Architecture Projects & Design Stories Worldwide | oyopo

The cover story

Brisbane, Australia · Bates Smart

A sanctuary above the city.

The crescent-shaped lagoon pool · Architectural visualisation; subject to change · Binyan Studios · Courtesy Aria Property Group — Visualisation: Binyan Studios · Courtesy Aria Property Group

A public park below. A Rooftop Club above. Explore Bates Smart’s Sanctuary Residences in South Brisbane, now under construction.

Explore the story

Inside the spaces we live in

Rooms with a story.

Explore interiors

Living space beneath the retained concrete beams · Anson Smart · via v2com — Anson Smart · via v2com

NoMad Residence · Sydney

An industrial past. A softer life.

A retained concrete frame, sculptural furniture and soft curtains give this Sydney apartment a new domestic rhythm.

Architecture & interiors · Alexander &CO.

Details, ideas & new perspectives

Look a little closer.

Close view of the ceramic fins and their metallic finish · Ahmad Alnaji - SARAB · via v2com — Ahmad Alnaji - SARAB · via v2com

Materials in focus

The detail makes the difference.

Angles, light and shade. Discover the ceramic surface behind Wasl Tower’s changing appearance.

Design questions, real projects

Buildings, compared and explained

All design guides

From the planted balcony to the neighbourhood plan: follow an idea across the spaces people use, with sources and questions for a closer look.

An open rooftop walkway at SkyVille @ Dawson in Singapore, with the Queenstown skyline beyond.

Jnzl’s Photos · Original photograph on Flickr · CC BY 2.0 · Proportionally resized where needed and converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

01Singapore · Public housing

SkyVille @ Dawson: a neighbourhood between the floors

Explore WOHA’s SkyVille @ Dawson in Singapore through shared terraces, open circulation and the relationship between a large development and smaller groups of homes.

3 min read

A planted residential tower at Valley in Amsterdam, with projecting stone-faced terraces against blue sky.

JakobHosp · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Proportionally resized where needed and converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

02Amsterdam · Mixed-use architecture

Valley, Amsterdam: where the city climbs into the building

Read MVRDV’s Valley in Amsterdam through mixed uses, landscape and the transitions between a city route and private residential terraces.

3 min read

The Butterfly residential tower rises above the First Baptist Church complex in Vancouver at dusk.

Ema Peter · Courtesy Revery Architecture / v2com · Revery Architecture / v2com press kit · Editorial press-use terms · Proportionally resized where needed and converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

03Vancouver · Heritage and housing

The Butterfly, Vancouver: a new tower beside an old church

Explore Revery Architecture’s Butterfly development in Vancouver through its relationship with First Baptist Church, shared arrivals and different building programmes.

3 min read

Onze22’s residential towers rise above a planted garden in São Paulo, with balcony edges around the façades.

Maíra Acayaba and Edu Castello · Courtesy Triptyque / v2com · Triptyque / v2com press kit · Editorial press-use terms · Proportionally resized where needed and converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

04São Paulo · Apartment edges

Onze 22, São Paulo: a balcony around the apartment

Explore Triptyque’s Onze 22 in São Paulo through its perimeter balconies, glazed rooms and relationship between independent towers and shared landscape.

3 min read

Existing buildings, parked vehicles and a pavement along Bree Street in Cape Town.

Jehieljwilliams · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Proportionally resized where needed and converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

05Cape Town · Proposed urban housing

The Madison, Cape Town: designing the edge of Bree Street

Read dhk’s proposed Madison development in Cape Town through its street-facing base, residential entrance and the need to distinguish a current design from an earlier scheme.

4 min read

8 House in Copenhagen, with sloping planted roofs and balconies facing the water.

CPH - 8 House — Creative1222 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped to fit the display.

06Copenhagen · Housing and movement

8 House, Copenhagen: a route through the residential block

Explore BIG’s 8 House in Copenhagen through its rising promenade, layered uses and the relationship between moving through a building and arriving home.

3 min read

Melbourne: compare the route. A smaller block beside two tower volumes illustrates building scale and precinct context. Conceptual massing, not drawings of the featured projects.

oyopo · Original schematic illustration

07Melbourne · Building comparison

Melbourne apartment architecture: Brunswick and Docklands

Compare Terrace House, Voyager and Trielle through their building scale, shared spaces and documented stages, from Brunswick to Yarra’s Edge.

4 min read

One aspect, two aspects. Left: openings on one external face. Right: openings on two external faces. Blue marks openings in simplified plans; no airflow result is implied.

oyopo · Original schematic illustration

08Apartment layouts · Explained

Single-aspect vs dual-aspect apartments: read the openings

Understand single-aspect and dual-aspect apartments through window positions, room depth, privacy and possible airflow routes, with a plan-reading exercise.

4 min read

Terrace House: read the threshold. Twenty cells illustrate twenty homes; the blue line represents a shared route. This is not the project floor plan or storey arrangement.

oyopo · Original schematic illustration

09Melbourne · Project study

Terrace House, Brunswick: a street stacked into apartments

Explore Austin Maynard Architects’ Terrace House in Brunswick through its entrance, shared routes and rooftop, with questions for reading the building.

4 min read

The view and the evidence. A framed scene on the left is paired with a simplified plan on the right. The image shows a view; the plan helps locate it. No real project or apartment is depicted.

oyopo · Original schematic illustration

10Visual literacy · Architecture

Architectural renderings vs photographs: what can you tell?

A practical guide to reading apartment renderings, project photography and plans: identify viewpoint, stage, scale and the evidence each image supplies.

4 min read

Where is the outside edge?. From left to right: main room, green intermediate zone and open-air platform. Blue marks the inner and outer glazed boundaries. Schematic sequence, not a construction detail.

oyopo · Original schematic illustration

11Outdoor rooms · Design comparison

Balcony vs winter garden: where is the outside edge?

