Catch up on highlights from this week’s digital travels
Good spaces come in small packages
Size isn’t everything. Just ask Kristie Wolfe, who built a tiny treehouse from scratch in the rainforests of Hawaii’s Big Island. The off-the-grid property, offering 360 views of the surrounding rainforest, is now one of Airbnb’s most popular rental destinations. And it’s easy to see why…
Japan’s solar solution to its abandoned golf courses
Surprisingly for a small yet highly populated country, Japan built too many golf courses during the 1990s and 2000s, with many now lying abandoned. Now electric company Kyocera has other ideas for these dead spaces. It is beginning to build solar power plants on some of these sites – and the idea is starting to take off. See Quartz for more.
The unseen side of theatres
German photographer Klaus Frahm clearly pays little regard to theatre’s golden rules, happily breaking the sacrosanct fourth wall in capturing Europe’s great arenas from behind the curtain. Head to It’s Nice That to see the view.
Melbourne’s bootylicious tower inspired by Beyoncé
I don’t think Melbourne’s ready for this jelly. Australian firm Elenberg Fraser admitted its curvaceous, 78-storey Premier Tower – which won planning approval this week – draws inspiration from a certain superstar. ‘We’re going to trust you’ve seen the music video for Beyoncé’s “Ghost”,’ says a cheeky description on the firm’s website.
A sweet goodbye to a Brooklyn sugar refinery
Brooklyn’s 160-year-old Domino Sugar Refinery – once responsible for more than half the sugar consumed in the US – is undergoing a major regeneration project, designed by SHoP Architects and James Corner Field Operations. Keen to savour its sweet taste, Paul Raphaelson photographed the 11-acre site before its partial demolition. His images of the Brooklyn icon will soon be published as a book. See a preview of his work via Architect Magazine.
