Despite its distinctly geometric form, the Dune House could almost be mistaken for one of the sandy formations that surround it. The home, which is situated on the small island of Terschelling in the northern Netherlands, is clad in a silvery natural wood that easily blends with the sand and windswept grass. The neutral palette chosen by Dutch architect Marc Koehler give...
Balancing on the edge of civilization, the Isle of Skye is a veritable natural paradise that remains largely untouched. Wide expanses of windswept grass give way to dizzying cliffs and battering waves uninterrupted by human intervention. In such a brilliantly unrefined environment, it seems only natural that Dualchas Architects would create a simple, low-key home that de...
The Drolet Residence is a two-storey urban row house located near Montreal’s Jean-Talon market. Rather than organizing the house traditionally, the clients requested that the bedrooms remain on the more private first floor and that the central living space be placed on the brightly lit second floor. And since the clients are passionate about cooking, they also requested ...
Designed by Argentinian architect Nestor Sandbank, The Cubes House is located in Ramot Hashavim, Israel. Three distinct cubes provide private space for members of the family. Like mini-apartments within the home, each cube is complete with its own private living room, bedroom and bathroom. Perpendicular to the cubes is a two-storey common area that includes a kitchen, ga...
Perched on the edge of a privileged property in Knysna, South Africa, Cove 6 is one of only six residences to be permitted in the private estate of the Pezula Golf Estate. The partners at Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects (SAOTA) were tasked with the creation of a residence that would reflect the surrounding fynbos (the native shrubland found in a small portion of...
A stunning Japanese residence called Cosmic House by Japanese architecture firm UID blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces with a series of both open and enclosed structures and floor-to-ceiling glazing. The architects chose this integrated program to emphasize the hilly site and to promote interaction with nature. Rather than grouping rooms around ...
Located in Melbourne, Australia, the Convertible Courtyards House was conceived to perfectly adapt to the area’s notoriously changeable weather. The house is part of a series of heritage protected cottages, rife with unrealized potential that Christopher Megowan Design was tasked with unveiling. The project saw the addition of a kitchen, living area, dining area, bathroo...
Casa Meztitla, a holiday house created by young Mexican architecture practice EDAA, sits at the foot of the sacred El Tepozteco Mountain near the town of Tepoztlán in rural central Mexico. Designed with the outdoors and contextual harmony in mind, the house was intended as a couple’s leisure retreat. Wide rotating glass doors open up to welcome nature into the house, whi...
Bucktown is a neighborhood in northwestern Chicago that has witnessed a radical transformation. Once a rural goat herding haven, it became a hub for different immigrant communities in the 20th century and is currently a trendy neighborhood populated with artists and young professionals. Its high density doesn’t leave a lot of room for experimentation, but Studio Dwell Ar...
With an exterior that is almost more modern art museum than personal residence, BT House by Studio Guilherme Torres is an exercise in the extraordinary. Located in São Paulo, Brazil, the house is defined by austere lines, gentle overhangs and ample access to the phenomenal gardens. Wooden mashrabiya screens that adorn the top floor, acting as a sort of curtain and encour...
Bilsey Place House is a structure that creates a dialogue with its surroundings. Located in Fortitude Valley, Australia, the residence was designed by Brisbane-based James Russell Architect who sought to prioritize livability rather than to conform. The structure beautifully incorporates the exterior and interior. Large screen doors allow for a breeze and can be tilt...
Set in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, the BIG & Small House by Anonymous Architects packs BIG volume into a small house. The architects began with a tiny, sloping lot that was half the typical minimum size. By resting the house on four piles, they allowed access to the space between the house and the lot, preserving precious outdoor space. They also crea...
Tower House is the renovation of a single-family home in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Conceived through several abstract discussions that transpired between Andrew Maynard Architects and the clients, the home reflects the family’s interests, values and paradoxes. A family of four, the parents expressed a connection to nature and the community, an interest in a...
In the 19th century, Tribeca was an industrial hub within Manhattan and dominated by storehouses and factories. And when the industry left, the neighborhood was left with impossibly spacious layouts just waiting to be converted into open plan lofts. Most recently, New York-based architect Andrew Franz converted an 1884 caviar warehouse into one such open plan loft in Nor...
From the exterior, the House of Four Courtyards appears entirely ordinary; its walls are in perfect harmony with the traditional facades that line the street, and no hint is given at what lies beyond. Located just west of Mexico City in the heritage area of Tacubaya, Mexico, the home’s unsuspecting exterior that hides an ultra-modern interior designed by Andrés Stebelski...
More often than not, our house is a reflection of ourselves. So, what would the home of a forward-thinking designer resemble? PKMN Architectures gives us a pretty good idea with their recently completed All I Own House. Devised for the Spanish designer and founder of ERREPILA design studio, Yolanda R. Pila, the house is one central space that transforms throughout the da...
People working from home will tell you that your home office can quickly become gloomy and sad. Especially if you live in a northern city such as Montreal! So the priority for Canadian architecture firm NatureHumaine was to maximize natural light, a task which can be tricky if the lot is not well-oriented. But, once again, an architectural problem quickly became a perk. ...
Alek Lisefski’s Tiny Project is a tiny house that addresses some big questions. It offers an efficient solution to the ever-increasing cost of living while simultaneously creating a model for sustainable living. In a 2.5 by 6 meter space, Lisefski, a web designer, created a fully functional house on wheels with all (or most) of the amenities of a standard home, including...
