The site of Villa Escargot is about 200m away from the seashore and is located on a hill in Chiba, Japan. There is a cliff with trees at the back of the site, and a sea horizon of Tokyo Bay at the front. Taking into consideration the relationship with these conditions, a plan was required that is a convenient size for operating as a weekend house, as well as effectively...
ArchiBlox have developed the Carbon Positive Prefabricated House, a small footprint home that has been installed into Melbourne’s City Square on the 8th February 2015. Archi+Carbon Positive Houses will address the increasing levels of carbon emissions and the high levels of embodied energy that come with the construction of a standard home. External shading devices ar...
The project calls for the construction of a complex of 3 residential buildings in the area north of the Masterplan of Cascina Merlata to be used as an Expo Village in the first phase, and then to be converted into subsidized housing. The project stems from a complex operation of refinement of forms and volumes, developed in collaboration with Teknoarch, B22 and Pura, wh...
When one client needed a flexible vacation spot on a budget that could sleep up to ten people, architects Hunter Leggitt Studio (HLS) created the 510 Cabin in the high desert near Lake Isabella in California. In the end, seven students were chosen to come live in the area and work on the project as part of a hands-on learning experience. The result is a modern cabin tha...
Built around a centenarian Fir tree, the Shell Residence flows through the forest thanks to its organic, yet very strong structure. Tokyo-based ARTechnic Japan designed the stark white building to last in harmony with nature. The Shell Residence is immersed in Nagano prefecture´s peaceful conifer forests, where it creates a stark contrast with its durable white facade...
Architect Arrhov Frick created the residence for a couple who wanted to take advantage of the seaside location. Made primarily out of six concrete walls, the home blends in with the rocky landscape, standing out without imposing. The home sits in the coastal area of Saltsjö-Boo in Sweden, a popular spot for holiday homes. On the southern facade of the home, a concrete...
The Termitary House was built in Da Nang, a central coastal city of Vietnam. The climate in this area is rather extreme in the way it varies significantly between the sunny season and the rainy one and it is also influenced by a lot of tropical storms every year. Besides, Da Nang is well-known for the remains of Champa baked-brick Towers (during the Ancient Champa King...
For his first big project and work, Portuguese architect Ernesto Pereira was commisioned to trasform an old house into the new residence of a couple, without any budget limit nor deadline. The request only entailed the following: a work of art, a fascinating product in which the couple could see themselves living in. And so, he sought out to know them, exhaustively, th...
Just southeast of downtown Ciudad Real, the dense metropolis suddenly tapers off into a disquieting stretch of vacant lots. An arrested development in the wake of Spain’s most recent economic crisis, this area now presents a blank slate to the enterprising architect in the absence of any typological point of reference. The client gave only two, albeit peculiar, constra...
Designed by Anna and Eugeni Bach, the MMMMMS house is placed at the outskirts of Camallera, Spain, in a recent development area facing the village. Due to the location, the house is openly visible from the village. The local building regulations are straightforward, specifying mere general characteristics for the new houses, such as stone cladding, or sloped roofs with...
After a unique interpretation by Danish designer Louise Campbell in 2014, characterised by a romantic purism, Shanghai-based Neri&Hu Design and Research Office will provide an entirely new perspective. Besides the overall structure, the furniture, colours, materials, lighting and accessories are also selected by the designer, rendering the finished house an individual...
Overlooking the Atlantic, the house spans two levels and occupies the ruin of a former house. But what is particularly interesting with this specific project, is the way the architects have treated the remains of the older house: rather than ‘renovating’ the site, or incorporating the old walls in a decorative way, instead they decided to create a spatial choreography be...
Named after a nautical term that means ‘travelling with open sails’, the house has a large slanted straw roof with triangular openings, which indeed are reminiscent of the sails of a yacht. A hybrid between a house and a pavilion, the residence is both practical and private, whilst being generously open to the natural environment around it, connecting the forest behin...
The name of this incredible house - The Pierre - is the French word for stone and the owner's love for natural materials is both evident and abundant in this design. Tom's work is so sympathetic to the property’s surroundings, that from certain angles, the building blends in almost completely. The materiality of this design - stemming from the use of materials such as mi...
Situated in a forest along the Kawartha Lakes in Canada, the cottage blurs the limits between the inside and the outside through its numerous openings and mirrors on the terrace that reflect the surrounding trees. The main living space boasts a seven-metre-high gabled roof and fourteen openings to other parts of the house and the exterior which in itself is a feature tha...
The property is situated on the edge of ‘Eagles’ Nests’ natural landscape park, also called the Polish Jura because of its similarity to the Jura Mountains in Switzerland. Surrounded by farmland and hills capped with ancient castle ruins, the house attempts to blend into the picturesque landscape, featuring simple volumes and a cladding of gabions filled with local limes...
In a small village in the Uckermark, north of Berlin, a large barn has been converted into a country house with an additional independent apartment. The barn was built 140 years ago in a mixed construction of brick masonry and timber. In it’s time, an ultramodern functional building. After the barn was sold and divided the system was structurally converted for two set...
This project, located in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles, consists of an addition and renovation to an existing ranch house situated on a gently down-sloping lot with an exceptional view. With the goal of maximizing light and space on a limited budget, the design was developed and modified in an improvisational manner by the architect and the owners over the cours...
