Incorporating the ruins of a former mill, the Bogbain Mill residence designed by Scottish studio Rural Design, does not lack originality. In developing the new building plans, the architects started gathering ideas from the site, where old walls were inhabited by green plants, as nature was taking over: “Our clients brief was for a large family house. We were keen to re-imagine the building in a progressive form, layering a series of forms over the ruins to create a clear juxtaposition of old and new. All the forms create new and intriguing courtyard spaces, allowing our client to engage in his passion for gardening.” Even though the interior use of wood and stone pays tribute to the character of the building, once inside, it is difficult to believe this impressive residence was once a former mill. Space and elegance are the main characteristics of this home in Scotland, which we invite you to discover in detail. 
For a house inside a generous loft, Dutch studio Marc Koehler Architects has created a series of independent volumes which allow for a contrast between intimate, closed spaces and open, shared passages in which natural light acts as a protagonist. Located in the city's KNSM island, the house is part of an old harbour cantina which was transformed into a residential building some years ago. With totally glazed façades on both sides of the loft, the building has sweeping views over the water. The building's vast space is divided in a settlement-like manner, emulating a group of small houses inside the main dwelling. Thus, small "streets" emerge as multifunctional living spaces for activities such as playing, partying, washing and working. In contrast, a series of "house-like" volumes contain less mobile spaces, such as bedrooms, bathroom, and storage. Compressing spaces such as the bedroom, the architects achieve a series of open spaces that expand. The "streets" carry daylight right into the heart of the house, and allow for views outwards. According to the architects, the open spaces can be "colonized" in the future, constructing extra volumes, when the family expands. 
+HOUSE exemplifies a sustainable and healthy approach to building without sacrificingdesign. Sited facing the bank of a stream-fed pond, this four-season house is nestled into a natural slope. Extensive 14-ft high glazing offers expansive views of the landscape and access to a full-length deck. Bedrooms are located on opposite ends of the rectangular plan, book-ending the open living spaces. + HOUSE is embedded with a wealth of health sensitive materials and methods. Built of inert cementitious blocks that inhibit the growth of fungi and molds, the walls are finished with a natural clay plaster that requires no paint finish. A soy-based sealer was used for the concrete floors and counters, and untreated silk and hemp fabric was used for the curtains. Achieving a healthy house for both client and environment meant extensive research into a wide range of products and locally produced materials suited to the climate. A green roof, heat-mirror triple glazing, solar shading, passive ventilation and daylighting, and a geothermal system are just some of the features of this LEED Gold-targeted project... 
The architecture team of PPA worked on the reconstruction of an old barn in the highlands of Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The result is a welcoming rustic retreat, with appreciation for the local tradition: “Our purpose was to add an extension to the existing barn conversion, creating new living spaces (a guest room and multi-purpose room), along with a utility area and garage. The specificity of the extension project is rooted both in the character of its natural setting and that of the existing building, and creates a double bind in terms of both typology and design. The extension was positioned in the southern portion of the site, on equal footings with the barn, and slips effortlessly into the naturally excavated lay of the land“. With a highly original facade defined by glass and logs, the addition originally combines raw materials like stone and wood, with a minimalist, modern design approach. 
On the shore of an idyllic white sandy beach on New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula rests an elegant hut. The site lies within the coastal erosion zone, where all building must be removable. This is taken literally and the hut is designed on two thick wooden sleds for movement back up the site or across the beach and onto a barge. The hut is a series of simple design moves. The aesthetic is natural and reminiscent of a beach artifact/perhaps a surf-life-saving or observation tower. The two storey shutter on the front facade winches open to form an awning, shading the interior from summer sun while allowing winter sun to enter. The hut is totally sustainable from its modest size to the use of timber in its cladding, structure, lining and joinery and from its worm tank waste system to the separate potable grey water tanks. 
