Journal

A time of groundbreaking design during housing shortages, spellbound by a vision to usher in a new, affordable Modernism architecture began to combat densely packed inner-city. Time travel back in time to a perfectly preserved 1920s Berlin flat that echos the of Bauhaus through its walls.

Between 1995 and 2016, almost 1000 independent bookshops across the UK closed, meaning less than 870 currently exist. Often an industry living on the line, shops had to get creative for customers and introduce lockdown literature. This year's edition of Independent Bookshop Week may feel unusual, but it is perhaps the most noteworthy in modern memory.

More than just what you see on the shelves, bookstores have the power to be the pulse of neighborhoods and dictate the discourse of cities. They bring communities together. A place for the young and elderly, curious and creative-where everybody is welcome. Fiona Killackey explores how they cultivate community through Do You Read Me?

A former bank left derelict for decades after the communist revolution, Cărturești Carusel is the bookstore every eight-year-old dreams of growing up, and now a reality for the city of Bucharest. Featured in Do You Read Me?, we look inside this whimsical haven for literature lovers.

While the resulting spaces are often fantastical in their settings, with a soft, utopian world view, Charlotte Taylor hopes one day to realize her designs. “My work is gradually moving towards actual spaces, blurring the line of what is rendered and what is existing. I envisage the spaces to become inhabitable architecture,” she explains. Walk into her wonderous digital environments and learn about her approach to collaboration.

Shortlisted in the 2019 Houses Awards, the Superba Entrance Courtyard in Sydney is an exemplary use of space to transform an environment. Ushering in a new lease cool green, Abbye Churchill talks us through the vigorous earthy tones and sculptural plantation.