Employees are encouraged to take a breather at the expanded, Santa Monica headquarters for meditation company Headspace, which was designed by American firm Montalba Architects.

The office is located in the Bergamot Station Arts Center, a former trolley stop and industrial campus that has been converted into galleries, design studios and offices.

Headspace which was founded in 2010 in London and offers various meditation services, including a popular app has been based at the Santa Monica complex since 2016.

Due to its rapid growth, the company needed more space. It turned to Montalba Architects, which is also located in Bergamot Station, to renovate and expand its headquarters. The overall aim was to create an environment that aligned with the company's mission to "improve the health and happiness of the world".

"It was important that the office's design reflect the company's values of mindfulness, innovation and dedicated purpose," the team said in a description.

The project entailed extending the company's office into an adjacent, two-storey building and creating an outdoor courtyard. The full project totalled 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres).

The team also upgraded structural components and building systems, such as electrical, plumbing and drainage.

To give the building a clean look, walls, ceilings and other surfaces were painted white. Concrete floors were paired with white oak finishes and contemporary decor, including whimsical spinning chairs from Herman Miller. Rubber and felt were used in select areas, such as pinup spaces, for acoustical purposes.

On the ground floor, the team placed a variety of workspaces, several conference rooms and a spacious kitchen. The upper level houses an executive suite, additional meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace.

The office is configured in a way that allows employees to work and socialise as a group, or to have moments of solitude.

"To honour the core values of the company, we created small spaces where employees could find a moment of personal solace that wouldn't deter from the surrounding communal environment," said firm principal David Montalba.

"Freestanding meditation pods and quiet meditation areas are available throughout the space to allow employees additional moments of solitude whenever necessary."

One of the key features in the office is a wide stairway that provides access to the second floor while also serving as a seating area. A large screen rolls down in the front of the stairs, allowing for presentations.

A glass, bi-fold garage door separates the stairs from the courtyard, where employees can take in sunlight and fresh air. The outdoor space also helps brighten up interior rooms.

"The open-air enclosure filters light and greenery into previously dark, isolated spaces and offers a necessary moment of reprieve within the buzzing office environment," the team said.

Started in 2004, Montalba Architects is based in Santa Monica and has a satellite office in Lausanne, Switzerland. Other projects by the studio include an Equinox gym in Vancouver that features earthy materials paired with concrete, and the conversion of a trailer into a mobile dental clinic.

Photography is by Kevin Scott.

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Montalba Architects incorporates meditation areas into Headspace office - Dezeen

Seattle-based firm LMN Architects has just completed its renovation and expansionof the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park, which will reopen to the public on February 8.

A major element of the two-year, $56-million project was the renovation of the original museum, a palatial Art Deco building designed by Bebb and Gould in 1933. The buildings ornate walls, floors, and ceiling elements were renovated to meet code requirements, and the climate control and seismic systems were also updated. Overhead lightboxes that emulate natural daylighting were embedded into the ceilings of the main gallery spaces. The museums central component, the Fuller Garden Court, has been renovated to its original condition to connect to a new lobby space.

Aerial view of the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. (Tim Griffith)

The buildings program spaces have been vertically connected by a glassy new lobby that provides unobstructed views of the surrounding park. A new, 2,648-square-foot gallery has been attached to the northeast facade of the original building on the opposite side of the main visitor entrance, adding significantly more space for its permanent collection and special exhibitions. The addition contrasts the original buildings opulent aesthetic with continuous floor-to-ceiling windows for maximum daylight exposure. To work on a historic building like this is a real privilege and honor, said Sam Miller, partner-in-charge at LMN Architects. Working with SAAM was a great fit, because our focus is also about creating great social experiences and connecting to community. We hope the addition adds significance to the original historic building, and we are very excited for everyone to visit the museum and experience the renovation and addition for themselves.

The museums architectural upgrade gave rise to an opportunity for its curators to reimagine the organization of its vast collection of Asian artifacts. The newly renovated and expanded Asian Art Museum breaks boundaries to offer a thematic, rather than geographic or chronological, exploration of art from the worlds largest continent, the museum announcedon its website. This method of curation will take place across both the original and recently-added gallery spaces.

A free weekend-long community celebration will take place on February 8 to inaugurate the reopening of the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

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LMN Architects reveals newly renovated Seattle Asian Art Museum - The Architect's Newspaper

Ready to find that next endeavor in your architectural career? If you're in need of a starting point for yourjob hunt,why not have a look at the latest listings from last week's Employer of the Day featured firms.

