Local studio Byben has created an accessory dwelling unit in southern California called Offset ADU, which features ipe-wood cladding and curved elements that "soften the feel and look" of the building.

The project is located in the rear yard of a family home in Los Angeles' Mar Vista neighbourhood. It was designed for a couple with two young kids who sought more living space, as well as a space for entertaining guests.

The accessory dwelling unit (ADU) replaces a one-car garage that had been doing double duty as a home office and a place for storing a car and bikes.

The clients debated between replacing the garage with a standalone ADU or an extension to their house.

"I convinced them that the ADU was the best route because the size can be defined, which helps controlling the budget, whereas doing an addition on a house can get out of hand quickly," Byben founder Ben Warwas told Dezeen.

To make way for the ADU, the garage was partly razed, with the foundation and two walls kept in place.

Utilising these existing elements, Byben created a two-storey, 890-square-foot (83-square-metre) dwelling with design elements that cleverly respond to site constraints.

In plan, the building is roughly rectangular, with large portions carved away to form setbacks and openings. The upper level cantilevers over a recessed entryway at ground level.

A large portion of the upper level was cut away due to power lines, and in its place, the architect created a terrace.

"The second level is offset to accommodate the present zoning envelope and the power lines in the rear of the property," said the studio.

"This offset provided a roof deck on the second level, more space for some existing trees and bike storage, and a covered front entrance to the ADU."

The two facades visible from the home are wrapped in an ipe-wood rainscreen, which was selected for performance and aesthetic reasons. The remaining two facades have stucco cladding with ipe accents.

Certain edges of the wood siding are curved rather than straight – a technique to help "soften the feel and look of the ADU", said Warwas. Curved elements are also found inside.

Within the dwelling, a large room on the ground level holds a kitchen, dining space and lounge area, as well as a small bathroom and laundry room.

The ground space opens onto a deck, providing an opportunity for indoor-outdoor living.

Upstairs, one finds an office that doubles as a bedroom.

A notable feature in the upper area is a tall, U-shaped window that extends into a cove above the ceiling line. A mirror in the cove provides "an infinite-height feeling".

The two levels are connected by a slender, skylit stairwell that is painted bright yellow and lined with white oak slats.

Warwas said he wanted the experience of going up and down the stairs to feel like a "surreal transition".

"Stairs are such a unique opportunity to have a new feeling as you travel through space," Warwas said.

"That is also why the skylight is in there – the natural light with the yellow work together."

The interior decor was overseen by Emily and Jason Potter, who are the founders of DEN, a showroom in Los Angeles that specialises in vintage 20th-century furniture.

The project also involved landscape interventions. A driveway leading to the old garage was mostly removed, and a gate was installed between the front and rear yards.

"This really transforms the experience of a yard," said the architect, noting that the clients use the backyard more frequently now.

"There are still some changes to the house that are in the works, but for now, the ADU has brought completeness to their property that they did not have before."

Other ADU projects in the US include an Austin dwelling by Specht Novak that is devoid of windows and a small building by Mork-Ulnes that balances on a hillside in northern California.

The photography is by Taiyo Watanabe.

Project credits:

Architectural designer: Byben
Designer: Ben Warwas
Interior designers: DEN (Emily and Jason Potter)
Contractor: Manchen Construction

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American studio SPF Architects has included an aluminium skin and an upper volume that "appears to float" over the ground level at completed the Bronze and Black House in California.

Located in Beverly Hills, the home was built on a property that stretches between the ends of two separate cul-de-sacs.

"It became imperative to connect the two for easier site access, firefighting and potential escape routes," said Zoltan Pali, founder of SPF Architects, which is also known as SPF:a.

"These principles created the site diagram and ultimately the buildings' forms."

In plan, the home consists of two offset bars arranged on a linear spine running north to south.

The volumes were "deliberately offset to provide intuitive access from either end of the property" while also optimising access and egress in case of an emergency.

One bar has two levels and serves as the main residence. The other bar is a single-level guest house, which doubles as a studio. The volumes total 10,000 square feet (929 square metres).

The upper portion of the main residence cantilevers over the site, adding a dramatic touch to the home while creating shaded areas below.

"The upper, heavier mass appears to float over the lower, lighter parts of the house, creating the covered outdoor spaces and the structure's unique geometry," said Pali.

The upper floor holds private spaces, while the lower level contains the communal zone. Envisioned as "one continuous environment", the ground level has areas for cooking, dining and lounging.

"Generous exterior terraces wrap each programmatic element, capitalizing on 360-degree vistas and promoting seamless indoor-outdoor living," the team said.

In contrast to the elevated main home, the guest house reads as a rectilinear form anchored to the ground.

To unite the two structures, the team used the same materials on the exterior – smooth, black aluminium panels and anodised bronze aluminium slats.

"Materiality reinforces the project's cohesive identity," the team said.

The cladding materials were chosen for their aesthetic value and performance capabilities.

"The panels and slats are installed as a ventilated rainscreen facade system, making the building more water-resistant, more energy-efficient and more fire-resistant," said Pali.

Inside the dwellings, one finds earthy finishes such as white oak wall panelling and large-aggregate terrazzo flooring.

The project also entailed landscape interventions that help tie everything together, with California studio Korn Randolph serving as the landscape architect.

"The landscape, pool included, follows the logic of the site diagram, interweaving architecture and terrain into one holistic, experiential composition," the team said.

Other projects by SPF Architects include the Obama Sports Complex in Los Angeles, which is made of pre-engineered metal structures, and a three-winged residence that sprawls across a hilltop in LA's Bel Air neighbourhood.

The photography is by Mike Kelley.

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American studio Warkentin Associates has aimed to capture the "spirit of '90s coffee shop culture" inside this cafe and lounge in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles.

NOUN is an all-day spot on Glencoe Avenue that serves espresso-based drinks in the morning and natural wines in the evening.

New York and LA-based Warkentin Associates channelled the "spirit of '90s coffee shop culture" in the 1,500-square-foot (140-square-foot) interior, creating a relaxed environment in which patrons can work, meet and feel at home.

"Our process always draws upon a diverse array of references and influences," said studio founder Nathan Warkentin. "With NOUN, we loved the idea of celebrating the beauty of the mismatched, and were inspired by the warmth of '90s coffee shops, the irreverence of postmodernism, and the personal charm of an artist's living room."

Different zones within the cafe facilitate various functions, beginning with the two seating areas that greet guests just beyond the entrance.

Set up like living rooms, a collection of vintage and classic design pieces is arranged on large area rugs – one in wool by Nordic Knots and another in natural sisal from Curran.

Beyond, a custom blue-lacquered communal table that sits below a spherical Isamu Noguchi pendant lamp is intended for laptop users and casual meetings.

Wooden two-top tables "create private settings for tete-à-tetes or personal meetings", said the team, and additional seating outside is surrounded by tropical flora.

The cafe's main counter is faced with straight-stack red bricks and accompanied by small stainless steel stools that match the countertops.

There's no espresso machine – instead, NOUN serves bottled espresso and pour-over drinks made with co-fermented coffee beans.

"For coffee enthusiasts and amateurs alike, this ensures that the beverages served will be dialed-in, controlled, and consistent," said the team.

"Bottled espresso also reduces the amount of waste typically produced by the standard coffee shop."

Warketin sourced a 1970s smoked glass and chrome coffee table by Gianfranco Frattini for Cassina and vintage Italian postmodern chairs from the 1990s.

To achieve a "juxtaposition between high and low", these are paired side tables built using concrete pavers and window coverings fashioned from painters' drop cloth.

Two-tone decor in the bathrooms switches between striped walls and ceilings influenced by Italian architect Mario Botta, and checkerboard tiles across the fronts of stainless steel "portals" that house basins, mirrors and vertical lighting.

Other new cafes around the world with distinctive interiors include a Hamburg coffee shop housing a cork-clad DJ booth, a specialty space in Santander featuring art deco design motifs, and a London spot filled with warm hues and "milky" surfaces.

The photography is by Anna Arnet.

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Bright colours and curvy pathways are found at a supportive housing complex in Los Angeles' East Compton neighbourhood, which was designed by US studio Kadre Architects to "strike a balance between a serious and playful feel".

The project involved transforming a neglected motel in East Compton – a community that lies just outside the city of Compton – into a 40-unit housing complex for tenants who were formerly unhoused.

The design is meant to be suitable for people who have experienced trauma, and for people of varying ages.

"This community will be home to a mix of adults and families, so we needed to strike a balance between a serious and playful feel for the place," said Los Angeles-based Kadre Architects founder Nerin Kadribegovic.

The site consists of two buildings – one with two levels, the other with three – arranged in an L-shape around a park-like courtyard. The site totals 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres).

The building's facades were painted a creamy white, with accent colours – like concrete grey, yellow and green – used in certain areas.

A grid of custom, perforated-metal panels were placed on the exterior to provide shade and privacy.

"These panels help create arcade-like walkways that criss-cross the exterior of the property at each level, creating a liminal space between private dwellings and the communal courtyard below," the team said.

Kadre Architects said that when designing for people who have experienced trauma, one has to consider their comfort level with communal spaces and engaging with neighbours.

The in-between spaces allow for "concealed participation in community life" and help ease the process of integration into what was designed to be a residential community, the team said.

The site's courtyard – envisioned as a "unifying central park" – was formerly a concrete parking lot riddled by dumpsters. It presented a significant opportunity for the design team, due to its centrality and connection to each unit.

"The site had an inefficient, downright dreadful parking lot which was ripe to leverage for a courtyard-driven campus, full of playful and meditative moments," said Kadribegovic.

The lot was transformed into a welcoming outdoor space with seating, a play mound and a dedicated dog area.

Vivid yellow pathways wind through the site and connect to the living units, which have matching yellow doors. The pathways were informed by aerial photographs of amusement parks, taken by American photographer Alex MacLean.

Rain gardens capture stormwater, and a canopy structure helps shade the park and mitigate the heat island effect.

"Trees, grasses and colourful wildflowers are interspersed throughout, juxtaposed with the brightly painted hardscape and pathways to feed life into the space," the team said.

Inside the complex, one finds 36 studio units, along with four one-bedroom apartments geared toward families.

Each unit comes equipped with a kitchenette, a bathroom and built-in closets. Each is furnished with a bed, nightstand, television, coffee and dining table, and other essentials.

"Each unit has at least one operable window that's used for ventilation and egress," the team added.

The former motel lobby was converted into a space with offices and support services. Walls made of translucent polycarbonate panels enable natural light to flow through the interior.

"The panels also provide a silhouetted background, which enliven the halls while providing visual privacy for case-management meetings," the team said.

The building is designed to be fully electric, which required extensive trenching through the city to bring more power to the site. Electric elements include heat pumps, magnetic induction stoves and rooftop solar panels.

The project was backed by California's Project Homekey initiative, which helps fund the rapid creation of temporary or permanent housing for the homeless. The projects often involve old hotels and motels.

Established in 2022, Kadre Architects has converted a number of motels into supportive housing in Southern California.

In LA's Westlake neighbourhood, the studio converted a dilapidated motel into a homeless shelter featuring a blue-and-white graphic facade. In a desert city outside of LA, the firm transformed two rundown motels into supportive housing with shading devices and an array of bright colours.

The photography is by Paul Vu.

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The celebratory, symbolic set design for Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show allowed the artist to "make his comments in a way that felt elegant," according to its creative director Harriet Cuddeford.

Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, headlined the show during the 60th Super Bowl football game, which took place at Levi's Stadium in California on 8 February 2026.

The show was a celebration of Latin American culture and was full of symbolism, fitting for the first artist to perform this event predominantly in Spanish.

To create the immersive setting through which the performance unfolded, the artist worked closely with Cuddeford and show designer Yellow Studio, which also devised the staging for the Grammy Awards last week.

From the show's conception, the aim was to create "something that feels cinematic, that tells a story, and that shows a journey," Cuddeford told Dezeen. "For Benito – front and centre of everything – he said: 'I want to represent Latino people. I want to get them to be seen and loved and shown on the biggest stage in the world'."

At the same time, he wanted "to speak to everyone" and "celebrate the things that make life worth living: dancing, music, love, family, togetherness," Cuddeford added.

The design team travelled to Puerto Rico – a US territory in the Caribbean – to soak up the culture and find creative inspiration before storyboarding and then producing the 15-minute show.

They transformed the football pitch into a landscape that echoes the island's grassy fields, and incorporated several references to its architecture, infrastructure and culture.

Along a continuous "surreal journey" from one end of the football field to the other, this series of interconnected structures created vignettes for Bad Bunny – as well as special guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin – to perform within while also connecting to the music's themes.

In the beginning, the camera followed the headliner along a path cut through tall grass that represented Puerto Rico's agricultural heritage.

He passed vendors such as taqueros, piragüeros, and nail technicians, "paying homage to everyday people," before arriving at La Casita – a representation of a traditional rural Puerto Rican house that previously appeared during his residency on the island last year.

"La Casita has been a huge architectural and design touch point of the whole campaign," said Cuddeford, so they recreated the pink structure for this show, complete with a porch, louvred windows and lanterns.

Next, a real wedding ceremony and party took place on an elevated stage modelled on a plaza in Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan.

A recreation of a Latino neighbourhood in New York City included a bodega, a barbershop and a faithful recreation of the Caribbean Social Club in Brooklyn – from which its owner, Toñita, handed Bad Bunny a shot.

"The level of detail in those in those buildings was crazy," Cuddeford said. "We wanted to make it as authentic as we possibly could, as we did across the whole design, making sure that everything was so culturally on point and authentic."

More nods to Puerto Rico included a pair of white plastic chairs set against a backdrop of plantain plants, which feature on Bad Bunny's album artwork for his sixth, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

Also, a series of climbable power lines that intermittently sparked the island's struggling electricity grid – a cause of ongoing political tension, which Bad Bunny addresses in his song El Apagón.

"That was a really fun design element for me," said Cuddeford. "I wanted him to be able to climb, and do stunts and aerial work," despite the artist being afraid of heights, she noted.

The set concluded with a parade of flags from multiple countries across the Americas, and a football introduced at the start returned inscribed with the message "Together we are America" and a huge billboard atop the stadium displayed the phrase "The only thing more powerful than hate is love".

"The intention was to talk about things and look at things, but not be on the nose, too descriptive, or try to jam things down people's throats," Cuddeford said. "Let's have joy and celebration and fun, but let's also make his comments in a way that felt elegant, and that people could discover if they wanted to."

Producing such an ambitious live production in the middle of a major sporting event presented several challenges from a logistics standpoint.

The stadium itself had no roof or rigging, Cuddeford explained, and the performance was also scheduled during daylight hours.

To load the staging on and off the field within the time constraints, all of the elements were constructed on "carts" that measured no larger than 24 by eight feet. These also had to weigh under 5,000 lbs, so as not to damage the playing surface underneath.

Anything over 10 feet tall (3 metres), including the power lines and palm trees, had to be hinged and unfolded once in position. "It's really constrictive what you can do, so we had to think cleverly," Cuddeford said.

With a capacity stretching to upwards of 80,000, Levi's Stadium was completed in 2014 by HNTB as a home for the San Francisco 49ers NFL team, and has also played host to other sports and music events.

During this year's Super Bowl, some blind and low-vision fans were be able to experience football more directly thanks to tactile devices that vibrate to indicate the position of the ball on the field.

The photography is by Alamy unless stated otherwise.

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A space for practicing traditional Chinese medicine features in this renovated 1960s home in Pasadena, California, transformed by Los Angeles-based Cover Architecture.

The post-and-beam residence in the San Rafael Hills – which luckily escaped the fires that ravaged the area last year – was overhauled for the first time since its mid-century beginnings.

Cover Architecture revived the single-storey building for a couple in their 30s, ensuring plenty of natural light could enter the previously dark interiors.

"Formerly closed off and shrouded in darkness, a complete redesign of the layout and flow helps reconnect the home to its wooded site," said the studio.

The entry was relocated, and the roof above was opened up to cast daylight over the wooden door, as well as a small gravel garden beside it.

An arc-shaped, fritted-glass window looks into a dedicated space for a practice in traditional Chinese medicine, which specialises in acupuncture and holistic healing.

This small extension to the home features a gently sweeping curved wall and a skylight over the treatment table.

"The curvature of the shelving and the ceiling's sweep toward the skylight together extend a continuous sense of softness through the interior," said Cover Architecture.

In the living room, accessed directly from the front door, the original ceiling joists were restored and left exposed to highlight the home's character.

Large windows and sliding doors open to a balcony at the back, which is surrounded by mature trees so it feels private.

Oak millwork and flooring continue from the living room into the dining area, where built-in benches hug the corner of the room below another window.

This nook flows into the kitchen, finished with Barbados honed-marble countertops, white oak cabinetry and open shelving.

"Subtle curved corners, integrated pulls, and gently rounded open shelving allow the wood's grain to emerge into the foreground," Cover Architecture said.

Sand-colored lime plaster in the living areas is swapped for a brighter shade in the two bedrooms, while the bathrooms feature terrazzo floors and earth-hued cement tiles that add texture and tonal depth.

Fluted glass screens in the main bathroom echo the panels beside the entrance. The exterior is painted dark green to help the house blend into its surroundings.

"The renovation seeks to modernise the long-neglected structure and create a sanctuary for daily living," said Cover Architecture.

The studio, run by principal Yan M Wang, has also completed an ADU for his mother that features a large circular opening through the white wall in front.

Other recent mid-century renovations in Los Angeles include Willett and Ome Dezin's overhaul of the CM G1 House in Laurel Canyon and OWIU's remodel of Ray Kappe's Glass Ridge House in La Cañada Flintridge.

The photography is by Leonid Furmansky.

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New York studio Zomuzi has completed a showroom for lighting brand Gantri in San Fransciso that brings together influences from the building's 1930s origins and the city's counter-cultural history.

Gantri's The Shop is located in San Francisco's SoMa neighbourhood and is the brand's first brick-and-mortar gallery and retail space, placing its 3D-printed lights on display for customers to browse and customise.

