There's something mesmerizing about watching waves crash against a harbor, the way they ripple and fold into themselves with an effortless rhythm. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma must have spent some time observing this when designing the Busan Lotte Tower, because he's managed to bottle that exact energy and stack it into the sky. Rising from the former City Hall site in South Korea's bustling coastal city, this skyscraper isn't your typical glass-and-steel rectangle reaching skyward.
From the very first step gesturegrasping the main doors with both hands and opening them inwardthe sea asserts itself as the absolute protagonist of the house. That was the owners' clear request: for the landscape to be revealed in a single motion. Located in Bahia de Banderas, Mexico, this house for a retired foreign couple unfolds over a 2,350 m2 plot.
Taiwan's Jialeshui coastline is getting a major makeover, but you might not even notice the changes. That's exactly what MVRDV had in mind when they designed "Nature Rocks!" - a tourism project that's meant to look like it grew straight out of the dramatic rock formations that already define this spectacular stretch of coast. Located in Pingtung County at Taiwan's southern tip, Jialeshui has always been a magnet for visitors drawn to its wind-carved cliffs and ocean-sculpted stones.