POSTCARD FROM PIESTANY Dear ArchitectureWeek, Balneotherapy — therapeutic bathing in hot springs — has been attracting visitors to Piestany, Slovakia since the 17th century. Today, a treatment area and five hotels are situated on Spa Island in the River Váh, the source of the healing thermal waters and sulfuric mud. — Published 2004.1208
	ART DECO SOUTH BEACH The historic "art deco" district of South Beach, in Miami, Florida, is arguably one of the most successful urban restoration projects in the history of American architecture. Hundreds of buildings have been restored to their early 20th-century appearance. — Published 2002.1030
	THE TEA ROOMS OF MACKINTOSH Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh is famous for his tea rooms, and he deserves to be. The Willow Tea Rooms in Sauchiehall Street were among his most original buildings and the most complete in their scheme of decoration and furniture. In the Salon de Luxe, the inner sanctum of the Willow, the waitresses even wore chokers and dresses designed by Mackintosh. — Published 2002.0109
	OLD AND NEW IN ESTONIA In the expressive silhouette of Tallinn, Estonia's capital city and largest port, visitors approaching from the Baltic Sea see a distinct personality split into the new and the old. The split can be traced back to 1227, when the medieval town in northeastern Europe was conceded to an order of crusading knights. — Published 2001.1010
	THE HISTORY OF INTERIOR DESIGN In the modern world, human life experience is largely played out in interior spaces. We may love the out-of-doors for the sense of open air and sky, for the escape it offers from life inside enclosure, but the very joy of being outside reflects the reality that so much of life is spent inside. — Published 2001.0905
	MANUFACTURING FREEFORM ARCHITECTURE Still mired in decades-old technologies, most architects are missing one of the greatest opportunities of the computer revolution. Even if they use computer-aided drafting software, these architects are following an old pattern of creating paper drawings for the later interpretation—or misinterpretation—by builders with conventional tools. Why shouldn't the architect's computer do the construction too? — Published 2000.0927

Art Nouveau Architecture