So you have a new BMW i3 or i8 in your driveway, and you’re loving the freedom the electric-drive capability gives you—but you’d like to be even greener? BMW DesignworksUSA has the answer with its stunningly simple, high-tech solar carport.

MUST SEE: 2015 BMW i8 Production Mega Gallery

It’s still a concept design at this stage, but the bamboo and carbon fiber structure just begs to be built. Supported atop the structure is an array of solar panels that harvest the sun’s energy and store it in your BMW i-vehicle.

In addition to being greener than charging from the grid, the solar energy carport allows the BMW i owner to be more self-sufficient in their energy supply. To harness the energy from the solar panels, a BMW i Wallbox Pro is needed. Once integrated, the carport and Wallbox Pro can then directly charge either the i3 or i8. With the Wallbox Pro’s features, excess solar energy not needed to charge the car can be used by the connected house.

“With the solar carport concept we opted for a holistic approach: not only is the vehicle itself sustainable, but so is its energy supply,” explained Tom Allemann of BMW Designworks USA. “This is therefore an entirely new generation of carports that allows energy to be produced in a simple and transparent way. It renders the overarching theme of lightweight design both visible and palpable.”

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BMW’s beautiful, functional solar carport certainly complements the ethos behind the company’s i brand. Here’s hoping BMW decides to offer it as an optional upgrade to i owners in the near future.

Take a look at a video of the solar carport in action:

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Though it seemed a compromise was met last October, when Japan’s minister of education, Hakubun Shimomura announced plans to reduce the cost and scale of the Zaha Hadid-designed Tokyo Olympic Stadium, the debate rages on.  

Pritzker laureates Toyo Ito and Fumihiko Maki have launched an online petition to “defend the ginko tree-lined landscape of blue sky and Jingu Outer Gardens” from the construction of Hadid’s “oversized” stadium. 

The petition (now with more than 13,000 signatures) urges the Japan Sports Council, who hand selected Hadid’s winning design alongside Tadao Ando, to reconsider upgrading the existing Meiji Jingo Gaien Stadium and the gardens surrounding it. This solution, they believe, is a more affordable and sustainable alternative that would prevent the relocation of nearby residents. 

The 80,000-seat stadium, which was selected over 10 other finalists in November 2012 to serve as the new Japan National Stadium, is scheduled for completion just before the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

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Work to alter Rafael Viñoly Architects' 20 Fenchurch Street– dubbed the Walkie Talkie due to its unusual shape and then the "Walkie Scorchie" after it created a heat-focusing ray strong enough to melt cars last summer – is due to start later this month, after planning permission for the additions was granted in April.

The alterations, also designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, will see horizontal aluminium louvres added to the glass facade between the 3rd and the 34th floor to ensure that the reflective "death ray" effect is not repeated.

News of the effect proved instantly popular when it broke in September 2013, with people flocking to experience the hot-spot for themselves. Some even fried eggs in the glare, and one reading by the BBC measured surface temperatures of over 90°C (194°F).

The developer Land Securities says that the alterations required have not added to the building's cost, and despite the widespread ridicule, the building remains remains one of their most financially successful ventures.

A statement from the company's 2014 annual results said that "a solar glare issue drew attention to the building for the wrong reasons but did nothing to deter lettings with 200,000 sq ft taken up in the months after the problem materialised." The building is said to be "all but completed" and has already let 87% of its office space.

SEE ALSO: Top Architect Explains How Chinese Cities Need To Evolve

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A year in the making, Krumbach in Austria has unveiled seven eye-catching bus shelters which have turned the world's gaze on the tiny village.

Designed by internationally renowned architects such as Wang Shu, Sou Fujimoto and Smiljan Radic, who worked in collaboration with local architects and craftsmen, the whimsical structures will put the village of 1000 residents on the map.

Curator Dietmar Steiner praised the commitment of those involved, saying "the entire project succeeded because it was supported in the most generous fashion by more than 200 people." This included the architects, who took up their projects for little more than a free holiday in the area and the chance to engage in an unusual challenge.

However, BUS:STOP was not merely a vanity project: Verena Konrad, Director of vai Vorarlberger Architektur Institut, noted that the project was important for "the successful connection ofinfrastructure and mobility for the rural area."

