Photographer and architecture enthusiast Andres Gallardo made a series of shots at the Harbin Opera, signed by the Beijing studio MAD Architects. Harbin is nicknamed “ice city” because it is the coldest place in China that touches temperatures like -38 degrees Celsius in winter; but it is not only known for its harsh climate, but also for the great musical tradition of the place, dating back to the mid-twentieth century.

For this reason, in 2015 MAD Architects created the impressive opera house, a project documented by Andres Gallardo that emphasizes the formal qualities of the structure in relation to the climatic conditions, such as ground snow. The sinuosity of the shapes is expertly highlighted by the compositive accuracy and the cutting of the images, for a new and fresh vision of an author.

If you want to know more, visit the photographer’s website and MAD Architects.

A short time ago, in the district 1 of Saigon (Ho Chi Min) in Vietnam, it opened a restaurant with a Spanish air. The Tomatito, designed by MTMDESIGN, is located right next to the iconic Ben Than Market, in an old 1930s building that used to be a warehouse. Today it is a small piece of Spain where you can find the design, colors, food, and climate of this country. 

The restaurant, which can accommodate about 100 people, is divided into three spaces: lounge, dining room and bar with a semi-open kitchen.

The style is the same you can find in a classic tapas bar walking through the streets of Barcelona, with strong use of red, metal inserts and neon lights, such as the inscription Tomatito above the bar counter overlooking the room. The decoration consists of wallpapers with original patterns, objects from Spanish markets, sculptures that pay homage to Picasso’s bullheads and bullfighting clothes. In addition to being an encounter between two different cultures, the Tomatito is also a mix of styles and eras.

Famous Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide asked Taller de Arquitectura Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo to create a studio a few steps from her home in Barrio del Niño Jesús, Mexico City. The project is all in the family, in fact, Mauricio Rocha is Iturbide and architect Manuel Rocha Diaz’s son, who together with Gabriela Carrillo founded Taller de Arquitectura. The team’s philosophy is:

“To translate the traditions and materials of the places in which we operate in a contemporary way, not through fashionable forms or fireworks, but with silence, space, the experience of emptiness”.

The architecture, according to the duo, must give an answer in relation to the “place in which we live and our economic and social situations“: this approach is particularly evident in the studio created for Iturbide. The building is spread over three floors, characterized by the material of red bricks, able to give warmth and familiarity to the surrounding space, without ever making those inside it feel oppressed thanks to the holes on the bricks. The mosaic floors and the interlocking walls give a great harmony to the structure, which is not heavy in form, while the final touch is given by the plants, the large windows, and the two semi-enclosed courtyards.