Compare an open balcony with a glazed winter garden through enclosure, shade, ventilation and usable space, with a Bordeaux housing example.

4 min read

Monochrome photograph of the stacked residential blocks of The Interlace in Singapore.

The Interlace, Singapore — Mike Cartmell · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Resized; cropped to fit the display.

12Housing typologies · Circulation

Access decks vs internal corridors: the journey home

Compare apartment access decks and internal corridors through thresholds, privacy, weather and everyday movement, with Terrace House and The Interlace.

4 min read

Timber ribs frame a rooftop walkway and a woven pod at Upper House, with Brisbane beyond.

Mark Nilon · Courtesy Koichi Takada Architects / v2com · Koichi Takada Architects / v2com press kit · Editorial press-use terms · Converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

13Shared amenities · Practical reading

Apartment rooftop gardens: beyond the skyline view

Read apartment rooftop gardens through access, shelter, seating and shared use, with Upper House and 443 Queen Street as architectural references.

4 min read

A stage is one part of the story. From left to right: a proposed outline, a structure in progress and a finished block. These are illustrative stages; availability and occupancy require separate evidence.

oyopo · Original schematic illustration

14Project research · Evidence

Planned, under construction, completed: apartment stages explained

Understand apartment project stages, including topping out, and learn how to read dated progress evidence separately from availability and occupancy.

4 min read

Upper House pool terrace beneath a timber pergola, overlooking Brisbane.

Scott Burrows · Courtesy Koichi Takada Architects / v2com · Koichi Takada Architects / v2com press kit · Editorial press-use terms · Converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

15Brisbane · Design comparison

Brisbane apartment architecture: two ways to live outdoors

Compare 443 Queen Street and Upper House in Brisbane: planted arrivals, rooftop gardens, public edges and the everyday routes that connect apartments to outdoor space.

4 min read

443 Queen Street rises above the street in Brisbane, with planted openings between vertical residential volumes.

Chris Olszewski (Kgbo) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Proportionally resized and converted to WebP; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

16Brisbane · Project story

443 Queen Street: a garden tower in Brisbane

Explore 443 Queen Street by WOHA and Architectus: planted arrivals, a porous riverside base and the spaces between a Brisbane apartment tower’s volumes.

4 min read

Timber ribs frame a rooftop walkway and a woven pod at Upper House, with Brisbane beyond.

Mark Nilon · Courtesy Koichi Takada Architects / v2com · Koichi Takada Architects / v2com press kit · Editorial press-use terms · Converted to WebP without enlargement; cards may be cropped. No generative changes.

17Brisbane · Project story

Upper House: rooftop living in Brisbane

Inside the architectural idea of Upper House by Koichi Takada Architects: a timber rooftop pergola, sculpted balconies and art on South Brisbane’s street edge.

3 min read

Planted balconies at EDEN, Singapore

Photography © Hufton+Crow

18Living with nature

Planted balconies: what EDEN and La Serre do differently

Compare EDEN in Singapore and La Serre near Paris: private balconies, shared gardens, privacy and the practical work behind planted apartment buildings.

4 min read

The twisting tower seen beside Sheikh Zayed Road

Ahmad Alnaji - SARAB · via v2com

19Facades & materials

How ceramic facade fins shade Wasl Tower

A closer look at Wasl Tower’s ceramic fins: orientation, facade depth, daylight and the difference between a shading strategy and measured energy performance.

4 min read

Living space beneath the retained concrete beams

Anson Smart · via v2com

20Adaptive reuse & interiors

From industrial building to apartment: NoMad in Sydney

Explore NoMad by Alexander &CO, then use its spatial choices to examine daylight, privacy, layout and retained character in an industrial apartment conversion.

5 min read

21Neighbourhoods & housing

Riverlands or Kinlea? Two different plans for Milperra

Compare Riverlands and Kinlea by Mirvac in Milperra: site history, proposed homes, shared spaces, construction milestones and the questions still to ask.

4 min read

Abian Botanic Gardens apartment building seen from the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane.

Abian Botanic Gardens, Brisbane April 2017, 3 — Chris Olszewski · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped to fit the display.

22Climate and comfort

Subtropical apartment design: shade, airflow and outdoor living

How to read a subtropical apartment in Brisbane: assess orientation, balcony shade, cross ventilation and the relationship between indoor and outdoor rooms.

7 min read

8 House in Copenhagen, with sloping planted roofs and balconies facing the water.

CPH - 8 House — Creative1222 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized; cropped to fit the display.

23Plans and everyday life

How to read an apartment floor plan

Learn how to read an apartment floor plan: decode doors and windows, test furniture at scale, trace everyday routes and spot missing dimensions.

9 min read

Monochrome photograph of the stacked residential blocks of The Interlace in Singapore.

The Interlace, Singapore — Mike Cartmell · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Resized; cropped to fit the display.

24Shared space

Courtyard apartment buildings: what The Interlace and 8 House reveal

Compare The Interlace and 8 House to understand courtyard apartments: shared routes, changing building heights, privacy and the position of an individual home.

6 min read

Follow your curiosity

Explore an idea.

Different projects. Shared questions.

Planted balconies at EDEN, Singapore · Photography © Hufton+Crow — Photography © Hufton+Crow

Living with nature

A frontal view of the rounded facade modules · Vinay Panjwani · via v2com — Vinay Panjwani · via v2com

Facades & materials

Photograph: the completed tower above Vancouver · The Butterfly · Ema Peter · via v2com — The Butterfly · Ema Peter · via v2com

New ways of living

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Find remarkable projects, places and new perspectives.

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Remarkable buildings, thoughtful spaces and the people behind them.