From sun-soaked beaches to towering stacks of books, San Diego offers no shortage of places to get wonderfully lost. While card catalogs and call numbers may be a thing of the past, the city’s libraries remain true gems—welcoming spaces to escape, explore, and discover something new, all for free. H

Set in Montauk, New York, the Spinnell Residence by Christopher Jeffrey Architects balances rugged coastal strength with a warm, light-filled interior. The project consists of two shifted gabled volumes that rest on poured concrete walls, creating a composition that steps with the site and opens tow

A developer is seeking approval for the first phase of a massive 1,000-unit residential complex that would be the biggest in downtown San Diego. The Mirka 1000 complex would fit on a 2.1-acre triangle lot on National Avenue between Commercial and 16th streets. It is about two blocks from Padres Tail

Christopher Jeffrey Architects designed a waterfront retreat overlooking Peconic Bay, where the site slopes forty feet down to the wetlands. The project includes a 1,500-square-foot single-story house and a 400-square-foot pool house with an in-ground pool. Concrete walls anchor the home into the sl

Sloping green roofs not only insulate and manage rainwater but also let homes disappear into their surroundings. Camouflaged by grass and moss, these designs hide within nature, merging architecture with the landscape. Green Roof House by Snegiri Architects Blends Into the Forest Slope Russian studi

Atelier Hajný has renovated a 1970s stone hut in the Sázava region near Prague into a compact countryside retreat called Skylight Hut. The original single-story structure was stripped back to its stone base and rebuilt with a concrete slab and timber frame, topped by a corrugated metal trapezoidal r

The dog days of summer have technically passed, but with plenty of toasty days on the way, consider spending some time outside this weekend. Bike the Bay offers a morning cycle around the San Diego Bay and over the Coronado Bridge, and the Padres will take on the Dodgers in a three-game grudge match

Haus Max by Caramel Architekten sits on a sloping site near Vienna, designed for a family of four seeking both quiet countryside living and a large artist’s studio. The lower level houses the 3-meter-high studio, partly embedded into the slope, with direct access to the garden and a covered outdoor

A residence designed by OFFICE INAINN sits on the west coast of Norway, 148 meters above sea level. Completed in April 2025, the 127-square-meter home follows the steep slope without altering the ground. The dark timber structure blends with its surroundings and positions itself as part of the terra

Seven years after buying the once iconic Horton Plaza mall in the heart of downtown, developer Stockdale Capital Partners has lost control of the property that it refashioned into a mixed-use office campus called the Campus at Horton. On Monday, the unfinished campus property went back to Stockdale’

When the filmmaker Cameron Crowe needed a stadium to look like it was from the 1970s for his 2000 movie Almost Famous, he turned to his hometown. He filmed the scene in which protagonist William Miller meets the rock band Stillwater for the first time at Sports Arena Stadium (now called Pechanga Are

“This isn’t 2008!” It’s a common refrain from real estate gurus when talking about the fragility of California’s housing market. Well, housing and economic conditions today may not be exactly like 2008 – shorthand for the financial disaster that popped that decade’s real estate bubble, creating the

Patina Maldives, part of the Fari Islands in the Indian Ocean, is a modern retreat set across 10 kilometers of reef on the northern edge of North Male Atoll. Designed by Studio MK27, the resort features low buildings that merge with the tree line and open wide to the sea and sky. Studio MK27’s appro

Set on a steep Goan hillside, Timber Residence is anchored by bold cantilevers that project the living spaces into the surrounding canopy. Designed by Architecture Discipline, the 8,650 ft² house uses a linear pitched-roof form, with eleven glulam portal frames supporting its structure. The home res

Set into the steep slopes of Lefkada, Greece, the THYTA House by LASSA Architects demonstrates how contemporary forms can be embedded into rugged terrain. The residence is defined by sweeping, elliptical geometries that follow the mountain’s curvature, its volumes partly recessed into the hillside t

In Hungary’s UNESCO-protected Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region, the Sauska Tokaj Winery by BORD Architectural Studio presents two intersecting, lens-shaped volumes raised on steel columns. The curved forms contain a restaurant, bar, and terrace, designed to appear as if floating over the slopes of Padi Hi

Shrinking affordability isn’t just a California problem. That’s what you see from my trusty spreadsheet’s comparison of the California Association of Realtors’ affordability report for the second quarter of 2025 vs. the numbers from the same period in 2022. Yes, the required income to buy California

Scotchman’s View Farmhouse, designed by AD Houses and completed in 2024 on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, reinterprets the classic farmhouse with a sleek, contemporary edge. The 516 m² residence, built on a 44-acre site, features a striking black facade crafted from Colourbond and Cambia Ash Timber

The Drop Pod, by Inspiral Architecture and Design Studios, explores modular housing through a compact prefabricated structure. Built in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, in 2025, the project tests how small-scale design can adapt to different sites and needs. Its Lombok version uses a mezzanine layout,

Finding forever friends can be a lot like dating—if not harder, since there are few platonic equivalents for “I think you’re a hottie; can I take you out sometime?” You’re looking for a person who just gets you, who makes you feel safe to be yourself. Someone you can laugh and dream and travel and e