This house in Karuizawa, Japan is pretty wild.  it appears the shell house was built around a single tree in the middle.

lace & tea » architectural beauty: the shell house.

i saw this building across the street from the downtown UPS distribution center. it was in a very shady warehouse district in downtown LA. it was very cool looking and appeared to be someone’s residence. i dont know if i would like to live in that area but the place had great design. i actually saw the aftermath of a drive-by shootings just blocks from this place on my way there.

drove by this wreck just after it happened. i sprung into photo journalist mode and got the shot.

i have been driving by this garage for years and i always loved the name.

stumbled across a post on inhabitat.com about recycled subway cars used as artist studios in london.  they are used as work spaces and placed on top of a brick warehouse that is used as studio space for shows.  this is kind of like shipping container architecture but with a cooler package.  i would love to use one as a rooftop sunroom.  check out the full article here.

check out this cool rendering video of a skyscraper being built in NYC.

56 Leonard Street from david basulto on Vimeo.

every time i visit nyc i always pass by this huge building on bowery and spring that is covered in graffiti and looks like it hasnt been occupied for a 100 years. it is a beautiful old structure with incredible stonework and has actually been a staple spot in the graffiti and street art scene for years.

it is in a very cool area right near soho and i always wondered why a developer hadnt swooped it up and turned it into a boutique hotel or something. just a couple weeks ago i was walking in front of the building with my buddy gc talking about how cool it would be to own that building and amazed it was just left abandoned.

well gc sent me an article that uncovers the mystery of 190 bowery. it is actually owned and lived in by a photographer named Jay Maise with his family in this 35,000 sq foot former bank. the place looks ridiculous inside would be a wonderland to live in with it’s maze of 72 rooms and miles of hallways. Maise bought it for $102,000 in 1966 and the building is estimated to be worth between 30-50 million if he sold it now. he has and continues to refuse all offers on the building. read the full article and see more pictures here.

stumbled onto comtemporist.com and found some very slick building concepts. this one is called sky village and is going to be built in Copenhagen.  it would be awesome to live in a high rise but still have a yard to hang out in. check out the rest of the article and more pictures here.

stumbled across a post on deputy-dog.com about interesting drainpipes. i like the idea of making your drainpipes automatically water some planters. see the rest of the article here.

stumbled across a site of a photographer named Richard Powers in the UK.  the site has a lot of great pictures of some amazing homes.  the one below is in Guarujå, Brazil.

stumbled upon some very slick houses on trendir.com.  they are thai beach houses built by gfab architects on a private island called Koh Samui.  unbelievable homes that have amazing swimming pools and a seamless blend between inside to outside.  read the full article and see some more pics here.