Naxxar House sits in Naxxar, Malta, where AP Valletta recasts an 18th-century palazzino as a contemporary house. The architects add a sculpted stone screen to guard privacy from a new apartment block while opening the interiors to gardens. Completed as a 2023 reworking, the project folds local craft, reclaimed materials, and measured light into a lived-in domestic setting. It feels grounded and quietly sure of itself.
Patios House Landscaping stands on Brazil’s Costa Verde in Mangaratiba, where Rodrigo Oliveira shapes a lush, route-driven garden for a low-slung coastal residence by Studio MK27. The project orients daily life around courtyards, shaded paths, and open terraces that drift toward the water. It’s a residential landscape tuned to breeze and light, a calm counterpoint to the mountain’s edge.
Komonokaen is a flower shop in Japan’s Mie Prefecture with a U-shaped facade made entirely of glass. Designed by Japanese practice Tatsuya Kawamoto + Associates in 2023, the retail space includes a plant shop and a cafe organised around a courtyard garden.
The Monroe Street Abbey in Phoenix, United States, is a remarkable example of adaptive reuse in action. Designed by Jones Architects Studio, this 1929 Italian Gothic revival-style structure was once a Baptist church, but after a devastating fire in 1984, its future remained uncertain until the nonprofit Housing Opportunity Center stepped in to salvage the building.
Through a comprehensive restoration and remodel, the Abbey has been transformed into a vibrant cultural hub, featuring a courtyard garden, performance spaces, and a mix of leasable tenant spaces. With its historic integrity preserved and modern functionalities integrated, the Monroe Street Abbey promises to be a local treasure and a symbol of Phoenix’s resilience.
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