp, CNC-precise, and engineered down to the joint. That precision is exactly what earns it a place among the most quietly radical examples of minimalist architecture to come out of the small-space design movement of the early 2010s.
The project comes from a collaboration between Evan Bare of 608 Design and Nathan Buhler of BLDG Workshop, two Canadian studios that used ‘the bunkie‘ as a working thesis: what if a building could be manufactured with the same accuracy as a piece of high-production plywood furniture? Rather than framing lumber on site, the entire shell is cut on a CNC router, its parts interlocking like an oversized piece of flat-pack joinery. Clad in plywood, barn board, or whatever skin a client requests, the whole structure is fabricated in a factory and shipped flat to the property for final assembly – a logic borrowed directly from furniture-making and applied, almost mischievously, to architecture.
The result is compact by design, not by compromise. Because the Bunkie is conceived as an accessory structure – a cottage add-on for sleeping extra guests – it slips in under the square-footage thresholds that usually trigger a full building permit, which is precisely why it has become such a magnetic case study for anyone thinking about micro-architecture, guest houses, or backyard studios. It asks how much genuine comfort can be distilled into one small, beautifully resolved room, and the honesty of that question is what gives the whole project its charge.
The real ingenuity, though, is inside. Rather than treating the interior as a fixed floor plan, Bare and Buhler designed a single multi-functional room that reconfigures itself across three distinct modes: sleep, play, and open. In sleep mode, two queen-sized Murphy beds fold down from the main wall, while a small dining table and four chairs – visually integrated into that same feature wall when not in use – detach to serve play mode instead. Open mode strips the room back to bare floor, freeing the space for yoga, meditation, reading, or, as the designers note with a wink, ice fishing. It is furniture design and architecture collapsed into a single object, each mode a different answer to the same four walls.
What makes the Bunkie worth revisiting more than a decade after it first appeared is how prescient it was. Long before “accessory dwelling unit” became a planning-department buzzword and flat-pack prefab became a genuine housing strategy, this project treated minimalism not as an aesthetic mood board but as a structural and spatial discipline – every joint, every fold-down surface earning its place in the room. That is the version of minimalism worth paying attention to: not empty rooms photographed to look serene, but small rooms engineered so intelligently that nothing inside them feels missing.
Up in the mountains near Stepantsminda, a tiny new refuge called AltiHut is taking the idea of a “cabin with a view” and treating it with a brutalist, yet warm aesthetic.
Designed by STIPFOLD, the concept sits at 3,014 meters above sea level and aims to prove that high altitude hospitality does not have to be heavy-handed.
The project leans into restraint: compact spaces for small groups, a simple layout, and a lofted sleeping area that faces the horizon.
What’s most charming is how the design tries to disappear. A continuous fiber-concrete shell is shaped to feel like it belongs there, like a boulder that decided to become shelter.
” THE RESULT IS A SPACE THAT FADES INTO ITS SURROUNDINGS, OFFERING A RARE KIND OF SILENCE AND CLARITY, WHERE ARCHITECTURE SERVES ONLY TO FRAME THE PRESENCE OF THE MOUNTAIN ITSELF. “
Inside, warm wood keeps things grounded, and a big glass opening turns the landscape into the main feature, so the room feels more like a frame than a statement.
Even the logistics are part of the story. The article notes that elements are delivered by helicopter and the site is solar-powered, which is a nice reminder that building responsibly at this elevation takes both planning and humility.
In a world full of mountain cabins that try too hard, AltiHut feels calmer than that. It is not shouting “look at me.” It is quietly saying, “look out there.”
Goose Creek Tower in winter, deep in the Alaska bush. Images via DesignBoom.
Fly low over the forest near Talkeetna, Alaska, and you may spot something that looks lifted straight from a storybook. A tower of cabins stacked on cabins climbs roughly 185 feet out of the birch and spruce, each level a little smaller than the last, until the whole thing tapers to a lookout in the sky. Locals long ago nicknamed it the Dr. Seuss House. Its real name is Goose Creek Tower, and it remains one of the strangest and most wonderful homes we have ever featured.
A Cabin That Refused to Stop Growing
The man behind the tower is Phillip Weidner, an MIT-educated Anchorage attorney with a poetic streak and a serious stubbornness about ceilings. What began as a conventional 40 by 40 foot log cabin kept gaining floors, porches, and turrets until it reached the legal limit of the airspace above it. Weidner has said he simply wanted to keep going up, and that he hopes the tower inspires other people to think big. On a clear day the upper decks look out toward Denali, with views that stretch for hundreds of miles across the Susitna Valley.
We first covered the project via DesignBoom back in 2016, and the aerial video below still captures the scale better than any still photo can.
Built Without Blueprints
Part of the tower’s charm is that it was never drawn up by an architect. Weidner worked without formal blueprints, sketching ideas and solving problems as the structure rose, which is exactly why the proportions feel so gloriously improvised. Balconies wrap around corners that seem to exist for the fun of it. Windows appear wherever a view demanded one. It is folk architecture at a heroic scale, closer in spirit to a treehouse than to anything with a permit binder, and it has earned a place among the most extraordinary buildings we have covered.
