Introduction to the Blue House In London, FAT Architecture‘s Blue House sits along the steady line of Hackney Road in Bethnal Green, where its vivid facade disrupts the rhythm of the streetscape. Designed by Sean Griffiths, now founder of English studio ModernArchitect, the house is now listed for sale. Now, design lovers can take a…
Introduction to the New Hamburg State Opera The new Hamburg State Opera by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will establish a contemporary home for the State Opera and Hamburg Ballet. The project is set to be located on the Baakenhöft peninsula in HafenCity — a sprawling waterfront development — and will replace the company’s mid-century house…
Do solar panels really save money? Our 18-month update on Sunrun solar panel savings shows the highs, lows, and what we’ve actually paid so far. Ever since we had our solar panel system installed in April 2024, one of the most common questions I get is, “Do solar panels really save you money?” Honestly, it…
Introduction to Manor Mirage In the vast wilderness of Zhangjiakou, China, BUZZ’s Manor Mirage occupies the site of an abandoned concrete bridge. The bridge’s piers remain deeply embedded in the earth, their rigid geometry interrupting the visual flow between the field and the open sky. The team approached this fragment of infrastructure not as a…
Introduction to the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art Nearing completion, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) emerges on the banks of Jinji Lake. Designed in collaboration with ARTS Group and Front Inc., and commissioned by Suzhou Harmony Development Group, the 60,000-square-meter complex is envisioned as a contemporary reinterpretation of Suzhou’s…
Introduction to Busan Lotte Tower In South Korea‘s coastal city of Busan, Kengo Kuma and Associates have completed the Busan Lotte Tower, a fluid glass skyscraper rising from the former City Hall site. The project stands at the meeting point of land and sea, its form shaped by the surrounding harbor and the patterns of…
Introduction to the Grand Ballroom MVRDV’s Grand Ballroom proposes a spherical arena of colossal scale for Tirana, Albania. Designed to replace the Asllan Rusi sports palace, the project brings together a 6,000-seat venue, hotel, apartments, and retail in a single continuous form. The sphere, over 100 meters (330 feet) in diameter, rises from a compact…
Painting interior doors is an easy, high-impact project, whether you’ve got new, pre-primed slabs or older doors that need a little love. Here’s the simple, step-by-step process to achieve a smooth, professional finish. Our basement has been done for a while now, but this project keeps coming up in my DMs: How to paint interior…
Introduction to Mas Cadalt In the heart of Canet d’Adri, Girona, Fran Silvestre Arquitectos breathes new life into an abandoned farmhouse, transforming it into Mas Cadalt, a contemporary rural dwelling where British designer Terence Woodgate and his partner Paula Woodgate continue their London-based work, surrounded by the Catalan countryside. The Spanish farmhouse preserves the traditional…
Okuwada Architects Completes Narrow Residence in Osaka House in Abeno by Okuwada Architects is situated on a narrow 45.2-square-meter site in Osaka, adjacent to a bustling shopping arcade. The two-story wooden residence feels open and connected to the city through its grid of full-height windows and terraces. Design Approach Given the site’s width of only…