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Architect Daniel Libeskind’s stunning design was selected last week for the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa, Canada.

We’ve got pictures of it below, but first let’s look at the Jewish architect's other prominent Holocaust monuments.

The facade of the Jewish Museum in Berlin is marked by jagged lines which evoke a 6-pointed Jewish Star.

"What is important is the experience you get from it. The interpretation is open," Libeskind said of his architecture.

Libeskind, who is Jewish, also designed a Holocaust monument in Ohio, the Holocaust and Liberators Memorial at the Ohio Statehouse, which will open on June 2nd. To reach this 1,029-square-foot monument, which also portrays the shape of a Jewish star, visitors will walk up a sloped pathway that is lined with inspirational quotes.

Now, Libeskind has unveiled the designs for another Holocaust monument in Ottawa, Canada, that's set to open in 2015. Shaped like an elongated Star of David, the design of the National Holocaust Monument is somewhat similar to Libeskind's design for Berlin's Jewish Museum. Visitors will walk through the triangular spaces while reflecting on photos of Holocaust sites and victims sunk into the concrete walls. 

“Through the transformative power of architecture, I believe this monument will become an important place for memory, remembrance and the celebration of the resilience of the human spirit," Libeskind said in a statement.

The monument is configured in the shape of an elongated Jewish star, with six points.

Each triangle of the star is composed of giant concrete pillars.

People will be able to walk through these triangular spaces.

The walls of the monument will be lined with photos commemorating the Holocaust.

The National Holocaust Monument will be "a place of memory and mourning, honoring and commemorating," according to Studio Daniel Libeskind.

The new exhibit is expected to cost up to $8.5 million to build and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2015.

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There's that season finale of Archer where the spy team travels to a massive, underwater sea lab that eventually floods due to a stray bullet.

The concept of a mega-city on water is certainly alluring, but I know my fears of drowning would overwhelm an aqua-tropolis' futuristic charm.

Thus, AT Design Office's concept design for a floating island with an area of four square miles sounds both safe and mind-blowing.

It's like a manmade Manhattan.

And man do the fabrications look insane:

Commissioned by Chinese construction firm CCCC, AT Design Office created the concept, titled Floating City, with hypothetical plans to use hexagonal modules that overlap to create a foundational city floor. Below the floor would be a network of underground walkways and roads that connect the city sections. So habitants would have the option to live both above and below water. 

There would also be green spaces both on top of the geometric modules, as well as in the underwater tunnels, allowing the city to be self-sustaining and eco-friendly.

According to AT Design Office, "A chimney in the center of a vertical garden provides natural ventilation and lighting to the underwater city. Meanwhile, the vertical garden is also a public traffic hub, which provides a traffic platform for submarines and inter-block passages." Naturally, there's a proposal for a "vibrant floating entertainment area" at the city's heart, too. 

AT Design Office's concept plan is currently under review by one of China's major real estate and property investors, China Transport Investment Co.

The designer firm could be designing tests on a smaller scale as early as next year. Even if this project is simply hypothetical and a concept design experiment, there has something to be said about a growing interest in water-based cities.

Once we overpopulated the continents and raze their natural resources, it may only be only a matter of time until we try and take to the seas. Good luck to the sea-sick inclined.

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As part of the Milan Expo 2015, architecture firm Nemesi & Partners has unveiled its plans to adorn the Palazzo Italia with a facade that's both beautiful and pragmatic.

The pavilion will be covered in a facade resembling a petrified forest and is made from a special cement that can purify smog.

When the sun shines on the material, it captures specific pollutants and turns them into innocuous salts, effectively cleaning the air while still looking futuristic and slick. 

80% of the facade is made from recycled material and it will stretch nearly 100,000 sq. ft., requiring roughly 2,200 tons of cement. The rest of the pavilian will also have special roof that generates solar energy during the day. 

According to Nemesi & Partners, the project is "inspired by a natural architecture in which the branched weave of the external 'skin' of the building generates alternations of light and shadows and solids and voids, creating a scenario that refers to works of Land Art." The fact that the eco-friendly design looks like a tree out of Avatar only enhances the feeling. 

