To get there, you have to pass a row of splendid shikumen (traditional stone-gate houses) , and the old-Shanghai textures continue once inside, with red-brick interior walls and reproduced stone gateways above doorways to rooms which are simple, but smart.

BBC: The sharpest rooms in Shanghai

These walls were a testing ground where Aalto experimented with different textures, materials and designs, playing with brick, stone and ceramic swatches and setting them against various finishes and ornamental plants.

BBC: An Alvar Aalto tour of Finland

The game itself is a wonder, as it uses purposefully blocky textures and models, where players craft vast structures from elements like wood, stone, earth, water and fire.

FORBES: Minecraft Flips the Switch from Alpha to Beta

Stone, ceramics, soft-shell crab, and sake were united in a family of subtle hues and distinct textures.

CNN: Flanders: Europe's best-kept design secret