The 1,600-square-foot (148 square metre) space is "drenched in Gantri green" and spreads out into the former garage of an auto body shop built in the 1930's.

A consultation table sits at the centre, while a seating area is located towards the back. Display cases, lined with a light plywood, run around the perimeter.

The bright, Gantri green carries throughout multiple textures, materials and built peices, such as a long muslin curtain that lines one side of the space and a "woven" screen made of 3D-printed tiles.

Other elements, such as a rug, the garage door, and a ceiling panel, are also covered in the hue.

Zomuzi founder Mzwakhe 'Muzi' Ndlovu told Dezeen he referenced SoMa's architectural and cultural history for the space, paying homage to Art Deco and Streamline Moderne aesthetics and the neighbourhood's eclectic LGBTQ+ subculture.

Ndlovu said he also looked to San Francisco's queer venues, such as The Castro Theatre and The Oasis and other local architecture as references.

"The long, high curtains are an homage to those typical in theatres like The Castro, the display units resemble the platforms used by go-go dancers, and it wasn't until later that I realised the ceiling light installation referencing the ceilings of art deco lobbies in the area also resembled illuminated stages like those found in The Oasis," Ndlovu told Dezeen.

"All of these elements were used to not only create a space that serves Gantri's desired use of The Shop, but also its desire to be a space for and of the LGBTQ+ community, and to add to the legacy of SoMa as a space for the community to come together and feel safe, and feel seen."

The designer also noted that the autobody shop itself, as well as others that line the street, informed the design.

"In my initial site visit, I popped my head in a few of the shops and looked for motifs that could be easily recognised as distinct from that typology," he said.

"Jacks, raised platforms, castors for flexibility and mobility, steel pegboards – all of these elements informed the design. In many ways, The Shop is intended to function much like an auto body shop in that it is a space where one can configure the products to their liking."

The Shop's opening marks Gantri's tenth anniversary. The brand is based in the Bay Area and operates a factory for its digitally-based manufacturing system, which powers robotics and thousands of 3D printers.

Founded by Ian Yang, the company is seeking to create a new, affordable manufacturing procedure for designers and brands looking to produce lighting.

"From the beginning, fostering and empowering a new generation of creators to launch their own designs to the world has been at the centre of our mission," said Yang. "Our first showroom is a manifestation of our brand and this vision."

Digital manufacturing and 3D printing are slowly being integrated into larger-scale manufacturing, while designers, such as Gustaf Westman and Joyce Lai have also turned to the technology to produce objects.

The photography is by Krescent Carasso.

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Set to host Super Bowl 60, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara was designed to reflect the iconic bridges of the area. We talk to one of its principal architects, HNTB professional sports practice leader Lanson Nichols, ahead of this weekend's big game.

With a base capacity of 68,500, Levi's Stadium was completed in 2014 by HNTB as a home for the San Francisco 49ers NFL team, and has also played host to other sports and music events, with the capacity stretching to upwards of 80,000.

The natural-grass stadium is open to the temperate weather of the San Francisco Bay Area, with a large suite building on one side and a wide amphitheatre bowl that radiates out.

It has an exposed structure that was designed to reference the engineering of the Bay Area's iconic Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge, according to Nichols, who was the principal in charge of the project and has worked on multiple NFL stadiums.

"The exterior structure is very exposed, very robust," he told Dezeen.

"Its exposed structure was intended to be a reflection of all the bridges in San Francisco – very significant, beautiful, elegant, structurally expressive bridges."

The stadium features cutting-edge technology to reduce the need for shear walls, such as the "pin-shaped" buckling restraint braces, a fairly new technology at the time that helps the building maintain a high seismic rating.

Red and white were used throughout to reference the San Francisco 49ers colours.

Inside, many of the concourses are semi-enclosed, with a white sculptural hallway featuring a gallery of San Francisco 49ers paraphernalia.

While many NFL stadiums at the time were going for verticality – massive enclosed structures such as AT&T Stadium in Texas – Levis Stadium was designed more to reflect collegiate football stadiums.

Nichols said that this decision came from the ownership, the York family, who wanted to avoid the "two-class system" of stadiums that have three-storey circling suites that push some of the "nose-bleed" seats way up into the rafters.

On one side, it has a massive entrance staircase that ushers guests in from two solar-panel-covered bridges connected to the parking.

Given its proximity to the tech industry in Silicon Valley, the stadium aimed to be top-of-the-class in terms of technological integration, at the time.

"There was a heavy, heavy emphasis on technology," said Nichols, referencing the massive array of fibre optic cables and tracking technology that projected occupancy in certain zones based on admission ticket scans.

This "outstanding connectivity" allows for the easy integration of larger, off-programme events.

According to Nichols, after the last time a Super Bowl was held there in 2016, the NFL remarked on its "plug-and-play" – as few technical updates were required in terms of the added energy and televisual requirements in broadcast and in the famed half-time performance.

Levi's Stadium was also ahead of its time in terms of sustainability, being the first professional football stadium to achieve LEED Gold designation.

In line with the eco-forward attitude of northern California, the designation was achieved by "energy-efficient building systems, integrated green design strategies, and reduced operational demand over the life of the facility" according to the HNTB.

Famously, the stadium features a green roof with a one-foot soil profile. This enables the growing of certain herbs and vegetables used in the concessions of the building. Viewing platforms on the green roof allow visitors to watch the game from the greenery.

This, on top of a recycling system and the aforementioned photovoltaics, added up to one of the most sustainable stadiums of its time.

Overall, Nichols said that the stadium "set the bar" for others to come.

Levi's Stadium is currently undergoing an overhaul by Populous.

Stadium design has become a highly sought-after commission in recent years, with much fanfare around the recent release of the design for the Washington Commanders' NFL stadium in DC by HKS.

Super Bowl 60 will take place on 8 February, with the New England Patriots facing the Seattle Seahawks.

The photography is by Jim Simmons.

Project credits:

Architect: HNTB
Interiors: HNTB
Principal-in-charge: Lanson Nichols, HNTB
General contractor: Turner/Devcon Joint Venture
Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Electrical engineering: Cupertino Electric
Mechanical: M–E Engineers
Civil engineering: Winzler&Kelly (GHD Group)

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American architecture studio Weiss/Manfredi has released updated designs for the "reimagined" La Brea Tar Pits campus in Los Angeles, including a research annexe to the Page Museum and a redesign of the surrounding grounds.

Announced in 2019, the project will encompass linking and expanding existing elements at the historic La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, a 13-acre site that wraps around the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and is the "only active paleontological research site in the world located in a major urban area".

Weiss/Manfredi will serve as design lead for the La Brea Tar Pits project, while Gruen Associates is the project's executive and landscape architect, and Kossmann DeJong is the exhibition designer.

According to the studio, the project's design was informed by "a close analysis of what is present".

"The firm's site plan builds on what is already distinctive about La Brea Tar Pits, reimagining the Page Museum, active excavation sites, and Hancock Park as a single inside-outside museum closely connected to the surrounding landscape and neighborhood," said the team.

Plans include the addition of the Samuel Oschin Global Centre for Ice Age Research, a semi-submerged exhibition building that extends the existing subterranean elements of the Page Museum.

Renderings show a glass facade located under a large circular berm, wrapping around the base of the bas-relief-clad museum.

An elevated pathway wraps up and over the facade, and creates a small, covered pavilion area where visitors will enter the new annexe.

Another circular pathway is located at the centre of the site, while others branch off and link to the surrounding grounds.

The studio utilised a "Loops and Lenses" design concept.

"Our reimagination of the park and museum emerges from a close analysis of what is present, inspiring a commitment to preserve and magnify the park, the tar pits, and the museum as an ever-changing campus for discovery," said the studio.

"The La Brea Loops and Lenses form a triple Möbius strip that links all existing elements of the park to redefine Hancock Park as a continuously unfolding experience," it continued. "The different themes of the loops embody journeys, with programming that appeals to diverse interests – from palaeontology to bird watching, from science to play."

Although meandering pathways already travel through the La Brea site – connecting existing elements such as a lake, a restroom pavilion and the central Page Museum – the landscape design will seek to streamline the pedestrian experience, while adding elements such as an outdoor amphitheatre and exhibition sites.

According to the team, the site has not been "renovated or considered comprehensively" since it first opened in 1977.

Efforts are now focused on raising the funds to break ground, with the team hoping for completion in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Previous designs showed a spiralling building added to the site, although it has since been pared down. The La Brea site sits next to LACMA, which was recently renovated by architect Peter Zumthor.

The images are courtesy of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County

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American architecture studio Donaldson + Partners took cues from gemstones to design Fractal-Facade House in southern California, which features sculptural walls and a V-shaped floor plan.

The house sits atop a two-acre (0.8-hectare) site in the Trousdale neighbourhood of Beverly Hills. Perched on a hill, the residence looks toward downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean.

Donaldson + Partners, based in LA and Santa Barbara, designed the project for a client who works in the financial industry and splits their time between the US East and West coasts.

The client envisioned the house "as not only a home, but an incubator for big conversations and intimate salons".

Working closely with the client, studio founder Robin Donaldson began to draw inspiration from gemstones.

"What if the gemstone – with its precise mathematical beauty, its seemingly infinite, fractal possibilities contained within a finite object – could be the conceptual and visual driver for the design?" said Donaldson.

In turn, he and his team conceived a V-shaped home with folds in the exterior facade, giving the building a sculptural look.

"The gemstone motif appears as sharply faceted panels that introduce sculptural depth and angular precision," the team said.

For the cladding, the client was initially interested in French stone, but decided to go for a more local option – glass-fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) panels made in San Francisco. Pieces of natural shell were integrated into the orange-hued panels, resulting in a more natural, stone-like appearance.

Encompassing a total of 21,000 square feet (1951 square metres), the home has one level and a basement.

Local regulations prevented the house from rising higher than 14 feet (4.3 metres), in order to preserve views for neighbours. The lower height enables the home to feel more embedded in the landscape.

The dwelling is accessed via a long alleé, which was made possible by the owner acquiring an adjacent property. The home appears gradually as one approaches.

"The structure initially appears deceptively discreet, an articulated roof cantilevering over a carefully scaled form," the team said.

The primary entrance sits at a central point, which branches into two wings.

The upper level contains a mix of public and private spaces, which hug a courtyard and swimming pool in the rear.

The public zone features an expansive living room, dining area and kitchen, the latter of which can be closed off for parties.

The basement level is organised around a sunken courtyard and holds a 24-seat cinema, a bar, a spa and a gym.

The interior design was overseen by Nicole Hollis and Joan Behnke, who brought in rich textures, neutral colours and restrained furnishings.

"The client's art collection – which includes work by Helen Frankenthaler and Jenny Yuskavage – appears throughout, bringing playfulness and seriousness in equal measure," the team said.

The home also features fractal-informed sculptures, which were created in collaboration with the artistic practice Based Upon.

Donaldson + Partners – formerly known as Shubin Donaldson – was founded in 1991. Architect Robin Donaldson has deep roots in California, as he studied architecture at  SCI-Arc and worked at Morphosis prior to starting his own practice.

Other projects by his studio include a home in Montecito, California, that is submerged in the landscape and features large, parabolic arches made of concrete.

The photography is by Fernando Guerra.

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A wooden table sprouting organically shaped tendrils, a furry-framed mirror and a ceramic swing set were among Dezeen's favourite designs during the third official San Francisco Art Week this month.

SF Art Week ran from 17 to 25 January 2026 and was anchored by FOG Design + Art, the collectible design and fine art fair that has taken place at the waterfront Fort Mason Center since 2014.

For the third year running, the city has brought a wide range of art museums, galleries, non-profit organisations and creative spaces under the "art week" umbrella. In 2026, these included the Atrium fair at Minnesota Street Project, and the Creativity Explored X Open Invitational fair that champions artists with disabilities, plus many more.

A host of gallery exhibitions across the city also coincided with the festival, which overall – in true California style – featured a strong showing of ceramics, from glazed wall-mounted works that resembled paintings to large-scale sculptures with incredible detail.

Here are some of the highlights from across the week's events.

Minjae Kim at Marta

At FOG's FOCUS pavilion for emerging galleries, LA-based gallery Marta showed a collection of works by South Korean artist Minjae Kim. The carved wood Up In Arms Chair with its backrest depicting a pair of raised, clenched fists, the House Pendant Light comprising a grid-marked fibreglass tent suspended from a brass beam, and the Lidded Coffee Table with a small compartment in the centre were standouts from the showcase.

The gallery also presented a series of floral compositions by Polish photographer Dominik Tarabanski, a longtime friend and collaborator of Kim's, as part of the dual showing titled Double Act.

Fernando Laposse at Ago Projects

The Ago Projects booth at FOG provided a cheerfully colourful array of design predominantly from the Global South, including new works by Pelle, Ramiro Gonzalez Luna, Pol Agustí, and many others.

What drew the most attention were Mexican designer Fernando Laposse's full-length mirror framed with agave fibres to give it a furry appearance, and his one-off rocker called Good Shepherd that's covered in the same material and capped with a pink saddle.

Julian Watts at Sarah Myerscough

London-based gallery Sarah Myerscough's booth in the main FOG pavilion included a new collection from Oregon-based artist and woodworker Julian Watts, featuring fantastical wood and bronze furniture and sculptures.

The most striking was a walnut coffee table, with a spikey top surface that holds a variety of vertical plant-like elements, each delicately carved into a different organic shape.

Krzysztof Strzelecki at Anat Ebgi

Using vivid colours and strong shapes, Polish ceramicist Krzysztof Strzelecki depicts homoerotic scenes and nods to cruising culture across his vessels and wall-mounted works, shown at FOG FOCUS by New York and Los Angeles-based gallery Anat Ebgi.

The playful imagery invites the viewer into Strzelecki's fantasies dreamed up in isolated rural Poland, and which promote uninhibited sexual freedom.

Jeffrey Sincich at Charlie James Gallery

Iconic designs, bold signage, posters and food labels are all translated into patchwork graphics by San Francisco artist Jeffrey Sincich, who creates his pieces by stretching cotton fabric over irregularly shaped wooden panels.

A Leica camera against a bright red background, a Domino sugar box and a sign selling avocados for 50 cents each were amongst the series of his new works presented by Charlie James Gallery at FOG FOCUS.

Studio Ahead at The Future Perfect

The Future Perfect's location in Pacific Heights has been taken over by San Francisco-based Studio Ahead, which filled the gallery with used art and design books from Et Al Gallery, mid-century furniture from Mid Century Møbler, and 17th-19th century pieces from C Mariani Antiques.

Titled The Houses Are Haunted by White Night-Gowns and open through 6 March 2026, the exhibition also includes a series of bowls created by artists represented by the gallery. All of the pieces are "arranged in an intentionally un-curated, layered display that bypasses the influencer and rejects the algorithm", according to The Future Perfect.

Rebecca Manson at Jessica Silverman

Thousands of clay "smushes" are individually glazed and composed onto fabric backings to create the incredibly detailed interpretations of butterfly wings, which form the latest body of work by Hudson Valley artist Rebecca Manson.

For her solo show Time: You Must Be Laughing at Jessica Silverman gallery in Chinatown, Manson is also presenting a ceramic version of her childhood swingset, which appears frozen in time in a state of partial decay – covered in lichen, leaves, and tiny details like a glass mushroom and a cigarette butt. On view until 28 February 2026.

San Francisco Art Week ran from 17 to 25 January 2026. For more talks, fairs, and installations in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide. 

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The stage and scenography for the Grammy Awards ceremony in LA this coming weekend is designed by New York-based Yellow Studio and anchored by a giant golden gramophone.

The Recording Academy's annual celebration of musical achievement, which takes place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on 1 February 2026, is Yellow Studio's fifth production design for the Grammys.

The main stage design revolves around an enlarged, abstracted gramophone – the analog record playing device that's depicted in the logo for the awards and as the trophy given to winners.

"The bold statement in the set is a modern sculptural version of the gramophone, sitting in the middle of the stage," Yellow Studio founder and production designer Julio Himede, and creative director Damun Jawanrudi, told Dezeen. "This set piece communicates to the viewers they are watching The Grammys."

The gramophone horn's funnel-like shape becomes a golden tunnel from which artists and presenters emerge, and forms a glowing halo behind those at the mic.

On either side, a long lozenge-shaped screen extends the length of the stage to present a range of visuals, from music video clips to audience cutaways.

Another raised, circular podium in the centre of the nominee area also provides a stage for the host and the performers to use as desired.

The surrounding seating is designed to evoke a cafe, with small tables and sets of chairs that allow movement in between – both for the host to interact with guests and winners to come to the stage to collect their awards.

"The lounge-cafe style nominee area in front of the main stage has been refined over the last few years and has become a big part of the show, allowing our host Trevor Noah to mingle with the nominees and performers live on camera," the studio said. "This intimate interior setting makes the broadcast compelling, allowing the viewer to feel close and personal with the artists."

Yellow Studio chose a warm terracotta palette composed of multiple hues, ranging from lighter clay and blush to darker rust and burnt sienna.

The colours extend to the custom-printed carpet and seating, as well as tables with faux-marble tops and gold detailing.

Domed milk-glass table lamps were created for the event by Jeff Andrews Design in collaboration with Studio M and add to the cafe-style ambience.

"Together, the chosen materiality and palette create an interior environment feeling less like a stage and more like a living space celebrating the best music," Himede and Jawanrudi said.

One of the biggest challenges is to keep audiences emotionally engaged with the artists on stage over the course of a three-hour broadcast.

"The connection between the viewer, either watching on their devices or live in the room, needs to continue throughout the show," said the designers. "Our set evolves through colour and lighting, and most artists in the show have very distinctive creatives supporting their performance."

Yellow Studio also collaborated with British content company Hello Charlie on the event's graphic design language, to "create a seamless visual language between the interiors and what's shown on the screens".

