Oscar Niemeyer

Beautiful Posters Celebrate Museum Architecture Around the World

We may go to museums to see art, but how often do we stop to appreciate the beauty of the buildings that house these works? In the series of posters below, illustrator AndrĂ© Chiote reminds us that many of the world’s great museums are also architectural marvels, celebrating everything from Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum to Oscar Niemeyer’s Whitney. Click through for some of our favorite posters from the collection, which we discovered via Fubiz, and visit Chiote’s website to see more of his work. … Read More

Gorgeous Vintage Postcards of Incredible Architecture Around the World

The postcard has quite the storied history. The first known picture postcard was sent from Vienna as a souvenir, but images of the sparkling new Eiffel Tower in 1889 gave impetus to the postcard, leading to the little convenient cards’ golden age at the turn of the century. The tourist images of time past serve as glossy memories we cherish today. To help you over the hump, we’ve rounded up some of the best architectural nostalgia. From 3 1/2 x 5″ renditions of Oscar Niemeyer’s glorious graphic structures to obscure designs in Casablanca and Tijuana, click through to check out vintage shots of the most incredible retro architecture in the world. … Read More

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. Famed architect Oscar Niemeyer, the man behind many of the buildings in Brazil’s futuristic capital, has died at the age of 104. [via Guardian]

2. It turns out Taylor Swift as just as good at beatboxing as you might imagine. [via Gawker] … Read More

10 Sweet Designs Perfect for Chocoholics

The creator of the most imaginative, unconditionally loving comic pal ever to grace the printed page, Charles M. Schulz often reminded us that “all you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” One of the greatest simple pleasures in this life, the psychoactive effect of a square of dark, handmade chocolate goes a long way to making a bad day better. Case in point, according to a Harvard study, chocoholics may live longer than abstainers. And a team of British scientists suggested that eating dark chocolate was more rewarding than passionate kissing.

Why not infuse a little no-calorie cacao goodness into your design life? From a charming muffin pouffe that does double duty as a clever storage unit to a symbolic sofa commenting on the gluttony and excess of our time, click through to check out some of the best chocolate-inspired designs out there today. … Read More

The Most Beautiful Outdoor Theaters in the World

A Swedish proverb tells us that a life without love is like a year without summer. Who better, then, to comment on the joy of our favorite season than a country that experiences never-ending midsummer days when the sun never sets? The summer solstice is fast approaching, and our yearly anticipation of the sultry, dog days is reaching an all time high. Our plans for the inevitable rooftop gatherings are in place, our outdoor event lists have been made, and bathing suits and sun hats have been purchased. Summer fun, we’re ready for you.

In honor of the long, sun-drenched days ahead, we thought we’d take a look at some of the most amazing open-air play spaces in the world. From the largest natural amphitheater in America, surrounded by some of The West’s most perfect picnic spots, to stunning forest theaters to a stage jutting into the sea along the rugged coast of Cornwall, click through to check out showstopping outdoor stages that have us wishing summer would last forever. Nominate your local favorites in the comments below! … Read More

3D Typography Inspired by Famous Architects

If you’re the kind of person who can’t help but swoon when you come across a smartly-conceived building — or who bristles when confronted with a shoddy structure that resembles nothing more than a great, big box of ugly — then you’re going to love this 3D typography series by UK-based graphic designer Christopher Labrooy, which pays homage to the work of famed architects like Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Toyo Ito, and Oscar Niemeyer. Click through to see what he’s come up with so far, and leave your nominations for who he should tackle next in the comments. We’re thinking Renzo Piano. Or Steven Holl. Or SANAA. Or Jeanne Gang. Really, he can’t go wrong! … Read More

SANAA Transforms the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Into a Hall of Mirrors

We’ve been curious about how SANAA’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion would turn out since we read that the Tokyo-based architecture firm (made up of husband and wife team Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa) had been chosen to transform a small corner of Hyde Park from July through this coming October. … Read More