This suburban area with its huge infrastructure is the perfect place for production of export goods. Many factories are scattered across the former agricultural land. Everyone who lands at or takes off from the international airport looks from above on the patchwork of industrial production, infrastructure, old villages, drainage ditches and vegetable fields. In this ...
Yet low-rise buildings on an island defined by blocks and blocks of structures reaching for the sky can also offer architectural delight and innovation, as The Dillon on West 53rd Street attests. Architects Smith-Miller + Hawkinson answered some questions about their design, notable for its serrated glass wall and mix of housing typologies in the long and low building. ...
The house, in the same town as Johnson’s iconic glass house, also included a pool adjacent to an existing barn on the site. Roger Ferris + Partners renovated the house and barn for a new client, adding a pool house and garage and creating a synthesis of old and new amongst the tall trees. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project? Ou...
Most striking is the entry pavilion, which uses local basket weaving to infuse the thoroughly contemporary design with local culture. Digital technology also interesects with traditional inspiration in sculpted wood ceilings and screens found throughout the house. Hagy Belzberg answered some questions about his design for the house. What were the circumstances of rece...
This left the pre-existing house as a communal space with a kitchen, study, visitor’s bathroom and living room. The original house was exposed to the outside in order to link the interior with its landscape. The new project needed to be a more private and independent space, in keeping with the pre-existing construction. The rectangular floor plan measuring 10 × 6 meters...
And it is a big one, reportedly the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere at 870-feet tall. Just steps from City Hall and the Woolworth Building, the rippling stainless steel tower glistens as it rises from the stone canyons of Lower Manhattan. Gehry’s office answered some questions about the striking addition to the New York City skyline. What were the ci...
Further an embedding of natural features (rocks, logs) gives the project its distinctive blend of modernism and nature. The architects answered some questions about the design of the house. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project? Our clients searched for an architect by scanning magazines and books. They found a rustic cabin we’d don...
Tell us about the basic concept behind this project. Each residence consists of a three- to four-story unit with a glass enclosure called a shikii on the second floor. The shikii opens out onto a common deck, which links about ten homes into one cluster. When using the second-floor glass enclosure, residents are aware not only of their own family but also of their ...
Their most prized work is at two diametrically opposed poles: affordable housing and high-end single-family homes; yet each is treated equally by the skilled architects. An example of the latter is the recently compeleted Yin-Yang House in Venice, near Santa Monica. The architects answered some questions about the house and its sustainable features. What were the circ...
A glissadeis a manoeuvre deployed in skiing and mountaineering to control a breakneck plunge down a steep, snowy alpine slope. It’s an apt name to give a house like Maison Glissade, a rigorously elegant chalet in Collingwood, one of Ontario’s most popular ski areas, just an hour’s drive north of Toronto. Designed by Robert Kastelic and Kelly Buffey of Atelier Kastelic Bu...
By wrapping the angular house in insulation pillows, it puts on display what is normally concealed within the walls. This is one aspect of reconsidering the various factors that contribute to sustainable architecture. The team answered some questions about the building that was recently installed in Washington, D.C. for the competition. What were the circumstances of ...
Sited amongst the historical Norris Homes of the Depression-era Tennessee Valley Authority, in form the house recalls its older neighbors. But deep down it is sustainable and technological, thoroughly contemporary. The school answered some questions about the recently completed building. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project? In 1...
Architect Takeshi Hosaka based his design on an image of gradation from the woodland on the home’s south side, through the adjacent outdoor area, and finally into the interior. Describe the basic concept and design process. The two main concepts at play here are gradation from exterior to interior, and positive interaction with the elements. In one-story homes,...
This is evident in the curving section of the Shield House in Denver, Colorado, which responds to bulk plane restrictions. Offset by a rectangular volume, the curving wall also acts as a light scoop and provides privacy from its neighbor. Studio H:T Architecture answered some questions about the design. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this ...
Describe the design process for the building With that covered, we can begin to test an endless range of ideas. We use any of the resources that we have –or sometimes we use all of them– such as conventional and digital models, hand drawings, animated sketches, drafts, or anything that will enable us to try out different ideas. We don’t work with just one particular ...
Architect Shigeru Ban responded by designing a multi-story temporary housing complex for survivors. How did you get involved with this project? Starting right after the disaster last March our firm installed over 1,800 2m x 2m paper partitions to ensure privacy for families at more than 50 emergency shelters. One of the towns we visited was Onagawa, where large ex...
An openness towards the lake on the upper floor is countered by a partially buried lower floor which receives light by one of two courtyards, the other serving the entrance. It's a simple linear plan that successfully integrates itself with the surroundings. Architect Jeff Jordan answered some questions about the design. Can you describe your design process for the bu...
The main façade is the roof, designed as a terrace with a 360º view upon the valley; a structural complement underneath the deck that overtakes the horizontal forces in case of earthquakes. This wooden ‘envelop’ is extended and returned to block excessive sun exposure in the hot summer, but allowing the sun enter in the winter. The spatial organization is an open spac...
