K’NEX Atomic Coaster is 4′ tall, contains 1,200 pieces, and looks like a serious undertaking.

eBoy NYC Poster has so much packed into its frame.

What most people don’t know about Villa Savoye is that it is actually full of color, and pastel color at that. But the black and white photos from the time don’t communicate that. Legos don’t come in those colors I guess.

MVRDV recently won the commission for the China Comic & Animation Museum. I usually like their stuff, but on this one I’ll leave you to make up your own minds…

Interesting similarities between opera houses and prisons in David Leventi’s photography

via Notcot

Michael Graves wrote a short opinion piece for the NYTimes last week, titled Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing. It’s a shared response to the influence of digital/computer technology on both the profession and education of the current generation of students and soon-to-be professional architects.

Graves is right in his recognition of the emotional and enjoyable experience of drawing and exploring through sketching. But I think his reference is a nostalgic one, and it references his own earlier experiences in architecture. I am willing to bet that in 10 years you ask a student who graduated this year what they think of hand sketches, they might not have the same bond to their sketchbook, simply due to the fact that the computer is so much a part of their exploration of ideas in architecture.

I’m a sucker for mad cantilevers like the View Hill House + Vinyard by Denton Cooker Marshall.

via Dezeen

Batman – Death By Design is the new architecturally-themed Batman graphic novel? Guess what the name of the star architect is… Kem Roomhaus. And there’s a character named Exacto… Seriously.

Nice imagery though.

A2arquitectos recently renovated the existing Hotel Castell dels Hams in Majorca, Spain. This looks like a beautiful hotel and spa – I would totally love to luxuriate here for a few days.

In 1967, a small hotel, Hotel Castell dels Hams, was established on the island of Majorca amid the Mediterranean vegetation. Over time, and through subtle improvements and extensions, it has become one of the most distinctive hotels on the eastern part of the island.

The last of the alterations, meant to celebrate the Mediterranean light and the location’s
idyllic bond with nature, turned the hotel into much more than just a holiday destination. The work centered on replacing the covering and enclosure of the existing heated pool and to create an adjacent spa to supplement it. During development, the project was split into two independent zones, each designed to suit its own specific purpose.

The main pool area is adorned with a series of square openings for windows in the roof that allow the light to flood into the area. The spa intended for skin treatments and relaxation is located to give the visitors the best views of the surrounding landscape and is also filled with light in all rooms where light is needed.

The existing pool has got new facades and a new green roof, which is dotted with a series of square openings. This interplay of window holes creates a beautiful dance of light reflections in the building.

In the spa area, the space is sculpted and colourful showers of light flow through the openings in the roof. This makes the building itself part of the treatment, offering the
feeling of well-being created by nature when it is introduced into the building, a feeling of total immersion for the visitor.

Our friend Halley Tsai checked out Camper’s New “House of Shoes”, designed by Shigeru Ban, which opened in NYC on Tuesday evening in Soho. Shigeru Ban’s signature paper tubes make an appearance in the design, in the form of a gable roof. The tubes are a temporary art installation, but they contribute to the concept of a “House of Shoes”

Using the Camper red and white colors, a design was created which has the floor to shelving at the back wall of the store. The angled fin walls of the shelving units each have a piece of the Camper logo. When viewed from Prince Street on angle the logo is read as a complete word. From the Greene Street view, the letters are broken.

The dimensions of the shelving unit correspond to red stripes on the concrete flooring and to the corrugated red and white ceiling. Furniture in the store is designed by Shigeru and fabricated by Artek.

The original exterior windows and walls between the structural piers were demolished. In place are sliding floor to ceiling glass doors which open the entire facade on Green and Prince Streets in the warmer weather, so that it feels like an open market on its site on the corner.

All photos were taken by Halley Tsai, except where noted otherwise. Thanks, Halley!

Sketch: Shigeru Ban

Photo Credit: Billy Farrell Agency

I love the angled fin walls that display the Camper logo when viewed at the right perspective, but which are broken up and abstract when viewed from other angles.

The seating area is made up of elements from Shigeru Ban’s 10-Unit-System.

Shigeru Ban and Miguel Fluxá, Camper’s general manager, discussing the collaboration. Shigeru Ban felt that the original building looked lonely, so he added the paper tube gable roof to visually suggest a home.