A Multifaceted Book and Exhibition, ‘Black Earth Rising’ Contends with Colonialism, Land, and Climate

Between 450 B.C.E. and 950 C.E., a particularly fertile soil known by researchers as terra preta, literally “black earth” in Portuguese, was cultivated by Indigenous farmers in the Amazon Basin. The soil was made with broken pottery, compost, bones, manure, and charcoal—which lends its characteristic dark shade—making it rich in nutrients and minerals.

The historic, fecund material becomes a symbolic nexus for the exhibition Black Earth Rising, now on view at Baltimore Museum of Art. Curated by journalist and writer Ekow Eshun, the show illuminates several links between the climate crisis, land, presence, colonization, diasporas, and social and environmental justice.

Accompanying the exhibition is a new anthology published by Thames & Hudson titled Black Earth Rising: Colonialism and Climate Change in Contemporary Art, which highlights works by more than 150 African diasporic, Latin American, and Native American contemporary artists.

The volume explores intersections between slavery and forced migration, the environmental consequences of colonialism, socio-political injustices experienced by urban Black and Brown communities, and the violent occupation of Native lands—all through the lens of learning from Indigenous knowledge systems and a wide range of cultural practices to consider more carefully how we view and interact with the natural world.

Black Earth Rising brings together striking works by some of the art world’s most prominent practitioners, from Cannupa Hanska Luger and Precious Okoyoman to Wangechi Mutu and Firelei Báez, among many others. Hanska Luger’s ongoing project, Future Ancestral Technologies, takes a multimedia approach to science fiction as a vehicle for collective thinking. Luger describes the project as a way to imagine “a post-capitalism, post-colonial future where humans restore their bonds with the earth and each other.”

Carrie Mae Weems’ photograph “A Distant View,” from The Louisiana Project, approaches the history of enslaved women in the South through the perspective of a muse—the artist herself—spectrally inhabiting a seemingly idyllic landscape. Reflecting on the relaxed atmosphere of the image, we’re confronted with the stark reality experienced by Black people who were forced to labor on plantations, these grand houses now symbolic of atrocious violence and inequities.

“Black Earth Rising presents a discourse on climate change that places the voices of people of color at the active center rather than on the passive periphery,” says a statement from the publisher.

Through a wide variety of paintings, photography, sculpture, installation, and interdisciplinary pieces, readers—and visitors to the exhibition—are invited to consider how the continuum of history influences the climate crisis today and how we can proceed toward a future that centers unity and deeper relationships with nature.

The Black Earth Rising exhibition continues through September 21. Find your copy of the anthology on Bookshop, and plan your visit to the show on the Baltimore Museum of Art’s website.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article A Multifaceted Book and Exhibition, ‘Black Earth Rising’ Contends with Colonialism, Land, and Climate appeared first on Colossal.

rammed earth and local wood shape community-first kindergarten in cameroon by urbanitree

Urbanitree shapes african flow kindergarten in Cameroon

Architects Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez of Urbanitree complete a kindergarten for the African Flow campus in Soa, Cameroon. Rooted in the principles of ancestral African architecture, the 1,600-square-meter kindergarten is built through a collective process that trains local workers, engages teachers, and partners with nearby suppliers. The team employs local materials, such as rammed earth and wood, low-tech construction methods, and spatial storytelling to shape a nurturing environment for early childhood education. African Flow kindergarten is the first part of a broader educational complex, commissioned by the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, that will span from early years to secondary school.

Four symbolic ‘ecosystems’, mountain, savanna, village, and forest, form the concept of the building, each hosting different types of activities and interactions. These zones are organized around a central courtyard and connected by a continuous corridor that allows free movement and spontaneous learning.

all images by Adrià Goula

four ecosystems compose the rammed earth and wood project

The Barcelona-based architects of Urbanitree shape each of the four ‘ecosystems’ in the African Flow kindergarten to support different types of experiences and learning. The mountain area is a quiet, sheltered space that includes a small grotto, where children can spend time alone in silence. The savanna is a long, open area designed to host group activities like storytelling or learning in a circle, with simple steps where children can sit together. The village includes a small chapel, designed as an abstract space where natural light filters through patterned walls, creating a calm atmosphere for moments of quiet. The forest connects the building to the outdoors and includes a large tree-like wooden structure that children can climb. This sits next to a real patch of forest, blending play with exploration and a connection to nature.

