Bullet riddled walls, flak jackets and opulent domed palaces with disco balls — the homes of Mexico’s drug cartels are an interesting mix of business and pleasure, writes Damien Cave.
Architecture
travel 
Following Gaudi to Mallorca
Dr Terry Cutler takes a stroll around the Spanish island of Mallorca. It’s much more than Christopher Skase’s hideaway, instead a treasure trove of architectural gems, Catalan Gothic cathedrals and touches of Gaudi.
PHOTO GALLERY 
Sleeping giants: a world of empty skyscrapers
A depressing but also beautiful look at abandoned buildings around the globe, from the majestic Detroit train station built in 1913 to the 26-floor gothic tower in San Francisco and the 37-floor residential tower in Brazil.
Crowd-sourcing your apartment
A fascinating initiative and competition called LifeEdited, in which designers compete to offer the very best environmentally sustainable, space saving, practical yet attractive design options for a small apartment in NYC.
travel The revelation of Bordeaux, a quiet Paris
From grandiose columned architecture to colourful anti-Sarkozy protesters and stunning sunsets reflected against sandstone, Bordeaux proved a wonderful travel surprise during Nic Heath’s French adventures.
travel One Spanish November weekend: Gaudi vs the Pope
The topic of the day for the good citizens of Barcelona last weekend was the visit by the Pope to officially open the completed interior of Gaudí’s Sagrada Família, an event 128 years in the making. Dr Terry Cutler was there.
Mon dieu! Versailles gets a modern makeover
Traditionalists have got their brocade and gold gilt in a twist, following a modern art exhibition inside the famed French Palace of Versailles. A petition of 5000 signatures pleads authorities not to “shatter the harmony” of Versailles.
Restaurants serve up a tasty plate of design treats
Melbourne is known for its booming foodie scene, but restaurant design can be just as important as the taste in winning over the punters, explains Hilary McNevin.
PHOTO GALLERY: The greatest works of architecture in the world
What are the most important works of architecture created since 1980? Vanity Fair’s 52-strong panel of experts has named them — and put together this stunning photo gallery of the top 21.
Brisbane: the city that just keep getting uglier
For years, Brisbane has been growing uglier and uglier as new infrastructure is added with nothing but practicality and money in mind — so what can Brisbanites do about it? asks Robert MacDonald.
Omens of Doom: Dubai’s Burj Khalifa Tower
The new Burj Khalifa Tower dwarfs all that have come before it, a monstrous compilation of gimmicks, extravagance and expense accounts. But is Dubai’s big tower just a symbol of its decay? asks Binoy Kampmark.
Video of the Day: Playing Tetris with Soviet Bloc blocks
Does old Soviet architecture remind you of anything? Animator Sergej Hein says he always saw a giant game of Tetris. And so he made this:
PHOTO GALLERY: Amazing solar powered houses
Teams from universities all over the world are competing to design and construct innovative new solar-powered, energy-efficient houses as part of the Solar Decathalon. Check out some of their amazing designs.
PHOTO GALLERY: Asia’s abandoned architectural wonders
Some of Asia’s most spectacular ruins aren’t thousands of years old — they’re modern buildings, abandoned by business and governments. Web Urbanist looks at some of the most impressive.
Book nerds rejoice! The holy temple of bookshops
Oh god, this bookshop in the Netherlands isn’t your standard Dan Brown piled high Borders. It’s a converted Dominican church that mixes walk in bookcases with giant cathedral columns. Hallelujah.
Bringing suburbia to the city
Two Sydney-based architects have created a way to build new suburbs without contributing to urban sprawl: build them in the city, and build them vertically. Their ‘Skyburbs’ are skyscrapers housing entire communities.
Oslo’s new opera star
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet house, set on the waterfront, is becoming the centre of public life. The architectural marvel is the most visible symbol of a city set on reimagining itself, says Christopher Hume.
Brick veneer has its own historical value
Why do we attempt to salvage drafty Victorian terraces, but not the homes of post-war migrants? Their architectural history is important, writes Chris Fotinopoulos.
McMansions out of style
A new study shows that Americans’ craving for bigger houses has diminished with only 4% of architects’ clients looking for more square footage. But it’s probably more about the economy than the environment…
George Lucas does a Citizen Kane?
Director George Lucas is building an enormous studio complex outside of San Francisco. Problem? It looks eerily like Hearst Castle from the movie Citizen Kane. And that didn’t end well so well for the mogul…
How modernism changed the facade of London
In very basic terms, Modernism opened up the closed Victorian city of London, but objectors, from HRH downwards, believe it would be far better to have a bit of opened-up-neo-Victoriana-Georgiana rather than a ‘brutalist’ and ‘communist’ piece of contemporary design.
Ice-cream hipsters
A snappy new business idea: combining ice cream with architecture, healthy eating and lots of hipster kids. Who could resist the Frank Behry flavour? Or how about mintimalism?
A new spin on ‘mobile art’, care of Prada
The Prada Transformer, fashion’s latest starchitect-designed metamorphic space, opens in Seoul, South Korea, this month.
Hobart’s Parliament Square kerfuffle
Three very different designs have been shortlisted to become the future look of Hobart’s Parliament Square.
