If you’re daydreaming about your next vacation, and looking for something a little off the beaten path, why not consider embarking on a global design tour? The world is full of inspiring destinations for travelers looking for a recharge, and you only need to do a bit of googling to plan a unique design vacation. Come along with Inhabitat for a brief tour of our favorite design destinations around the globe – from scuba diving to an amazing underwater art installation in Mexico to jetsetting to an ultra-modern designer hotel that towers over <a href="NYC’s iconic High Line park and meandering through the world’s largest wooden structure, which recently rose in Seville. Read on for 10 of our favorite, must-see design destinations!

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Post tags: 10 Must See Design Destinations, 1967 world expo, 3rw works, Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona, Code Architecture, eco design, Edward James, fjords, Fondo Xilitla, Gluckman Mayber Architects, green design, habitat 67, high line, Holmebakk Architechts, jurgen Mayer h architects, juvet hotel, KAWS, manthey kula, Marco Brambilla, Meatpacking District, Metropol Parasol, mexico, Milwaykee Art Museum, modular housing, Moshe Safdie, norway, Old Montreal, Parc Guell, Quadracci Pavilion, Rainforest estate, santiago calatrava, self-irrigating park, seville, Spain, Standard Hotel, Surrealism, Surrealist Estate, sustainable design, Todd Saunders, Viaduct, world's largest wooden structure, Xilitla

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Post tags: Barcelona, eco design, green design, los sopranos, Los Sopranos Gava, Pedro Scattarella, recycled shipping containers, shipping container interiors, sustainable design, upcycled shipping containers

Dom Arquitectura was so sad to see the neighborhood sparrows disappear after their popular hang out – a Barcelona wall full of holes – was renovated, that the design team decided to install a series of brightly colored urban nests when the renovation was complete. In order to attach the nests to the wall, it was necessary for Mikel Elorduy, Blaca Elorduy, and Pablo Serrano to rappel off the side of it – but it was worth it because the sparrows came back! Now the Barrio de Gracia has a charming series of tiny yellow, green, and brown nests and some pretty birds to match.

+ Dom Arquitectura

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Post tags: Art, Barcelona, Barrio de Garcia, birds nests, Dom Arquitectura, eco design, green design, Spain, sparrows, sustainable design, Urban design, urban nests

The designers behind Ski Dubai’s artificial ski slope, Snow World and B01 Arquitectos, have teamed up to improve on their original design with the world’s very first carbon-neutral indoor ski slope in Barcelona. If approved by Barcelona’s City Council, this new Snow World will be a component of the Zona Franca redevelopment project, which aims to transform a neglected industrial complex into a thriving residential area. Both the ski dome and housing area will be powered with renewable energy, while the extreme cooling necessary to maintain an artificial ski slope in a warm country will be achieved by harvesting the byproduct of converting liquefied natural gas back into its gaseous form.

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Post tags: artificial snow, B01 Arquiectos, Barcelona, barcelona ski slope, carbon neutral ski slope, carbon-neutral, eco design, green design, green ski slope, is it green, methane, natural gas, plant waste, renewable energy, Ski Dubai, ski slope, snow world, Solar Power, sustainable design

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, Barcelona, Batlle i Roig Arquitectes, corporate campus, eco design, green design, Manuel Baldrich I Tubau, Manuel Baldrick I Tubau, sustainable design, Telefonica Corporate University

YLAB has renovated an aging 130 square meter apartment in the heart of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter into a beautiful modern home. The original space is composed of a sequence of bright and spacious rooms connected by large arched openings, with balconies along the façade and an inner courtyard. Original features are maintained such as traditional Catalan ceilings with wooden beams and vaulted arches, as well as exterior carpentry with wooden shutters. The project is based on a reinterpretation of the existing spatial structure of different rooms with differentiated uses and atmospheres, redefining the assigned uses and functions and creating new spatial and visual connections without allowing the traditional elements to predominate. The aim is to create a peaceful environment which allows its young owner privacy and a work place, while creating a social meeting place for meals and parties.