Lithuanian architecture firm Aketuri Architektai is out to prove to their compatriots that the days of “roughing it” in the countryside are long gone. The House in Trakai is a bright, modern country home that adopts all the comforts of a year-round residence. Located just west of Vilnius near the idyllic wooded village of Trakai, the home is seemingly an archetype wit...
Aireys Inlet is a place that might provoke deep nostalgia for the days of yore. The small fishing village is located on the coast of Southern Australia where nature still reigns and cliffs striped with hiking trails suddenly give way to secluded beaches. The Aireys House is perched high on the cliffside, full witness to the natural flux of cliff, ocean and sand.. Aust...
The A1 House by A1Architects is a bit of an anomaly. In the East part of Prague, Czech Republic, you can find a few small cottages that instantly take you back in time to the far-removed countryside. These preserved houses have seen the city grow around them, while they were busy staying the same. And although A1Architects have modernized them, part of the architects’ w...
Perched on the slopes of Cape Town’s iconic Lion’s Head mountain, this four-storey contemporary home by SAOTA was literally built for the views. The steep site was ideal, framed by the mountain from behind and facing uninterrupted views of the Atlantic seaboard – a striking panorama that includes Robben Island, Campus Bay and the Twelve Apostles. SAOTA designed the home ...
Sometimes, all an architect needs is a simple idea, a seed that will grow and blossom into an innovative creation. It can be a simple geometrical shape, like a triangle. In the case of the renovation of an old 1930’s Chinese building, SKEW Collaborative decided to take the triangle-shaped window as a starting point and make this idea evolve throughout the apartment. By p...
It’s in the Dolomites, in the small hamlet of Mareo, that the two brothers of Pedevilla Architects reached their full potential with Wohnhaus Pliscia 13. Adding to our growing collection of black houses, this chalet’s dark sheen is just one element that distinguishes it from the other homes in the area. Keeping in mind the peaceful influence of the mountains, Pedevill...
Why make new when you can improve what’s already there? That’s very often the question that comes to mind. If new projects can let the imagination run wild (as long as the financial means can follow), the element of history that lies in old stones can be missed by some people. And keeping this element of history doesn’t mean that you can’t have a very modern home. Proof ...
Winona House is the renovation of an existing residence in Ottawa, Canada. The inhabitants had outgrown the original home and had intended to expand the space with a second level. However, due to structural degradation, a second storey addition was impossible, leaving the owners with the choice to move or demolish. Due to the home’s desirable location, the decision was m...
At the first glance, you might think the Hidden House in Tel Aviv is simply another piece of eye candy, just another perfect combination of luxury and taste from Israeli architects Dan and Hila Israelevitz. And, to some extent, you are right. Let’s be honest, this house is perfect and, for us plebeians, as far removed from reality as a unicorn or a white whale. But at se...
The crisp, white interior is a protected space that is flooded with sunlight thanks to an architectural glass box structure and numerous skylights and windows. The transparent tendencies and frameless nature of this home make it feel feather light. Not wanting the house to waft away in the breeze, the architects anchor it to solid ground with a floating glass staircase t...
Nestled in the idyllic countryside between London and Oxford, The Bluff is a contemporary single-family residence. Lazzarini Pickering Architetti replaced the original cottage on site with a Miesian assembly of steel and glass that opens an interesting dialogue with the trimmed hedges and manicured lawns of the traditional garden. In direct contrast with the home’s mo...
Architecture as often defined as something fixed and inflexible. It is preserved or it is knocked down, but an existing building is not always conceived to evolve. The Afsharian’s House in Kermanshah, Iran, is specifically designed with a future evolution in mind. When conceiving the three-storey family home, Tehran-based multidisciplinary studio ReNa Design knew that...
Located in Austin, Texas, the Tree House is a stunning single-family home designed by local architecture firm Miró Rivera Architects. Two separate roofs cover the structure: one convex and one concave. The concave roof ensures an inconspicuous facade that blends into the surrounding neighborhood and provides a certain amount of privacy for the bedrooms. The convex ...
T&G House by Nicolás Campodonico is located near the center of the Rosario area in Santa Fe, Argentina. Built in 2014, the 145-square-meter house faces north on a small passage within a consolidated urban area of single and double story residential buildings. Different heights and depths are created in the facade through divided vehicular access and a reinforced concr...
Appropriately named, the Tetris House uses absolutely every inch of a tightly zoned 40’ by 110’ lot in Toronto. Confronted with a puzzle worthy of the iconic video game, Reza Aliabadi of rzlbd had to decipher the most efficient way to incorporate the client’s requests into a limited space. The result is three stories and 3000 square feet that encompass 5 bedrooms, 6 bath...
The Termitary House is the renovation of a two-storey home located in the coastal town of Da Nang, Vietnam. Influenced by local red brick towers which date back to the 4th century, the architects at Vietnamese firm Tropical Space encased the original cement structure in a web of latticed brickwork. A local material, baked brick was logical choice for the home’s exteri...
Measuring a meager 2.3 meters internally, the Slim House earned its name. London architecture firm Alma-nac took on the remodel for a young couple with a strict budget. The house’s northern facade faces a busy street in southwestern London. With no outward facing walls on the east and west side of the home, natural light was scarce. Rather than mimic the neighbors and...
In his most recent project, Slovakian architect Peter Jurkovič and principal of Bratislava-based firm JRKVC has designed small, simple home rooted in folk architecture and sustainability. Jurkovič has applied a few humble, practical characteristics of traditional Slovakian rural architecture such as modest size, an under-roof porch, as well as local, easy-to-transport ma...
