Rectangular niches of varying sizes carved into the surface contain ritual objects, Buddhas, deities, human and animal figures, and conic architectural shapes that may represent other temples (possibly the stele is a stone version of the painted maps depicting the Jain sites).

WSJ: Enlightenment on an Intimate Scale | The Adinatha Temple at Ranakpur | Masterpiece by James S. Ackerman

In Milan, Gabriella Crespi experimented with architectural, unadorned shapes such as her Z desk, a zigzag of brass-sheathed wood.

WSJ: Cue the '70s | Design

If exclusively green gardens are architectural, somewhat intellectual and constructed of contrasting proportions, shapes and leaf textures, then colorful gardens are decidedly festive, emotional and difficult to pull off.

WSJ: Picking Colors for Your Garden

Jewelry which has now evolved into architectural pieces that he describes as "a little laboratory for exploring shapes" still makes up 10 percent of what he sells, and his work has taken on miniature mainstream form: He designed the bottle for Dior's perfume J'adore and the case for Guerlain's Kisskiss lipstick.

WSJ: Herve Van Der Straeten's Design World | Designer