In an age where every shop, bar and restaurant on every high-street, in every city, in every country are starting to look exactly the fucking same, it’s refreshing to know that not all the world’s architects are sniffing from the same bag (of LEGO). In the latest edition of Taschen’s Architecture Now! Series, the reader is taken on a stunning tour of the most original and inspiring bars, restaurants and retail environments (i.e. shops) in the world. From David Lynch’s suitably decadent Montmatre hang-out Silencio (pictured above) to Danish rooftop Bistro’s in Shanghai, the architects and their work featured in this fascinating book have renewed my faith in the world and left me slightly relieved that globalisation doesn’t have a complete strangle-hold on all our leisure time locations. Now can someone please knock all the shops in Stockport town centre down and start all over again please? Ideally by going for a look that’s more ‘Fifth Element’ than ‘Filthy Escalator’. Buy the book HERE.