Can You Visit the Dr. Seuss House?
A decade after the internet fell for it, the tower still stands, and it is still very much a private home. Goose Creek Tower is not open to the public, there are no tours, and the property sits well off the road behind posted land, so the polite way to see it is from the air. Flightseeing trips out of Talkeetna sometimes pass nearby on their way toward Denali, which feels appropriate for a house that was always meant to be admired from the sky. Interior work has continued slowly over the years, the way any hand-built dream does.
For more far-flung wonders like this one, our travel archive runs deep.
Tucked on Graefestraße 7 in Berlin Germany, it feels pared back on purpose, a room built for slowness and the small ceremony of bread. But it’s not just bread. The loaves are displayed in a beautifully artful manner.
Studio Michael Burman keeps the space quiet but never plain. A reclaimed millstone, cut into three smooth, wave-like pieces, becomes the counter, part relic, part altar.
Douglas fir warms the benches and shelving, while brushed stainless ledges hold loaves like still lifes. Handmade washi paper wraps the walls in a soft grid, and paper pendants float overhead, turning daylight into something gentler.
And yes, the pendant is reminiscent of a loaf of bread itself.
Keit is led by Thanos Petalotis and Kolja Orzeszko, former Adidas creatives who traded brand strategy for sourdough and a more literal kind of craft.
In this place, bread is not hidden behind glass. It sits out in the open, all crust and texture, made to be looked at before it is broken and shared.
When the Tianjin Binhai Library opened in October 2017, images of its glowing central sphere and rippling white bookshelves swept across the internet in a matter of days. Nearly a decade later, the awe has not worn off. Designed by Dutch firm MVRDV with the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute, the library has settled into life as one of the most recognizable interiors in the world, and a permanent fixture on our own list of the most extraordinary buildings on Earth.
The numbers remain remarkable. The 33,700 square meter building was designed and built in just three years, a blink for a civic project of this scale. It anchors the cultural district of Binhai, the coastal new area of Tianjin, a metropolis of some 15 million people. We first covered the project via ArchDaily, whose photo essay is still worth a long scroll.
From the plaza, the louvered facade opens like an eye, revealing the glowing atrium within.
The Eye of Binhai
At the heart of the building sits The Eye, a luminous sphere that houses an auditorium. The terraced shelves ripple outward from it like contour lines, forming an iris around a glowing pupil that is visible from the park outside. It is theater as much as architecture, and it turned a municipal library into a global destination almost overnight.
The sphere sits beneath an oculus that pulls daylight deep into the hall.The atrium’s stepped terraces double as seating, stairs, and stage.
Real Books, Printed Books, and an Honest Illusion
Here is the detail that still delights first time visitors. The upper reaches of the atrium’s shelves hold no real books at all. They are aluminum panels printed with book spines, a practical answer for curving surfaces no ladder could ever reach. The actual collection, with room for well over a million volumes, lives in conventional reading rooms and archives that wrap the atrium across five floors. The atrium itself works as the building’s social heart, and it drew more than a million visitors in its first year alone.
Readers browse the lower terraces, where the books are very real.Above arm’s reach, printed aluminum panels continue the illusion of endless shelves.
From Viral Sensation to Civic Icon
The initial frenzy of selfies has eased into something better, a working library that residents treat as a daily third place. Students claim the terraces after school, families wander in from the adjacent park, and the building shares its plaza with a cultural corridor of museums and galleries. What looked like a stunt in 2017 now reads as a lasting piece of civic architecture, and a masterclass in how ambitious design can hand a young district an identity.
MVRDV’s original renderings, including the glassy evening view above, promised something almost too dreamlike to build. Tianjin built it anyway, and the world is still climbing its shelves.
Perched over the water of Crystal Lake, New York, this slim pavilion serves as a place for yoga classes, meditation, and group therapy.
Designed by Marc Thorpe, the structure is anchored to the lakebed by a single concrete pier, which helps gives the illusion of the entire structure floating atop the water.
The clean lines and cantilevered roof make for beautiful reflections on the water, and the pavilion’s interior lighting add to the sense of wonder and magic that the structure provides.
Located in the West Catskills, we love the way the structure accentuates the natural beauty of this upstate retreat.
The softly lit pavilion stands gracefully on the foggy lake.
The elegant single pier anchors the structure, and looks like it’s floating.
“The 497-acre forest features a 32-acre man-made lake, which would be the home of the Crystal Lake Pavillion. Thorpe’s design, shown above in renders from Truetopia, and only accessible by boat, would feature a timber frame and standing seam steel roof, bolstered by light steel connections.
All four walls are built from large glass panes, a transparent design that intentionally blurs the line between structure and nature. A single, solid concrete pier below the structure holds it in place, and, from a distance, makes the structure look as if it’s floating on air, “presenting an optical illusion of weightlessness,” Thorpe says.
