The Architects Who Hate Style There’s something quietly subversive about Herzog & de Meuron, even as their buildings define city … More
Tag: architecture
ARCHITECTURE 101: What is Modernism?
Modernist Architecture Is Still the Chicest Chaos We’ve Got in 2025 Modernist architecture swaggered onto the scene in the late … More
ARCHITECTURE 101: Concrete Jungle: Why Brutalism’s Unapologetic Architecture Refuses to Fade Away
Brutalism is architecture’s version of an acquired taste. It’s the kind of “love it or hate it” style that demands … More
OOPS, THEY DID IT AGAIN! : BILLIONAIRE SPAWN’S HOLLYWOOD MANSION GETS GRAFFITI BOMBED!
It’s happened again in Los Angeles! A high-profile, luxury property has been brazenly graffiti bombed in the City of Angels. … More
CUE THE LIGHTS & MIRRORS: AT THE STELLAR OLAFUR ELIASSON “OPEN” SHOW IN L.A.!
We checked out the new show of Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Los Angeles … More
RADICAL TRANSPARENT: THE BOLD SEE-THROUGH VISION OF TOKYO’S NEW GLASS-WALLED TOILETS!
Tokyo, the city of neon dreams and ultra-efficient public transit, has once again flipped the script on urban design. Nestled … More
SPRAY-PAINTING THE TOWN: THE INSANE GRAFFITI TAKEOVER OF A LUXURY L.A. SKYSCRAPER!
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles, where dreams of opulence once stood tall, a new narrative unfolds—one sprayed in … More
ARTWORLD EN REGALIA: GUESS WHAT BUILDING THIS IS! THERE’S A HINT IN THE TITLE OF THIS POST! WINK WINK!
Did you guess? Did you guess that it’s the Marciano Art Foundation (MAF) museum building and home to one of … More
THIS OLD MANSION: VISIT TO ARCHITECTURAL TREASURE BY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BLOWS OUR MIND WITH GENIUS DESIGN VISION AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL!
We visited an architectural landmark last weekend. That landmark is Hollyhock House in Los Angeles. The house is a sprawling … More
URBAN JUNGLES: MASSIVE PLANTS MURALS INVADE CITIES AROUND THE WORLD! THE ART OF MONA CARON!
Swiss artist Mona Caron‘s building-size murals inject larger-than-life images of verdant botanical life into otherwise drab urban landscapes. Many of … More
ARCADE FIRE: WE WENT TO A DAVE & BUSTER’S RESTAURANT IN AMERICA AND NEARLY DIED OF SENSORY OVERLOAD!
Yesterday we went to a suburban California outpost of the American restaurant chain Dave and Buster’s. It was a dizzying, … More
PRINTED MATTER: NEW ISSUE OF APARTAMENTO MAGAZINE ARRIVES!
Apartamento magazine is here! This new issue of the English-language, Barcelona, Spain-based “everyday interiors” mag is jam-packed with interviews with … More
HAPPY CAMPER: BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE’S NEW CAFE IN JAPAN IS “ACCIDENTALLY WES ANDERSON” PERFECT! THINK WE’RE IN LOVE!
Like something out of a Wes Anderson film, this Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Nagoya, Japan, is a too-perfect, polished, … More
EVERYBODY HATES PUBLIC ART, EXCEPT WHEN THEY DON’T : THE INCREDIBLE, INEDIBLE AND POPULAR “TOKYO EGG”!
It seems almost axiomatic that most public art is bad. Like really, really mind-blowingly f*cking bad. And though it is … More
VISUAL TRASH: STREET ART, GRAFFITI, ADVERTISING, OH MY!
On the shiny, new gentrified south end of Downtown Los Angeles there are remnants still, old and recent, of the … More
LA LA LAND GRAFFITI : “SICKID” BILLBOARD HUSTLE IN HOLLYWOOD !
Driving around a major U.S. city long enough and you’re bound to see unused billboards that have been hijacked with … More
BREAKING – THE PASSING OF A FASHION VISIONARY : R.I.P., ISSEY MIYAKE !
We awoke this morning to the news that Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has died. He was 84. The Washington … More
POST-MODERNISM IN THE PARK : CONTEMPORARY ARTWORK AS PLAYGROUND
Dubbed the “post-modern playground slide” in the park across the street from my in-laws’ home near Roppongi in Tokyo. The … More
“KONNICHIWA!” : BACK IN TOKYO AND IT FEELS LIKE HOME!
