Recipient of a National Commendation for Sustainable Architecture from the AIA Awards earlier this month, (-) Glass House is an eco-friendly revisitation of the 1949 Philip Johnson Glass House – without the glass. Adapting the structure to a tropical climate and adding a generous dose of eco-friendly elements (the house functions as a Carbon Neutral structure), Australia...
Gus Wüstemann has created a vertical triptyque of architectural sculpture: the top level is for the parents and the ground floor for the children: the middle is the thoroughfare of family life with stunning views on Lake Zurich. What is so smart about the Feldbalz House is that it is open and breathes easily without sacrificing privacy. Shrewdly placed scobalit on public...
Forget about Jack Kerouac and his vision of Big Sur. The Fall House by Fougeron Architecture is nothing but a small piece of heaven. The 3-bedroom house is firmly anchored on the beautiful coast and gently follows its natural curve, hence offering a breathtaking view on the ocean. But again, a house needs a little more than massive windows to enjoy the great view. The...
We haven’t been to Italy in awhile. Let’s take a little trip to the heel of the boot. Avetrana, to be exact, where NAUTA Architecure & Research designed a delightful family abode: Exercise with the Arches N°1. Offering privacy towards the street and opening upon an interior garden, the house was lacking in light, so the architects installed a, sometimes unconventional, s...
Built on a rehabilitated brownfield site, the residence aims to repair the damaged landscape and raise awareness about the earth’s finite resources. In harnessing nature’s intelligent design, the home maintains a comfortable temperature year round without the environmental footprint. Even the pool is smart–used as an additional thermal mass tied to the hydronic system ap...
For those with a crushing need to escape from civilization, this might be the most interesting design to be presented this year. Slovakian firm Nice Architects has designed the Ecocapsule, an egg-shaped shelter that can function off-the-grid for prolonged periods of time. The Ecocapsule may look more like a stranded UFO than a home, but it is an impressively compact, por...
By completing the Donderen Barnhouse renovation, Holland architects Aatvos wonderfully embodiedthe dream of every person buying an old barn in the countryside. They’ve transformed the ancient property into a contemporary house that reflects modern life, while preserving the historic vibe. Their idea was quite simple: conserve the classic barn shape and restore it with...
De Eenvoud (the simplicity) has been lauched as the third in a series of experimental housing communities in Almere, the Netherlands. Twelve winning teams were selected to create private houses that hold a strong connection to their surroundings. Designed by Johan Selbing and Anouk Vogel, the Mirrored House distinguishes itself with its entirely mirrored façade. The ref...
Tucked in a dense urban environment, the aptly named 3X10 House has a teeny tiny footprint of only 3 by 10 square meters. Vietnamese architecture firm DD concept worked around the spatial constraints by vertically stacking multiple volumes. The different levels create a dynamic relationship between interior and exterior as they transition from entirely closed on the grou...
Brazil and its architects don’t have the monopoly on dream houses! You might think that open houses that are one with the surrounding nature, cutting the air smoothly with straight lines of wood or stone and confronting the sky with bright blue swimming pools could only exist in South America. And yet, Guz Architects built the Cluny Park House in Singapore. The similar e...
Constructed in local materials and IPE wood, the home embraces respect and nature, and boy, does it look good. The accessible roof concept embraces four separate u-shaped units that open onto sweeping views of the Pacific and welcome gusts of Northern Hawaiian wind to cool the house. As nature intended.
Building a house in the middle of nature is always a challenge for architects because, in the end, the house has to blend in with its environment rather than struggle with it. And when we look at what is modern architecture today, we face a contradiction. On one hand, architects and clients tend to become more responsible and awarethat the environment needs to be protect...
Who needs walls? Certainly not us, and certainly not when you have a view like the one at Casa 7A! Located in Villeta, Colombia, and designed by Arquitectura en Estudio and Natalia Heredia, Casa 7A is certifiable eye candy. The architects were faced with a steeply sloping lot that offered beautiful views of the pristine mountains. With its perfect orientation from nor...
As very often in architecture, when you take two very popular trends and mix them together, the result is going to be interesting. That’s precisely what Cardio House does. First of all, the house is made by Portuguese architects Caldeira Figueiredo which helps highlight the fact that Portuguese architects are taking over the world. The second point is the disparition bet...
This project defers to the landscape in every way. It’s literally integrated into a hill, so the take-your breath-away vistas go undisturbed. By incorporating the same split stone of the thermal baths into the façade, the alpine landscape remains harmonious. Since the villa is nestled into an underground tunnel, it is thermally insulated and benefits from a ground-source...
