From gold and dusted to old and busted: this abandoned gold mine in northeastern Australia is returning its vital elements to the ground from which they came.

Anvil Aurous

We may be in the “Land of Oz” but not all yellow brick roads lead to fame and fortune – Elton John excluded. In fact, about the only thing L. Frank Baum’s well-loved classic and this long-deserted gold mine near Brisbane have in common is rust… ain’t that right, Tin Man?

Cart Blanched

While gold mining is as old as the hills, so to speak, mining the prized heavy metal has become more sophisticated as the easy plays are cleaned out. We’ll assume whomever mined this nameless claim applied the available technology (such as the above ore cart straight outta Temple of Doom) so effectively, modern miners haven’t given the site a second glance.

Boss Moss

To say this old gold mine has been out of commission for a while would be an understatement. If the pervasive rust on any exposed metal doesn’t date it, how ’bout the moss growing on the rust? Think about that for a moment: moss growing on rusted metal gears. Now that’s some badass moss!

Just Ducky

This quartet of rusty rock-crushing heads were duck-faced before it was cool. They still sport the much-maligned selfie pose now, when it’s anything BUT cool. At least they’re not quacked up, which is more than we can say about the gold-bearing rocks they once smashed to gold-bearing sand.

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Gilt Trip An Abandoned Australian Gold Mine

Strands of gold fill the cracks of this apartment in Kyoto, replicating in architecture a longstanding tradition of repairing pottery in a way that tells a true history of its use and reconstruction. Mixed with resin, glittering gold dust sparkles against adjacent surfaces.

Kintsugi, which translates as “to repair with gold,” is a philosophy as much as an artistic approach. It reflects the idea that breakage and reassembly is part of the life of an object. In this case, the cracks that almost invariably form in concrete were repaired in the same fashion.

When Kintsugi was first employed centuries ago by a Japanese shogun, others were so enamored with the effects that, as the story goes, they began breaking their own pottery just to have an excuse to patch it back together with gold-laced lacquer.

In this case as with pottery artifacts, the effect is dazzling. Cracks stand out as something intentional, artistic and organic rather than shied away from as simply damaged. Spearheaded by architecture studio Tank, this may in turn also become more of a bigger trend, if only in Japan.

“The Japanese have traditionally repaired broken ceramics by gluing fragments together with lacquer and gilding the seams with gold powder to enjoy the beauty of imperfection,” said TANK. “Using traditional mortar, we emulated the art of Kintsugi in the living room by joining the cracks, thus transforming what was considered imperfect into a subject of beauty.”

Meanwhile, the winding gold cracks form part of a larger puzzle, elegantly juxtaposed against raw ceilings and reflected in a series of mirrored doors. The overall effect is minimalist, but with materials and textures adding life through creative details. Depending on the time of day and type of light, the gold blends in or stands out as lighter (or darker) against cementitious surrounding surfaces.

Known for his work on large-scale art projects, including the world’s biggest interior art installation, artist’s latest piece features over 1,000,000 square feet (100,000 square meters) of shimmering yellow fabric, wrapped around floating docks that span for miles up to and across Lake Iseo in Italy.

Undulating with the waves, the Floating Piers project lets visitors walk between Sulzano, Monte Isola and to the island of San Paolo; the floating platforms are visible from surrounding mountains as well.

Christo conceived of the idea with his Jeanne-Claude as far back as the 1970s, exploring different potential venues for its installation. While Jeanne-Claude passed away in 2009, Christo has carried on the idea, and finally found a place for the temporary work in Northern Italy.

Many works by this long-standing pair of ambitious artists were self-funded, in part through the sales of concept drawings and models in advance.

“like all of our projects,” says Christo, “The Floating Piers absolutely free and accessible 24 hours a day, weather permitting. There are no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners. The Floating Piers are an extension of the street and belong to everyone.” The project opened this weekend and will run for just 16 days. Images by Wolfgang Volz.

Jewelry for urbanists has taken a new turn with these silver, gold and platinum cityscapes, each featuring iconic buildings, monuments and landmarks from major metropolitan centers around the world.

Ola Shekhtman, a goldsmith from North Carolina, has crafted rings around cities including San Francisco, Boston, New York City, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin and Hong Kong, selling them online via Etsy.

Growing up in Siberia, Ola wanted to travel the world, eventually visiting London and San Francisco before moving to New York.

With the help of 3D-modeling software, she created this series to capture the spirit of places she has been and those she yet wishes to visit. Buyers can likewise decide whether to pick places they live, favorite past points of travel or goal-oriented rings for desired future destinations.

Part of a century-old distillery, a structure known as the ‘Haunted House’ now glimmers in the faintest of light thanks to its real 24 karat gold coating. Dutch architecture firm OMA adapted a complex of seven buildings in Milan for Fondazione Prada’s new arts center and added three new buildings, blending them all together with the goal of making it hard to tell which are historic and which aren’t.

The coat of gold paint makes the old factory building look like it could be as new as the glazed Podium building that was constructed around it, which will host temporary exhibitions. This striking detail was actually a last-minute decision, as lead architect Rem Koolhaas sought a way to “give value to a seemingly mundane and simple element.”

When the sun is shining bright, gold-tinted light reflects off that structure onto the rest of the complex, which also includes a cinema camouflaged by mirrors. OMA upgraded the historic structures with modern finish materials and carried an industrial aesthetic throughout the new buildings for a cohesive result. It’s not clear exactly how this could be possible, but according to Koolhaas, “gold is actually a cheap cladding material compared to traditional claddings like marble and even paint.”

Established by the Italian fashion house, Fondazione Prada aims to provide exhibition space for more diverse art than you’d normally see in a modern museum. The new complex, which is still under construction, will be its first permanent exhibition space.