Founded by Thomas Linssen and Jana Flohr, House of Thol is a Dutch design brand – previously featured with their microgreens growing kit – that is celebrating two significant milestones: its tenth anniversary and the complete transition of the production of its Easy Green Living collection to the European Union. The brand’s products, which combine sustainability and design, are known for their natural authenticity, characterized by small imperfections that enhance their uniqueness. (cover Waterworks, ph. Gaav Content)
The catalog includes items like the Flower Constellations, which help create elegant bouquets with fewer flowers, and the Patera Magna, which reduces fruit and vegetable waste. The Helios disc allows you to grow plants from kitchen scraps, Waterworks ensures efficient, water-saving plant care, and Patella Crescenda brings the joy of growing fresh food at home.
The glass reservoirs for the Waterworks watering system and the Patella Crescenda sprouting set are now made in Portugal, using 80% recycled glass, which gives each piece a unique greenish-blue tint and occasionally small air bubbles that highlight its uniqueness. The terracotta components also feature natural color variations, influenced by the clay, glaze, and their position in the kiln. The brass and stainless steel parts come from Italy, and the packaging is produced in the Netherlands.
House of Thol will present its collection at various design events, including the VT Wonen & Design Fair as part of the Sustainable Living District, and later at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven at Piet Hein Eek, inviting the public to explore the concept of “authentic imperfection” and celebrate 10 years of Easy Green Living.
To discover and purchase House of Thol products, visit the website, where you will also find the online shop, and follow them on Instagram!
Fondato da Jana Flohr e Thomas Linssen, House of Thol, è un brand olandese di design – di cui abbiamo presentato il kit per coltivare i micro ortaggi – che celebra due importanti traguardi: il suo decimo anniversario dalla fondazione e la completa transizione della produzione della collezione Easy Green Living nell’Unione Europea. I prodotti del brand, che combinano sostenibilità e design, sono noti per la loro autenticità naturale, caratterizzata da piccole imperfezioni che ne esaltano l’unicità. (immagine copertina Waterworks, ph. Gaav Content)
A catalogo possiamo trovare: le Flower Constellations che aiutano a comporre eleganti bouquet con meno fiori e la Patera Magna che riduce lo spreco di frutta e verdura. Il disco Helios permette di coltivare piante dagli scarti alimentari in cucina. Waterworks assicura una cura efficiente e a risparmio idrico delle piante, mentre Patella Crescenda offre la gioia di coltivare cibo fresco in casa.
I serbatoi di vetro per il sistema di irrigazione Waterworks e il set per la germinazione Patella Crescenda sono ora realizzati in Portogallo, utilizzando vetro riciclato all’80%, che dona a ciascun pezzo una tonalità verde-azzurra unica e talvolta piccole bolle d’aria che ne esaltano l’unicità. Anche i componenti in terracotta presentano variazioni cromatiche naturali, influenzate dall’argilla, dalla smaltatura e dalla loro posizione nel forno. Le parti in ottone e acciaio inox provengono dall’Italia e il packaging è prodotto nei Paesi Bassi.
House of Thol presenterà la sua collezione durante vari eventi di design, tra cui VT Wonen & Design Fair come parte del Sustainable Living District, e successivamente al Dutch Design Week a Eindhoven presso Piet Hein Eek, invitando il pubblico a scoprire il concetto di “autenticità imperfetta” e a celebrare i 10 anni di Easy Green Living.
Per scoprire e acquistare i prodotti House of Thol, visitate il sito web, dove troverete anche lo shop online, e seguiteli anche su Instagram!
Designed by RO_AR Szymon Rozwałka architects, the new family house in Hlubocepy is located on the border between two different realities: the urban and the natural one. The first surrounds the site on the south and east side and presents a chaotic and random development, the second instead is connected to the property thanks to a bio-corridor that extends following the course of the nearby Dalejský Brook and is enhanced by the use of Hlubočepské rocks.
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The shape and spatial layout of the house is a response to the chaotic urban context: the design seeks to encompass nature within the site and in the interiors. The resulting volumes are almost reminiscent of a natural element, a hill. At the same time, the shape of the building responds to the needs of everyday life, such as adequate natural lighting of the rooms, large and welcoming spaces.
In the early stages, the studio had designed the house inside an artificial hill. However, due to the need to limit the budget, the previously proposed intervention had to be significantly reduced. Despite the changes, the final result is still in line with the initial concept: a house that delicately links the urban context to the natural one, which features careful planning both in the interiors and in the external spaces.
Per la Milano Design Week 2022, The Attico ha lanciato, in collaborazione con la galleria di New York Superhouse, l’evento THE GALLERY per presentare Super Group 2.5, una mostra di vasi e contenitori – sperimentali e non – creati da una selezione di artisti e designer.
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Ph. Giorgio Tonicello
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La vetrina comprende 50 oggetti funzionali e decorativi, tra cui vasi realizzati con materiali differenti e tecniche uniche. L’artista cileno Alberto Vitelio espone per l’occasione un vaso in resina a forma del caratteristico tacco a piramide di The Attico. Alcune opere parlano dell’eredità degli artisti, come la versione contemporanea del tulipiere dello Studio olandese Fabius Clovis o l’anfora tropicale dal manico di serpente di Fernanda Uribe-Horta. Altri hanno esplorato forma e materiale, come il porta fazzoletti trompe l’oeil di Ellen Pong, o il vaso in alluminio di TipStudio.
Gli altri artisti e deigner partecipanti erano: Aaron Blendowski, Alexis Nunnelly, Anna Aagaard Jensen, Atelier Duyi Han, Braxton Congrove, BVAR, Charles-Antoine Chappuis, Chen Chen & Kai Williams, Emily MacCloud, Forma Rosa Studio, Hannah Bigeleisen, Isabel Rower, Jolie Ngo, Leo Maher, Lindsey Lou Howard, Luca Casillo, Lukas Milanak, Malwina Kleparska, Martina Guandalini, Melly Lym, Nancy Green, Nicholas Devlin, Oliver-Selim Boualam, Olivia Vigo, Parasite 2.0, Robert Mateusz Marciniak, Salomé Sperling, Sarah Burns, Sarah Roseman, Savvas Laz, Sean Gerstley, Stefania Ruggiero, Steven Bukowski, studio, Studio Enzo Zak Lux, Studio Gert Wessels, Studio Noon, Studio Teun Zwets, Thomas Barger, Tiantian Lou, touche-touche, UAUPROJECT, Uchronia.
Super Group 2.5 segna la prima mostra di The Attico sotto THE GALLERY. Per maggiori informazioni sui prodotti visitate il sito ufficiale di Superhouse e seguite la galleria su Instagram! Cover image, ph. Giorgio Tonicello
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Ph. Giorgio Tonicello
Ph. Giorgio Tonicello
Ph. Giorgio Tonicello
Ph. Giorgio Tonicello
Ph. Giorgio Tonicello
ValArch ateliér team define themselves as “a bunch of architects who want to reduce the concentration of collars, ties and pointy shoes in the field of architecture”. One of their latest projects is House for a Photographer, built in the Premek area, Czech Republic, a land on the border between the third and fourth zones of the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area.
As the ateliér explains, creating a delicate transition between the existing socialist buildings and the pristine meadows was not easy. The new construction is therefore inspired by the elements already present, the urban layout, in particular the street line, and the surroundings, with their gentle hills. The L-shaped volume incorporates these elements and its height is given by the surrounding lawn.
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The ground floor layout is divided into a common entrance area, serving the needs of the family, with a kitchen, dining and living room – but also an outdoor garden. A separate wing leads to a bathroom and a bedroom. From the common area, a minimal staircase leads to the upper floor, divided in half. One part is the photographic studio with an access to the green area of the roof, while the other is the kingdom of children.
“A parking bay is created at the entrance to compensate for the first height difference of the plot and to create a sense of privacy by separating the private part with a semi-private front space. The absence of fencing and gates again refers to the surrounding meadows and the wild Wallachian landscape…”
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House 2 is a house located in Porto, Portugal, designed by Ricardo Bak Gordon, founder of the homonymous studio, already present on WeVux with Casa Azul.
For House 2, its new structure works as a kind of annex building or garden pavilion. Located at the far end of the property, its communal space is a generous double-height winter garden, which ensures the transition between the intimacy of the rooms and the outdoor space.
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The bedrooms, with a trapezoidal floor plan, expand to the outside and guarantee maximum comfort though the carpeted floor, walls covered in tadelakt and custom-made venetian terrazzo elements which make up the bathroom spaces. The kitchen and the library are directly connected to the paths of the house and characterized by their thermally modified wooden cabinets that contrasts with the tadelakt finished walls and the concrete pavement. Built entirely in pigmented deactivated exposed concrete, and with oxidized brass frames, the structure volume rests on the ground with a specific geometry, committed to the multiple environments that gravitate around it. Outside, the garden and a granitic swimming pool.
Photography by Francisco Nogueira
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House 2 è una casa situata a Porto, Portogallo, progettata da Ricardo Bak Gordon, fondatore dell’omonimo studio, già presente su WeVux con Casa Azul.
Per House 2, la nuova struttura è stata costruita come complemento di una casa pre-esistente, che risale alla fine del XIX secolo, funzionando come una sorta di edificio annesso o padiglione. Situato all’estremità della proprietà, il suo spazio comune è un generoso giardino d’inverno a doppia altezza, che assicura il passaggio tra l’intimità delle stanze private e lo spazio esterno.