The Palazzo Italia is set to be a permanent installation, even after the Milan Expo ends. The Expo opens in May of 2015 and ends in October of that year, giving the team plenty of time to perfect their awesome plan.

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Does Paris risk being "frozen in formaldehyde"?  The French capital's strict historic building preservation has come under fire this month, after a major revamp of a Parisian landmark was shot down by the courts.

The vast Samaritaine department store, looming over the Pont Neuf since 1869, has been shut for an extreme makeover since 2005, one that planned to replace three of its sandstone outer walls with an opaque glass shell.

The rebuild's lovers saw this proposed veil as "undulating, diaphanous." For its haters, however, it was just a "giant shower curtain." Demolition began and three facades came down, but this month the revamp’s opponents secured a court order blocking the changes (too late?). So now Paris neither has a sparkling new building, nor an old building clad in well-weathered sandstone.

This battle is about more than the shop alone. What is striking about the Samaritaine debate is the passionate reaction it has created among people who fear Paris is becoming (or has already become) a historical relic. In a letter to Le Monde, leading architect Christian de Potzamparc said that the only reason for halting the plans is to "declare the absolute authority of the past," turning Paris into a "sad and dark museum."

Another Le Monde piece titled "Paris in Formaldehyde" compares Paris' anti development stance wistfully with the development frenzy of London and Berlin. La Samaritaine’s owners, the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, have also chimed in, covering the site with an awning printed with favorable comments such as "Paris is not a museum and needs to be renewed."

Feelings are strong because La Samaritaine isn't just a regular store. With its central position in the city extending over several blocks, the building is a sight in itself, a Belle Époque/art deco hybrid that’s somehow halfway between a late Victorian casino and a 1930s ocean liner. The shop was a Parisian institution (think Macy's, not Barney's) until its building's failure to meet current safety codes saw it closed in 2005. "

You could buy something better at La Samaritaine" used to be a common Parisian put-down for people who were too proud of a new possession. The makeover always planned to keep the main, most recognizable façade intact, but this was never a building with which you could mess with impunity.

But is it right to mourn the plan's rejection as evidence that a timid, reactionary Paris has lost its appetite for the new? Certainly, while largely maintaining its historic fabric, the city used to have some appetite for bold new projects – some successful, like the Pompidou Centre, others, like the Montparnasse Tower, very unpopular. Nowadays, anything this bold is kept firmly on the old city’s edge.  Given Paris' famous beauty, regretting this might seem almost insane when viewed from outside. From the inside, however, it’s understandable that not all Parisians want their city to be just a sepia backdrop to someone else's Moveable Feast fantasy.

Arguments about this issue have another undercurrent: a sense that Paris' place as a great world city may be slipping away. This month, a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey placed Paris for the first time outside the top five in a survey of the world’s most attractive cities, pushed out by a perceived fall in its economic power and modest growth.

Someone living in PWC's top-placed city – London – might well question the value judgments that have granted it a supposed attractiveness surpassing all others, but there's no denying that such pronouncements knock Parisian confidence. Maybe the attitude that saw the Samaritaine’s plans dismissed shows that the city hasn't truly woken up to the 21st century after all.

The problem with this argument comes when you look at the plan's actual drawings. This was no groundbreaking new structure. It was a banal and rather familiar project that involved skinning the old building and placing it in a sort of architectural freezer bag. It's hard how to see it could have been either a break from conservatism or a real adornment to its surroundings.

If this was a stick to beat architectural reactionaries with, it was less a bruising rod than a flimsy tickle twig. In fact, the vocal support for the building from the likes of Potzamparc are persuasive in one (unintentional) sense. If this is what a landmark modern building looks like in contemporary Parisian terms, the city has indeed been starved of examples of good new architecture for too long.

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Renderings of this futuristic Floating City (via Dezeen) could very easily pass for the storyboard of a Hollywood sci-fi flick set in the distant future.

But this design for a floating city, by London-based architecture firm AT Design Office, may very well become reality.