Selldorf Architects is hiring a highly experienced Senior Project Architect in their New York office. The role seeks a fully competent professional architect with 12+ years experience who will lead the Architectural team alongside a Project Manager.

In New York, Sawyer | Berson Architecture & Landscape Architecture is seeking highly motivated, skilled Architectural Renderers and Interior Design Renderers for high-end residential projects. Ideal candidates for both rolesshould have experience creating attractive, presentation-quality renderings, and a solid understanding of applying materials, furnishings, lighting, and composition.

Based in Bainbridge Island, Washington, Cutler Anderson Architects is seeking an Intermediate Architectural Designer to support projects locally and nationally. Experience in high-end residential, commercial projects, multi-family projects and some construction experience is preferred.

COOKFOX has multiple listings for their New York studio. They're currently seeking an experiencedHR Manager, a Junior Architect (2-3 years of experience), and an Intermediate Architect (3-7 years of experience).

Welch Design Studio in El Segundo, CA is hiring an intermediate or senior-level Architecture Specialist. Those applying should be highly motivated, highly skilled in the tools of the trade (Revit, Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, 3D Studio Max, etc.), and have great communication skills both written and verbal.

If you don't already, keep track ofEmployer of the DayonFacebook,Twitter,Pinterest, or theArchinect Jobs Instagram.

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Check out these featured job opportunities at Selldorf Architects, Sawyer | Berson, Cutler Anderson Architects, COOKFOX, and Welch Design Studio -...

What do Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Denzel Washington, Bob Iger, Cary Grant and Michelle Pfeiffer have in common? They all lived in homes designed by a man who, some 40 years after his death, is finally having his moment.

Hollywoods Architect, a new documentary directed and produced by Royal Kennedy Rodgers and Kathy McCampbell Vance which will air on PBS SoCal as part of Black History Month chronicles the life and work of Paul R. Williams, the African American architect behind more than 3000 famous homes and sites, particularly in Los Angeles. One Holmby Hills home formerly owned by Reagan and Jane Wyman recently went on the market for $7 million. (It cost Williams a little over $12,000 to build in 1938.) Williams was known for mastering the Spanish Colonial, modernist California look, with grand entryways and spiral staircases that made just about everyone feel like a star. Sinatra proudly gave Edward R. Murrow a tour of his Williams home on an episode of Person to Person.

In addition to all the homes, parts of the Los Angeles Airport, the Hollywood hangout Chasens and the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel were designed by the formerly underappreciated architect. (That is his handwritten Beverly Hills Hotel on the iconic sign.) Jimmy Fallon and Russell Crowe are among others who still love particular Williams-designed public rooms there. Danny Thomas became a close friend of Williams and, as his daughter Marlo says in the doc, hired him to do the St. Judes Hospital in Memphis. Williams did not ask for or accept money for the work.

Also Read: '2020 Oscar Shorts: Documentary' Film Review: Traditionally Intense Category Wields a Slightly Lighter Touch This Year

His life story (1894-1980) is the stuff of which movies are made. He was orphaned at the age of four, raised in a foster family, and eventually got himself into the USC engineering department. Even after finding success, he could not always get into the very places he helped design because of his skin color. When he expressed interest in the field, he was told by more than one professional, there is no such thing as a Negro architect. He even learned to draw upside down in order to sketch for clients while sitting across the table from them for the benefit of those who might have been uneasy alongside a man of color. He was trailblazing and game-changing, says Quincy Jones, who is interviewed in the doc and attended a standing room only viewing at the Raleigh Studios this week.

Helene Pollock, now 101 and living in Montecito, has lived in three Williams-designed houses: the first in Beverly Hills, in the 1930s, when her parents hired the then-unknown architect to build. Im so proud of them when I think about that now, says Pollock, especially because my dad was a Republican and all that meant. When she had three kids of her own, (Including future and former Universal chairman Tom Pollock) she bought a Williams house on Mapleton Drive in Beverly Hills from Joseph Mankiewicz. By that time, I was aware of who Paul Williams was, she says. And yes, it meant something. Mankiewiczs grand-nephew, NBC reporter Josh, says Joe was a big liberal, pro-integration, so it makes sense he would have befriended Williams.

