Journal

In the heart of the Brera district of Milan, high above the bustling cafés, high fashion boutiques, and a towering Renaissance castle, architecture and design studio Piuarch has planted a garden. Unsurprisingly for a studio known for its collaborations with fashion houses like Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Fendi, and Givenchy, as well as its participation in the Venice Biennale of Architecture, their approach to the garden has been one of innovation, discovery, and imagination.

Globalization brings faster and more streamlined knowledge-sharing and integrative solutions, but also the risk of standardization and homogenization. In the preface of Beyond the West, Tracy Lynn Chemaly and Faye Robinson explore the diversity of global architectural cultures and, in doing so, proves that this approach is possible, and indeed will flourish.

Surf culture is bound to that of creativity; the personalities that define both the sport and lifestyle are often bursting with charisma. When away from the waves, surfers sprawl into unique shacks, apartments, and sometimes huts that fuse a lust for the oceans with other passions. Surf Shacks Vol.2 is a rare glimpse into surfer homes and the artistic habits that define the day-to-day.

The exemplary career of Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen demonstrates how talent can indeed run in the family. An individual who looked to the future, and often sky, with his bold visionary designs where both loved and loathed. On what would have been his birthday, we remember two iconic designs from this mid-20th-century master.

The shelves and tables of the Jazzhole are piled with Nigerian and international fiction, antique treasures, and specialist publications. Coffee-table books, comics, and fashion magazines complete the section. The analog concoction of records and reading have created a refreshing, calming break from the bustling streets outside. Step inside a literature wonder in the heart of Lagos.

A tapestry of contemporary brands are adapting handwoven textile traditions for a new aesthetic that softens the starkest of space. As featured in The New Mediterranean, we delve into modern masters perfecting a fuse of tradition with a novel aesthetic.