The set design for high-profile award shows has a huge impact on each event, and Dezeen has covered several over the years.

For example, Es Devlin's Grammys stage set for Katy Perry's performance in 2017 featured a picket fence that turned into "divisive wall", while David Rockwell's "intimate and grand" Oscars set in 2021 recalled the glamour of early ceremonies.

The photography is by Kristina Bakrevski.

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Local studio David Baker Architects has completed a tower with a "folded" facade on Treasure Island, a man-made island in San Francisco that is being converted into a residential neighbourhood.

The 22-storey residential building has a long two-tiered podium that stretches across the seaside site, with the tower portion pushed to the furthest side of the side and one side stretching further down to meet the rooftop of the lower podium.

The ground floor of the building is pushed back slightly from the street with high expanses of glass, while the higher levels of the podium were clad in brick.

David Baker Architects (DBA) clad the tower portion in white aluminium panels and glazed tiles, with an envelope DBA principal Pedram Farashbandi described as "folded" and informed by the classic bay windows of San Francisco.

"The plan is shaped to bring daylight and views into circulation areas without compromising usable square footage," Farashbandi told Dezeen.

"We further refined this by incorporating a contemporary interpretation of the bay window, serving the same purpose as its traditional bay window; smoothly projecting the interior outward and widening the field of view from each room."

"This strategy produces the folded facade, which not only enhances the interior experience by maximizing views and varying interior volumes but also generates a dynamic rhythm across the facade."

The building contains high-end residences of varying sizes, with a large outdoor communal area sited on the higher portion of the podium.

Both the ground-level facade, public areas and the apartments showcase exposed concrete, while wood and ceramic elements were used heavily for the interiors throughout

Next to the reception, which features a live-edge elm desk and ceramic installation created by studio founder David Baker, is a long hall with a fabric installation that drapes down from the ceiling.

According to Farashbandi, the structure anchors the extensive development on the artificial island that sits between San Francisco and Oakland, adjacent to the Bay Bridge.

The masterplan established a "light-colored city against the rich natural landscape", he said, and the tower was designed with light, earth-toned materials to match the extensive residential development, which will include thousands of homes and hundreds of acres of parks.

The artificial island was used first as a place to hold the Golden Gate International Exposition in the 1930s, which celebrated the opening of the iconic bridge, and then used as a military base.

Under the direction of a consortium of corporate entities called Treasure Island Community Development, in partnership with the city entity the Treasure Island Development Authority, the island has been heavily remediated as it shifts to residential use.

The two entities worked with architecture studio SOM to develop the masterplan. In addition to DBA, local firm Mark Cavagnero Associates has completed a building there.

Treasure Island Community Development CEO Chris Meany told Dezeen that the extensive remediation has allowed the developers to pitch the island as a "model for sustainable urban living" citing the parks, designed by studios such as CMG Landscape Architects and Walter Hood, and connection to the bay.

"The extensive environmental restoration has transformed the island into a model for sustainable urban living. Years of work have resulted in a clean, stable, and vibrant setting ready for homes, parks, and public life," he said.

"The result is that Treasure Island today is one of the most resilient, healthiest, and most thoughtfully prepared pieces of land in the Bay Area, designed to thrive for generations to come."

In addition to the residential aspects, the Treasure Island Community Development is also bringing a training facility for the area's new professional women's soccer team to the island.

At a time when property values in San Francisco remain high, Meany said that he believes the development will continue to grow, geographically separate from the city but ultimately part of it.

"I see Treasure Island continuing to evolve as a model for sustainable waterfront living – where design and environment coexist, where people live closely with the Bay, and where San Franciscans rediscover what city life can truly be."

Other islands being developed to support residential and leisure activities include New York City's Governors Island and an artificial island in Copenhagen Harbour.

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US studios KoningEizenberg Architecture and NAC Architecture have used concrete and metal to construct a public high school in California, responding to environmental concerns and the school's nontraditional learning style.

Located in Malibu, the school sits on a 5.7-acre (2.3-hectare) site between the Pacific Coast and Santa Monica Mountains. A middle school and a nature preserve are nearby, replacing a nondescript school building from the 1950

The public school serves approximately 525 students, along with teachers and support staff.

Wildfire safety was a top concern, as Malibu was hit hard by the 2018 Woolsey Fire in 2108, which killed three people, destroyed over 1,600 structures and prompted the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people. The entire city is now designated a "very high fire hazard severity zone".

And while the school was not directly affected by the deadly 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, which tore through coastal Malibu, the project showcases the ongoing concern over wildfires in the region.

With this in mind, KoningEizenberg Architecture and NAC Architecture prioritised resistant materials such as concrete and metal, clearly visible on the facade and structure.

"The design team worked closely with the local fire department to create a building constructed entirely of non-combustible materials: concrete shear walls and floors, steel columns and beams, and metal and cement panel cladding," the team said.

The project also entailed the creation of a new access route for fire trucks, which encircles the building, and the integration of fuel modification zones.

"The school can even serve as a community wildfire shelter."

The architects were also tasked with accommodating a progressive educational approach, called project-based learning, which emphasises interdisciplinary learning and real-world projects that are personally meaningful to students.

This approach was adopted by the school district following more than two dozen meetings with teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders.

In response, the studios conceived a "hillside laboratory, where learning extends far beyond the classroom walls".

The building emerges from the landscape and blurs the boundaries between "indoor and outdoor, academic and social, traditional and innovative", the team said.

Roughly H-shaped in plan, the school consists of two-storey structures wrapped in metal, including weathered copper that echoes the colours found in the surrounding terrain.

Windows bring in natural light and create a sense of openness and visibility.

"Large windows offer glimpses into active learning spaces, making education visible and celebrated," the studio said.

The buildings are topped with overhanging canopies that provide shade and hold photovoltaic panels. The panels help generate power for the school, which claims net-zero-energy usage.

To further reduce energy consumption, the team incorporated a radiant heating-and-cooling system and a high-performance heat-recovery chiller. The school features passive strategies, too, including operable windows, ample daylighting and exterior sun louvres.

In terms of water conservation, the school has a reclaimed water system, permeable paving and drought-resistant vegetation. The project also entailed the restoration of two acres of sensitive habitat, which serves as an outdoor classroom.

"Environmental responsibility permeates every aspect of the project," the team said.

The interior layout departs from the traditional approach of organising spaces by academic departments. Instead, learning areas are organised into "collaborative sets" with a mix of classrooms, studios and labs.

Moreover, faculty workrooms and administrative offices are distributed throughout the school rather than being cordoned off.

"This decompartmentalisation encourages the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking that real-world projects demand," the team said.

"The school's design actively challenges conventional power dynamics and social hierarchies that can make traditional schools feel isolating."

At the heart of the school is a double-height commons area, where students can "dine, collaborate, study privately or display their work".

Overall, the school's design responds to and respects it context, while presenting a model for how "student-centered design can shape the future of public education".

"Malibu High School reimagines what a public high school can be," the team said.

Other projects in Malibu include a fire-resistant concrete home that architect Lorcan O'Herlihy designed to replace a 1980s house that had been destroyed by the Woolsey Fire, and a bohemian-style beachfront cottage that serves as a retreat for interior designer Kelly Wearstler and her family.

The photography is by Paul Vu of Here and Now Agency.

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Samara, the factory-built ADU company co-founded by US chief design officer Joe Gebbia, has installed the first of a series of units in Los Angeles on the site of a home that burned down in the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

Last Thursday, Samara lowered a factory-built home into concrete foundations in Altadena, one of the areas most affected by the wildfires in January 2026 that destroyed more than 16,000 buildings across the city and county.

Samara worked with non-profit Steadfast LA to build the two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit for free to an individual who had lost their home in wildfires. It is just one of the units committed through the charity for the ongoing rebuild effort in the city.

"Our hope is to help families move forward," a representative from Samara told Dezeen. "This home is the first in a series of homes Samara plans to deliver throughout the year."

Most of the company's steel-framed units are put together in a factory in Mexico, shipped to building sites in sections and laid side by side on concrete foundations.

xgThe fibre-cement panels, standing-steam roof, windows and interiors will then be installed and inspected on site.

Though the company was founded to provide backyard units to expand the occupancy of lots, it says its approach is well-suited to the needs of the rebuild.

"Many of the homes lost in Altadena were 1,000 square feet or smaller," claimed the Samara representative.

"Samara's 950-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath homes are designed to function as full residences. While these designs originated as backyard accessory dwelling units (ADUs), they have since evolved to function as full, primary residences for those who need them most."

Samara said that the system allows for streamlined installation after approvals and claimed that only 34 days passed between the approval of the permit for the site and final installation. It took just under two months for the permit to be approved.

Both LA County and the City of Los Angeles have programs that allow for expedited planning approval, with pre-approved designs displayed on websites that homeowners can choose from for faster production.

Samara said that its system cuts down on time as the modular units can be built during the approval process and not afterwards, given their serial, mass-production method.

"Factory-built homes allow much of the construction to happen offsite, which is especially valuable after a disaster," said Samara.

"While permitting and site prep are underway, the home itself can be built in parallel, rather than waiting for all approvals until construction begins."

Samara also said that the houses "meet – and in some cases exceed" the fireproofing code requirements laid out by the city.

Finishing touches and utility connections will take place over the coming weeks on the recently installed unit.

Begun as a sub-company of Airbnb, Samara was spun off into a separate company in 2022 by Gebbia and American businessman Mike McNamara. Gebbia was recently named the US's first chief design officer by president Donald Trump.

Last year, Dezeen spoke with the businessman-designer about the appointment.

The fire rebuild efforts in Los Angeles continue more than a year after the flames were extinguished. Last week, Dezeen talked to local architects on the ground about the rebuilding efforts.

Elsewhere in the city, US home builder Cosmic Buildings has set up a robotic factory for on-site building initiatives.

The photography is courtesy of Samara.

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US studio West of West has completed a product and marketing hub for sports brand Puma in Los Angeles, featuring a warm, minimalist material palette.

Puma Studios LA functions as an office, showroom and design studio for the brand, while also offering hospitality, entertainment and events programming within a flexible framework.

West of West modelled the space on a workshop, encouraging the display of both completed and in-process designs.

"Centred around the idea of an atelier, a place of instruction, experimentation, and production, where unfinished work, raw materials, and final pieces coexist in the same environment," said the brand.

Concrete flooring, translucent glass panels, wood finishes and matte aluminium details carry through the majority of spaces, forming a consistent base upon which more character is layered in certain areas.

A centrally positioned, sculptural wood staircase snakes between floors, and the same material lines a library that also houses a deep green velvet carpet and a built-in couch.

The showroom is surrounded by mirrored panels and translucent screens that frame products, and allow the space to be transition for events.

Natural oak casework and aluminium counters in the social hub were chosen to create a welcoming environment for those who gather there daily.

A darker, moodier approach was taken in the boardroom, where suede-effect plaster walls, sheer curtains and a cast-resin table offer a more formal environment.

The complex also includes a Studio48 design workshop, similar to Puma's sites in Herzogenaurach, Germany, and Boston, USA.

This encompasses a full footwear and apparel material library, facilities for large- and small-scale printing, an array of sewing machines, and moveable pin-up walls and photoshoot backdrops.

A humidity-controlled room houses 3D-printing machines, a DTG printer, laser cutter, and an insulated and venting operating spray room.

"Puma Studio expands the definition of the workplace," the brand said. "It is part workshop, part theatre, part social commons — a space where making, displaying, and hosting overlap to create an environment that is dynamic, porous, and culturally engaged."

Housing the workplace, prototype labs, retail showrooms and event spaces in one venue highlights the overlaps between them and encourages experimentation, according to Puma.

"Puma Studio embodies a new model of workplace for the 21st century: an environment where ideas, products, and performances coexist," said the brand.

"In Los Angeles, a global capital of creativity, the studio is both a home for Puma's teams and a platform for engaging with the broader culture of the city — an architecture of possibility that anticipates the future of work."

Puma's innovations over the past decade include steps towards creating a fully biodegradable shoe and self-lacing trainers that tighten at the swipe of a finger.

West of West has previously proposed a vertical co-living neighbourhood for San Francisco and completed a concrete office complex in Austin.

The photography is by Yoshihiro Makino.

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Los Angeles studio 22RE has designed a store interior for lifestyle brand Malbon Golf on Melrose Place, which features heavy use of cherry wood and several subtle nods to the sport.

The 1,800-square-foot (167-square-metre) Malbon flagship draws references from LA's Art Deco and modernism heritage, as well as subtle nods to golfing.

22RE took a residential approach to the material and lighting selection.

"Designed to evoke a classic clubhouse, the store unfolds as a sequence of three distinct spatial zones, leaning into a domestic intimacy that reframes a traditionally commercial space," said the studio.

From the entrance, shoppers are led up a patterned stone staircase into the foyer, where there is a tiered spiral display table and custom furniture.

"The palette centres on Costa Esmeralda stone and rich cherry wood, balancing comfort with a quiet sense of glamour," said 22RE.

Three additional green-stone steps and an integrated ramp rise to a central "living room" space, where shoes and accessories are presented on softly illuminated shelves.

Bespoke metal display rails feature spiral details to invoke the spin of a golf ball as it soars through the air or rolls across the green.

Built-in benches, hexagonal stools and low wooden pedestals are all topped with pale-green furry fabric that emulates the trimmed grass of a fairway.

In the back room, the side walls are replaced with latticed cherry screens that allow views to plant-filled atriums, while a faceted cove ceiling presides over a centrally positioned vitrine for displaying smaller accessories.

The changing rooms continue the early 20th century residential aesthetic through high-gloss lacquer, geometric relief panels, chamfered edges and cove lighting.

"Taking cues from European Art Deco and early Frank Lloyd Wright, 22RE illuminates and aligns form, scale, and materiality with the architecture," the studio said.

Lighting throughout the store is a combination of vintage designs by Bruno Munari, Vico Magistretti, Lisa Johansson Pape and Paavo Tynell, along with contemporary pieces from Kelly Wearstler and Henrii.

"The result is a retail environment that feels rooted, local, and softly luxurious – honouring the heritage of Melrose Place and the history of golf in Los Angeles, while expressing Malbon's contemporary identity."

22RE's previous store designs for Malbon Golf in the US include the Miami location lined in pale-green stucco and the Carmel-by-the-Sea outpost featuring scalloped walls and tiled floors.

Led by principal Dean Levin, the studio has also completed 1970s-influenced offices for a music agency and a creative workplace in the former studio of artist Ed Ruscha since it was founded in 2021.

The photography is by Rich Stapleton.

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Mexican studio PPAA has created a blocky concrete house on a narrow site in Los Angeles, California, USA, carving out courtyards and voids into the form.

Known as Mar Vista, the 4,488-square-foot (417-square-metre) house is a practice in what the studio called "subtractive design", a way of reframing the site's restrictions and opportunities.

"The project embraces the setbacks, height limits and footprint regulations of its site and transforms them into spatial strategies," said PPAA founder Pablo Pérez Palacios.

"By carving out patios and carefully aligning openings, the house creates a sequence of spaces where light, air and landscape are always present."

It features stepped massing that adapts to the narrow lot, allowing it to be open to the climate with patios and voids that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces.

"The focal point is the alignment of openings that run across the house, generating long transversal views and connecting interior spaces with patios and the surrounding landscape," the studio said.

"This spatial continuity ensures that the central courtyards and voids become the true heart of the project, bringing daily life into direct dialogue with light, vegetation and the sky."

The circulation spaces run through the courtyards, creating a rhythm of open and closed spaces, curved and rectilinear forms, while ensuring that natural light and ventilation carry through the house.

"The success lies in demonstrating that a house can be both a response to limitations and an act of freedom," the studio continued.

"By aligning openings and using subtraction, the project achieves generosity and openness within a constrained urban context. The lesson is that restrictions can generate stronger, more poetic architecture."

The design is composed of exposed light-toned concrete with a raked finish. In addition to plaster, light stone and untreated wood, the concrete was selected for its durability and natural weathering pattern in the coastal climate.

"The restrained palette of raw and tactile materials allows it to feel both grounded and discreet within the neighborhood fabric," the studio said.

Inside, the studio introduced refined elements like oak joinery and polished concrete floors to the honest materials of the outside, creating a consistent atmosphere between interior and exterior.

In addition to the passive ventilation strategies, the design employs deep overhangs to shade the spaces and photovoltaic panels and rainwater collection systems to reduce the environmental footprint.

"The interplay of curves and straight lines, solids and voids, gives the house a sculptural quality while maintaining a human scale," the studio said.

"Rather than projecting as a statement, the house integrates itself quietly into its context, privileging intimacy, light and material honesty."

Previously, PPAA has worked on a coastal guesthouse with rammed earth in Baja California, a terraced home in the forest of Valle de Bravo – both in Mexico – and a Swiss villa with a reflective "water mirror" near Lake Zurich.

The photography is by Fabian Martínez unless otherwise stated.

Project credits:

Architecture: PPAA
Team: Pablo Pérez Palacios, Emilio Calvo, Miguel Vargas, Alice Moreno, Jonathan Reséndiz, Nancy Estévez

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Architecture studio Brooks + Scarpa has created a three-storey Manhattan Beach house that capitalises on views and indoor-outdoor living while avoiding standard tactics used in the area's housing stock.

The residence, called Alma Switch House, sits on a slender, gently sloping lot just a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean in southern California. It was designed by Los Angeles-based Brooks + Scarpa for a couple with three young children.

The house is meant to depart from the norm in Manhattan Beach, where strict ordinances and codes have led to "typical, repeated housing typologies" dominated by solid, blocky forms and tacked-on balconies.

"Most buildings include large balconies pushed to the extreme exterior edges of the buildings to meet the code-required open space," the team said.

"Then, the remaining interior lot area is filled solid with building mass, resulting in bulky, block-like structures full of perimeter balconies."

The architects took an "opposite approach" with the Alma Switch House.

