In this year’s Record Interiors, the projects are intriguingly multilayered—some more enigmatically than others. Our featured architects, layering their creations from the outside in, have altered the inner character of what was in most cases an existing shell.

Discover how sharp corners and boxy containers vanish behind curving surfaces that meld walls into ceilings and floors. From restaurants in Japan and New York City to a boutique in Omaha to apartments in China and Australia, we encourage you to peer within (and between) the rich strata of inner layers.

Click on the images below for more on each project. Plus, see our exclusive Web-only interiors here.

Photography credits (from left to right) – top row: John Gollings, Benny Chan, Eduard Heuber; bottom row: Shinkenchiku-Sha, Margherita Spiluttini, Chen Su, Farshid Assassi.

For the complete story on any of these projects, please see the September 2005 issue of Architectural Record.