According to the city's designers, the project's backers are in talks with a large Chinese investment group to discuss the possibility of constructing the City. "China Transport Investment Co. is reviewing the proposal and is likely to start to test this ambitious project from a smaller scale next year,"project architect Slavomir Siska said in a press release. Commissioned by Chinese construction firm CCCC, the Floating City is a proposed four-square mile floating structure comprised of hexagonal modules connected by underwater tunnels that create a network of roads and walkways. The eco-friendly project is expected to be self-sufficient, with on-island food production, power generation, and waste management systems. Movement throughout the city is expected to be facilitated by electric cars or other zero-carbon forms of transport. Logistically, the movement of goods in and out of the Floating City may be a challenge, but designers are hoping a network above, as well as underwater transport canals with fleets of transport yachts and submarines, will ease the strain.

In fact, the City's center harbor,with access to its shopping and entertainment districts, could be used as a parking location of commercial submarines.The Floating City will consist of both above and underwater segments, and will feature all of the residential, commercial and entertainment accoutrements of a major city. Planners expect the City to house luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping, and other recreational options. The Floating City will even come equipped with docking facilities for cruise ships to encourage tourism.The architects at AT Design Office have also included a copious amount of green space in their design, both above and under water. The above-ground green belt is designed to provide residents with recreational space, while the underwater greenery will provide fresh air and additional relaxation space.While it is unlikely the completed Floating City will be an exact facsimile of these renderings, many of the construction techniques needed to bring the project to life is already exist. The City's backers expect to construct the city out of a series of 500 x 100-foot prefabricated blocks by implementing techniques CCCC is currently using to build a 31-mile-long bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.

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Officials announced this week that, starting in June, the city of Kiruna, Sweden will begin to migrate. Founded in 1900, the town is the product of Sweden’s largest state-owned mining company, LKAB. The company extracts iron from the nearby Kirunavaara mountainside, and now the expansion of the mines threatens to destabilize the ground beneath 3,000 homes as well as many of the town’s municipal buildings.

The 100-year master plan put forth by White Arkitekter, in collaboration with Ghilardi + Hellsten Arkitetker, calls for the city to expand two miles eastward along a linear axis. This new plan will rebuild the town on solid ground, retain its historical and cultural presence, and slowly wean it off its dependency on the mining industry by opening the community up to new businesses.

Kiruna’s move is to be funded by LKAB and, as of this week, the company has pledged €415.5 million for the completion of the first phase of construction. This phase involves the construction of a new town center, which will be home to the city’s historic clock tower, a new travel center, and Henning Larsen Architects’ competition-winning city hall.

Mikael Stenqvist, lead architect for the project, said “We are delighted to be making the first steps in our Kiruna plan. Kiruna will be like a walking millipede, crawling, moving slowly with a thousand feet a few kilometers east.”

Later stages in the migration will include the installation of an efficient public transportation system, and the development of “finger” neighborhoods which develop organically north and south from the urban backbone of the relocated city. When Kiruna has been completely relocated, the old city site is planned to become a park which facilitates reindeer migration. The mines, when they become exhausted, are expected to generate revenue through tourism. 

SEE ALSO: Top Architect Explains How Chinese Cities Need To Evolve

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The text on the cornerstone of Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital, can still be viewed under its plexiglass cover. "This building," Benjamin Franklin wrote in the inscription, "was piously founded for the relief of the sick and miserable."

The hospital was created in 1751 by progressives, and yet many of its design elements would seem primitive to us now. On the ground floor "were the cells for lunatics," with a long hallway "for such patients as could be trusted to walk about,"an 1897 history of the Philadelphia landmark noted. The state-of-the-art building also included open fireplaces and "ventilators to carry off the foul air."

But while some of the building's most forward-thinking features seem backwards today, American hospitals of the future may take at least one important cue from their earliest predecessor, which was seen not just as a place for the sick but as a crown jewel of a quickly growing city.

Pennsylvania Hospital's opening ceremonies were such a big event that the city's schools were dismissed so that children could be in attendance for the historic occasion. While it's difficult to imagine a hospital opening today creating enough excitement for a citywide holiday, we may again be moving beyond thinking of such critical institutions only when we fall ill — or at least hospital architects see some hopeful signs.

In Sickness And In Health

In the future, "hospitals can and should become more of a centerpiece of the community," said Charles Griffin, president of AIA's Academy of Architecture for Health, in an interview. "They're transitioning from a place for sickness to a place where you can learn about health."

