Real estate : Edge Wood

I wondered back in 2006, when I first saw today's estate listed, if it was a bit overpriced. It turns out I may have been right, it has gone through a major price reduction since then. Luxist reader Ryan reminded me of Edge Wood in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a large six bedroom home which was built in 2002 and sits on the waterfront. It has two docks, three boat lifts and a sandy beach. The compound is over three acres and has more than 21,000 total square feet of space including a large guest house. The home includes details such as a billiards room with a bar, a large art studio and a master suite with a wet bar. It is listed at $16 million, which is less than two-thirds the price it was two years ago when it was listed at $24.5 million.

Herzog and de Meuron’s Stunning Triangular Skyscraper

Recently Herzog & de Meuron revealed Le Project Triangle, an incredible structure that will rise 200 meters from the Porte de Versailles in Paris. The stunning skyscraper will feature a profile so slim that it casts virtually no shadow, and its orientation will be optimized to take advantage of both solar and wind power. Paris’ new pyramid will be the first high-rise to be approved for construction is the city’s center since 1977, thanks to the recent lifting of a 31-year-old ban established by the previous Mayor of paris, Jacques Chirac.
Herzog & de Meuron are famous architects from Switzerland responsible for many well-know projects, like the Portsmouth Soccer Stadium in England, Beijing’s Birdnest Stadium, and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Their latest project is expected to restore flow to it’s environs by reconnecting the rue de Vaugirard and avenue Ernest Renan at the site of the building.

This first of many high-rise buildings currently being planned for Paris, Projet Triangle will incorporate shops and restaurants at the ground level in addition to offices, a conference center and a 400 room hotel. Upon completion in 2014, the project will be the third tallest structure in the inner city after the Eiffel Tower and Tour Montparnasse. The pyramid’s construction may be a point of contention for many Parisians, as polls have found that 62% do not favor high rises within the city, however Herzon & de Meuron are confident that their new project will integrate into the Parisian landscape perfectly:

“The Triangle is conceived as a piece of the city that could be pivoted and positioned vertically. It is carved by a network of vertical and horizontal traffic flows of variable capacities and speeds. Like the boulevards, streets and more intimate passages of a city, these traffic flows carve the construction into islets of varying shapes and sizes. This evocation of the urban fabric of Paris, at once classic and coherent in its entirety and varied and intriguing in its details, is encountered in the façade of the Triangle. Like that of a classical building, this one features two levels of interpretation: an easily recognizable overall form and a fine, crystalline silhouette of its façade which allows it to be perceived variously.”

We’re hoping that it will compete against the Generali Tower in La Defense for the best sustainably-designed high-rise in Paris.

The itHouse by Taalman Koch

Taalman Koch Architects have created a prefab home package called the itHouse.

From Taalman Koch:

The itHouse is a design system developed by Taalman Koch that utilizes a series of components prefabricated off-site in order to better control the construction waste, labor, and quality of the finished product. Conceived as a small house with glass walls and open floor plan, the itHouse maximizes the relationship of the occupant to the surrounding landscape while minimizing the impact to delicate site conditions.

Energy efficiency is achieved in the itHouse through passive heating and cooling, utilizing site orientation and cross ventilation, radiant floor heating, hi-efficacy appliances & equipment and the use of solar photovoltaic & thermal panels.

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Penthouse Office by Benthem Crouwel Architects

Benthem Crouwel Architects designed this penthouse addition on the roof of the Las Palmas building in Rotterdam, The Netherlands..

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Osler House by Marcio Kogan

The Osler House designed by Marcio Kogan, located in Brasilia, is composed by two volumes and a small pool and garden that organize the entire program.

On the ground floor we find the rooms that open to the outside using rotating wooden panels, and a small lobby that connects the second floor with a delicate staircase. The lobby is decorated with a panel of tiles specially designed for this wall by the artist Athos Bulcão.

The second floor is organized in a prism of glass and concrete, where nothing vertically interrupts the visual transparency of the volume. On the roof of the ground floor, connected to the living room, the terrace extends the external area.

“Wow” Factor at Modern Badgers View Farm House, by Lewis & Hickey

When asked to create a contemporary house with a “distinctive wow factor,” the mind of architect Tim Lewis started spinning. He developed this modern 4,000-sq.-ft. home on Badgers View Farm, tucked in a valley among the rolling green of Chiltern Hills, near Chinnor, a suburb of Oxfordshire, England. This unique design delivers that “wow” factor, both outside and in. Inspired by the local landscape, the architect created an oddly angled silhouette that lends the house its main architectural appeal. The white, cretaceous chalk that forms the foundation of much of southern England gives the home its angles – jagged, and at the same time, a natural beauty. The home’s white rendered blocks are connected via a traditional knapped flint wall. Walls of windows further solidify the connection between nature and home

House in Badajoz by Murado & Elvira

The house, designed by Murado & Elvira, is like a box wrapped in white metal lines with rounded corners.

The client desire to simultaneous contemplate the fire and the sunset, turning nature into a domestic object of affection. Sliding doors of pine wood act as shutters and are configured as a protective skin.

In the living room and the porch, light is filtered by the sliding doors and is screened through the roof. The color is introduced as an accent on certain points, like in the bathroom with a turquoise screen creating a turquoise atmosphere.

House in Juanopolis by una arquitectos

The brazilian firm una arquitectos projected this beautiful house integrated in the landscape following the slope exalting the virtues and protecting it from the nearby buildings.

The building is like a continuum line that folds structuring the house and forming three courtyards which create a relationship between the different areas of the house.

From the street you only see a white tower that protects the infrastructures (kitchen, ovens, fireplace, etc) and a horizontal rectangle of 8 x 40 meters covered with a roof garden.

The parking is between the street and the house level from where you can reach the roof garden or go down through a short tunnel to the courtyard of the living room.

The living areas are arranged around the fireplace and the oven separated by the kitchen. During the day these areas are completely open, becoming a large balcony, and are closed at night, maintaining the transparency. In the rooms there are mobile wood panels to darken the environments.

Straw House prefab home

The Straw House, located in Eschenz, Switzerland, has a simple, formal shape. However, this experimental prefab is far from simple because of its highly innovative materials.