We got to Tokyo early in the morning just after sunrise. It was a bright, hot morning with the humidity … More
UP IN THE AIR : BACK TO TOKYO!
Yup! We’re heading back to Tokyo. After getting all our COVID booster vaccinations and updated health documents and customs and … More
ON THE SCENE : DESIGN VISION, STYLE & SURF CULTURE AT MOLLUSK!
The Mollusk surf shop in Santa Barbara, California is a beautiful showpiece of a retail space. It’s the recent addition … More
ARCHITECTURAL DEATH: THE DEMOLITION OF ICONIC TOKYO BUILDING!
The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building in Tokyo is an unmissable architectural oddity and gem in the heart of the Japanese … More
SHAMEFUL OR SMART? : TOKYO OLYMPICS ARCHITECTURE LACKS OVERPRICED, PRETENTIOUS NEW TROPHY BUILDINGS!!!
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will open this week in the here and now of 2021. The world’s biggest sporting and … More
WATERING HOLE: HOTEL BAR EVOKES BYGONE ERA OF CALIFORNIA DESERT GLAMOUR!
“Hola, Amigo!” That’s what you should say when you enter the hotel bar of the Ace Hotel and Swim Club … More
BACK TO THE MUSEUM!: WE VISIT OUR FIRST EXHIBITION IN OVER A YEAR! PANDEMIC BE DAMNED!
On Monday we went to our first art exhibition in over a year. Our first since the start of the … More
TRAIN STATION FROM HELL FINALLY SAVED FROM ARCHITECTURAL DAMNATION!
If you’ve ever been to New York City’s Penn Station then you are familiar with one of the world’s most … More
AMERICAN “DEAD MALL” GOTHIC: PHOTO ESSAY DOCUMENTS THE EMPTYING OUT OF ABANDONED SHOPPING MALLS
Cool article and photo essay in the New York Times on dead malls, how these are emptied out through the … More
CINEMATIC: NEW PHOTO-BOOK “ACCIDENTALLY WES ANDERSON” TAKE INSPO, STEALS STYLE OF AUTEUR FILM DIRECTOR!
“Accidentally Wes Anderson” is a new book of photography compiled by the folks behind the Instagram account @accidentallywesanderson. The account … More
LA LA LAND: INTERACTIVE DRIVE-BY PHOTO ARCHIVE OF EVERY BUILDING ON EVERY BLOCK OF SUNSET BLVD IN L.A.!
The Getty Museum has launched a website called 12 Sunsets that is a fascinating interactive archive of 65,000 photos taken … More
FONTASTICAL: HOW THE “GENTRIFICATION FONT” BECAME SO! SECRETS REVEALED!
You’ve seen it. You know it. It’s a typeface used across all types of media. But when deployed for street-address … More
GOING BIGGER: “LOVE BERTO” DOMINATES FAUX-URBAN LANDSCAPE IN L.A.
Here’s another one of these abstract, geometric murals by the artist Berto, who usually signs his work “LoveBerto.” His massive … More
R.I.P. “ARCHITECTURE OF DENSITY” PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL WOLF
Rest In Peace, Michael Wolf. It was reported Monday that the Hong Kong-based German photographer had died at 65 years … More
COLOR LOVER: THE SUPER-RAD MURALS OF ALBERONERO
We’ve never heard of Alberonero. Have you? No? We didn’t think so. But now we have, and you have, too. … More
ARCHITORTURE: GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY, WHERE TOURISTS AND NERDS BEAUTIFULLY COLLIDE!
One of Los Angeles’s great landmarks is the Griffith Observatory, an architectural gem that mixes art-deco and Mayan aesthetics. It’s … More
HOTNESS: BUILDING-ON-BUILDING ACTION
High-rise condo building reflected in windows of a modern glass-and-steel skyscraper in Akasaka, Tokyo.
BRUTALISTS IN LEGOLAND!
You, savvy reader, are probably a fan of architecture. If not of architecture in and of itself, then perhaps as … More
ARCHITORTURE: PERFORMING ARTS VENUE GOES POST-POST-MODERN
“I WANT A PRESIDENT”
Artist Zoe Leonard’s 2016 public art project under the Standard Hotel building on the High Line in New York City … More
NEWS FLASH: “SPANTO IS A ‘KOOK’” AND OTHER MYSTERIES OF DEEP VENICE!
