Located in Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Sin Den was desgined by Klein Dytham Architecture. This project was carried out in the area for a young couple and a baby as their living space with their hair salon. This cutting-edge’ salon attracts those who have their own style and seeks a perfect hideaway.Maybe you’ve noticed that wall tattoos and stickers are not a very hot trend in interior design, and this black box with strong graphic images in white lines is a great example of innovation. From the exterior the house/salon is meant to stand out and draw attention to itself. Filling the 50 square meter site with what is essentially a black box, the designers were trying to create a strong graphic image on the otherwise simple and massive box - displaying the creativity and uniqueness of the home’s inhabitants. - Via - myninjaplease

If you are looking for really something different, this might be it. Atkins has won an international competition to design a five-star resort hotel set within a beautiful 100 meter deep quarry in the Songjiang district close to Shanghai in China. I know that from these pictures the hotel looks almost unreal, but this project is expected to be completed by May, 2009. Its stunning concept designs inspired by the natural water and landscape features of the quarry captured the imagination of judges to quash competition from two other international firms. The quarry will provide protection from the weather, and reduce the energy needs of the hotel. The complex will contain restaurants, cafes, sport facilities, and will even include underwater public areas and guestrooms.

The innovative design of the 400-bed resort hotel stands two levels higher than the rock face of the 100 metre deep quarry and includes underwater public areas and guestrooms. It will incorporate conference facilities for up to 1,000 people, a banqueting centre, restaurants, cafés and sports facilities. Sustainability is integral to the design ranging from using green roofing for the structures above the ground level to geothermal energy extraction. An aquatic theme runs through the design both visually and functionally. Two underwater levels will house a restaurant and guestrooms facing a ten-metre deep aquarium. The lowest level of the hotel will contain a leisure complex with a swimming pool and water-based sports. An extreme sports centre for activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping will be cantilevered over the quarry and accessed by special lifts from the water level of the hotel. - Via - Greenroofs & E-Architect

The Berenbein Residence is an extension renovation for a writer/producer made by Callas Shortridge Architects, and is located in the Benedict Canyon area of Los Angeles below Mulholland Drive. Now here are a few words about Callas Shortridget Architects design process : “The work of our firm is built upon a serios of oppositions that are meant to set up a dynamic tension: pricavy and exposure, light and shadow, mass and plane. It is a collaborative process, merging our principles of design and construction with spatial solutions to our clients needs and desired.”

I’m used to see all kind of futuristic projects on the web, but this one is really something outrageous. This titanic project for a high-tech, artificial island capable of movement was thought up by architect Jean-Philippe Zopponi. I don’t expect to see this project to soon, but if the AZ Island eventually sees the light of day, it will measure 400 metres long by 300 metres wide and be able to welcome up to 10,000 passengers. The ovoid island’s shape and size - 29 floors high and a surface area equivalent to 4 football fields - will necessarily limit its speed (4 times slower than a cruise ship). Obviously, the island will be too large to berth. A boat or helicopter will therefore be needed to access its cabin; for this reason, a landing pad and marina have been planned. AZ Island should also be able to withstand 20-metre-high waves, as well as hurricanes. I don’t even want to imagine how something like this will be managed, is something just to much for my imagination. Via: Thebuilderblog.wordpress & mv.lycaeum.org

A few months ago we presented the Toilet Shaped House, but then we didn’t had to many pictures, and the pictures we had were just 3D renders of the project.When we presented the Toilet House for the first time that post had a huge success because we had 100 Responses on that single post. Now I assume that people were interested in this project and today I’ve found on Casa Magazine Korea a collection of pictures with the Toilet House, but this time with the real house.