Studio Gil was commissioned by a private client to remodel, renovate, and extend a 1960s residential property originally designed by the Modernist architect, John Winter. The project is sited in a conservation area in Primrose Hill, London Borough of Camden.The existing internal spaces of the property were reconfigured to provide private spaces on the lower two floors a...
Designed by FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects, the Courtyard House is located in a relaxed area where fields and farms are stretching. The west side of the site is visually connected to the distant hill, making the site look like the original Japanese landscape, together with the Torii gate and the approach to the adjacent shrine.Surrounded by such an environment, the hous...
Located in an environment dominated by homes which have been built and occupied by their owners, between the Guadalajara City limits and the rural landscape, this house conceived by Oscar Gutiérrez meets the needs of a small family with an active social life. The design strategy was to assign most of the built area to the ground level allowing the existence of uncovered...
Set in a pastoral landscape of mature trees and gardens, the house acts a case study for testing several hypotheses. These span from interrogating the idea of the ‘domestic’ at the beginning of the twenty-first century, through to how sustainability might be integrated into high quality design without compromise. In addition, at a strategic urban scale it asks how a glo...
Apollo Architects were commissioned by a couple with profound knowledge of architectural design, who acquired a lot within a quiet residential area in Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa, to design their residence with a patio space. The contrast between the exterior wall covered with red cedar strip flooring pieces in dark brown color and the white volume stuck out at the second f...
Designed by TonTon-Group, 21 House is located in a new urban centre of Thanh Hóa province, which is a very sparsely populated area in Vietnam. The concept of the design was for a young family with their parents, and they wanted to have a new house of their own: “The open space inside but close space outside”.The house has three factors: natural lighting, ventilation and...
Completed by Joris Verhoeven Architectuur, the Riel Estate House is located in a new residential development in the small Dutch village of Riel near Tilburg town. The property conforms with its archetypal main structure and materialization with the rural character of the village and the surrounding countryside; a main building with a lopsided gable roof, rural hand-moul...
For this house-in-a-backyard, otherwise known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), the architecture firm Waechter Architecture took Portland’s increased density movement and used it as an opportunity to explore housing iconography, sculptural forms, dual-purpose elements, and explore how to massage small space regulations in order to maximize useable space. Garden Hous...
As part of the urban renewal of the Auvry Barbusse district, in the city of Aubervilliers, the construction company Bouygues Immobilier launched in January 2011, an architecture competition for the project management of 39 multi-family housings, three craftshops, and a carpark. The architects were given the constraint of using wood for the building structure and to team...
How do you create architectural quality and diversity within a large-scale building complex within a short timeframe (10 months of planning, 24 months of construction) and at a building cost of 1,450 € /m² inhabitable surface area, parking included? Following the client’s decision to use a “Design-build” procedure that corresponded to the cost and scheduling issues, we ...
“The great view and the light.” These two concepts should be compatible for a good house. However, Pangyo, the collective housing area, is composed only of functional logic to accommodate as many houses as it can. It has a closed view being next to other buildings in the south, while facing the north from which Cheonggyesan is seen. Therefore, this project had its funct...
On a semi-rural site in a lush valley in upper Brookfield, west of Brisbane, the Davenport Wilson House is a response to the particular and immediate landscape views. The house is sited to maximise aspect and prospect. Its form and character are derived from the rural tradition of the pragmatic utilitarian buildings of the area, where simple timber structures, clad in b...
Despite the narrow dimension of the plot – only 27.41 square meters – the architect created a house that maximises the space. The house is clad in vertical timber panels, and the use of wood continues inside for floors and ceilings giving the house a warm taste. Black painted metal defines windows, the entrance door and the stairs balaustrade. The program is distribute...
An icon of Greek post-war modern architecture, the Doxiadis building, having decayed during the last 20 years, finally came back to life through its conversion into a residential building. This conversion raises crucial questions about the notions of memory, preservation, integration into natural and built environments and innovation inspired by the potential of existin...
Although set beside the sea and indeed perched upon a cliff, the house is actually carved out of the earth, with three walls surrounded entirely by the cliff itself. The resulting structure is a nod to Brutalist stylings in concrete and glass, while also realizing an architect's vision with a completely unique home. The house does not protrude from the ground, with the ...
Designed by Apollo Architects in Mitaka city, Tokyo, Nord is a house for a couple in their 40s for spending valuable time with their two daughters. As a motif for the plan, the husband, who is a company owner, chose designs by Alvar Aalto and the small churches that are the heart and soul of people, of which he was influenced when he traveled Northern Europe. The living...
Occupying a street corner plot in Shiga, Japan, the Framing House stands out for its black-coated steel exterior and elaborate geometric volume, dictated by its internal functions and layout. The client’s request to include a gallery for exhibiting art in the house was a demand which the architect was more than happy to fulfil resulting in the ground floor housing a priv...
It is not difficult to see the 1970’s influence in the harsh exterior of the home. Slate gray tiles and a low profile could easily be off putting. That’s why as part of the renovation, some walls were removed to make room for floor to ceiling glass, which makes both the interior and exterior more welcoming overall. Native plantings around the exterior also make for a m...
Instead of ascending to the houses' private spaces, bedrooms are hidden in the hillside and covered with a roof that grows edible herbs. This Walker Workshop home may not be the Beverly Hills opulence that you would expect, but it has its own brand of spectacular. The house is situated on 3.5 acres, overlooking Oak Pass. The house itself measures 8000 square feet (743...