Made form solid panels composed of compressed straw and wood particles and a small concrete core, this prefab home is unique as well as highly sustainable. I like how the exterior is also clad in protective translucent panels, so you could see the compressed strawboard panels.

Designed by Zurich based architect Felix Jerusalem, this low cost, environment-friendly home offers three bedrooms, a kitchen/living room, bath and loft.

Prefabricated Dome House

This low-cost, eco-friendly prefabricated house, which looks like a modular igloo, is called the Dome House; However, as much as I find its unique form fascinating, it is the building material which is truly innovative. This prefab house is made from expanded polystyrene, “the fourth-generation building material” after wood, iron, and concrete The Dome House is an incredible ultra-energy-saving building. The expanded polystyrene provides excellent thermal insulation, while its dome-shape structure allows good air circulation, thus reducing air conditioning costs.

This prefab house can be built by assembling a small number of Dome Pieces. Its assembly time is very short and if performed by 3 or 4 people, it would take a week to complete it.

Due to the Dome House shape and building materials, it is highly stable in structure but also extremely durable and light in weight (each Dome Piece weighs only 80kg); it will not rust, nor get rotten or eaten by termites. It is also formaldehyde-free.

Since expanded polystyrene is made only from carbon and hydrogen, casting of expanded polystyrene is extremely clean. Construction of the Dome House does not produce any waste, nor does it involve any deforestation, making this prefabricated house an ideal eco-friendly home.

Arch Daily Los Heroes Building by Murtinho y Asociados Arquitectos

Architects: Murtinho y Asociados Arquitectos
Location: Calle Holanda Nº64, Providencia, Santiago, Chile
Client: Los Héroes Caja Compensación
Architect in Charge: Santiago Raby Pinto
Collaborators: Miguel Angel Contreras Ch. y Alejandra López
Contractor: ALTIUS
Refurbishment Area: 3.350 sqm
Photographs: Pedro Mutis Johnson

CONTEXT

The challenge was the rehabilitation of a ‘70s building for a new purpose: The General Offices of Caja de Compensación Los Heroes.

The corporation is privet, independent and non profit institution. Its role is to administrate social security funds for economic help for retired persons and workmen through small and soft loans. The main beneficiaries are senior citizen and their leisure time is an important target of this institution.

CONCEPTS AND PROPOSAL

THE FAÇADE SKIN

To create and transform the old and grey `70s building into a new one expressing character, we use the relationship of leisure - nature as the main architectural concept. The ludic and light expression was the way to conjugate and symbolize this concept-relationship (leisure-nature).

The façade skin builds this ludic and light expression, and celebrates the relationship between the institution and its urban context, or in other words, between the building and its “urban nature”.

At the same time, the building strategy is to efficiently collect energy with a sustainable façade.
This double façade skin is an UV ray filter and a good component to isolate the interior space comfort.

INNER STRATEGY

The inner transformation strategy creates a circular core, transforming old geometry and giving a fluent, continuous and functional circulation, which links all floor spaces.

House N by Sou Fujimoto

Architects: Sou Fujimoto Architects
Location: Oita, Japan
Project Team: Yumiko Nogiri
Structural Consultant: Jun Sato Structural Engineers
Design Year: 2006-2007
Construction Year: 2007-2008
Site Area: 236,57 sqm
Constructed Area: 150,57 sqm
Photographer: Iwan Baan

A home for two plus a dog. The house itself is comprised of three shells of progressive size nested inside one another. The outermost shell covers the entire premises, creating a covered, semi-indoor garden. Second shell encloses a limited space inside the covered outdoor space. Third shell creates a smaller interior space. Residents build their life inside this gradation of domain.

I have always had doubts about streets and houses being separated by a single wall, and wondered that a gradation of rich domain accompanied by various senses of distance between streets and houses might be a possibility, such as: a place inside the house that is fairly near the street; a place that is a bit far from the street, and a place far off the street, in secure privacy.

That is why life in this house resembles to living among the clouds. A distinct boundary is nowhere to be found, except for a gradual change in the domain. One might say that an ideal architecture is an outdoor space that feels like the indoors and an indoor space that feels like the outdoors. In a nested structure, the inside is invariably the outside, and vice versa. My intention was to make an architecture that is not about space nor about form, but simply about expressing the riches of what are `between` houses and streets.

Three nested shells eventually mean infinite nesting because the whole world is made up of infinite nesting. And here are only three of them that are given barely visible shape. I imagined that the city and the house are no different from one another in the essence, but are just different approaches to a continuum of a single subject, or different expressions of the same thing- an undulation of a primordial space where humans dwell. This is a presentation of an ultimate house in which everything from the origins of the world to a specific house is conceived together under a single method.

Inspired Eco-friendly House in the Blue Mountains of Sydney, Australia

The Leura House, designed by celebrated Australian architect James Stockwell, is a modern home inspired by the age-old geology of Sydney’s Blue Mountain area; celebrating sleek modernism and simple minimalism in its form and functions. This meeting of opposite eras has ushered in a new age of architecture – one that has won Stockwell the 2008 Wilkinson Award, the prestigious architectural award presented by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. The open-concept design is devoid of thresholds and boundaries, both between rooms and separating indoors form out. Doors are hidden from view. “Walls aren't wholly devoted to enclosing space but to create pauses in a larger journey.” Fashion aside, this contemporary house main focus is definitely function – designed to accommodate the owners, their children and 12 grandchildren. Eco-friendly design was also a key consideration for Stockwell, who incorporated smart and sustainable features like "rammed earth" walls for insulation; passive heating and cooling methods backed up by hydronic heating and cooling; as well as the home’s ability to product its own energy and function off the grid.

Redondo Beach Shipping Container House

It’s hard to contain one’s enthusiasm for DeMaria Design’s Redondo Beach House. The home, constructed with a combination of prefabricated shipping containers and traditional buildings materials, is a stunning beachfront residence. It is the first in a line of homes that will be available from DeMaria Design’s “packaged architecture” affiliate, Logical Homes. DeMaria has said that he considers shipping containers the icons of the global age: “stacked containers create a powerful imagery on the landscape.” With that, we can certainly expect to see more recycled shipping container architecture to come from this Manhattan Beach-based design studio.

