It’s not just a skate park, it’s an architectural landmark. Factoria Joven (“youth factory”) is a skate park and climbing wall in Merida, Spain, which opened in  March 2011. Its bright, modern geometric design was inspired by the construction methods used to create Chinese dragons.

I’ve already talked about how I love the artwork of Clemens Behr, but I just can’t get enough of his oversized installations – they’re like huge 3D paintings. He can completely transform the interior of a building into an optical illusion funhouse.

Though there are literally hundreds of monuments to the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, memorial sculptures are much harder to find beyond our shores. These 11 internationalmemorials to 9/11 are, for the most part, smaller in scale and more personal in design, reflecting the subtly different ways 9/11 is interpreted and commemorated by the world at large.

Ocean Parts by Israeli designer Koby Sibony, is a series of sculptures created from a combination of plastic pieces collected from the beach and metal wire. I love the playfulness and crafty aspects of these creations – particularly the remote control cars and radio. These bring me back to my youth, when I would collect sticks and stones and other debris and make them into creative playthings (kids, this is what we did before the Internet). And thanks to Koby for helping clean up the shorelines!

Dark wood, dazzling details, leaded glass windows and tier after towering tier of books – classic historic libraries are a bibliophile’s dream. These 13 (more) libraries, dating from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, represent some of the most astonishingly beautiful book repositories ever built.

Ever feel like wrapping yourself in a warm woolen sweater and hiding from the world? Now apply that idea to a crowded library, bustling airport, open-plan office or CCTV-filled civic structure and you have yourself the core concept of a Hush Pod.

All ephemeral, lasting a few weeks or maybe just a few hours, temporary street art installations are a colorful and engaging addition to ever-evolving urban settings. Some are so subtle that only the most observant of urban residents even notice them, like little sculptures of men in puddles; others are impossible to ignore, like 30-foot cardboard statues looming over the street. Some of these sculptural installations are officially commissioned while many more are stealthily assembled, guerrilla-style. Shocking, fun and often interactive, these 14 works bring art to the masses rather than cooping it up in museums.