Located in Kyoto, Japan, the Ukiyoe Small Museum has extremely flexible hours, at least for its owner/operator, artist Ichimura Mamoru, whose sign explains: “When I’ve had enough the store is closed.”

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In big black block letters on a white placard, the message contrasts with the historic facade and is hard to mess. For years, the signage was only in Japanese, but a kind tourist translated it for him into English, at least roughly, so foreign visitors could also get with his unusual program.

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Inside one will find woodblock prints in the traditional ukiyo-e style, which dates back to the 17th Century. These “pictures of the floating world” capture everyday scenes with recognizable perspectives.

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Though less popular now, Mamoru and others like him still make work along the same lines — he learned from his grandfather, and is one of the last few dozen artists of his kind in Japan.

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Those who manage to catch him during his hours of operation can tour the museum, shop and his workshop as well to see how the artwork gets made.

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Designed to be a fittingly strange work of architecture on the grounds of famous painter Edward Munch’s former home, A House to Die In has sparked controversy since its proposal some years back.

Modeled in collaboration with the artist who now owns the estate, the building features cartoonish characters act as support columns for this algorithmically generated architectural endeavor.

Accepted at national and state levels, the local city has its reservations, not so much about the form than the placement. “We want the site where the death house was intended to be placed to remain a green area for the benefit of the local population, and we encourages Bjarne to find a new site for the project” wrote the Oslo City Council in a statement.

The scheme has generated much editorial discussion of late, with the The New York Times describing the building as a U.F.O. Earlier this year, the project was put on public display by the Selvaag Art Collection, showcasing the artistic process of designing the unique home. One has to wonder whether Munch, a bit of an eccentric personally and professionally, would have approved.

Shouldn’t the settings of temporary artist residencies be just as creative as the art produced there? These structures include communal houses, remote huts, mobile studios, inhabitable billboards, rooftop apartments and entire inns full of creatives from various disciplines, providing an inspirational setting, lots of daylight and an optimal place to work. In effect, they’re like collaborations between the architects who designed them and the artists who dwell there for a brief period of time.

Artist in Residence Project by TYIN Tegnestue and Rintala Eggertsson

Håvard Lund, a jazz musician and composer, originally commissioned TYIN Tegnestue and Rintala Eggertsson Architects to create a workplace for himself in northern Norway. Once ‘Fordypingsrommet Fleinvaer’ was complete, he decided he couldn’t just keep it to himself, and turned it into a striking artist residence for rent with views of the rugged landscape and the sea. Four small sleeping huts are embedded into the hillside nearby.

Room on the Roof by i29 Interior Architects

Dutch department store De Bijenkorf teamed up with the Rijksmuseum to invite artists, architects, designers, writers and musicians from around the world to participate in a new artist in residence program located in a small historic tower in Amsterdam. i29 Interior Architects created the unique interior, which features a multi-story wooden built-in full of small, open rooms, including a bed platform and a desk platform. A dramatic spiraling staircase contrasts with eh light materials, offering access to the roof for inspiring views.

Fogo Island Inn & 6 Striking Artist Studios

Six small structures located along the craggy north coast of Newfoundland, Canada are collectively known as Fogo Island Studios, a residency-based contemporary art venue for creators from a wide variety of disciplines. These creatives come to Fogo Island to live and work for periods ranging from one to three months, either at these freestanding studios or at the Fogo Island Inn, a 29-room accommodation, all of which were designed by Saunders Architecture.

Droga Architect in Residence, Sydney, Australia

Australia’s first architect-in-residence program hosts overseas architects in a warehouse apartment in inner Sydney, designed by Durbach Block. The sleek black rooftop structure contrasts with the historic brick building below it, giving residents a bird’s eye view of the city and its architecture.

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Artists In Residence 18 Stunning Studios Designed For Cultivating Creativity

Design and architecture firms are used to getting creative resumes in the mail that unfold into portfolios or assemble into paper models, but this LEGO figurine may be the most creative variant yet.

A designer and artist, Andy Morris decided to make a miniature of himself as a way to stand out to potential employers and highlight his creativity.

His three-dimensional curriculum vitae packaged like a toy figure but also includes graphic elements that convey aspects of his own creative work.

The packaging gives more details on his design capabilities and offers links to his website and portfolio, accompanied by descriptions of his experience and personal design philosophies. Hurry: supplies are limited!

He hopes not only that the figure will help him find a job, but that it will match him with a workplace that mimics his own quirky creative ambitions.

Designer Fernando Abellanas has built a remarkable micro-dwelling in Valencia, Spain, that slides into position under a bridge, suspended safely out of sight from the traffic passing by above.

The clever construction of the room’s frame allows it to roll over tilted sections of beam, making its way between a lofted and secluded position and the top of a slope on the other side for entry and egress.

A hand-crank lets the dweller move the enclosure back and forth without any need for an external power source. Furniture and fixtures, meanwhile, stay put, attached to the vertical span of bridge supports where the room docks.

Embracing a minimalist approach and industrial palette, this urban refuge has flexible walls that can form an enclosure and act as privacy screens, allowing the occupant to hiding completely behind raised plywood surfaces.

A light-touch approach means the structure leaves essentially no footprint – it glides lightly around existing infrastructure. And its built-in mobility mechanism assures castle-like protection, vertical space acting as a natural moat.

Indeed, the designs were based on childhood fantasies and real-worldassociations with hard-to-access spaces like tree houses and table forts easy for children to access but hard for adults.

The dull hum of the road is a bit like the buzz of a family going about its business — the buffer of concrete also dampens some of the noise, making the space less loud than it would be to occupy a space alongside the highway.

Abellanas has long been fascinated with furniture as well as forts, and his work with other artists and architects reflects an ongoing interest in paradigm-challenging designs do-it-yourself guerrilla interventions.