Shoppers at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann can climb to new heights within the building’s domed atrium, bouncing around on a suspended rainbow net and gazing up at the stained glass cupola. Set nearly 40 feet above the ground, the the playful neon net is part of an installation called “Funorama” celebrating the return of summer.

Featuring walkways that stretch out to adjacent balconies, the net invites shoppers to cut loose and have a good time, bringing an air of excitement to the department store flagship.

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Playing on nostalgia, “Funorama” also features a variety of “fun zones” including vintage arcade games and other retro-themed attractions. The net, however, is unquestionably the star of the program. Those brave enough to venture out onto its surface get to enjoy a whole new way to see the art Nouveau-style department store, which opened in 1912. Located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, near Opera Garnier, the 753,000-square-foot store features panoramic views of the city.

Entrance to the bouncy net attraction is free, and it will remain in place through June 9th, 2019.

Photos by Benoit Florençon

A single-story house in Vietnam echos an ancient world wonder, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but on a domestic scale and with minimalist contemporary design sensibilities and a functional purpose.

Created by MIA Design Studio, the home is both open to its surroundings but also shielded by a veil of greenery reaching up to the rooftop above.

“The boundary between the interior and exterior is being diminished, letting man sense the fluctuations of nature. Space is opened up but maintains the privacy of the individuals. This is the daunting problem of living in a metropolitan area with cramped space and pollution.”

The green screen is a theme carried between three distinct volumes of the house, lining a connective hallway that joins disparate living, sleeping and working spaces. A series of outdoor gardens between the interior areas and perimeter wall create a natural sanctuary for the residents, providing access to a personal forest within the a bustling built environment.

A combination of walls on wheels and sliding wall panels make this modular home infinitely adaptable, able to transform from a spacious single-family abode to a series of divisible spaces for guests on demand.

PKMN Architectures deployed this solution as part of their ongoing Little Big Houses initiative (Pequeñas Grandes Casas), a series of designs addressing usability in small spaces.

This particular home in Mexico serves a couple but is also made to accommodate visits from extended family, able to support three bedrooms that can be added in less than a minute.

While there are intended ways of using the modular components, the real beauty of the system is in its versatility – hanging partitions and thicker structural-and-storage walls can be combined in all kinds of configurations.

From the architects: “María José y Enrique viven en México pero viajan mucho a Europa. Querían una segunda casa en Asturias que pudiera ser un apartamento para la pareja y para toda la familia al mismo tiempo. A través de unos muebles giratorios los dos dormitorios de la casa pueden aparecer y desaparecer en un minuto. La casa tiene así tres posiciones, una casa con dos dormitorios, con un dormitorio o sin ninguno de ellos. Así la vivienda se convierte en un lugar para celebrar una gran fiesta para los más pequeños o un espacio tipo loft cuando María José y Enrique están solos. Es el lujo de tener un salón de casi 50m2 en una casa de 70m2.”

Flexible and portable, this hanging hot tub hammock can be suspended from trees or other supports or tucked into scooped-out depressions along sandy beaches or on snowy mountainsides, compact enough to be checked on a plane with its associated portable heating unit.

The highly-mobile Hydro Hammock requires only 20 gallons (less than half of a typical bathtub and supports use by two adults to be used as a hot tub and can be used to line existing voids or suspended in midair. An accompanying device pumps water from wherever it is available and heats it electrically along the way – an eventual goal for future models is to use solar heat so no batteries or other external power source will be required. The extra-durable, high-tensile-strength material supports up to 700 pounds and its canvass-like surfaces give it traction for users.

Aside from its core function as a hot tub, the heavy-duty fabric and associated pump can be reconfigured to turn the system into an outdoor shower or left empty and simply used as a traditional hammock. Its primary target audience, however, is people who wish to have a retreat from extreme environments, taking a hot (and optionally: bubble-filled) vessel with them for breaks from cold ocean waters in the summer or freezing outdoor temperatures in the winter.

More from its makers: “Durable and portable hammocks ready for soothing hot or cool refreshing water. Relax, rejuvenate and fully stretch out in comfort beyond the constraints of an iron or fiberglass bathtub. Equipped with a portable water heater system, LPG or electric. Hydro Hammocks require less water than bathtubs and have a slip resistant texture. The shapes are adjustable and are easy to set up either fully or partially suspended.”

Playing tricks on the eye, this split-style stairway merges a desk and storage below with a framework of steps hanging down from above, all with a daunting-looking gap left in the middle.

Dutch designer Mieke Meijer hand-crafted this hybrid interior system for the home of Just Haasnoot in The Hague, inspired in part by the black and white photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher.

The frame-based structure was made to save space and maintain a sense of openness. The unfolding angular geometries add elements of visual interest to a toned-down space while accommodating various storage surfaces, nooks and crannies.

The use of alternating steps allows for a steep incline to be safely traversed, though some might still question the absence of a hand rail (which would be mandated by building code in most locations).

This approach seems particularly well-suited to places with less-used upstairs spaces – as the photographs show, it would be easy to let certain steps simply become shelves most of the time, then be cleared off when guests come to stay in the spare attic bedroom.