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.

InFarm Microgreen Growing Kit Currently raising funds on indiegogo, InFarm is offering this unfoldable, plastic growing kit with seeds for rucola, mustard, and radish as a reward for funding its campaign for indoor gardening. Photo provided by InFarm

Inspirational spaces

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

Old T-shirts become new tents in Endo’s Ka Me Ki Chi project.

'Positivenegative=Negativepositive' by Baek-Ki Kim, Korea

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.

There are currently one Miru cabin and three Ki cabins at Fritton Lake.

A small terrace outfitted with an H55 easy chair by Björn Hultén offers a view of the San Francisco Bay.

The Ki cabins feature an open-plan living, dining and kitchen space that seamlessly connect to the outdoors via full-height glazed doors that fold back to completely open up one facade to the lake.

If you’re looking for a relaxing getaway that can be used as your own personal Zen spa, you’ll find everything you could want within the House of Ki, a private estate in Texas that was designed by Stern and Bucek Architects. Combining wood, glass, tile, and touches of metal, this bathroom looks out to the neighboring Buffalo Bayou river through a substantial window wall.

On the wall below the bed is a dashboard that enables wireless control of the living room. This dashboard has a smart mirror with face and gesture recognition, intelligent heating control by Tado°, and is paired with the Sonos sound system, Phillips Hue Lighting system, Amazon Echo system, and the house’s Kiwi.ki smart lock system.

Illustration via drawastickman.com.

The cabin’s concept was simple: To create a cabin that is small and sparse yet spatially rich. The 55-square-meter (592-square-foot) cabin, commissioned by a private client and completed in 2016, comprises a large living room, bedroom, ski room, and small annex with a utility room. It functions off the water and electricity grids.

The concept of this Scandinavian getaway was simple: To create a cabin that is small and sparse yet spatially rich. The 55-quare-meter (592-square-foot) cabin, commissioned by a private client and completed in 2016, comprises a large living room, bedroom, ski room, and small annex with a utility room. It functions off the water and electricity grids.

The apartment in the heart of São Paulo, Brazil, that FJ55 Arquitetos renovated for Carolina Quevedo and Marcus Watari was once a podcast studio. The space's wide open living area, kitchen, and dining space are outfitted with Tauari wood floors and feature raw concrete ceilings, beams, and pillars.

The concept of this Scandinavian getaway was simple: To create a cabin that is small and sparse yet spatially rich. The 55-quare-meter (592-square-foot) cabin, commissioned by a private client and completed in 2016, comprises a large living room, bedroom, ski room, and small annex with a utility room. It functions off the water and electricity grids.

Photo from blackandwtf.tumblr.com

A 55-inch Samsung Smart TV, a gift, is one of few indulgences.

One of the witticisms found on livethesheendream.com.

A 55-foot nautical-themed sofa runs along one side of the pool deck.

Available for as low as $55,000, the Artist Bothy is a multipurpose, prefab hut designed to promote a creative spark in residents.

At 55 Monterrey, historic details like the bay window seen here are rolled into a space that feels very modern.

An aerial view of the Ki'ama clubhouse

A contemporary apartment tower rises behind the restored townhouse at 55 Monterrey Avenue in Mexico City's Colonia Roma neighborhood.

On the exterior of the office, a mural called “Awakened Flow” by Seb Humphreys (AKA Order 55) echoes the tranquil energy of the home.

Floor Plan of WT Apartment by FJ55 Arquitetos

Scavolini takes a minimalist turn with Ki, a new kitchen collection by Nendo.

Ulysses word cloud poster from beautifulwordsbeautifulart.com.

Floor plan of WT Apartment by FJ55 Arquitetos

Cortek Modern Planter 81-14 in GFC / No color. Retails for $14. Industry pros get an instant 15% discount. L 5.5" x W 5.5" x H 5.5" Keep it as is or make it stand out with the color you want. Exclusively at Modern-Touch Design in Los Angeles. 1525 S. La Cienega Blvd. 90035 www.ModernTouchDesign.com

The Ki cabins, which is named after the Japanese word for tree, are nestled among light oak trees around the two-mile lake on the estate’s Hill Wood plots.

Elfa by the Container Store / containerstore.com

When chilled to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, Wisner said, the taste of Newton Vineyard’s Chardonnay “explodes in your mouth.”