The design of the school focuses on using local materials and simple construction techniques that are in tune with the environment. The walls are made from unfired rammed earth bricks, pressed blocks of the reddish local soil, that allow light and air to pass through. These patterns create unique shadows throughout the day and link the building visually to the ground it stands on. The structure itself uses wood from local species such as azobé, iroko, and sapele. These dense hardwoods are commonly exported to other countries, but here they are used directly in the construction to support a local, low-carbon approach. Even the water tower is redesigned and built from wood instead of concrete, covered with solar panels. This helps the building stay powered and supplied with water, even during frequent outages.

Urbanitree completes a kindergarten for the African Flow campus in Cameroon

the result of a collaborative process

Urbanitree’s work on the African Flow kindergarten was shaped by a collaborative and hands-on process that focused on learning by doing. Many of the carpenters and laborers involved in the construction had no previous experience working with wood, so they were trained on-site as the building took shape. This approach turned the construction process itself into a form of education. Teachers were also invited to use the building as part of their teaching, connecting daily lessons with the design of the space, and local suppliers became active partners in the project. Instead of importing systems or products, Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez chose to work with what was already available: the local soil, the surrounding forests, the knowledge of the community, and the people themselves.

rooted in the principles of ancestral African architecture

rethinking progress through a slow architecture

This slow and thoughtful way of working challenges the common idea that progress in architecture must rely on industrialized materials and fast-paced, standardized methods. In contrast, African Flow aims to show that design can follow a path that resists extractive approaches and puts local culture, resources, and skills at the center.

The building itself reflects this philosophy by being connected to its site and surroundings, with forms that follow the natural slope of the land. Thanks to this topography, a second level was added and is now used as housing for the team that manages the school, making the building even more integrated into the life of the campus. Urbanitree’s work here is part of a larger design strategy based on circular thinking, which looks at the full cycle from forest to finished building. In doing so, the project becomes a tool for social and environmental connection, especially in areas where fast urban development often pushes aside local traditions. Looking ahead, the African Flow campus will grow to include primary and secondary schools.

the 1,600-square-meter kindergarten is built through a collective process

rammed earth and wood shape the project

a continuous corridor allows free movement and spontaneous learning

low-tech construction methods and spatial storytelling form a nurturing environment for early childhood education

four symbolic ‘ecosystems’, mountain, savanna, village, and forest, form the concept

hosting different types of activities and interactions

the walls are made from unfired rammed earth bricks

the water tower is built from wood and covered with solar panels

organized around a central courtyard

project info:

name: African Flow kindergarten
architect: Urbanitree 
location: Soa, Cameroon
floor area: 1,600  square meters

lead architects: Vicente Guallart, Daniel Ibáñez
collaborating architects: Ali Basbous (BAD Architects), Daniel Fraile (Arquivio)
developer: Community of Nazareth
contractor: GIC Ma’asapkeng
carpenters: Alexandre Onguene, Tchawe Fabrice Ronelle, Germain Atanga
photographer: Adrià Goula | @adriagoulaphoto

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meaningless architecture’s meditation cabin lights up like a lantern in french woodlands

a lightweight and luminous meditation cabin in france

Meaningless Architecture’s Meditation Cabin in France is conceived as a ‘light’ paper cage. This has two meanings, as its designers Jiaojiao Miao and Qitao Yang describe, one being luminosity, and the other the antonym of heavy. The cantilevered structure, lightweight and stable, is formed using minimal wood, with integrated maintenance to ensure privacy. A lower opening forms the entrance, placed at the corner to leave more space inside, while the height of the floor is also released, allowing the wooden house to be made smaller.