Royal Kennedy Rodgers, a former ABC News reporter, has been tenaciously working on this project for more than a decade. There was money to raise, Williams fans and supporters to interview, as well as current and former homeowners such as producer Steve Tisch, Denzel Washingtons wife, Pauletta, (Washington had years before played basketball at the Williams-designed YMCA) Willow Bay and her husband Disney chief, Bob Iger. And there was a host to find. (Courtney B. Vance does the honors) I became convinced that this story could only have happened in the early days of Hollywood, says Kennedy, because it was a no-rules anything goes, constantly reinventing type of place. As Williams granddaughter, Karen Hudson, said to me, Paul Williams and L.A. grew up together.'

Even many in the field admit they were late to understanding the heft, quantity, and beauty of Williams work. The current Dean of USCs School of Architecture says, I was not that familiar with him before coming to USC, admits Milton S.F. Curry. But I have since learned of his incredible legacy. He was so eclectic, doing everything from homes of all models, to churches, civic buildings, and public housing. He cared about community, culture and craft. So far, the campus has no wings, rooms, or plaques carrying Williams name.

Nationally, Williams was the posthumous recipient of the 2017 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. William Bates, the former president of that organization, is incredibly grateful for the belated acknowledgment of Williams, and believes the documentary will continue the momentum. My hope is that it provides inspiration to a new and more diverse generation of future architects, says Bates. Our representation within the profession is less than 2%. Obviously, it must represent the society that it serves if it is to be relevant. Williams story is one of creative persistence, professional talent and personal determination.

Better late than never.

Hollywoods Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story airs on PBS SoCal Thursday night at 8 p.m.

The acting legend (and father of Michael Douglas) died Wednesday at age 103. Here's a look back at his biggest roles in Hollywood.

Champion (1949)

Douglas earned his first Oscar nomination for playing the dogged boxer Midge Kelly in a black-and-white drama written by Carl Foreman ("High Noon").

Ace in the Hole (1950)

In one of Billy Wilder's most cynical dramas, Douglas plays a ruthless journalist who exploits a mining disaster -- even sabotaging rescue efforts -- to prolong the media frenzy.

The Bad and the Beautiful (1951)

He earned his second Oscar nomination playing another cad -- this time a power-obsessed Hollywood producer said to be modeled on David O. Selznick.

Lust for Life (1956)

In a departure from his cynical big-screen roles, Douglas brought real sympathy to his portrayal of tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh in Vincente Minnelli's biopic -- and the actor earned his third Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Douglas plays outlaw Doc Holliday to Burt Lancaster's lawman Wyatt Earp in John Sturges' classic Western about the famed shootout in Tombstone, Arizona.

Paths of Glory (1957)

Again playing against type in Stanley Kubrick's antiwar movie, Douglas brims with decency as a French colonel in World War I who fights against an unfair court-martial of his men.

Spartacus (1960)

Douglas hit a career high as a rebellious Roman slave in this historical drama whose onscreen revolt had a real-life parallel. The actor also produced the blockbuster film and his very public hiring of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo helped to break Hollywood's blacklist of Communists.

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Douglas counted this Dalton Trumbo-penned Western as his personal favorite, and he gave a memorable performance as a New Mexico cowboy who was more of a drifter than a guy rooted in the land.

Seven Days in May (1964)

In John Frankenheimer's political thriller, Douglas plays a longtime military officer who begins to suspect that his nuke-obsessed general boss (Burt Lancaster) may be plotting to overthrow the president.

The Man From Snowy River (1982)

Douglas plays twin brothers -- a one-legged gold prospector and a wealthy cattle rancher -- in George Miller's coming-of-age drama about a ranch hand in 1880s Australia.

The acting legend (and father of Michael Douglas) died Wednesday at 103

The acting legend (and father of Michael Douglas) died Wednesday at age 103. Here's a look back at his biggest roles in Hollywood.

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Hollywoods Architect Paul R. Williams Finally Gets to Shine in the Spotlight (Guest Blog) - TheWrap

The RDR architectes studio designed new structures for Estancia Morro Chico, a ranch used for breeding sheep for wool and meat located in the Argentinian part of Patagonia, on the southern border with Chile. The clients are descendants of a Scottish family who were among the first settlers to arrive in the region in the late 19th century.Architects from the RDR studio were asked to intervene on the settlement renovating the existing buildings and integrating new sustainable constructions. The specific goal was to preserve the natural heritage and, at the same time, to significantly improve the conditions of those living and working on the property, including the animals. During the development of the masterplan, architects were able to redistribute the different buildings across the area in a rational way that satisfied the needs of the clients. The adopted layout distributes the buildings as if they were part of a village. The new buildings include a cutting-edge shearing shed, located a few kilometres from the ranch, a warehouse and spaces for the storage of machinery and materials, the staffs quarters and the owners home. The addition of new structures also allowed the architects to fully reconsider the ranchs energy facilities. In particular, new systems for the production of clean and renewable energy were introduced based on solar and wind energy.