The house is made up of eight containers of varying sizes bound together by conventional building methods. The metal container walls define service spaces while wood and steel frame the living spaces, including an artist’s studio, master bedroom, and spacious living room with 20-foot ceilings. A smartly placed below grade container forms a swimming pool. Doors and windows are cut through the walls, but beyond that no effort is made to conceal the industrial aesthetic of the containers.

What, you may ask, is environmentally friendly about this home besides giving the ubiquitous shipping container a second life as part of a luxury home? The prefabricated nature of the containers allows 70% of construction to occur off site, greatly reducing construction waste. The resulting home is also extremely strong, mold-free, and fire- and termite-proof. This particular home also features prefabricated metal roof panels, multi-skinned acrylic sheets, formaldehyde-free plywood, natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, and efficient tank-less hot water heaters.

While it’s not exactly affordable right now, at $125 per square foot, the hope is that as “packaged architecture” catches on, Logical Homes will be able to make custom design available at production prices and really rock suburbia. For now, DeMaria Designs is working on a community center and a mixed-use multifamily project, both made entirely out of shipping containers.

Vivendelstien House in Norway

If you were to ask me what my dream home would look like, the answer would be modern, minimalist, with lots of space and with a nice view over the beach or maybe over the woods. I’m not sure if the Vivendelstien house in Norway is close to a beach or a mountain but I do know it’s close to what I would expect when it comes to interior design.

Designed by Norwegian architect Tommie Wilhelmsen this house won’t impress you with its exterior, but will do it as soon as you enter the front door with its interior. A warm “gigantic” living space that puts the white in contrast with little things like the ottomans, the colorful pillows, the couch or the relaxing looking chairs. If you ask me, the guy managed to get the best harmony possible.

Beach House in Malibu, California

For some reason I’ve always dreamed of having a beach house, unfortunately, in my country it may not be suited. But take Malibu, California, for an example, and you’ll know what I mean. With one of the finest weather and some of the best beaches on Earth, this must be the perfect place to build a beach house - or buy one that’s already been there for many years.

But enough with the introduction because we have something to show you. Here’s a 1976 beach house along Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway, that has been remodeled by Shubin + Donaldson Architects and turned into a 2,900-square-foot beach-side modern house with beautiful glass sliding doors and windows that open towards the ocean to offer stunning sea-views.

The layout is pretty simple with a living room, dining room, den area, terrace with beach access, powder room at the first floor, while at the upper floor there’s a home office, a guest room and bath, the powder room, a media room, and a master suite with bathroom/walk-in closet, closet office and an outdoor sleeping porch.

Everything is gorgeous and I don’t think my comments are enough. Check out the pictures and then tell me if you would like one?

Fennell Floating House Design Takes a Cue from the Winding River

Following with his flair for fluid design, the modern Fennel House design by architect Robert Harvey Oshatz takes his wonderful wooden structures from forest to water with ease. Completed in 2004, this incredible floating house in Portland, Oregon, artfully captures the curves and ripples of a gentle river – a sentiment not easily portrayed in architecture. The wonderfully winding wood leads the eye through a meandering course along the home’s facade. Large expanses of glass frame the magnificent views, and slide open onto an outdoor deck that calls for long evenings spent in the presence of vivid sunsets, casting jewel-toned shimmers in the river at its feet. Inside, a loft-level master bedroom and study face the main-level living room.

Contemporary House on Lake Zurich, Switzerland - Stylish, Sculptural

Swiss architect Gus Wustemann designed the contemporary, “sculptural” Feldbalz House to encourage a variety of living scenarios, with a trio of tiers that divide the home’s entertaining, living and private areas. The top floor offers a sophisticated sanctuary overlooking Switzerland’s Lake Zurich, where the master bedroom lies, surrounded by a glass balcony that hangs over the pool. The ground floor is made for entertaining, with access to the garden and up to the main level of the house, where the living areas are located. The home’s unique, sculptural element strays from its main structure, creating a pathway that follows alongside the pool and connects the garden to the house. The largely glass facade is interrupted by translucent polycarbonate siding, offering residents an ideal balance of openness and privacy. On the other hand, the south side of the house separates indoors from out with an 11-meter screen, which slides open to eliminate the barely-there wall entirely. Interiors are open concept, offering uninterrupted views from one end of the house to the other.

Tree House Design with Winding Staircase Rises to the Challenge

From the heart to a quiet forest in Wilmington, Delaware, this contemporary tree house was admittedly a labor of love for architect Whitney Sander of Sander Architects. Built for her sister after the death of their father, this warm, wooden, wooded residence evokes the feeling of “home” surrounded by hundreds of hundred-year-old trees whose leaves join to create a leafy 150-ft. “ceiling.” With a rushing stream at its feet, Tree House features a spectacular spiral staircase, running up the front of the home, past the modern Juliet-inspired balcony, and the expanse of glass that forms the front facade. The home’s very vertical construction places the master bedroom and living at the top, among the trees, with a rooftop deck as the most luxurious crowning touch.

Whimsical Wooden Tree House Brings Nature, Music to Life in Portland, Oregon

Nature with architecture is not an odd pairing by any means, but it’s never been done quite like this. But another factor plays heavily on this contemporary, flowing style – music. Architect Robert Harvey Oshatz has created this awesome, artistic piece of architecture in the woods of

Portland, Oregon, for a client who’s love of music would be translated into a modern home. This impressive design was seven years in the making, from the drawing board to its completion in 2004, and it was worth every last second of the wait. The main living level of this contemporary tree house sits in the canopy, among lush green leaves with the dewy earth rolling out below. It’s one of those designs that’s difficult to describe. According to the architect, “One has to actually stroll through the house to capture its complexities and its connection to the exterior with the use of a natural wood ceiling floating on curving laminated wood beams which pass through a generous glass wall which wraps around the main living room.”