This proximity to the Rockies makes the natural peaks a desirable place for recreation but also something to appreciate and even emulate through architecture. Framing views of the mountains is an obvious goal in designing something like a house, but in the case of Arch11's design for a house on 6th Street, they echoed the folds and twists in the form of the house. Firm p...
The client, a musician involved with music education in the local community, wanted a home that could also function as a small music hall. Because the client works in the cement business – a major regional industry – the architects used concrete as the primary construction material. Give us an overview of the project. The lot is a long, slightly irregular rectangle a...
Its most famous seasonal resident is the family of former President George H.W. Bush. As architect Carol A. Wilson describes it, a defining characteristic of the area is its conservativeness, which extends to architecture. That Wilson was able to pull of a modern Beach Pavilion reveals that there are nevertheless some enlightening clients in town. The architect answered ...
The residence sits on a hillside where the plains of Odawara meet the mountains of Hakone. The architects say that rather than basing the design on an abstract concept dreamed up in their offices, they instead aimed to draw out the latent potential for habitation that already existed within the site by carefully observing its geography and climate. In other words, they l...
The house is situated on the south to take advantage of the sun, and the studio is on the north for that side's ever-important indirect light; a carport sits between both pieces.Principal Edward Richardson Brya answered some questions about the project. How does the completed building compare to the project as designed? Were there any dramatic changes between the two ...
In reality the white exterior is a bit more conventional, but it is also less dependent on the weather; even in Alaska the snow melts in the summer. The mixed-use project in Anchorage is designed by Mayer Sattler-Smith, who answered some questions about its design and construction. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project? This proje...
But much of the new is questionable in terms of scale and design. This six-story building with three duplex apartments, designed by James Cleary Architecture, is a modern yet applaudable addition to one of the borough's brownstone neighborhoods. In lieu of stone, the facade is zinc, ipe wood window boxes, and a wood screen on the ground floor; exposed concrete and wood p...
The development where this house sits even has a form-based code that prefers traditional, developer-driven homes.. The architects answered a few questions about the project. Can you describe your design process for the building? Our process consisted of listening to the owner and dividing up the house into zones based on use, adjacency, views, and privacy. This esta...
The resulting compact, square-plan house is bookended by primarily solid walls on two sides to frame views to the northwest. The architects answered some questions about their design of the cabin in the woods. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project? The clients approached Balance Associates with the goal of creating “a sustainable...
With this geologic condition, it is no surprise that architect Craig Steely calls the modern houses he has designed on the island "Lavaflow." Number 1 was built literally on a lava flow, and the most recent house, Number 7, is situated within a native Ohia forest. Steely is influenced by the island's vernacular architecture, but the large concrete beam spanning the entir...
This fact is evident in this house in Upstate New York designed by New York City's Grzywinski + Pons; what looks to be a design strongly determined by its skin is actually a result of factors beyond the architect's control. The duo answered some questions about the country house that stands out in its context but is shaped by it as well. Can you describe your design pro...
Teshima’s work is characterized by attractive designs that draw their power from local history and geography; in this case, he says an image for the house emerged gradually through a process of talking with the client about his life, artwork, and ceramic production process, as well as from visits to a traditional kiln. The forms are simple, but the interior is filled wit...
A roof deck connected to the living area atop the building captures views of San Francisco, and the new covering over the old volume makes the building stand out on its block. The architects answered some questions about the project. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this project? The client contacted us after a project we did was published...
His “House on the Surface of the Earth” is not a pre-conceived structure simply set on the ground, but rather a design guided towards its inevitable end point by the client’s requests and the context of the site. Below, Maeda talks about the project. Tell us about the basic concept for the project. The relationship between the natural environment of the site and ...
The traditional form and construction was a response to the cape's harsh natural environment. Over time the house would grow wider in response to expanding families. Within this context architect Christopher Kilbridge has inserted a modern house that responds equally well to its site and to dealing with generational changes. The architect sent us some text and images fo...
The natural beauty of Mount Desert Island is conserved through Acadia National Park, which covers about half of the island. This house designed by Scott Simons Architects is located south and west of the park, on earth the house touches lightly. Scott Simons answered a few questions about the project. What were the circumstances of receiving the commission for this pr...
Although the lot is close to both ocean and mountains, its immediate neighborhood is built up with three-story apartments. “I aimed to protect the residents’ privacy but also allow them to blend into life on the island, where helping one another is a very important value,” said Matsuyama, an island native who is now based in Fukuoka as principal at Matsuyama Architect an...
The pair strewed elements of the residence across the lot, and by doing so created a unique home structured similarly to a village. The home sits on a 650-square-meter meadow overlooking a dramatic panorama of Mt. Fuji, Enoshima Island, and Sagami Bay. By building 23 separate small huts and storage structures on a total of 100 square meters of land scattered throughou...