For the 30-by-90-foot site (9 by 27 metres), the team conceived a rectangular, three-storey box with the central portion carved out to form an open-air courtyard.

This approach breaks "the massing of the structure into smaller, more appropriately scaled forms", the team said.

It also allowed for more rooms to be set along the edges of the property, where they are better positioned to "take advantage of ocean and sunset views".

The home totals 3,965 square feet (368 square metres). Stairs and an elevator connect the three levels.

The top floor is the home's main public zone, where the team placed spaces for cooking, dining and lounging. Glazed, oversized doors blur the boundary between inside and out and open onto walkways and inset balconies.

The middle floor contains the primary bedroom and three additional bedrooms, while the ground floor holds a bedroom and a communal space with a kitchen and den. The ground level also contains a three-car garage.

In addition to white stucco, an abundance of glass was used on the exterior to usher in daylight and provide views. Glazing along the courtyard allows adults to observe kids while they play in the courtyard.

To provide privacy, an anodised-aluminium screen was incorporated along the eastern elevation, which faces a busy street. The screen adds visual interest, as it shimmers and creates shadows.

"Bright lighting conditions make the facade go soft and silver in just a few seconds," the team said.

"It's a quick-moving phenomenon that bends light and casts shadows depending on the time of day."

The screen also helps mitigate solar heat gain, helping reduce energy costs. Operable windows facilitate natural ventilation and enable the home to capture ocean breezes.

According to the team, the Alma Switch House is 40 per cent more efficient than a similar structure designed in a conventional way.

Other projects by Brooks + Scarpa include a North Carolina house that has roofs with exaggerated gables and a residential building in Los Angeles that features white siding and a curving aluminium screen.

The firm has won numerous awards, including two of its leaders, Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa, receiving the AIA Gold Medal Award in 2022.

The photography is by Tara Wujcik and Lawrence Scarpa.

Project credits:

Architect: Brooks + Scarpa
Architecture team: Lawrence Scarpa, Jennifer Doublet, Angela Brooks, Micaela Danko, Jeffrey Huber, Iliya Muzychuk, Chinh Nguyen, Fui Srivikorn, Diane Thepkhounphithack, Yimin Wu, and Arty Vartanyan
General contractor: PD Construction, Peter Borrego
Structural engineer: Paniagua
MEP engineer: Antieri & Sotelo Consulting
Civil engineer: Coastal Water Development
Landscape architect: Plan(t) Landscape

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An LA-based team comprised of Mouthwash Studio and Aunt Studio has designed Mexican restaurant with ample patio space underneath a railway in the city's Chinatown neighbourhood.

Modelled on a casual Mexico City cantina, the interiors for Cafe Tondo created with Aunt Studio are intended to be inviting and act as a community hub.

The project is a collaboration between Mouthwash Studio partner and Cafe Tondo creative director Abraham Campillo; Mouthwash Studio partners Mackenzie Freemire, Alex Tan, and Ben Mingo; Mike Kang of Locale Partners; and chef Valeria Velásquez.

"In Mexican culture, making someone feel welcome goes beyond food or drink," said Campillo. "It's about warmth, generosity, and creating a space where people feel seen. The same spirit goes into every detail at the cafe."

The restaurant is open through the day and night, and serves coffee, wine and small plates alongside a program of live jazz, boleros, salsa and DJ sessions in the evenings.

The team hopes that Cafe Tondo "fills the void left behind in the disappearance of 'third places' – a space that fosters connection and invites you to linger a little longer".

Custom furniture designed by OMBIA Studio and handcrafted in Mexico fills the space, and the ceramics were also sourced from Mexico by Isabella Marengo of Bugambilia.

Benches and stools with velvet-upholstered cushioned tops and wooden bases populate the entry foyer, which is wrapped by glass on three sides.

A central portal leads through to the main dining area and bar, where painted brick walls, dark wood shelving and mirrored panels are all found.

Slender metal-framed bar stools are topped with frilly off-white cushions, while wooden tables and dining chairs offer more formal dining options.

From the exterior, bands of neon red lighting circle above the entrance and bathe the outdoor seating areas in a red glow at night.

A portion of the indoor dining area also opens onto the patio via glazed panels that concertina up to the ceiling.

The last time that Mouthwash Studio and Aunt Studio collaborated was to create the former's offices, also in Chinatown, which features glass-block partitions and walnut bleachers.

Other recent additions to LA's dining scene include restaurant Muse, with interiors dressed in earthy caramel tones, and pizzeria Wildcrust that's informed by Milanese modernism.

The photography is by Sean Davidson.

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LA-based Manola Studio has renovated a 1940s motel to create a boutique hotel close to the north entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

The 12-room, adults-only Hotel Wren sits on the outskirts of Twentynine Palms, a small town in California's High Desert that acts as a gateway into the park.

Manola Studio transformed the historic roadside lodge into a contemporary boutique property, while retaining the layout and highlighting the architectural character.

"Hotel Wren is my love letter to the desert, a place that still recenters me every time I return," said Manola Studio founder Jessica Pell.

"Joshua Tree has a way of making you feel both small and completely at home — its ancient rock formations shaped by time, the endless horizon, the sky burning gold before deepening into a field of stars."

"It quiets the noise and makes you listen," she continued. "I wanted Wren to reflect that stillness, a space where architecture and landscape exist in quiet conversation, where every material and every detail is chosen with care and intention."

The hotel is organised around a central courtyard, where loungers flank a swimming pool and hot tub, and dining tables and chairs are surrounded by desert flora.

At the rear, a shaded lounge area with comfy sofas is tucked away to offer a respite from the heat.

A colour and material palette lifted from the surrounding landscape combines hand-trowelled plaster with custom terracotta floors, carved woodwork and hand-painted tiles.

"The interiors mirror the desert's shifting hues — cream, sand, sage, adobe pink, rust, and deep ochre — colours that evolve with the changing light," said Manola Studio.

The lobby and lounge space is anchored by a brick fireplace and custom wooden built-ins featuring hand-carved motifs by artist Nik Gelormino.

Cream-coloured walls are decorated with a mural by artist Kim Swift that recreates the local plant life, while the furniture is a curated mix of vintage, custom and locally sourced pieces.

"The hotel was designed to feel like stepping into a home — where every element has been chosen with care, and hospitality is rooted in connection," Manola Studio said.

Guest rooms are spacious and airy, with lofted ceilings, warm neutral decor and no televisions – to preserve the peace and quiet of the desert.

The rooms along the western side of the property have patios that open directly onto the desert to encourage exploration.

Those on the other side enjoy enclosed, more secluded patios with outdoor showers, built-in banquettes and gas fireplaces.

While there's no restaurant, a pantry-style store named Windsong sells food and drinks to be prepared in the guest room kitchenettes, as well as merchandise and gifts.

In front, a former porte cochere was converted into a covered outdoor dining area for meeting and sharing meals with fellow guests.

Twentynine Palms has seen a recent revival as visitors numbers to Joshua Tree National Park continue to grow, with other openings in the town including Reset Hotel built from shipping container-style modules.

Other accommodation options in the area include the AutoCamp Airstream glamping site and the rentable Folly cabins wrapped in weathering steel.

The photography is by Ethan Jones.

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From a massive metal greenhouse placed in an art gallery to vibrant red-vinyl seats, here are the stand-out designs from Los Angeles Design Weekend selected by US editor Ben Dreith.

At a time when many design weeks are in decline, Los Angeles Design Weekend (LADW) is growing. Only in its second year, the annual event has expanded, with more than 100 sites spread across eastern and central Los Angeles.

Set up geographically with each day of the three-day event clustered around a different set of neighbourhoods, the organisers have tried to make a fair that negates the car-only stereotype associated with the city.

While not everyone embraced the much-maligned public transit system or used alternative transportation, the layout of the fair aimed to show how a design event can imagine a city as it could be, rather than how it is.

Regardless, the weekend was designed in a way that grouped participating parties and their events in specific time frames, from ceramics to architecture firms' open studios. It kicked off with a party at the rare-plant gallery of comedian Eric Wareheim, who told Dezeen that he was "honoured" to take part in the festivities.

Often, Los Angeles design is characterised by colourful, playful work, but we noticed a more refined, streamlined vision in much of the stand-out works presented here.

Read on for eight of the best design objects we saw during the week:

Alu chair by Klein Agency

Klein Agency showcased a recent iteration of the Alu chair at Eric Trine's LA Chair show at the Signal Shops, where Klein Agency also has a storefront.

Originally designed for a restaurant in the area, the chair has been reformatted as a made-to-order stackable aluminium piece with the option of a leather seat, making for a comfortable and sturdy chair.

Office Chaise by Objects for Objects

Local design studio Objects for Objects was everywhere during LADW. At a show called Infield, curated by Chet Architecture and Meaghan Roddy, the studio showcased a chaise made from two standard office chair bases covered with glossy red vinyl upholstery.

Studio founder Leonard Bessemer said the chair was meant to depict "tired" or "weird" office furniture. Bessemer also released a collection from his new brand, Oforo, during LADW.

Flower Moonjar and Soban by Eunha Seo and Jiyoon Yoo

Part of an installation of Korean artisanal goods called Frozen Han curated by Kelly Kim and Rose Zhang at culinary arthouse House of Migaam, designer Seo Eunha showcased traditional forms made with cornstarch PLA, including a soban – a traditional table.

On top of the table was a jar designed by Eunha and covered with Korean lacquer by Yoo Jiyoon.

Untilted Greenhouse by MOS 

Architecture studio MOS based an exhibition at gallery Marta around a massive aluminium structure with sloping walls and built-in seating. It was designed to show the literal and metaphorical possibilities of a greenhouse, in its cultivation of plant life and creativity.

The greenhouse was designed to fit inside the gallery and be a work in itself while also showcasing other pieces on its shelves, such as plants during LADW, aluminium basketry by MOS and photographs by Michael Vahrenwald.

Gesture Vanity by Waka Waka x Karimoku Furniture

The Wagetsu collaboration between LA-based design studio Waka Waka and Japanese manufacturer Karimoku Furniture was on show in Atwater Village, featuring 19 objects from chairs to tables and homeware.

One of these homeware pieces was a unique table-top drawer and mirror combination made of wood and a polyester finish similar to that found on pianos.

Barred Chair and Barred Side Table by Hanneke Lourens 

Known for her minimal wood furniture, California-based Lourens released a line of blocky furniture informed by a recent visit to her home country, South Africa. The pieces were shown at a group exhibition put together by Nadia Khagani.

The bars on the wooden furniture are a reference to the security bars found in the windows of South African buildings. While Lourens made sure to note she didn't want to "make light" of the need for such bars, she said the contrast makes the bars seem like "jewellery" on the buildings and on the pieces she created.

Element Case Goods by Kalon

Created as a complement to its metal-and-wood bed, this series of case goods takes the recent emphasis on aluminium in the design world and aims to make it worthy of a home interior.

Kalon created a credenza, console and side table for the collection and showcased it along with its furniture collections at its self-designed Atwater Village headquarters.

Dottie Cabinet by Copperhead Furniture

Local design studio Copperhead Furniture creates high-quality and unique objects from wood in its Fashion District shop, which it opened up to the public for the weekend.

Here, the playful base of the Douglas Fir Dottie Cabinet is accented by Chestnut bridle leather.

Los Angeles Design Weekend took place from 26 to 29 September 2025 at venues across Los Angeles. See Dezeen Events Guide for more global events and exhibitions in architecture and design. 

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Architecture studio BIG has completed a building at Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles made of "a series of parallel building volumes side by side" that surrounds a central atrium.

Commissioned in 2020, the Robert Day Sciences Center is located on the eastern side of the Claremont McKenna College Roberts campus and contains spaces, labs and classrooms dedicated to science education.

Although it is located just outside of the city of Los Angeles in Claremont, it is within Los Angeles County. The studio has dubbed it "BIG's first built project in Los Angeles" and is the first building completed as part of an overall BIG-designed master plan for the campus.

The four-storey building is made up of four pairs of stacked rectangular volumes composed of steel trusses clad in textured, reinforced concrete.

Each pair of volumes is rotated 45 degrees from the level below, while the interstitial space between them creates a multi-storey, glass-enclosed atrium at the centre, which serves as a social space according to BIG founder Bjarke Ingels.

"We imagined the Sciences Center as a series of parallel building volumes side by side – with a public space in between – that are rotated in all the same directions as the [campus] mall," said Ingels.

"Even though each of the individual building volumes are rational, flexible, and capable of being computer labs or wet labs, the open atrium in between becomes a Piranesian social space where you can see fellow students, faculty, colleagues, and professors from every level."

Visitors can enter the building underneath the volumes' significant overhangs at three main points – in a subterranean, southwest corner, which leads to the building's ground level, or two opposing entrances on level one.

A grand "social" staircase sits on the ground floor and leads up through the center of the building. Educational spaces, such as seminar rooms, classrooms, offices and labs line each rectangular volume.

Additional staircases and elevators are located on either end of the volumes and in wedge-shaped terraces that stretch between them, which overlook the atrium.

On the interior, the building is clad in Douglas fir panels and a red and gold palette – the school colours – was integrated into flooring, upholstery and furniture.

The building also contains eight outdoor terraces planted with native spaces that are intended to be additional social spaces or "outdoor classrooms".

Claremont McKenna College president Hiram E Chodosh said the building was designed to encourage work and socialising across disciplines.

"Bjarke's rotating stacks create opportunities to learn at the intersections," said Chodosh. "The wood fuels our social warmth. The glass cuts through the barriers. This is a carved jewel for Claremont McKenna College. A gem for the ages."

BIG also recently opened an office in a renovated 1920s building in Los Angeles in 2024. The city also recently approved a multi-tower development by the studio in the Arts District.

The photography is by Laurian Ghinitolu

Project credits:

Design architect and Architect of record: BIG
Collaborators: Saiful Bouquet, Acco Engineered Systems, Atlas Civil Design, MRY, Rosendin Electric, WSP USA, Jacobs, ARUP, KGM Architectural Lighting, Heintges, KOA, EWCG, KPRS, Herrick, Hortus Environmental Design, IDS Real Estate Group, Kleinfelder, Salamander, Code Consultants Inc
Creative director: Bjarke Ingels
Partner-in-Charge: Leon Rost
Project manager: Aran Coakley
Technical lead: Amir Mikhaeil
Project leader: Lorenz Krisai
Team: Abigail Meyer, Ahmad Tabbakh, Alan Maedo, Ana Luisa Pedreira, Beat Schenk, Bernardo Schuhmacher, Bianca Blanari, Casey Tucker, David Holbrook, David Iseri, Dylan Hames, Gus Steyer, Hector Romero, Jan Leenknegt, Janie Louise Green, Joe Veliz, Kam Chi Cheng, Minjung Ku, Neha Sadruddin, Pooya AleDavood, RichardCagasca, Ryan Duval, Seung Ho Shin, Sue Biolsi, Terrence Chew, Thomas Guerra, Thomas McMurtrie, Tracy Sodder, Vi Madrazo, Won Ryu, Yanan Ding, Yasamin Mayyas, Yen-Jung Alex Wu, Yiling Emily Chen

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Identical shipping container-style units make up this hotel, where guests feel as though they are "on Mars" at the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, designed by Benjamin Uyeda, Adam Wininger and Gry Space.

Located in Twentynine Palms, Reset Hotel comprises 65 guest rooms spread across modular cabins that are based on the appearance and dimensions of shipping containers.

Co-founded by Adam Wininger, Shannon Ching and Sumeet Parekh of HP Investors, and designer Benjamin Uyeda, the hotel was conceived as a place to disconnect and enjoy the beauty of the desert.

Locally based design studio Gry Space was responsible for the interiors across the communal spaces, branding and creative direction, while Uyeda oversaw the masterplanning and guests rooms, and Wininger collaborated on the pool design and overall vision.

The team intentionally only built on 10 acres of the 180-acre property, leaving the rest to remain as "playa" wilderness for guests and wildlife to explore at will.

At the centre of the site is the Clubhouse, denoted by the dusty-brown-coloured containers that are distinct from the grey guest-room units.

This area includes the reception, a lounge, a covered terrace, a fire pit, and a bar that currently serves drinks and light fare.

A saltwater swimming pool and jacuzzi behind measures 1,600 square feet (150 square metres), and is surrounded by cabanas, loungers and shaded spots for cooling off in the desert heat.

The metal cuboid volumes that host the guest rooms are arranged in rows, with gaps on either side to accommodate patio spaces that act like outdoor living rooms.

Each of the Mountain View King suites occupies a full container and has an unobstructed view of the landscape from a large picture window beside the bed.

These rooms also enjoy a spacious patio with an outdoor bathtub and a lounger beside a fire pit, from which guests can wander straight into the desert.

Other modules are divided in half to accommodate one compact room at each end, with corrugated metal fences added to create privacy.

The container interiors are kept minimal, with simple wooden shelves, kitchenette cabinets and foldaway desks against white walls.

Bathrooms are lined with white penny-round tiles and feature filtered shower heads.

"It's an architectural approach that invites guests to slow down and let the desert in, both visually and emotionally," said the Reset team.

"There are no televisions or single-use plastics, only stillness, light, nature, and comfort.

All of the materials and textures – particularly those in the communal areas – were chosen to blend with or complement the arid mountainous backdrop.

For example, the reception desk counter is fronted with a metal panel that was hand-patinated by the design team, while walls around the pool are covered in taupe stucco plaster.

"The high desert is a place of beauty, challenge, and inspiration," said Uyeda. "Our design approach was simple: create the infrastructure that lets nature take centre stage."

"We used real materials that make sense in the environment and designed moments that help guests experience stillness without distraction," Uyeda said.

Decorative objects and ceramics were all sourced from local creatives, while several large furniture pieces, including a meeting table were custom-designed by Gry Space founders Jen Whitaker and Emi Kitawaki.

The duo's goal with the overall aesthetic was to create a minimalist "as if humans were living on Mars" they told Dezeen.

