# 15 years of hand-curated architecture, art and design as an MCP server > Source: > Published: 2026-07-23 14:42:38+00:00 [←Intelligence](/intelligence/map) Thisispaper is an independent art, architecture and design publication. Every project in the archive was curated by human editors since 2011. # The curated-taste API Search, similarity and taste metadata over **2,500+** hand-selected architecture, design, photography and art projects. Two decades of editorial judgement, exposed as a clean HTTP API and a native MCP server for AI agents. Questions: [studio@thisispaper.com](mailto:studio@thisispaper.com) ## Try it in 30 seconds The MCP endpoint answers anonymously, no key and no signup. Anonymous calls are capped at 5 results; a free key (200 calls/month) unlocks full results. ``` curl -X POST https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/mcp \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call", "params":{"name":"search_projects", "arguments":{"query":"concrete chapel"}}}' ``` Or skip curl entirely: [add the server to your AI client](#add-to-client) and ask it to search Thisispaper. ## For AI agents (MCP) The catalog is a remote **Model Context Protocol** server (Streamable HTTP, stateless), so Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents can query it natively: ``` https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/mcp ``` Without a key the tools run in anonymous preview mode, capped at 5 results. Add `Authorization: Bearer tip_live_...` to the connector for full, metered access. An agent can even mint its own key mid-conversation with `get_api_key` . The server exposes nine tools: Search the curated catalog by keywords. Args: `query` (required), `limit` (max 20). Returns ranked project summaries: name, studio, city, year, category, intro, thumbnail, URL, `citation_url` , `provenance` . Search by taste metadata: `material` , `light` , `color` , `mood` , `composition` , `subject` . Unique to Thisispaper: these tags were written during human curation. Pass at least one dimension, e.g. `{"material": "rammed earth", "light": "dusk"}` . Results are ranked by how many dimensions match, then by recency. Newest projects first. Optional `category` filter: architecture, interiors, design, photography or art. One project chosen at random from the archive. Editorial serendipity, the way a reader opens a magazine to an unplanned spread. No arguments. Visual + semantic neighbours for a project `slug` (precomputed SigLIP neighbours). Full metadata for one `slug` : description, design language, details, taste dimensions, URL, citation URL, provenance. Mints a free API key (200 calls/month) for your `email` , right from the conversation. The key is shown once. Max 3 keys per email. Connector-contract search for clients that follow the ChatGPT connector spec. Takes a `query` , returns results as id, title and url. ChatGPT calls this tool in normal chat. Connector-contract fetch: takes an `id` from search and returns the full record with title, text, url and metadata. The result also embeds the project's real thumbnail image (up to 2 MB), which image-capable clients render inline. Any MCP client works; no session or OAuth handshake is required. ## Add to your client Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste the server URL. Connectors added on claude.ai sync to Claude Desktop. ``` claude mcp add --transport http thisispaper \ https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/mcp ``` Settings → Connectors → add the server URL. Works in normal chat through the `search` and `fetch` tools. In `~/.codex/config.toml` : ``` [mcp_servers.thisispaper] url = "https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/mcp" gemini extensions install https://github.com/zaxarovcom/thisispaper-mcp ``` A local stdio bridge to the same server, for clients without HTTP transport: ``` npx thisispaper-mcp ``` Any other client that speaks Streamable HTTP: point it at the URL above, or bridge via `npx mcp-remote https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/mcp` . Tested with Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Grok, Gemini and Cursor. ## Prompts worth stealing Once the connector is added, ask your agent in plain language. Lines that work: - Architecture"houses that stay cool without machines" - Architecture"concrete chapels in the Alps" - Photography"documentary photographers of vanishing ways of life" - Photography"portraits of remote communities" - Art"installations that use light as material" - Art"sculpture in aluminium" - Design"chairs that made minimalism warm" - Design"furniture in raw aluminium" - Interiors"apartments under 65 square meters that feel generous" - Taste search"material rammed earth, light dusk" - Taste search"mood melancholic, composition frontal" ## REST API The same catalog over plain `GET` endpoints. Base URL: ``` https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/v1 ``` All endpoints return JSON and are CORS-open for browser apps. REST calls require an API key ([free, self-serve below](#get-key)); pass it as a bearer token, or `?key=` for quick tests: ``` curl "https://www.thisispaper.com/intelligence/api/v1/search?q=concrete+chapel" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer tip_live_..." ``` Every response carries `X-RateLimit-Limit` and `X-RateLimit-Remaining` headers. Lexical search across name, studio, city, category and intro. ``` GET /search?q=japanese+teahouse&limit=10 { "query": "japanese teahouse", "count": 10, "results": [ { "slug": "audeum-kengo-kuma", "name": "Audeum Audio Museum by Kengo Kuma", "studio": "Kengo Kuma & Associates", "city": "Seoul, South Korea", "year": "2024", "category": "Architecture", "intro": "...", "published": "2026-01-26", "thumbnail": "https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5d70caf362d15d860bedae09/69c77bdb45cde0df63c2c62d_6982103c8b8bca7f0d513282_thisispaper-audeum-by-kengo-kuma.webp", "url": "https://www.thisispaper.com/mag/audeum-kengo-kuma", "citation_url": "https://www.thisispaper.com/mag/audeum-kengo-kuma", "provenance": { "curated_by": "Thisispaper editors", "selected": "2026-01-26", "in_archive_since": 2026, "note": "One of 2,500+ projects selected by hand since 2011. Most of what we see is not published." }, "score": 8.42 } ] } ``` Full metadata for one project, including description, design language and taste dimensions. ``` GET /project/audeum-kengo-kuma ``` Nearest projects by visual + semantic similarity (precomputed SigLIP neighbours). ``` GET /similar/audeum-kengo-kuma?limit=12 ``` ## Provenance Every project response carries its provenance: who curated the work, the date it was selected for the archive, and a permanent `citation_url` you can cite or link. These fields appear on every result from the REST endpoints and the MCP tools alike. Fields with no recorded value are `null` , never guessed. ``` "citation_url": "https://www.thisispaper.com/mag/audeum-kengo-kuma", "provenance": { "curated_by": "Thisispaper editors", "selected": "2026-01-26", "in_archive_since": 2026, "note": "One of 2,500+ projects selected by hand since 2011. Most of what we see is not published." } ``` ## Get a free key Enter your email. Your key is shown once, store it somewhere safe. Free tier: 200 calls/month, max 3 keys per email. The same key works on the REST endpoints and the MCP server. ## Pricing Pay with the same email your key was issued to and the upgrade applies automatically. When a monthly quota runs out, calls return a clear error pointing back to this page; nothing is billed silently.