The two green towers could provide the city with a breath of fresh air, producing around 132 pounds of oxygen every day as they absorb carbon dioxide. They’ll accomplish this air-cleaning feat with 1,100 flourishing trees from 23 local species and 2,500 cascading shrubs and plants. The two towers at 656 feet and 354 feet tall will rise above the Nanjing Pukou District...
The house, currently listed for sale, is tucked amidst the trees of the iconic Uplifters Ranch neighborhood of Rustic Canyon, and offers privacy to its occupants. In 2012, current owners Marla and Larry Butler commissioned a team of designers to renovate the cabin into a larger building that would preserve as much of the original materials as possible. Stones from the or...
Designed by Tozer Design, the LEED Platinum home recycles all its water, produces more power than it can use, and it is the first residential compound to be certified by the Living Building Challenge. Solar panels and a rainwater collection cistern help this super green home pioneer a new paradigm for sustainable family living. The five-building Desert Rain House boas...
Seattle-based MW Works transformed an early-20th-century barn into a stunning family home with interiors that beautifully blend modern design with rustic elements. The 3,875-square-foot repurposed barn, known as Canyon Barn, is outfitted with salvaged materials from the original structure and nearby buildings. Located in the East Cascades, the three-bedroom Canyon Ba...
The unique aesthetic of the structure is meant to “awaken the curiosity of the passers-by”. The extreme gabled roof pays homage to the traditional vernacular of the French community, but its pre-greyed larch cladding (CLT prefabricated) gives the home a strong contemporary feel. The home was built on an incline, which from a certain angle, gives off the impression tha...
The hotel complex is made up of seven individual lodges situated on four hectares in the middle of a pine forest. The design of the wooden huts was meant to create a “contrasting homology” with the natural landscape. Built on stilts, each of the structures has a large open-air balcony that allows for incredible views. Further solidifying the close relationship with it...
The building underwent an extensive transformation that created a stronger connection between the interior and exterior spaces. The addition, clad in timber, provides views of and relates to the outdoors, while maintaining a clear division between the new and existing parts of the building. Each floor received spatial additions, with the kitchen, bedroom and study loc...
The 215,000-square-foot project named Tsubomi Villas, or “flower bud” in Japanese, will include six villas enveloped in overlapping layers of wood that form hyperbolic paraboloid roof canopies. The buildings, planned to be built on a sandstone cliff on the Bukit Peninsula, the southernmost point of Bali, look like they emerge from the ground like flowers. The Tsubomi ...
The client prioritized flexibility early on in the design process, requiring “a space that could be nothing one minute and everything the next, required to regularly and effortlessly switch between an empty nondescript shell of limitless possibilities to a fully functioning private residence.” Thus the Balnarring Retreat features a large open-plan space where furniture, ...
The modernistic hut is designed to be a relaxing sojourn for anyone wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of Mexico DF. The small structure is built into a concrete base tucked into the steep slope of the terrain. Open air platforms extend from the interior space through floor-to-ceiling glass doors, creating a seamless connection from the interior to the exterior. Th...
The house I ended up building definitely lives up to its promises in terms of energy conservation, but the biggest surprise is how comfortable it is. Read on as I tell my story about how I came to build Colorado’s most energy-efficient house. After years of building, research, and writing about green design, I became fascinated with the concept of Passive House design, w...
The inn was built with locally-sourced brick and wood, but includes a number of green pockets to integrate nature into the design. A lovely green roof coveres the buildings and a vertical brick wall is covered in climbing vines and wild flowers that bloom in springtime. The courtyard is filled sunlight and has natural ventilation, making it the perfect atmosphere for soc...
The architects expanded the existing space to include a living room, bedroom, bathroom, dressing room and laundry, all organized on a single story. The main sitting area offers views of the surrounding forest. Three types locally-sourced hardwoods were used for the interior, including Hickory. This choice of materials complements the exterior cladding, dominated by ship...
The house is surrounded by a large garden which features wooden walkways, pebbled beds for shrubs and lush grass. The wooden deck on the ground floor offers the residents a partially sheltered space where they can relax and enjoy the outdoors. The slated wooden structure offers protection from the sun. Red and black-painted windows act as accents that remind of De Stijl ...
The apartment, located in La Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, has a layout typical to the area, with double-height ceilings, a simple interior, and a strong connection to nature. Updating the space was essential, but not at the cost of losing its original character. According to the architects, the concept behind “Essay 4 Spatial Prosthesis” was inspired by artifici...
The owners obtained the cottage lot through the provincial cottage lot lottery system. The site has Lake Winnipeg frontage, but the regulations limit how close to the water the owner can build. The site was problematic due to flooding and the porous nature of the shallow layer of overburden. This is why the architects opted for stilts made from recycled gas pipes, with f...
The main idea was to highlight the peculiarities of the site and integrate nature into the design of the house. This resulted in a staggered structure that includes several terraces that establish a strong dialogue with the surrounding landscape. Thick walls made from rocks extracted during excavation create a spine of the project that extends outwards, protect the apart...
The farmhouse is located in the Friesian town of Woudsend in the Netherlands. Surrounded by farms and mills, the project retains the rustic qualities of the original structure dominated by handicrafts, hipped wooden roof and brick walls. The architects kept the existing roof structure, removed the mezzanine floor, and created a large atrium that shows off the beauty of t...
