China’s Star Trek-Inspired Office Building

The recently completed office building of game developer Netdragon in Changle, China may look familiar. It’s been modeled after Star Trek’s famous Starship Enterprise and currently stands as the only Star Trek-licensed building in the world. The idea for the space-inspired office space was conceived by Netdragon founder and proud Trekkie Liu Dejian four years ago, who contacted TV station CBS for the rights to …

Live Off the Grid in an Ecocapsule

A new pod-like dwelling from Slovakia-based design firm Nice Architects makes disconnecting from the world easier than ever. Dubbed the Ecocapsule, the portable egg-shaped room allows inhabitants to live completely off the grid for up to a full year by making use of solar- and wind-generated energy. The Ecocapsule comes complete with a rainwater collection and filtration system, a kitchenette, a flushable toilet, a shower, …

Square Nine Hotel, Belgrade

An abandoned eyesore turns into the chicest of accommodations in Serbia

In a city known for repurposing abandoned buildings and transforming them from crumbling caterpillars into bright shining butterflies of contemporary style, it is unsurprising that what is now regarded as the chicest hotel in Belgrade was—until recently—a dilapidated office block. Serbia’s capital is currently in the midst of a fervent cultural revival and Square Nine hotel can easily be seen as the artfully renovated urban …