Modular home

Mountain Ranch Estate

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Mou­n­­tain­­ R­an­­ch­ Estates captu­r­es th­e ver­y essen­­ce of mou­n­­tain­­ livin­­g in­­ a b­r­illian­­t r­esor­t en­­vir­on­­men­­t. Man­­y h­ave d­eclar­ed­ th­is as on­­e of th­e fin­­est n­­eigh­b­or­h­ood­s in­­ Par­k­ City. B­eau­tifu­l h­omes su­r­r­ou­n­­d­ you­ an­­d­ th­e open­­ space is ju­st r­igh­t. It is n­­o won­­d­er­ so man­­y people love it h­er­e.

T­hi­s mo­­unt­ai­n ho­­me d­az­z­les w­i­t­h so­­ many w­o­­nd­er­ful feat­ur­es i­t­ i­s har­d­ t­o­­ d­eci­d­e w­her­e t­o­­ b­egi­n. Fo­­r­ a st­ar­t­ t­he ho­­me i­s o­­ver­ 7600 squar­e feet­ w­i­t­h seven ver­y lar­ge b­ed­r­o­­o­­ms and­ seven b­at­hr­o­­o­­ms. T­he ho­­me i­s set­ i­n a lo­­ft­y elevat­ed­ po­­si­t­i­o­­n w­i­t­h o­­pen space ar­o­­und­ i­t­ so­­ as t­o­­ allo­­w­ vi­ew­s o­­f T­he Canyo­­ns R­eso­­r­t­, Par­k Ci­t­y Mo­­unt­ai­n R­eso­­r­t­ and­ D­eer­ Valley R­eso­­r­t­. I­ d­o­­n’t­ t­hi­nk I­ have t­o­­ t­ell yo­­u t­hi­s b­ut­ I­ w­i­ll anyw­ays, i­f yo­­u can see all t­hr­ee o­­f t­hese r­eso­­r­t­s yo­­u have o­­ne o­­f t­he b­est­ seat­s i­n t­o­­w­n!

I­ am a per­so­­n w­ho­­ lo­­ves t­o­­ d­r­i­ve up und­er­ a po­­r­t­i­co­­ t­o­­ ent­er­ a ho­­me. So­­ fr­o­­m t­he st­ar­t­ t­hi­s ho­­me has alr­ead­y ear­ned­ a po­­i­nt­ w­i­t­h me. O­­nce i­nsi­d­e t­he ho­­me yo­­ur­ eyes w­and­er­ t­o­­ ever­y d­et­ai­l, lo­­o­­ki­ng t­o­­ see ho­­w­ t­hey mad­e a mo­­unt­ai­n st­yle ho­­me lo­­o­­k so­­ clean. T­he t­i­mb­er­s ar­e a clean smo­­o­­t­h fi­ni­sh. T­he ki­t­chen i­s w­ell appo­­i­nt­ed­ w­i­t­h hi­gh end­ appli­ances b­ut­ i­s also­­ ver­y d­et­ai­led­ w­i­t­h st­o­­new­o­­r­k, fi­ne cab­i­net­r­y and­ co­­unt­er­t­o­­ps. T­he i­d­ea o­­f a mo­­unt­ai­n ho­­me i­s t­o­­ b­r­i­ng t­he o­­ut­si­d­e element­s i­nt­o­­ t­he ho­­me and­ t­hi­s t­hey so­­ car­efully and­ neat­ly d­i­d­.

The thr­ee levels of this home beg­ for­ explor­a­tion­­. The fir­st floor­ is for­ g­a­ther­in­­g­ a­n­­d­ en­­ter­ta­in­­in­­g­. Ther­e is a­ la­r­g­e office a­n­­d­ a­ ma­ster­ su­ite for­ ma­in­­ level livin­­g­. The secon­­d­ floor­ ha­s bed­r­ooms tha­t a­r­e fit for­ exten­­d­ed­ sta­y­ g­u­ests. W­ha­t is so w­on­­d­er­fu­l on­­ the secon­­d­ floor­ is the compu­ter­ sta­tion­­ a­r­ea­ tha­t over­ looks the fa­mily­ r­oom below­. In­­ the ba­semen­­t y­ou­ w­ill fin­­d­ a­n­­other­ kitchen­­ / w­et ba­r­ tha­t is fu­lly­ a­ppoin­­ted­. Y­ou­ w­ill a­lso fin­­d­ a­ bu­ilt in­­ d­esk, a­ billia­r­d­s a­r­ea­ a­ fir­epla­ce for­ those cold­ w­in­­ter­s a­n­­d­ so mu­ch mor­e. The ba­semen­­t is tr­u­ly­ ma­g­n­­ificen­­t.

Loca­tion­­, the looks, the la­y­ou­t a­n­­d­ the fu­n­­ction­­. These a­r­e a­ll qu­a­lities tha­t ma­d­e this home a­ pa­r­a­d­e of homes w­in­­n­­er­. The a­w­a­r­d­ w­in­­n­­in­­g­ home is for­ sa­le thr­ou­g­h the Ski R­esor­t Pr­oper­ty­ Tea­m w­ith Pr­u­d­en­­tia­l. Y­ou­ ca­n­­ con­­ta­ct N­­a­n­­cy­ En­­r­i a­t 435.615.0705 or­ J­a­n­­a­Lee J­a­cobsen­­ a­t 435.615.0712 or­ R­y­a­n­­ McLa­u­g­hlin­­ 435.615.0706

Kitchen Remodeling - Add Value and Life to Your Home

K­it­c­he­n R­e­m­­ode­ling­ is t­he­ sing­le­ m­­ost­ popular­ hom­­e­ r­e­nov­at­ion. K­it­c­he­ns and Bat­hs ar­e­ oft­e­n c­om­­bine­d in a sing­le­ pr­oje­c­t­, but­ ac­c­or­ding­ t­o M­­ic­hig­an C­ont­r­ac­t­or­s, k­it­c­he­n r­e­m­­ode­ling­ is t­he­ m­­ost­ c­om­­m­­on r­e­que­st­. K­it­c­he­n r­e­m­­ode­ling­ is c­e­r­t­ainly a v­e­r­y e­nt­ic­ing­ pr­oje­c­t­, but­ m­­ak­e­ sur­e­ you g­o about­ it­ wit­h a m­­ind t­o k­e­e­ping­ t­he­ c­ost­s in c­he­c­k­; t­he­ pot­e­nt­ial e­xpe­nse­ inv­olv­e­d fr­ig­ht­e­ns som­­e­ pe­ople­ be­for­e­ t­he­y e­v­e­n st­ar­t­. K­it­c­he­n r­e­m­­ode­ling­ c­ost­s ar­e­ always lik­e­ly t­o be­ an obst­ac­le­ t­o g­e­t­t­ing­ t­he­ dr­e­am­­ k­it­c­he­n you hav­e­ always want­e­d. K­it­c­he­n r­e­m­­ode­ling­ is t­he­ hom­­e­ im­­pr­ov­e­m­­e­nt­ job t­hat­ adds t­he­ m­­ost­ v­alue­ t­o your­ house­.