The roof is cut obliquely to enjoy the distant view. During the day, the cabin is used as a place for meditation and rest, and the sun and the shadows of the trees paint intricate forms across its surfaces. As the sky darkens, it becomes illuminated from within, and through the canvas the cabin appears to perch like a delicate paper lantern in the woods.

all images courtesy of Jiaojiao Miao

meaningless architecture creates a meditative resting spot

‘We squat down from the path and walk under the cabin, climb up the ladder to the floor, and then climb to the meditation space,’ note the architects. Given the large slope of the site and the small size of the cabin, some unconventional and unique behavioral experiences are formed here. Visitors can stand and stick their head out to see the scenery in the distance, sit down to rest and look up at the sky, or sit on the fallen leaves and feel the light in the distance. In this way, the floor becomes the roof, and the structure is introverted.

To form the structure in the woodlands, Meaningless Architecture used the local abundant fir wood and built it together with local volunteers. Due to budget and time constraints, they only used 0.73 cubed meters of the natural material and completed the construction within a week.

the Meditation Cabin rests under the shade of trees

a cut through the top allows visitors to stick their head out to view the scenery in the distance

a lightweight and luminous cabin in France

the shadows of the trees are sprinkled on the walls and the floor

the cantilevered structure, lightweight and stable, is formed using minimal wood

a lower opening forms the entrance, placed at the corner to leave more space inside

sitting and looking up, you can see the leaves and the sky

as the sky darkens, the cabin is illuminated from within like a paper lantern in the woods

project info:

name: Meditation Cabin

architect: Meaningless Architecture
design team: Jiaojiao Miao, Qitao Yang

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

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catalan studio alventosa morell shapes casa GJ with staggered modules of textural brickwork

casa GJ responds to its catalan site

Casa GJ, designed by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes, occupies a flat corner plot in Matadepera, a quiet town at the base of the Catalan mountains. Built for a young couple on a piece of land that once belonged to their extended family, the residential project introduces a modular, brick architecture that balances shared living with privacy and long-term adaptability.

The 600-square-meter site is south-facing and framed by two existing detached homes. A few mature trees remain on the property, integrated carefully into the architectural scheme. From the outset, the clients requested a house that would feel open and connected while still offering secluded zones for privacy and future flexibility.

Responding to these parameters, the team organizes the project as a series of nine identical modules. These volumes are arranged along a staggered east-west axis, carefully positioned to preserve the site’s trees and maximize the number of south-facing rooms. The linear layout gently shifts as it moves across the site, creating small courtyards and moments of visual permeability.

images © José Hevia

a modular layout by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

The internal structure of the Alventosa Morell Arquitectes-designed Casa GJ relies on the spatial potential of its modules. The architects plan each room to open to at least two others, allowing a fluid progression through the home. The staggered arrangement produces cross-views and dynamic relationships between interior and exterior, where no single room is fully enclosed nor entirely exposed. A central module anchors the plan, rising slightly above the others to capture winter sun and channel natural ventilation during warmer months.

This center of gravity helps balance the home’s passive thermal strategies. The project achieves climate control through a combination of orientation, solar exposure, cross-ventilation, and thermal mass rather than mechanical systems. The result is a spatial experience shaped as much by air and light as by walls and ceilings.

Casa GJ is located in Matadepera, a town at the foot of the Catalan mountains

a brick structure designed for permanence

Casa GJ’s structure is designed by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes with load-bearing brick walls, concrete floors, and a roofscape of shallow vaults that echo traditional Catalan construction. The simplicity of materials lends the house a tactile, grounded presence, with thermal inertia playing a key role in maintaining indoor comfort across seasons.

The decision to work with brick and concrete reflects a desire for permanence, minimal maintenance, and performance. These elements are complemented by pergolas that extend the modular grid into the garden, forming shaded outdoor rooms that echo the rhythm of the interiors.

