When Pablo Pérez Palacios’ Mexico City–based architecture firm PPAA was tasked with building an apartment tower to meet La Colonia Roma's need for additional housing, he faced a problem familiar to developers in historic neighborhoods everywhere. The site was occupied by a dilapidated home that dates to 1925, and local laws required that the facade and part of the structure be maintained. PPAA’s innovative approach was to cut the original three-story home in half, preserving enough of the building to front the street and hold two apartments replete with classic Victorian details like high ceilings and restored millwork. In the back of the lot, they designed a sleek eight-story apartment tower that would hold an additional nine apartments, for a total of 11 units. Not bad for a site that was previously an uninhabited single-family house.

Linen Place Mat From festive gatherings to everyday breakfasts, the Linen Placemat adds warmth and style to any meal. Made from durable and machine washable 100% linen, the Linen Placemat from Fog Linen Work will become softer with each use making it ideally suited for everyday dining rituals and special occasions.

Illustration via drawastickman.com.

The tatami room (pictured) has mats from the Futon Company and a “Hinamatsuri” mobile adds a cheery touch.

The Guiuan National High School, illustrated as mass shelter during a natural disaster. Says To: "The challenge was, 'How can we create a school that is inviting and resilient at the same time without looking like a bunker that would always remind people of the next possible typhoon hitting land?'"

These colorful t-shirt mats are woven in Brooklyn by artist Joegeda from around 40 vintage pullovers each for a 2.5' x 3.5' rug—ideal for kitchens and baths. ($130)

One of the witticisms found on livethesheendream.com.

Inspirational spaces

Part of a 1,000-square-foot space the brothers designed for their parents, the master bath features a Whittington Marlon bathtub from Signature Hardware.

A vibrant yellow pocket door adds a playful splash of color in the bathroom/laundry area on the lower level.

The leftmost cabinet above the Duravit bathtub (equipped with KWC fixtures) occupies the space where a doorway once lead into the living room, creating unnecessary traffic from the home’s public spaces through to the master bedroom.The new bathroom features a minimal palette of white and teak. “It’s able to hold up on boat decks so is good for a bathroom,” Klug says. It also makes the heated floor that much nicer to walk on in the morning. Photo by Eric Roth

The 510 Cabin is one of Leggitt's designs, executed with the help of student apprentices.

MAT-TER chose bamboo as the primary building material, "in order to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible throughout all stages of the building's lifespan," says To. The bamboo and interior modular units resist the effects of climate change and are flexible to local repair should a disaster incur damage. These interior units support each other and the main flooring system and are also elevated aboveground on a grid of concrete pilotis "to allow wind to pass underneath and protect flooding."

Parked for lunch were Torchy's Tacos, Man Bites Dog, and Holy Cacao.

Shown in Citron, Chilewich's utility mats are just what the kitchen ordered: vibrant, easy-to-clean, made in the USA, and mildew resistant. $75 from chilewich.com.

Fog Linen Massage Bath Mat

"We wanted to create an open and inviting space that speaks of the local culture and provides an inspiring learning environment for children and local communities," To says.

Ulysses word cloud poster from beautifulwordsbeautifulart.com.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.

Botanical Carden by Postcarden

Bag by Chester Wallace.

Photo by Ty Cole.

The Magnolia Handbag by Alchemy.

Elfa by the Container Store / containerstore.com

The end of the Parkmobiles bear the names of their creators and partners: CMG Landscape Architecture, Recology, and Gardners' Guild, Inc.

Anchoring a corner of the Design Lab floor was the trifecta of David Mast, Kendall Wilkinson, and Black Mountain Construction, who team up on design projects to create a seamless design-build experience for their clients. Here's Mast (center) discussing his "zen, less-is-more" design philosophy with two attendees.

Monochromatic Cloudy pattern.

Monochromatic Cloudy pattern.

VITRA211327 GEHRY4

A charming children's bedroom by Gautier.

Vasareley Pavilion by Shigeru Ban

A ceramic artwork by James Aarons.

MeBox by Graphic Thought Facility

Georgia Sideboard by Reinhard Dienes