Cool Design News

Tsukasa Okada

Residence

Sunday, 11 January 2026

House in Shiraiwa

House in Shiraiwa is a residence built on a mountain slope in Hamamatsu, Japan, surrounded by a mandarin plantation. The interior area is divided equally into indoor and semi-outdoor space. A large living room supports communication between family members, while the other rooms are kept small. A pergola covers the semi-outdoor half and forms a buffer zone between the living room and the landscape. The pergola details were set by sunlight simulation, and its slits cast changing shadows on the walls. The walls are finished in scraped mortar with crushed local white rock.

Nolan Chao

Bar

Saturday, 10 January 2026

Quad House

Quad is a bar set in a historic quadrangle building in the center of Beijing. The original structure was in unsafe condition, which made reinforcement and rebuilding difficult. The renovation adds modern functions while keeping the character of the old city area. Concrete is used for the facade and wood for the interior decoration. The design balances three pairs of opposites: new and old, low key and high end, commerce and comfort. Privacy is protected so that the bar blends quietly into the surrounding historic neighborhood.

Qingfan Zhang

Tea Space

Friday, 9 January 2026

Phoenix Tree Garden

Phoenix Tree Garden is a tea house garden set in a hutong courtyard in Beijing. The design turns a single large space into a series of linked scenic spots. A folding cloud wall and a curved moon door shift the internal axis and divide the outside of the garden from the inside. Small bridges, waterways and a stacked red rock mountain organize the new landscape order. Materials include a steel grille bridge, gray and colored cobblestone paving and small gray tiles. Several tea rooms with different views were created within 214.99 square meters.

Fernando Abelleyro

House

Thursday, 8 January 2026

Santos

Using wood as the main constructive element, the house displaces its two levels in section, generating a glazed roof to integrate with the context and allow natural light to enter. The double height space articulates that relationship between the ground floor, the upper floor and the landscape. A metal roof over the skylight flies, protecting it from the incidence of the western sun and formally rebuilding the volume, framing the vision of the natural environment. The program is articulated by locating public uses on the ground floor and private uses on the upper floor.

Yue Xu

Cultural Architecture

Wednesday, 7 January 2026

Mermaid Town

Mermaid Town Reception Hall is a cultural building in Zhouning, Fujian, China. The complex covers 12000 square meters and serves as a tourism distribution center and a cultural activity center. The design combines square and circular forms, inspired by the local earth fort architecture. A circular corridor marks the boundary between the two buildings and gives shelter from strong summer sun and from rainy, cold winters. Exterior walls are finished with white texture paint and handmade gray brick. Spatial axes link the halls to a nearby brook, a lake and a mountain.

Binomio Taller

Residential House

Tuesday, 6 January 2026

Casa Lupita

Casa Lupita pays tribute to the classic colonial architecture of Merida, Mexico and its historic neighborhoods. This project involved the restoration of the casona, that is considered a heritage site, as well as architectural, interior, furniture and landscape design. The conceptual premise of the project is the juxtaposition of colonial and contemporary architecture.

Cool Design News

House in Shiraiwa

Quad House

Phoenix Tree Garden

Santos

Mermaid Town

Casa Lupita

ABOUT ME

RECENT POSTS

ENCYCLOPEDIA

TAGS

RANKINGS

PATRONS

DISCOVER

House in Shiraiwa

Quad House

Phoenix Tree Garden

Santos

Mermaid Town

Casa Lupita

ABOUT ME

RECENT POSTS

NEWSLETTER

ENCYCLOPEDIA

TAGS

RANKINGS

PATRONS

DISCOVER