Guide to Lanzarote

Lanzarote's architecture is distinctive, largely influenced by the visionary artist and architect César Manrique.

Jardín de Cactus

The Cactus Garden, located in Guatiza, Lanzarote, is a stunning botanical garden designed by the famous Canarian artist César Manrique. Spanning about 5,000 square meters, it features over 7,000 plants, including more than 1,000 species of cacti from around the world. The garden is notable for its unique amphitheater layout, which harmonizes art and nature, showcasing various cacti in a visually striking environment.

Casa Museo de César Manrique

The Casa Museo de César Manrique was the second house Manrique built for himself in 1986, in the picturesque village of Haria, which still conserves many of Lanzarote’s traditions.

Jameos Del Agua

Jameos del Agua is a series of lava caves located in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, designed by the renowned artist and architect César Manrique. This unique site features a subterranean salt lake, lush gardens, a restaurant, and an auditorium, all beautifully integrated into the natural volcanic landscape.

Studio Visit with Takuro Kuwata

We do a studio visit in Gifu, Japan, with Ceramic Artist Takuro Kuwata

César Manrique Foundation

The César Manrique Foundation is a cultural institution located in Lanzarote, Spain, dedicated to preserving the legacy of César Manrique, an artist and environmentalist. It serves as a museum, gallery, and cultural center, offering visitors a chance to experience the artist's vision of harmony between humans and their natural environment.

Mirador del Río

Mirador del Río is a viewpoint on an approximately 475-metre-high escarpment created between 1971 and 1973 by the local artist César Manrique, consisting of a balustraded cafe, a shop and a platform at the top which are integrated into the lava rock.

Casa Museo del Campesino

The Casa Museo del Campesino, located in Tiagua, Lanzarote, is a cultural tribute to the island's rural heritage and traditional agricultural practices. Designed by renowned artist César Manrique, the museum features exhibits that showcase the life of the island's farmers, including displays of traditional tools, crafts, and local cuisine.

Studio Visit with Seetal Solanki

We visit the London home of Materials Translator, Seetal Solanki

Sir John Soane's Museum

The Sir John Soane's Museum in London is a remarkable example of neoclassical architecture, designed by the renowned architect Sir John Soane himself. Located in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the museum is a fusion of three townhouses, which Soane transformed into a unique space to house his vast collection of art, antiquities, and architectural models.

Hauer-King House

The Hauer-King House in London is a modern architectural masterpiece designed by Dingle Price and Alex Gore. It blends minimalist design with industrial materials like concrete, wood, and glass. The house features large windows that bring in natural light while maintaining privacy, and its open-plan interior creates a sense of space and fluidity.

Sophie Lou Jacobsen

Sophie Lou Jacobsen is a French-American designer currently based in New York City.  She established her studio in 2019, with an initial focus on objects of everyday use, mostly using glass as a medium and exploring the interaction between object and user.

Kew Garden Greenhouse

Kew Gardens, located in London, is one of the world's most renowned botanical gardens. Spanning over 300 acres, it houses more than 50,000 different plant species, making it a key center for plant conservation and scientific research. Highlights include the iconic Palm House, Temperate House, and the Treetop Walkway, offering stunning views of the gardens.

Page Street Housing

Page Street Housing, located in Westminster, London, is a remarkable example of early 20th-century modernist architecture. Designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in the 1920s, the housing block showcases the bold geometric lines and minimal ornamentation typical of the modern movement.

Alexandra Road Estate

The Alexandra Road Estate in Camden, London, is a striking example of Brutalist architecture designed by Neave Brown in the 1960s. Its distinctive ziggurat-style terraces, built in concrete, create a cascading effect, providing each apartment with generous outdoor spaces. The estate was designed with a focus on community, featuring interconnected walkways, communal gardens, and integrated public spaces.

KAYA

Artist Kaya’s work revolves around the concept of “the third nature,” which she defines as a synthesis of real and virtual landscapes, as well as a convergence of materiality and immateriality.

Guide to London

From Brutalist icons you may already know, like the Barbican Centre to modernist marvels like the Hauer-King House, to lesser known museums such as the Georgian townhouse turned work-of-art of Kenyan-Artist Khadambi Asalache – this guide is a starting off point to the rich design and architecture offering of London.

The Thematic House

The Thematic House, also known as the Cosmic house, designed by the late Charles Jencks, is a distinctive example of his visionary approach to architecture. Known for his explorations of cosmic and cultural themes, Jencks infused the building with a unique blend of sculptural forms and symbolic design elements. The house stands out in London’s architectural landscape with its imaginative facade and thoughtful integration of thematic concepts.

575 Wandsworth Road

575 Wandsworth Road is a Georgian terraced house in London, renowned for its unique interior craftsmanship by Kenyan-born artist Khadambi Asalache.

Isokon Flats

Isokon Flats, also known as Lawn Road Flats and the Isokon building, on Lawn Road in the Belsize Park district of the London Borough of Camden, is a reinforced-concrete block of 36 flats, designed by Canadian engineer Wells Coates for Molly and Jack Pritchard.

2 Willow Road

2 Willow Road in Hampstead, London, is a modernist house designed by the renowned architect Ernő Goldfinger in 1939. The structure features clean, geometric lines, flat roofs, and large windows. Built with reinforced concrete and brick, the house integrates natural light through its open-plan interiors and extensive use of glass, offering a striking contrast to the surrounding traditional Victorian homes.

Barbican Centre

The Barbican Centre is a world-class arts and cultural venue in London, offering a range of performances, exhibitions, films, and concerts. Located in the heart of the Barbican Estate, it is home to the London Symphony Orchestra and hosts a variety of contemporary and classical arts events. The brutalist architecture of the building itself is an iconic part of the experience.

Studio Visit with Grace Prince

We visit the Zurich, Switzerland, studio of British Designer Grace Prince

Ozioma Onuzulike

Nigerian ceramicist Ozioma Onuzulike creates large-scale works resembling tapestries, meticulously crafted from thousands of ceramic palm kernel beads and natural palm kernel shells, that serve as metaphors for the historical and sociological roots of turmoil in Africa.

Housden House

Housden House, located in Hampstead, London, is a striking example of modernist residential architecture designed by architect Brian Housden in the 1960s. Inspired by Le Corbusier's principles, the house features an open-plan layout, floor-to-ceiling windows, and exposed concrete, all contributing to its minimalist yet bold aesthetic.

Lewis Kemmenoe

Driven by his desire to work with materials that he feels a connection to, London-based designer Lewis Kemmenoe makes furniture that is functional and often reflects the matter from which it is formed.

Byungsub Kim

Byungsub Kim is a designer based in Seoul, South Korea. He majored in spatial design and designs space related things from small functional objects to furnitures, and also interior.

Yoonjeong Lee

Yoonjeong Lee is based in Seoul, she predominantly employs functional objects as her medium, while simultaneously being cautious about creating predictable shapes that conform to their intended purposes.

Unité d'Habitation

The Unité d'Habitation is a pioneering residential building designed by architect Le Corbusier, completed in 1952 in Marseille, France. It's a landmark of modernist architecture, characterized by its use of pilotis, a free facade, and an open floor plan.

Le Cabanon

The Cabanon de Cap-Martin designed by Le Corbusier is both a total work of art and the archetype of the minimum cell, based on an absolute ergonomic and functionalist approach.