The architects renovated many existing buildings, opting to demolish only crumbling constructions. An area characterised by large natural spaces was used to save and restore the few accounts representing the history of the region once built by men. While respecting the typical structure of ranches built in the area, the architects chose to group together the utilitarian buildings and accommodation blocks, creating comfortable places and areas protected from the harsh climate. The construction approach is not much different from that used by the pioneers who once arrived in the region. Architects relied on a system of prefabricated wood and metal panels.Wood is predominant in all indoor spaces where greater comfort is needed, like those dedicated to family or workers everyday life, while fully disappearing in the utilitarian buildings. Architects chose to clad the outside of the buildings in corrugated iron, a material that allows the entire settlement to maintain an almost unitary character, echoing the general sense of austerity and almost primitive simplicity evoked by the ranch, immersed in the boundless territory of Patagonia. The landscape and bird's-eye photography, as well as the detailed photos taken by Cristobal Palma and Javier Rojas, at different times of the year, make it possible to note how the initial appearance of uniformity appearing from afar gives way to a substantial difference in the various buildings. Architects chose simple and linear shapes for the utilitarian buildings (warehouses, shed for shearing, etc.) and more complex geometries for the family house.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Images courtesy of RDR architectes, photo by Cristobal Palma (01-15) | Javier Rojas (16 - 30) | Celine Frers

Project Name: Estancia Morro Chico - Complex for sheep farming and family homeLocation: Paraje Puente Blanco, Ruta Nacional N 40, Santa Cruz, ArgentinaDates: 2014 - 2018Floor area: 5,260 m2

Architects: RDR architectes (Richter Dahl Rocha & Associs architectes SA) http://www.rdr.chTeam in Lausanne: Ignacio Dahl Rocha, Santiago PagsTeam in Buenos Aires: Ignacio Dahl Rocha, Bruno Emmer, Facundo Morando, Susana Barra, Agustn Azar, Clara Carrera, Roberto Lombardi, Pablo Peirano, Sofa VivacquaGeneral contractor: Enobra SAStructural engineer: Alejandra FogelSanitary engineer: LAHLandscape architect: Ernestina AnchorenaOthers consultants: Dante Melano (Renewable Energy), Frisia SA Climatizaciones (Thermomechanical), Estia (Energy Efficiency), Sursolar Renewable Energy)Photo credit : Cristobal Palma | Javier Rojas | Celine Frers

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A project in the far reaches of the world Estancia Morro Chico designed by RDR architects in Argentina - Floornature.com

serie architects reveals the design for satsang hall, a 5,000-seat auditorium for the shrimad rajchandra ashram in dharampur, india. currently under construction, the 15,500 square meter building is scheduled for completion in 2021. the auditorium will serve as the primary discourse hall, or satsang hall, for devotees, and is the landmark building in the larger masterplan which will house over 10,000 lived-in devotee on site. the building is placed at the middle of a crescent-shaped ridge, overlooking a valley to the west.

all images courtesy of serie architects

principal of serie architects christopher lee describes the design as being informed by the concept of the samavasaran in jainism, which describes a mythical building which represents the aggregation of knowledge through discourse and learning as building blocks, to bring devotees ever closer to enlightenment. this concept is seen in all jain temples, where the aggregation of self-similar elements creates lofty shikaras curved, pyramid-like forms that cap the sanctum sanctorum at the heart of the temple and appear to reach for the sky. the building consists of 13 stacked rooms, rotated 45-degrees on top of each other. this rotational stacking gives rise to an interlocking wall structure made up thin, gently curved concrete shear walls, perforated to let in natural light.

the largest room of satsang hall the main auditorium is organized as a circular drum. this column-free space, measuring 56 meters in diameter, is located at the center of the building. the drum rises four storeys and is visible from all levels, making navigation and orientation around the building clear and intuitive. the structural load of upper floors is transferred away from the central space of the drum through four intersecting arched walls. the main stage is slotted into the arches on one side of the drum and clad with perforated timber panels acting as acoustic baffles. there is no fixed seating as devotees normally sit crossed legged on the floor.

