Organic forms often imagined in our childhood drawings and daydream doodles have found their way into a monumental figure in Trace Architecture Office’s (TAO) latest education project. Located in Hainan, China, this new build readily challenges the rigidity and straight lines found in your typical schools. Haikou Jiangdong Huandao Experimental School is ready to challenge learning environments with its unusual form that many would have once dreamed of, ready to encourage play within the high-pressure learning environment. A campus that contains a kindergarten, middle school, senio ..read more

    Back in 2016, MVRDV’s glass brick facade to Chanel’s new flagship store broke the internet (or at least, the archi-web). It seamlessly bled a traditional brick facade into a transparent wall, poetically celebrating contemporary glass construction and architectural innovation. It just so happened that this MVRDV beacon sits along Amsterdam’s high-end shopping street, P.C. Hoofstraat. Also sitting on this prominent stretch in The Netherlands is Studio RAP’s newest addition to the high-end shopping districts’ facade-scape. Rotterdam-based Studio RAP have been breaking the barri ..read more

  China-based practice Cun Design has given us a taste of atmospheric-wow with their latest residential project, Box of Light. Located in China’s capital, Beijing, and stretching upwards of five storeys while encompassing 1,000 square metres, Box of Light celebrates the romance of light via architectural and artistic curation of light and shadows. This home spawned from the architect’s response to the lack of identity and character in the exponential rise in mass development of housing. Situated within the development estate Heguangchenyue, the family villa is divided into two com ..read more

    Photos by Luis Diaz Diaz.   Immersed in the jungle-lined coast of Sayulita, Mexico—a bohemian surf town an hour north of Puerto Vallarta—is Nico, a micro hospitality experience with elevated suites, open-air common spaces and boutique hotel-style comforts. A collaboration between Seattle-based architecture and development firm, Hybrid, and Mexico City architects at Palma, the project draws on local building traditions to reimagine fundamental architectural concepts and give rise to this unique and modern space. Indoor and outdoor spaces combine throughout the buil ..read more

  Best of Architecture.   2023 Archive Edition As we take some time on our annual break to recharge, we’ve left a few presents for you in the form of our smoking-hot archives of the year that was. Today, in our final roundup (boo—so sad… but not really), we share the best of Architecture the year had to offer—from the hardcore brutaist, elegantly resolved to the totally out there. This roundup includes Public and Cultural buildings, such as galleries, community centres and landmarks. We also have a rather juicy selection of Residential Architecture, with a huge variety o ..read more

  Best of Hotels, Hospitality & Wellness Interiors.   2023 Archive Edition As we take some time on our annual break and plan for the upcoming year, here’s a selection of our top articles from 2023. Today, we have a favourite in the Yellowtrace office and maybe the sexiest of all the categories—Welcome to all things Hotels & Hospitality. This section has no rules, and that’s how we like it. From the moody and masculine, raw and industrial, soft and feminine—to the all-together loco, these spaces transport us to another place and let us forget our troubles, if only ..read more

Best of Australian Architecture, Interiors & Design. 2023 Archive Edition Another year bites the dust, and, as always, it feels bigger than the last. While we take a bit of a breather and look to the new year, we’re giving you the chance to explore some of the favourite articles we’ve shared in 2023. As is becoming a bit of a tradition, we’re kicking things off by spotlighting all things homegrown with our Australian Architecture, Interiors & Design category. As the Australian market only continues to grow, so does, it feels, the public’s appetite and appreciation for good ..read more

  A warm and welcoming home that celebrates the client’s identity, La Posmoderna is a single-family residence in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Undertaken by FMT Estudio, the renovation and extension transform a 1980s building with a complex, outdated floor plan in poor condition into a contemporary space that incorporates tropical elements and promotes family interaction. The renovation prioritized spaciousness, illumination, and ventilation, addressing the challenges of the existing layout through a reorganised plan. The kitchen was expanded to become the central core of the house, seam ..read more

Installation view of the 2023 NGV Architecture Commission: (This Is) Air designed by architect Nic Brunsdon in collaboration with ENESS. Photo: Ben Hosking.   During our solemn Week of Reflection, I travelled to Melbourne to preview NGV’s 2023 Architecture Commission, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted from an avalanche of strong reactions my thoughts generated, not to mention the state of the world right now. Witnessing most of NGV’s annual commissions since their debut in 2016—a place for community, programs and events—has always been a treat. But little did I know this 7th iteration wo ..read more

      When they made the move from Sydney to Queenstown, Arent&Pyke’s clients definitely got the perfect family home for raising their four boys with the rural lifestyle they dreamt of. The challenge was to “conceive a forever home that enhances interaction with family, friends and nature, rather than fussy ornamentation,” explains the team at Arent & Pyke. So what did the Sydney-based design practice do? They looked outward. With tufts of speargrass sprouting across the plains, the interiors embrace a myriad of cream and grey shades that pull the New Zealand ..read more