It­ c­an c­onv­e­r­t­ an old fashione­d, dat­e­d k­it­c­he­n int­o t­he­ showpie­c­e­ of your­ hom­­e­. T­he­ m­­e­t­hod of how t­o c­hang­e­ t­he­ de­sig­n will de­pe­nd on your­ life­st­yle­ and budg­e­t­. K­it­c­he­n r­e­m­­ode­ling­ is t­he­ hom­­e­ im­­pr­ov­e­m­­e­nt­ job t­hat­ adds t­he­ m­­ost­ v­alue­ t­o your­ house­. In fac­t­, you’ll r­e­c­ov­e­r­ 80-90% of your­ k­it­c­he­n r­e­m­­ode­ling­ c­ost­s in t­he­ adde­d v­alue­ t­o your­ house­ - m­­or­e­ if you’r­e­ handy e­noug­h t­o do t­he­ wor­k­ your­se­lf.

K­itch­en r­emo­­deling is­ s­o­­meth­ing th­a­t needs­ to­­ be ca­r­ef­ully­ pla­nned us­ing th­e s­ize a­nd co­­nf­igur­a­tio­­n o­­f­ th­e r­o­­o­­m. With­ th­is­ o­­ne r­o­­o­­m being th­e h­ub o­­f­ th­e h­o­­me, it needs­ to­­ be des­igned with­ th­e tr­ia­ngle co­­ncept, wh­ich­ a­llo­­ws­ a­ per­s­o­­n co­­o­­k­ing to­­ h­a­ve ea­s­y­ a­cces­s­ to­­ th­e s­ink­, r­ef­r­iger­a­to­­r­, a­nd s­to­­ve. It’s­ o­­ne o­­f­ th­e mo­­s­t co­­mmo­­n h­o­­me impr­o­­vement pr­o­­jects­ in th­e U.S­. Wh­en a­s­k­ed wh­ich­ r­o­­o­­m in th­eir­ h­o­­us­e th­ey­ wo­­uld mo­­s­t lik­e to­­ r­emo­­del, A­mer­ica­ns­ o­­ver­wh­elmingly­ ch­o­­s­e th­e k­itch­en. K­itch­en r­emo­­deling is­ o­­ne o­­f­ th­e bes­t inves­tments­ wh­en it co­­mes­ to­­ bo­­th­ ever­y­da­y­ us­e a­nd incr­ea­s­e in r­es­a­le va­lue. In a­dditio­­n, y­o­­u migh­t be a­ble to­­ s­a­ve o­­n ener­gy­ a­s­ well by­ ch­o­­o­­s­ing ener­gy­ ef­f­icient k­itch­en a­pplia­nces­.

It is­ with­o­­ut a­ do­­ubt o­­ne o­­f­ th­e bes­t inves­tments­ y­o­­u a­s­ a­ h­o­­meo­­wner­ ca­n ma­k­e. F­o­­r­ mo­­s­t h­o­­meo­­wner­s­, th­e k­itch­en is­ th­e mo­­s­t impo­­r­ta­nt r­o­­o­­m in th­e h­o­­us­e. K­itch­en r­emo­­deling is­ a­ go­­o­­d wa­y­ f­o­­r­ y­o­­u to­­ incr­ea­s­e th­e va­lue o­­f­ y­o­­ur­ h­o­­me a­nd to­­ put a­ new s­pin o­­n y­o­­ur­ o­­ld living a­r­ea­s­. It is­ much­ mo­­r­e th­a­n ch­o­­o­­s­ing a­ pa­int co­­lo­­r­ a­nd ca­binet s­ty­le. Th­e k­itch­en is­ th­e h­ea­r­t a­nd s­o­­ul o­­f­ a­ny­ h­o­­us­e, s­o­­ it’s­ impo­­r­ta­nt th­a­t y­o­­ur­ k­itch­en r­emo­­deling pr­o­­ject r­es­ults­ in a­ s­pa­ce th­a­t is­ f­unctio­­na­l, co­­mf­o­­r­ta­ble, a­nd bea­utif­ul to­­ ta­k­e in a­ll a­t th­e s­a­me time. K­itch­en r­emo­­deling is­ o­­ne o­­f­ th­e mo­­s­t intens­ive r­emo­­deling pr­o­­jects­ y­o­­u ca­n under­ta­k­e in a­ny­ h­o­­us­e. Th­e pr­o­­ces­s­ invo­­lves­ impo­­r­ta­nt des­ign decis­io­­ns­ a­bo­­ut ca­binets­, co­­unter­ to­­ps­, ligh­ting, a­pplia­nces­, la­y­o­­ut, a­nd f­inis­h­ tr­ea­tments­.

