Cool Design News

Yun Lu

Flower Exhibition Center

Tuesday, 3 February 2026

Wenjiang Shouan

Wenjiang Shouan is a flower exhibition center built in Minjiang village, Shouan town, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. The building brings together a flower planting exhibition area, a business conference center, a township training center and a sales space for local products. The roof follows the traditional form of Sichuan folk houses and is made of blue tiles and a local timber structure. A free spiral line fills the irregular triangular site and is stretched vertically to shape the interior. Skylights and scattered facade openings bring natural light inside.

QUAD studio

Cultural Center

Monday, 2 February 2026

Medieval Rethink

Medieval Rethink was a response to a private commission to build a Cultural Centre for a small undisclosed village in the Guangdong Province, which dates back 900 years to the Song Dynasty. A four storey, 7000 sqm development is centred around an ancient rock formation known as the Ding Qi Stone, a symbol of the origin of the village. The project’s design concept is based on showcasing the history and culture of the ancient village whilst linking the old and the new. The Cultural Centre stands as a reinterpretation of an ancient village and a transformation into contemporary architecture.

Niroop Kumar Reddy Nallari

House

Sunday, 1 February 2026

H2O

H2O House is a private residence in an urban residential area of Hyderabad. The house is designed for a family of four and covers an area of 12500 square feet. Indoor and outdoor water bodies support passive cooling and lower indoor temperatures during the day. Light weight fly ash bricks and thermal insulation sheets are used as masonry to limit heat transfer. Large openings on opposite walls allow cross ventilation, and solar panels are placed on the terrace. Spaces are zoned vertically according to privacy, with shared rooms below and bedrooms above.

Tianqi Guan

Yard

Saturday, 31 January 2026

Shared

Shared Yard is a rural guest house located in Beijing, China. Shared Yard was created by reconstructing an abandoned dwelling typical of northern China, with wooden window frames, brick walls and tiled roofs. The old house was preserved and connected to new buildings made of carbon steel plate, concrete and white oak finish. Existing trees shade the new volumes, which are placed in ventilated positions so that air conditioning is not needed in summer. Rainwater and purified water are used to irrigate the surrounding fields.

David Guerra

Hotel

Friday, 30 January 2026

Kuara

Kuara is a hotel built in a preserved rain forest area on the coast of Arraial d'Ajuda in Bahia, Brazil. The architecture combines vernacular and modern forms and seeks a close relation with the surrounding nature. Wood is used on floors, walls, louvers, brise soleils and panels, with species such as cumaru, tatajuba, ipe and peroba. Bamboo, natural fibers, straw, wicker, leather and Brazilian stones are combined with stone imported from Italy in floors and bathrooms. All native vegetation was preserved, and the new buildings stand where the former hotel buildings stood.

Adrian Light

House and Architecture Studio

Thursday, 29 January 2026

Vinegar Vats

This incredible adaptation of a disused vinegar factory was carried out in an entirely sustainable manner. Not only does it use a natural stack effect to cool the space, its construction was done with a zero waste solution. No skips were used. Everything on site was re-used, recycled, or re-purposed. The basement was converted into an architecture studio with a 3 storey family home above. The vats were cleverly repurposed as planters, workstations, toilets, laundry, and even a fishpond. Natural light pours into the building as a result of removing a third of the roof to create a garden court.

Cool Design News

Wenjiang Shouan

Medieval Rethink

H2O

Shared

Kuara

Vinegar Vats

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