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Check out this awesome drone shot of the Grand Canal flowing through Venice, Italy. One of the major water-traffic corridors in the city, the Grand Canal is 2.4 miles (3.8 km) long, between 98 and 295 feet (30-90 m) wide, and has an average depth of 16 feet (5 m). Near the top of this image — where the canal bends — we can see the famous Ponte di Rialto, a 16th-century stone pedestrian bridge and major Venetian tourist attraction.

See more here: https://bit.ly/3eJWreT

45.438000°, 12.336000°

Drone photo by Sebastien Nagy

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The Gwangyang Steel Works in Gwangyang, South Korea is the largest facility of its kind in the world. It outputs an average of 18 million tons of steel per year, producing parts for bridges and other infrastructure, cars, refrigerators, and more. The plant even serves as a tourist attraction, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.

See more here: https://bit.ly/3wo6zjD

34.914935°, 127.740139°

Source imagery: Maxar

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As the tongue-in-cheek “Are you out of your mind” neon sign mounted to the wall suggests, this well-choreographed yoga studio helps patrons leave the 9-5 at the door and get out of their heads in a design that heightens the connection between body, mind and space.

Located on a bustling street in downtown Vancouver, Jaybird Yoga Studio is a departure from the predominantly well lit, all white ‘health’ retailers we’ve become accustomed to. Designed by local studio Ste. Marie, the atypical interior is rich and earthy – if you happened to stumble in you’d more likely expect to have found Vancouver‘s hottest new club (shoutout to SNL’s Stefon) than its Yoga and Meditation practice.

Related: Original Feelings Yoga Studio Berlin by Some Place Studio.

Yet that’s just what makes it so special. With no mirrors and dim lighting, the designers looked to the emotional and tactile experience of materiality to facilitate an ephemeral relationship between the external environment and one’s internal state. Recycled cork tiles like mottled marble line the walls and floors, defining the framework of the “primordial cave”. Paired with a soft palette of walnut and mochas emerging from the walls in rectilinear forms, patrons are enveloped within the reception zone.

Moving further into the design, white oak benches and planters of wheat stand out against the monochromatic interiors. Lining the perimeter of the space, they lead to the change room and studio doors.

Inspired by the yoga principle of “flow”, the 227 sqm area looks to Constantin Brâncuși’s animate sculptures and the choreography of modern dancers such as Lucinda Childs and Yvonne Rainer for its intuitive and responsive layout.

The project’s irreverent style extends to the inside of the studio room. A candle covered “altar” with LED lighting sits against a backdrop of the repeated cork clad, perceptibly theatrical against the all dark interior. Otherworldly and occult, the look and feel of the studio focuses on the haptic experience to embrace what can’t be seen.

Related: La Tana Café in Vancouver, Canada by Ste. Marie Art and Design.

| The article Jaybird Yoga Studio in Vancouver by Ste. Marie. appeared first on Yellowtrace. |

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Baljenac is a small island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. Although it is only about 34 acres (14 hectares) in area, it contains a network of roughly 14 miles (23 km) of low stone walls — making it resemble a fingerprint from above. Baljenac is uninhabited; its walls were built by residents of the nearby island of Kaprije to separate crop fields and vineyards.

See more here: https://bit.ly/33W48Za

43.703199°, 15.727591°

Source imagery: Maxar

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Proudly locally made, TECLA is a fantastical home that is the world’s first architecture printed in local raw earth and responds to the pressing matters of global climate issues. Innovative, and pushing 3D printing to its absolute limits, this single-storey domed shaped house appears to be giving Kanye West’s Star Wars-inspired housing a run for its money – strictly aesthetically speaking. The project is a joint collaborative effort between Mario Cucinella Architects and WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) founder Massimo Moretti.

Printed in Massa Lombarda, Ravenna, Italy, TECLA (a combination between technology and clay) is inspired by Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, aspiring to connect technologies of the past to those rapidly evolving today.

A project that began in 2019, TECLA was spawned from Cucinella’s founded training studio School of Sustainability (SOS) as a research project in bioclimatic principles and the use of natural and local materials. This research led to the eventual collaboration with WASP – the 3D company highly specialised in printing with raw earth.

Related: 3D Printed House by Massamiliano Locatelli’s CLS Architetti Revealed in Milan.

The organic shape that resembles two sea urchin shells fused together was made possible by WASP’s new machine Crane WASP. The machine itself – made of two arms were curated to make multilevel printing possible while covering large square metres. The digital model was built on 7,000 codes, and combined with Crane’s effective streamlined operation – the house was printed within 200 hours with minimal consumption of energy, simultaneously reducing the problematic waste build-up during construction.

It’s marvellous how the façade functions as an aesthetically pleasing surface and service cavity. The shell is printed with layers sandwiching a wavy structure that creates pockets for rice husks for insulation and pockets for ventilation. Making the shell of clay controls a harmonic dialogue with the site while continually offering effective climate control within.

Though only 60 square metres, TECLA’s shell sits on an earth base that surprisingly fits a kitchen, sleeping and entertainment space. Additional furnishings are also partly printed to continue the method’s momentum.