Sooooooo … Spanto is a Kook. “Who is Spanto? Why is he a kook?” you ask, savvy reader. These are … More
KICKS: GIANT FOOT STICKING OUT FROM ROOF OF HOLLYWOOD STORE “TOO INSTAGRAMMABLE”
Can something be too Instagrammable? That is the question, savvy reader. Our initial thought is, “Yes, yes something can be. … More
TRUE CRIME: STREET ARTIST “APPROPRIATES” ICONIC IMAGE OF FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER
CITY LIFE: BIRD MURAL RUINS OTHERWISE COLD, SLEEK, OVERPRICED MINIMALIST CONDO & PERFECTIONIST LIFESTYLE
Text by Van Corsa Imagine. You’ve made it. Went to school. Got a job in a tech start-up. Paid off … More
GINGERBREAD HOUSES: IS KITSCHY HOLIDAY CRAFT ON CUSP OF BECOMING LEGIT FORM OF SERIOUS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION?
We are fans of architecture. Even more so we are fans of “architectural design.” However, kitsch and the aesthetics of … More
POLITICAL BORDERS: THE AESTHETICS OF GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION
The New York Times has just published a fascinating article titled “Eight Ways to Build a Border Wall” that looks … More
CONFUSION: “ART-NOT-ART” STREET ART
A funny thing about “art.” Sometimes the happiest of aesthetic accidents happen as a consequence of totally non-artistic impulses. Take … More
DESIGN LUST: SURFBOARD SHOP THINLY DISGUISES ITSELF AS ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN FIRM
It’s no secret that we here at Global Graphica are fond practitioners of surfing, the so-called Hawaiian “sport of kings.” … More
Truly Awesome Photos of Empty European Libraries
French photographer Thibaud Poirier has created a series of photos documenting 25 of Europe’s grandest and beautiful great libraries. Poirier’s … More
The Giant Rose in Downtown LA
German artist Isa Genzken’s “Rose III” giant rose sculpture at the Los Angeles outpost of the Hauser & Wirth gallery … More
“Mirage” at Desert X
Like a shiny extra-terrestrial bobble tucked into the foothills above Palm Springs, “Mirage” by Los Angeles-based artist Doug Aitken is … More
The Awesomeness of the Pacific Design Center
The collection of buildings that make up the Pacific Design Center is a bold, massive landmark of West Hollywood, in … More
Common Room
The branding of coffee roaster and cafe Common Room in Costa Mesa, California is a simple two-dimensional, flat icon of … More
Massive Street Art in L.A. Arts District
We love it when artists create street art that incoporates the architectural elements of the building, like the epic-scaled artwork … More
Pop-up for David Hockney
Maximalist German publisher Taschen, producer of epic coffee-table books devoted to all things art and design, has recently given its Los … More
Bicycle-Shaped Bicycle Rack
There must be a word in the English language for when a thing is designed to look like another object … More
The Vista
A classic example of Los Angeles movie-theater architecture from the early days of cinema, the Vista on Sunset Boulevard in … More
Minimalist Architecture in the Evening
In terms of architectural minimalism in Los Angeles, the picture speaks for itself.
Warm Minimalist Shelf Architecture at A.P.C.
