Humans have been carving architecture into rock for nearly our entire history on this planet, so it’s a little surprising we don’t see more modern marvels mimicking spectacular ancient wonders like the city of Petra in Jordan. Relatively easy to carve, sandstone offers an ideal medium for sculptural architecture that adapts existing rock formations into habitable spaces.

A new series of concept images by Shanghai-based architect Amey Kandalgaonkar makes that leap. “House Inside a Rock” combines colossal sandstone formations with minimalist concrete and glass, carving out spaces within the rock formations and adding new horizontal planes for outdoor living spaces. Taking inspiration from the rock-cut tombs of saudis Arabia’s Madain Saleh, the 3D renderings envision a new way to fuse human-created structures with nature.

“Considering the visual complexity the rocks at Madain Saleh, it was imperative to use simple planes and cubes in order to achieve a visual balance,” Kandalgaonkar tells Designboom. “I started out creating the rock in 3D software which in itself was a sculpting process. Later when inserting the house into this rock, I tried to keep its visual impact from eye level as minimum as possible and only when observed from a bird eye, the real extent of the intervention is revealed.”

There’s something a little villainous about the result, and if such an idea were ever to take off in real life, it may stir concerns about the degree to which we’re altering and developing our natural surroundings. But as a concept, it’s pretty cool. You can see more of Kandalgaonkar’s fantastical work on Instagram @ameyzing_architect.

Unlike The Maze and other classic puzzle books, the Codex Silenda brooks no cheating, forcing readers to solve elaborate puzzles on each page before proceeding to the next.

Somewhere between a choose-your-own-adventure novel, a Chinese puzzle box and a blacksmith puzzle, this five-page volume features dizzyingly complex mechanical puzzles that can only be completed in sequence. In each pair of facing pages, a short story unfolds on one side while a related new puzzle is revealed on the other.

Designed by Brady Whitney, the wooden book is laser-cut and ornately detailed, full of hidden mechanisms worthy of Leonardo Da Vinci – indeed, the story itself is about an apprentice stumbling into the master’s workshop and becoming trapped inside the tome. The laser-burnt edges give the work a hand-crafted but careworn look, like something you might find in a mysterious antique shop, covered in dust.

From the makers: “Codex Silenda is a five page book that features five intricate puzzles. Each page features a unique puzzle that requires the user/reader to unlock the corresponding bolts in order to progress to the next page.” More about its maker: “Brady Whitney is the designer of the operation, the mastermind of the Codex. He originally came up with the idea for his senior thesis research project during his final semester at Iowa State University. Having grown up with a childhood filled with imagination, his passion for design has always been focused on the realm of toys and games, creating the products and ideas he always wished he had as a kid.”

A bold break from traditional closed-box museums, this gorgeous open Museum of Indigenous Knowledge design is as much an interactive rock-hewn landscape as a work of contemporary architecture.

Kengo Kuma & Associates of Japan are the team behind this stoney structure slated for construction in Manila and designed to showcase Philippine history starting in the Neolithic period, known for its huge stoneworks.

Populated with tropical plants, waterfalls and pools, the carved-out center of the structure is made to feel both organic and inviting, encouraging visitors to climb up, wander and explore their environs.

The building is meant to stand out in contrast not only to more minimalist and austere museums but the surrounding urban environment as well, providing relief from the relentless urban cityscape on all sites.

Restaurants and shops are located along the artificial ravine toward the base of the building, meant to be accessible independently but also a gateway to the galleries and exhibition spaces on the floors above.

Burrowing hundreds of feet into the second-largest glacier in Europe, the world’s largest system of ice tunnels and spaces (including a chapel and cafe and exhibit spaces) are being excavated to connect visitors with a massive natural blue-ice cavern buried deep beneath the surface of Iceland. This incredible complex is set to open within the next few months – just in time for a summer vacation.

Set inside Lanjoekull (Long Glacier), the Ice Cave rests on hundreds of feet of ice and is set nearly 5,000 feet above sea level – naturally, its location within a glacier means it can be accessed year-round. Combined with its record-breaking size, these factors make it unique among global ice architecture projects.

Lights have been embedded using ice and snow in the passageways to create stunning illumination effects as one passes into the glacier. Visitors will be driven up the entrance via a special 8-wheel-drive, 40-passenger vehicle with 360-degree views and accompanied by guides who will then bring them inside these amazing tunnels carved from ice. One has to wonder: why stop at tours and visits? One could conceivably create an entire city below the surface, or at least a remote outpost for winter sports, using these same techniques.

More on the history of the project from its makers: “In 2010, one of Iceland’s leading consulting engineering firms had an idea, that resonated with a some of Iceland’s most experienced adventure tour operators. They had a bold and daring vision, to take people not just around and onto, but also inside the heart of the remote and extraordinary glacier ice cap.”

Geoff Manaugh of BldgBlog highlights a similar historical endeavor called Camp Century (aka Project Iceworm) in which the US military burrowed beneath the ice in Greenland (video above): “Camp Century was a sprawling complex of prefabricated architectural units and steel arches installed within the ice cap, and, astonishingly, it was powered by a portable nuclear reactor.”

It’s Suntory time – on the incredibly intricate, CNC-milled, pagoda-shaped rocks.  The Japanese whisky brand famously touted by Bill Murray in the film ‘Lost in Translation’ has enlisted the services of a 5-axis CNC mill to craft miniature works of art in ice, including replicas of the Statue of Liberty and Michelangelo’s David.

The centerpiece of Suntory’s “3D Rocks” campaign is a teeny-tiny, amazingly detailed version of Kyoto’s Kinkaku-ji temple. Watch it in progress in the video above.

Suntory customers were asked to submit their own designs, and the winners were whisked to a secret location in Tokyo where they received a drink featuring their own creation in ice once it was complete.

The CNC router was kept chilled to a temperature of -7 degrees Celsius to keep the ice from melting while the machine was running.

It’s almost a shame to see the whisky splashing over these ephemeral works of art, knowing that they’re inevitably about to melt away.