Kristina (kriskris)

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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An Italian trattoria in the heart of French Marseille. Just look at this bathroom! 📍 18 rue de la République, Marseille

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Have you ever watched construction safety nets dance in the wind? For years I’ve wondered why draping isn't used more on building facades. And I’ve finally found a non-neural-network textile facade - even if it's a temporary installation Designed last year by digital artist Andrés Reisinger, who began his career creating virtual spaces and objects (unsurprisingly), the installation wrapped the pop-up concept store for Hourglass, timed to the launch of their Unreal Liquid Blush collection 📍 14 Prince Street, New York.

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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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Sassi di Matera: A City Saved by Decline "Sassi" translates from Italian as "stones." It is a stone city carved into the cliffs and represents one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements. Some of its caves were hollowed out 11–12 thousand years ago and have been used continuously to this day. Perhaps its most challenging period was the mid-20th century, when poverty led Italian authorities to decide it would be easier to relocate its residents. Ironically, this saved the city from reconstruction and new development at a time when heritage preservation was less prioritized. Then, in the 1980s, its immense value became clear, and Sassi di Matera began to be restored and developed as a tourist attraction. In 1993, the city was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the most outstanding and well-preserved example of a cave settlement anywhere in the Mediterranean.

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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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