This focus on wellness and preventative care is a driving principle of the Affordable Care Act and a healthcare trend in general, so it's no surprise that it's being reflected in the designs of hospitals themselves. While no amount of preventative care will remove the need for emergency rooms, trauma centers, and intensive care, the hope is that hospitals might expand their services that help keep people out of their sickest wards.

A growingbody of research has suggested that better-designed hospitals — with private rooms, plenty of windows, natural light, and noise control — are actually associated with shorter stays and better outcomes for patients. And beginning in the 1990s, hospitals began going even further, adding demonstration kitchens, for example, to teach patients how to cook healthy meals when they leave.

Griffin pointed to Florida Hospital Celebration Health as a living example of what hospitals in the future could look like.

Doctor Disney

The resort-like hospital, built in 1997, is in the somewhat Stepfordian community of Celebration, the planned village that was designed by and is adjacent to Walt Disney World. "It was built specifically to be in Mickey Mouse land," said Griffin. "They went way out of their way to focus on health and not illness."

To that end, it was conceived as a hospital that felt more like a community center — somewhere you might want to stick around. "The hospital's strategy is to offer a wide range of health services under one roof, as if combining a doctor's office with a health club and a restaurant,"The Orlando Sentinel reported when the project was enjoined. "That way, patients can get a physical or a lab test and finish up the visit with a swim or a class in nutrition at an activities center."

Fancy hospitals are not good for our ballooning healthcare costs, and don't necessarily translate into better care. Luxury healthcare, in any case, is not equally available to everyone.

But there is a boom in hospital construction, and taking a look at the almost surreal world of Celebration Health might provide a glimpse of the future — or at least the possibility — of tomorrow's hospitals.

Celebration's Mediterranean-style architecture is meant to evoke a resort:

Here is the front entrance. It was designed to feel more like a hotel than a hospital:

The hospital says the grounds are "landscaped to create a superior environment for recovery." Here's a view of one of the "healing gardens":

The patient rooms are designed with smart technology to give patients more control, and large windows let in an abundance of natural light:

The exterior areas of the fitness center look more like Disney World than a typical hospital:

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The American Institute of Architects has just announced the 10 winners of its 11th annual Small Project Awards Program.

The program finds the most innovative small-project designs around the world, focusing on "eco-friendly, tech-savvy and out-of-the-box designs."

This year's winners range from a tiny home in Wisconsin to a cafe at Yale University.

AIA divided submissions into four different categories: buildings that cost less than $150,000 and $1.5 million to construct, buildings smaller than than 5,000 square feet, and "unbuilt," which are theoretical or visionary. Eligible architects must be licensed in the U.S., but their buildings can be anywhere.

The jury included five members of AIA who also work in architecture firms. 

GROUND, Yale University; New Haven, CT, Bentel and Bentel Architects

The new Ground cafe at Yale's Marcel Breuer-designed Becton School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ('SEAS'), is meant to encourage social interactions between faculty and students of the engineering school, as well as members of other departments in the university.

REDACTION HOUSE; Delafield, Wisconsin, Johnsen Schmaling Architects

The construction and renovation of 12 soccer stadiums for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was plagued by cost overruns, legacy concerns, and missed construction deadlines.

There are also questions about the point of spending $3.6 billion on stadiums, some of which don't seem to have long-term uses, when other basic social services are underfunded.

These photos of the 12 host venues reflect the complexity of the Brazil World Cup. The venues are striking and surrounded by natural beauty; but they're also sometimes way behind schedule, sometimes tucked between slums, and sometimes needlessly expensive.

Our favorites: the Estadio das Dunas in Natal and the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba.

Our least favorites: the depressing Arena Pernabumco in Recife.

The Maracana in Rio de Janeiro is the centerpiece of the World Cup.

The historic stadium once held nearly 200,000 people. After a $536-million renovation, the capacity is now 78,000.

Source: WSJ

The Maracana is in the thick of Rio, right down the road from the Mangueira slum.

With more than 18,000 stores in 62 countries, Starbucks is a force in the coffee world. 