Wh­e­th­e­r y­o­­u­r re­mo­­de­ling p­ro­­j­e­c­t will e­nc­o­­mp­ass a to­­tal te­ar-do­­wn and re­bu­ild o­­r a c­h­ange­ o­­f c­abine­try­, c­o­­u­nte­r to­­p­s and maj­o­­r ap­p­lianc­e­s, y­o­­u­ will find y­o­­u­rse­lf p­ay­ing to­­p­ do­­llar fo­­r re­mo­­de­ling th­is mo­­st imp­o­­rtant ro­­o­­m in th­e­ h­o­­u­se­. Kitc­h­e­n re­mo­­de­ling is also­­ an inv­e­stme­nt in o­­ngo­­ing p­e­rso­­nal p­le­asu­re­, inc­re­asing c­o­­nne­c­te­dne­ss be­twe­e­n all me­mbe­rs o­­f th­e­ family­ and e­asing th­e­ e­ffo­­rt (wh­ile­ inc­re­asing th­e­ j­o­­y­) o­­f me­al p­re­p­aratio­­n. Mo­­re­ h­o­­me­made­ me­als me­an le­ss fast fo­­o­­d. Kitc­h­e­n re­mo­­de­ling is a tric­ky­ j­o­­b th­at re­qu­ire­s taking into­­ ac­c­o­­u­nt e­xisting arc­h­ite­c­tu­re­, p­lu­mbing and wiring, stru­c­tu­ral e­le­me­nts, and many­ o­­th­e­r imp­o­­rtant asp­e­c­ts. Fo­­r a p­ro­­j­e­c­t with­ so­­ many­ c­o­­nside­ratio­­ns, it is c­ru­c­ial th­at y­o­­u­ re­c­e­iv­e­ a kitc­h­e­n re­mo­­de­ling p­ro­­fe­ssio­­nal wh­o­­ c­an c­are­ fo­­r all th­e­ th­ings affe­c­te­d by­ th­e­ p­ro­­j­e­c­t, in ac­c­o­­rdanc­e­ with­ y­o­­u­r v­isio­­n and bu­dge­t. Kitc­h­e­n re­mo­­de­ling is no­­ small de­c­isio­­n, so­­ we­’re­ mo­­re­ th­an h­ap­p­y­ to­­ answe­r any­ and all o­­f y­o­­u­r qu­e­stio­­ns to­­ h­e­lp­ y­o­­u­ fe­e­l c­o­­mfo­­rtable­ with­ y­o­­u­rs.

ARIDO Honors Canadian Design

Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning, Toronto Office

Honorees took to the stage on September 25 as the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario revealed the winners of its 24th annual Awards of Excellence at a gala ceremony at Toronto's Direct Energy Centre.


Martens Group Licensed Interior Design Studio, Pentgrowth Corporation

Judges recognized 23 designs from 11 categories for six awards of excellence and 17 awards of merit. The night's big winner was Dean Matsumoto of Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning, who took home two excellence awards in corporate interior design for his work on Kasian's Toronto office, as well as a collaborative work and social gathering space within it.


Cecconi Simone, Private Residence

Another double-winner in corporate interior design was Sharon Martens of Martens Group Licensed Interior Design Studio, who claimed an excellence award for the Pengrowth Corporation project, as well as a merit award for the custom lighting created for the space.


Cecconi Simone, Carport and Green Roof Project

The firm of Cecconi Simone proved itself prolific, with Elaine Cecconi winning an excellence award for work on her own private residence, and business partner Anna Simone bagging a merit award in the residential category for her Carport and Green Roof project. And Interior Design Hall of Famers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg of Yabu Pushelberg didn't leave empty handed, scoring a merit award for their firm's design of the Hazelton Hotel.


Yabu Pushelberg, Hazelton Hotel.

Images courtesy of Associations of Rregistered Interior Designers Ontario.

New Tandus Design Center Certified LEED Silver

Adopting the company-wide mantra, “Leave No Trace,” Tandus is proving they’re not just all talk. The carpeting manufacturer, in conjunction with design firm ai3, recently completed the renovation of a 1904 storage facility to accommodate the new Tandus Design Center. Confirming the company’s commitment to sustainability, the new showroom was awarded LEED Silver certification.

The first-generation build out of the former Atlanta Railway Company Ashby Street Trolley Barn achieved LEED certification for its low energy, lighting, water, and material use, as well as the incorporation of other sustainable strategies such as using locally manufactured, recycled building materials, and low-VOC adhesives and paints.

The design team from ai3 maximized the character of the building’s truss and its redbrick texture throughout the design of the renovation. Keeping most of the existing structure intact, the finishes and color palette remained neutral so the redbrick would continue to provide richness to the space.

Promoting creative synergy, Tandus shares their newly renovated hub with a variety of other design-based businesses including a glass studio, photography studio, recording studio, and several marketing agencies.

Images courtesy of Tandus. Photography by Lance Davies Photography.

Real estate : West Vancouver

We are getting great reader tips lately. This one comes from Luxist reader Ben and is a beautiful modern home in West Vancouver, BC. The home is gated and located inside the Canterbury Estates community. It is up on a hill giving it flawless city, harbor and ocean views. The four bedroom home has more than 7,400 sq. ft of modern space with an an open floor plan. The foyer features an indoor/outdoor Koi pond and waterfall. The copper-leafed custom gourmet kitchen has professional grade appliances and custom edge grain Cherry cabinetry and adjoins a family room with a fireplace. The main rooms open out to the south for the best views.

The upper level is given over to the bedrooms and includes the master suite with a bathroom that includes a tub overlooking the city and a custom-built dressing room with limestone topped island. The lower level has a large games/pool room. media room, exercise gym and private office all opening out to the patio with the swimming pool, hot tub and barbecue center.

Real estate : The Campbell Divertimento

Earlier this summer theLA Times covered the story of this home in L.A.'s Beverly Crest neighborhood which is dominated by a 5,000-square-foot swimming pool graced with a towering stone fountain. The fountain was said to be designed by the acclaimed Mexican architectural firm of Luis Barragan and Raul Ferrera.

The current owner, Eugene Leoni and his business partner, Anthony Brent bought the site, including the 4,900-square-foot house planning to use the offices for their real estate projects, put a little money in it and sell it. Instead they turned it into a four-bedroom showcase masterminded by designer Tim Campbell. The fountain, officially Campbell Divertimento Fountain is Historic-Cultural Monument No. 637. Some architectural historians says that Barragán only did one project in the U.S. and this isn't it but others point to the fact that the names Barragán and Ferrera are clearly stamped on the blueprints dated 1987 and Leoni and Brent have correspondence between Barragán's office and the home's previous owner and that Ferrera was the sole designer. The bottom line is no one knows how much Barragán contributed.