It might sound like a unicorn, but this stunning house exists and it's in South Africa. The home, by the architects at SAOTA, is truly an architectural feat to behold, from the inside out. Let's look inside. The house was built on a mountain ridge below Cape Town’s Lion’s Head peak. The area offers views of Robben Island, Camps Bay, and the Twelve Apostles. The settin...
Arcadia is a mythological place of peace and pastoral happiness, and one can find a Victorian villa named Arcadia in a tranquil street in the suburb of Paddington, on the city fringes of Sydney and walking distance from Centennial Park. This Gothic Revival villa is wedged between rows of terrace houses, hidden from the street, and by the happy accident of a Victorian la...
Constructed primarily of 5500 psi concrete, the 2300-square-foot one-story house is nestled on a hill in a forest clearing overlooking a natural meadow. Its low, modest profile respects the setting while honoring the homeowners’ modernist sensibilities, while a solar array, daylighting, rainwater catchment, reclaimed materials, pre-fab construction and careful placement ...
The innovative project has thus far constructed nine pilot ‘Framework Houses,' each made from sustainably grown timber, bamboo, natural materials, and recycled materials. The adaptable and flood-resistant homes were built on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Created with funding through SELAVIP and the input of the local community, the adjustable Framework House ca...
Perched on the top of a hill at the city edge, the three story home nestles into the hillside, with the earth acting as an insulator and supporter. With a myriad of various sized windows on the home’s façade, House Linnebo was designed to give a variety of experiences and views within the home. Halfway between the urban Norwegian capital and miles of forest, House Lin...
Stockholm studio The Common Office has designed a cliffside villa in Törnskogen, Sweden that smoothly blends the natural world with modern comfort and design. The designers envisioned Villa Altona as a Lego-like structure composed of interconnected blocks. Because the home is built into a steep rocky cliff with large boulders dotting the site, the block concept enabled t...
The 40-inch-long bricks are stacked to create shelves, planters, stairs, garden fences and regular walls. The designers created multiple micro-climates that regulate humidity levels and temperature by either filling the gaps between the blocks or leaving them open to the outdoors. Casa Pentimento is a dwelling placed on a gentle slope that is made almost entirely from...
The original 1960s building, with a leaky roof and cracked pile foundation, was renovated to maximize daylight and create an open-plan living space that features an internal promenade going through the entire volume. The house is located on a stunning site that boasts views of the bay. Its original structure is based on a three-story high A-frame, typical of the 1960’...
Keeping in line with other traditional “tube houses” in the area, the Vegan House, formerly a private home, now serves as a cultural center for the community. You can't miss it, thanks to a striking, multi-level arrangement of colorful shutters on its façade. Block Architects designed the house with the desire to bring culture and community together. They explain, “It...
Previously, we showed you a housing development shaped like wooden mountains in Norway, and now OOPEAA has completed the first high-rise wooden apartment in Finland. Named Puukuokka, it was crafted from prefab modules of cross-laminated timber (CLT) simply assembled like LEGO bricks. Created for housing developer Lakea Oy, Puukuokka is ‘the tallest wooden apartment bl...
One lucky rural Stockholm neighborhood is now home to the structure, whose local children are already enjoying the slope. This two story, 200 meter home is built right into the landscape, creating a rooftop which just begged to be multipurpose. Architect Cage Copher explains, “The sledding ramp was my idea. It is primarily a device to camouflage the building, because ...
The low-cost micro housing module was designed with the help of inmates from an Italian prison. Built by Cibic Workshop and Comodo (Comunicare Moltiplica Doveri), the concept housing module explores the use of space, multi-functional furniture and how micro-housing can be reinvented to improve social housing, hostels, temporary housing and even jail cells. There is a ...
Created as part of Oqyana World First, these private island homes were recently given the go-ahead by the Dubai-based government entity Nakheel. Architecture firm Waterstudio.NL collaborated with Jean-Michel Cousteau to design the floating islands, which will also be engineered to provide new underwater habitat for sea life. Designed in the shape of the seven continen...
The home features classic earth tones and vaulted ceilings, along with plenty of windows and curving walls that guide daylight throughout the space. The 150 square meter space (about 1614 square feet) features tall windows and vaulted brick ceilings, while incorporating two large steel columns that divided the factory space. The architects wanted to focus on the colum...
Located in Sydney, Australia, the beautiful customized home features floor to ceiling glass curtains and doors, and it uses mirrors to bring reflections of sunsets, trees and the sky into the heart of the home. From the street, Spiegel Haus appears like two volumes, connected by an entryway with a large overhanging eave. To the left, a traditional-looking ranch style ...
Named Casa Sur Ual, the historic home rests in the idyllic village of Vella. Under Müller’s direction, the 350-year old property has been divided into two sizable family apartments with exposed stone, concrete and timber. Vella is a picturesque traditional Swiss Alps village, complete with historic pitched roof homes that dot the hilly landscape. To keep the iconic de...
Emulating the traditional “dacha” year-round home, this Soviet-style structure is made up of fragments painted in varying shades of brown and arranged at different angles in order to regulate sunlight. Spotted over at Architizer, the interesting multi-layered structure combines traditional wooden overlapping planks with less conventional additions such as spade hafts an...
