Magazine

The Upper Cloister is a modern-day interpretation of an ancient temple-complex, where the urban middle class from Beijing can find rest and relaxation within a grandiose natural and cultural landscape with a view of The Great Wall. It is located halfway between the Chinese capital and Chengde,... Eduard Kögel

A faceted facade and lush green wall make this extension to an electrical substation a good neighbor in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. The architects at TEF Design answered a few questions about the project. TEF Design

Beijing-based designers of 3andwich Design/He Wei Studio recently completed a tourist infrastructure building in the Tengger Desert in the Ningxia Autonomous Region in northwest... Eduard Kögel

The aptly named Lantern Studio, which houses a scooter workshop and other spaces for a creative couple, glows at night through a wall of slatted wood. Flavin Architects answered a few questions about the backyard retreat in suburban Wellesley, near Boston. Flavin Architects

From the outside, the function of the Viking Pavilion added to Portland State University's renovated Stott Center makes itself known: The arena's stadium seating is expressed in a wood wall facing the campus green space. Woofter Architecture answered a few questions about the project. Woofter Architecture

A "floating" wall is the most distinctive feature in KEN Architects' design of a house in Hohu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Far from arbitrary, the wall relates to the public/private nature of the garden behind it, as architect Kenichi Kohmura explains in response to a few of our questions. KEN Architects

The Erimtan Museum in Ankara, Turkey, designed by Ayşen Savaş with Can Aker and Onur Yüncü, is, in the words of Ulf Meyer, a well-kept secret on the same level with some of Carlo Scarpa's finest works. Ulf Meyer

The name Glass Cabin may seem like a misnomer when taking a first glance at the family cabin designed and built by Steven Risting of Indianapolis, Indiana. But glassy it is, with expansive views from inside when the sliding wood wall panels are open. Steven Risting answered a few questions about... atelierRISTING

The name of this house in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is an apt one, referring to the 125-foot-long skylight that casts shadows upon the adjacent board-formed concrete wall. The wall also serves to divide the parts of the house in plan: living spaces, bedrooms and porch on the skylight side; kitchen,... Specht Architects

Kennedy & Violich Architecture's Tozzer Anthropology Building at Harvard University, featured last year, includes an angled "digital brick wall" over the entrance. The... Kennedy & Violich Architecture

The name given this residential renovation is a fitting one: A main feature of Los Angeles architect Dan Brunn's renovation of a 1975 Frank Gehry house is hidden behind a large pivoting wall. In addition to the "Hide Out," the project includes a sculptural wood stair that references... Dan Brunn Architecture

A curved glass wall, large canopy, and signage combine to give the emergency department of the Methodist South Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, a clear presence, something it previously lacked. The expansion was designed by brg3s architects, who answered a few questions about the... brg3s architects

A palette of brick, wood, glass and translucent wall panels defines the enclosure of Neumann Monson Architects' elegantly simple Career Academy of Pella in Iowa. The building is the first piece – and a very promising...

Studio Twenty Seven Architecture and Leo A Daly formed a joint venture to realize “La Casa,” the first permanent supportive housing project for the District’s Department of Human Services. A lively facade of glass and two types of wall panels makes the building...

Architect Kazuhiko Kishimoto of the Kanagawa-based firm acaa designed this wood-framed ranch-style home in the snowy city of Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture. In order to adapt the home to the region’s harsh winter climate, Kishimoto says he took particular care in designing the structure and...

Designed by Akio Nakasa of naf architect & design, Arch Wall House makes use of the curved walls that are a common theme in much of the firm’s work. Here, an arch both separates and links two homes: a single-story residence for a woman living alone, and a two-story residence for a...

Resembling a simple glass-box office building from a distance, up close the 50-story FKI Tower reveals a simple yet ingenious wall section that incorporates solar panels angled to absorb more of the sun's rays than a strictly vertical surface. Further, a number of atriums and a rooftop...

This addition to a 100-year-old bungalow in Bay Village, Ohio (a small town west of Cleveland), is particularly striking for the way it melds architecture and landscape through the plants covering its wall and folded roof. Further, a sunken terrace helps to bring sunlight into the...

This home for a family of four designed by Naoi Architecture & Design Office sits in a farming-district-turned-suburban-subdivision in Shiga Prefecture. In order to enable a lifestyle in harmony with nature for the outdoors-loving residents, the architects kept the surrounding landscape...

The Edge House marks itself in the mountains of Northwest Connecticut with two curved walls in vertical cedar boards, one gray and one red. The latter acts as the house's spine and its circulation, also sheltering the occupants from prevailing winds. The gray wall is broken by rectilinear...

Creative responses to practical constraints are one mark of good architecture. This is evident in the curving section of the Shield House in Denver, Colorado, which responds to bulk plane restrictions. Offset by a rectangular volume, the curving wall also acts as a light scoop and provides...

A living wall wrapping around the front door of the Little Owl Preschool is the first sign that something unique is afoot. The green surface is echoed in the second-floor roof terrace, but sustainable strategies extend to daylighting and ventilation, all contributing to a building geared to...

Even as other parts of the world build taller than the New York City and the rest of the United States, skyscrapers still get most of the attention in Manhattan. Yet low-rise buildings on an island defined by blocks and blocks of structures reaching for the sky can also offer architectural...

This guest house, small at only 850 square feet (80sm) has a strong presence on an impressive site overlooking the Dry Creek Valley near Sonoma, California. Almost the same amount of area is given over to terraces, taking advantage of the beautiful vistas. Architects Chris Cooper and Wendy...