Each module opens to the landscape with carefully placed windows and thresholds. The outdoor pergolas provide gradual transitions between built space and vegetation, offering climatic buffering while reinforcing a sense of continuity between inside and out. These planted structures encourage daily interaction with the natural environment, providing shade in summer and filtered light in winter.

the house is built for a young couple on a property with mature trees preserved on site

Alventosa Morell Arquitectes arranges nine identical modules along a staggered axis

the modular layout allows for both privacy and shared living

interior spaces connect fluidly to one another with framed views and shifting alignments

project info:

name: Casa GJ

architect: Alventosa Morell Arquitectes | @alventosamorell

location: Matadepera, Spain

design team: Marc Alventosa, Xavier Morell

area: 142 square meters

completion: 2024

photography: © José Hevia

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explore the silent and opulent galleries of the louvre through franck bohbot’s lens

franck bohbot captures le louvre in new photo series

A series of photographs by Franck Bohbot presents an unusually quiet and architecturally focused portrait of Paris‘s Musée du Louvre. Granted rare carte blanche access by the museum, the French-born, New York–based photographer turns his lens on the interiors of the world’s most visited museum, revealing its structural cadence and enduring material presence with a stillness rarely seen by visitors.

Through this work, part of his broader ‘Parisian Interiors’ project, Bohbot moves away from the museum’s iconic role as a destination and instead frames it as what he calls ‘a living architectural organism.’ His images distill the museum to a sequence of calm spatial encounters, captured entirely in natural or available light. Through his images, daylight is shown to gradate while vanishing lines and historical textures dominate the composition.

the Cour Marly is filled with diffused daylight under its soaring glass canopy | images © Franck Bohbot

a study in scale and symmetry

From the Cour Marly’s glass-roofed sculpture garden to the saturated reds and gilded vaults of the Galerie d’Apollon, Franck Bohbot’s photographs emphasize the extravagance of Le Louvre’s interiors. In one frame, natural light pours through the vast barrel vaults of the Denon Wing, illuminating a receding array of stone statues. In another, the austere framing of the Mona Lisa’s gallery creates a visual standoff between viewer and object.

The photographer writes: ‘It’s a study in scale and silence, where every corridor, color palette, and composition pays homage to those who designed and preserved these spaces.’ His focus on symmetry heightens the architectural rhythm. Arches mirror arches, columns recede in dramatic perspective, and light bounces from the polished floors to the intricate ceilings overhead.

Franck Bohbot emphasizes the strict symmetry of the Louvre’s main corridors

the vast museum’s layered history

Along with its visual order, Franck Bohbot’s photographs record the layered temporality of Le Louvre. The museum was originally a medieval fortress, then a royal palace, and finally a public museum. This architectural evolution is evident throughout the vast museum, from the 12th century vestiges of the lower ground to the opulent 19th-century galleries.

In the rooms of antiquities, worn stone artifacts appear framed by neoclassical arches and softly reflective limestone walls. Meanwhile, the checkered flooring and classical columns of an upper-level hall lead toward a sculptural niche with exaggerated symmetry. ‘This series is less about documentation and more about reverence,’ Bohbot says, ‘for the stories embedded in stone, for the invisible presence of human hands, and for the timelessness of space when it’s given the chance to simply exist.’

the grand painting hall is rhythmically punctuated by arched skylights

a series of stone columns lead to a tranquil gallery alcove

the Galerie d’Apollon glows with gilded ornament and painted ceiling panels

fragments of ancient architecture are framed by classical archways

golden galleries are layered with framed portraits and ornament

project info:

museum: Musée du Louvre

photographer: Franck Bohbot | @franckbohbot

location: Paris, France

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pyramidal steel roof by thirdspace tops university’s sports arena in india

KLE University’s sports arena is built into the Land, facing City

ThirdSpace Architecture Studio has completed the Indoor Sports Arena at KLE Technological University in India, designed to address both institutional and urban conditions through a spatially responsive architectural strategy. The building is situated at the intersection of a major arterial road and one of the last green areas within the 100-acre campus. This site, defined by its dual context, city and campus, informed the design’s guiding principle: to reconcile landscape integration with civic visibility. The sports arena occupies a residual site with a natural topographic gradient; the road lies approximately four meters below the campus terrain. This condition enabled a sectional approach where the building partially sinks into the ground, maintaining landscape continuity across the site while presenting a more prominent profile towards the city. The resulting mass is simultaneously embedded within the campus and projected outward to the urban edge.

