Ettore Sottsass, Yuko House, 1991–3

What we wouldn’t give to while away a summer’s day in this serene marble and tile-adorned courtyard, dreamed up by the Memphis design pioneer Ettore Sottsass, along with the American architect Johanna Grawunder, in 1991. The calming cloister belongs to Yuko House in Tokyo, one of the various private residences designed by Sottsass’ architecture practice, Sottsass Associati. The majestic, pastel-hued tiling is emblematic of the postmodernist trailblazer’s enduring love of colour, which he so ably exploited for its inherent evocation of memories and emotions.