Striking columns of deep blue ceramic tiles coat the facade of the Hong Kong boutique store of Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweller Piaget. Designed by Chinese architecture firm Neri&Hu, Piaget’s storefront was created to honour the brand’s dedication to craftsmanship as well as the historic wharf area of Kowloon. Two main elements of the facade make reference to Kowloon’s historical importance in trade and culture … Continue reading Swiss luxury in Kowloon
The colour green speaks to a space deep inside us that yearns for nature and the great outdoors. These days this need seems ever more pressing as natural landscapes are interrupted and the climate is changing life as we know it. And what more modern way to cope with this instinctual desire than to recreate nature with architecture? Here’s some gorgeous green to get us … Continue reading Five Gorgeous Green Exteriors
Adding onto the former civil guard quarters that had sat unused since the 80s, a 2011 project by Cor & Asociados created an extension in the small village of Algueña that promises magic on the outside and music within. With a fixed budget of 562,800€ and a deeply involved community, the renovation of the existing building and creation of a new annex had to be … Continue reading Magical Music Hall
A crime against tiles, architecture, and all things beautiful is being righted by the masters at Koninklijke Tichelaar. In 1902 Jan Jacob Luden commissioned a spectacular, sprawling hunting lodge in brilliant white, decorated with around 35,000 colourful tiles. These tiles, as well as a number of the architectural features, formed elements typical of the Jugendstil movement – Germany’s take on Art Nouveau. Devastatingly, various attempts … Continue reading Restoring an icon
Claridge’s Hotel in London has received an incredible facelift. The internal atrium of the hotel is now a impressive towering sculpture faced in unique, magical tiles in a project led by Derek Whetton Consultancy in collaboration with Arups and Blair Associates. These pyramid-shaped 65 by 250mm tiles are glazed in a glossy iridescent finish, reflecting shades of powder blue, pastel lemon, and baby pink that … Continue reading Ethereal Atrium
The fabulous FORZglaze from Studio Mixtura is taking centre stage in a new pair of apartment buildings in Walstroweg in Haren. Designed by Dutch studio De Unie Architecten, these twin blocks are faced with large windows, beige bricks, and staggered balconies with a central cycling path separating the buildings. On the mirrored facades overlooking the cycle path, thousands of vibrant, verdant tiles make a statement. … Continue reading Green with FORZglaze
A lively lime green tops the new Monteparís Mayores residence in the Salvador neighbourhood of Madrid. Continue reading A Lid of Lime
Futuristic, forward-thinking, and fountains of fun, Dutch architectural design company Studio RAP is leading the technological revolution. And they’re doing it in undeniable style. Mixing architects, designers, roboticists, programmers, and researchers, Studio RAP’s team is working to elevate and evolve the building process from design to development by creating innovative technologies, robots, and systems that push boundries. Luckily for us, many of their projects and … Continue reading The future is here
The Moulsecoomb campus at Brighton University is undergoing a tile-tastic transformation with a £60 million project. Part of this Big Build is Elm House – a new architecturally striking business school. Designed by Hassell Studio, the façade-focused building acts as an ode to the university experience and the evolution individuals go through throughout their time there. To represent this, the tiled façade takes inspiration from … Continue reading Big Build in Brighton
The vibrantly tiled façades of Portugal’s homes are one of the country’s most iconic sights, but those sights are disappearing. Attempting to preserve the tiling legacy before it disappears entirely is Gazete Azulejos. Once handmade in factories thoroughout Portugal, reduced demand over the years led to closures. The tiled façades that remained have steadily decreased in number due to renovations and modernisation, and some tiles … Continue reading Gazete Azulejos
The hugely industrial look of this building has proved to be an incredible chance to juxtapose heavy, large format cement blocks with minimalise custom curved rectangular white tiles. The supposed disadvantages of the site, with the storefront is set back into frames, a basement shaft that takes up a large portion of the space’s bottom left, and an interior space made up of a variety … Continue reading Peaceful Patisserie
Combining ‘Kabanchik’, typically used in Soviet pre-fab apartment blocks, with modern fibre cement panels, this housing project attempts to breathe life and colour into the surrounding area. With traditionally soulless towerblocks in varying shades of grey and beige in mind, Italian architecture firm Iosa Ghini Associati designed these exteriors with a little more joy. They also took charge of the landscaping and communal areas, providing … Continue reading Multicolour Moscow