The world's tallest vertical garden now graces the Sydney skyline in the form of a towering residential high rise cloaked in living forestry. The highly anticipated One Central Park is now complete - and it features a park of its own that climbs 166 meters into the sky in a breathtaking marriage of architecture and nature. The intricate project created by Jean Nouvel and...
Although the tiny home design may look extremely contemporary, its concept was inspired by the natural green surroundings. The inclined slope of the landscape led the design’s unique volume and support. From most angles, the home appears to be floating above the green space, but there is a steel footbridge that leads to the entrance from the other side. Although complet...
The cabins were designed to fit into nature, rather than disrupt it. The structures were designed to fit in between existing trees, so that minimal destruction of nature would be needed in order to complete construction. Building on a hillside can often present challenges, but the architects designed the buildings in such a way that minimal regrading was needed, for even...
Located in Hiroshima, the home was designed to integrate the garden into the design, making it easier for the elderly couple to enjoy their greenery. The home’s compact volume stems from wanting to protect the existing Japanese dogwood trees found on the lot. As part of the design, the architects built an earthquake-resistant wall around the perimeter that pulls double d...
The North Carolina prefab builders at Deltec launched a line of affordable net-zero energy homes last year to great fanfare from off-grid buffs around the U.S. Now we’re thrilled to see them introduce a brand new design to this collection; a charming, classically-styled Solar Farmhouse with all of the old-fashioned curb appeal, plus the futuristic technology that makes t...
First, the steep slope of the hillside where the building was to be constructed had a propensity for small landslides - a factor which determined the demolition of a previous, smaller structure on the same spot - and second, their client, José Maria Marques Ferreira, desired that the nearby winding stream, as well as the breathtaking views, were to be taken advantage of ...
Tucked away in the inner courtyard of a block in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, an unusual residential house has emerged. At first glance, the appearance of the house does not seem to adhere to popular current conceptions of context-driven building expansions. In fact, it is the end result of tight parameters stemming from building regulations and historic preser...
Casa 9X20 takes it’s name from the dimensions of the plot where it is built. Located in an industrial warehouses area, which has been transforming into housing developments over the years, the house is part of a small development with barely a couple of streets and 70 available plots that have the same dimensions. The house has now two complete levels and one incomple...
This project is by a long, open beach, on a desert dune rising in front of a wetland. It is a seasonal house to accommodate up to three couples, and can be leased or bartered the rest of the year. Its intermittent occupation and isolated location led us to think of it as a superposition of two models: the motel and the cabin. The motel suggests self-sufficient rooms ser...
as aesop continues to expand their branches across the globe, the design of their store interiors differ depending on their location. this has seen locally-based architects and designers being commissioned to translate their retail language to reflect their design-focused approach to complement their array of uniformly branded products. in leipzig, the city known for its...
local studio a d lab has shared with us images from one of their recent projects, the re-wrapped house, located in a suburban area near central singapore. jalan binchang street is home to a series of semi-detached houses mainly constructed around the 70’s, a characteristic the architects sought to preserve upon receiving the request to renovate the structure that was in ...
At the front of the house, minimal landscaping with stepping stones guides you to the blue front door that adds a pop of color to the home. Inside, wide board oak has been used on the floor and the ceiling is covered in cedar. Custom built-in furniture and storage rounds out the living room design. In the kitchen, light wood cabinetry has been paired with dark counte...
Featuring two symmetrical towers connected by the Sky Bridge and landscaped riverside park surroundings set across 1.8 acres, the building will be a welcome addition to the Miami River area, which is undergoing regeneration. Sky lofts and villas ranging from range from 5,000 to 12,000 sq ft at the top of the towers will be individually tailored to their owners, featur...
turkish architecture studio superspace has proposed a recreational and residential intervention for one of istanbul’s forgotton landmarks. built at the end of the 4th century by the roman emperor valens, the valens archway provided water to the city during the middle century and was of great importance to the roman and ottoman empires. located in the busy district of...
by inserting three new building units into an existing shell, OEU-ChaO architects has transformed this house in beijing’s xirongxian hutong into a cosy home for a couple and their young child. located in the second ring road of beijing city, china, the hutong is surrounded by a collection of typologies: towers, multistory residential districts, monumental buildings and r...
‘dogok maximum’ is a narrow structure in seoul’s gangnam district that primarily functions as a residence and photography studio. designed by korean architect moon hoon, the building features a distinctive concrete façade covered with angled lines that demarcate the dwelling’s windows. located next to a tall wall on the former site of a fortune-teller’s shop, the scheme’...
designed by fujiwaramuro architects, ‘house in mukainada’ is a compact family dwelling in the japanese city of hiroshima. located in a quiet residential neighborhood, the single storey wooden structure encloses a total floor area of just over 75 square meters. the brief called for a home suitable for an elderly couple that would facilitate their passion for gardening. in...
set within an clearing of cottonwoods in the rugged big-sky country of big timber, montana, the big timber riverside residence designed by california and florida-based studio hughes umbanhowar injects modernity and functionality into a western landscape. glass, steel and wood build up the contemporary home which is the only structure on the 2000 acre property with views ...
