Architecture + Design

From the lacey windows of San Chappelle in Paris to the perfect symmetry of the Taj Mahal in Agra, the awesome geometry of the Mayan pyramids in Chichen Itza to the intricate zellige-style mosaics of Fez architecture and design shape how travelers see a place.Sometimes, one single building can become symbolic of a destination, like the organic undulations of Alvar Aalto’s famous glass vase in Helsinki or the Art Deco details of the Empire State Building in New York City. Travel + Leisure editors and writers tune into architecture and design news that will help inform your travels, from the most design-forward Airbnbs across the United States to the modernist train stations (shaped a little like raised elephant trunks) that the Trans-Siberian Railway began installing.Through our in-depth features, news articles, and exclusive videos, T+L aims to answer all of your architecture and design questions, such as:What’s it like to stay in a treetop “bubble?” Like staying in a treehouse, but cooler.How did Guangzhou (historically known in the west as Canton) become the next big travel destination? In part because of its strikingly large, diverse, and ambitious architecture.What will happen to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion after his death? Hefner’s neighbor, Daren Metropoulos, bought the estate in 2016 and plans to combine it with his own and restore both to their circa 1920 incarnations.Here, you’ll learn how much it costs to buy a perfect replica of Snow White’s cottage — from the 1937 Disney movie — in Olalla, Washington? (A cool $775,000.) The property, a 2,800-square foot four-bedroom five-bathroom house, is nothing to sneeze at size wise.And we’ll explore more pressing issues, too, like how the Maldives — the world’s lowest and flattest country, at just about three feet above sea level — is adapting to the realities of climate change. (One architect has designed for the nation floating islands that can provide homes for humans above and fish life below.) Check back with T+L for the latest on the architecture and design that forms the contours of our world.