The idea for these minimalist Tea Houses was triggered by the need of a nature retreat, located not far from a family home in Silicon Valley, California. The creative team at Swatt Miers Architects was in charge with transforming a vision into reality, designing the three tea houses as perfect observation spots. According to the official description provided by the project developers, each new tea house was created as a “transparent steel and glass pavilion, hovering like a lantern over the natural landscape. Cast-in-place concrete core elements anchor the pavilions, supporting steel channel rim joists, which cantilever beyond the cores to support the floor and roof planes. With its minimal footprint, the design treads lightly on the land, minimizing grading and preserving the delicate root systems of the native oaks“. 
Saltwater Coast is a new housing subdivision near Point Cook which will accommodate around 4,000 residents and appeal to the aspirational second home buyer. The development thematically exploits its proximity to quite a beautiful stretch on the western shores of Port Phillip Bay. The land owners and their landscape architects have put a great deal of effort into the careful reinterpretation of a sensitive local ecology that boasts a very significant bird migration area at the Cheetham Wetlands... 
Replacing a lone turnstile and guard’s hut behind the Brooklyn Museum with a series of glass-wrapped, green-capped pavilions and a plaza, the new Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) Visitor Center by New York–based Weiss/Manfredi is a sight for sore eyes. Nestled within a rich context and history—the nearby Prospect Park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 19th century and the Gardens by his two sons in the early 20th—the Center’s most impressive feature, its steel-frame design, is also its most vital. The custom-made structure forms a curving vertebrae that is formally elegant and light on the ground, yet structurally robust. “We wanted it to be an inhabitable topography,” said Manfredi. Indeed, the center’s serpentine form responds to the site’s existing undulations and is shaped to accommodate the grade differential and maximize sunlight and views to the gardens, as well as reap the geothermal benefits of a berm. To successfully do this the exposed 10x6 columns have been welded to varying roof beam depths, ranging from 10x6 to 18x6 to form frames that are organized in a curvilinear, 12-foot on-center grid in an east-west configuration. 
Envisioned and implemented by German studio Titus Bernhard Architekten, House 11 x 11 gives the overall impression of a small, compact home. The 1,960 square foot contemporary abode in Munich, Germany, was developed to serve the needs of a family in an area that captures the serenity of natural elements. According to the architects, “House 11 x 11 is an icon for its users, symbolic and built with a new method of construction: the exterior walls and the wooden roof made of prefabricated elements are covered by a vertical wood-lamella façade without counter-battens, converging on the ridge of the roof. A pronounced graphic character is the result, reinforced by the variable density and very precise setting of the lamellae, including the integration of the wooden window frames”. The inner layout is based on continuity and the core of the house is an open plan living area, characterized by a minimalist, yet inviting design... 
Wood, stone and books… 3 elements that don’t seem to have very much in common create the main characteristics of the living roomof this loft of 250m, where Fernanda Marques succeeded to make a dream escape from urban frenzy. The nature plays much more than a mere supporting role: one just has to note the intense use of daylight. The use of materials in their rough state was a fundamental idea for its decoration. Daylight, highlighted textures, fully open to the outside… the key to furnish a house somewhere in between a country villa and a modernist home design. 
Studio Richard Kirk Architect completed the design for the Arbour House, a modern residence located on the Bulimba Reach in Queensland, Australia. The two story home was built in strong connection to its landscape, particularly with an 80 year old Poincianna tree and a public riverfront boardwalk. According to the architects, “the dwelling adopts a courtyard typology with two pavillions linked by a large double height stairwell and external courtyard. The form is conceptualized as an object carved from a solid volume of the allowable building area with the courtyard providing a protective volume from which to cross ventilate each of the spaces of the house and to allow the different spaces of the house connection but also discrete and subtle separation – the family home as a village”. We have to say we like the concept and we appreciate the way it was implemented in developing this elegant modern residence. 
The Tiltpanel House is a durable, cost efficient and thermally sustainable house in Nelson, New Zealand, bordered by a forest reserve and overlooking Tasman Bay. It was developed using a commercial approach to fabricating buildings with preformed insulated concrete panels. The industrial structure was then domesticated with applied layering of texture and light to soften and warm as a family home... 
