A hodgepodge of tightly packed additions connected to an 1878 Neo-Renaissance building by German architect Oskar Sommer, the Städel Museum dominates a stretch of cultural institutions along Frankfurt's Main River with an eclectic formality.

Last fall, the artist Tatzu Nishi created a fully furnished living room around the statue at the center of New York's Columbus Circle.

While glittering new high-rises sprout everywhere in Shanghai, gems of Western-style architecture from the early 20th century can still be found throughout the city. 

Hugh Hardy's addition atop Eero Saarinen's Vivian Beaumont Theater provides a sleekly tailored coda to the New York City complex.

Mixing materials and methods from the vernacular and the modern, a Japanese architect creates a timeless retreat for the sculpture of two German artists. 

The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is inaptly named. The word “gallery” doesn't convey the institution's size and its almost encyclopedic scope, with holdings that number more than 200,000 objects encompassing an array of eras, cultures, and media.

Like a good poker player, the Baroque Court Apartments in Slovenia's capital city show a public face that reveals almost nothing of what's going on inside.

"Beer," Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, "is constant proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."