But let's forget the fountain for a moment and focus on the modernist home with it. The home is absolutely design perfect. There is a loggia adjacent to the V-shaped massing of the Divertimento with a summer kitchen. The ground floor is built for entertaining with a game room, long dramatic bar and wine room along with a bedroom suite. Upstairs there is a living room with sleek kitchen, dining room with a large window, and a formal living room with fireplace that leads to the bedroom wing with master bedroom suite and terrace, and two stylish bedroom suites. What's it lacking? It's doesn't have blockbuster views but that's a small complaint with a home like this.

Sydney Beach Side House enclosed in folding screens

With a name like Freshwater House, the design of this Australian beach side house delivers what it promises – a fresh style and water as far as the eye can see. What more could you ask for in a home? Well, local firm Chenchow Little Architects has packed so much more into this modern Australian design than meets the eye. Overlooking Sydney sparkling northern beach, Freshwater House is enclosed in a series of folding screens that are as beautiful as they are functional. The dark wooden blinds close to offer total protection from the outside world, but when open, the boundary between indoors and out dissolves to invite the open air with open arms. Bringing new meaning to the term “ground level,” this contemporary, nature-inspired design incorporates a central courtyard with grass that abuts the interior’s sleek, clay-colored floors. The home’s open-concept plan plays well with its expansive windows and infinite views of sand and surf.

Recycled Plastic Flatware is Used to Create Modern Lighting Fixtures – Waste Not

Taking your personal flatware to a fast food restaurant may be cause for curious stares, as well as being just downright inconvenient. The student designers who form BVD (Black Valley Design) Collective have a solution: they repurpose recycled plastic flatware to create stunningly beautiful modern lighting fixtures. Waste Not is an appropriate moniker for this after-school student project that reflects the groups ingenuity and resourcefulness as well as a clean, modern design aesthetic.

The students, with assistance from their professor, unabashedly dive into trash receptacles to salvage materials that have another life ahead of them. The BVD Collective hopes that their remarkable efforts will inspire larger companies to consider recycling options.

“Puzzling” Modern Design – Next Generation House is the Cottage of the Future

Sou Fujimoto Architects have this “puzzling” vision for the home of the future. Next Generation House is a small, cottage-style design discreetly tucked in a forest overlooking the picturesque River Kuma in Kumakura, Japan. This four-by-four-meter box is assembled from Japanese cedar blocks, thoughtfully fitted together to create a unique interior terrain. Blocks jut out from walls to create built-in shelves, tables, seating, windows and skylights.

Modern Barn Design in Netherlands by JagerJanssen Architects

This unique barn house design by JagerJanssen Architects has made a modern statement in its small town of just 1,500 homes, nestled in the northern Netherlands. Overlooking water and surrounded by a magnificent landscape, this contemporary design comes in the form of an old-fashioned barn with a newfangled twist. Wrapped in clear “skin”, this house features a roof and facade of anthracite-colored corrugated sheets, strategically placed so as to allow entry of natural light and the surrounding views. Inside, this barn house features a “soft” look with walls clad in light woods, and a spacious layout. The home’s basement level is slightly above grade, creating a podium and placing the main level one meter above the ground, lending it a unique floating feeling.

Uniquely Balanced Contemporary Home by JagerJanssen Architects, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Dubbed Baetens House,” this “contemporary home in Rotterdam, Netherlands, designed by JagerJanssen Architects, makes a weighty statement with its traditional brick base layer – featuring a meticulous spattering of multi-shades of grey – topped with a modern wooden second storey. The home ’s wooden upper level boasts a facade of planks, each thoughtfully placed as if forming a puzzle. Both lighter in aesthetics and in mass, the wood is a logical complement to its solid base. Inside, sleek finishes are complemented by the same warm wood gracing the upper exterior, punctuating the minimalist mode.

Paykar Bonyan Panel Factory by ARAD

Architects: ARAD - Bahram Kalantari, Kourosh Dabbagh
Location: Tehran, Iran
Design Team: Majid Pazhuhi, Niloofar Niksar
Technical Team: Anoushiravan Kharrazi, Mehdi Holakouie, Mona haddadi
Project Manager: Eskandar Hadjizadeh
Structural consultant: Behrang Baniadam (Afarinesh consulting co.)
Site Area: 10,500 sqm
Constructed Area: 4,200 sqm
Project year: 2006
Photographer: Kamran Adl, Ali Daghigh

The project: is a factory that contains a prefabricated building system production plant plus an office & ancillary building.

Site: The site location is an industrial city for non-pollution factories, 35 kilometer away from Tehran/ Iran.

The Client Goal: is to change the traditional construction system to an industrial building system which can fulfill the enormous demand of construction in Iran. The client, therefore, wanted the factory to be indicative of this goal in terms of architectural quality in industrial building system with no resemblance to traditional factories in Iran.

The program: is a 3700 sqm production plant with a 350 sqm mezzanine for settlement of technical management team and 500 sqm for technical office and showrooms and mechanical room that must be close to and with a good access to the production plant. There is also a 500 sqm management building with a VIP suit and receptions that is connected to the main bldg with a bridge.

The ancillary building with 200 sqm area is in a separate building in the site.

Building Morphology: These types of buildings always possess some characteristics such as large span, modular structure and homogeneous space.

Architectural Concept: (everything happens @ once) Architect’s approach towards designing a distinctive building is to bear in mind the above-mentioned characteristics.

As regards this project, not only the characteristic aspects have been regarded but also we have been able to get the maximum use of a kind of architecture which provides for all quantitative and qualitative architectural demands.

Geometry of space: (The geometry can make us either murderers or lovers)The emphasis was to apply a simple geometry of space to be able to meet all the prospects foreseen in the project such as the program and the required connectivity and moreover be able to create a new atmosphere which makes turn a globe either in section or in plan as well as the project façade ( interior and exterior) into a homogeneous object.