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Le camere da letto, con pianta trapezoidale, si espandono verso l’esterno e garantiscono il massimo comfort attraverso il pavimento in moquette, le pareti rivestite in tadelakt e gli elementi in terrazzo veneziano su misura che compongono gli spazi del bagno. La cucina e la biblioteca sono direttamente collegate ai percorsi della casa e caratterizzate dai loro armadi in legno termicamente modificati che contrastano con le pareti rifinite in tadelakt e il pavimento in cemento. Costruito interamente in calcestruzzo a vista, e con telai in ottone ossidato, il volume dell’edificio poggia a terra con una geometria specifica, modellato dai molteplici ambienti che gravitano attorno ad esso. All’esterno il giardino e la piscina, contornata da una pavimentazione in granito.
Fotografia di Francisco Nogueira
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Haarlem House is a three-story dwelling located in Amsterdam, in the wonderful green district of Haarlem, and designed by Unknown Architects. The house has been completely refurbished and extended in close collaboration with the clients. The original layout consists of a narrow and wide area: the first houses the entrance, the staircase, and the kitchen, while the other the living room and the dining room, connected by an internal decorated door. The project proposal is the result of an in-depth study of the different layouts in relation to the program and their relationship with the garden.
The ground floor plan is conceived as a collection of connected rooms with different sizes and shapes. The spaces can be perceived differently according to the point of view: from a certain area, the house might be perceived as a collection of rooms, while from another angle it can seem to be a singular large space with a central column. In the flooring of the ground floor, the original division between “service” and living is still visible. Colorful tiling that matches the tones of the original terrazzo entrance floor is used in the hall and kitchen. In the living, dining, and garden room an aged timber floor is used. The color palette of the floors and walls is developed together with the clients and not only draws inspiration from the original stained glass in the sliding doors on the ground floor but is also in harmony with their furniture and art collection. The first floor is arranged around a v-shaped hallway while the top floor and roof terrace, added in the 1970s, have been refinished and redecorated.
The architects tried to keep the exterior of the extension understated. The facade is clad with charred wood in a carefully designed pattern of ribs and planks. A timber folding door connects the garden room to the terrace, while a large fixed window provides a view of the garden from the entrance and kitchen.
Haarlem House è una casa a tre piani situata ad Amsterdam, nel meraviglioso quartiere verde di Haarlem, e progettata da Unknown Architects. L’abitazione è stata completamente ristrutturata ed ampliata in stretta collaborazione con i clienti. La disposizione originale degli spazi era costituita da una zona stretta e una larga: la prima ospita l’ingresso, la scala e la cucina, mentre l’altra il soggiorno e la sala da pranzo, collegate da una porta interna decorata. La proposta di progetto è il frutto di uno studio approfondito dei diversi layout in relazione al programma e al loro rapporto con il giardino.
La pianta del piano terra è concepita come un insieme di stanze comunicanti di diverse dimensioni e forme, e gli spazi possono essere percepiti diversamente da determinate angolazioni: da un certo punto di vista la casa può essere vista come un insieme di stanze, mentre da un’altra angolazione può sembrare un singolare grande spazio con una colonna centrale. Sempre al piano terra, grazie alla pavimentazione, è possibile vedere la divisione tra quelli che erano i locali di servizio e la zona abitativa. Nella sala e nella cucina sono utilizzate piastrelle colorate che si abbinano ai toni del pavimento dell’ingresso in terrazzo originale. Nel soggiorno, nella sala da pranzo e nel giardino viene utilizzato un pavimento in legno invecchiato. La tavolozza dei colori dei pavimenti e delle pareti è sviluppata insieme ai clienti e non solo trae ispirazione dalle originali vetrate delle porte scorrevoli al piano terra, ma è anche in armonia con i loro mobili e la loro collezione d’arte. Il primo piano è organizzato intorno a un corridoio a forma di V mentre l’ultimo piano e la terrazza sul tetto, aggiunti negli anni ’70, sono stati rifiniti e ridecorati.
Gli architetti hanno cercato di mantenere la facciata sobria rivestendola di legno carbonizzato, con un pattern progettato ad hoc per l’occasione. Una porta a soffietto in legno collega la sala giardino al terrazzo, mentre un’ampia finestra permette la vista del giardino dall’ingresso e dalla cucina.
n o t architects studio / Tetsushi Tominaga Architect & Associates is an architectural studio founded in 2002. The team considers it their responsibility to think about the overall landscape to the greatest extent possible. An example of this method is Weather House, a minimal residence located in Tokyo, Japan. In front of the site, there is a large park with lush greenery that serves as a walking path for people. The project takes its inspiration from the park and from the feeling of the passing of the seasons that we can experience there. Weather House is a proposal for a house with free and versatile interior spaces and a facade designed to change with the passing of the seasons, thus visually connecting with the nearby greenery.
House Hm is a minimal residence located in Osaka, Japan, designed by Hideo Arao Architects. The site is located in a residential area, on a gentle slope between the Funahashi and Hotani rivers, which flow through Hirakata. Due to the floods, the area is characterized by houses that have an entrance on the first floor, thus creating a difference in height between the street and the residences. While the surrounding houses are being rebuilt and the scenery of the city gradually changes, the studio wanted to use this difference in a proactive way and reinterpret it.
According to tradition, the house is 1.2m above the road. On the ground floor, there is an open space where we can find the living, kitchen, and dining areas. A staircase on the right side of the entrance then leads to the upper floor where there is a very minimal bedroom. The interior spaces are characterized by wood and arranged on two levels, surrounded by a roof that extends outside. This creates a continuity between interior and exterior and tries to stimulate outdoor activities, thus creating a semi-outdoor space between the street and the residence. The area is large enough to also guarantee a parking space or future function changes. The other half of the outdoor space, on the other hand, was designed as a garden: the trees at the top of the slope give privacy to the house while the covered terrace creates the perfect place to stay outside, but protected from the gaze of passers-by. The functionality of the garden then, which we often forget, is not only aesthetic but also emotional: it’s the same studio that describes how a lady, who lives in the house across the street, was sad and disappointed to see the flowers on the road, fallen during the rain.
Visit Hideo Arao Architects to learn more about House Hm and follow the studio on Instagram! Photography by Yosuke Ohtake
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House for Living in a Park is a minimal residence located in Hyogo, Japan, designed by Shuhei Goto Architects. The house faces a park visited by residents of the community and serving as an entry point to Yuzuruha Shrine. The studio decided to design the house taking inspiration from the natural elements of the context and trying to bring inside the view of the park all the way to the end of the narrow and long site, measuring 5 meters by 17.
In terms of the plan, the house is deliberately divided in the longitudinal direction, and the kitchen, bathroom, and stairs are concentrated on the west side, while the connections to the courtyard and the corridors on the east side. The volume is divided and staggered in the north-south direction, and the marginal spaces becomes an entrance and a balcony enclosed by the L-shaped wall. Verandas serve as private places, while bringing in natural light and winds at the same time. In terms of section, spaces are composed in such a way that one can have views not only of the interior but also towards the park outside and the backyard.
In terms of structure, the studio chose a conventional wood post and beam structure that conveys a sense of lightness and resonates with rows of tree trunks in the park. Moreover, to ensure the best possible experience, the floor levels have been adjusted so that it can ensure the best possible view of the lush greenery. To find out more about House for Living in a Park, visit Shuhei Goto Architects‘ page! Photography by 長谷川健太
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House for Living in a Park è una residenza situata a Hyogo, in Giappone, progettata dallo studio Shuhei Goto Architects. La casa si trova di fronte a un parco che è frequentato dai residenti della comunità e funge da punto di ingresso per la strada al Santuario Yuzuruha, meta turistica locale. Gli architetti hanno deciso di progettare la casa prendendo ispirazione proprio dagli elementi naturali del contesto e cercando di portare la vista sul parco fino alla fine dello spazio, situato su un sito stretto e lungo, di dimensioni 5 metri per 17.
In pianta, la casa è volutamente suddivisa in senso longitudinale: cucina, bagno e scale sono concentrati sul lato ovest, mentre i collegamenti al cortile e i corridoi sul lato est. Il volume è suddiviso e sfalsato in direzione nord-sud creando così degli spazi marginali che diventano un ingresso arretrato rispetto al parco e un balcone racchiuso dal muro a L. Le verande interne sono state progettate come luoghi privati, e allo stesso tempo portano luce naturale e aria negli ambienti. In termini di sezione, gli spazi sono composti in modo tale che si possa avere una vista non solo dell’interno, ma anche verso il parco esterno e il cortile.
In termini di struttura, lo studio ha scelto una soluzione convenzionale con travi e pali in legno che trasmette un senso di leggerezza e riprende le file di tronchi d’albero nel parco. Inoltre, per garantire la migliore esperienza possibile, i livelli del pavimento sono stati regolati in modo che la vista sia all’altezza della vegetazione lussureggiante. Per scoprire di più riguardo House for Living in a Park, visitate il sito di Shuhei Goto Architects. Foto di 長谷川健太
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Designed by Fránek Architects, House in Krkonoše is an example of harmony between people and nature. Its design corresponds in size to the existing building, which has been standing in this protected area since ancient times and as the only structure as far as the eye can see. The responsibility towards the circumstances and strict regulation gave an archetypal form to work with.
The building is set in a sloping terrain so that the ground floor is completely below the terrain from the northeast side. The main entrance is located on the 1st floor, from the northeast side of the building, on this floor is the main living area with kitchen and one bedroom with sanitary facilities and a studio. The entrance to the building is also possible in the basement from the southwest side, which overlooks a magnificent panorama and a swimming pool. On this level, there are three bedrooms with toilets, a laundry room, and a storage room, while on the top floor there is a library and a meditation room. All the rooms are joined by a minimal wooden ladder.
While the exterior is completely cladded with larch laths, including the roof, the interior is white and pure, even the floors. Space becomes almost a blank canvas with which the surrounding nature is enhanced. The large windows and minimal interiors amplify the beauty of the panorama, which becomes the main character. Thanks to its isolated location, House in Krkonoše allows you to live a unique experience, immersed in nature. The architectural solution is simple and clean but the project is not finished yet: in the future, this building will be integrated by another which, with the function of greenhouse and warehouse of fresh vegetables, will contain structures and technical equipment for a zero-energy solution.
