Flowing out like the rings from the center of a tree, the veneers on this chest of drawers were carefully selected, perfected and oiled to create a remarkable effect.

The lightening of the wood as it pushes outward creates a compelling organic variant, and reinforces the impression that the whole piece was cut from a single tree. In reality, it was meticulously created using a combination of fumed oak, brown oak, oak, olive ash and ash.

Designer Edward Johnson says the inspiration was partly aesthetic, but also a nod to longevity — rings signify the passing of years, and his pieces are crafted to be durable as well. Small details, like a curved base and finger slots, play on the contrast of circular and rectilinear shapes.

Meanwhile, the “radiant desk takes on a sculptural asymmetrical design and is constructed from fumed and brown oak … veneers flow seamlessly from a semi-circular core that radiates out and down each side of the feature aerofoil shaped legs.”

The process can be painstaking. “Hundreds of thin strips of wood are cut in the workshop and joined back together using contrasting tones, resulting in sweeping lines and curves that envelop the furniture, bringing a soft, organic surface to the angular forms.”

Without touching a single stone in the ruins of a 17th century farmhouse in Scotland, two architects managed to incorporate it exactly as it is into a modern, ultra-efficient, solar-powered family home. Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture collaborated on a project that literally builds upon history, opting to adapt the ruins for a new usage in a way that highlights their history instead of trying to recreate what the farmhouse looked like once upon a time.

Located in the picturesque hills of rural Dumfries, looking out over a landscape of grassy emerald fields, the ruins might have seemed unusable to many who saw them. All that was left of the original structure was the suggestion of four walls, eroded down to waist-height in many areas. The farmhouse had been modified many times over the centuries, and for its newest incarnation, the architects chose to go bold with a surprising high-contrast design.

There are three layers of walls, they explain, starting with the original stone. Just inside them is a layer of black waterproofing EPDM rubber forming a pitched-roof envelope for the interiors. Then, there’s a curving interior ‘tube’ wall system defining the interior spaces in a way that feels soft and almost cave-like in nature.

“These three layers are not designed as independent parts, rather, they take on meaning as their relationship evolves through the building’s sections. They separate, come together and intertwine, creating a series of architectural singularities, including in some areas a particularly revealing simultaneous reading of these three layers.”

“At the windows and doors the tube funnels out towards the light, creating a ‘porched’ space within the thickness of the tube wall, and between the envelope and the tube, that can be used for furniture and storage.”

Stretching out of the original structures like alien growths, these modern additions don’t even bother trying to blend in with their traditional architectural settings – but somehow, it works. The mashup of old and new keeps the historic character of the original structures intact while updating them for use by 21st-century residents, expanding the available space in unexpected ways.

Sculptural Extension to 1930s Miami Bungalow

This three-story extension certainly isn’t trying to blend in with the modest 1930s Miami bungalow that can be seen peeking out from behind it. Sun Path House by Studio Christian Wassman sits upon a spiraling concrete structure containing a kitchen, which connects to the original house.

Greenery-Clad Vertical Extension

This concept by Zawelski Architecture Group literally raises the roof of an aging brick house with a sandwich of elements that hide a terrace inside the top story. The original structure houses the living spaces, the middle envelope contains private spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms, and a fence of ivy conceals a perfectly private backyard.

High Contrast at Bord-du-Lac

A 200-year-old stone house in Canada gets a striking metal-clad addition in this project by Henri Cleinge. The stark transition between old and new is meant to express the passage of time, the new volume representing the modern-day family and the old representing their ancestors.

Hankai House: Modern Volume Protects 300-Year-Old Japanese Home

A new wooden building wraps protectively around a 300-year-old wooden gate house in Japan, extending its space while leaving the original structure virtually untouched other than sections that were beyond repair. The new structure provides extra earthquake resistance, and though it’s clearly contemporary, its burnt cedar walls pay tribute to the architectural vernacular of the town.

Cosgriff House: Sleek in the Suburbs

A striking new extension provides three new levels of living spaces without dwarfing the standard suburban Australian home it’s attached to. Architect Christopher Polly followed the form and contours of the house, inserting a large new living area beneath it.

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Classic Modern Mix 13 Striking Additions To Historical Houses

A tale of two neighborhoods, these graphics (and their hybrid) stunningly illustrate how much further you can get on foot when you take a walk through an urban grid versus the suburban sprawl just a few miles away.

Depicted here are Phinny Ridge in Seattle, Washington (mapped above) and a section of its sibling-city across the water: Bellevue (shown below). As these images from the Sightline Institute show, the grid of streets on the Seattle side puts parks, services and shops of various sizes all within a walker’s reach. On the Bellevue side, there are a few more micro-parks but very few shops, services or large green spaces to be found in a winding one-mile range.

Of course, other examples, including many European cities, show that there is more too the equation than grid layouts. Some urban centers work well with non-rectilinear layouts (circular, for instance), and in other cases sufficient density, public transit or arterial connections make up for twisting shapes of local streets.

Still, these side-by-side (and overlaid) graphics tell a story of surprising contrast in terms efficiency and accessibility in relatively modern contexts. Larger structural differences are shaped and reinforced by building codes, zoning laws and other details that shift from one municipality to the next. These in turn dictate everything from large-scale pedestrian accommodations to road widths, building  setbacks and other details that conspire to form tight-knit cities or allow for sprawling suburbs at both macro- and micro-scales.

From SightLine: “The walkability maps and information presented in Cascadia Scorecard 2006 were developed by University of British Columbia’s Dr. Lawrence Frank, and colleagues Dr. James Sallis of San Diego State University and Dr. Brian Saelens of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and were funded by King County, Washington, and the National Institutes for Health.”

In some cities the slums run vertical while the rich build mansions on the precious ground, but in Mumbai, India, high-rise housing is considered premium real estate while the poor cobble together shelters below.

Alicja Dobrucka is the Polish photographer behind this photo series titled Life on a New High. Many of the photos were shot from a sufficiently high elevation to capture tall buildings on the backdrop of the surrounding urban landscape.

The residential towers stand in stark contrast to the sprawling ad hoc homes below, topped with a kind of (unfortunately) iconic patchwork of blue tarps.

Thousands of mid-rise-and-higher structures have been or are being built in Mumbai, often without regard for any overarching city plan. Some (like the famous one above) house single families on multiple floors, often with space for dozens of servants (in this case, reportedly, as many as 200).

Dobrucka also calls attention to the marketing slogans used to promote these structures. These catchy phrases are as seemingly out of touch with a their surroundings as the European-style architectural follies they are attached to: “You don’t just invite friends over, you invite awe”, “Ask yourself, how much envy can you endure? Neither wealth nor influence will bring them back again”, “If your tastes match with the President of France, we have just the right home for you”, “Other homes have works of art. Yours is one” and “Rooftop pool. Rooftop Jacuzzi. Rooftop lawn. As for the moon consider it complimentary”