principal of serie architects mumbai kapil gupta comments: the exterior faade of the building will be clad with hand-chipped, 75 millimeter wide, marble strips of varying lengths. the strips are sourced from the marble waste of the famous makrana mines in rajasthan. these are the same mines where traditional artisans have sourced a special white marble known for its environmental resilience to construct jain temples all over india. some of these temples are hundreds of years old, like the dilwara temples of mt. abu.

the main foyer is accessible from all eight corners of the building. facing a valley the main entrance is formed by two angled vestibules, allowing devotees to deposit their shoes before entering the foyer. on the upper floors, various rooms contain a library, classrooms, exhibition spaces, multi-purpose halls and meditation rooms. the last and highest room is an elongated lantern-like volume serving as a large meditation hall.

project info:

project title:satsang hall

architecture:serie architects

location: dharampur, india

status: under construction

expected completion: 2021

program:religious gathering

civil and structural engineering: LERA, NYC

mechanical and electrical engineering: ARKK consulting

quantity surveying: gleeds consulting

faade consultant: BES consultants

acoustics: munro acoustics LLP

lighting: T2 consulting

project management: panora infrastructure

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serie architects' satsang hall is an assemblage of perforated white volumes - Designboom

Marcos Zotes, co-director of Basalt Architects, explained how the firm's work explores Iceland's tradition of geothermal bathing in this lecture atStockholm Furniture Fair.

Zotes discussed Basalt Architects' architectural interventions in Iceland's volcanic landscape, which include the famed outdoor Blue Lagoon spa complex and the adjoining hotel recently completed next door, The Retreat at Blue Lagoon.

The 62-room resort hotel is embedded in the lava formations and turquoise geothermal pools of the Blue Lagoon site, in Iceland's UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland by Basalt Architects was shortlisted for Dezeen Awards last year. Dezeen Awards 2020 opens for entry today, start your entry here.

Dezeen is media partner for Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair 2020, which takes place at Stockholmmassan in the Swedish capital from 4 to 8 February.

Basalt Architects completes hotel at Iceland's Blue Lagoon resort

We are broadcasting a number of talks on 4 February, including a lecture by London-based design duo Doshi Levien about their collaborative process.

Photography courtesy of Basalt Architects.

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Watch our talk with Basalt Architects live from Stockholm Furniture Fair - Dezeen

Written by Matthew Ponsford, CNN

When architect Mphethi Morojele began designing Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa, a 130-acre (52-hectare) memorial to lives lost in the struggle against the country's Apartheid regime, he took the unconventional step of handing over the plans to a group of spiritual healers.

Work began nearly two decades ago, at which point these healers gathered signals from the natural and supernatural realms to create a sort of "heat map or a spiritual map of the site,'' explained Morojele.

"It's almost like the Chinese would use Feng Shui, where they feel the energies of the site and decide that this element must go here, this element must go there," he continued. "Then you start to lay out your design based on that as a kind of brief."

Freedom Park, Pretoria Credit: Clive Hassall

Alongside Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye and Burkina Faso-born Dibdo Francis Kr, Morojele's name was listed among "a generation poised to take on the ambitious projects that will define the architectural character and identities of rising Africa," in an New York Times article by Chika Okeke-Agulum, professor of art history at Princeton.

Morojele says it is a role he is glad to take on. During a telephone interview from his office in Johannesburg, he called for his peers to break down boundaries that still carve up the continent's architects along colonial lines, into Anglophone, Francophone, and other distinctions.

Mary Sibande re-imagines the story of South Africa's domestic workers

"Nowadays, there's a sufficient cohort of architects who have some relationship to the continent -- either having been trained here, or having lived here, or come from here -- who are beginning to question what it means to do architecture in Africa," he said.

The Hapo Museum Gallery, Freedom Park, Pretoria

For Morojele, the priorities he made when designing Freedom Park -- to respect the full sensory experience of the environment, including its spiritual content, and carefully construct community bonds through inviting diverse voices to input into the design process -- are key to constructing the African buildings and cities of the future.

Born in Lesotho, the mountainous nation enclaved inside South Africa's borders, Morojele has led Johannesburg-based MMA Design Studio since just months after the fall of Apartheid. In addition to Freedom Park, he has spearheaded other emblematic nation-building projects including designing the African Leadership Academy secondary school on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and South African embassies in Berlin and Addis Ababa.