Antoine is an itty bitty cabin hidden inside of a fake boulder that is tucked in the Swiss Alps. Designed by Swiss architecture firm Bureau A, the cabin gets its name from Charles Ferdinand Ramuz’s novel Derberance where the main character, Antoine, gets trapped in an Alpine landslide. He survives, living under the rocks for seven weeks. “Switzerland has a strong traditi...
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...
Florida has a rich architectural history, and Miami-based Brillhart Architecture decided to draw upon the best of Florida’s architecture for the 1500-square-footBrillhart House in downtown Miami. Seeking to break from the local trend of concrete-only construction, the architects explored the principles of Tropical Modernism and glass pavilion typology before settling ...
Developed by the philanthropic foundation Realdania, Brick House revisits traditional building techniques to create a long-lasting house with a low CO2 footprint. Located in Nyborg, Denmark, Brick House’s main objective is to provide a home that is maintenance free for 50 years with a life span of at least 150 years. Due to the proven durability of traditional brick home...
Auckland based architects Glamuzina Paterson designed a very special one-bedroom house for a couple on a very modest budget. Deep down you might think this is just another container house. But the Blackpool House reveals its charm once you step inside. From the outside, the house stands as a black monolith, strongly contrasting with the flourishing nature of its surr...
Adding an extension onto an existing house is an architectural art form of its own, and with the Bellevue Terrace, Philip Stejskal Architecture has created an award-winning piece of art. Beginning with a 19th century duplex in Fremantle, Western Australia, the architects added a modern extension that can be fully open or entirely closed thanks to a smaart system of woode...
BE House is an architectural layer cake. Designed by Portuguese architecture firm spaceworkers, the residence in Paredes, Portugal, is divided over three floors with each “layer” fulfilling a specific function. The opaque base layer of black stone block incorporates the service areas of the residence as well as a partially covered swimming pool. The second layer of th...
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...
These ultra-contemporary lines sit perched atop the Ibizan-Mediterranean coastal crag at 159 m high. A peppering of windows and terraces of every geometrical persuasion affords a bird’s eye view of jaw-dropping landscapes. Clean and copious use of glass throughout the project bathes the interior in sunlight and reaffirms the AIBS House’s soul: stunning blue sea and earth...
Sometimes, architecture turns outwards and serves as a showcase of life. More frequently, however, architecture turns inward, closing itself off from prying eyes and creating secret havens just waiting to be discovered. Such is the case with the Zurita Box in Mexico City. Mexican architecture firm Darkitectura renovated a building from the late 1980s, turning it from ...
Las Vegas-based design firm assemblageSTUDIO looked to the surrounding environment when designing the Trescara residence; right in the thick of the Mojave desert, the project incorporates aspects of the rugged yet vibrant terrain as well as functional, sustainable solutions to combat extreme desert temperatures. The residence is comprised of several different structur...
Very few things are more terrifying than snakes, and the idea of snakes in trees makes us seriously consider becoming a recluse. Thankfully, Rebelo de Andrade’s Tree Snake Houses take only inspiration from the reptilian cretins. Located in the national park of Pedras Salgadas Park of Braga, Portugal, sustainability and respect of nature were at the forefront of the proje...
German architecture firm XTH-berlin has fully embraced the importance of space and light with Townhouse B14. Located in Berlin, the townhouse sits on a small lot facing the plain of the Berlin Wall Memorial. The sober façade, characteristic of former East Berlin, hides a completely open and continuous interior that stretches throughout the building’s 12-meter height as w...
Gabriela House is a single family home located in Mérida, Mexico, the largest city in the Yucatan peninsula. Local architecture firm TACO arquitectura drew upon the region’s rich architectural vernacular for the home’s design. An interior courtyard, or plazoleta which is typical of traditional Yucatan dwellings, creates distance between the principal living space and the...
Apparently, when we’re not hanging out in Brazil, we’re visiting Canada. Another amazing Canadian home by Mackay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects: the Sunset Rock House. Located on the southern coast of Nova Scotia, the residence overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, its cantilever becoming an extension of Sunset Rock, its namesake and the client’s personal sanctuary. Rather than be...
The architect built the house for a lover of art and her family, and the structure is truly a living gallery with open spaces and large walls – perfect for highlighting artistic masterpieces. An extroverted design, the house flows from interior to exterior with large windows and modular elements, such as a removable floor-to-ceiling glazing that turns a covered terrace i...
In recent years, Australian architects have been redefining the typical terrace house with solutions that reconnect the house with the garden and reinvent the flow of the living space. Sydney’s Stirling House is a new construction that replaces a pair of unrestorable cottages in a heritage conservation neighborhood. Mac-Interactive Architects decided to pay homage to the...