The typical Starbucks storefronts are easily recognizable to the masses.

But some locations of the coffee shop are works of art. 

Here are the most beautiful Starbucks stores around the world, with locations ranging from the suburbs of Seattle to the heart of Singapore.

This eco-friendly drive-thru store in Tukwila, Wash., was made using four shipping containers.

This shop in Dubai might be the most beautiful mall location of Starbucks in existence.

This swanky location inside Galeries Lafayette in Paris is also a strong contender in the mall category.

Some people might mentally retch that the United Nations, believing the world's population could hit 9 billion by 2050, thinks we should prepare to eat bugs.

Not the folks at Sweden's Belatchew Arkitekter, though: They want to fast-track the insect-munching. Thus they've whipped up plans to build "vermin farms" upon Stockholm's major intersections, so that by 2018 everybody in the city will be guaranteed plentiful rations of six-legged foodstuffs.

Their official name for these unconventional farms are "Buzz Buildings," presumably for the pleasant hum the millions of crickets will add to the urban soundscape. Looking like big, inflated doughnuts with sunlit gardens inside, there would be nine of them total—and if you think Belatchew hasn't done the math on whether that's enough protein for the people, you've got another thing coming:

Stockholm is expected to have 940,700 inhabitants by the year 2018. in order to make food from bugs corresponding to the inhabitants’ meat consumption, about 500,000 m² of farmable surface is needed. by placing vermin farms in nine roundabouts throughout the city, the goal of making it self-sufficient in protein can be obtained. 

As seen in this very large infographic, the architects believe their bevy of entomophagical installations operating at 50 percent efficiency could provide 489,350 square meters of cricket space, leading them to conclude, quote, "YES, WE CAN!"

A side benefit of these breeding chambers would be their attraction to other beneficial insects, namely honeybees, they allege. Ninety-eight out of 300 species of Swedish wild bees are endangered. The walls of the Buzz Buildings are perforated to allow bees to crawl in and zip among flowers, and with luck not sting the farmers who are trying to corral a bunch of hopping crickets.

Here's hoping the good citizens of Stockholm get this bold plan off the ground by 2018. That way, they can tell the rest of the world what it's like to subsist off of insectoid infrastructure:

It's hard to tell from this cross section, but the bottom floor of each bug barn is meant to have a restaurant serving up heaping bowls of fresh-cooked crickets. The architects explain that "in contrast to the hidden processes of meat, the project invites the public to observe and participate, offering accessible knowledge about where their food comes from":

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While the architectures of yesteryear are often blamed for urban decay, today's buildings could be responsible for its renewal. 

Jutting from the ground like two giant stalagmites, the latest design from UK architecture firm Chetwoods is going to blow the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, out of the water—and save the world while it’s at it. Standing a full kilometer (3,281 ft) tall, the structure might be the key to solving China's catastrophic pollution problem on every level. Bestowing upon the project the hopeful moniker, ‘The Phoenix Towers,' Chetwoods hopes to resurrect the Chinese city of Wutan from its ashes. 

By using a complex mechanical system to simultaneously filter Wuhan’s air and water, collect solar, wind, and hydrogen power, provide produce from a massive vertical garden, harvest rainwater, house restaurants and businesses, boil biomass, and generally aim to solve every major ecological crisis faced by central China's "Fourth Pole," the Phoenix Towers just might live up to their name. “It doesn't just stand there and become an iconic symbol of Wuhan, it has to do a job,” founder Laurie Chetwood said in an interview with Dezeen. “We've applied as many environmental ideas as we possibly could to justify the shape and the size of them."

Aside from their super-sustainable abilities, one of the coolest things about the Phoenix Towers is that Chetwoods designed them to resonate with local religion and philosophy. The towers link Western technology and architecture to the Chinese myths of the phoenix; two towers represent the dual gender the legendary bird has in Chinese iconography, and the spirit of rebirth is spread throughout all eight hectares of the the half-mile high towers. With these spiritual considerations in mind, the firm makes a peace offering to the the somewhat rocky history of Western insensitivity when it comes to development in China. The towers also aim to attract eco-tourism, with profit margins further extending that olive branch.