The South African Embassy in Addis Ababa

Not confined to architecture and urban design, Morojele has been sought out for thought-leadership across design disciplines. In 2013 he was asked to help design the funeral of Nelson Mandela, which aimed to create a new tradition for how a leader of democratic South Africa would be laid to rest.

After Freedom Park, he again assembled spiritual leaders for input on another complex project, a market in Johannesburg where herbalists and healers sell "indigenous magic medicine," mostly herbs and plants, explained Morojele.

Long-forgotten family portrait sells at auction for $1.4 million

This complex project formalized the sale of products used by most South Africans, especially recent migrants from rural areas, which are sometimes frowned upon by city-dwellers and pushed to the margins of the city, he said. Creating a formal commercial space for traditional healers -- some are called inyangas or sangomas -- and the accompanying rituals, meant designing a new type of market that recognized which practitioners and which types of magic needed to be kept apart.

"I guess it's like any other client would brief you," he explained. "Only they work in the spiritual realm and then bring it back to brief us."

The process of working with spiritual workers is just one method Morojele has used to include often-excluded voices in the design process. He has also consulted diverse stakeholders -- members of the public, residents of townships and students at schools and academies -- incorporating users input into the design.

The Cradle of Humankind Visitor Centre, Maropeng, South Africa

The goal of greater inclusivity should be at the forefront for architects in South Africa and beyond, Morojele argued.

"I'd like to see architects focus on the way architecture creates social cohesion. In South Africa, architecture has always been used to separate. It had subtle mechanisms in buildings that were used to define who belongs where: which entrance you use, depending on your skin color, and things like that."

Morojele says architects and urban planners can -- and must -- reverse that historical process of division to repair fissures and create more equitable cities.

The African Leadership Academy Learning Commons in Johannesburg Credit: Tristan McLaren/Tristan McLaren

The unexpected art of Ghana's hand-painted movie posters

The African Leadership Academy Learning Commons in Johannesburg Credit: Tristan McLaren/Tristan McLaren

But the architect is distinguished in matching a hard-nosed focus on righting past wrongs of urban planning with a sensitive approach to planning. For example, he favors natural materials for heritage projects that draw on local animistic beliefs -- traditional beliefs that inanimate objects contain spiritual energy.

Vivid portraits shine light on Tahiti's 'third gender'

In Freedom Park, Morojele used natural materials to create a narrative of remembrance and hope. To do this he assembled boulders from South Africa's nine provinces -- having been ritually blessed in interfaith prayer sessions in the name of peace -- and even imported soil from across the world.

Stones in Isivivane, Freedom Park, are blessed in a ceremony

"It started off as a place that would offer symbolic restitution to people who lost their lives in the struggle for liberation," he said.

The Garden of Remembrance, a green belt surrounding the central memorial, contains earth from countries outside of South Africa where people had been stationed in exile and had died during the fight for liberation. "In a sense, the installation is given a certain spiritual energy because of the soil used that has come from different countries, which is now embedded into the monument or memorials," he said.

The Garden of Rememberance at Freedom Park, Pretoria

Morojoele is keen to now connect more analytic and spiritual approaches. As he plans for future commissions, he sees a path forward via neuroscience, and the ideas of "environmental psychology" developed by the likes of Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, which hopes to explain how our natural and built surroundings affect our behavior and emotions.

"The advances in neuroscience nowadays can relate the environment to people's emotions and people's nervous system, how it responds to different environments," Morojoele said. "I'm interested in understanding the Western scientific basis of what indigenous knowledge systems were expounding."

Why being an African artist is so important today

This approach -- combining neuroscience with animism, and layering landmarks and urban infrastructure with emotional nuances -- makes clear Morojele vision.

"We need to go back to understanding ourselves as biological beings, less as intellectual beings, bringing in more senses," he said.

Both forward-facing and grounded in tradition, Morojele hopes that the city of the future is an environment where we can connect with our own nature, and commune with our surroundings. "A more sensual architecture," he explained. "And one that heightens your experience of the environment."

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How African 'feng shui' can shape the continent's cities of the future - CNN

One mans junk is another mans sloth.

First, Ron Yeo saw discarded beach toys, bent miniblinds, empty coffee canisters, busted vacuum cleaners and lots of bottle caps scattered on the beach or leaning against trash bins. Then he envisioned a fanciful menagerie.

