How cool are houseboats and water villas?

In Amsterdam, +31 Architects recently completed the Water Villa Omval. With curving form, the villa features a roof garden to go along with a deceptively spacious interior. The split level nature of the residence is accentuated by its form. The windows designed for the most sweeping views of the Amstel River. (via Arch Daily).

More looks at the Water Villa Omval after the jump.

Very impressed by Michael Graves & Associates design for the Louwman Museum – the Dutch National Automobile Museum in the Hague. The firm pays homage to local architectural forms and styles, attempting to resemble a carriage house. Aside from housing over 200 cars, the building has space for an auditorium, conference space, and the largest collection of automobile art in the world. (via Dezeen).

More images of the National Automobile Museum after the jump.

Nowness brings us into the mind behind some of retails most fanciful interiors by way of an interview with Wonderwall founder Masamichi Katayama. Famous for quirky BAPE flagship stores, Wonderwall has also provided signature spaces for leading international brands – in some respects forging a defining link between high end Tokyo retail.

The interview is short, however Katayama does reveal why he thinks retail needs a sense of humor.

Read it here.

A selection of Wonderwall interiors follow after the jump.

The legacy of the 2010 World Cup continues in the shape of a new training center in Soweto. Sponsored by Nike, the center provides support for some 200,000 youth soccer players in the city of Johannesburg. The structure was designed by local architectural firm RUF Projects.

More images of the Nike Soweto Training Center after the jump. (via Dezeen).

Architectural firms Studio Rolf and Zecc Architects are responsible for the radical renovation of a century old row home in Rotterdam. With split level interiors, they manager to expand a narrow space and encourage a new flow of space. Part of the success comes in what they’ve avoided – doors, railings, and other trappings of the traditional home interior. Through subtracting, rather than adding, the positives of the Black Pearl House and Workshop are accentuated and the home becomes an exercise in individuality. (via We Heart).

More images of the Black Pearl House and Workshop follow.

Wallpaper*s latest architectural survey takes us to Colombia. Dynamic public spaces, including sporting facilities, are balanced with inventive housing options. As they say at Wallpaper*, “Colombia’s best architecture has created more democratic public spaces where the country’s irrepressible population have been able to ‘replace fear with hope’, the slogan that encapsulates in particular Medellin’s remarkable transformation from murder capital of the world to one of the most fascinating architectural laboratories on earth.”

Read the Letter From Colombia at the link.

A further selection of buildings from Colombia comes after the jump.

Incorporating three zones – live, sleep, and play – the Ecomo Home by Pietro Russo is a customizable prefabricated home designed to fit unique plots of land. As pictured, the Ecomo Home is nestled into the hills of Franschhoek, South Africa. The intent is to offer low maintenance, modern living. Of course, that also means a premium placed on sustainability. (via ArchDaily).

Interior images after the jump.

From Arch Daily.

Arch Daily has a lovely spread of photographs detailing the recently rebuilt Rietveld Pavilion at the Kroller-Muller Sculpture Garden in Otterlo, The Netherlands. Rietveld’s pavilion was originally constructed in 1955 as an temporary structure at the Third International Sculpture Exhibition in Arnham. In 1965, the Reitveld Pavilion was reassembled, but due to concerns over maintenance its use was again shortlived.

Now, in 2010, the Rietveld Pavilion has once again been rebuilt. It took roughly 10 months to complete the rebuild, with as many pieces from the 1965 incarnation used as possible. While not time frame is set for its lifespan this time, its remains a special opportunity to experience a design never intended for future consumption.

All photographs by Pedro Kok.

Many more images of the Rietveld Pavilion follow.

The Yale Center for British Art will present the work of architect James Frazer Stirling from October 14, 2010. Through over 300 drawings and architectural models, the exhibition, Notes from the Archive: James Frazer Stirling, Architect and Teacher, revels Stirling’s broad ranging approach to architecture and practice. He earned international acclaim from innovative projects such as the Leicester University Engineering building (1959–63); the History Faculty building at Cambridge University (1964–67); the Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart (1977–84); the Clore Gallery for the Turner Collection at Tate Britain (1984); and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University (1979–84).

A concurrent exhibition at the  Yale School of Architecture, An Architect’s Legacy: James Stirling’s Students at Yale, 1959–1983, complements.

Both exhibitions close on January 2, 2011.