Cuncinella, who believes that “the Moon is the home, as a birthright, for everybody on the planet”, positions two operating skylights at the peaks of the domes adds a symbolic touch for natural lighting and evening ambience. This combination of earthy elements was intentional in ensuring that these items are recyclable – fulfilling the principles of the circular house model.

Looking towards the past while flipping the lessons on its head, TELCA is an exciting introduction to the notion of ‘the future is now’. Where once raw earth was compacted and laboriously shaped by hands, the help of modern technology enables the steadfast material to be mastered in many ways. It’s almost like pulling out a fictional narrative before our eyes. And why not? A little bit of imagination, magic and belief can go a long way.

| The article TECLA is the First 3D Printed House Made of Raw Earth in Ravenna. appeared first on Yellowtrace. |

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Waves roll into the coast of Fortaleza, Brazil. Located in the northeast of the country on the Atlantic Ocean, Fortaleza has nearly 16 miles (25 km) of urban beaches. It’s nearly 2.7 million residents make it the 5th most populous Brazilian city, behind São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Salvador, respectively.

See more here: https://bit.ly/3hsqQQO

-3.718333°, -38.542778°

Source imagery: Maxar

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With a supercharged colour palette that feels straight out of a Nicolas Winding Refn movie (think Drive, Only God Forgives and Neon Demon) the R+1 project by Jean Benoît Vétillard Architecture blazes with emboldened neon contrasts.

A retro-futurism spirit unfolds throughout, from the fluorescent 80’s office ceiling to the soft neon shades of pink, blue and purple that bathe the space. Staggered metal seats reminiscent of school picture day in red, green and blue pop against the shoegaze hues of the fluorescents.

Envisioned as a ‘toolbox’, the 800 sqm interior utilises a timber intervention to break up the different zones – a Binaural Studio, Bar, Workshop and Exhibition space are all articulated around a generous meeting area and vestibule facing the city. Located in Paris, the magnetic city lies at its doorstep.

The panopticon layout of the meeting space gravitates towards the central staircase. With curved wooden framing, its dynamic composition makes it a natural place to exchange ideas, learn and gather. With plenty of room for dancing (if it happens to come up) the exhibition area is a 400sqm white box that extends past the toolbox concept. Backing on to the meeting area, light and reversible curtains create a simple visual and sound buffer between the two spaces that can be adapted for various uses. The workshop glows from its circular aperture, engaging passers-by.

The bar is – and I say this in strictly technical terms – a total vibe. Extending out of the curved wooden partition, it’s clad in a rippling metal casing, zig-zagging fluorescent lighting from above douses it in a delicious dramatic red. The stainless steel follows the form of the partition along the ground and clads the cross support. On the other side of the partition sits the workshop, a wooden box within the space it glows from a circular aperture that engages passers-by.

While the material palette is mostly restrained, the ceiling really has it going on. A combination of checkered and smooth square stainless steel ceiling tiles provide a sleek material contrast to the vast acoustic ceiling and reflect the neon hues, while a round opening inversely absorbs them. Black rails streak across the front space.

This neon dreamscape acts as an extension of the creative process, inspiring its visitors to make some magic within its walls.

Related: Ethereal Mammoth: Beeline Textile Installation by SO-IL at MAAT Museum in Lisbon.

| The article R+1 Gaité Lyrique Multipurpose Space in Paris by Jean Benoît Vétillard Architecture. appeared first on Yellowtrace. |

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Old and new come together in this collaboration between Argentinian multidisciplinary practice Chamber, design and architecture studio It-Met, and Giusto Van Campenhout architecture firm. By respecting the previous decisions made within the space, a ‘Less is more’ approach was taken for the new restaurant dubbed Asadero. Located in the historic seaside neighbourhood of Olivos, Buenos Aires, the design champions a minimalist approach with a focus on materials.

“Rather than adopting a tabula rasa approach, which would erase the inherited urban and commercial real estate decisions colliding at the site, Asadero’s design was conceived as a series of formal, material and programmatic corrections to the existing conditions,” says Juan Garcia Mosqueda of Chamber Projects.

With this decision to build on the existing architecture rather than renovating it entirely, the architectural intervention is subtle and considered. Described by Mosqueda as ”an ensemble of architectural elements”, the series of minimum interventions layer materials and moments, allowing a dialogue between new materials and old forms to be formed.

Related: Restaurant REMI in Berlin by Ester Bruzkus Architekten.

Cavernous in nature, the interior volume is accentuated by its polished concrete floors, rounded concrete columns and painted white walls. The restaurant occupies a ground floor unit with a double-height ceiling and mezzanine floor.

The warmth of the design is found in its fabulous furniture selection. Softening the distinctly industrial edge, all the pieces were custom designed for the project. A varied material palette spans the tactile and diverse choices, including high, veined-marble bar tables in rounded shapes; cedar tables and chairs; and copper, aluminium and stainless steel industrial ripostes. Homegrown talent RIES contributed furniture too, as did the unmistakably experiential Objects of Common Interest.

