Tabletop Niemeyer and 10 Other Architecture-Inspired Housewares

Far be it for us to call it a trend, but all kinds of new buildings bear an uncanny resemblance to everyday objects: a can of ham, for example, or a sandwich accoutrement. While you may be sick of looking toward the skyline and seeing the contents of your fridge, you could be open to the possibility of looking in your living room and seeing mini works of architecture. A mini Oscar Niemeyer Palácio de Alvorada to put flowers in, perhaps? Or a CCTV Tower-shaped closet? Below, find our room-by-room guide to furnishing your whole house with other buildings.

FOR THE DEN

Palácio de Alvorada-Shaped Concrete Vase

For the first installment of his architecture-inspired vase series, Dutch designer Gert-Jan Soepenberg shrunk the sloping pillars of Oscar Niemeyer’s 1958 Palácio de Alvorada down to a tabletop scale, rotation-moulding concrete into a delicately thin, oddly sexy vessel.

“I Am a Monument — CCTV,” 2014

At the latest edition of Design Miami/, Beijing-based designer Naihan Li made a splash with the latest in her architecture-based I Am a Monument furniture series: a full-sized wooden cabinet crafted as a 1/100-scale replica of OMA’s CCTV Tower. The panels on its façade open to reveal shelves, drawers, and a vanity, almost like a Koolhaas closet.

FOR THE STUDY

Porigami Greeting Cards

Former architect Tereza Hradilkova ditched the pencil and started drawing buildings with a lasercutter. Her Porigami pop-up greeting cards are highly-detailed recreations of well-known buildings, from BIG’s forthcoming Vancouver Beach and Howe St. tower to I.M. Pei’s 1990 Bank of China. (See also: Zupagrafika’s “Brutal London” cutouts)

Disney Concert Hall Paperweight

We jest, of course! This is actually the Architect’s Blueprint Paperweight, a vinyl desktop manifestation of all your frustrations available now at the MoMA Design Store.

Skyline Chess

The London-based studio’s 3D-printed chess pieces swap the standards with city icons — Big Ben for the rook, the Gherkin for the bishop, and the almighty Shard for the queen. In addition to the London-landmark theme, Skyline Chess also produces bespoke sets, and plans to start a crowdfunding campaign for its next city in the coming months.

Skyline Eraser Set

No sketch ever unfolds perfectly from start to finish. This eraser set sculpted after your favorite cities (as long as they’re limited to London, Paris, or New York) clears away the evidence. Keeping their forms intact, however, might be incentive enough for you to sharpen your drawing skills for.

FOR THE BEDROOM

Chamber No. 1 Cologne

The material elements of Louis Kahn’s sublime Kimbell Art Museum (marble, travertine, glass, and light) have been distilled into an olfactory experience by Argentine perfumer Julian Bedel — and a sexy one, at that. “It’s a green, dry natural scent with a sensual musk effect on the skin,” Bedel explains of the cologne, making it an intriguing addition to the boudoir.

Brooklyn Bridge Wallpaper

And to pair with the sexy smell of cement, there’s a visual complement, too. Flavor Paper’s Brooklyn Bridge Wall digital mural captures the texture and grit of the landmark its name would suggest, for that badass, rough-around-the-edges look.

FOR THE KITCHEN

Guggenheim Spiral Mugs

You can commemorate one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s greatest hits with your morning coffee. For a less caffeinated homage, you can also enjoy these mugs with tea straight from the Spiral Teapot, all courtesy of the great Guggenheim Museum gift shop.

Cookie Cutters

This item is the ultimate on the list, since it allows you to hack just about anything into the shape of the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, or Leaning Tower of Pisa: cookies, crustless sandwiches, Jello-O ® Jigglers ®, etc… The possibilities in culinary architecture are endless.