It has been a while since I have written a longer article. This week I have some reflections on a classic but still very much relevant problem: beauty in the built environment. What makes a place beautiful is a question which the general public cares very much about, and which it seems like most professional designers want to avoid as much as possible! I am not sure when environmental design stopped being about having fun creating beautiful constructed environments. In this essay I argue that a mastery of the fundamentals of spatial design, a focus on craft and a rediscovery of play are three elements which can return us to the simple objective of creating beautiful places. ___________________ Beauty and ugliness in the constructed world The built environment is a constructed habitat, the result of the modification of original material resources into a spatial organization that is intended to support human existence. When considered in this way, a city itself becomes a complex artefact

Recently I have had the desire to experiment with creating more graphic novels and short visual stories. Here is my lastest one: a short story about the struggle to find meaning in modern urban life. Perhaps an alternative to the endless anonymous grind is possible. I draw these pages on an iPad with the Procreate app, and then I import them into Photoshop where I write the text. I have created a page for my other stories here. ***

Pages from my sketchbooks, March-April 2026. A variety as usual, including building studies, watercolours and future urban environments from my imagination. ***

Recently I have finished a concept for a small Japan-inspired tea house as a fun little personal project. I thought that it would be interesting to share some of the process behind how I create concept art in a post, especially images of inspiring environments both in the real and the digital world. The final exterior image is created by rendering a scene from a 3d-model in Blender first, and then painting over it digitally to add the final details, lighting and atmosphere (which I do in Photoshop or Procreate app on an iPad): The final interior image is made the same way (this was initially not going to be part of the project, but I realised along the way that I just had to create some kind of cool image that draws attention to this unique window!). On the wall to the left is the low entrance, where you are forced to bow your head in humility to enter into the serene interior space. Floors are simple tatami mats, walls are white plaster, and the roof over this part is made of straw. T

A series of illustrations that I created for my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/adamic_studio/) to give a short introduction to the elements of the Japanese-style tea garden. These spaces represent a wonderful combination of two of my favourite things: tea and gardens. ***

Some recent concept boards and drawings from various projects that I have been working on recently: blue-green infrastructure, Japanese-style tea gardens and dwellings integrated with plant societies. I always like to explore ideas in this way, especially early on in the design process. I draw these free-hand on an iPad in the Procreate app. ***