Progettata dallo studio Fránek Architects, House in Krkonoše è un esempio di armonia tra uomo e natura. L’edificio sorge sulla base di quello preesistente, di cui sono state mantenute le dimensioni, si trova in quest’area protetta fin dall’antichità ed è l’unica struttura a perdita d’occhio. La responsabilità nei confronti dell’ambiente circostante e la rigida regolamentazione hanno dato una forma archetipica con cui lo studio ha iniziato a lavorare.
La casa è inserita nella natura incontaminata di Krkonoše, su un terreno in pendenza, in questo modo il piano terra è completamente al di sotto del terreno. L’ingresso principale e il vialetto sono al primo piano, nella parte alta dell’edificio, in cui si trova la zona giorno principale con cucina, una camera da letto con servizi igienici e uno studio. L’ingresso all’edificio è possibile anche nel seminterrato, dal lato sud-ovest, che affaccia su un magnifico panorama e una piscina. A questo livello ci sono tre camere da letto con servizi igienici, una lavanderia e un ripostiglio, all’ultimo piano invece c’è una biblioteca e una sala meditazione. Tutti gli ambienti sono uniti da una scala a pioli minimal in legno.
Mentre l’esterno è completamente rivestito con listelli di larice, compreso il tetto, l’interno è bianco e puro, come anche i pavimenti. Lo spazio diventa quasi una tela bianca con cui viene esaltata la natura circostante. Le grandi vetrate e gli interni minimal infatti esaltano il panorama, che diventa il protagonista. Grazie alla sua posizione isolata, House in Krkonoše permette di vivere un’esperienza unica, immersi nella natura. La soluzione architettonica è semplice e pulita ma il progetto non è ancora terminato: in futuro, questo edificio sarà integrato da un altro che, con funzione di serra e magazzino di verdure fresche, conterrà strutture e attrezzature tecniche per soluzioni a energia zero.
Visita Fránek Architects per scoprire altri progetti! Fotografia di Petr Polák
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Designed by Studio Weave for London Design Festival 2020, HotHouse is the perfect example to talk about an important issue for WeVux: the role of installations during public design events.
Studio Weave is an award-winning RIBA Chartered Architecture Practice based in London. One of their latest project, designed as part of this year’s London Design Festival 2020, is the Hothouse: a pavilion created to draw attention to rising temperatures caused by climate change. The idea behind the project is to show the types of plants that we will be able to easily grow in London gardens by 2050. The aim is to remind people of the relationship we have with nature and plants. The greenhouse-like structure is located in Redman Place near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. The structure pays homage to the area’s previous history as an edible fruit-growing hotspot. Its planting was designed by landscaper Tom Massey and includes numerous tropical plants. The seven-meters tall structure was made from a series of galvanized-steel arches that are supported by steel tension cables. Hothouse was built with no permanent foundations and was designed to be de-mountable. It will remain in Stratford for the next year before being dismantled and moved to an, as yet undetermined, permanent location. (continues)
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HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
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Although it is a project of a few months ago, I believe it’s important to share it for two reasons: it’s not a a mere decorative structure, it shares a message, important and super contemporary, and has an educational function. Events such as London Design Festival, Dutch Design Week, but above all Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone, are increasingly exploited by non-professionals to speculate. Years ago everything became design, just for marketing purposes, design became an expedient to sell any product. These are the words of Margriet Vollenberg, Ventura Projects’ and Organisation in Design’s founder, interviewed in 2017 (here the article).
As Bruno Munari says for art, when everything is art, nothing is art, so, when everything is design, nothing is design. The clear example is Fuorisalone 2019, which we talked about here: quality is declining. On one hand the presence of horrible instagrammable installations, completely out of context. On the other, the increasingly widespread participation of fashion brands, with the best installations and exhibitions of the event – even better than those of design brands. There were few interesting and contemporary projects able to communicate a message, and not just visibility to a particular brand. This is a decline perceived by those working in the design sector: the high turnout is an important factor to prevent a company from being there and being seen. Unfortunately, however, this visibility is sought through the instagrammability of the presentation / installation, designing something with the ultimate aim of being easily published on Instagram, forgetting the message, the goal.
On the contrary, this project is an example of what we would like to see more often during those events. It makes no sense to propose only instagrammable installations for the public: once the photo is taken, interest will go to the next post or the next story. In this case the pavilion has an educational function and that is to raise the user’s awareness on climate changes. The pandemic and the quarantine help us to understand (at least theoretically) that our previous normalcy is no longer sustainable, that we need to restore value to authenticity, as Giorgio Armani wrote in his letter to WWD. The possibility of designing installations and interventions during events such as Fuorisalone should be used to entertain, as well as to educate and raise awareness on contemporary issues.
During next Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone, moved to September 2021, there will certainly be some novelties – I hope not another immersive installation to get some likes. This crisis is a challenge for design companies: they need to rethink how to create, how to present themselves and how to entertain, but they must do it in a critic way, above all thinking of the context in which they are operating. Therefore, I hope in September 2021 to be able to see again some of the quality that has characterized Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone and which has been almost completely lost over the last few years.
As mentioned in the introduction, HotHouse project is one of the many examples that I could cite, another one is Living Nature, Fuorisalone 2018. The pavilion, designed by Carlo Ratti Associati studio, had the aim of highlighting how design, creativity and innovation can integrate with nature and be reconciled with respect for the environment, control of consumption and the use of sustainable, renewable and non-polluting materials and techniques.
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HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
Living Nature, Fuorisalone 2019
Living Nature, Fuorisalone 2019
Progettata dallo Studio Weave per il London Design Festival 2020, la HotHouse è l’esempio perfetto per parlare di un tema importante per WeVux: il ruolo delle installazioni durante gli eventi pubblici di design.
Con sede a Londra, il pluripremiato Studio Weave fa parte del RIBA Chartered Architecture Practice, una selezione di studi di architettura approvati e promossi dal RIBA. Uno dei loro ultimi lavori, progettato nell’ambito del London Design Festival 2020 di quest’anno, è la Hothouse: un padiglione creato per attirare l’attenzione sull’aumento delle temperature causato dai cambiamenti climatici. L’idea alla base del progetto è quella di mostrare i tipi di piante che saremo in grado di coltivare facilmente nei giardini londinesi entro il 2050. L’obiettivo è ricordare alle persone il rapporto che abbiamo con la natura e le piante. La struttura si trova vicino al Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park a Stratford rendendo omaggio alla storia precedente della zona, in quanto area di frutticoltura. Il verde è stato progettato dal paesaggista Tom Massey e comprende numerose piante tropicali. Alta sette metri, la struttura è costituita da una serie di archi in acciaio zincato sostenuti da funi in acciaio. Hothouse è stato costruito senza fondamenta permanenti ed è stato progettato per essere smontabile. Rimarrà a Stratford per il prossimo anno prima di essere smantellato e spostato in una posizione permanente, ancora da determinare. (continua)
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HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
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Nonostante si tratti di un progetto di qualche mese fa, trovo che sia importante condividerlo per due ragioni: oltre al messaggio che vuole diffondere, importante e super contemporaneo, si tratta di un’installazione che insegna effettivamente qualcosa all’utente finale, facendolo riflettere, non una mera struttura decorativa. Eventi come il London Design Festival, la Dutch Design Week, ma soprattutto il Salone del Mobile ed il Fuorisalone, vengono sempre più sfruttati dai non addetti ai lavori per speculare. Negli ultimi anni, soprattutto per ragioni di marketing, il design è diventato la chiave per vendere, tutto è diventato design. Non lo diciamo solo noi, queste sono le parole di Margriet Vollenberg, fondatrice di Ventura Projects e Organisation in Design, intervistata nel 2017 (qui l’articolo in inglese). Come dice Bruno Munari per l’arte, quanto tutto è arte niente è arte, quindi quando tutto è design, niente è design. La dimostrazione pratica è il Fuorisalone del 2019, di cui abbiamo parlato qui: in sintesi, abbiamo notato un abbassamento della qualità generale. Da una parte la presenza di installazioni instagrammabili orribili e marchi completamente fuori luogo rispetto all’evento, dall’altra la partecipazione sempre più diffusa del mondo della moda (con installazioni e mostre di qualità superiore rispetto a quelle dei design brands). Sono stati pochi i progetti effettivamente interessanti e contemporanei, in grado di portare dei contenuti all’altezza dell’evento e non solo visibilità ad un determinato marchio. Si tratta di un declino percepito per di più dagli addetti ai lavori, proprio per la troppa attenzione verso il pubblico: l’alta affluenza è un fattore troppo importante per impedire a un’azienda di esserci e farsi vedere. Purtroppo però questa visibilità viene cercata attraverso l’instagrammabilità della presentazione/installazione, progettando qualcosa con il fine ultimo di essere facilmente pubblicato sui social, dimenticando il messaggio, l’obiettivo.
Al contrario, questo progetto è l’esempio di ciò che vorremmo vedere più spesso durante questi eventi. Non ha senso proporre solo l’installazione instagrammabile per il pubblico: una volta scattata la foto, l’interesse andrà sul prossimo post o sulla prossima storia da condividere. In questo caso il padiglione ha una funzione formativa, sensibilizza l’utente e porta un messaggio forte, in una forma estetica piacevole e sì, anche instagrammabile. La pandemia e la quarantena ci hanno fatto capire (almeno teoricamente) che la normalità che seguivamo non è più sostenibile, che bisogna ridare valore all’autenticità e smetterla con i giochi di comunicazione, come scriveva Giorgio Armani nella sua lettera a WWD. La possibilità di creare installazioni e interventi di design urbani durante eventi come il Fuorisalone dovrebbe essere sfruttata per formare e sensibilizzare l’utente oltre che intrattenerlo.