Orange Groove Apartment Building is a sustainable architecture building covers 5 units of apartment, designed by Brooks + Scarpa. This green building is located in West Hollywood, and all of its five apartment units are set in north/south axis. They have 30 ft tall ceilings, and optimized daylight. The materials used are stucco, steel, glass and wood, very simple for apartment building. The floor plan for each apartment is also simple, with a spacious 1 bedroom, a large open downstairs for living, dining and a kitchen. Open floor plan is applied to allow the owner to customize the plan based on their needs... |
The Curved House is a modern residence with distinctive lines. Conceived in plan as a U-shaped form, this residence features a courtyard that allows for a private retreat to an outdoor pool and a custom fire pit. The master wing flanks one side of this central space while the living spaces, a pool cabana, and a view to an adjacent creek form the remainder of the perimeter. A signature masonry wall gently curves in two places signifying both the primary entrance and the western wall of the pool cabana. An eclectic and vibrant material palette of brick, Spanish roof tile, Ipe, Western Red Cedar, and various interior finish tiles add to the dramatic expanse of the residence. The client’s interest in suitability is manifested in numerous locations, which include a photovoltaic array on the cabana roof, a geothermal system, radiant floor heating, and a design which provides natural daylighting and views in every room. 
The Federal Republic of Germany has selected the proposal of Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) for the Green Climate Fund Headquarters, Bonn. LAVA's proposal for the headquarters is an 'ecological model project' and demonstrates their motto: 'green is the new black.' The new building will feature innovative climate protection solutions like; facades that are are articulated according to building orientation, surfaces that integrate various regenerative energy production methods, and photo-voltaics & bioreactors that demonstrate the application of latest technologies...
The architecture of these detached holiday retreats on North Stradbroke Island encapsulates a recent trend towards small, sustainable house design. Paul Butterworth Architect designed the homes in response to a brief requiring cost-effective, versatile design that was carefully tuned to the Stradbroke climate and lifestyle. Designed to accommodate both large gatherings or an intimate couples retreat, central decks form the core of both dwellings, with the compact interiors opening up to and borrowing from the outdoor deck spaces. The building form, materials and colours were chosen to dissolve into the natural hues, shadows and textures of the bush surrounds... 
Renewable energy and energy efficient technologies are generally lauded for their inclusion in projects but, while we understand they are relevant, we often do not understand exactly what they do and how they make energy savings possible. One technology sneaking under the radar is the trigeneration system. As the name would suggest, a it is the simultaneous producer of three energy forms: electricity, heating and cooling. Waste heat gathered from the generation of electricity – created through solar collectors in high energy efficiency systems – is captured and is then used to heat and cool water. An absorption chiller, powered by the captured heat, operates like a refrigerator, creating low temperatures which can be channeled into air-conditioning systems. The use of wasted energy and the close-range electricity exchange allow some systems to run at 80 to 90 per cent energy efficiency levels. As part of the ‘AIA Top Ten’, architectural firm Perkins + Will’s redevelopment of a midtown Atlanta building at 1315 Peachtree Street, which was originally built in 1986, is a prime example of how the trigeneration system can be implemented into a project... 
Guedes + DeCampos have designed the Quinta Do Vallado Winery Hotel in Vilarinho dos Freires, Peso da Régua, Portugal. The project for the new Rural Hotel at Quinta do Vallado fits in a strategy that balances the need for expansion of the existing facilities of with the correct integration into the landscape so that the solution, as a whole, has a minimal impact. The two strands linked to wine – production and leisure – are addressed in a single project with a distinctive and contemporary language. Given the strong impact of the surrounding landscape, characterized by a natural architecture that gives the area a singular character – World Heritage – the resort hotel project focuses on solving the insertion of a new volume conditioned by a long and impressive wall in shale, which draws a sharp curve on the ground... 
Today, two prefab veterans launch their website for a new company called Connect:Homes with a mission to 'deliver modern homes that are affordable, green, and available wherever you are'. The co-founders Jared Levy and Gordon Stott, both formerly with Marmol Radziner Prefab, started the Los Angeles-based enterprise to reinvent modular prefab and deliver homes that are predictably priced, inherently green, and shipped most anywhere at a lower cost. 