"We love when we can join a project early enough to shape the identity across branding, space and photography," said Whitaker and Kitawaki.

"Having a hand in the full spectrum allows us to create something refined and seamless."

The high desert area north of Joshua Tree National Park is home to a variety of accommodation options that range from Airstream glamping parks to gabled metal Folly cabins.

Another shipping container project in this desert, a concept for a residence formed from splayed volumes, was never built but put up for sale for $3.5 million in 2020.

The photography is by Gry Space.

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Japanese studio I IN has created Blue Bottle Coffee's first kiosk in Santa Clara, California, which has a minimalist design and was prefabricated from stainless steel.

The aim behind the project was to create a "design that would clearly express the brand in any location," the studio said.

Blue Bottle Coffee has stores across Asia and the US, but this marks the first time it has opened a kiosk. I IN designed the store to be built from stainless steel, using modular, prefabricated components that were easy to assemble on site.

The steel structure gives the kiosk a minimalist, industrial feel. Its cool tones are complemented by a louvred, blue-painted canopy that lets light into the kiosk and an illuminated blue base.

"The stainless steel reflects its surroundings, intentionally softening the building's presence within the environment," I IN co-founder Yohei Terui told Dezeen.

"In contrast, the brand's signature blue asserts a strong identity. It appears in different forms – the logo on the wall, the blue glow at the floor, and the open, airy blue louvres at the ceiling," he continued.

"Each element occupies only a modest surface, yet together they stand out clearly, even from a distance and every different angle."

I IN is based in Japan, but has previously worked on projects in Asia and Europe. Terui said that while the process of working on a US project wasn't very different, it did influence the choice to use stainless steel.

"One of the aspects we paid particular attention to in this project was the selection of materials," he explained. "When working across countries, material selection often becomes a big challenge. "

"The repeated process of sending and receiving samples highlighted a certain gap with today's sustainable mindset. It became essential to focus on materials that can be mass-produced and are easy to work with."

Terui, who heads up I IN together with co-founder Hiromi Yuyama, added that prefabricating the kiosk is a way to help minimise waste when producing others in the future.

"Since all parts can either be pre-produced or made readily available, a substantial reduction in construction time can be expected," he said.

"At the same time, minimising unnecessary material waste is a major advantage," Terui added.

"Of course, there is a certain appeal in having each store feature a different design. Yet, I also feel that we are re-entering an era where the value of design consistency – so long as it is compelling – can be newly appreciated."

The kiosk, which has a food counter, food and coffee preparation areas, a till section and a staff area, is lit from above and below to draw attention to its blue colour.

"We see light as something powerful and beautiful above all, a presence that reaches into people's hearts," Terui said. "At the same time, depending on how it is used, light can also create discomfort or even disrupt a design."

"In this project, the challenge was to ensure clarity and visibility under any conditions, while maintaining a strength that would not be lost within its surroundings," he continued.

The Valley Fair Kiosk will be followed by "several new kiosk openings" in the US, Blue Bottle Coffee's global head of cafe design and experience Cary Cheng said.

I IN has previously designed a Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Takanawa, Tokyo, and used green and yellow light to demarcate two toilets in a Japanese shopping centre.

The photography is by Tim D Coy.

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Living units have been arranged around a central courtyard in Barrington 1503, a residential project by California studio LOHA that was designed to skilfully address the "complexities of communal living".

For a rectangular site in West Los Angeles, the studio designed a complex that consists of four distinct but connected volumes totalling 24,200 square feet (2,248 square metres).

Facades are clad in charcoal-coloured aluminium panels and raked plaster.

The four-level complex offers 79 private bedrooms – spread across 18 apartments – along with shared spaces for cooking, dining and lounging.

According to LOHA, the project introduces "much-needed density" to a neighbourhood that is filled with college students and new residents. The University of California, Los Angeles campus and Santa Monica College are located in the area. A more typical development would have accommodated far fewer residents, said LOHA.

Communal living projects offer an "essential and viable alternative" to the traditional housing models in Los Angeles.

"Los Angeles faces dramatic increases in the cost of living, further exacerbated by the overwhelming prevalence of single-residence homes," said LOHA.

"The co-living model is growing rapidly, driven by increasing demand for affordable housing and a stronger sense of connection among residents."

Barrington 1503 was designed to offer a mix of social and private spaces, with layered transitions between the two realms.

"At the heart of Barrington 1503's design is the concept of a spatial social gradient," the team said.

"As underscored by the Covid-19 pandemic, the success of co-living depends on skillfully balancing shared community spaces with well-defined private areas."

The building reads as a cube that was carved up to form the four volumes, which vary in size and shape. The volumes are set around a central courtyard that is open to the sky and ushers in sunlight.

Dappled light falls upon the site's network of exterior corridors and stairs, which are lined with white railings and connect the four volumes. These circulation elements facilitate both movement and social interaction.

"These pathways are more than just thoroughfares," the team said. "They are spaces of connection, allowing for chance encounters and fostering an organic sense of community."

Each of the building's 18 apartments contains a kitchen, living space, and either four or five bedrooms. There are between two and four bathrooms in each unit. All units come furnished.

The bedrooms range in size, from approximately 104 to 130 square feet (9.6 to 12 metres). Each comes with a full-sized bed, although a queen-sized bed could fit in most of the rooms, according to LOHA.

While the units will likely be attractive to students, the building is open to all types of residents.

The units stray from the typical rental apartment in a couple of ways.

First, they come with more bedrooms than are commonly found in a conventional apartment in America. Second, a tenant rents an individual room and is then paired up with roommates. In a more conventional context, tenants band together to rent a full apartment, rather than renting individual rooms.

The architects used various tactics to distinguish between public and private realms in the apartments.

In the living rooms, sliding doors and windows open toward the inner courtyard, providing a connection to the building's social life. In contrast, bedroom windows were placed along perimeter walls and look out toward the city.

Interior finishes include plywood cabinetry and wooden floors. The team used colour tones to signal transitions between public and private zones.

"A soothing sage green coats the kitchens and living areas, evoking lightness and tranquility, while the hallway walls darken as they lead to the bedrooms – subtly signaling a transition into more restful, intimate spaces," the team said.

Overall, the complex's design is meant to serve as a model for future co-living projects.

"The project thoughtfully addresses the complexities of communal living, providing an environment that supports both interaction and solitude in equal measure," the studio said.

"Barrington1503 not only embraces the promise of co-living but brings it to life with architectural precision, creating a model for 21st-century urban housing that is as functional as it is inspiring."

Other co-living projects in America include a complex near Hollywood by Bittoni Architects that is clad in white stucco and contains 23 bedrooms, and a pale pink building in Massachusetts that contains 30 units and a host of shared amenities.

The photography is by Eric Staudenmaier.

Project credits:

Architect: Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA)
LOHA team: Lorcan O'Herlihy (principal-in-charge), Brian Adolph (project director), Nicholas Muraglia (team lead), Kenji Hattori-Forth (project team)
Client: Rize Alliance

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American railroad company Amtrak has launched a fleet of new trains along the US east coast that will run 10 miles per hour faster than current models and are the "first high-speed trains built in America", according to their manufacturer.

Five out of 28 new Acela NextGen trains were rolled out today on a route between Boston, New York City and Washington DC, as part of a wider "modernization" effort by Amtrak, which includes new trains for a Pacific Northwest route set to debut in 2026.

The Acela NextGen trains will hit a top speed of 160 miles per hour (mph), according to Amtrak, which is about 10 mph faster than the current fastest Acela trains in the US that reach 150 mph.

While this top speed is about 126 mph slower than the world's fastest train in China, the Shanghai Maglev, it qualifies the NextGen as a high-speed rail by some definitions, as it varies by state and country.

The Paris-based organisation International Union of Railways defines the term as trains reaching 155 mph on new, purpose-built lines, or 125 mph on upgraded existing lines, the latter of which applies to Acela's NextGen.

The launch was announced via a press conference by Amtrak, United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and manufacturer Alstom on Wednesday.

"Acela is synonymous with American high-speed trains, and today marks a new era of next-generation service," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "The future of high-speed rail starts now."

Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge called the new fleet "the first high-speed trains built in America" and emphasised the trains' manufacturing in Hornell, New York as "in America, for America".

Other high-speed rail projects are in development or under construction in the US, such as California's High Speed Rail, which Foster & Partners is creating staions for, and a completely new line from Dallas to Houston called Texas Central.

Funded by a combination of federal, state and private sources, these high-speed projects often face setbacks, such as the Trump Administration pulling funding for the California and Texas projects this year.

Public support also varies by project. A recent poll showed 62 per cent of Californians in favor of a statewide high-speed rail, while lawmakers in Texas generally lean anti-rail.

Following the launch of NextGen, Amtrak released a more detailed timeline for the long-awaited renovation of New York Penn Station.

While design proposals will begin this fall, HOK and PAU previously submitted a proposal and Grand Penn Community Alliance submitted a design that includes completely relocating Madison Square Garden.

The photography is courtesy of Amtrak

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The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features BIG's four-building 670 Mesquit complex in Los Angeles. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

Danish studio BIG recently revealed 670 Mesquit, a four-building complex in Los Angeles with housing, an elementary school and other facilities, recently approved by the city council.

Readers reacted to the plans, with one calling them "comically out of scale for the area" and another warning that "the thermal bridging on those balcony slabs will be a problem".

Other stories in this week's newsletter that sparked debate include an autonomous AI-powered gold trolley, photos of construction underway on the Buffalo Bills stadium and Lego-customisable rings by Berlin jewellery brand Studio GOGO.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Tuesday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

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The four-building 670 Mesquit complex designed by BIG has been approved by the Los Angeles City Council and will contain an elementary school and housing, among other programming.

670 Mesquit — also known as Los Angeles Arts District (LAAD) – sits just southeast of the Los Angeles River in the city's Arts District and has been in planning since 2016, when initial designs were released.

The complex will contain four interconnected, tiered buildings, with the highest reaching 34 storeys.

They will contain office space, approximately 895 residential units, a hotel, a charter elementary school, retail and recreational spaces, and green spaces designed by Studio MLA.

Renderings show the highest building sitting in a corner of the site, and the three remaining buildings stretched out along the river.

The tallest will be dedicated to office space, while the smallest will contain a hotel, and the two central buildings will be residential.

All four buildings step downwards on one side, while balconies line their perimeters.

According to BIG, the design was influenced by a combination of the 20th-century warehouses of the area, and the Case Study House program by Arts & Architecture magazine, which commissioned architects to design inexpensive homes in the post-world war two economy.

"The freedom of the warehouse loft meets the individual customisation of the stick-built case study house," said BIG.

"The coexistence of the two scales – the industrial and the human, the warehouse and the case-study house – turns the ancient dilemma between the generic and the specific inside out."

As part of the project, an "expansive deck" will also cantilever over the neighbouring railway and contain a public park.

According to local outlet Urbanize LA, the development was approved by Los Angeles City Council in late July and was "nearly nine years in the making".

Recently, BIG opened an LA office in Santa Monica in a 1928 Spanish revival building and is working on a similar "pixaelted" development in Toronto, which is under construction.

The images are courtesy of BIG

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Aerospace company Vast has worked with interiors studio Civilian to bring a human-centred feel to its Californian headquarters, which incorporates a mission control centre and clean room dedicated to the building of space stations.

A start-up that is only four years old, Vast is building the world's first commercial space station, the Haven-1. It is also vying to provide the successor to the retiring International Space Station with its bigger follow-up, Haven-2.

For its campus, the company has taken over three warehouse buildings totalling 17,620 square metres in Long Beach, a hub for the commercial space industry.

Vast and Civilian have now completed the renovations on the first of these buildings, forming the heart of the facilities.

The company's space station interiors feature elements such as wood panelling, soft surfaces and domestic-inspired accessories.

Similarly, the goal with the headquarters has been to bring a more "human" feel to an industry associated with cold, clinical and industrial workplaces.

White oak, limewash, wool and a two-storey-tall tree feature within the space, while the layout is intended to reflect Vast's vertically integrated business model, where everything from design to fabrication and mission operations takes place within one company.

In the physical environment, that has meant situating the key areas of the business within one unified space, and creating sightlines and opportunities for interaction between them.

In particular, engineering is given a prominent position. Views of the 1,400-square-metre clean room, where fabrication takes place, were created throughout.

"When you walk into our facilities, you come across these big glass windows, and you are seeing Haven-1 being built in real time," Vast chief design officer Hillary Coe told Dezeen.

"That is purposefully designed, because having the progress of our stations being built visible throughout where we work encourages collaboration and keeps the mission at the forefront of everyone's minds," she added.

Entry to the Vast headquarters is via a double-height lobby. The space was designed to evoke the feel and proportions of the inside of the Haven-1 space station module with chamfered edges and a circular oculus cut into the mezzanine.

Limewashed walls, a 7.5-metre-tall bottle tree and oak and leather bench seating introduce the interior's material themes.

Beyond oversized oak doors, another double-height space – an all-hands area with long communal tables for dining and socialising – sits at the centre of the facility.

To one side of it, the glass-walled clean room allows employees and visitors a view of the fabrication of the Haven space stations, while an aluminium-sided ramp leading to the mezzanine wraps the space.

This ramp "pauses" with a viewing platform overlooking the mission control centre, where flight controllers and other support personnel will manage craft and crews in space.

The viewing points around this room allow staff from across the company to feel part of launches and other important moments. The interior was intended to create optimal ergonomic and acoustic comfort for the staff within and allow them to absorb huge amounts of visual data.

Civilian co-founder Ksenia Kagner explained that through speaking with mission control personnel, she and co-founder Nicko Elliott had learned that they have some of the most intense jobs within the business, working highly focused eight-hour shifts where even a trip to the bathroom requires arranging cover.

"Your physical presence and your attention for these very long stretches of time is the thing that's required in those rooms," said Kagner.

Coe encouraged the interior designers to break established norms and "set the tone of what a mission control room in this space age expansion period looks like," she added.

Elsewhere on the ground floor, there are conference rooms, huddle rooms, a doctor's office and open workspaces, while the mezzanine level hosts the primary sales centre – dubbed SkyLab, or the Astronaut Lounge – which also has views over the clean room.

The mezzanine's additional spaces include meeting rooms, more open work areas, a gym, a mother's room and a lounge with a meditation zone, screened by the foliage of the lobby tree.

Civilian's past work has included the design of the headquarters for Sandbox Films, a documentary production company whose New York City offices include an art deco-influenced screening room.

Recently, Copenhagen design studio SAGA completed a four-bedroom astronaut training facility.

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Los Angeles-based studio 22RE has designed a workplace for a local creative agency in the former studio of artist Ed Ruscha.

Featuring a monolithic Douglas fir and stucco-clad exterior, the 1,800-square-foot (167-square-metre) building in Glassell Park was overhauled by 22RE to house offices for creative agency Day Job.

The interiors are designed to be "distinctly Californian in palette and sensibility," and offer a residential feel through layered materials and textures.

A sunken "piazza" in the centre of the space forms the heart of the office where the workstations are located.

Created to address structural constraints, this area nods "to Italian town squares and playful forms of Soviet modernism" according to 22RE.

It also serves as a gathering space for informal meetings, and is punctuated by circular skylights overhead.

The green carpet under the bespoke cherry wood desks is reflected in tall stainless steel panels that run along the back wall.

Orange cement floor tiles cover the grade-level areas, which include a lounge with custom-designed sofas and a dining area with a stainless steel-framed table and chairs.

A kitchen beyond comprises floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and an island all fronted in cherry wood, which is used throughout the workplace, and is surrounded by a backsplash of oxblood-red tiles by Heath Ceramics.

Details including rounded cabinet handles, chrome-finish faucets and stainless steel countertops add a retro-futuristic twist to the otherwise residential aesthetic.

Various lighting moments include Nemo table lamps on the desks and Santa & Cole's Tekio cylindrical pendants above, and well as Fibonacci Lamps by Sophus Frandsen in the conference and lounge areas, and sconces by Motoko Ishii for Staff Leucheten.

Internal wooden doors that lead to an editing studio, a conference room, and restrooms each feature six small circular cutouts filled with yellow glass and metal handles with the same proportions.

Meanwhile, large glass panels pivot open to connect the dining area with a gravel patio, which features outdoor seating against lush planting.

"By layering natural elements with texture, form and rich materiality, the studio cultivates a tailored, expressive environment – one that balances focus, connection and creative exploration in equal measure."

Founded in 2021 by Dean Levin, 22RE's previous office projects include a workplace for a creative music agency with 1970s-influenced meeting spaces.

The studio has also completed multiple retail spaces for golf apparel brand Malbon, including one in Miami lined with pale-green stucco and another in Carmel-by-the-Sea featuring scalloped walls and tiled floors.

The photography is by Yoshihiro Makino.

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From houses clad in reflective surfaces to those that draw on traditional desert architecture, we've selected eight homes and hotels built to facilitate human life in the arid deserts of California, USA.

California is home to multiple biomes, and though the state is best known for its breezy coasts and the massive trees of the north, nearly 40 per cent of the state is desert.

The ecological makeup of the vast state's deserts differs, but they all share extreme temperatures and a relative lack of moisture.

These present unique challenges for architects who are tasked to design for these arid locations, many of whom try to balance a desire to orient the houses toward the views while taking the heat from the sun into account through shading and orientation.

Some, like Ryan Leidner Architecture, have chosen long-running materials such as stucco to mitigate the heat, while others, such as Tomas Osinsk chose tempered glass and modern insulation.

Read on for eight California buildings, whose designers have taken different architectural approaches to the challenging and rewarding desert terrain.

Folly Mojave, by Malek Alqadi 

California designer Malek Alqadi designed a series of architectural follies as hotel suites in the heart of the Mojave Desert.

Set on plinths, the multi-level structures were informed by Middle Eastern archaeological sites and were constructed primarily with concrete, with openings to bring in the desert air.

