Located in the suburbs of Hiroshima, House in Fukawa is a grown up version of “treehouse” designed by Suppose Design Office for a young family of four. The house occupies a small block and managing to squeeze in three bedroom boxes which cascade and suspend from the central “tree trunk” – a central staircase. The boxes are clad in plywood and their unusual placement carves the space in unusual configurations, creating a series of spaces in between used for eating, reading, relaxing and living. It is almost impossible to judge the scale of this house, to separate the bridges from rooms, indoor from outdoor space…

Waaah waaah weee waaah!! Design awesomeness alert. Say what – Madrid again? But of-course! That city is flooded with seriously sexy architecture I tell ya. So much design goodness. Designed by the talented folks at ch+qs architects (I previously blogged about their extremely awesome Hub Offices project), this library, film set and two movie theatres represent the new space dedicated to the world of non-fiction cinema at the Matadero cultural complex.

This has to be one of the most exciting, theatrical, dramatic and dynamic public buildings I have seen in a while…

Good morning/day/evening dearest yellowtrace readers! I’m super excited to share with you this year’s sexy shortlist for Australian Interior Design Awards, which was announced last Wednesday evening. I couldn’t think of a better way to kick of the week than by celebrating Australian Design excellence. Yet again, the competition was fierce and there are some absolutely spectacular projects on the very long shortlist (seriously, why call it a SHORT list when there are 38 projects in one category alone. Am I missing something?)

As per usual, below is a selection of 2o12 projects that caught my design eagle-eye. Congratulations to all designers who’s projects were shortlisted in this year’s awards. Incrediballs* effort! (*French for “incredible”.)

Well, well, well… I never thought I’d be blogging about a super hhhot project like this from “the old country”. (Yes, it’s that hot, that it need’s three ‘h’s to capture the sizzle!) If only I had known about this place when Husband and I stayed in Belgrade last year. You live and learn, huh? Alas, next time we’ll be visiting fo sho!

I am talking about Square Nine in Belgrade, Serbia’s first world-class luxury hotel. Designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld, the hotel is housed in an old office building and took 5 years and $40M to transform from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. Set in the city’s historic district across from Students Square (Studentski Trg) and within walking distance to historical landmarks, shops, restaurants and Kalemegdan, Square Nine is a showcase of sophisticated interiors, attention to detail, and impeccable service…

Ochre Barn is a multi purpose development that houses a retreat, studio space and a private residence for Carl Turner, principal of London based studio Carl Turner Architects, and his partner Mary Martin. Despite it’s rural setting at Norfolk in England, let me tell ya there is nothing remotely “agricultural” about these buildings. No sir!

Admittedly this project caught my eye a couple of weeks ago, however I wasn’t really sure whether to post about it or not. Why? Because of the abundant use of the ever so controversial Oriented Strand Board (OSB) all over the interior, and I simply didn’t know how I felt about it. So I decided to sleep on it for a few days and… here we are! I’ve managed to make peace with it and, even more so, actually start liking it…