The internal program is anchored by basketball and badminton courts, requiring uninterrupted spans and significant vertical clearance. These spaces form the core of the structure and are flanked by ancillary functions including changing rooms, storage, and spectator galleries. Designed to accommodate 1,300 spectators, the central court can also be converted into a convocation hall with a capacity of 3,500, allowing for programmatic flexibility. A pyramidal steel roof spans the primary courts, while peripheral volumes are designed as green roofscapes. These landscaped surfaces visually and functionally integrate the building into its context, offering informal gathering areas and continuity with the existing topography.

all images courtesy of ThirdSpace Architecture Studio

ThirdSpace Rethinks Sports center design with porous arena

Access to the arena is organized through three main entry points from the east, west, and north, which respond to site contours and tree canopies. These entrances are designed as open plazas, functioning as extensions of campus life and public activity. They serve not only as circulation nodes but also as spaces of informal interaction. The arena operates at multiple scales. Internally, it serves as a dedicated facility for indoor sports. Externally, it reads as a continuation of the campus landscape while simultaneously asserting a clear visual identity when viewed from the city. Zinc cladding and glass panels define the upper structure, offering reflectivity and material articulation. A recessed red soffit at the western corner introduces a shaded, porous threshold between interior and exterior conditions.

ThirdSpace Architecture Studio’s design team selectively uses color throughout the interior to mark transitions and create moments of spatial contrast. These interventions support wayfinding and enhance the building’s visual legibility without disrupting its overall material consistency. Rather than isolating the sports functions, the building is designed as a porous civic structure. Landscape elements, such as gardens, walkways, and open plazas, are integral to its spatial composition, blurring the boundary between built form and terrain. The Indoor Sports Arena does not present a singular visual narrative but instead balances visibility and integration, mass and lightness, enclosure and openness. Through these calibrated gestures, the project offers a spatial response to institutional needs, site-specific constraints, becoming more than a sports facility.

project info:

name: Figured Ground
architect: ThirdSpace Architecture Studio

location: Karnataka, India

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step inside world’s largest LED dome by collcoll illuminating prague planetarium

New LED dome lights up the Prague Planetarium interior

Czech architectural studio collcoll introduces unique LED technology, transforming the Prague Planetarium into a large illuminating dome. The Prague Planetarium has undergone a major modernization that goes far beyond just replacing its projection equipment. The renovation of the protected building, designed by architect Jaroslav Frágner in the 1950s, was complex. It required removing layers of interventions from recent decades to make way for the installation of revolutionary LED projection technology. The largest LED screen of its kind in the world. At the heart of the project is a new hemispherical screen from the American company COSM, 22 meters in diameter, with an incredible 45 million pixels. Visitors can experience an immersive spatial illusion with extraordinary color depth and realism.

all images by BoysPlayNice

collcoll redesigns the auditorium for immersive viewing

The central Zeiss Jena projector was moved outside the main hall by agreement with heritage conservators, freeing space for a new auditorium design. Architects from collcoll studio designed a stepped geometric layout that visually lifts the audience above the horizon. Capacity increased by 20% to 277 seats, with a spatial arrangement supporting comfortable and safe movement. The seats were custom-designed with a Czech manufacturer, and they are now adjustable, ergonomic, and comfortable enough to keep visitors attentive. Acoustic treatment hidden behind the projection dome further enhances the illusion of infinite space.