Find out more about Folly Mojave ›

High Desert home, by Ryan Leidner Architecture

San Francisco studio Ryan Leidner Architecture based the design of this house in the High Desert region on a type of mid-century tract housing made popular by developer Joseph Eichler.

The studio used a post-and-beam structure and then clad the house in stucco, placing windows strategically across the house to take full advantage of the sunlight – an important factor, as the home was designed for a painters.

Find out more about High Desert home ›

Invisible House, by Tomas Osinsk and Chris Hanley

This house, near to Joshua Tree National Park, was designed to look like a skyscraper on its side, with the designers even using tempered glass commonly found in tall, urban constructions.

The expanses of glass are reflective from the outside and transparent from the inside, so that the home disappears into the surroundings from the outside. From the inside, it has near-panoramic views of the surroundings, aided by the massive cantilever that lifts one side of the structure off the ground.

Find out more about Invisible House and watch a video about its design ›

Desert Palisades, by Woods + Dangaran

LA studio Woods + Dangaran designed this structure as a weekend retreat for one of its founders, Brett Woods, and it sits on a rocky patch of land in Palm Springs, a well-known bastion of modern architecture.

Lifted in places to preserve the site, the house was covered in patinated-brass panels designed to weather over time and mirror the rugged terrain, while low-iron glass windows, chosen for their high transparency, open up the interiors to the views.

Find out more about Desert Palisades ›

Black Desert House, by Oller & Pejic

LA architecture Oller & Pejic designed this house to be "like a shadow" on its rocky perch in Joshua Tree National Park. The rationale behind the black coating was that it would be a "soft" visual in the harshly lit desert days.

The house steps down the site, and, at night, the architecture studio said that it "dematerialises", making it appear as if the lit interiors are floating in the desert.

Find out more about Black Desert House ›

Casa Azzurra, by Mirtilla Alliata di Montereale

Also in Joshua Tree, this house by Italian architect Mirtilla Alliata di Montereale was designed with a unique exterior paint job meant to mirror the expansive desert sky.

Clad in stucco, the concrete house has strategically recessed windows and a central patio covered by a pergola, allowing for multiple ways to enjoy the landscape, depending on the time of day. It was designed to host multi-generational gatherings.

Find out more about Casa Azzurra ›

HATA, by Anastasiya Dudik

Ukrainian designer and builder Anastasiya Dudik designed this house outside of Pioneertown to blend Soviet-era brutalism with sci-fi modernism.

The domed house was created using concrete and sits on a plinth that also holds a pool. Emphasising its futuristic vibe are multiple circular windows place across the sides and over the top of the dome volume. It was finished in plaster.

Find out more about HATA ›

High Desert Retreat, by Aidlin Darling Design

San Francisco firm Aidlin Darling Design created a low-slung house outside of Palm Springs with charred wood, concrete, and glass elements characterising its facade.

The home features a series of volumes all held under a single roof, which overhangs the living areas in places, creating additional protection from the sun.

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US home builder Cosmic Buildings and technology company ABB Robotics have collaborated on a temporary robotic construction system housed in a tent to produce modular housing to aid in the recovery of the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.

Cosmic Buildings (Cosmic) created one of its Micro-Factories, consisting of a tent in a vacant Los Angeles plot in Pacific Palisades. It is outfitted with one large robotic arm produced by technology company ABB Robotics (ABB).

The robot, which sits at the centre of the tent, pieces together two-inch x six-inch lumber boards to create a frame, and then nails plywood pieces to the structure to create a standardised wall panel for home-building.

The panels are then used to create a variety of custom modular single-family house designs by Cosmic.

Two people are needed to feed the materials to the robot and to offload the finished panel. Cosmic CEO Sasha Jokic said the system produces a panel in about 20 minutes, and that the whole full frame of the house can be completed in 10 days, decreasing construction time by 70 per cent overall.

"The mobile robotic factory brings certainty and precision, which is the most important thing," Jokic told Dezeen.

"Every panel we build [with the] robot – it's precise. That means when we break the ground and start building the foundation, we start building the panels. You can start building the rest of the parts of the building at the same time."

Additional elements, such as exterior cladding, flooring, and roofing, are constructed off-site and then added to the structure.

The team emphasised that solutions like these are necessary to rebuild after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires that destroyed tens of thousands of home earlier this year.

"After the wildfires burned thousands of acres, destroying homes, infrastructure, and natural habitats, this pioneering initiative will deploy the microfactory in Pacific Palisades, California, to build modular structures onsite, offering a glimpse into the future of affordable housing construction," said ABB.

Cosmic is working with private homeowners on the project, who can approach the company for services.

Jokic says they are currently working with 45 families.

Currently, most orders are for 2,000 to 4,000 square-foot (185 to 370 square metre) units

Jokic believes the system could also be deployed to aid in the housing crisis across the country.

"We need to end the housing crisis by allowing more people to have access to healthy and sustainable homes," said Jokic.

"We strongly believe that this is a missing piece for scaling industrialised construction across the nation to slow the housing crisis."

Cosmic plans to produce houses in the surrounding Pacific Palisades and Eaton neighbourhoods with multiple temporary sites before establishing a permanent factory.

According to the company, the current microfactory took approximately 30 days to set-up and they plan to use the site for the next two to three months.

Cosmic Buildings launched in 2022 in San Francisco with a solar-powered accessory dwelling unit. The company recently created an update to the design that features a sawtooth roof.

The photography is courtesy of ABB Robotics

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San Francisco studio Aidlin Darling Design has wrapped concrete and cedar panels around the L|J Residence in Atherton, California, which was designed to support multigenerational living.

The recently completed 6,466-square-feet (600-square-metre) L|J Residence sits on a flat one-acre site surrounded by a grove of heritage oaks.

"This residence doesn't simply rest on the land; it sculpts the ground plane itself, becoming a natural extension of the terra firma rather than an imposition on it," Joshua Aidlin, a founding partner of Aidlin Darling Design, told Dezeen.

"We conceived of this home as a bas relief, creating a rich network of dynamic relationships between inside and out, and allowing the home to support biophilic connections to the natural landscape."

The project was first conceived as a small sculpture that "composed light, framed and encircled nature, responded to the context and carved into the landscape", Aidlin explained.

The studio drew inspiration from the surrounding oak grove when designing the house.

"Our goal was to design a residence that created topography and intricacy in the vertical plane, while benefiting from reciprocity with the site's innate features," it said.

L|J Residence is composed of cast-in-place concrete, cedar-clad enclosures and steel frames – all of which were sourced regionally and installed by local craftspeople.

"These materials both advance the tectonic language of the building form and provide a durable, low-maintenance enclosure," the studio said.

A central feature of the design is the concrete bas relief that transfers from the facade into the double-height living room, creating a material continuity from the exterior to the interior.

Additionally, the cedar siding wraps from the upper level of the exterior into the internal ceilings and walls.

"The effect is subtly porous, creating a sense that you're always outdoors," the studio said.

The home was arranged to support multigenerational living with gathering spaces, sightlines to supervise young children, and privacy for different family members.

A large open living space with a lounge area, dining room and kitchen serves as the heart of the home, while a separate accessory dwelling unit allows for flexible living situations over time.

Each space was designed to engage with the surrounding landscape and pose the outdoors as an extension of the home.

"The family believes that this home will inspire the children to become stewards of the land," the studio said.

The home's primary facades are oriented north and south to optimise the thermal mass of the concrete, ventilation through the floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors and views. A brise-soleil shades the southern facade and filters indirect light into the house.

Meanwhile, skylights and light-wells bring sunlight into the floorplates and offer views of the trees overhead.

The house is primarily powered by a rooftop photovoltaic array and heated through a radiant floor system. The HVAC system is limited to the sleeping areas to reduce energy use.

Other homes Aidlin Darling Design recently completed in California include a low-slung dogtrot-style house in Palm Desert and an airy home with cosy nooks in Silicon Valley.

The photography is by Adam Rouse.

Project credits:

Architecture: Aidlin Darling Design
Landscape architecture: Surfacedesign
Interiors: Studio Collins Weir

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Calfornia-based Studio Ahead has turned a former San Francisco music cafe into the Side A restaurant and vinyl bar, which includes a custom aluminium DJ stand.

When the former Universal Cafe in Mission Creek closed after almost three decades in business, the future of the space was left uncertain. This was until Studio Ahead co-founder Elena Dendiberia, whose offices are just across the street, met new owner Jim Skånberg – an architect and metal fabricator on a lunchtime walk.

"The door was open and I could not help but wonder what the future of the space was going to be," said Dendiberia.

"After learning more about Jim's vision for the space, especially his passion for keeping the energy of the beloved Universal Cafe with a community-driven spirit, we immediately thought of husband-wife duo Caroline and Parker Brown to join forces."

The Browns are both restauranteurs and after taking on the space now known as Side A, they asked Studio Ahead to update the interiors.

"Our intent was for design, music, and the culinary arts to come together in a hub for the creatives of the neighbourhood," Dendiberia said.

Many of the original elements were retained, including marble bar counters that were salvaged from a historic bank building on Market Street and the bent-plywood banquette from Universal Cafe's "90s heyday".

"We were committed to preserving those nostalgic original details of the space, while layering them with new custom metal furniture elements, produced by Skånberg's practice 280 West," said Dendiberia.

The metal pieces include a sculptural brushed-aluminium DJ stand in the front of the space, which anchors the music experience curated by Caroline.

Behind the stand is a minimalist shelving unit for storing the vinyl collection, and chalk boards that display Parker's food menu.

The dining area towards the back features custom metal-framed chairs and stools with padded seats and backrests, and open shelves for storing tableware.

"The industrial material of the dining chairs allows them to smoothly transition between inside and outside areas, adding versatility to the restaurant's seating plan," Dendiberia said.

Speakers from New Zealand brand Tub's Audio were utilised as part of the sound system created with Good Question Sound and 280 West.

Vertical round-edged acoustic panels that look like sponge fingers are mounted on the walls to improve the listening experience.

The exposed concrete flooring works with the metalwork elements to create an industrial aesthetic, which is softened by cream-coloured canvas curtains that separate the dining and service areas and also improves acoustics.

Dendiberia and partner Homan Rajai cofounded Studio Ahead as an art and design collective, and have also completed a wine bar in Williamsburg with "soothing" interiors.

The photography is by Ekaterina Izmestieva.

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Architecture studios Herzog & de Meuron and EHDD are set to convert the 1960s former Birkenstock campus in California, USA, into a design museum for the Eames Institute.

The architecture studios are set to turn the building, which was designed in the 1960s by modernist architect John Savage Bolles, into a "world-class art and design museum".

Located on a 88.5-acre site in Novato, just north of San Francisco, the distinctive warehouse and neighbouring office building were originally designed for publishing company McGraw-Hill.

More recently, the buildings were used by German shoe company Birkenstock before being acquired by the Eames Institute.

Herzog & de Meuron and EHDD are set to transform the campus into a museum that will display works from the Eames archives and host contain art exhibitions, maker spaces and workshops.

"The acquisition of the Birkenstock campus is a transformational step for the Eames Institute – the culmination of a long-held dream and our deep commitment to the North Bay community," said Eames Institute CEO John Cary.

"This extraordinary space will enable us to expand our programming and reach a broader audience, while serving as a permanent anchor for creativity and innovation in the Bay Area."

Located just off the Redwood Highway, the campus's warehouse building features a tent-like concrete roof that design consulates Herzog & de Meuron and executive architects EHDD will preserve as part of the renovation.

Renders of the converted campus show the buildings clad in wooden slats, with the historic concrete structure jutting over low-lying walls.

"Drawing on our expertise of adapting historic structures, most notably the Tate Modern in London, we are thrilled to now help transform this modernist campus into a vibrant public arts destination serving the Bay Area and beyond," said Herzog & de Meuron partner Simon Demeuse.

According to the team, the design is not yet finalised, although interiors will contain large-scale exhibitions.

The campus has been largely inaccessible to the public throughout its history and according to local news outlet SFGate, Birkenstock used the campus sporadically throughout its ownership.

Architect Bolles is known for other projects in the area such as the now-demolished San Francisco sports stadium Candlestick Park and the IBM Campus in San Jose.

Established in 2019 and launched publicly in 2022, the Eames Institute is based out of a headquarters in Richmond, California, where Charles and Ray Eames' granddaughter Llisa Demetrios serves as chief curator and also leads tours.

"To share my grandparents' vision with the world is the honor of a lifetime," said Demetrios.

"Ray and Charles' boundless curiosity for solving problems through design has been at the core of the Eames Institute's mission, and this expansion will allow us to share those gifts with our community on an even larger scale."

Recently, the Eames House and studio reopened after damage from Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year and Dezeen explored the Eames legacy in our mid-century modern design series.

The photography is by Iwan Baan unless otherwise stated.

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Los Angeles-based Studio Paul Chan has transformed a 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival bell tower in the city's Koreatown into a perfumery and cafe.

The store, designed for Korean brand Elorea, occupies the tower designed by iconic LA firm Morgan, Walls & Clements, and Studio Paul Chan aimed to revive its original grandeur with his interior design.

In the dramatic 1,160-square-foot (108-square-metre) space, the designer combined "scent, ritual, and raw futurism" to create an evocative experience for all of the senses.

"The project explores the poetic tension between cyber-industrial precision and ancient craft, layering high-performance surfaces with deeply elemental materials," said Chan.

"The challenge was to translate something as intangible and fleeting as scent into architectural form," he added.

"I wanted visitors to feel the space in layers — as they would a perfume's top, heart, and base notes."

Perfume bottles are primarily displayed on a central podium that traces an almost-complete figure-of-eight in plan.

The custom modular elements – created with Chan's longtime collaborator Jeremy Kim – comprise machined aluminium legs that support a stepped, textured black surface topped with dark reflective glass.

A cafe bar is positioned in front of three arched windows and is covered in square tiles of hand-chiselled wood treated with the Japanese charring technique known as Shou Sugi Ban.

The bar's design "evokes coastal village craft, while its inverted ziggurat form speaks to ceremonial altars," according to Chan.

Drinks served to customers are influenced by the ingredients used to create the perfumes, and can be enjoyed on small black stools that continue the same visual language as the displays.

At night, the bottles presented on the podiums are illuminated from below to create an ethereal glow.

Soft, warm lighting from wall sconces and hidden cove lights behind an amorphous mirror and under the bar ledges lend the space a ritualistic atmosphere.

"This is not just a boutique, but an immersive installation — where hyper-modern forms are wrapped in elemental materials, and architecture becomes a vehicle for feeling," said the designer.

Chan founded his eponymous studio in 2018, following stints at firms including Kelly Wearstler, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and ASH.

His earlier projects include a shop interior for a non-alcoholic beverage brand that referenced the opening scene from Wes Anderson's film The French Dispatch.

Another Los Angeles project recently seen on Dezeen was a "small and cosy" office divided by glass bricks.

The photography is by Ye Rin Mok.

Project credits:

Design architect: Studio Paul Chan
Client: Elorea
Millwork fabrication: Jeremy Kim and Will Carlson
Landscape design: Krystal Chang

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Masonry buildings and a rounded "womb-like" meditation room form a Hindu temple complex in southern California, designed by the architecture studio CSA Partners and built over a 15-year period.

The Hindu Temple Antelope Valley Campus is located in Lancaster, which is about 70 miles (113 kilometres) north of Los Angeles. The rural town lies within a desert valley ringed by mountains.

Composed of three main structures, the campus is viewed as "the unifying space of a dozen distinct Hindu immigrant groups".

The project was first conceived about 15 years ago and was completed in multiple phases. CSA Partners, a Chicago-based studio founded by Cyrus Subawalla, oversaw the design, which embodies a merging of historical and contemporary approaches.

"The design of the campus, rooted deeply in history and metaphor, combines historical forms with contemporary building technology to produce distinctively modern interpretations of traditional architecture," the studio said.

The design draws upon India's Temple at Kangra, which is notable for its dedication to the worship of two deities – Vishnu and Shiva. The temple is located in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, and variations of its design can be seen throughout India, the studio said.

For these reasons, the Temple at Kangra was seen as "an ideal design precedent for the diverse needs of the varied Hindu communities of the Antelope Valley".

The campus sits on an arid, flat site adjacent to a park. Its first building, MahaVishnu Temple, was completed in 2014.

Elevated on a plinth, the masonry building is clad in terracotta-hued brick that mimics the colour of the earth. The temple's domes are wrapped in precast concrete panels that also are an orangey hue.

The temple has a primary shrine dedicated to Vishnu, with shrines for other deities found along the perimeter.

The next building, Annapoorna Hall, was dedicated in 2021. It serves as a social hall and includes a commercial kitchen.

"Executed in matching materials, the building is defined by freestanding masonry walls – sliding past one another – into which a glass volume has been inserted," said the studio.

"Experientially, this building thereby creates a second wall defining the exterior courtyard space, forming a side entrance to the temple gate."

The third building, the Shri Amma Meditation Center, was added in 2023.

Viewed as "the final and most overtly metaphorical space on the campus", the rounded, concrete-and-glass structure is tucked into a mound. A paved path leads to the entrance of the 900-square-foot (84-square-metre) building.

"This structure builds on womb-like analogies of personal growth and emergence and is intended to speak to the worship of the Goddess Akhilendeswari, the Hindu goddess of fertility," the team said.

"This building is also the most structurally innovative contribution to the campus, comprised of portal frames and faceted glass, holding together an otherwise curvilinear volume with oriented views of the exterior temple, courtyard and beyond."

Throughout the campus, various strategies were incorporated to meet California's energy performance criteria, such as careful building siting and incorporating elements that reduce solar penetration.

Additional Hindu temples include a large complex in India's Andhra Pradesh by Sameep Padora & Associates that has stepped buildings made of black limestone, and a small temple in West Bengal by Abin Design Studio that features a glazed corner surrounded by a concrete lattice.

The photography is by Jill Weller and Cyrus Subawalla.

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Photographer Iwan Baan has captured the extent of damage and the ongoing reconstruction efforts in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood nearly six months after wildfires destroyed much of the area.