Durante il prossimo Salone del Mobile e Fuorisalone, spostato a Settembre 2021, ci sarà sicuramente qualche novità, ma speriamo che non sia l’ennesima installazione immersiva da condividere solo per ottenere like. Questa crisi è una sfida per le aziende del settore: c’è bisogno di ripensare a come creare, come presentarsi e come intrattenere, ma bisogna farlo in maniera critica, pensando soprattutto al contesto in cui ci troviamo. Speriamo quindi a Settembre 2021 di poter ritrovare un po’ della qualità che ha caratterizzato Salone del Mobile e Fuorisalone e che nel corso degli ultimi hanni si è quasi completamente persa.
Come detto nell’introduzione, il progetto HotHouse è uno dei tanti esempi che potevo citare, un altro è Living Nature, Fuorisalone 2018. Il padiglione, progettato dallo studio Carlo Ratti Associati, aveva come scopo quello dimettere in luce come il design, la creatività e l’innovazione possano integrarsi con la natura e conciliarsi con il rispetto dell’ambiente, il controllo dei consumi e l’impiego di materiali e tecniche sostenibili, rinnovabili e non inquinanti.
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HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
HotHouse, Studio Weave. LDF 2020
Living Nature, Fuorisalone 2019
Living Nature, Fuorisalone 2019
Design student Eliza Hague has created a concept for inflatable greenhouses made from shellac-coated bamboo paper to help residents of Jaipur, India, grow their own food. The University of Westminster student has developed a low-cost paper-like material from bamboo pulp as a sustainable and local alternative to the polyethylene plastic sheeting typically used for polytunnels.
“Meat consumption globally is ever increasing, especially in countries that are experiencing rapid increases in wealth such as India… Despite its population consisting of 337 million vegetarians, 71 per cent of people living in India have a meat-based diet.” As the designer explained, the amount of land required to farm meat is far more than that needed to produce vegetarian food, with even less space is required for greenhouse-grown crops. “If everyone on earth had this diet, we would need at least two planet earths to feed us all,” she added.
The most popular greenhouse covering material in India, however, is polyethylene sheeting, which needs replacing annually and thus results in a large amount of plastic waste. Drawn to its cheap, lightweight and translucent properties, Hague begun experimenting with different forms of paper as an appropriate cladding for greenhouses. She landed on the sustainably sourced and locally manufactured material of bamboo to make the paper. She covered it in a coating made from shellac – a natural resin extracted trees – to make it more durable and weather-resistant. The designer then secured multiple sheets of the bamboo paper together and folded it like origami to create hollow forms.
These beams can be collapsed and transported flat to the selected site where they can then be inflated with air to form the main structure of the greenhouses, before being clad in a flat form of the same material. Smaller versions of the main origami modules would act as infill beams to hold the structure up. Alternatively, bamboo sticks could be used to provide further reinforcement. Black solar balloons would sit between the infill beams and the cladding to act as hinges for “fin-like” sections of the bamboo paper. These would expand and contract in reaction to the heat of the sun, creating an opening in the greenhouse facade for ventilation.
Hague envisions rows of these bamboo-paper greenhouses being connected to shared houses constructed from soil, which has a high thermal mass, providing shelter from Jaipur’s extreme temperatures. These would be shared by multiple families and would provide each family member with enough food to be self-sufficient, creating communal “greenhouse villages” in the city’s more rural and isolated areas. As each individual requires 40 sqm of greenhouse space to grow enough food to maintain self-sufficiency, the designer has created different potential typologies based on two-person, three-person and four-person homes.
Hague hopes that her project could encourage communities in the city of Jaipur to grow their own food in favor of a more self-sufficient, plant-based diet, which would ease the growing demand for “destructive” meat-based farming.
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House in Oyamazaki is a minimal residence located in Kyoto, Japan, designed by Atelier Loöwe and Shimpei Oda Architect Office. The project is a renovation of a reinforced concrete terraced house built in 1968. In 1966, this residential area was established and the construction began. In the following 10 years, a variety of terraced houses was build. This residential area played a major role in the development of Oyamazaki; nowadays many of the buildings have undergone repeated renovations to gain extra floor areas.
Over the time, this house had a series of ambiguous rooms and corridors added to the original plan, resulting in the rooms in the center to become dark without natural light. Reinforced concrete buildings often have structural load-bearing walls, which are difficult to remove, the same applies to this house. Therefore, the load-bearing walls was left, and it was decided to work with and take advantage of the inherent migratory nature.
Photography by Norihito Yamauchi
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Based in Melbourne, CJH Studiois an interior architecture practice, led by director Cassie James-Herrick. Cassie has over 13 years of experience in the industry, working as a Senior Associate at a prominent interior architecture practice before establishing CJH Studio in 2017. One of the studio latest projects is Penthouse M, a stunning beachfront dwelling located on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
The home is a renovation of an existing apartment, structured on two levels. The first is overtaken by a great room, with kitchen and dining areas, and an offset living room. On the second floor there are the private areas, bedrooms and baths. A dramatic, gravity-defying staircase connects the two levels. Penthouse M is plenty of curvilinear details, inspired by the beach and by the softness that sea and sand can influence in a design.
Spaces are characterized by light travertine floors and wood. The white walls and black-framed windows cover the entire Penthouse. A curated selection of furnishings meld gracefully into their surroundings, with creamy fabrics and plentiful pillows.
Photography Cathy Schusler
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Completed in 2018, Yomogidai House is a minimal residence located in Nagoya, Japan, designed by Uno Tomoaki Architects. It took about a year for the site to meet the client’s requirements – a middle-aged single man with a future marriage planned.
Located about 20 minutes east of Nagoya by car, the site was a gentle slope with a frontage of 8m and a depth of 28m. The architects decided to make it elaborate and elegant as requested by the client. In the end, they took the hint of the Japanese architectural shrine and proceeded with the plan. The studio was able to incorporate all the elements into thin pillars and beams and deliver them rationally.
Photography by Ben Hosking
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Designed by Nendo team, Stairway House is a two-family newly constructed home in Shinjuku, a quiet residential area of Tokyo.
With other houses and apartment buildings pressing around the site, the architectural volume was pushed to the north to take in daylight, ventilation, and greenery of the yard into the living environment by a large glass front southern façade. Considering the potential difficulties of going up and down the stairs, the rooms for the older couple were arranged on the 1st floor. The eight cats living with them roam in and outdoors more freely, and encourages the mother to enjoy her hobby of gardening more freely. The younger couple and their child reside on the 2nd and 3rd floors. To avoid the two households being completely separated at the top and bottom, Nendo team introduced a “stairway-like” structure in the south yard, which continues upward into the building and penetrates the 1st through 3rd floors. Enclosed inside the “stairway” are functional elements, such as bathrooms and a staircase for actual use, with the upper part taking on the look of a semi-outdoor greenhouse with abundant greenery as well as a sun-soaked perch for the cats to enjoy climbing.
The stairway and greenery gently connect the upper and lower floors along a diagonal line, creating a space where all three generations could take comfort in each other’s subtle presence. Not only does the stairway connect the interior to the yard, or bond one household to another, this structure aims to expand further out to join the environment and the city — connecting the road that extends southward on the ground level, and out into skylight through the toplight.
Visit Nendo to know more about the project! Photography by Takumi Ota
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Founded by Ben Ridley in 2009, Architecture for London is a collaborative, innovative, informed and aspirational studio, which aim is to improve people’s lives by reimagining the city in which we work, live and play. Environmental impact is a key consideration in their work: they take a research-based, fabric first approach to sustainability that carefully considers the embodied energy of materials and the energy performance of our buildings in use. One of their project is the refurbishment and two-storey extension to a house in Brook Green.
The lower ground floor previously suffered from low ceiling heights, poor natural light and convoluted access from the floor above. The aim was to create a generous volume for living and entertaining. A timber stair now descends through a newly created double height space to form a dramatic entrance. The entire lower ground floor is finished in end-grain parquet blocks. Full-width timber framed sliding doors lead to the garden, which is newly landscaped in Portland Roach stone. A master suite is created over the first floor, with a generous dressing room and ensuite bathroom. Full height doors and cupboards celebrate the high ceilings at this level. Douglas fir joinery is used throughout the house to create a consistent colour palette, yet with subtly contrasting timber cut and grain varieties.
Previously on WeVux with his River House, Alexis Dornier designed a collection of treehouses in the hills of Bali that combine a tropical environment and an industrial style. Built for the LIFT Treetop Boutique Hotel, the structures have a thatched roof that rests on solid metal frames.
What started as an experience has turned into a revolutionary, innovative and more sustainable real estate style. It is not only profitable, but also leaves a minimal footprint on the precious environment of Bali. The tree houses blend into the environment with spiral staircases and metal stilts. Each has a bedroom and a bathroom with a balcony and large windows offering views of the surrounding jungle. Some even have a roof terrace.
Due to the proximity of the home to its neighbors, the architects took advantage of the alley garden concept in which vegetation was used to provide privacy to the residents. Trees and plants serve as visual obstructions from the neighboring homes, and provide beauty otherwise seen in internal courtyards. As the result, the home is able to utilize larger glazings to allow for more abundant natural light to enter during the day. Double-heigh ceilings further promote overall flow of air and light throughout the interior.