The installation of new technology required new energy and technical facilities, integrated into the building with maximum respect for its protected structures. Cooling and heat recovery were designed considering the planetarium’s location in the heart of Stromovka Park. Heat from the screen is stored in six deep wells (each 200 m deep) in summer and used to heat the building in winter. The dome itself has a thermal output comparable to three family houses, so the heat is reused within the building.

new LED dome lights up the Prague Planetarium interior

Historical preservation merges with future-forward design

The renovation also affected the foyer and facilities. The original exhibition at the entrance was replaced by a circular LED screen serving as an additional presentation surface. A newly designed cloakroom separates incoming and outgoing visitor flows, increasing comfort. Over the summer of 2025, a new simulator exhibition in the basement is set to open, along with a shop at the new exit, after completing outdoor landscaping. An inappropriately placed ramp will be removed from the adjacent rosarium, simplifying barrier-free access through the shop. This modernization positions the Prague Planetarium as a world leader in immersive education and culture with its unique LED dome technology, offering visitors an unprecedented visual experience of the cosmos.

collcoll studio redesigns the auditorium for immersive viewing

viewers experience deep color and spatial illusion

a 22-meter LED dome redefines spatial projection

seating redesigned for ergonomics and adjustability

geometric stepped seating raises audience above the horizon

energy systems adapted to preserve the protected building

integrated acoustic treatments enhance spatial perception

project info:

name: Prague Planetarium
architect: collcoll | @collcoll.cc

design team: Adam Kössler, Krištof Hanzlík, Libor Mládek, Michal Fousek

client: Observatory and Planetarium of Capital City Prague | @planetum.cz

location: Královská obora 233, 170 00 Prague, Czech Republic

dimensions: 22 m screen diameter 45 000 000 LEDs screen resolution

photographer: BoysPlayNice | @boysplaynice

project management: CManagement [Arnošt Táborský, Dan Kouba]

technical supervisor: Jiří Cís

energy management: TO SYSTEM [Jaroslav Smejkal, Jakub Janďourek]

ventilation: Atrea [Barbora Paříková, Zdeněk Zikán]

cooling: Michal Ježek

structural engineer: Štěpán Thondel

lighting concept, electricity: sysloop engineering [Miroslav Frolec, Anatolyi Obryn]

acoustic design: Aveton [Dominik Cvetler]

acoustic consultation: Petr Roll

acoustic insulation: A.W.A.L. [Kateřina Volšíková]

fire safety: Ilona Muziková

sanitary: TZB-BLOCK [Jan Smrček]

server room: Altron [Jakub Odlas]

power line connection: Pring [Jan Vočko]

geothermal wells: Gerotop [Tomáš Kuchta]

landscaping: her architecture [Alice Boušková]

geodetic survey: Pavel Keprta, Jan Kopecký

LED projection technology: Cosm

dome structure: Spitz

LED technology, projection software: Evans & Sutherland

demolition and site preparation: Technical department of the Planetarium

building works: Rextron

steel structure: Karel Krejčíř

seats fabrication: Kinoexport

LED lighting: sysloop engineering

LED screen foyer: Loko Trans Media

electricity: Galenit

environmental controls, ventilation: Bohemik

heating: Regultherm

measurement and control: STIFRA Plzeň

ICT: Sistel

ventilation: Croatherm

scaffolding: Peri Up

geothermal boreholes: Artemia

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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red bricks line the refreshment club’s kiln-inspired flagship for parisian porcelain house

The Refreshment Club unveils paris flagship for porcelain house

At 69 Rue des Saints-Pères on Paris’s Left Bank, architect and creative director Onur Kece of The Refreshment Club introduces the flagship store of contemporary porcelain house Saints Pères, conceiving the showroom as a space of transformation. The 160-square-meter interior operates as a laboratory that immerses visitors in the slow, sensory rituals that shape it.

