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.

When thoroughfares are subtracted from city grids, subsequent urban infill is shaped by the voids of these former roadways, streetcar or rail paths, standing out like architectural scar tissue when viewed from above. The effect is all the more pronounced when the disappeared passageways cut at odd angles through city blocks, forcing particularly odd-shaped ‘scarchitecture’ to follow.

When architectural writer Geoff Manaugh came across this phenomena in the streets of Los Angeles, readers rapidly began sending in examples from other cities. Some are surprisingly complex and counterintuitive, like the half-circle seen below (if you look closely) that seems to arbitrarily slice across multiple city blocks.

Manaugh’s fascination is infectious: “The notion that every city has these deeper wounds and removals that nonetheless never disappear is just incredible to me. You cut something out—and it becomes a building a generation later. You remove an entire street—and it becomes someone’s living room.”

Perhaps most remarkable of all: many of these scarchitectural expressions frequently go largely unnoticed on the ground level. Most, however, emerge immediately as visual patterns when seen from aerial vantage points, their persistently unconventional orientations going against the grain of gridded streets surrounding them.

Small buildings can completely conform to the unusual geometries these ‘ghost streets’ trace; some sides of other structures, reconfigured paths and even parking space orientations may also follow these uncanny trajectories, in part or in whole, as if aligning to secular ‘ley lines’ of invisible force. Next time you are using Google Maps, pan around your own neighborhood and you could find evidence of scarchitecture, perhaps cutting right through your own backyard.

A pair of crafty carpenters have separately arrived at the same conclusion: glow-in-the-dark resin is a really neat way to fill cracks, gaps, splits and other natural or accidental voids frequently found in wood shelves and surfaces.

Whether you have a small piece that needs infill or mending or a larger project in the works, one of these approaches may well be ideal for your own do-it-yourself project – basic details are provided below but full instructions on each strategy can be found via links included as well. In each case, the principle ingredients are the same: custom-mixed photoluminescent resin, leveling, cutting, sanding, time and patience.

In the first instance, Mat Brown decided to try something other than the standard invisible-style repair to solve the problem of empty space around knots, cracks and pits creating front-facing unevenness in boards to be used as shelving.

He provides further details on the process over at his blog, but in a nutshell: he used robust aluminum plumbers tape below and on the sides, leveled the surface, then heated up the resin, mixed in the powder and poured in the results. “Now it’s time to mix the resin. Give it a good mixing and then add your pigment. If you warm it up a bit, on a heater or with a hairdryer or something, the bubbles will pop out of it much more easily. Bubbles can ruin resin casts, so carefully mix and warm the resin, then let it sit for a while before pouring.” After a second similar round he cut, sanded and finished the pieces and mounted them on standard wall brackets.

Mike Warren has subsequently brought a similar idea to the table, creating a tutorial for filling in the naturally separation gaps found in a certain species of cyprus, livening up the biscuit-joined surface with bright resin.

The full illustrated list of 25 steps for this latter version can be seen on Instructables, but in this case a similar process was used, just heavier-duty tools employed (like a drum sander) to keep the workload down because of the more frequent and sizable voids found in ‘pecky cyprus’: “These damaged pockets can be easily removed and create cavities in the wood which are perfect for filling with resin and glow powder. The pockets of damaged (rotten) cypress are soft and can [be cleared] with compressed air and some light digging with a hand tool.” Hat tip to Chris of Colossal for finding both of these projects as well.

In a bold bid to change urban landscapes, a series of tiny home builders and enthusiasts has come together to turn empty space into a microcosmic example of what small-space living can mean for dense and high-cost cities like Washington D.C.

Starting with a small, awkward and triangular alley lot the Boneyard Studios group proceeded to clear the debris build a series of four small homes. “The lot originally had overgrown grass, broken concrete, pooling water, garbage, illegal parking, and occasional criminal activity (e.g. a dumped stolen vehicle).” 

Brian’s Minim House is clean, refined and modern featuring minimalist details, wood siding with black metal trim and a metal roof with solar panels. It also has interior features like in-seat storage and a pull-down screen for a space-saving projector television and video player.

Elaine’s Tumbleweed Lusby is framed and filled with warm wood, feeling as much like a cabin in the woods as it does a cottage in the city. It comes complete with a bamboo ladder leading up to a cozy lofted sleeping space.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Boneyard Studios Vacant Lot Hosts New Micro Home Village

Playful yet thought-provoking, this project asks: what do we do with small leftover spaces in cities … particularly in urban areas where even a few square feet of real estate can cost a fortune?

Live between Buildings by Ole Robin Storjohann and Mateusz Mastalski won first place in a Loft 2 competition held by FAKRO, which challenged contestants to rethink loft living and material efficiency without sacrificing light and space.

Their various prototype proposals have nearly no ground footprint, being instead suspended in part or entirely between existing structures. In testing the idea, they took actual buildings and voids, abstracted and simplified their forms, all to show how such interventions would work in major cities from New York and London to Amsterdam and Tokyo.

A wide selection of shapes suggests many possibilities using modular pieces, including half-serious and semi-practical suggestions, such as egg and X shapes, as well as outright silly ones, like a Christmas-tree home or cloud-bubble house, more intended just to illustrate the potential flexibility.

Out of a variety of compelling entries, just why did this pair win the award? “The Jury appreciated the way the basic idea – creating small infill-dwellings in-between existing buildings – has been worked out in extended research, thus providing models for various housing types in different cities. The plan can be realized entirely out of roof windows (with some technical adjustments) and offers an innovative idea for using empty spaces in urban fabric. The possibility of shapes is endless. The project was very beautifully drawn and communicated on a single sheet, the section describing both the architectural idea and the exciting occupation of the proposed building.””