The photographs show entire blocks in the area without houses and in various states of redevelopment after the Pacific Palisades fire in January, one of several fires that destroyed more than 15,000 structures and killed at least 30 people.

Taken from the air, Baan's photographs showcase the extent of damage and the progress towards cleanup and decontamination taken in the months since the wildfires.

Architect and UCLA adjunct professor Jeffrey Inaba, who collaborated with Baan and others in assessing the geography and fire patterns in the area, told Dezeen that the photographs show "unevenness", both in the fire pattern and in the pattern of redevelopment.

"It's pretty shocking to see [the photographs]," he said, "I didn't realize the extent of the damage to the Palisades."

"There's an unevenness in terms of the areas that burned," he continued. "There's an unevenness then in terms of the toxicity of the area and therefore, an unevenness in the rate of recovery."

Inaba pointed to the unpredictability of the path of the fire. He said that instead of burning in a linear path, the fire spread due to high winds spreading embers that were then sucked up into houses, often through intake vents and eaves.

This means that the fire spread unevenly, and Inaba said while fireproofing played a role in what burnt and what didn't, the path of the fire was largely "arbitrary".

"When you have super high wind conditions, fires are going to behave in ways that are different from what is typically anticipated," said Inaba, adding that people cannot assume topography itself will be the deciding factor in terms of damage.

The severity and randomness of the fire seemed to leave some homes unscathed, even in the middle of almost complete destruction.

However, Inaba expressed the need for remediation in some of these areas.

"While there might be a sense of good luck when a house doesn't burn, the big challenge is how the neighbourhood is remediated in order for a person to resume living there," he said.

Since the fire, the Army Corps of Engineers has cleared much of the debris away. However, the photographs show some sections still covered with rubble from the fires.

Inaba attributed this to the differences in insurance claims between different property owners.

"Those that were still working with their insurers on the payout decided not to demolish because they wanted to make sure that it was clear what was there so that they could settle," he said.

In some places, the photos show some of the homes already in a process of rebuilding, likely having received expedited permits from the city granted under emergency measures.

These houses are often built in the same way with the same materials because of insurance reimbursements being commensurate with the preexisting structure.

However, Inaba hopes that the severity of the fires will serve as a "wake-up call" for neighbourhoods to work together to further fireproof homes and include firebreaking features such as protective walls and improved intake systems.

While not necessarily a method for burn prevention, Inaba also noted the importance of greenery, as trees often do not burn as easily as houses, and they can provide filtration for remediation after a fire.

Many trees remain standing and much of the greenery on the surrounding hills has regrown.

In rebuilding, neighbourhoods could rethink the layouts of their locales, implementing parks and other potential buffers that would double as amenities.

Inaba wondered if "organization of landscape could be something that defines the urban patterns of development" in the future, drawing on the strong tradition of indoor-outdoor living in the city. Though, Inaba noted a "lack of appetite" to use private land in the "large-scale replanning of the area".

Overall, the future of the neighbourhoods in areas that abut high-risk wilderness zones will come down to community organising to ensure both more landscape elements and better fireproofing.

"A neighbourhood either protects together or burns together," said Inaba. "And the more homes that are fire protected, the better," he said.

"Now, residents are informed, they're motivated, and there are a lot of groups that are self-organising in areas that interface with the wilderness."

Since the fires, the architecture and design community has been putting forth advice and recommendations for residents who lost their homes.

Multiple initiatives have followed the tragedy, including one to emulate the 20th-century Case Study house plan, with local architects working with developers to build forward-looking homes for affected locals.

The photography is by Iwan Baan. 

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The Eames House in Los Angeles has reopened following "a meticulous process of restoration" due to smoke damage from the city's extensive wildfires earlier this year, coinciding with the announcement of a foundation to preserve the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames.

Located in Los Angeles's Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, the Eames House, or Case Study House No. 8, once served as the primary residence for mid-century modern designers Charles and Ray Eames and has since become a cultural landmark.

It was under threat of burning down in last year's Palisades Fire, narrowly evading the fire that destroyed more than 7,000 structures, including iconic homes by modernist architects Richard Neutra and Ray Kappe.

The July reopening encompasses the restoration and cleaning of the primary residence, as well as the opening of a smaller, secondary building on-site that contained the Eames creative studio.

Previously used as an on-site office, this is the "first time ever" the studio will be open to the public, where it will serve as a more flexible space for exhibitions, workshops and panel discussions.

"After five months of closure, the Eames House reopens to visitors," said the team. "Though the home was spared from the wildfires earlier this year, it sustained considerable smoke damage and has since undergone a meticulous process of restoration and cleaning."

"For the first time ever, the studio will be open to the public."

The reopening also coincides with the Eames family launching the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation, an initiative dedicated to preserving the designers' legacy.

Adrienne Luce will serve as the Foundation's Executive director, while the Eames' five grandchildren are set to serve on its board.

"As grandchildren, it has been our honor to ensure that Charles and Ray continue to make a global impact," said chairman Eames Demetrios.

"Their work extended far beyond their most recognizable contributions in furniture and architecture – it was philosophy, photography, art, exhibition design, toys, lighting design, and architecture. This next chapter is about succession planning and looking ahead to future generations."

In 2019, an extensive restoration plan was announced and launched for the property, which included re-examining the preservation practices that were then in place.

Elsewhere, the Eames' granddaughter Llisa Demetrios serves as the chief curator of the recently opened Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity outside of San Francisco. Its headquarters contains an archive and exhibitions of Eames designs, while its branding was completed by design agency Manual.

The photography is by Chris Mottalini.

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Texas-based developer Hines has submitted an application to build a supertall skyscraper in San Francisco, which would be the West Coast's tallest building if completed.

Located on the former campus of California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the 77 Beale Street (77 Beale) tower is part of a larger bid by Hines to overhaul the site.

Set to reach 1,225 feet tall (373 metres), 77 Beale would unseat the West Coast's current tallest building, the Wilshire Grand Centre in Los Angeles, which reaches 1,100 feet (335.3 metres).

The West Coast's tallest skyscraper

It would also be taller than San Francisco's 1,070-foot (330-metre) Salesforce Tower by Pelli Clarke & Partners, which sits just blocks away and was co-developed by Hines.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the proposal builds upon former plans released by Hines that would include the restoration of two historic buildings on site at 215 and 245 Market St and a conversion of another office building at 25 Beale St.

A park is also planned for the development, which is set to total 1.6 million square feet (148,644 square metres) of office space.

Local reports, as well as a 2021 release from Hines indicate that the 77 Beale tower would be renamed 200 Mission. Another tower on site, 50 Main, was set to be designed by Foster + Partners, although recent news reports delays and redesigns.

Architect still unconfirmed

Architecture firm Pickard Chilton is mentioned as master-plan architect for the development, but the San Francisco Chronicle noted that an architect has not yet been selected for the 77 Beale tower.

Local government officials have spoken in support of the plan, including San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie.

"This is not just about one building," wrote Lurie on X.

"This plan would transform a vacant city block into a dynamic mix of housing, office space, retail, and public space by developing the former PG&E and Matson headquarters."

Foster + Partners recently renovated the nearby Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, while a cluster of buildings was completed in downtown by architecture studios such as WORKac and Studio Gang.

The photography is by GyozaDumpling

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California governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation that exempts infill housing from environmental review under the state's California Environmental Quality Act in the hopes of expediting development.

Signed in late June, the bills, including SB 607, AB 609, and AB130 are part of recent updates to California's state budget, which were issued in May 2025 under the May Revision by Newsom.

The bills roll back California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations on urban projects that opponents believe have delayed or impeded critical housing needs across the state's metropolitan areas.

Projects now exempt from CEQA include infill building at or under 20 acres and some urban infrastructure such as health facilities and advanced manufacturing projects, as listed in the bill SB 131.

"Governor Gavin Newsom today signed historic legislation as part of the 2025-2026 state budget, enacting new laws that deliver the most consequential housing and infrastructure reform in recent state history," read a statement issued by the Governor's office.

"Together, the two budget trailer bills include a comprehensive streamlining package that breaks down long-standing development barriers, modernises CEQA review for critical housing and infrastructure, and creates new tools to speed up production, reduce costs, and improve accountability across the state."

First signed into law in 1970 by then-governor Ronald Reagan, CEQA is a statewide law that requires analysis and public disclosure of the environmental impacts of proposed projects, on top of local and regional environmental zoning.

For decades, housing advocates have argued that CEQA's regulations have been weaponised to stall projects in the face of the state's ongoing housing shortage.

According to Studio One Eleven partner Michael Bohn, removing the regulation will be a "burden taken off" his back.

"As a practising architect, [for] all types of housing, be it shelters for the formerly un-housed to affordable housing, to market rate housing, this is a pretty significant burden taken off of my back, as well as the developer team's back," he told Dezeen.

"Anything that helps reduce costs and time schedule in a state where we are so grossly under-housed."

Others, such as the California Native Plant Society, have deemed CEQA as a "scapegoat for California's housing crisis", while environmental non-profit the Rose Foundation found that litigation pursued under CEQA actually remains "very low" in a 2023 study commisioned by the organisation.

"The rate of litigation for challenges to projects alleging noncompliance with CEQA is very low, with lawsuits filed for 1.9 out of every 100 projects," reads the report.

"Focus more of our energy on producing the housing"

Local and city environmental zoning policies will remain in place in CEQA's absence.

"The other nice thing about this, is bringing it back down to more local control," said Bohn. "I think why CEQA was in place back when Ronald Reagan [was the] governor, was that sometimes local control was abused by developers and people that were in power."

"But our society has evolved so much and has become so educated on the importance of being more respectful to our environment, even developers are much more thoughtful and careful now," he continued.

"It's going to help us focus more of our energy on producing the housing, as opposed to trying to convince that the housing doesn't have a negative impact on a particular infill site."

Housing shortage remains an ongoing issue in California. CityLAB founding director Dana Cuff discussed how local architects might aid in housing recovery after worsening wildfires and Dezeen spoke with California politician Alex Lee about social housing in the state.

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Local studio Ogawa Fisher Architects has completed a wedge-shaped California house with skylights, board-formed concrete walls, and a submerged workshop with a functioning car lift.

The House of Light and Shadow spans 7,600 square feet (706 square metres) in Los Altos, California. Ogawa Fisher Architects, which is based in nearby Palo Alto, wanted to "balance the interplay of natural light and materials" in its design of the house.

"It is a modern sanctuary on a suburban cul-de-sac – a secret oasis for a family with a passion for design, functionality and sustainability," the studio said.

The form was driven by the wedge shape of the site, which disallowed the architect studio from going with a structure centred on the parcel – it would create residual space without a proper yard.

Instead, the team staggered three volumes that minimised the home's frontage to respond to the neighbourhood fabric, while maximising space and preserving nearly all of the trees on site.

The southern form is composed of a rectangular bar shape that aligns a large primary suite with a home office. The northern block holds a divided garage and a secondary bedroom.

"By fanning out the bedrooms along the sides of the property, a long and generous rear yard emerged, with an opportunity for each space to have a secluded outdoor area designed for reflection and rejuvenation," the team said.

The intermediary space – an entry that steps up into a great room with an open kitchen, dining and living space – bridges the wings and opens the public areas to a patio yard through large sliding glass doors.

"The open-plan great room serves as the heart of the home, fostering togetherness with its bright, airy design," the studio said. "Expansive windows and skylights draw in sunlight, while deep overhangs and automated shades create a dance of light and shadow that shifts throughout the day."

The design emphasises the transitions between communal and private space with changes in light and material. A monumental board-formed wall divides the great room from the bedroom bar and guides light from a skylight into an open-tread staircase with the help of a glazed railing.

While the upper level is divided into thirds, the basement level is split in half. The southern portion contains an additional suite, office, entertainment room and storage, while the northern half contains an expansive workshop.

Midway through pandemic-era construction, the owner opted not to rent a separate commercial space for his design and engineering work. Instead, the team installed a double-height subterranean studio complete with a custom telescoping car lift that rises to the garage and a rolling, glass garage door that raises to access a sunken courtyard bringing light in from above.

The underground aspect opens into a submerged patio[/caption]

Other recently completed California houses include a blocky, fire-resistant residence in Malibu by Lorcan O'Herlihy, a chiseled stone house by Field Architecture that overlooks Big Sur and a glazed 1973 Ray Kappe design remodelled by OWIU Design.

The photography is by Joe Fletcher.

Project credits:

Architecture: Ogawa Fisher Architects
Project teams: Hiromi Ogawa , Lynn Fisher, Cristian Figueroa, Anna Zamora, Catherine Nelson
Contractor: MN Builders
Structural engineer: BKG Structural Engineers
MEP: Monterey Energy Group
Geotechnical: Romig Engineers
Civil: Precision Engineering

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California architect Nick Polansky used redwood decking to clad a barge and topped it with recycled shipping containers to create the Fjord floating sauna in San Francisco Bay, USA.

Fjord is a simple sauna oriented around the principles of reuse and engagement, both between users and the environment and between the structure and the waterfront infrastructure, according to Fjord founders Alex Yenni and Gabe Turner.

The pair, who come from tech and marketing, brought on architect Polansky to realise the concept, which was recently installed at a marina in Sausalito, a small city across the Golden Gate Strait from San Francisco.

"Fjord is a love letter to the Bay and its possibilities," said Polansky. "We wanted every detail to honor the environment and inspire new ways of connecting with the water."

The 675-square-foot vessel is relatively simple in form. Polansky took a disused breakwater barge and anchored it to the edge of the dock, where visitors enter via a ramp from the landing.

Redwood decking was used to cover the barge, and two separate reused shipping containers were fastened to the structure on opposite sides.

Between the two Finnish-style saunas runs a walkway, where visitors can peel off in either direction to access the saunas. Redwood beams and slats were used to create semi-covered outdoor areas around the sauna for preparation, use of showers, and lounging.

Each of the saunas is fronted with glass that faces out into the bay, furthering the goal of connecting visitors with the elements. The interiors of the saunas were decked out in Thermory Aspen wood cladding.

The heating elements, which use electricity to heat rocks that can be doused in water for steam, were acquired from Homecraft Saunas in British Columbia. Two ventilation ducts help filter air in and out.

Ladders were included on two sides to enable visitors to "plunge" into the water within a cordoned-off area.

"Sausalito has a spirit unlike anywhere else – creative, independent, deeply tied to the water," said Yenni.

"We want Fjord to feel like it belongs here, to become a place locals are proud of and visitors seek out."

The team noted the intense entitlement process required for the installation of the floating sauna.

More than seven different local and federal agencies were consulted on the development, which was ultimately decided on by the Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC).

The project needed to have both a minimal environmental impact and demonstrably benefit the public.

"Our position was that for people to want to protect the Bay, they first need to connect with it on a physical and emotional level. They need it to play an active role in their lives. They need to value it," said Yenni, who also said that young people are visiting the area less and less.

"While I'm sure we weren't the first ones to think of doing something like this on the water, I think we were the most committed to the entitlement process, to the environmental health of the bay, and to delivering measurable social good to the public."

Other floating saunas around the world include one with bleachers on top in Oslo by Estudio Herreros and a miniature sauna on Lake Geneva by Trolle Rudebeck Haar.

The photography is by Alex Farnum. 

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A white concrete dome punctured by porthole-like windows shelters this holiday home in California, designed by Ukrainian designer and builder Anastasiya Dudik.

Named HATA and located in the desert of Pioneertown, an area of California known for its wild west film sets, the dwelling was designed to be a simple refuge for a "a slower, more connected way of being".

Dudik, who is a self-taught designer and builder, drew on her memories of Soviet-era brutalism as well as California's history of futuristic, domed architecture to arrive at the distinctive form of the home.

"The core concept was 'future primitive' – a return to organic, ancestral forms through a futuristic lens," Dudik told Dezeen.

"Inspired by the natural curves of the surrounding desert landscape, the design was meant to feel both ancient and otherworldly," she continued.

"It's a sculptural, earth-integrated structure that invites a slower, more connected way of being - at once deeply rooted and forward-looking."

Internally, the circular plan of HATA is divided into two segments, with one containing an open living, dining and kitchen area and the other a pair of en-suite bedrooms.

A set of folding glass doors open the living space out onto a terrace with a circular swimming pool, fire pit and seating areas, which connect via a walkway to a covered carport and driveway at the home's entrance.

Throughout the interior, small circular and arched windows have been strategically cut out of the concrete shell, including around a sunken conversation pit, above the bathrooms and next to the dining table and beds.

All of the openings in the dome, as well as its perimeter edge, have been lined with thin strips of lighting that create a warm glow at night.

While externally the dome has been given a crisp white finish, the interior is more roughly plastered to give a more natural, cave-like feel, alongside wooden carpentry and stainless steel for shelves and a kitchen island.

"Materials were chosen for their rawness, permanence and elemental feel," said Dudik.

"Concrete serves as both structure and finish – left exposed, expressive, and honest. Warm mahogany wood, hand-troweled stucco walls, and native stone further root the space in its desert context," she added.

Beyond its visual symbolism, Dudik also saw the dome as a "powerfully practical" response to the site, with its insulated concrete shell allowing the internal temperature to be passively regulated and providing both fire and earthquake resistance.

Other domed homes in California include the mid-century Palm Springs Dome House, which was renovated in 2018 by the architect Pavlina Williams, and the dome-roofed Elrod House by John Lautner, which featured in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.

The photography is by Brandon Stanley.

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Italian architect Mirtilla Alliata di Montereale has completed a residence in Joshua Tree with walls tinted in shades of blue to echo the changing desert sky.

Casa Azzurra sits on a 10-acre site in the California desert and overlooks a scenic mountain vista from an elevated position.

The house was designed as a vacation rental for multi-generational families or groups of friends looking for an escape amongst the area's natural beauty.

"Casa Azzurra is more than a retreat in Joshua Tree, it's a place designed for connection, inspired by the effortless hospitality of an Italian summer and the vast tranquility of the desert," said the designer.