If you like this project in Ikegami, visit Ship Architecture to discover more! Photography by Takumi Ota
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Previously on WeVux with Jungalow House, NEOGENESIS+STUDI0261 is an architecture firm founded by three principal architects – Chinmay Laiwala, Jigar Asarawala and Tarika Asarawala – in 2011 in Surat, Gujarat, India. The studio is a dynamic and evolving practice with a commitment to the inherent value of design to enhance the quality of life at all levels of exposure. In all of their works, they strive to create an authentic “sense of place”, as in one of their latest projects, Sarpanch House.
Located in a small village called Talangpore, this iconic and introvert house is designed keeping in mind the profession of the dweller: the head of the family is Sarpanch (head) of the village, therefore he asked for two simple requirements, an elevated structure and privacy. The context of the house is very rural, on one hand the plot shares a common wall with cow shed, on the other with an open ground for pasture. The house structure is created through cubes and powder coated wood finished aluminum pipes as screen. These add to the overall massing without compromising view and ventilation. These masses articulate the functions of the house while creating a volumetric elevation.
On the ground floor the organization of spaces revolves around the central courtyard, connecting the living room to the office space on the level above. Standing in front of the main gate, there is a spiral staircase which shape creates contrast with the surroundings. Contemporary needs and rural context helped to frame the color palette of Sarpanch house. Earthy tones and exquisite furniture intermingles to create a unique outlook.
Giant House in Oiso is a minimalist residence located in Kanagawa, Japan, designed by Fumiko Takahama Architects. This is a dwelling for young couples in a residential area just off the sea in Oiso Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. The studio wanted to propose a house where the client can fully experience the “size” of the site, big enough for two couples.
First, instead of the general northern approach road – parking area – full frontage volume – south facing garden, with a long and narrow volume, the studio used the width of the site. In addition, because it is at the end of a T-junction road, the volume is moved to the east, creating a gap to prevent the flow of air and wind, pulling the road and extending the contact point with the city. Visit Fumiko Takahama Architects to know more about the project!
Photography by Takumi Ota
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Alexis Dornier studied architecture at the Berlin University of the Arts after which he relocated to New York City to work as an architectural designer for Asymptote Architecture, OMA-NY and Rex between 2004-2007. In 2013 he decided to leave his western life behind and relocate to Ubud Bali where he began consulting on locally designed and built architectural projects. What began as architectural consultancy quickly evolved into independent project designs. Dornier is now based in Ubud, working both locally and internationally on a mixture of residential and commercial projects.
One of his latest project is the River House, a five bedroom residential home located in Pererenan, Bali. Private spaces are grouped into a cubistic volume that seemingly hovers above the living rooms and the garden. An expansive pool forms a strong vector into the adjacent rice field – a graphic juxtaposition to the first floor’s horizontal configuration.
The continuation of Bali’s beautiful landscape into the inside of the building is one of the key for the River House design: the studio embedded the existing topography and used it as the over-arching feature for a three dimensional experience. Different passages, walkways and spaces lead through the house.
They used reclaimed timber and locally sourced sandstone to create surfaces and textures that evoke a sense of timelessness, firmness and reference back to Bali’s vernacular building culture. A palm tree forest, banana- and bodhi trees surround the building and make it part of the silhouette consisting of rolling hills and lush rice fields. The side and front elevations of the volume are rendered by a wooden lattice. This changes the scale of the arrangement into a more abstract object, rather than a traditional home with windows.
Visit Alexis Dornier page to know more about his projects! Photography by Annyck Benth
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GRT Architects founders are “architects who studied history before design and find truth more interesting than fiction. They look for what makes each project unique and craft a response they hope to be as surprising as it is appropriate.” Rustam-Marc Mehta and Tal Schori were recently asked to renovate a four story townhouse in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historical District.
This twelve-block residential neighborhood was landmarked in 1979 and the interior of the buildings were often governed by contracts set in place by the Lefferts family that controlled heights, setbacks and façade materials. The townhouse in question was designed in 1898 by Architect William M. Miller who used an eclectic mix of Romanesque and Neo Renaissance motifs.
“The building meets the ground with a rusticated base in Indiana limestone which is also used on the parlor level to create three identical Romanesque arches. Above, limestone is used for lintels and keystones but is primarily composed of an elegant Roman-proportion brick. Windows are unique on every level, showing semicircular transoms at the parlor, a single large projecting bay supported by limestone colonettes on the second level, and asymmetrical single-hung openings with limestone spandrels at the top. The building is topped by a bracketed and festooned cornice. At some point a two-story addition was built in the rear, and in 1940, the ground floor was turned into a doctor’s office. Both modifications conspired against a way of living in the home that suited our clients’ needs. GRT was therefore hired to reconsider not just the aesthetics but the organization of the building in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historical District.
Team: Rustam Mehta, Tal Schori, Andrew Barkhouse, & Sharif Anous
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Ramboll is a leading engineering, design and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945. With 300 offices in 35 countries, Ramboll combines local experience with a global knowledge-base constantly striving to achieve inspiring and exacting solutions that make a genuine difference to their clients, the end-users, and society at large. The Template House project seeks to provide locals with a blueprint for homes that are resistant to collapse in earthquakes, but also sustainable and affordable. Applying latest digital design capabilities to naturally abundant bamboo, Ramboll is partnering with local NGO Grenzeloos Milieu and University College London (UCL) to design replicable bamboo homes for use on the earthquake prone island of Lombok and beyond. The company hopes to encourage a move away from esoteric construction methods like concrete and brickwork that can require detailed knowledge.
In 2018, Lombok was struck by several earthquakes measuring up to magnitude 7. Following the devastation, Els Houttave, founder of the Lombok based charity Grenzeloos Milieu was determined to do all she could to prevent history repeating itself, therefore she reached out to her friend Xavier Echegaray, a bridge engineer at Ramboll. He used Ramboll’s ‘Making a Difference Network’, to engage fellow engineers, and just weeks after the quakethe Ramboll Foundation funded structural engineer Marcin Dawydzik on a fact-finding mission to Lombok.
What was apparent to those familiar with the area was the abundant bamboo forests that surrounded the devastated villages. The properties of bamboo as a building material have been known for centuries. Lightweight, strong, affordable and sustainable, it could provide a solution to the island’s housing needs. Indeed, Grenzeloos Milieu’s bamboo offices had survived the quake with only minor damage to the concrete foundations.
Airhouse is a Japanese studio led by Keiichi Kiriyama. The practice offers innovative ideas for design that is contemporary but relevant across generations. For Office Building TAKIKO, the studio converted an old combined shop and residence in Nagoya’s Mizuho district into a shared office and co-working space.
Airhouse decided to further reduce the interior space by removing the original windows and constructing a new inner layer of exterior walls, thereby creating semi-enclosed terraces on each floor between the old façade and the new walls. All of the new outdoor areas contain potted plants, giving each office a lush green space. Even these small buffers between exterior and interior are enough to create a sense of distance from the city outside, making for comfortable, high-quality work spaces. The terrace plantings are equipped with automatic sprinkler systems so they can be easily maintained even when a particular office is not occupied. In order to allow occupants to either use the interior rooms or fix them up as desired, the studio intentionally limited our changes to a coat of paint over the stripped-down spaces when remodeling. They hope that Takiko will both enrich the working environment of those who use the building and serve as catalyst for neighborhood revitalization.
Photography by Toshiyuki Yano Contractor: Kikuhara
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Atelier 111 is a Czech practice focused on architectural design of residential, public and industrial buildings and, since 2006, also projects of biogas plants. In 2010 they founded the Johann Hochreiter company which soon became one of the most important suppliers of biogas plants in the Czech republic.
Started in May 2016, Family House in Jinonice is a residential project in which old and new come together. The plot is located in a narrow street, where the character of old Jinonice is still preserved. It was dominated by an abandoned house, formed by gradual addition of masses, some of which overtopped the original one. The complex of these small buildings, placed in the sloping garden, was in a very dilapidated uninhabitable state. The new design preserves only the oldest part made out of stones oriented towards the street and uses it as an entry to the main living floor in the two new masses. The tallest part is dedicated to the children. All of the living areas, including children’s bedrooms, have a direct connection to the sunlit sloping garden, which is shielded from the street by the mass of the house.
The old and the new part are visually unified by the color of the stucco plaster and by beaver tail ceramic tiles on the roof. The age of the individual parts is revealed by the detail, the original morphology is in a light contrast with the contemporary minimalist form.
Visit Atelier 111 to know more about the project! Photography by BoysPlayNice
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Based in Birmingham, BPN Architects was founded in 1996. The 3 directors brought together a team “who enjoy working on projects that define our towns and cities, adding to the vitality and diversity of a place.”
Located in Moreton Paddox, one of their latest project is Ghost House. The small, unique rural settlement in Warwickshire is now known for its ambitious contemporary architecture. Many of the original plots and properties have been cutting edge at the time of construction. The site of Ghost House sits at the end of the former main drive and is partially sunken into the ground and bounded on three sides by retaining walls.
“At paragraph 55 of the NPPF, the guidance advised local planning authorities that they should avoid new isolated homes in the countryside unless there are ‘special circumstances’. One such special circumstance (at bullet point 4) is the exceptional quality or innovative nature of the design of the dwelling…” Hughes Planning
The consented scheme by Baynes & Co. passed these tests and the client felt that there was scope to push the design further. Therefore, the studio made a number of aesthetic refinements to the house to improve its visual appearance and interior design. In order to be truly exceptional they developed the design of Ghost House to be constructed entirely from in-situ concrete which is exposed on all internal and external walls. Experienced Structural Engineers, Design2e and Webb Yates were commissioned to undertake the concrete design and detailing.
T House is a 2017 project by Vietnamese architecture studio Kientruc O – previously on WeVux. The studio renovated the old house in Ho Chi Minh City, transforming it into a house restaurant.