Designed by Giancarlo Zema, WaterNest is an enveloping of 100 sqm residential unit, 12 m in diameter and 4 m high, made entirely of recycled glued laminated timber and a recycled aluminium hull. Balconies are conveniently located on the sides and thanks to the large windows, permit enjoyment of fascinating views over the water. Bathroom and kitchen skylights are loca...
The project consists of a small summerhouse with spectacular views located near an equestrian club. The client wanted the summerhouse to open to the views and its surroundings, while at the same time providing it with an image of solidity, in harmony with the stone walls which can be found in the area. The building is divided into three units which encompass the rooms ...
This family house is located on a large plot in the Chiltern Hills between the villages of Skirmett and Hambleden. The Chilterns are part of the system of chalk downs that run through Eastern and Southern England with over 20 per cent covered by woodland, making it one of the most heavily wooded areas in the country. It has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natur...
Set back from Boulevard Richard Lenoir, this large plot has been pre-emptively acquired by the City of Paris with a view to creating, along Impasse Truillot, a new public garden edged with social housing units and a nursery for 60 kids. The ultimate aim is a major green strip running from the forecourt of the church of Saint Ambroise to Boulevard Richard Lenoir. What...
Despite the efforts of regional and local governments to bring sustainable strategies into action, the general scene today is a Japanese suburbia which has lost its strenghth to retain their younger generation who continue migrating to larger urban centers hoping for different life standards. Only the metropolitan area in Tokyo accounts for the 26% of the total populatio...
Dubbed Syros I and Syros II, each of the two houses is spacious enough to accommodate a family and their guests, since they both have guest rooms that are discreetly detached from the main house, as well as ample outdoor space for socializing and relaxing. Ideally aligned with the breathtaking view over Plagia bay, the two residences merge gracefully with their surroundi...
The architectural reconstruction and conversion of antiquated buildings, particularly in instances where their use is obsolete or outmoded, is a sublime art form. The architect’s creative expression is arguably tested to a much greater extent when he/she is presented with the dilemma (and challenge) of improving and repurposing an already existing historic structure. Ret...
The very first of Bourdais’ 12 ‘Solo Houses’ designed by Pezo von Ellrichshausen Architects has already been built on a verdant 40-hectare property in Matarraña, a region south of Barcelona, Spain, thus marking the beginning of this rather ambitious project. Completed in 2012, the Solo Pezo holiday house is set atop a hill overlooking a landscape of olive groves, vine...
The site is a difficult wedge shape which offers just enough room for a garage and narrow entrance on the street side at the top of the slope. The exterior form of the house is shaped by the intersection of two principal considerations: the first is the allowable building footprint and height. The second is the need to shed snow from the roof into appropriate storag...
Originally built as a barn in 1882, the building was then transformed into a house in the 1980’s through the addition of a second floor before Savioz gave it a more contemporary make-over in 2013. In choosing to keep the layers of the small building’s history exposed, the original stone base, the bricks added in the eighties and the contemporary concrete modifications ha...
In Leiria, Portugal, the Texugueira House has been designed by Contaminar Arquitectos with a shape that stretches on the ground, unfolding from a wall that supports three volumes. Each one has a different scale, offering a different experience, resulting in a dynamic and playful composition. The first volume is empty at the ground level, providing a covered area for le...
The Ten social rented housing, built in Saint-Denis and designed by JTB. architecture is part of the National Plan Redevelopment of Former District Gradients (PNRQAD). The narrow land on which the project will intrude is caught between two buildings of existing housing. For the sake of courtesy integration vis-à-vis neighboring buildings, the project gutter line just to...
Completed in 2013, St Kilda West started out as a bit of a conundrum due to the long and narrow sloping site it occupied. The brief which was to turn the existing Victorian house into a fully functioning family home with the possibility of accommodating frequent guests also included that the design reflect the owners’ travels throughout Asia. Several aspects of the house...
Ephemeral House is a renovation project of a 100-year-old wooden building located in the center of Kyoto, Japan. The client, who is in his twenties and lives alone, asked for a temporary dwelling. NAAD’s intent in this project is not only to generate an appropriate atmosphere for living, but also to avoid hierarchical dichotomy between past and present, through that cre...
From the road the house peers austerely over the protective courtyard wall, while the inside spaces feel very open and connected to the outside. We were interested in the idea of floating above a landscape, which represented to us a sense of freedom, lightness and appropriateness to this location. Patterns of surface materials are loosely influenced by the tapestry of la...
It is the second house in the neighborhood designed by the same architects, and is meant to capitalize on the architects' previous experience in order to provide a comfortable family home. The house features a flexible living space, including four bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining area located on the north side facing the pool. Spaces of various levels of intimacy and ...
The owner is a nice client we appreciate a lot. He's a Civil Engineer, so we mixed his Civil principles with our Architecture and Interior Design ideas. It's always pleasant to work with professional people that looks for pristine results. We have made previous projects for him, but this one is special because it'll be his own home. For this project we had to listen ca...
Sibiu is an old city with a well-defined center of medieval buildings, dating from the Renaissance and Baroque period. Therefore, the double pitched roof, the proportions of windows and the spaces between them were an attempt to adjust to existing archetypes. All these elements add a “gothic” spirit to the building, ensuring a better integration on the site. Another ...
