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As part of their The Land of Giants project, Choi+Shine Architects, a design studio with bases in Boston, London, Seoul, has transformed mundane electrical pylons into statues on the Icelandic landscape. Making only minor alterations to conventional steel-framed tower design, they have created a series of towers that allow for many variations in form and height. These modern caryatids can be configured configured to respond to their environment with appropriate gestures, imitating a climb up the hill or crouching under the weight of the wires. They can be placed in pairs, walking in the same direction, glancing at each other as they pass by or kneeling respectively, head bowed at a town. Despite the large number of possible forms, each pylon-figure is made from the same major assembled parts (torso, forearm, upper leg, hand), which together with a simple construction enables keeping the production cost down.

US artist Anne Mondro reinterprets forms of human body and internal organs as crocheted sculptures made with steel and copper wire. The amazing interwoven hearts, lungs, limbs, and even entire bodies, which each takes hundreds of hours to accomplish, are structurally strong, yet visually and physically light. To ensure that her artworks are as anatomically correct as possible, the artist spent about a year researching the anatomy of a heart, figured out how to make human organs using 3D modeling software and complemented the process by spending time in the anatomy laboratory. More lace sculptures in our blog

The concept behind Unlocked, a bar and kitchen in the city of Gurugram, India, by local Renesa Studio was to manipulate the space in order to create multiple pockets that arise from an array of lines and shapes. Aiming to instantly transport visitors to an uncertain realm, the whimsical design is characterized by geometric shapes that reflect a modern take on traditional Indian architecture. It takes cues from elements of Jantar Mantar – huge masonry sundials erected by Maharaja Jai Singh II in the 18th century in Delhi and Jaipur – as well as from Monument Valley, an indie puzzle game that sees players lead protagonist character through a maze of optical illusions. The interior of the restaurant features a series of teal-blue or peach-coloured partitions offset against exposed concrete walls that include vaulted openings leading through to dining rooms. One of the main walls also has niches in the shape of semicircular and pointed arches that look through to small nooks where guests can sit and play games. More illusory interiors in our blog

When the pandemic struck, Dominique Bastien, owner of a small ski gondola polishing and repainting shop located in Colorado, US, has come to rescue to restaurant owners who were trying to stay in business during winter months while adhering to all the indoor dining restrictions intended to help prevent the spread of the virus. Bastien and her team began converting old gondolas into novel, pandemic-safe, private dining spaces, each comfortably accommodating six adults and often equipped with lights, heaters, and Bluetooth speakers. The process of fully disassembling, cleaning, fixing, repainting and reupholstering a used gondola normally takes five to six weeks, after which it can be sold or rented. In this way, the Gondola Shop allows restaurants to expand their seating and offer comfortable outdoor dining accommodations during the winter, when the weather is not good for eating out in patios.

Located at the hotel district of Senbo Resort Hangzhou, China, the Tree House by Beijing-based WH Studio comprises a cluster of wooden treehouse cabins nestled in the mountainous landscape. Originating from the desire to return to the ‘nest residence’, each ‘big tree’, made up of six cabins, is composed of three main elements: the path, the platform and the cabin. These are stacked on top of each other, creating the experience of ‘tree climbing’ as guests move around. Each cabin can be accessed via an outdoor, zigzagging path, while exterior terraces placed at different heights appear like ‘tree branches’ for outdoor activities. The architects have opted for two different cabin designs - gabled roof with concave balcony and cut corner four slope roof with convex balcony - and made their façades echo the surrounding forest. Source: archdaily

Brussels-based Cobra Studios has launched its first furniture collection called Solids, featuring a family of geometric tables with simple and sculptural legs made from glossy epoxy resin. The pieces are inspired by the classical order of Roman architecture and are named after significant buildings and figures in the Greco-Roman world. The design combines heavy, solid, colourful legs with a thin soft table top in matt, chalk finish, which makes the supporting elements so prominent that their presence in fact organizes and characterizes the table. The top that is normally an element of priority in the table typology becomes here merely a connecting piece for the distinct volumes underneath. More colourful resin furniture in our blog

Copenhagen-based studio Adept has built a new taphouse, an addition to the existing Braunstein Brewery, that is literally designed for disassembly. Unlike traditional buildings, made of concrete and other inflexible materials, this building located in the coastal town of Køge, Denmark, is made with removable parts, which can be easily disassembled and repurposed. When the structure is no longer used, its components will be upcycled instead of being simply disposed of as construction waste. With its unfinished wood and steel structures, the design of the taphouse has a work-in-progress look. Its modular structure also makes the building easier to maintain because each component – the modular windows and removable bolts and screws – can be easily replaced. More examples of reversible building design in our blog

Aware of our disconnection from nature and natural materials, Konstfack student Ingrid Segring Björklund has created an object that aims to bring the warmth and tactility of a fireplace to even a small home. Manufactured using a five-axis CNC-milling machine, it comprises a carved wooden piece that shows the hands of the maker on its exterior, while its interior is a glowing heath illuminated with flaming LED lights.

Mexican designer Moisés Hernández has collaborated with local architects Ezequiel Farca and Cristina Grappin to create Materia, a collection consisting of an oval table and a round table made of polyester resin. The team has paired triangular blocks of resin in different hues slotted together with heavy marble bases. The tabletops are described by the designers as a chromatic experimentation with the translucent material, producing different shades that are combined into a harmonious piece. Each of them is segmented into radial sections that are overlapped, creating a subtle effect where the light projects the color and highlights the transparency of the resin. More exceptional resin furniture in our blog

Completed in 2005, ‘The Reversible Destiny Lofts MITAKA (in memory of Helen Keller)’ is an experimental complex of apartments by Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins designed “to not to die.” It encompasses nine units consisting of three shapes – the cube, the sphere and the tube – that have been stacked one atop another and painted in fourteen colors both inside and outside. Interiors are developed with the aim of challenging and stimulating senses, bringing attention to the full potential of the body; as according to the architects, by inhabiting a space that is not self-evident, one can realize that they can do things they once thought were impossible. With this in mind, they developed apartments with uneven floors, storage organized using ceiling hooks and vertical poles to help residents move within the space.