Architect Tatiana Bilbao will be the first to tell you her projects are not exactly addressing urban problems of her native Mexico City. With a growing population population of nearly 20 million, poor urban planning, vast housing and commercial buildings pose significant challenges to put it lightly. Not that Los Angeles were I live is a much better example of what modern city could be, but Mexico City is on the whole different level of urban development  issues. In fact I was quite shocked with pure absurd of the city’s urban infrastructure when I was there 3 years ago, but maybe I will talk about in my next post, but for Tatiana Bilbao challenges are in a high end large scale projects that celebrate modernity and style. And this is what we love. Although a Universe Beach house is not the latest creation done by architect I still love it as strongly as when I saw if first time.

One of her earliest projects, a beach house for the artist Gabriel Orozco's family, still makes her laugh. The house, which has a round pool on the roof, was organized around the concept of camping. Like a tent, you must exit each room to the exterior in order to get to another room, such as the toilet or kitchen. "For Gabriel, it was not architecture; it's more of a living sculpture," Bilbao says, noting that she collaborated with Orozco on realizing the artist's initial design. "Architecture has to be functional. After it was built, and I understood how it worked like a tent, I thought it was really clever."

In an increasingly dense city like Chicago, views from a new tower must be negotiated between existing buildings. Aqua tower considers criteria such as views, solar shading and function to derive a vertical system of contours that gives the structure its sculptural form. Its vertical topography is defined by its outdoor terraces that gradually change in plan over the length of the tower. These terraces offer a strong connection to the outdoors and allow inhabitants to occupy the building façade and city simultaneously. The result is a highly sculptural building when viewed obliquely that transforms into a slender rectangle from further away. Its powerful form suggests the limestone outcroppings and geologic forces that shaped the great lakes region.

Architect and designer Phillip K. Smith, III has created “Line to Line,” a temporary installation at the Royale Projects gallery in Indian Wells, California.

Description of the installation:

Could two-dimensional marks be the window to a three-dimensional space beyond?  Transforming from a line to a line, this piece creates a distinct exterior and interior relationship with the space within which it is contained.  Between the opposing “lines” lies the dimensional structure of the sculpture, defining at once its peripheral skin and the internal space of the form itself.  Shifting between two and three dimensions, the linear graphics of this interior space suggest the perspective representation of an infinite void. [via contemporist]

Facebook recently moved to a new headquarters that facilitates interaction and connection, reflecting the company’s mission as a social networking website provider. Previously building was used for a laboratory facility for high-tech manufacturer Agilent Technologies, the 150,000-square-foot structure at Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park brings together more than 700 employees originally scattered throughout 10 locations in and around downtown Palo Alto.

Inside the famous Hotel Exedra Nice in Nice, property of Boscolo Hotels, in the basement ground rises the amazing wellness centre, signed by the architect Simone Micheli. “Planning a space designed for the psycho-physical regeneration and recreational relax, in the beautiful Costa Azzurra, means to converse with the existing historical background through the creation of emotional and anti-mimetic places connected to our contemporaneity, seduced by the will to exalt the senses of the guests through a project with strong and exciting features that develop into sinestesya. [via contemporist]

According to my knowledge some of the most creative and unusual subway station are actually in Moscow, but this metro station in Barcelona is really putting all the other once to rest.

The original station was built in 1968. Eduardo Gutiérrez Munné and Jordi Fernández Río, the 31-year-old partners of ON-A Arquitectura WWW.ON-A.ES, had no other option but to accept the limitations of the constricted space and make the best of it by covering the old station with new surfaces. They decided that a subway car already has everything a passenger needs and proceeded to create a station that emulates the feel of subway cars. Light-weight, white glass-enforced concrete covers the vertical surfaces and a resin component helps make the white floors vibration-proof. The overall feel is clean and open, that is not a common sight in places like NYC Subway or London. This architectural marvel will hopefully set the tone for some bored and frustrated urban planners and developers here in the US as well. [via thecoolhunter]

Ferrari Factory Store of Serravalle Scrivia, entirely designed by Iosa Ghini Associates . This is a first example were Ferrari Store plans triggered design of the entire building. Glass gallery is highly innovative with a curved face without mounting posts and bars that permit total visibility inward and outward. The curved glass panels are assembled using a frameless anchor system, i.e. without mounting supports but with ultra light and clips that guarantees the perception of material continuity between the plate glasses and provides lightness to the whole system.

The luxurious and sculptural new bathroom collection from Omvivo

Latis, the latest bathroom creation from Omvivo, is inspired by the fundamentals of tradition and quality.  Uncomplicated, elegant forms combine with superior materials such as natural stone to create a luxurious contemporary range with eternal appeal. The intention was to create a complete suite of luxury pieces that combine beautiful yet simple aesthetics with flexible design, suitable for a varied range of bathroom environments.  The result is Latis, an opulent and sculptural range of bathroom products that will compliment both modern and traditional spaces.

Patrick Cox is a Canadian-British fashion designer and an eponymous fashion label specializing in the creation of shoes, leather goods and accessories. Cox is most noted for the use of unusual materials and a mixture of Avant-garde and traditional styles.

The shop is in a 17-story building Tokyo’s fashion-centric Aoyama district and it is only a few steps inside the building’s main entrance. The important point of this shop seemed to be lighting. The products can shine and get a better look if the light source is close by, not shining down from the ceiling. Interesting concept and truly fascinating visual appeal makes just want to forget about shoes for a while because you all of the sudden experience Alice in Wonderland uplifting sensation. And even though we love his shoes and fashion accessories this interior makes you want to think about bigger things in life. Wonderful work.

Tree hugger’s dream came true with the creation of Yellow Tree House Restaurant by the group of Architects from New Zealand. To be exact this nest house was designed by Pacific Environments Architects that also enters a competition hosted by the New Zeeland Yellow pages, how about that for the twist…,  It also makes it clear why the tree house called yellow…I hate to say it but do they really need a Yellow pages in New Zealand?  Well I guess four million people can find it useful, although I hope that two million Norwegians can easily get around with a little pocket phone book…Ok enough about the books. This tree house is an interesting creation sitting 10 meters above the forest floor it can sit 18 people without even a slightest damage to the tree trunk. Ok time to wrap it up before I pour more inappropriately sarcastic comments. But I do like I really do I just hope that the tree dining experience will not be interrupted by the often heavy New Zeeland rain storms. [via trendir]