Hijauan is a house in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Situated on a small plot in a mature residential development, we took the Malay term “Hijau” meaning “green” as our design directive. Our aim was to avoid cutting a single tree on site. As such, the house notches its way around the existing greenery, especially the two majestic 50 year old mango trees along the side boundary. The ground floor of the house is all glass, and can be opened up to the tropical elements. The 1st floor bedrooms are shielded from the sun with timber screens as well as the tree foliage all around. The massing of the house has been carved out all around with courtyards that bring in light, air, and green, making for tropical spaces that BREATHE... 
Architecture company Helhetshus developed a project entitled Arlevagen in Gothenburg, Sweden, consisting of eight similar houses. The landscape surrounding the buildings is defined by giant oak trees and the beautiful lake Sävelången, which partially determined the orientation of each dwelling: “By using the existing conditions of the site and placing the houses halfway over the edge of the hillside; each house got a nice view towards the lake and at the same time it created more space on the sunny side of the plot towards southwest. The boomerang-shaped building leaves an open space towards the street and a more secluded garden space south of the building witch is maximised by placing the buildings as far north as possible on each plot”. Half of each building’s weight is supported by pillars, leaving the ground beneath almost untouched. Green roofs ensure insulation, while adding a great aesthetic factor... 
Aedas designs a railway station like a hill you can walk on. It used to be that roofs were up top where nobody could see them, covered in gravel and full of mechanical equipment. Architectural renderings were pretty much all shot from eye level. Not anymore; green roof technology is making roofs into habitable architecture, and changing the way architects think of buildings. The Express Rail Link - West Kowloon Terminus by Aedas will connect Hong Kong to the National High Speed Rail Network. The terminal's roof is a series of ribbons that meet ground level, turning the building into a big walkable (climbable?) hill... 
Using Structural Insulated Panels as a modular unit, this house is the result of extensive research by two young architects into prefabrication of low-cost housing and self-customisation.
The SIP Panel House from Having decided to create a constructive system from components already available in the construction market, Alejandro Soffia & Gabriel Rudolphy took the Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) catalogue and studied its simple topology to define minimum spatial modules, which when multiplied and related could be used to build structures. The house is conceived as an attempt to rationalise the construction material and achieve maximum optimisation of its structural and dimensional qualities. The totality of the house was configured with two kinds of components: wall panels and split-level panels. In just 10 days, 71 wall panels and 40 split-level panels were built with a negligible loss of material... 
Richard Meier & Partners is proud to announce their first project in South America. The new Leblon Offices will be a sustainable and state-of-the-art building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.The new office building located in the Leblon neighborhood, will be the iconic new international headquarters for VINCI Partners in Brazil. The design scheme consists primarily of open office spaces and a series of terraces which open up and create a direct connection with the urban artery. The design of the office building with its refined formal vocabulary reflects the distinct orientation of the site while addressing issues of sustainability, maximum efficiency and flexibility. The building will be recessed from the urban frontage and masked with a set of louvers designed for both maximum sun shading and privacy retention to the west. On the east, the building has been pulled away from its neighbors to create an internal courtyard and provide natural day lighting on two exposures for all offices. This void creates a generous vertical garden that ties back into a rough and refined exposed architectural concrete service core. The entire project straddles between the refined precision of a white aluminum and glass, free-plan office and the roughness of concrete and vegetation within the courtyard and is reconciled by an illuminated glass bridge... 
In Santa Monica, California, there is no shortage of environmental awareness. The recent shoreline addition of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified Shore Hotel, located at 1515 Ocean Avenue just north of the Santa Monica Pier, sets an eco-friendly standard that would awe even California’s greenest, Kombucha-sipping, farmer’s market loving locals and tourists alike. The u-shaped Shore Hotel, completed and opened in October of 2011, is at the apex of all that is good in Santa Monica. The property is situated a two minute walk from the Third Street Promenade and the historic Santa Monica Pier. Shore Hotel is the only hotel in Santa Monica with LEED Gold certification. Every detail in layout and construction meets the highest environmental standards. Equipped with roof mounted solar panels, high efficiency burners and boilers, and a storm water capturing plan that treats and reuses storm water for landscaping, there is proactive environmental awareness at every turn... |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  |
18 |
|
Next |
