HOT+TEA, also known as Eric Rieger, is an American street artist who uses vibrant yarn as his medium of choice. I love so many of his installations including this marvelous piece called Lost+Found. HOT+TEA spotted a vacant Minneapolis tennis court with no net for the locals to use (a lost space). He decided to create a net using nothing but neon yarn so the court could be returned to its original purpose (found). I love how it mixes vibrant art with something that enhances a community and brings people together…

(photographs via / screencaps created from a video on unurth )  

I feel like I have come across more inspiring school architecture lately than ever before. I hope this is a continuing trend because if there is one place that should always be colourful and inspiring, it is school. I love the gorgeous exterior of The Reece School in New York by Platt Byard Dovell White Architects. A non-profit private elementary school for special needs children on East 104th Street, I love the rectangles of transparent colour that make the building look friendly from the outside and full of joyful, colourful light on the inside. There are some fantastic light fixtures in the classrooms and gym as well. Learning and colour really are a match made in heaven…

(spotted on arch daily, photographs by jonathan wallen)

Now this is a colour-happy police station. Designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, the ‘Koban Police Box’ is a station in the Japanese neighbourhood of Kumamoto. A perforated steel ribbon rims the top of the structure allowing for lovely shadows to dapple the sidewalk throughout the day. The inside surface is also painted a rainbow of light hues which, when viewed at street level, allows for colour to pop intriguingly from the perforations in many different ways. This design certainly projects a friendly, less intimidating image of police. I hope the handcuffs are similarly colourful…

(photographs via designboom)

I have always been Olympic Games obsessed but, after spending a few years working on design for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, I am full on bonkers about all things Olympic from sports to design to cultural events. One of my favourite facets is how the “Look of the Games” comes to life and dresses the event from tiny keychain to massive building. I particularly like when this design breaks tradition and changes the look of a sport. Case in point? London 2012′s Riverbank Arena where, for the first time ever, the Hockey competition will be played on a colour that isn’t traditional grass green. Instead, the pitch will be vibrant cobalt blue with hot pink edges and, in another Olympic first, the ball will be yellow instead of white. CMYK dreaminess, no? The palette was created in response to a request from the International Hockey Federation to help raise interest in the sport and is the final product of copious testing. Both the warm-up pitch and competition field are bold, modern and sure to catch the eye of many new hockey fans. The cobalt field will help the yellow ball be seen and overall, the vibrant colour trio will be beautifully telegenic and bright. Great abstract pattern in the spectator seating as well. I love when sports experiment with modern hues and design. Can’t wait to see this field in action as I may have just found my favourite London 2012 piece of colour…

(photographs via creative review, anglotopia, telegraph, teamgb, guardian and the big picture)

Ecole Maternelle Pajol is a four-classroom kindergarten in Paris’s 18th arrondissement that joyfully showcases how colour and education are a true dream team. I love how Parisian architects Palatre & Leclère restored the 1940′s building. The front retains its vintage brick beauty while the back explodes with vibrant patterns and colourful activities. The interiors are equally joyful with bold hallways, bright furniture/building materials and a dotted ceiling I just love. Even the washroom features fabulous streamlined colour and animal details (love those dividers!) This kindergarten must be one magical place to learn and play…

(spotted on the cool hunter)

We have all heard of “pop-UP” retail but will “pop-OUT” retail become the next begin thing? I am in love with the ingenious design of The Gourmet Tea in a São Paulo, Brazil shopping centre. Created by architect Alan Chu and inspired by the brand’s 35 brightly hued tea tins, the space is a wall of artful squares when closed and a lively, angled store when open. The flat panels of the plywood box “slide, swing and roll” into a vibrant space within minutes. I love how the shop sign is a hinged flap. A brilliant, colourful design that proves small spaces are often the most magical. Perhaps we can turn all malls into art installations when closed?

(photography by djan chu via dezeen)
(pop over to my other the gourmet tea post here)

My second guest post on yellowtrace focuses on the most beautiful kindergarten I’ve ever seen – the Educational Centre En El Chaparral in Granada, Spain designed by Alejandro Muñoz Miranda. Colour windows were added to communal spaces like doorways (leaving classrooms with clear glass) so changing weather and seasons could inject the white space with gorgeous coloured light. Can you imagine going to kindergarden somewhere so magical? Check out my whole post and more images on yellowtrace.

