Located near Biwa-ko, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, the U-House sits on an area of former wetland used for growing rice that was filled in after the second world war. Recognising the impacts that the climate crisis and rising sea levels may have on the site in the near future, Yokohama-based Ushijima Architects sought to create a house that could withstand flood...
Named The Courtyard Residence after the large garden space and swimming pool at its centre, FGR Architects organised the five-bedroom home as a "layering" of spaces, creating a buffer between the street and the interior's calm, minimal living areas. "The Courtyard Residence resembles a rectangular origami of concrete and glass. The project's ambition is a design of calm...
The formation of the landscape and a nearby aspen stand informed the exterior design while the interiors were inspired by the Danish concept of Hygge, creating a refuge to recover, rest, reflect and re-energize before heading out on the next adventure. The property is part of a high altitude plateau 7300 feet above sea level with a generally muted palette of grasses and...
The project displants on a regular beachfront estate with twenty linear meters in front of the sea of the Gulf of Mexico and twenty-four meters wide located right at the corner lot, these characteristics established the bases for the design of the project. The house was designed to prioritize the ocean views and seeking for the passing of the winds to provide freshness t...
Located in a remote area, the cabins, which act as tourist accommodation, have been designed as small houses and not just rooms, so that the owner can rent out the complex year round and not just during the vacation period. The project comprises eleven small cabins, including four different designs, ranging from 301sqft to 624sqft (28sqm to 58sqm). The cabins are distr...
MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong leads his team to complete UNIC, the studio’s first building in Europe, which now stands as a sculptural landmark in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The thirteen-story residential work marks the latest development for the growing ‘eco-neighborhood’ of Clichy-Batignolles which the french capital is planning as a model for sustainable de...
The architecture of the house has been designed in such a way that it allows for as much of the view as possible while still shielding the interiors from harsh elements. Rooflines on the outer wings slope towards the center, giving the building a contemporary aesthetic, which is furthered by robust overhangs. Slatted upper windows shield the home from high summer rays ...
The architect’s vision was to contain these views and frame them within the home, using carefully placed windows in corridors and bedrooms for pocketed alpine and rural outlooks, and large-scale glazing in open-plan living spaces to fully enjoy the widespread vistas. Drawing inspiration from farmhouses and previously designed houses by the architect, the clients decided...
On a private lot engulfed by dense forest, the single-story glass house is made up of a series of boxes and glass walls. The striking black metal and wood exterior contrast the bright interior. In winter, the home is lit like a lantern, adding warmth on an otherwise cold night. The entryway of the home provides glimpses of the interior, while concrete floors have been...
The exterior morphology is arranged with the intention of taking full advantage of the buildability of its plot. Through its long diagonal, the pieces seem to connect only by their vertexes, but the interior is intertwined and in constant communication. The upper floor opens onto a large balcony: roof of the middle piece and whose limits expand in both directions; to th...
designboom reported the design plans of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) for its countryside looping villa in the city of Gug in Northern Denmark. Recently, the group has finished the residential villa that snakes from the ground up like a viper on a hunt. The architecture in Denmark begins at the end of the concrete road. It curves as it moves up, finishing with generous, uno...
A few kilometres from Brasilia, in an arid landscape dotted with the robust native vegetation of the Bioma Cerrado – the biologically richest tropical savannah in the world – Equipe Lamas has designed the buen retiro of a couple seeking tranquillity and contact with nature. The 375 square metre house is characterised by a simple and functional layout: four single-storey...
The octagonal spiderweb-shaped structure, designed for a family of four, has a slanted 45-degree angled roof, to create an expansive interior with desirable views, ventilation, natural light, and privacy. Inside the home, you can see the supporting legs that help to create a centripetal single-room space. The interior of the home includes 828 square feet (77 sqm) of op...
Stripped down, minimalist interiors swathed in natural materials and natural light constitute a muted yet soulful backdrop to the ever-present vistas as well as imbue the house with a contemplative ambience. Combined with a series of terraces, balconies and courtyards that are seamlessly connected with the interiors, the house is in essence a Zen retreat in tune with the...
Neighboring Bangkok’s vibrant Thong Lo neighborhood, known for its trendy bars, boutiques, and bistros, Sukhumvit THIRTY-EIGHT redefines the city's skyline with its unique sculpturally stacked volumes and adds new architectural qualities to the surrounding urban context. The residential tower will rise in a densely populated area of the city and will combine the benefits...
Initially planned as a volume surrounded by a fence and meant to be a ‘gated community, the architects proposed to break the plot into two parts to give back to the community a public space and create an urban door between the Village and the Park, the latter extending as a public square, inside the plot. The idea of a new community space, borrowing from the urban con...
When talking about the solution, architect Nikita Kapiturov’s answer was, “I didn’t have the heart to saw the log shell up for firewood. So, I sorted the logs out, and then it dawned on me: “What if I combined a log shell with light and heavy timber framing?” This resulted in the design of the house having the lower floor made from the logs. After sanding, the wood logs...
Created for an East Coast-based client who likes to entertain when in town, Breeze Blocks is a Beverly Hills house conceived to show off its contemporary architecture, variety of living spaces, and long, striking Los Angeles views. Its architects, locally based Kovac Design Studio, founded by Michael Kovac, made the most of the brief, crafting a home that effortlessly un...