This additive process, which incorporated layers of objects within the space, resulted in a new dining experience that takes cues from the city of Buenos Aires at large, celebrating its rich architectural tapestry one layer at a time.

| The article Asadero Restaurant Buenos Aires by Chamber with IT-MET and Giusto Van Campenhout. appeared first on Yellowtrace. |

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Imagine sinking sensation of your palms in textures of dry earth, burnt-red gravel, and uneven surfaces of freshly fired ceramic as we gaze upon Maria Castello Architecture’s Es Pou House. Almost like the earth has been scooped up and moulded with a white cast – this family residence takes cues of shadow and light features from Castello’s Architecture Fragments Series. As sturdy it is on the outside, natural light soothes the hard edges, transforming this Spanish residence into a getaway of summer dreams.

The 94 square metre home positions itself on Es Pou de Can Marianet Barber – a historical place within the interior of Formentera, Spain. On the rugged and rural triangular estate, Es Pou House is one of the first architectural presences within the site with sprawling vegetation thriving on the fertile soil. Despite its apparent interruption to the landscape, the architects positioned the house close to the western edge, utilising the trees and shrubbery for sufficient shading while allowing agriculture to grow peacefully.

Related: Bosc d’en Pep Ferrer: House on Formentera Island, Spain by Marià Castelló Martínez.

Es Pou is built of three rectilinear rendered concrete volumes interconnected by thin transitional gaps. These simple volumes are orientated in favour of the sunlight. Starting at the far north, the first volume is occupied by two bedrooms with another entrance to the outdoors. The middle, connected by a bathroom with its private garden is a spacious living room with kitchen and storage pushed to the edges. The third space extends into a luxurious alfresco-like patio looking towards the horizons and paved-platform garden – simultaneously serving as additional cooling and shade during the hotter seasons.

Such simplicity really is masking the complexities within the architectural structure. A family home that prides on being self-sufficient also prides on the strategic use of materials in collaboration with the site which allows for a poetic disguise of services and storage. A cistern for ample water supply and a solarium for the cooler months, all crafted to be well integrated into the architecture.

Taking the language of Fragments, Es Pou’s material palette feels like an imprint from the hot summer landscape. White concrete walls are complimented by almond-oat-coloured ceramics and custom joinery, and furniture pieces from the studio’s D12 collection. Curved ceramic tiles accent the scallop patterned ceiling that smoothly connects with the soft coloured timber window and door frames. Running parallel to the ceiling are neutral peach-coloured tiles which bring forth the 1934 Torres Clave armchair to focus. Keeping the interior interesting are the shadow patterns of ceramic latticework stitched between the transitional spaces, and spritely spring green tiles offer a rainforest paradise in the bathrooms.

From the lessons gathered from Castello’s Fragments Series, it can be said these ephemeral qualities have been through a life-size transformation. Pattern play sculpted by clever positioning of the window openings and ceramic pieces as seen in the unique bed frame with built-in fixtures and the architecture studio’s specially crafted light fixtures and formwork – Es Pou resembles a ceramicists’ hands that have gracefully articulated the ambience.

| The article Es Pou House in Formentera by Marià Castelló Architecture. appeared first on Yellowtrace. |

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You will be forgiven for mistaking this project for the inside of a dream you’ve had. Designed by Raúl Sánchez Architects, Impress Valencia harnesses the surreal and fantastical to redefine dental clinics for a young audience. Never ones for the conventional, this fanciful interior is breathtakingly original.

With special geometry to consider and little access to natural light, the design proposes two curves that interplay with each other. Orientated along the length of the space, the curves meet close in the middle and apart on either side as they enclose all functional spaces – dental boxes, sales spaces and toilets. In the space in between, there is enough room to sit turning the entire sprawling central area into a large waiting room. Blurring the classic approach to corridors and rooms, the curved shape also ensures light filters through the entire open interior from the street.

Related: The Urban Dentist in Berlin by Studio Karhard.

The raised space in the back is lined with red carpet and metal sheets of the same colour – a striking reference to Twin Peaks, it sits in dramatic contrast to the white lacquered curves and pinewood fixtures. Used for events, concerts or demonstrations, the two curved planes guide visitors towards it. As the darkest spot in the clinic, the designers managed to work this area to their advantage by creating something outrageously cool and undoubtedly the most special spot in the whole interior.

This clinic is all about the curves – pillars are treated with mirrors to erase the spatial barriers and add a dreamlike complexity through reflections. Pinewood boxes embedded in the curves act as doors to the functional spaces. Diagonal blue and white designs cover the dental boxes while the sale area take the same route as the stage, enveloped in floor-to-wall blue carpet and mass coloured fibreboard furniture to match.

This illusory interior drips with dreamlike visuals, heralding in Impress’ commitment to a new generation of dental clinics. The real question now is this: How will anyone top this?

| The article A Nod to David Lynch: Impress Valencia Dental Clinic by Raúl Sánchez Architects. appeared first on Yellowtrace. |