Kientruc O redesigned the 161-square-metre building to connect the house with the garden and to provide a dining area for customers. Plant fronds press up against abstract geometric pattern of alternating frosted, clear and channelled glass panels, with branches poking through frames left empty. The walls of the building that face the planted areas are glazed in a corresponding pattern, but with only clear glass panels. The grid design provides interest for passerbys while the property remains screened by the frosted glass and leaves. On the other side of the wall residents and customers have unimpeded views of the greenery. “Our focus when shaping this space was to create an environment that provoke emotional interactions with the architecture,” said studio founder Đàm Vũ. “The concept embodied the free and limitless character of space resulting in a humble and provocative sense of spatial purposes hinting toward the center of architecture being the subtle personal connection between the occupants, planters, furniture, and the garden”.
Dark wooden dining tables and chairs placed in front of the windows look out in to the leafy garden. The curved garden wall screens a decked area with more seating, surrounded by vegetation on all sides. The interior and exterior have all been painted a uniform white, providing a minimalist blank canvas for the dark wood furniture and plants. A curved staircase leads up to the second floor with a cutaway forming a balcony overlooking the ground floor and the garden. A large table for group dining occupies the main space, a double height volume that opens to the underside of the original gabled roof.
eklund_terbeek is a broadly oriented architectural practice, directed by co-founders Jenny Eklund and Dominique ter Beek. From its base in Rotterdam eklund_terbeek works in architecture on every scale – from strategic urban planning to buildings, interiors and furniture design. One of their latest project is the Gym House:
located in the gymnastics building of an early 20th century school complex in Rotterdam North, the dwelling, for a family of four, consists of the ground floor gym room and an adjacent hallway and storage zone. Starting point for the design was the limitations of the site in terms of light and privacy, and the exceptional dimensions of the main space. The ceiling height of more than five meters offered possibilities for adding new intermediate floors and more intimate areas.
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The spatial organization is largely determined by the decision to situate the main living area by the large front façade windows, while at the same time realizing a direct connection to the garden through a series of new openings and placing bedrooms where it was possible to add windows. A closed box containing the individual private spaces is placed in the double height space. Interior elements, such as the oversized floating stair and wall panels in oak wood provide warmth and a sense of continuity. The long kitchen island with its white carrara marble countertop adds subtle shades of white and light grey. Upstairs in the master bedroom, the oak floor is complemented by the travertine marble in the en suite bathroom.
The extraordinary dimensions of the space required a few large gestures. The original loadbearing beams have been exaggerated in size, and together with the balcony, the podium and the kitchen island they form a dynamic composition of horizontal elements that tie the different parts of the dwelling together, emphasize sightlines and encourage movement through the space.
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Photography by René de Wit
House in Sonobe is a minimalist residence located in Kyoto, Japan, designed byTato Architects(previously on WeVux). The region has a slightly cool, wet climate, and looking at the other houses in the surroundings, you can see that many of them feature lean-to-sheds designed as small sunrooms which were made by enclosing their back entrance or veranda with corrugated polycarbonate panels.
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These so-called ‘terrace enclosures’ were used as inspiration by the studio for the materials and functions of the sunroom. The team also incorporated a wide-eaved terrace and other semi-outdoor spaces into the interior of the house.
Regarding the volume of the house, Yo Shimada, from Tato Architects, used a simple square grid and its diagonal to create different spaces such as one that is intimately sized, and another containing a spacious void. To each of these, semi-outdoor spaces are attached. The wall of the sunroom is made from a large hanging door which can slide open to turn the space into an outdoor area, or enclose the second floor space under the eaves into an indoor area. On the south side of the site, the studio followed the example of the neighborhood lean-to sheds and provided an alcove and storage space. The interior is finished using Moiss material which catches light and regulates humidity. Glass inserted at the boundary alternately reflects and permeates light. Like facets of a crystal, this house embodies a variety of interior scenery intermixed with landscapes from both near and far.
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Photos by Shinkenchiku Sha
Mjölk architects is a Czech architecture practice founded by Jan Mach, Jan Vondrák and Lukáš Holub. One of their latest project is The Wallhouse:
The lot borders a busy road which serves as a starting point for tourists heading to the Jizera Mountains. For this reason the studio designed a new concrete wall in place of the former exterior wall of the old house. This will not only decrease the amount of noise from the nearby road but also define the outside entrance area to the house. Behind the wall is a small yard with a view of Ještěd, which serves as a guidepost between the entrance, the guest house and the stairs to the yard below. On the old stone foundation behind the concrete wall are actually two houses; a family house and a small guest house for a young sailor, the clients’ son, who spends most of the year at the helm of transatlantic ships.
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The parents’ house is more complicated as its building design had to encompass the needs of three different people – a friendly couple and their daughter. The wooden addition above the basement ceiling consists of bedrooms, an office, a bathroom with a toilet and an outdoor yard with a sauna. Sauna therapy is a pleasant variation during the harsh northern winters. The living space of the house is defined by large windows on both sides. A couple of steps lower is a living room stairhead with a fireplace and a wide staircase to the kitchen and dining room which are connected to the patio. The rest of the basement is used as a utility room and storage space.
For the interior there are many custom-made elements. In the bathrooms you can find water taps, some of which were replaced with copper pipes and garden taps. In the bedroom there are wardrobes hanging from the ceiling so that they don’t take up so much space and keep the bedroom, walk-in closet and bathroom interconnected. The kitchen counter was designed in a way that retained the former granite blocks from which the lower part of the house was built.
A House is a minimalist residence located in Aichi, Japan, designed by Naoya Kitamura. The house is for a couple and their two children and the studio wanted to give them an open and welcoming environment.
The site is located on a quiet street, a block away from the main road. From the outside, the house stands out because of its height (almost a level lower than its neighbors), and its shape: a box made of sheet metal, cold, simple, without any kind of decoration.
The interior is a surprise, a warming forest created by the structure, loosely divided by a series of wooden pillars that allow the residents to adapt to future layouts. Visit Naoya Kitamura’s page to see more about A House!
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Photography by Takumi Ota + Naoya Kitamura
BETA.Ø is an award-winning architecture firm based in Madrid which develops its professional activity in architecture, urban planning, landscape and design. One of their latest project, U.Ø house, raised the question of how to generate a domestic space in the area of the existing dwelling to extend and optimize the possible uses for each space by its current residents.
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Therefore, open, flexible spaces were generated to allow natural light to enter the home, enabling easy reconfiguration of spaces through the use of lightweight partitions that act as necessary filters. This means the spaces can be divided up as the user needs during the day, while also generating visual fluidity. The space is designed as a flexible setting, in which the user can choose the various corners where domestic life takes place within an environment where the light and the selected finishes have the capacity to generate a homogeneous, warm domestic atmosphere.
All the areas that make up the home’s daytime layout, such as the lounge area, the dining room itself or even the kitchen area, can be converted into meeting areas, office or study, allowing them to be made independent of the rest of the layout, always ensuring appropriate conditions of comfort in line with their use.
Frama Studio operates in various creative fields and directions from furniture, lighting, apothecary, books, apparel and kitchens. They all have in common that they focus on natural materials, simple geometry and a general appreciation of permanency.
The Stable House is one of a few preserved villas in Copenhagen. The building originally functioned as stables for the horses that carried water from the lakes, and the protected facade was created in 1878 by Georg Møller. Frama Studio has completed the residential project, with a series of stylish details included pivoting brass shutters, a terrazzo floor and a custom-made bed wrapped in solid Douglas fir. The result is a light, warm yet minimalistic feel where every detail of the custom-made furnishings and interior has been thought through.
tote Architects is a design and architecture practice from Japan, and one of their latest project is House in Kofu , a minimalist residence located in Yamanashi, Japan.
For this project the architects wanted to frame Mt. Fuji using a series of sliding door partitions that opens up the main living area to the outside. The interior are characterized by the use of wood, which gives a sense of warm and hospitality. The home has two different rooftop balconies that provide visual access to Mt. Fuji.
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Photography by Noriyuki Yano
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House of Movement is an installation, part of the exhibition ESCHER X NENDO | Between Two Worlds, at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. A groundbreaking exhibition that features the work of Dutch artist M. C. Escher in dialogue with the work of Nendo. The exhibition featured 157 of Escher’s pieces, with the space and objects created by the Japanese studio and inspired by the Dutch artist.
House of movement incorporates a house motif with an animation by Alistair Moncur, projection mapped directly onto a geometric, tile-like base. A two-dimensional house becomes a pattern, and with the use of lights and shadows, the pattern comes to life, in a three-dimensional relief. Inspiration was taken from Escher’s works as he investigated the perfect geometry of crystals and Platonic solids. In the same way Escher expressed the tension between order and chaos, these houses express a state of flux between 2d and 3d. By creating digital optical illusions, the animation changes the depth, layout and colour of the base and creates new movements that exist between the accurate physical dimension and the limitless digital world.
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Credits:
Client: National Gallery of Victoria Production: nendo Creative Director: Oki Sato Art Director: Alistair Moncur Curators: Hadar Gorelik & Hsieh Hui-Hsi Animation: Alistair Moncur
You can visit the exhibition every day from 10am to 5pm, until April 7!
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One Of A Kind Architects (OOAK) is a Stockholm based architecture studio run by Marie Kojzar, Maria Papafigou and Johan Annerhed – Maria and Johan previously ran paan architects in Athens. Since 2015 the studio has been working on Patio House, a concrete home that cantilevers out over a rocky cliff edge, in Karpathos.
“The sparse, untamed, and dramatic local landscape was the starting point for this project”, explains the firm, “the house is introduced as a foreign object enhancing the site’s unique and rough character”.
Due to the house elevated position, strong winds were an issue, so, in order to have a usable outdoor space, the living areas were designed to surround a sheltered patio. “The open and enclosed spaces interchange to enhance the experience of the house and its surrounding landscape”.