Judging from the serene countryside scenes outside this striking residence in Austin, Texas, you wouldn’t be able to guess that the family home is just a stone’s throw from the booming downtown area. The project, designed in careful, warm minimalism by American architecture firm Studio DuBois and interiors practice Elizabeth Stanley Design, is the Austin house of Elizabe...
The location of the building was chosen slightly away from the rest of the complex in the central part of a hilly valley near an existing water basin. The uniqueness of the site partly dictated the architectural expression - the triangle plan-shaped building responds to all the natural views around it. The main element of this house is the heavy archetypal roof which c...
The six-storey building on a steep slope in Coatepec, a municipality of Veracruz with rolling hills and mesophilic forest, contains four apartments. With over 860 square meters to build on, Pardo decided to conserve more than 50 per cent of the land and build the apartments vertically on the site. "There was a concern to have the smallest footprint possible in its land...
Welcoming guests to the home is a simple entryway with a black front door and a minimalist bench. In the living room, large windows wrap around the room, while a fireplace draws the eye upwards to the cathedral ceiling. Adjacent to the fireplace is a sitting area that has views of the front garden and driveway. The dining area, with a wood table for eight, separates t...
Called The Perigon, the building will comprise seven interlocking towers that rise to a peak and then descend on both sides towards two separate waterfronts: the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Creek. It is OMA's first residential project in Miami Beach. "The towers are merged and lifted into a singular form that both responds to the potential for panoramic views and frees th...
Called Gardener's Cottage in reference to a structure that formerly occupied the site, the house is designed to appear as though it is "organically rising out of the ground" while echoing the traditional architecture in the nearby village. Its owner, who had been living in a six-bedroom manor house on the site but decided to downsize, approached Pad Studio to design a c...
On a forested edge of the Margaret River townsite, a large block was cleared for development. Interest from prospective buyers wavered due to the perceived smallness of the resulting strata lots, but local designer Ash Stucken of Studio Stooks saw potential in an outlook usually reserved for more expensive and expansive bush blocks. Ash and his partner Miranda Geiger pur...
Blurton Road, an east London house extension project by local studio Emil Eve Architects, reimagines a Victorian home into a modern interpretation of a midcentury dwelling. The commission aimed not only to improve the functionality and wellbeing qualities of the domestic space for the clients – a young family with small children – but also to infuse the historic shell wi...
Part of a Victorian inner city Melbourne property, Pergola Extension by Krisna Cheung Architects is a project that aims to reimagine an existing, historic home and transform it into a dwelling fit for its purpose – a generous, domestic hub for a local family. Taking its cues from the existing house’s translucent polycarbonate rear garage façade, the architecture team, he...
This minimalist dwelling, House Be by Belgian architecture studio A2o architects, is a family home conceived to allow its residents to experience nature at every turn. The house, set in the country’s rich, green countryside, blends structured, mininalist architecture and the fluidity and fun of organic growth, in a result that feels both wholesome and distinctly contempo...
London’s challenging house prices and particular property market means house-hunters – and lovers of contemporary architecture – need to get inventive in order to fulfil their desire for modern, new-build designs. Tucked away in a sleepy, residential corner of north London, Stepped House is such an example. Created by locally based architecture studio vPPR, headed by Tat...
Called Suspension House, the house emerges as the renovation of an existing house to create more spaces with a new look towards the creek, boasting a waterfall in the back yard. Envisioned as "a man-made object in nature" that may exist in harmony or disparity, the goal of the project "was to reconnect this structure into the environment while best utilizing the excepti...
The cabin, which sits 40 feet (12m) from the ground, is accessed via an enclosed spiral staircase and a 20-foot (6m) bridge. Stepping inside the cabin and there’s a full wall of windows that follow the angle of the roofline, flooding the interior with natural light. There’s also a queen bed, a toilet, a glass-enclosed shower, a heated floor, an integrated sound system,...
The design of the home consists of four areas that are connected by a central hallway. It also includes standing seam roofing, black-stained vertical cedar siding, and single-story gables with identical pitches. Surrounding the home are landscaped gardens with outdoor living spaces. Stepping inside, we see there’s a living room with a fireplace and exposed wood beams....
The front of the house showcases an upper level that’s encased in metal, adding privacy to the home. At the rear of the home, the metal shutters stand out against the vertical siding. The upper floor can be closed 100% to block sunlight, guarantee privacy, and acoustically isolate intimate spaces. The shutters are also featured on the side of the home too, and also hav...
Bypassing a “finished” look, the architects utilized materials, like exposed concrete, steel, and glass, and welcomed their imperfections to achieve the industrial aesthetic they desired. During the design process, they focused on the spatial, the aesthetic, and the adaptation of the place. The layout was kept open allowing the spaces to feel connected as the homeowners...
It has little to do with the immaculate, radiant and vaguely ascetic surfaces that often characterise Portuguese buildings, this house with its material and somewhat humble character that does not, however, renounce the usual rigorous and essential volumes typical of the architecture of these latitudes. The building, designed by AM-arqstudio in Braga for a family with a...
With the small houses with a similar appearance, white walls, and red windows, the 600-year history of the Royal New Village can still be felt here. The building is located in an eye-catching position in the northwest of the village. It is a two-story brick-concrete building, originally used as a residential office. Atelier d’More was commissioned to renovate the space, ...