The spatial concept draws directly from the raw materials and techniques of porcelain-making. Red brick walls and counters, stacked dry without mortar, evoke the interiors of traditional kilns while also recalling industrial pallet systems, with their rhythmic repetition. A full-ceiling lightbox filters ambient illumination across the space, simulating the clear, even light of a sunlit day that softens edges, warms textures, and heightens the tactile character of each surface. At the far end, a long poured-concrete counter anchors an open workshop, where making becomes a visible and ongoing act.

images courtesy of The Refreshment Club

Saints Pères centers rituals in landscape of stone and clay

The spatial narrative unfolds in geological time. Opposite the entrance, a rough stone wall mimics the layered strata of clay quarries, grounding the boutique in the earthbound origins of its core material. This sense of grounding is enhanced by raw walls that breathe, edges that remain imperfect, and transitions that are felt more than marked. Movement through the space is uninterrupted and intuitive, every threshold is porous, and every boundary is blurred.

Paris-based architect Onur Kece, founder of The Refreshment Club creative agency, structures the boutique around three active zones that reinterpret the art de la table through contemporary gestures. An olive oil bar presents some of the rarest extra virgin varieties from around the world, inviting tasting as a sensory act. A custom coffee bar offers curated blends roasted in-house, while a modular zone hosts chef-led dinners, tastings, and artist collaborations, transforming the Saints Pères boutique into a site of hospitality and experimentation.

Saints Pères, as a brand, proposes porcelain as a medium through which attention, care, and sensorial presence are practiced daily. In this context, the store is an instrument of that philosophy, with Kece’s design inviting visitors to slow down, to observe, to touch, and to taste.

The Refreshment Club introduces the flagship store of contemporary porcelain house Saints Pères

the 160-square-meter interior immerses visitors in the sensory rituals that shape it

the spatial concept draws directly from the raw materials and techniques of porcelain-making

red brick walls and counters, stacked dry without mortar, evoke the interiors of traditional kilns

recalling industrial pallet systems

a full-ceiling lightbox filters ambient illumination across the space

an olive oil bar presents some of the rarest extra virgin varieties from around the world

movement through the space is uninterrupted and intuitive

a rough stone wall mimics the layered strata of clay quarries

project info:

name: Saints-Peres Flagship Store, Paris | @saintsperesparis
architect: The Refreshment Club | @therefreshmentclub
location: 69 Rue des Saints-Pères, Paris, France

lead designer: Onur Kece

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

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cantilevered concrete mass by rocco design expands cuhk art museum in hong kong

Rocco expands CUHK Art Museum with New Annex

Rocco Design Architects Associates has completed the new annex for the Art Museum at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), expanding the museum’s spatial and cultural reach through a design grounded in contextual sensitivity and structural clarity. The annex establishes a direct connection to the existing museum, aligning with CUHK’s institutional mission to promote Chinese art and cultural education. The design concept, based on the theme ‘Upon Heritage Stems New Marvels,’ is reflected in both architectural form and spatial organization. The new structure evolves from the existing building and projects outward, forming a cantilevered mass that extends 12 meters above the sloped terrain. This cantilever addresses both aesthetic and functional concerns, referencing geological forms while creating uninterrupted space below to preserve existing trees and topography.

The massing of the annex is informed by landscape imagery found in traditional Chinese painting, particularly the works ‘Shanshui in Four Screens’ by Chang Dai-chien and ‘Echoing with Distant Horses’ by Dai Jin. The building’s positioning and elevation facilitate continuity between the new and existing galleries while allowing the landscape to remain integral to the visitor experience. The raised main exhibition hall enables clear circulation and improved spatial flow across the museum complex.

CUHK Art Museum New Annex | all images courtesy of Rocco Design Architects Associates

Museum Extension is Rooted in Landscape and Heritage

The design team at Rocco Design Architects Associates further enhances circulation by adding a new stairway running alongside the annex, creating a direct link between University Avenue and the University Mall. This route introduces a layered spatial sequence: from open landscape through semi-public spaces to the enclosed gallery interiors. Visitors pass through a progression that includes a multi-purpose hall, stairway, and viewing platforms, before arriving at the museum’s core exhibition spaces. The annex’s structure includes a V-shaped column that supports the cantilevered gallery and acts as a visual and symbolic anchor. The V-form references the concept of “承” (support or continuation) in Chinese culture, interpreted here as both structural necessity and cultural transmission. The structural motif also alludes to the legacy of Dr. Lo Kwee-seong, donor and founder of the Vitasoy brand, whose name is embedded in the museum’s history.

