Fridae

The latest outpost from London-based travel company, SJ Villas, is an indulgent property on the Southern coast of Koh Samui.

The lowly hostel has long since started to clean up its act. But even the most discerning budget travellers have never seen anything like these high-impact, low-overhead design-led hostels - not to mention the new wave of pod hotels that provide a more private, low-cost alternative to bunking en masse.

Located about 75km from Shanghai, Blossom Hill is the fusion of three Ming-style homes that has been reconstructed into a 20-suite hotel that retains the structures' original pillars, beams, stone lintels and traditional roof, as well as terraces connecting the front and back halls.

The Clover House by Katsuhiro Miyamoto: a classic slice of Japanese house design, bringing spatial ingenuity to a restrictive site. 

Wallpaper* takes inspiration from the 1970s gay handkerchief code for their new Swatch campaign. 

A sneak peek at Yuki Sumners's book on modern architecture in Japan. 

Architecture report: letter from South Korea. 

A rare sea-fronting property in Singapore with a view to die for. 

Check out this new four-storeys building located in Shanghai’s chi-chi French Concession district.  

Seoul hasn’t rested on its laurels since winning the crown of World Design Capital 2010. This month it proved the scope of its architectural ambitions once again by launching the foundation for the world’s first artificial floating island on Hangang River.