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In a newly developed residential area in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese firm G+ Architects has designed ANHS House, a three-storey residential home built on a narrow plot of land that offers a proficient solution to a lack of space:
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Situated on 43 square meters of land, ANHS House is comfortable thanks to its logical layout: the functional areas are clearly distinguished, ensuring separation where necessary for differing family activities. Multiple skylights exist throughout the property to facilitate light exposure. Due to its position beside a canal and the warm climate of the city, the property faced a unique problem whereby it required both airflow and protection from insects.
“The combination of ventilation tiles and insect-proof mesh is a membrane protection”, explain the architects, “like a huge mosquito net covering the inner [spaces]”. G+ Architects
Yet the most striking feature of the house is its exterior facade. Eight staggered concrete beams with brick detailing give the house front multiple uses; functioning as an external balcony, and a tiered internal area.
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Dash Marshall is a multi-disciplinary design studio that recenlty completed the project “House for Grandparents”:
Dash Marshall says about the project: “For a pair of empty nesters who are often visited by their kids and grandchildren, we were asked to do two things. First, to rationalize the floor plan to make it better for entertaining. Second, to “just make it new already arghhhhh! An existing 30-yr old farmhouse was used as an exterior shell and the interior was renovated like Theseus’ ship, piece by piece, until it was totally new.”
The studio started with the rituals. Arriving, cooking, eating, lounging, celebrating, bathing, sleeping. After analyzing each and discussing the residents, they designed specific responses. The architectural language developed by Dash Marshall pays its respects to the Missions of California, the vernacular metalwork of central coast farms, and Aalto’s use of wood, warm and crisp. A mixture of fir, white oak, and walnut are used to add richness to reductive forms.
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K-House is a minimalist residence located in Fujisawa, Japan, designed by Ushijima Architects. The project is a wooden two-story house for four people located about 1 kilometer from the shore of Shonan. By integrating small buildings into a larger building, the designers incorporated the atmosphere of the surrounding residential areas. By connecting the space with a big volume on the skip floor, the architects created a family connection. Brace and pillars not only conveyed the horizontal array of the floor, but also created a connection and enclosure by gently dividing the space.
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Photography by Kengaku Tomooki
Via leibal
In 2005, Joan Arnau and Carme Muñoz founded 05AM Arquitectura in Girona, Spain. The studio has carried out projects both for public administration, public competitions and private commissions, with a vast experience in the latest one, either in interior renovations or new constructions. Casa a Tamariu is their latest project:
“On a highly sloped plot with the access on the upper side, we designed a compact house in contact with the street and the north side of the plot, freeing spaces on the south side. In order to get the best views, the volume spins its direction looking for the seaside front.”
The resulting house responds to the two main features of the plot: the perspectives on the sea and the hill slope. The final volume is a solution that improves the interior spaces and their exposure to the sun. The living areas of the house are disposed around the fireplace, creating a sequence of double-height spaces oriented to south, bringing sunlight inside the house. Next to the dining room there is a nice outdoor space protected by a sunshade that fosters its outdoor life. In the bisecting line of the two main volumes we placed a spiral staircase that incorporates intermediate slabs of generous dimensions that becomes part of the programme. On the lower floor, the arrival of the stairs is used as a multi-purpose space with an outdoor exit.
Al Borde Arquitectos was founded by Pascual Gangotena, David Barragán, Marialuisa Borja and Esteban Benavides on May 2007. Its headquarters is at 2800 m.a.s.l. in Quito-Ecuador. “Al Borde faces the practice from its multiple complexities and finds the gaps in the system to operate… Their way of thinking has been developed on daily basis with hands on work. They are quite far off from theory and highly attached to the local reality. Their projects are always seeking to enhance local development and have a high component of social innovation”.
Located in La Esperanza, Ecuador, within a deteriorated historic property, the 18th-century home has been renovated by Ecuadorian firm Al Borde Arquitectos.
“At first sight the house gave the impression of not being useful at all,” Al Borde said. “It had only one-floor plan, the brick floor was broken, the 80 square meters were dark and cold, and the wood roof structure was rotten.”
To rehabilitate the home, structural walls were reinforced, rammed-earth surfaces were treated, and doors and windows were updated. Walls were painted white with polished concrete on the ground floor to update the interiors.
The peculiarity of the house are the bedrooms: preserving the open-plan layout of the main ground floor space and taking advantage of the double-height ceiling, the architects suspended the home’s three beds from the ceiling. The access is a wooden staircase with angled treads, which leads to a deck-like platform without any handrails. Three separate stairs then rise into the individual sleeping nooks, which are also built from wood, and incorporate storage areas for clothes and shoes. To enable this configuration, the ceiling had to be redesigned with an upper bond beam and eucalyptus trusses installed every 1.55 metres. The bedrooms sit between the trusses, which are visible from the space below.
Architect Seppo Mäntylä is specialized in high-quality single family residential buildings with a focus on modern ecological log house design and construction, representing the best of modern Finnish wood architecture.
One example is Wave House, a limited edition luxury log home now available for purchase worldwide. The innovative concept allows the house to be made to measure between 250m² up to 930m². The Wave is a beautiful combination of fluid shapes made using solid wood construction, glass and steel. It is a new generation of wood homes manufactured by Polar Life Haus, a renowned Finnish family-owned company. Polar Life Haus has acquired over a century of wood-processing experience and together with the Finnish designer and architect Seppo Mäntylä, this masterpiece represents the culmination of artistic skill seamlessly integrated with outstanding technological innovation.
The studio writes: “Every night sculptures come to life, trees awaken from the day nap, stone gardens start moving, and the story begins.” This conceptual lyricism is evident in the formal qualities of the home, speculatively located in suburban Kiev – thought it would not be out of place in Japan. Titled Oko House – oko translating from Ukrainian to mean eye – the two-level building stands overlooking a verdant garden of established trees and bonsai, rock gardens, sculptures, and water features. With partially paved areas that offer views of floating silver orbs and statues, and roofed patios with fire pits, Sergey Makhno has excelled in the creation of an atmospheric, otherworldly space.
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Takeshi Hosaka Architects completed a House in Kozukue for a family of three. They had two wishes: a common room where, together with friends and neighbors, they can learn the Bible and practice the organ for Sunday services and an outdoor space where everybody can enjoy natural light and wind while keeping enough privacy.
The house is located on top of the small mountain in Shin-Yokohama. The house is as closed as possible against surrounding houses and parkings, it has only an entrance door and minimum small windows on the surface to protect itself against the environment. Necessary living spaces such as living room, kitchen, bedroom, children’s room, take only half area in this house while on the other hand, the semi-outdoor courtyard takes the other half area. The interior is characterized by a series of wooden beams and 11 skylights. Takeshi Hosaka Architects tried with this house to blur the boundaries between indoor and outdoor, creating a sense of openness, trying to evoke a sacred aura.
Photography by Nacasa & Partners
The High Desert House is one of the most extraordinary pieces of modernist organic architecture, the property is situated on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, built on a site overlooking the Californian desert. Every inch of the monumental home was crafted from natural materials by hand; the construction of the building took five years, and the interior, crafted meticulously by famed artisanal designer John Vurgin, took 14 more years.
“The idea was that the house would be settled in the landscape”, explained Kellogg in an interview with T Magazine. “Like it was crouching on the rocks, maybe like an animal asleep.” There are 26 freestanding concrete columns, each one sunk seven feet into the bedrock below to ensure the stability. Sandblasted glass panels connect the columns, creating a ceiling that sheds light during the day, and offers views to the stars at night. Inside, every surface has been designed by Vurgin, every piece of furniture and every fixture.
All Rights reserved to Kendrick Bangs Kellogg
All images by Lance Gerber
Designed by Bercy Chen Studio, Edgeland House was commissioned by a science fiction writer “enthralled with 21st century human habitation in the urban frontiers of abandoned industrial zones”.
Edgeland House is located on a rehabilitated brownfield site and it’s a modern re‐interpretation of one of the oldest housing typologies in North America, the Native American Pit House. The Pit House, typically sunken, takes advantage of the earth’s mass to maintain thermal comfort throughout the year. Like this timeless dwelling, the Edgeland House’s insulative green roof and 7‐foot excavation into the ground, keeps it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The mechanical system combines: hydronic heating and a green roof for maximum energy efficiency.
“Both visually and functionally, Edgeland House touches on architecture as site‐specific installation art and as an extension of the landscape. The program is broken up into two separate pavilions, living and sleeping quarters, and requires direct contact with the outside elements to pass from one to the other.”
The building is divided in two: a main volume, made of wood, and a large semi-transparent volume, that provides large amounts of natural light and blurs the distinction between inside and outside. The project combines the aesthetics of a greenhouse with the function of a family home. Inside, sliding glazed partitions are used to divide rooms, allowing the space flexibility of use. Furniture, flooring and the ceiling are all crafted from a treated lightwood. Upstairs, the gabled roof provides space for storage and extra beds for guests.
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The Japanese architecture practice founded by Akihisa Hirata designed a multi-story residential complex, Tree-Ness House, in the metropolitan area of Toshima-ku, Tokyo, with the purpose of exploring the possibilities of “nature-like architecture”, creating an organic layering system that refutes traditional layered architecture.
Challenged with a narrow plot space, the team decided to use box shaped living quarters, creating a Jenga tower block. The boxes at the core contain living areas like bedrooms and bathrooms, while exterior boxes have been turned into terraces. Greenery has been planted in the voids between blocks, resulting in what the team refers to as “3D gardens” around the perimeter of the building. In comparison to traditional housing designs, Tree-Ness House is a more organic, intertwined layering system which hopes to bring its occupants and nature closer together. Much like the way a tree’s branches and leaves create interesting structures from the root up, the design of Tree-Ness House creates a labyrinthian space where nature and modern living converge.