The building’s facade design adapts traditional Chinese ink painting techniques into a contemporary architectural language. Drawing inspiration from ‘cunfa,’ or textured brushstrokes used to depict depth and materiality in landscape painting, the exterior uses fair-faced concrete with custom formwork. Variations in depth and surface articulation echo the layered textures of rocks, water, and trees found in classical artworks. The 1,770-square-meter facility includes the Harold and Christina Lee Gallery for special exhibitions, a café (Ideaology), a bookstore, an artist studio, a mounting studio, and a rooftop area offering views of the surrounding campus and natural landscape.

the cantilever design preserves site topography and mature trees below

the featured structural element implies the cultural concept of ‘承’ (support) in Chinese culture

the new building comprises a special exhibition gallery, café, book shop, artist studio, and a rooftop

a ‘strategic shortcut’ is created via a grand staircase on the side of the new Annex Building

the design enriches visitor experience and fosters curiosity

by lifting the main gallery space, the design connects the new gallery and the existing two galleries

the design facilitates a fluid exhibition flow between the existing galleries and the new gallery

the main exhibition space is elevated over 12 m above the existing slope

the building forms a gesture of a rock sitting on the mountain

project info:

name: CUHK Art Museum New Annex (Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong – Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion) | @artmuseumcuhk

architects: Rocco Design Architects Associates Ltd | @roccodesignarchitects

area: approx. 6,000 sqm

location: Shatin, Hong Kong

client: Chinese University of Hong Kong

The post cantilevered concrete mass by rocco design expands cuhk art museum in hong kong appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

david altrath captures eerie stillness of bonnland, an abandoned military village in germany

bonnland, a deserted village frozen in time

In his latest photographic series, David Altrath captures the unsettling quietude of Bonnland, an abandoned German village with a fascinating history of displacement. Located within the Hammelburg military training area in Lower Franconia, Bonnland has been off-limits to civilians for decades, functioning as a sealed-off military training village since 1965. Altrath’s photo series offers a rare, almost cinematic glimpse into what he describes as a silent stage set ‘with alleyways without sounds, houses without life — a backdrop for scenarios that never took place.’

all images by David Altrath

david altrath captures the village’s surreal dualities

The village was first cleared in 1938 during the expansion of the military zone under the German army. Though some residents returned after the Second World War, they were permanently resettled in 1965 when the Bundeswehr took control of the site. Since then, Bonnland has remained intact but uninhabited, with some of its buildings being utilized for tactical training exercises by the German armed forces. Despite its role as a stage for such rehearsed scenarios, the village remains physically untouched while remaining listed as a cultural heritage site.

Capturing this eerie history, David Altrath’s perspective of the village captures a surreal duality and presents it as a preserved shell of rural life. The homes are intact though uninhabited, narrow alleys are devoid of any sound, and derelict vehicles seem suspended in time. The German photographer portrays a setting that feels paradoxically alive and lifeless, amplifying the uncanny realism of a built landscape repurposed for fiction.

David Altrath presents photo series, Bonnland

an abandoned military village in Germany

an almost cinematic glimpse into what Altrath describes as a silent stage set

the images capture an unsettling quietude

Bonnland has long remained intact but uninhabited

some of its buildings being utilized for tactical training exercises by the German armed forces.

the village remains physically untouched while remaining listed as a cultural heritage site

the village was first cleared in 1938 during the expansion of the military zone under the German army

derelict and active vehicles seem suspended in time

the German photographer portrays a setting that feels paradoxically alive and lifeless

Altrath’s lens amplifies the uncanny realism of a built landscape repurposed for fiction

project info:

name: Bonnland

photographer: David Altrath | @davidaltrath

The post david altrath captures eerie stillness of bonnland, an abandoned military village in germany appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.