Kristina (kriskris)

Zhongshuge Bookstore 🧙 designer: X+Living 📍 68 Yang Zheng Jie, 杨家坪 Jiulongpo District, China, 400069 https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1X7rGdDdv83kilvJdDTnIgjD0Y1_vfJQ&ll=29.515052793996595%2C106.56983102893949&z=12

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I was planning to make a big celebratory post for the 100th spot on my wowmap… but turns out I totally missed the moment - there are already 121! It all started about three years ago, when I wanted to take a weekend trip to another city but couldn’t decide where to go. There were things that interested me in both places, so to keep track I pinned them on a map. Back then, I just wanted to wander through beautiful, unusual spots - the kind of places where you can’t help but say wow. The very first “wow-place” I added was Mirage Cinema in St. Petersburg - minimalist, neon-lit, with theatrical curtains. An interior that pulls you out of everyday life and drops you into another world for a few hours. That became the idea behind my map: places that feel like entire worlds of their own. Alien, surreal, sometimes more like something dreamt up by an AI than part of real life. And the anniversary entry, number 100, was the La Géode dome in Parc de la Villette, Paris. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1X7rGdDdv83kilvJdDTnIgjD0Y1_vfJQ&ll=48.88644239321603%2C2.422665576035685&z=12

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The nature of the Balkans is raw and powerful. Sunlit rocky coastlines inspire either blending architecture with nature or making nature part of the architecture itself. When I first visited the Balkans, I created a similar project for the metaverse—stone floors, cliffs, and an endless horizon above the sea instead of walls. Seeing this hotel, I felt a connection with its architectural approach—embracing and harnessing nature’s ability to heal, calm, and restore. ACRO Wellness Suites. Ag. Pelagia, Crete, Greece

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A portal to another civilization in Tianjin I've already written about Chinese bookstores that are taking architecture to a whole new level, and this one is no exception. Zhongshuge in Tianjin is yet another portal to a higher civilization that worships knowledge as the greatest value. Soaring arched portals distort perspective, creating an endless illusion of space. This is a place where classical form meets a completely new, digital perception, giving birth to a future - inspired architecture that draws from the past. The choice of brick as the primary material is driven by the store's location - it sits in the historic Italian Quarter. The district was built in the early 20th century when Tianjin was one of the few cities in China where foreign powers held concessions. The area was developed according to Italian designs, using red brick as the key material - durable, accessible, and characteristic of Italian architectural tradition. This influenced the building's architecture - classical volumes, columns on the facade, and expansive enfilade spaces in the lobby. But instead of merely replicating history, the designers reinterpreted it. They took that very traditional brick and, using cutting-edge computer modeling and handcrafted techniques, created dozens of custom forms from it. Approximately 400,000 bricks were laid in such a way that the walls and arches curve like digital panels, blurring the line between handmade craftsmanship and futuristic design. 📍 86 Min Zu Lu, He Bei Qu, Tian Jin Shi. China https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=ru&mid=1X7rGdDdv83kilvJdDTnIgjD0Y1_vfJQ&ll=37.39761856881769%2C118.294028886711&z=6

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