(photographs by Fernando Alda via Dezeen)

If you ever chat with someone who declares that environment conscious architecture can’t be a beacon of bold, colourful design, direct them to the Pixel building in Melbourne, Australia. The country’s first carbon neutral office building of its kind has impressive green credentials (read about them here) and manages to be a stunning symphony of form and colour. The facet-shaped “wings” are just beautiful and the colour palette feels like it was plucked from an Australian bloom (perhaps a pincushion or protea?) Overall, it is a building bursting with colour and, I imagine, infectious energy. I love that such a technically advanced building doesn’t have to be stainless steel to be sleek, modern and simply gorgeous.

(photography by ben hosking via weheart)

That fireplace. Good Lord. A large expanse of fuchsia that will be in my dreams indefinitely and is only one colourful detail at newly opened The Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. The space was “inspired by the contemporary architecture of Mexico and the Arizona desert… designed around the color and light of the surrounding landscape.” Doesn’t it feel like you are in the middle of a desert sunset? A really inspiring palette including tangerine, fuchsia, grape, coral, saffron and a host of other warm hues. I love those bold pops of colour mixed with varying shades of natural wood. The bedrooms feel airy, vibrant and modern yet still calm. If I am missing in Scottsdale, you can definitely find me sitting by that beautiful fireplace…

(photographs via saguaro & knstrct)

Airports are fascinating places. Some are rather frightening and clinical, some are gleaming structures of great design. The latter category more than fits ‘Harmonic Convergence’ by Christopher Janney, a spectacular interactive sound, light and colour installation at the Miami International Airport. Created in the walkway from the rental car terminal to the main airport, Christopher used diamonds of coloured glass, the constant sun of Florida and a liberal coat of white paint to create a dazzling hall of pure colour. The pattern created on the floor is stunning. When the sun finally sets, the installation remains vibrant via computer-controlled LED lights. Christopher also designed a “sonic portrait” or composition of constantly changing tropical birds, thunderstorms and other distinctly Floridian sounds to interact with the coloured light. Christopher says his installation “announces” the airport to visitors as they enter or exit the main terminal and I am certain this component of the trip would be unforgettable. If I ever visit Miami, I can now count on one thing – a lengthy trip to the airport. You can find me in the hall of colour, staring at that pattern of light…

(spotted on designboom)

If you were a kid and this was your community centre, would you ever want to go home? The Sports and Leisure Centre in Saint-Cloud, France was opened over a year and half ago but I still can’t get over the fantastic use of colour. Designed by KOZ Architectes, the environment-friendly building is a bold gem of architecture. Arch Daily called it a “little castle and cubist mountain” which is a pretty perfect description for a building that houses the imaginations of so many children. The colourful exterior glass is a palette of pure harmony. The thick stripes could have gone horribly wrong but, with fantastic colour selection, they seamlessly compliment each other like a perfectly organized crayon box. I love the night shots of the centre as the illuminated horizontal rooms “light up” numerous vertical swatches of colour. Inside the building, the architects repeated the same systematic colour system to create an easy navigation system for children and reflect a bold graffiti-like style. If I lived in Saint-Cloud, I would try to find an apartment with a direct view of this beautiful building. Oh and I might try out that climbing wall bathed in chartreuse light… More city councils need to follow the lead of Saint-Cloud and explore vibrant architecture for community centres and other public spaces as they really can become sources of city design pride and more imporantly, colourful castles of child-like wonder.

(photographs by stephan lucas and via arch daily)

Pantone Hotel is a boutique hotel in Brussels devoted to colour and designed around the famous Pantone Matching System. Although it opened last year, my obsession with visiting has not dimmed one bit so I decided I had to post about it. Designed by architect Olivier Hannaert and interior designer Michel Penneman, the building feels very similar to Pantone swatches with bright white features creating a canvas for saturated bursts of colour. Each of the seven floors is focused on a different hue so you can decide if you want to stay in a passionate red room or a tranquil blue one. I like how the room numbers are three Pantone swatch numbers. The hotel lobby is the cheerful heart of the colour drenched building and houses the biggest selection of Pantone licensed products worldwide. From the coloured glass on the exterior to the rugs of small vivid squares, I love how every detail has been thought of and that they all embrace Pantone swatches with wit and style. Maybe one day, we will have a conference in this embassy of colour and discuss the world of hue with a Pantone mug in hand?