Over the next three years, the Phoenix Towers will move from concept into construction, at which point the city of Wuhan will be ready to retake flight.

h/t Dezeen

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It's clear that architecture inspires and impassions Timothy Soar - not only has the UK photographer spent most of his life visiting and capturing great architectural works, but – unlike most photographers, or architects for that matter - he also speaks eloquently about the architecture that inspires him. Describing his favorite building, AHMM's Yellow Building, he tells us it "delivers exquisite simplicity out of a complex lattice. The building has a lyrical poetry in the way it wraps and folds itself around the occupants – deft, confident and generous. It is one of London’s great spaces."

Moreover, Soar believes deeply that his architectural photography does more than merely idealize built forms; not only do his images enable the architects he works with to "refine and amplify" the ideas within their built works, and thus aid them in defining their next work, but it also seeks to advocate architecture for all: "My work as a photographer is predicated on a desire to [...] to be an advocate for design that elevates, to help construct an argument where good design isn’t an occasional, rare and special thing but an everyday, routine and expected event."

When and how did you start photographing architecture?

I have always photographed architecture. For me, it all seemed perfectly natural: I was already steeped in the vocabulary. My father, a lawyer, was an enthusiastic amateur photographer (he exhibited with Edwin Smith, one of the great English architectural photographers). Dad and I used to travel to see the latest new buildings – Centre Georges Pompidou, Willis Faber, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, and he loved London’s South Bank complex. Holidays were spent visiting Port Sunlight, New Lanark, The Derbyshire mills of Arkwright and Strutt. He had a real passion for and conviction of the transforming power of architecture and its role in enabling social progress. He, of course, was thrilled when I started working with Foster, Rogers, Lasdun, Grimshaw, Farrell and Hopkins.

Are you an architect?

I originally trained in engineering, and I’ve always enjoyed the process of analysing problems and designing solutions. Buckminster Fuller, Joseph Paxton and Isambard Kingdom Brunel were an inspiration. However, early experience with a engineering consulting company (based in a beautiful Rogers designed building in Royston) convinced me that I needed the stimulus of a less office-based life. I switched to a photography degree and then got a job as an assistant to one of Britain’s best architectural photographers, Richard Bryant. Richard had originally trained as an architect and was the photographer of choice for some wonderful buildings by Rogers, Stirling, Farrell, Henning Larsen, Aldington Craig. I learnt a lot, and laughed a lot. It was a happy time and a great experience.

Why do you like to photograph architecture?

Architecture represents a great deal more than a need for shelter. At its best architecture engages with profound human issues. Even mundane and seemingly unimportant structures can be lifted by sensitive and intelligent design. My work as a photographer is predicated on a desire to broaden the conversation about our built environment, to be an advocate for design that elevates, to help construct an argument where good design isn’t an occasional, rare and special thing but an everyday, routine and expected event. Some of the most rewarding moments in my life have been spent in the company of the occupants of a new building, sharing in the pleasure and optimism that is to be found when a special place has been delivered.

Favorite architect?

I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the finest minds in architecture. My longest collaboration has been with Allford, Hall, Monaghan, Morris. We have enjoyed an intense and deep relationship. I’ve been working with AHMM since they started. A great deal of time, energy and thought has been put into the way the work of the practice is photographed.

One of the great challenges of working with a growing company is finding ways to communicate their strengths as they grow, to help them stand apart and to be noticed. AHMM have a gift for making ordinary buildings extraordinary and achieving high design standards on low budgets. They have a real drive and commitment to refine the process of architecture so that delight is the outcome. Despite the many constraints and challenges involved in the projects they have delivered, there is an elegance in the way they have resolved so many of the complexities of construction. The photography of their work has become a rich and expressive process, finding the ideas and aspirations we talked about 20 years ago realised in thrilling Stirling Prize nominated buildings is a great joy, and the images we make together illustrate the continuity and integrity of their architecture and vision.

Favorite building?