The single-storey building comprises two main concrete volumes arranged perpendicular to one another, and connected by an L-shaped wooden pergola.

This structure creates a shaded area for outdoor living spaces, which include a sunken lounge with a fire pit, a dining area, a hot tub and a 30-foot (nine-metre) lap pool.

Textured cat-face stucco across the exterior walls is tinted in five different shades of blue, which "intentionally mirrors the shifting hues of the sky" according to the designer.

The brightest blue walls face a courtyard between the two volumes and form a buffer corridor for accessing the three of the four bedrooms.

Based on Alliata di Montereale’s memories of visiting family in Italy, each bedroom is decorated in a different jewel tone, all contrasting the beige plaster finish in the main living space.

This open-plan room features tall ceilings and large sliding glass doors to the outdoor spaces.

Furniture, textiles and artworks enliven the space, while elements such as the kitchen cabinetry blend into the neutral decor.

"Murano glass fixtures, Salvador Dalí prints, and tactile layers of linen, wood and stone create an atmosphere that is elevated and inviting," said Alliata di Montereale.

The property also includes a separate, smaller guest house offering extra privacy beside the pickleball court, featuring an angular roof and minimalist decor.

Its interior is lined with wood panels, and the custom platform bed is positioned for stargazing through a row of angled windows above.

Alliata di Montereale studied at SCI-Arc, and has worked for architects such as Frank Gehry and Kulapat Yantrasast.

Located east of Los Angeles, the area around Joshua Tree National Park is home to several innovative residences, including the mirror-clad Invisible House that reflects its desert surrounds, and a wood-and-stucco house and art studio based on mid-century Eichler homes.

The region is also a popular glamping destination, with options ranging from an Airstream site with a clubhouse informed by Quonset huts to a pair of gabled cabins built from weathering steel.

The photography is by Katya Grozovskaya.

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Panelised building components made of mass timber were used to construct a residential building by SuperLA, a design and development firm that views "homes as products" rather than bespoke architectural projects.

Called SuperBungalows on Marathon, the nine-unit apartment building is located on a sloped site in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighbourhood.

The project was created by SuperLA, a local design and development firm. The company was started by entrepreneur Aaron van Schaik, who has worked in the real estate industry in his native Australia, along with New York.

SuperBungalows is the first completed project by the company, which aims to "radically reconsider how housing is produced around the world".

To speed up the design, permitting and construction process, founder van Schaik believes in "treating homes as products, rather than one-off projects".

His firm has created a system that "can be dropped into place" using prefabricated panelised building components. The design prioritises natural light, fresh air, eco-friendly materials (including mass timber) and cost-effective construction methods.

"His primary goal is to productise and panelise the architectural design process – shifting it from a piecemeal procedure in which each new project requires a new architect, a new path through city planning, a new contractor and tons of money – to a streamlined replicable approach," the team said.

The system was used to create SuperBungalows, which is rectangular in plan and rises four levels. The bottom level is partly underground and reserved for parking. The building also has a rooftop terrace.

A hybrid system of mass timber and light-frame wood was used to construct the building. This is the first time this type of system has been used for a multifamily project in southern California, according to the team.

Floors, walkway panels and the roof are made of cross-laminated timber. The vertical structural system consists of glued-laminated posts and beams combined with light-frame wood. The building is supported by a concrete foundation.

The exterior is clad with a type of ceramic-coated, fibre-cement siding known for its durability, recyclability and design flexibility.

"It also features a photocatalytic coating that helps purify the air, delivering the same pollution-fighting power as 68 poplar trees on a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-metres) building," the team said.

Exterior fencing is made of cedar slats, which "give off a pleasant, natural scent near the entryway". Planter walls are capped with broken-up pieces of recycled concrete, called urbanite.

The building offers six one-bedroom rental units and three with two bedrooms. Each unit is separated by walkways and terraces to ensure there are no shared walls.

"This layout reimagines the traditional bungalow courts, offering both privacy and a distinctive living experience," the team said.

Apartments feature an open-concept area for cooking, dining and lounging, designed to maximise space and establish a feeling of openness. The two-bedroom units have room for a dining table, while the one-bedroom units utilize the kitchen island counter for dining.

"Spacious terraces, along with large operable windows, invite abundant natural light and air into the homes while creating a seamless connection to nature," the team added.

Earthy materials also provide a connection to nature and promote a healthy indoor environment.

Cabinetry in the kitchen and bedrooms is made of maple plywood sourced from sustainably managed forests and sealed with a zero-VOC, bio-based polyurethane.

Kitchen countertops are made of recycled quartz. Backsplashes are clad in porcelain tile with rectified edges, allowing for a thin grout line. Structural mass timber panels were left exposed.

For finishes, fixtures and appliances, SuperLA used a brand partnership model, in which it teamed up with established and emerging brands to offer details "rarely seen in multifamily housing".

Apartments feature Fisher & Paykel appliances, lighting by RBW, cork flooring by Capri, plywood from Roseburg, tile by Mosa, and Pella windows. The building is all-electric, and most of its energy is generated via solar panels.

Van Schaik hopes to use the SuperBungalows on Marathon project as a case study, showing an approach to housing that is humane, efficient and replicable.

"Approaching the construction of complex multifamily projects this way reduces construction costs and time, increases efficiency, and allows for replication in multiple neighbourhoods, cities and states," said SuperLA.

"By pre-designing our homes as set products, optimising our team, panelizing our builds and partnering with amazing brands, we're able to build smarter and more efficiently."

Other innovative approaches to multifamily housing in LA include a row of sculptural metal-clad homes by LOHA that explore possibilities for the "small lot subdivision typology", and a cluster of house-shaped volumes, each containing several residences, that was designed by Bestor Architecture as an example of "stealth density".

The photography is by Madeline Tolle.

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The Small Lots, Big Impacts competition in Los Angeles, which asked architects to develop starter house concepts for vacant lots across the city, has revealed its winners.

Driven by the City of Los Angeles, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA's) research centre City Lab and advocacy LA4LA, the competition called on architects to design multi-family housing to ameliorate the "housing crisis" in the city, made worse by the multiple devastating fires earlier this year.

It seeks to address what the organisers view as a lack of vision when it comes to solution-oriented development in Los Angeles.

"The last time we had popular starter homes was after world war two, when affordable subdivisions were built all over Southern California," said City Lab director Dana Cuff.

"The winning architects and designers are showing us what multifamily, attainable homeownership looks like on small lots in contemporary, post-fire Los Angeles."

The call for submissions struck a chord – more than 300 architecture teams submitted proposals for the lots, from professionals to students. Twenty-one winning designs were selected, with an additional 20 given citations and special recognitions.

Two types of lots were selected as focus points, and these types decided the categories for the competition. Each category had two real-world lots as references to generate different site conditions.

The first, Gentle Density, featured project types that utilised infill sites to create density, thereby mitigating the notorious urban sprawl of Los Angeles.

Among these projects was Shared Steps by California architecture studios WORD and SSK. Taking an infill site, the team created a series of stepped buildings that appear as one residential facade to the street, but contain three three-storey buildings and three accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

The scheme is modular and could contain up to nine units, with outdoor space on the six rooftops and in the front of the lot.

Also in the Gentle Density category was a scheme by Brooklyn-based studio Light and Air. Called 4X4X4, Light and Air's design features four three-level houses, with provisions for ADUs on the ground floor.

Covered in precast-concrete panels, the structures has cutouts lined with floor-to-ceiling glass and terraces to achieve the outdoor-indoor lifestyle common to the city while providing the much-needed density.

Other projects in the category sought to use existing infrastructure to maximise density. ABLA's Soft Infill proposed a multi-year process whereby a series of ADUs are added to a lot over time and connected.

The other category was Shared Future, with projects more akin to the standard apartment or condo buildings created for narrow sites on the city's boulevards.

Among the winners here were some prominent, nationally recognised architecture studios such as Olson Kundig. Envisioned as a vertical neighbourhood, its design featured a scalable mass-timber structure clad with solar panels. Three primary structures were stitched together with amenity spaces, with units removable based on needs, to create outdoor spaces in the structure.

Also in this category was a project called Living Together in the Plains of Id by New York studio Only If.

Cited by the jury as "eminently buildable", the project features step backs on two sides to further reduce its impact on the streetscape while maximising space and providing terraces for residents.

More than just a conceptual exercise, the Small Lots, Big Impact competition will end with an RFQ put out by the Los Angeles Housing Department for developers to win the rights to build on 10 city-owned sites.

These developers will be "encouraged" to utilise the design from the competition.

You can view the full suite of winners from the competition here.

The devastating fires in Los Angeles have put the housing crisis in Los Angeles in stark relief. Since then, a number of initiatives have been put forward to rebuild.

These include an initiative that seeks to revive the mid-century Case Study model by pairing architects with innovative designs with property owners.

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LA-based furniture design studio Willett has worked with interior design and development studio Ome Dezin to reimagine a 1960s residence in the hills of Laurel Canyon.

Ome Dezin principals Jesse Rudolph and Joelle Kutner partnered with Willett to execute his vision for furniture on a larger, more holistic scale during the restoration and renovation of the 2,920-square-foot (271-square-metre) CM G1 House.

As well as cultivating a distinct atmosphere, the full gut remodel aimed to improve the flow between the spaces and better connect them to the outdoors and natural surroundings.

"The bold, sensual, and cohesive transformation honours the home's origins while introducing a distinctly modern vitality," said the team.

Throughout the property, warm Douglas fir was applied to reference the mid-century era and sliding glass doors connect the interior to the lush garden.

Willett created multiple custom elements for the house, ranging from the slatted front door and study desk, to an expansive built-in system in the primary bedroom that incorporates a desk, daybed and storage.

The designer lost his home in Altadena during the devastating fires earlier this year, and afterwards exhibited several pieces of furniture he had designed for its spaces as part of a group show at The Future Perfect.

Several of these pieces are featured in the CM G1 House, including the cylindrical-legged Tonn Table and Gio Stool, the hourglass-shaped Radi Table and Chairs, and the glossy red Popo Chair.

These are joined by new additions to Willet's Early Works: Group 01 collection – the leather Poporo dining chair, Popo counter stools, and the KOC Dresser – that are debuting in this project before launching this spring.

"For the CM G1 House, [Willett] envisioned a complete design ecosystem: a place where every element, from the layout to the furniture, reflects a singular, elevated point of view," said the team.

Tying the spaces together, black flagstones cover the floor in the entryway and repeat across the kitchen, dining area and study, then extend out to the back yard.

Dark marble forms countertops and backsplashes in the kitchen and bathrooms, and lines the door frames, providing a visual counterpoint to the extensive millwork.

Similarly, a refurbished corner fireplace surround and hearth provides a focal point between wood surfaces in the living area.

Deep greens and earthy hues carry through the spaces, while a bathroom is lined in blue square tiles as a moment of contrast.

A closet is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling mirrors interrupted by a horizontal band of two-tone wood panels that incorporate the door handles as tiny cubes.

Skylights were also introduced in various rooms to bring in additional natural light.

Ome Dezin curated the selection of remaining furnishings and objects from local antique store DEN, along with carpets from artist Scarlett Rouge's Whispers collection for CC-Tapis.

"The home embraces the natural setting and channels the creative spirit of the community, long cherished by artists and musicians," said the team. "The result is a private, architectural retreat that feels intentional, fresh, and serene."

Ome Dezin has restored several homes of architectural significance across the greater Los Angeles area, including a Brentwood property designed by A Quincy Jones in 1960.

The city has no shortage of mid-century residences, and others that have recently received a refresh include Ray Kappe's Glass Ridge House, the Duane House and a 1950s home in Silver Lake.

The photography is by Yoshihiro Makino.

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After disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires one of the best ways for architects to help is by designing prototypes, write Dana Cuff, Emmanuel Proussaloglou and Ryan Conroy.

Octavia Butler's 1993 apocalypse novel, Parable of the Sower, is set 20 miles outside Los Angeles, where homelessness, environmental collapse, fires and poverty-induced violence have reached unlivable extremes.

Eerily, the book's first fires are set at the start of 2025, when it has re-emerged as a bestseller in Southern California following the deadly fires that swept across Los Angeles in January. Today's readers need hardly use their imagination if they ever drive through the devastation in Altadena, Pacific Palisades, or along Pacific Coast Highway.

Parable serves us architects searching for ways to recover in the wake of January 2025's fires

It is a cautionary tale about potential horrors on the horizon, as well as how individuals might survive to shape the future through the strength of community. The characters become refugees, reliant on survival skills, land and seeds to plant for harvest in the face of inescapable change.

Butler's Parable serves us architects searching for ways to recover in the wake of January 2025's fires.

Cynics say that the 800 architects at AIA Los Angeles' post-fire town hall were motivated by the prospect of all that new work after recent slowdowns in business. We see something different taking shape: architects, particularly from the burn areas, becoming civic leaders with an earnest desire to contribute in some way.

After Rodney King, we swept the streets of South LA and after Katrina, we designed and built houses for Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. But such help, if heartfelt, follows quickly on the heels of disaster and then withers as the spotlight moves elsewhere, without much thought or support for the people who will carry the work after the clean up over the following decades.

Los Angeles, at present, is buzzing with so many worthy efforts that redundancy, disarray and the potential for exploitation loom. Groups have formed to protect domestic workers who lost their places of employment and residents whose homes were uninsured. Burn-area survivors organize to defend against developers in Altadena and welcome them into Pacific Palisades, but no one is getting their neighborhood back.

At the civic level, the spectrum of leaders is mobilized – from the mayor to county supervisors and city councilmembers, universities to foundations, tech companies to church leaders. At some point, each turns to architects for help, since houses, churches, libraries, schools and businesses must be rebuilt.

With such an overwhelming recovery path ahead, architects as well as civic leaders tend to resort to big thinking

Our response thus far? Free services, standard plans, pro bono advice, material science information about fire hardening, and myriad essays, interviews, and op-eds about how the city should rebuild.

With such an overwhelming recovery path ahead, architects as well as civic leaders tend to resort to big thinking about masterplans, infrastructural solutions, and legislation. Intelligent post-disaster reports recommend widening streets to improve fire access, undergrounding electrical power or mandating new code requirements for fire-resilient building materials.

Inevitably, long-term, large-scale planning efforts meet outrage from those who seek speedy rebuilding for private property owners, and the entire process stalls.

What if the right solution at the start of recovery is neither comprehensive plans nor like-for-like rebuilding, but the germination of individual prototypes? Rather than talking about imposing our ideas, what if – like the characters in Butler's novel – we planted seeds?

In post-disaster cities like Los Angeles, we need arrays of new model homes and we need them now. The sooner we can plant them, the faster they will grow.

Inadvertently, the first seed was a survivor of the Palisades Fire. The photo of a single standing house went viral – a phoenix, a miracle, a model.

The Palisades seed models a more survivable future

It was a discovery out of the ashes that architect Greg Chasen's design, built (mostly) to passive house standards, was a resilient structure, tightly sealed, without ornament or interior corners to trap embers, without eaves on its sloped metal roof, double-paned glazing, no nearby flammable vegetation, a low, concrete perimeter wall rather than a wooden picket fence.

The straightforward form was admired by neighbors who lost their homes, and crystallized proposed regulations that could drive rebuilding. Real-life demonstrations that people can see – and kick the tires of, as it were, spur opt-in pathways toward building back better, instead of the resistance met by abstract regulations.

Showing the way forward, the Palisades seed models a more survivable future. Chasen's home inadvertently became a full-scale model home – one powerful, tried-and-true means to forecast the future.

In Los Angeles, the opportunity to build new demonstrations is currently being offered by mayor Karen Bass in partnership with cityLAB-UCLA, our design research center, on city-owned land. Over 900 teams of students, architects and designers of all stripes registered for the Small Lots, Big Impacts competition to design resilient, compact starter-home schemes for sites smaller than a quarter-acre.

Winners, announced at the end of May, will be exhibited widely and linked to builder-developers aiming to construct those homes on about a dozen city-owned lots, breaking ground in summer 2026. This is warp-speed for those familiar with the excruciatingly slow building process; disaster rebuilding is even slower, especially when whole communities have been eviscerated.

In a separate effort with community partners, we are also working to plant on Los Angeles County sites a range of factory-built homes – modular, panelized, volumetric – to showcase greater efficiencies and speedier timelines for those impacted by the Eaton Fire.

We architects should be taking every opportunity to build full-scale, multi-faceted, publicly accessible demonstration houses

Given the pressing need and the slow pace of our industry, we architects should be taking every opportunity that arises to build full-scale, multi-faceted, publicly accessible demonstration houses, to overcome resistance to much-needed change.

Architects are stepping forward without waiting for a client to ask. We can create opportunities out of everyday work: the addition to your local school, the rector's residence, a mock-up on the community college campus, a prefab granny flat visible on a corner lot.

This open-source strategy is not the way we usually work. Creating models for the future means partnering with communities, assembling constituencies, gathering resources, harnessing media attention, and opening your practices so that others can follow.

In an interview, Butler says she wrote Parable about "a possible future… [by looking] at where we are now, what we are doing now, and to consider where some of our current behaviors and unattended problems might take us".

Her existential threats – global warming, water shortages, firestorms, houselessness, bankrupt governments – loom now, in the real 2025. Butler, as prescience would have it, went to school in Altadena.

In the face of forces beyond our individual control, we are wise to start working together in unconventional ways, collectively undertaking local, transformative actions that lay a path for others. It's not the only solution, it's not an easy solution, but it is one solution that can be planted and grown in your neighborhood garden – or city-owned lot.

Dana Cuff is the founding director of cityLAB and a professor of architecture and urban design at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Emmanuel Proussaloglou is a co-director of cityLAB, leading on its Reimagining Housing research area. Ryan Conroy is associate director of architecture at cityLAB and an architect at Kevin Daly Architects.

The photo is by Greg Chasen.

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