South African studio SAOTA has completed the Noom Hotel Abidjan Plateau in Ivory Coast, featuring a layered facade as a contemporary extension of the city’s modernist heritage. The studio references local patterns and motifs within clean, rational forms at this skyscraping hotel, blending modernism with regional identity advancements in both design and architecture.
Maine Rural Modern by OPAL Architecture is a house in ME, United States. Designed in 2017, the project combines modernist rigor with Passive House principles, offering efficiency and architectural clarity. It features three shed-roofed wings, cedar siding, fieldstone-faced foundations, and steel roofing.
Skull Studio designed the Vanguard loft in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2023. This innovative space harmoniously blends industrial architecture with early 20th-century modernism. The open-plan layout includes a central living area, flexible movable walls, and an elevated gallery. A tribute to racing legend Eliška Junková influenced its design, incorporating modernism, futurism, and functionalism.
BLOCO Arquitetos transformed a São Paulo Higienópolis apartment by exposing structural beams and brick walls. The renovation preserved original features, like the double herringbone ipê wood flooring, and integrated them with contemporary Brazilian furniture.
Alicia Luxem designed “Turenne” in 2023, at this Paris apartment, where the interiors are defined by the use of lime-plaster walls and solid wood floors. In addition to the carpentry crafted from metal and locally-sourced, natural materials, this aesthetic is complemented by a “cutting-edge” art collection. Pale, neutral tones create a “calm shell”, accented by bold-coloured furniture found within the space. Vintage pieces with their “own stories” add “a bit of variety of colours” to the design.
Nestled in Apatity, Russia, Tochka Design Studio‘s transformation of “The Library” blends Soviet modernist architecture with contemporary flair. This 2023 renovation preserves original elements like marble and parquet, while integrating modern amenities. The result is a dynamic cultural hub featuring a reading area, art spaces, and interactive zones, all enhanced by panoramic views and thoughtful design.
Gdynia, Poland is home to a remarkable modernist apartment that seamlessly blends the past and present. Designed by the talented team at Em2 Pracownia Projektowa in 2023, this apartment in the city’s Wzgórze Maksymiliana district showcases a thoughtful integration of vintage and contemporary elements. By respecting the historical character of the 1950s building, the designers have created a functional and visually captivating space that celebrates the unique aesthetics of Gdynia’s modernist architecture.
The Black Swan Restaurant in Beijing, China, is a masterful collaboration between designer Chris Shao Studio and the inspiration of artist Gary Hume’s ‘Swans’ painting. Situated within the Luo Hong Photography Art Museum, this French-cuisine restaurant seamlessly blends modernist design with the rich natural beauty of an adjacent oriental landscape garden.
Patrons are treated to a delicate and intricate approach to details, where the swan motif is woven throughout the space, creating a sense of quiet luxury and elegance. The muted interior palette and textural layering of materials evoke the graceful movements of the swan, inviting guests to pause and appreciate the sublime synchronization of the natural and man-made.