This Gas Station, designed by Atelier SAD located in Slovakia – Matúškovo reminds me remotely of a concrete gas station located in Deitingen, Switzerland designed by Heinz Isler. Although the structure is totally different, it has somehow a similar feeling to it.

Hönshus-1 is a wooden hens house designed and built by Torsten Ottesjö situated on the west coast of Sweden. It rests on a framework of steel legs drilled into rock. The house was designed to mimic the way a mother hen spreads her wings to protect her young. The hens house is the second in a series of biomorphic strucures built by Torsten. He is inspired by nature, improvisation, and simplicity.

Desert Retreat, a project designed by Israel based architects Winestein Vaadia, is definitely a house and place I would consider to get away from busy city life and do some serious thinking. To see more of their work go here.

Rendering by Studio Aiko

Another great example of combining the old with the new. This Building, called Domkyrkoforum, is located in Lund, Sweden and was designed by architect Carmen Izquierdo. It reminds me a bit of an earlier post about a building called Janus in Rapperswil, Switzerland

This playful but still minimalistic École Secondaire de Genolier, was designed by the Swiss architects IPAS. There are quite a few schools in Switzerland that deserve some attention for their architecture. I’d love to read a paper on the influence architecture has on the students and their ability to learn in such an environment. To see more images of this project, go here.

Photography by Thomas Jantscher.

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This old barn, located in Soglio and designed by Ruinelli Associati Architetti, has been completely redone on the inside and transformed into a three story house. What a beautiful way to maintain the old and combine it with contemporary architecture. To see more work by Ruinelli Associati Architetti, go here.

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This lovely library, by Helen & Hard architects, is located in Vennesla, Norway. The building comprises of a library, a café, meeting places and administrative areas and links an existing community house and learning centre together. The gradually shifting shapes of the ribs are generated through adapting to the two adjacent buildings and also through spatial quality and functional demands for the different compartments of the library. To get more information about this project, go here.

Photographs by Erieta Attali

Janus, by :mlzd architects, is a beautiful extension to the already existing Stadtmuseum in Rapperswil, Switzerland. The modern cube connects a thirteenth century stone tower and a former residence and serves as the new entrance as well. The newly created building, which also contains new gallery space, will be available to the public from March 17.

Images by Dominique Marc Wehrli.

Should I ever lose my mind, I would like to be treated in this new youth facility, complementing the already existing neuropsychiatric center in Zaragoza, Spain. The shape of the roof corresponds with the mental activity taking place in the rooms inside. To see more of this unusually beautiful psychiatric centre visit José Javier Gallardo’s website.

Photographs by: Jesús Granada

A wardrobe in the landscape, or how to make something beautiful out of nearly nothing. This building, by architect Enrico Scaramellini is located in Madesimo, Italy. I love how the space between those two older houses has been transformed into a micro retreat. If you ever need to focus on life, this might be the place to do so. To see more images of this project, go here.

Photos by: Marcello Mariana

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I was just longing for a quiet, abandoned place to go to when I came across this lovely Hotel designed by architect Jorge Garcia. It is located in Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California and reminds me very much of Andrea Zittel and her A-Z Homestead Units project.

Photographs by Luis Garcia

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Onzichtbaar, designed by architects RO&AD of the Netherlands and Belgium, is an invisible, sunken bridge providing access to the Fort de Roovere which is part of a 17th century defence structure. The idea was to build a connection across the water without disturbing the surrounding view of the fort. To get more info on the project, go here. Onzichtbaar was one of the finalists of the Dutch Design Awards 2011.

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The Norwegian Wild Reindeer Center Pavilion, designed by Snøhetta, is a beautiful observation and information pavilion located in Dovre, Norway. The main purpose of this building is to provide shelter for students and visitors as mountain guides lecture about the unique wildlife and history of the region. If you want to see more work by Snøhetta, go here.

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The Passing Cloud, by New York based architect Tiago Barros, is an innovative and environmentally friendly method of transportation that doesn’t require expensive steel tracks or concrete highways. It is made of a series of spherical balloons that form the shape of a cloud. Its inner stainless steel structure is covered with heavy weight tensile nylon fabric. During the journey, It moves according to prevailing winds speed and direction at the time of travel. Since it moves with the wind, no wind is ever felt during the trip, offering the passengers a full “floating sensation”. To see more images go here.