Stuck in the city but dreaming about summer holidays? Well, keep on dreaming, but do so looking at architectural models of summer guesthouses. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston has got some pretty ones in its collection. 
You can choose between Ettore Sottsass' "Pensione Italia", a plastic, paper, wood, and foam model, with balconies in the Italian national colours on a white background. The structure featured four turrets located on the four corners of the flat roof, that look like open gazebos.
If you prefer something more colourful, check out Franco Raggi's blue and yellow model for his "Pensione Atlantic". Inspired by a cruise ship, it featured porthole windows on one side and, on another, narrow balconies reminiscent of ship gangways.
If you like colours, opt for Michele De Lucchi’s "Pensione Adriatico", in his trademark pastel shades and black and white striped patterns and with playful structures and shapes on the roof.
These three buildings were actually part of an exhibition about the architecture of guesthouses, organised in Rimini in 1981 to celebrate the Emilia Romagna Riviera and come up with hospitality architecture projects that looked radical, stylish and elegant, rather than banal.
The guesthouses part of the exhibition were accompanied by projects and models and could have been built, but, unfortunately, they remained just a dream.
If you’re on the lookout for something more minimal and intriguing for what regards the materials used for the model, check out Gianni Pettena's "Rumble Model". It is characterised by a minimalist shape and it is made with foam, cardboard and terrycloth. The latter is a rather unusual material for an architectural model, so this structure is inspiring as it prompts us to think what we could do with old towels.
Have fun dreaming about your summer guesthouse and, to cheer yourself up, remember that even the best holiday eventually must come to an end; only dreams never end.
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