On the occasion of Fuorisalone 2018, House Design Group and Lombrello presented #MyTravelHome: a collection of objects created by Italian designers and artists who love tradition set in our contemporary life.
“We live on a continuous journey between online and offline accompanied by the desire to return home and then leave again. Purchases made on the web are related to the curiosity of discovering new places as well as new materials, shapes, lights and colors able to tell stories related to the national tradition and craftsmanship.”
House Design Group selects objects that tell a unique history of what we find among our territories and that brings us the experiences of the multitude of cultures that crowds this country. During Milan Design Week 2018, Lombrello re-proposed the successful format of Design Week 2017: sponsored by the City of Milan, “Il Carretto 2018” expanded its selection of objects in collaboration with House Design Group.
Designers & Artists: Irene Balia, Ilaria Bianchi, Matteo Cugnasca, Martina Di Paolo, Eva Failla, Roberto Fanari, Cristian Loddo, Matilde Losi, Astrid Luglio, Studio Mandalaki, Isato Prugger, Enoc Side, Giulia Soldati
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Located next to a reserved forest land in Kuala Lumpur, the Window House is a project that explores the relationship between outdoor and indoor, between material and landscape, between people and window. Through the manipulation of windows, this house provokes our curiosity to look out or to look into.
Malaysian firm Formzero main task was to connect the client – a family of four – with the outside world whilst maximizing indoor space. Lee Cherng Yih, from Formzero, asked himself “how can we design a house that can keep windows open all the time?”. The answer was to cover the house in a concrete shell which provided the client with privacy, and acted as an incubator to trap heat inside. The angular shell is one of the most striking aspects of the building: the shell is shrink in the front, before opening up to frame views of the forest at the back of the house.
The architecture studio FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects recently created a residence of minimal design, to provide a united studio, gallery and living space for their photographer client. Kimura’s works, mainly residences, are characterized by “a poetic and functional minimalism in which a sense of openness and privacy is achieved through careful slicing and layering of wall elements, light and shadows, volumes and spaces.”
The building is designed to be used as a studio, a gallery and a residence for a photographer, that asked to unite the studio where he produces works with his living space. The outer volume is made of mortar and galvanized steel sheet which reflects dull light. “The dim passage from the entrance approach invites visitors into the innermost space while guiding them with light thrown from the ceiling of the connected gallery. The gallery clips out a landscape with the opening to look like an exhibition. Its contrasted scale and natural light resonate with each other. The long thin passage serving as an alley to go around the gallery has other functions than a mere pathway; it is also used as a space to post artworks and photos on the wall. It is beautifully themed with sight switching, different ceiling heights, and shade and shadow created by natural light. The hall that is located at the center of the building with different floor levels plays a role of a hub which connects with each space. It also incorporates plumbing equipment, a counter, and a staircase that are necessary for living, and is connected to an approach from the courtyard, thus not only providing functional comfort but also displaying scenic beauty… Photo shooting equipment, vintage furniture, musical instrument, and artworks are placed here and there, blending in with the space. It acts in concert with the photographer’s feeling and aesthetic and acts as the base to produce new creativity and activities.”
Giacomo Mezzadri and Joana Oliveira are Mezzo Atelier, a young Italian/Portuguese practice working both as a studio and as a practical laboratory. The two architects, with different professional backgrounds, run a multidisciplinary atelier developing architectural projects, installations, interiors and self produced objects and furniture. Inspired by Bauhaus’ concept of global art, their goal is to design spaces and objects as a hole, achieving a complete customization for each project and clients.
In 2017 they converted an old stable from the beginning of the 20th century, into two guesthouses where history and contemporaneity coexist in balance. Located in the Atlantic island of São Miguel, in the Azores, the design’s main goal was to keep the construction’s character, lines, and its rural atmosphere, while adapting the enclosed structure to a completely new typology and contemporary regulations. New openings where carefully shredded in the colored façades, as well as on the stone wall, and a new volume was added to the main construction, allowing for a second, smaller house to appear integrated in the whole.
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Basel-based architects Buchner Bründler recently designed “H House”, an architecture through which its residents can enjoy the picturesque surroundings of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. The home is conceived to complement the natural environment as it overlooks the waters of the Vierwaldstättersee and the mountainous landscape.
Panoramic windows that span from floor to ceiling invite into the interior space where a warm wood material palette was used for the kitchen units. The presence of grey concrete throughout the property offers a character of homeliness and tranquility, enhanced through the creation of a built-in open log fire in the open plan living area, which at night transforms the residence’s exposed concrete walls into a flickering hue of orange flames. By day, areas of the house enclosed behind walls are illuminated by a solar tube skylight system, filtering natural sunlight into the space.
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(via ignant)
NISHIZAWAARCHITECTS is a Saigon-based architectural practice founded by Shunri Nishizawa. One of the latest project realized is a residence for three couples and their children in Chau Doc, a town in Southern Vietnam, near the Cambodian border.
Due to local regulation, the budget was tightened and the home was built with thin corrugated metal panels. NISHIZAWAARCHITECTS decided to celebrate these requirements, using the natural ventilation that this structure enables in the shared living space. The residence is in a dialogue with the surroundings, metal-frame windows face views of the nearby lake and rural landscape and the movable partitions establish a space that is always half outdoors. The home is filled with sunlight and natural breeze and it features its own micro forest of plants and trees. Locally-sourced timber and traditional carpentry techniques were implemented in the construction, which integrates regional customs into the contemporary build.
Vertical House is a private dwelling designed in 2015 by Miró Rivera Architects, the project has been awarded with the 2015 Design Award by the Texas Society of Architects. The building is a five-story house located in Dallas, it was built above the treetops and it offers the sensation to live in the middle of a tropical forest.
Two glass exterior screen walls (18 meters high) enclose both sided of the house, providing structural support. Every space is accessible from a glass-enclosed stairwell. The material palette throughout the interior consists of white walls and polished concrete floors. At the top of the building there is “an inviting open-air roof terrace, which offers breathtaking 360-degree views. A mechanical skylight provides access from inside, and the terrace is shaded from the afternoon sun by an extension of the screen wall, which turns 90 degrees to form an airy pergola.”
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After a doctor’s check-up revealing that a Vitamin D deficiency was having a huge impact on his work-related stress and anxiety, Melbourne-based architect Andrew Maynard – as a co-director of Austin Maynard Architectsalongside Mark Austin – decided to use his skills to design a space for a state of mental wellbeing, The Mental Health House or “My-House”.
The project consists in the renovation of a dark terrace and a shared architecture studio in the shop front space. The priority was to increase sunlight and bring bright elements in the space to enhance the natural light. Andrew describes My-House as an experiment that he lives in, “It is a home that I dare not impose on my clients. It breaks many important rules, often not in a good way. My-House lets in sunlight where a house should not. Whilst it is a very sustainable home, My-House is not as thermally efficient as the homes I design for others. Issues of privacy and personal comfort are often challenged in My-House. It is for these reasons that my family and I also love it…The extension has a clear Thermoclick roof and we sometimes wear sunglasses inside to deal with the sunlight, which is a wonderful problem to have in a Victorian terrace…”
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Photos by Tess Kelly
Japanese studio FujiwaraMuro Architects has completed a narrow timber house, named Tiny House, in Kobe. The original site measured 22sqm and the studio was able to design a 63sqm house, less than 3m wide.
The building presents a facade clad in boards of knotted timber, the interior spaces are developed around a central void that cut the house in its whole height. On the ground floor a hallway, with storage on one side and a toilet on the other, leds to the staircase for the upper floors: on the first floor there is a kitchen, the living room and the dining area that connects the previous ones. The bedrooms are located on the upper floor. Since the project is designed for a family, the spaces are developed to allow parents to pay attention to their children: the living room and children bedroom are “visually connected” through the central void and opposite openings.
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Images by Toshiyuki Yano
(via dezeen)
Designed by the studio Malan Vorster, based in Cape Town, South Africa, this tree house is a dream that comes true and it will bring back your best childhood’s memories.
The building is composed by four cylindrical wooden towers suspended, each of them with glass facades that allow the residents wonderful views over the natural surroundings. Inside the architects designed a comfortable house with the help of modern furniture. At the first floor there is the main living area, a patio, a dining alcove, and the main staircase. A the second floor a master bedroom with a glass balustrade offers another time a beautiful view. The studio decided to leave all the materials untreated with the intention of a natural ageing.
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SAMI-Arquitectos is a Portuguese architecture practice founded in 2005 by Inês Vieira da Silva and Miguel Vieira. One of their project, E/C House, 2014 – Pico Island, Azores, has been featured in the new book from Gestalten: “Upgrade: Home Extensions, Alterations and Refurbishments, that presents different renovation projects, from home extensions to the modernization of industrial sites.”
This holiday house in Pico Island is designed to maintain a ruin and enhance it. The studio molded the space around the complex former structure: “since the building is approached at the level of the covering, because of the slope of the land, we designed all the covering of the project as if they were decks, allowing to be used as sitting places or for contemplation.” The interiors are shaped inside the walls of stone, they are designed with generous openings to improve natural light and contemplate the landscape. The windows are also used to create a connection with the original limits of the house: some of the volumes overlap with the ruin walls but some are not, creating a game of relations between past and present, nature and architecture.
Black Flying House is a project by the Studio H3T architectsfounded by Vít Šimek and Štěpán Řehoř in 2009 in Prague.
The studio has been focused from its beginning on small buildings and specific projects. For this one, the arch of the old railway bridge is used as a structure for the installation: a floating black structure “attracts attention, invites you to visit and raises questions. Black flying house consists of a living room with a stove and a loft sleeping loft. The formal solution is concise. The resulting image almost picturesque.”