The Guangdong Museum gives jewel box architecture to one of China’s finest collections of lacquerware. The building emulates the objects it stores. A robust, Minecraft like black spaceship sitting in the middle of Pearl River New Town, its facade carved with voids cutting to different depths across each elevation.
Internally within the box sits a vast open atrium screened by chainmail, light filtering down through suspended walkways hanging from tensile columns overhead. The exhibition halls peel off as discrete pockets housing the antiques.
If you’re in Guangzhou check it out!
The Great Wall of China.
One of the most recognisable pieces of human construction on earth. Spanning 13,000 miles of mountainous terrain across northern China, it’s known for its dragon like form and extreme scale, but how much do you actually know about it?
The wall wasn’t built in one era. Successive dynasties constructed and extended it over 2,000 years, each leaving their own material and structural signature across the mountainous landscape.
An estimated one million people died during its construction. Many are buried within the masonry itself.
The wall is built from a precise material stack. Rammed earth and loose stone encased in kiln fired brick, bound by a high strength mortar of slaked lime and sticky rice flour. Simple, fundamental materials, executed with extraordinary consistency at impossible scale.
Life for the soldiers who occupied it was gruelling and unrelenting. Many inherited their post from their fathers, entire lives given over to its safeguarding.
It served as a functional deterrent for over a thousand years, protecting vital trade networks and managing the flow of goods across China’s northern borders. However, it was breached by determined large scale invasions. Most notably by the Mongols and later the Manchu. Although, its value was never purely military. It was also an instrument of unity, economy, and territorial identity.
Today, conservation efforts preserve key sections, though the extensive majority continues to erode. The scale simply makes full upkeep impossible. Its best preserved stretches date from the Ming period, built between the 14th and 17th centuries.
This video was filmed at Jinshanling, the golden mountain area. Steep, demanding, and far removed from the more visited sections. A much more intimate encounter with the architecture. One of the most incredible experiences of my life. I urge anyone to explore it.
Still one of the world’s most amazing and unique buildings. Prada Aoyama provided a radical structural and transparent skin, completely futuristic, although constructed in 2003.
Just across the street sits the Miu Miu building. Also owned by the Prada group, although completely different in its architectural storytelling. Folded into the street with a massive hood, unassuming in many ways compared to its glowing neighbour.
Both works by @herzogdemeuron showcasing how architecture can express the identity of fashion through built material and evoke the spirit of brand through form.
@prada@miumiu
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum protects the history and knowledge of traditional craftsmanship and timber joinery.
Located in Kobe, it’s a beautiful sensitive piece of architecture that sits within a woodland area, known for its stunning leaves and colours.
While visiting Taiwan recently, I was fortunate enough to se the daily guard change at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.
The white structure behind the guards honours the former leader and represents a complex historical era.
Seeing the drill in person was completely mesmerising. The exchange is a clear display of state authority. As global events feel unpredictable, observing the routine was a reminder of how nations convey strength and unity.
Anyone traveling there should definitely make plans to watch the ceremony. It offers a unique window into the culture and history of the region.
Awaji Yumebutai - Tadao Ando
Ando’s gigantic sprawling complex embeds itself into Awaji islands’s mountainside.
He intends to continue his environmental dialogue through a series of massive geometric connecting walkways, amphitheatres and gardens.
Seemingly in a pre ruinous state, it’s is reminiscent of ancient Roman forums. Perhaps one day nature may engulf it fully
#awaji #ando #architecture #concrete #japan
The most precise building I’ve ever encountered…
Kyukyodo paper and craft shop by Hiroshi Naito Architects, takes detailing to another level.
Exemplifying their own artisan product line, the architecture reflects perfectly the enduring craft and elegance of Japanese paper and stationery.
Mind blowing beauty and precision wherever you look.
#kyoto #courtyard #architecture
Even religious landmarks must adapt to suit the evolution of populations and growing cities.
The Honganji temples in Kyoto have embraced this necessity by executing a modern insertion from Shin Takamatsu beneath their grounds.
This addition directly answers the demands of Kyoto’s cultural life while respecting the site’s history. It represents a clever fusion of heritage and contemporary utility, proving that historic spaces can maintain their identity while expanding their purpose.
#kyoto #temple #architecture
Honpuku temple - Tadao Ando
Ando inverts the traditional temple hierarchy. He treats the lotus pond as the roof itself, burying the sanctuary beneath the water to separate the sacred space from the outside world.
The design choreographs a descent from the open sky into the earth, cutting a path directly through the center of the pond. Inside, the palette shifts from cool concrete to warm vermilion, with natural light filtering in from behind the altar to illuminate the geometric lattice. It acts as a total control of sequence and enclosure.
#japan #ando #concrete #architecture
