Pinnacle Quilt: The sizable cotton quilt evokes skyscrapers and works well as a tapestry or bedding, $425.

In 2006, Claus—director of Claus en Kaan Architecten, one of the Netherlands’ top architectural practices—finally got inside Perret’s apartment. He was duly impressed. “It’s the sheer abundance with which limited materials are used here that first struck me,” he says. “The wall-to-wall French oak paneling, combined with materials that were ahead of their time—columns made not from marble but from stone-blasted concrete, the extraordinary round plaster ceiling inset, and the fiber-wood paneling—and his attention to the tiniest of details.” He tracked down the organization that owns the apartment, the Association Auguste Perret, to see if he and his wife could rent the unit as a pied-à-terre. To his surprise, they said yes. In the dining room, a marble-topped table by Eero Saarinen is ringed with Eames wire chairs. Through oak accordion doors, the atrium beckons with red Utrecht armchairs by Gerrit Rietveld and a yellow Diana table by Konstantin Grcic.

It’s a good idea to read reviews about specific pieces before buying them, which can help prepare you for the unexpected.

Author and French designer Daniel Rozensztroch's industrial loft was a 17th-century manufacturing plant in the Marais, a historic district that abuts the Bastille. A row of vintage iron cabinets, mostly recovered from doctors’ and dentists’ offices, separate the kitchen from the dining area. The Gervasoni table was designed by close friend Paola Navone. Architect Dominique Perrault and designer Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost are responsible for the the tubular pendants over the dining table, which resemble old subway lamps.

Art and data infuse at every step to create a beautiful, but connected airport of the future in Singapore.

In the bedroom, a 1930s painting by French artist Louis Parrens hangs above a vintage nightstand with a Lampe Gras light, designed in 1921 by Bernard-Albin Gras. The bed is dressed with Merci linens.

Because this house, in a converted 19th-century Singapore shophouse, is narrow and long (16 by 68 feet), the design team decided to create a huge open-air space to light the interior naturally. Two retractable motor-driven canvas canopies shelter the space during Singapore’s frequent rains. Photo by Richard Powers. Learn more about the challenges of the renovation.

A bit of private space between the apartment and the street.

“Shophouses brought back memories of our childhoods, of open back doors and neighbors and relatives wandering in and out of the kitchen and cooking and eating and coming and going whether you liked it or not.”—Yang Yeo

Connected panels of molded polyester fiber, covered with fabric, make up the sound-absorbing Bits wall by Abstracta. The triangular shape of the panels helps break the sound waves, making the design ideal for an office environment.

“The building is listed on a historic register, both inside and out, which means it’s especially difficult to run,” says Claus, ruminating on why the Association Auguste Perret agreed to let him rent Perret’s apartment. “In many ways, I think it was an answer to their prayers: income from someone who understood the space and in no way wanted to tamper with it.” A framed vintage Michelin map of France—“the same one my parents used to drive us around,” says Claus—leans against the oak-paneled wall in the bedroom, alongside an AJ floor lamp by Arne Jacobsen and a lacquered metal Fronzoni 64 bed by A.G. Fronzoni.

The aging facade of Aumas’s apartment belies the energy within.

Another view of the Parisian shop.

A common space features Hee Welling’s About a Chair 12 for Hay and a Stick round table by Valsecchi 1918.

Oxley (Singapore) Architect: LAUD Architects Category: Housing

The home’s four bedrooms and bathrooms all feature oversized, pinnacle clad windows by Windsor Windows and Doors for optimal views of the surrounding water.

Architect Damien Brambilla turned a run-down Paris apartment building into an open, bright adolescent group home with a landscaped garden.

The POD (Singapore) Any comparisons to hostels stops at the door of The POD, the sleek bachelor pad of capsule dwelling. Singapore firm Frameworkz designed every detail in this minimalist but posh set up, from the marble vanities to the beds boasting high threadcount sheets. Photo by The Pod

Rypen is an online marketplace for home furniture and accessories. Check out these textured David Trubridge lamps.

Timothy Beatley, a professor of sustainable communities at the University of Virginia, says hospitals should be community centers. "[Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital in Singapore] makes me hopeful because it shows how healthcare facilities can be designed to include nature," he says. "While there is no recorded evidence, my gut feeling is that this building does heal. This is a hospital people want to be in."

Another view of the same building, now looking upwards. Seven of the world's largest megacities (such as Singapore) are located in the tropics. As the climate changes and these cities grow, how urban architecture interacts with the environment will only become more important. "WOHA’s future prospects for vertical villages serve as an enlightening template for architects, designers, and engineers, as well as developers and investors," says the Skyscraper Museum.

Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple (Singapore) Architect: Czarl Architects Category: Religion

Ian and Yeo’s house was uninhabitable when they purchased it in 2002. Three months later, the roof caved in. The translation of the sign above the door of the couple’s renovated house (right) is “peace.”

The modern pool allows architects to bring the aesthetics of modern design and water together in harmony. These examples from around the world are designed to fit their environments while maintaining their unique qualities and cohesiveness. The results are truly inspiring. To view our dream pools, click here.

Brambilla used part of the $2.9 million budget to acquire pieces from Hay, including Hee barstools by Hee Welling that are lined up by a long bar in a common area.

No less than twelve of WOHA's designs—what the museum calls "vertical ecosystems"—will be on display at the exhibit. Multimedia displays, including architectural models, will showcase how these projects break the conventions of skyscraper design: unlike the Miesian tower, they are hardly hermetic and sealed from nature. Seen here is the firm's PARKROYAL on Pickering, in Singapore. The nearly 300-foot-tall hotel and office building features these sculptural outdoor gardens.

Brambilla designed and crafted the built-in bookcase in a common area from laminated red birch.

Though plans are still being developed, a 14.9-mile unused railway in Singapore is set to be recast as a series of community spaces. Pictured is a rendering of a rock-climbing area by Nikken Sekkei.

The house is clad in smooth stucco top-coated with white Venetian plaster.

Martin and Katz plastered over the stucco finish of the fireplace wall with soft gray Venetian plaster.

The Clark Art Institute's tiered reflecting pools were conceived by Tadao Ando and developed by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

The Whistle stool is a relaxed piece with a little bit of attitude.

“Typically people don't have pools on a small city lot like this, so we really had to work with what we had,” says Monika. The couple’s child, Sullivan, peaks through the pool’s window.

The Rack Your Brain coatrack offers a bit of functional camouflage: pull down the hooks for your gear, fold them up for a bit of wall art. It’s in the Singapore booth and from designer Tomohiko Sato for Foundry.

'Coconut Fibre Furniture' by Cilicon Faytory from Singapore

This iconic floor lamp from Serge Mouille alongside the Flow S4 Pendant, designed by Nao Tamura, inspired by the reflections of the Venetian cityscape, are both stylish standouts.