When Le Corbusier designed his Brutalist Unité d’Habitation structures in Marseilles and Berlin, the architect imagined these as models for the future of vertical urban living. But, as they say in war: his plans didn’t survive contact with the enemy.

Completed in 1958, the Berlin version in particular was altered internally prior to construction, meaning that the original layouts and details Corbu had it mind were largely left on the drawing table, replaced instead by cheaper, German-drafted plans. At least until German-American architect Philipp Mohr (images Didier Gaillard-Hohlweg) bought a unit in the building.

He purchased a condo that, at the time, “was all entirely white and looked more like a prison, or the typical 1980s German social housing, than anything Corbusier had ever designed.” Even the ceiling heights were out of alignment with the original design.

Mohr went beyond restoring the 1958 format format, studying historical design documents at the Foundation Le Corbusier and the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris to see past what was actually built.

With the big picture in hand, he set about studying colors, lighting, finishes, plans and other details of Corbu’s to replicate his original vision as much as possible.

Having finished the renovation, Mohr believes the space is better for it. “The colours are timeless and very soothing and inviting,” Mohr says. “The use of wood and natural finishes is comfortable and homely. The proportions are pleasing and the relationship to views and light is positive and uplifting.”

When the architect of this remarkable remodel was hired to create a new home for his clients, a derelict building on the site caught his eye and turned out to be the focal point of a marvelous design project.

Estudio Castillo Oli (images by Angel Baltanas) balances old and new in this hybrid project, inserting a contemporary dwelling into a stone-and-brick shell on the site.

Part of the existing structural remnants were retrofit with modern windows and a roof to create interior spaces for the home while the rest were left up as a kind of fence for a semi-private exterior courtyard.

New ceramic tiles and timber framing matches the existing context while steel and glass add a modern touch. A glass wall between inside and outside spaces reduces the sense of separation between them.

Inside, new walls are pulled back from window openings to reveal the old structure. Glass and trim likewise give space to old openings, preserving what was there. The net result is a gorgeous, rich and complex mixture of aged elements and new, creating something with a sense of time but also fit for modern living.

Reportedly inspired by a divine message, the architect of this poultry-shaped church initially set out to create a place of worship in the form of a giant dove, but the locals quickly dubbed his creation the Chicken Church (Gereja Ayam in the regional language).

Indeed, despite the best intentions to craft it otherwise, it is impossible not to see a domestic egg-laying bird when looking at this open-beaked architectural creature.

In a remote Indonesian forest, this creation of Daniel Alamsjah was once a place of prayer as well as a rehabilitation center for children and drug addicts, but finishing the building proved too costly and the place closed down over a decade ago.

Covered in graffiti and crumbling at a structural level, the Chicken Church is likely not long for this world. For now, though, travelers (sometimes with romantic partners) can be found inside at times, cooped up away from prying eyes, but eventually the building will doubtless be either demolished or perhaps simply collapse on its own (story via Colossal and images via uzone.id, Punthuk Setumbu and Alek Kurniawan).

Brazil is no stranger to paint-based urban interventions, of  whichRio de Janeiro is frequently the focus, but the scope and scale of this project in particular truly boggles the brain.

The Favela Painting Project founded by Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn of Haas&Hahn (via DesignBoom) has turned an entire neighborhood into a dynamic spectrum of color, coating walls from ground to sky with a rainbow of bright paints.

The project “aims at turning public urban spaces in communities facing social difficulties into monumental works of art. the art of favela painting is not about cosmetically ‘camouflaging’ an area, but rather rejuvenating deprived areas of a city and creating a positive social effect on the general district at hand. it is a means of imagination and rethinking, redesigning and rebranding a community at whole.”

About the artists: “Jeroen Koolhaas studied graphic design at the Design Academy in Eindhoven and has been working as a freelance audio-visual designer and illustrator for the New Yorker magazine since graduation. Dre Urhah has worked as a journalist, copywriter, and art-director and has set up successful companies specializing in different fields, from event management to television production.”