The Parisian clothing and retail brand A.P.C. recently opened a shop in Silver Lake in Los Angeles. Like may of … More
DIY Taco Stand Architecture
This taco stand popped up at the biannual Echo Park Craft Fair in Silver Lake this past weekend. It seems … More
Entrance to MOCA / Geffen Contemporary
We’re not religious. But museums are our cathedrals, our churches and temples, our shrines. MoMA may be the modern art … More
Monrow at Dusk
The clothing brand Monrow will soon be opening a retail concept store in this tiny, old California-style bungalow near Venice … More
What the Original Gold’s Gym in Venice Looks Like Now
The original location of the iconic and legendary bodybuilding mecca Gold’s Gym is a block away from the sands of … More
Los Angeles Contemporary Architecture
On the Scene at Arcana Books
Among our favorite places in Los Angeles is the Arcana bookstore in Culver City. It’s specialized in “books on the … More
Mystery Boy Sticker … Venice, Los Angeles
We’ve seen these mysterious circular stickers of a boy’s face around Los Angeles in recent weeks. The face is drawn … More
Epic Mural by Sol LeWitt at SFMoMA … San Francisco
The artwork of the late American conceptual and minimalist artist Sol LeWitt dominates the new mezzanine-level ticket lobby of the … More
Cool Spaces – Enclosed Work Park at TBWA Offices … Los Angeles
The work space at the Los Angeles offices of mega-global advertising agency TBWA (a.k.a, TBWA Chiat Day) is epic and … More
“Here We Are” Street Art at Ships … Harajuku, Tokyo
Amid the labyrinthine back streets that comprise Ura-Harajuku are many examples of commissioned semi-legal street art in little niches of … More
Bird Mural at M-Rad Architecture Building … Culver City, Los Angeles
Mural of a bird and abstract geometric patterns on the side of a re-purposed retail building that’s home to the … More
The Oculus Bridge at SFMoMA … San Francisco
One of the distinct features of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) is its architectural design, which includes … More
Street Art by Shepard Fairey on PCH …Santa Monica, Los Angeles
We spotted some new street art from artist Shepard Fairey in an unusual spot last week. Along Pacific Coast Highway, … More
“Love” by DFace … West Adams, Los Angeles
Alongside Interstate 10, otherwise known at the Santa Monica Freeway, there’s a massive mural by street-art star DFace on the … More
“256 Colours” by Gerhard Richter at SFMoMA … San Francisco
We’re fans of German visual artist Gerhard Richter, perhaps best known for his “capitalist realism” and his photo-realistic and “blur” paintings. … More
Tourist Architecture + Scene … Waikiki, Honolulu
Street Art at Sneaker Emporium “California Street” … Daikanyama, Tokyo
Graffiti Tags in Dense Urban Space … Daikanyama, Tokyo
Cool Architectural Design of Maison Kitsune Shop … Daikanyama, Tokyo
Massive Adobe Bricks Art Installation by Artist Rafa Esparza at Hammer Museum … Westwood, Los Angeles
The “Easy Rider” Dennis Hopper Mural … Venice, Los Angeles
Cool Architecture – The Reception Building at TBWA … Playa Vista, Los Angeles
Entrance Street Art at Lab Art Gallery … Hollywood, Los Angeles
On the Scene at A-Frame … Mar Vista, Los Angeles
Decorative Eye-Palm Artwork at A-Frame … Mar Vista, Los Angeles
“Palms” Street Art … Palms, Los Angeles
Minimalist Box House Architecture … Venice, Los Angeles
On the Scene at Q&A with Director Chris Milk … TBWA, Los Angeles
Street Art on Back-Alley Wall of Apartment Building … Venice, Los Angeles
Re-Purposed Shipping Container at Iron & Resin … Ventura, California
“Mind Pipeline” Art Installation by Oscar Tuazon … Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Fukadaso Cafe & Guriru Gallery Space … Kiyosumi, Tokyo
Motorcycle Mural at Deus Ex Machina Cafe … Venice, Los Angeles
Video Art Installation and Window at Watari Museum … Shibuya, Tokyo
Street Art Covered Sections of Berlin Wall … Miracle Mile, Los Angeles
Sections of the Berlin Wall covered with mural and street art (pictured below) have been put on display in the … More
Cool Design: The Stella Apartments Building … Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles
Graffiti-Bombed Door … Venice, Los Angeles
The Binoculars Building … Venice, Los Angeles
The whimsical Binoculars Building — pictured below — on a quiet, mostly residential stretch of Main Street in Venice, in … More
Super Mysterious Minimalist White Building … Playa Vista, Los Angeles
This low-slung white box of a building is a mystery to many. It’s a former stand-alone retail space on Centinela … More
The Beautifully Designed Space at Hourglass … Venice, Los Angeles
The flagship store of cosmetics brand Hourglass is a testament of exemplary, beautiful retail design. The shop is located on trendy … More
The Royale Building … Los Angeles
On a recent visit to WiSpa, a sprawling Korean day-spa complex in Los Angeles, we spied from the spa’s rooftop lounge … More
The Architecture & Design at “Log Road” … Daikanyama, Tokyo
There’s a new shopping-dining complex hear our temporary HQ in the Daikanyama neighborhood of Tokyo. It’s called Log Road. The … More
In Los Angeles … The New Broad Museum Building
The edgy contemporary architecture of the newly constructed Broad Museum building, a new contemporary art museum in Downtown Los Angeles. … More
GLOBAL GRAPHICA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.