+ YLAB

Photos by Jordi Canosa

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Post tags: Barcelona, Green Building, green design, green renovation, modern architecture, renovated apartment, sustainable design, sustainable renovation, ylab

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Post tags: Barcelona, eco design, green design, H Arquitectes, House 712, minimalist architecture, natural ventilation, perforated brick, sustainable design, triangular building

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Post tags: Alfons Tost, Barcelona, Catalonia, eco design, FASTViNIC, green design, LEED Certified restaurant, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, sustainable food, Sustainable Materials

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Post tags: b720 Arquitectos, Barcelona, double skinned facade, eco design, glass curtain, green design, Indra Corporate Building, Poblenou, reduce solar gain, stainless steel mesh skin, sustainable design

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Post tags: "green wall", "living wall", Barcelona, eco design, green design, mediterranean, Replay, sustainable design, vertical garden, Vertical Garden Design, waterfall

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Post tags: "solar energy", Barcelona, eco design, geothermal energy, green design, green roof, Luis de Garrido, sustainable design, vertical garden

Read the rest of XV Studio Proposes to Turn Barcelona Bullfighting Ring into Animal-Friendly Eco Center

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Post tags: Barcelona, barcelona ecological center, bull fighting ring, bullring, eco design, green design, la plaza monumental, recycled building, Sustainable Building

Read the rest of Spain’s Hospital Sant Joan de Reus Infuses the Urban Environment With Green Space

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Barcelona, Daylighting, eco design, eco hospital, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, hospital, hospital sant joan de reus, mario carea arquitectura, reus, sant joan hospital de reus, Spain, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of 18th Century Stone Cottage Transformed Into Brilliant Pantone 375C Winery

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", adaptive reuse, Barcelona, eco design, eco winery, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green renovation, historic renovation, Mas Rodó winery, sala ferusic, Spain, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, winery

We have long touted the benefits and general awesomeness of bike sharing. Not only are bikes a cheap and easy way to zip around cities, but swapping a gas-guzzling car for pedal-powered two-wheeler is one of the easiest ways to curb carbon emissions and make our world a greener place. But now we have an even better reason to promote bike sharing: they actually save lives. A new study published by the British Medical Journal looked at Barcelona’s bike sharing program and found that the benefits of bike shares contributed to 12 less deaths every year.

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Post tags: Barcelona, barcelona bike share program, bicing, bicycling, bike share, bike share programs, bike sharing program, bike sharing saves lives, bikes, biking, british medical journal, green transportation, sustainable transportation

Read the rest of Spherical iGuzzini Headquarters Shaded by a Massive Prismatic Fabric Screen

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Barcelona, Daylighting, eco design, eco office, fabric shade screen, green architecture, Green Building, green design, iguzzini, iguzzini headquarters, MiAS architects, mias arquitectes, natural daylighting, shade screen, Spain, spherical building, sun screen, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

The lush rural region of Torrelles de Llobregat near Barcelona is in the midst of being developed and inhabited.  Spanish firm, BBarquitectes has helped begin the process, by constructing an environmentally friendly public housing project, called Torrelles Public Housing. The block-style buildings required minimum construction and disruption of the local environment and are cooled by the wooden screen that shades them as well as natural valley air.
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Post tags: Barcelona, BBarquitectes, eco design, green design, Public Housing Projects, Spain, sustainable design, Sustainable Public Housing, Torrelles de Llobregat, Torrelles Public Housing

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Post tags: archaeological sites, Art, Barcelona, City Hall, dubai, eco design, green design, green transportation, history, madrid, Munich, North Korea, Stockhold Tunnelbana, subways, sustainable design, sustainable transportation

Read the rest of Torre Plaça Europa: Social Housing in Barcelona Made With 100% Recyclable Materials

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", affordable housing, Barcelona, brise soleil, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Recycled Materials, Roldán+Berengué Arqts, social housing, solar shading, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Torre Plaça Europa

Read the rest of Barcelona’s ‘Las Arenas’ Bullfighting Ring Transformed Into Epic Commercial Complex

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Post tags: Barcelona, Bullfighting ring, eco design, green design, Las Arenas, repurposed architecture, Richard Rogers, Spanish shopping center, sustainable design