My favourite building? There have been many. One of the most satisfying projects to work on has been AHMM’s Yellow Building for Monsoon. The powerful, heroic form of the concrete grid, designed to do away with supporting cores, delivers exquisite simplicity out of a complex lattice. The building has a lyrical poetry in the way it wraps and folds itself around the occupants – deft, confident and generous. It is one of London’s great spaces. The client’s desire to integrate office, art gallery and social spaces has produced a place that is about architectural theatre, responding to the grit and mess of life  and the freedom of an organised but unstructured space for creative spontaneity. That such a building could be conceived, welcomed and delivered is a testament to communicating the strengths of imagination and pragmatism that the architects have in abundance.

How do you work?

I enjoy building a rapport with my architects, learning about their desires and ambitions, and thereby creating a dialogue that supports both the emotion and financial investment in each project. I like to think that we work together to photograph a building, that what we photograph is not just the idealised photographic form of a particular project but also hopefully acts as a predictor of the next project. By refining and amplifying the ideas manifest in the built work, we can make the case for the nascent ideas and techniques that will define the yet unbuilt work. There are many tortuous steps to take in winning commissions and achieving built architecture, a strong portfolio of images helps reassure clients and can help build the confidence that’s needed to push on into uncharted territory.

What kind of equipment and software do you use?

I work with a technical monorail camera. Essentially, it is the same kind of camera I used when working on film in 8 x 10” and 4 x 5” formats, except that it is now equipped with digital capture. My Linhof camera allows control of perspective to help manifest the illusion of deep space. The minute camera movements I am able to employ subtly manipulate the composition to help reveal the underlying order and structure. It enables carefully constructed images of space that can explore the continuity of interconnected zones, the movement of light, the geometric ordering of planes, views and patterns. It makes for a deliberate and considered style of working, which, I believe, is pertinent to architecture.

Along with the camera I use a Phase One 80mp digital back. The enormous power of the system allows for the exact placing of tones in close proximity, a capacity to reveal perfect textures with a meticulous attention to light and shade. It is this ability to consider and carefully place the relative values of tonality, from the deepest shadow to the brightest highlight, that are essential components of my photographic vocabulary.

>I use Capture One software together with Photoshop. However, I am always very careful not to over process the images. I think the human brain has a fine and delicate relationship with the world. We have a deeply ingrained suspicion of the fake, the compromised, style without substance, a lack of integrity, too much Photoshop produces a clinical, computer-generated image that I think people mistrust. I want the viewers of my work to admire the building in the image, not be misguided by the slick processing of the software.

Check out more of Soar's beautiful photos:

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Kind of like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, this Scottish lookout box was designed to be undetectable.

And the results are kind of magical.

Glasgow architecture students Angus Ritchie and Daniel Tyler designed and constructed the cube so it would not disturb the stunning landscape at Trossachs National Park.

The project was commissioned by the Scottish Scenic Routes Initiative with a $7,000 budget.

According to Co.Design, the University of Strathclyde students constructed the cube from birch ply, stainless steel, and hardwood, and uses low-tech mirrors to stay nearly invisible. The lookout includes a platform, open entryway, and bench seating inside, providing for an awesome vantage point.

See more photos below: 

And here's a video of The Lookout. Can you even spot it in the wide shots? 

Craft from Daniel Tyler on Vimeo.

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There are a ton of homes on the market that would make any sci-fi fan jump.

Our friends at Estately helped us find a handful of houses currently for sale that look straight out of "Lord of the Rings."

They range from sprawling landscapes and castles to cottages that could have been plucked from The Shire.

This California house has an intricately carved "dragon" staircase.

Address: South Coast, Calif.

Price: $4.75 million

Aside from the carved redwood Dragon staircase, this ocean-view home features curved redwood walls, a stone fireplace, stained glass, and guest cottages.

A forest-themed bathroom will make you feel like you're wandering the woods of Lothlórien.

Address: Parkland, Fla.

Price: $2.7 million

This custom-built residence sits on 2.5 acres of landscaped gardens complete with lighted tennis court and rock pool with fountains. It also comes with a home theater, re-claimed wood beams & trusses, and a handpainted bathroom with a bronze sculptured sink.

This castle has pointy towers and property with waterfalls and lakes.

Address: Cornwall, Conn.

Price: $8.85 million

This 8,412 square foot house has 7 beds and 7.3 baths. The property includes a fortress-like wall, guest cottage, pool, and as plenty of land with trails, lakes, and waterfalls.