(photographs © sven laurent – let me shoot for you except 5th from top by serge anton; all via pantone hotel)

These images are from a couple of years ago but they had such jaw-dropping effects on me yesterday when I saw them for the first time, I knew I had to share! Tham & Videgård Arkitekter re-imagined this traditional Art Nouveau apartment in Stockholm in the most striking of ways. The entire space features dramatic oversized and multicoloured parquet flooring inspired by the seasonally changing colours of adjacent Humlegården Park “from winter grey and black to summertime bright and deep green, to orange, red and yellow in autumn”. I don’t think it would be humanly possible to have a bad day in this apartment. Colour therapy meets architecture? It is definitely a feat of colour mixing and pattern. My personal favourite are the rooms with a neon orange, hot pink and black hues. Do you think you could live in a space this uniquely dazzling? At the very least, this apartment has inspired me to paint some doorways in vibrant colours!

(photographs by Åke E:son Lindman; spotted on yatzer and fine little home)

Curaçao is a brightly hued island country surrounded by the sparkling turquoise of the Southern Caribbean Sea. It recently became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands but the architecture and design soul of its native country remains a distinct characteristic. In fact, Curaçao is often called Caribbean’s “Little Netherlands”. The neon blue liqueur “curacao” is probably the first thing that comes to mind when the country name is mentioned but aside from insanely bright booze, it is an absolutely stunning country. The island is covered in gorgeous natural hues from uniquely vibrant flowers to a lush green landscape edged with a vibrant blue sea. In addition, the capital city of Willemstad is full of beautiful historical buildings that feature Dutch details and a crayon box’s worth of colourful paint. The cityscape is so unique that UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site. Thank goodness. That means these vibrant shops and homes are here to stay. Curaçao is full of spectacular nature, colourful building and festivals, intriguing history and beaches with dazzling sea vistas. I could post endless pictures and adjectives but the bottom line is that I have a major crush on this colour saturated jewel in the Caribbean Sea!

(photography via infinite magic photography, infinite magic photography, mari ward foster, peter koke, keith delong, pietcur, versgeperst, haroldo castro, dksluis, scout13ca, derpunk, bea moedt, greetje dijkstra, michael from minnesota, syncronaut, haroldo castro, pietcur, soul aperture, syncronaut, derplunk, hawkfish, air farce and duenitas digital world)

Buenos Aires has been at the very top of my wanderlust list for a decade or so. Often called “Paris of South America”, the port city is a mosaic of Latin American flavour with a distinct European influence. The birthplace of tango, Buenos Aires seems to echo the dance’s passion across all aspects of its culture. From fashion to football to art and architecture, there is so much character and colour in this eclectic city. I found it almost impossible to stop looking for images! One particularly colourful area is La Boca, a working-class neighbourhood and tourist hub that that features tango clubs and vividly-hued tin houses. I can’t wait to visit Buenos Aires one day and see this seductive city in person. Any place where tango just randomly breaks out on city streets just needs to be seen, right? Even the subways have elaborate and colourful tile patterns! I’m hoping to feature Argentina as a whole one of these days as there are gorgeous landscapes and unique areas all over this beautiful, one-of-a-kind country.

(photographs via bob krist, hanna ali, for 91 days, paulete matos, robbie ewing, monica l, paulo capiotti, robert o’duill, argentina countrywide, carlosmf, clelia pellicano, kk_wpg, thomas locke hobbs, juan ignacio rela, thomas locke hobbs, carlos a. redondo, stephen weaver, daniel-on-tour, azotesdivinos, junior reis, nina’s clicks, hardieboys, for 91 days, paulo capiotti, thought for thought, globe trodden, peter mcbride & ryan murphy)

I think I just figured out where I could spend an entire day and never get bored. Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson recently finished his five year installation titled ‘Your rainbow panorama‘ – a brilliant, rainbow-hued viewing gallery on top of the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum in Denmark. A beautiful love poem to colour and vibrant addition to the cityscape that transforms as the light of each day changes. I particularly love the vibrant glow at night. If I am ever missing in Denmark, look here first! I’ll probably be the one looking dreamily out the magenta section or perhaps jumping up and down in the turquoise area…

In his artist statement, Olafur expands on how the viewing gallery works and the meaning behind the project: “Enveloped in the rainbow environment, you produce afterimages in hues complementary to the colours in the glass panes around you. If you look at the city through red glass, your eyes develop a green afterimage. If you maintain a quick pace, the colours remain vibrant. But if you pause in one colour zone, the hue around you grows pale while the colours in your peripheral vision, where the walkway curves, intensify. Colour intensities depend on your speed… The colour spectrum speaks to the museum collections below… Colour intensifies reality at all times.”

(photographs via Studio Olafur Eliasson)