Using the found objects, he created Jungle Junk Critters, sculptures that look right at home where theyre now on display inside the tropical conservatory at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar.

Yeo, 86, is a retired Newport Beach architect whose studio on Jasmine Avenue, about half a mile from the botanical gardens, has given way to his found-object art. On his regular walks through the many alleys that give Corona del Mar veins and across East Coast Highway to the beach, he picks up odds and ends that have been thrown out or forgotten: soap jugs, the floppy handles of sand buckets, a snorkel, the caps of water bottles, small home furnishings.

With screws, paint and glue, they have become Fawkes the Phoenix, Red Wind, Electro Bird, Jungle Jim, Sam Sloth and 15 others tucked amid the broad fronds and spiky bromeliads inside the conservatory.

They fit in naturally, Yeo said.

A crab with an upturned bucket for a shell is affixed to a bodyboard that floats in the koi pond.

A crane stands on spindly yellow legs broom handles, perhaps at the ponds edge and peers with a neon blue and green snorkel face. Its wings are fashioned from white miniblinds snipped into pennant shapes tucked at its side, and a body made from a detergent jug glistens from the humidity.

The serpentine Guardian of the Glades hovers over glossy red anthurium with a pool-noodle body and hinged sharks-head toy nestled in the frill of a blue sand bucket.

Sam Sloth is closest to the door of the tropical hut. He has a Yuban coffee canister head, googly bottle-cap eyes, TV dinner-tray legs, nails for claws and a shaggy off-white pillow body that mirrors the Spanish moss nearby.

Yeo wanted to be a cartoonist when he was a teenager but wasnt even the best drawer in his high school cartooning club, he said. He instead followed his artistic tendencies into architecture, where for more than 50 years he designed custom homes and eco-friendly cultural centers such as the Back Bay Science Center and Muth Interpretive Center.

Hes a collector of stuff and would reuse scraps on his building designs, he said.

His mixed-media pieces started with beer, soda and water caps, occasionally with household sundries, such as disposable razors and batteries, arranged into mosaics, mandalas and sometimes animals, typically mounted flat. He has exhibited in Long Beach, Huntington Beach and galleries in Newport Beach.

Yeo met recently with Shermans library director, Paul Wormser, to donate some of his papers to the archives when Wormser noticed how tropical his art-packed studio seemed, with its natural cork interior walls. He said Yeos sculptures would be perfect for Shermans gardens.

Yeo said his critters are like 3-D versions of the cartoons he liked to draw as a kid. They are playful and anthropomorphize the mundane, like compact vacuum cleaners.

Red Wind and Electro Bird used to be utilitarian household gadgets. Dangling from wires, the tapered lines of their debris tanks and handles make aerodynamic heads and necks.

They make great birds, Yeo said.

Jungle Junk Critters is on display through April 30. Sherman Library & Gardens is at 2647 E. Coast Hwy.

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In the jungle: Architect and artist upcycles junk into tropical critters for Sherman Library & Gardens - Los Angeles Times

Dezeen Jobs has a number of promising architecture and design vacancies available right now in the US, including positions at Los Angeles firm Montalba Architects and New York art institution The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hospitality-based project architect at Montalba Architects

Los Angeles firm Montalba Architects is seeking a hospitality-based project architect with a minimum of twelve years' hospitality/commercial experience to join its office in Santa Monica, USA. The practice designed a showroom for boutique fashion label The Row in Los Angeles, taking visual cues from California's modernist heritage.

Find out more about this role

Temporary exhibition designer at The Met

Camp: Notes on Fashion, an exhibition exploring camp and theatrical fashion throughout history was recently displayed by The Met's Costume Institute in New York. The Met has an opening for a temporary exhibition designer to support the exhibition design team across its three locations in New York, USA.

Find out more about this role

Senior graphic designer at Handel Architects

Handel Architects is recruiting a senior graphic designer to assist in shaping the firm's visual identity in New York, USA. The practice was behind the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York, which features a perforated metal-clad exterior and porthole windows.

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Senior industrial designer at Fuseproject

Designer Yves Bhar's studio Fuseproject has worked in collaboration with robotics company Superflex to design the Aura Powered Clothing collection, a series of responsive garments that assist the elderly with mobility. The studio is hiring a senior industrial designer to become a part of its team in San Francisco, USA.

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Four exciting architecture and design jobs in the US including roles at Montalba Architects and The Met - Dezeen