Modular House Embraces Outdoor Living in Victoria, Australia

Known in architectural circles for designs that identify with their surroundings, Jackson Clements Burrows Architects has hit the nail on the head yet again with this modular house design perched on a steep slope overlooking Separation Creek in Victoria, Australia. The modern angular architecture juts out from the hillside, making visible the shards of glass, wood and a rainbow of green which form the home’s facade. The home’s 2368 sq. ft. of living space stretch across its two levels, incorporating three bedrooms, a dining room and kitchen, and various modular additions that house the sunroom, study, indoor living area and an outdoor deck.

Beverly House in Toronto Has a Modern Minimalist Interior

For the lat 3-4 years I have become the fan of a minimalist interior design, mostly because I am much more productive in a clean but modern environment and secondly because it’s like I can breathe properly. Take a look at the Beverly House from downtown Toronto, that is exactly what I described above.

Restored by Stanford Downey, from a 100 year old row house it features a green wall, a solar atrium with passive heating and cooling vents, in-floor heating, a beautiful open-spce Scavolini kitchen, acoustical sound wall between neighbors (scream as much as you like) and various green products. The bathroom and the bedroom really blew my mind. Everything is so nicely aligned, and the colors … oh the colors. It’s a dream home. Simply beautiful.

Contemporary House in Sydney : Australia

Found over Contemporist this recently completed 3 bedroom/3 bathroom home in the Sydney suburb of Avalon doesn’t look to impressive from outside, but the interesting part is the inside of the house, that I can say is really beautiful. From the outside the house also doesn’t look to big, but when you take a look at the pictures from inside I don’t know why but everything looks very large ..maybe is the minimalistic style, or maybe because of those huge windows. This house is amazing, and is currently for sale and is accepting offers over $1.6 million. Contact agents Bill Eames or David Mackay from LJ Hooker for more informations.

The Cube Condo Hotel

Can anyone take a quick guess and tell us where the Cube Condo Hotel will be placed? Just look at its design. Anyone? Well for those that thought about those rich sheiks, you’re close. It’s located in Dubai Sports City, has 27 floors and 561 luxury condos that will satisfy even the pickiest tourists.

What you should expect if you plan on spending a few days/weeks at The Condo Hotel is a pretty high standard because their rooms include a fully equipped kitchen, washer, drier, a home theater system with LCD, high speed internet and if needed or asked for, services like 24 hr security, housekeeping, breakfast service, and pillow menu. But this isn’t an ordinary condo building. You can also have fun or a spend relaxing time in the lobby lounge or at the pool deck, in one of the outdoor Jacuzzis, at the Wellness Bar or at the Fitness Center.

Knowing that it’s just 20 minutes away from the airport and 10 minutes away from the big city attractions, would you have your stay at the Cube Condo Hotel, while in Dubai? Check out more facts about about it at the Dubai Condo Property.

Prefab, High-Concept and Green

THOMAS SMALL is an accomplished cook, so it’s important for him to try new and exotic ingredients every now and then. When it came to the construction of his eco-friendly house, that’s exactly what his architects gave him. After all, crushed sunflower husks and shredded blue jeans don’t sound like typical building blocks.

But in the world of green design, such ingredients are not rare. So now, Mr. Small and his wife, Joanna Brody, along with their two very young children and a pair of large French Briard dogs, share a prefabricated urban building that has become an example for others looking for creative ways to go green.

The project began with a challenge from one friend to another. “We want the greenest house you’ve ever designed, but we have almost no money,” Mr. Small recalled telling Whitney Sander, who, with his wife, Catherine Holliss, runs Sander Architects, of Venice, Calif. Another goal was that it be a quiet retreat and acoustically resonant to accommodate a passion of his, chamber music recitals.

Inspired by the house that Charles and Ray Eames created in 1949 from a prefabricated steel frame and doors, windows and the like ordered from a catalog, the architects took the project on the condition that they could pursue a novel strategy. Besides using acrylic, Panelite, recycled steel and Styrofoam, they would try unusual ingredients like sunflower husks for wall panels and bookshelves, and blue jeans (for insulation).

It was an unorthodox vision for a site containing little more than a decrepit bungalow. Hoping to start a family and eager for abundant space and natural light, Ms. Brody, 44, and Mr. Small, 49, bought it a few years ago, exchanging a three-story Santa Monica town house for a bargain on a leafy cul-de-sac in this former blue-collar neighborhood.

Because they have ties to the arts (she works at home as a public relations consultant to arts and environmental groups; he was a movie writer and producer and is now a marketing consultant to architects and also a music critic), they considered the location and its new art galleries and restaurants ideal.

The bungalow wasn’t worth saving, so in its place the architects gave them a prefabricated structure with a customized steel frame and panels. The materials, which cost $22,000, arrived on a flatbed truck and were erected in three weeks, for $18,000. The contractor, Sean Icaza, embraced the chance to master a new way of building, but the biggest cost was time: with a tight budget, planning and construction stretched out for three years. The final cost, including trim, plumbing and so on, was $528,000, only about a third of the going rate for architect-designed houses of this size in the Los Angeles area.

The 4,200-square-foot house, which is low-maintenance and has a small carbon footprint, rises to the 30 feet allowed by zoning. It runs along the site’s north side and, through five glass doors set side by side, opens southward to a long, thin yard. There is a duplex rental apartment over the carport in front, and bamboo and bougainvillea have been planted at the edge of the plot for screening.

The house fulfills the owners’ ambition to create a work of art that is intensely green: it relies on cross-ventilation for cooling and passive solar energy for heating, and recycled water irrigates the garden. Three sides of the house are clad in folded steel panels the color of a good burgundy. The fourth side, the south wall, is a geometric assembly of concrete, acrylic and glass, inspired, Mr. Sander said, by a Georges Braque Cubist piece, “Aria of Bach.”

To create rigid buttresses that support the upper floors, wire mesh and rebar were wrapped around Styrofoam and sprayed with concrete. For insulation and sound absorption, the ceiling and walls were lined with two layers of shredded jeans, part of them exposed. Held by wire mesh, they complement the screw-on panels of fiberboard, made of crushed sunflower husks and rising to 16 feet in the living area.

An open kitchen provides Mr. Small with a command post for entertaining. The entire living area is lighted from suspended bars and frames of halogen spots that are dimmed for energy conservation and will be replaced by L.E.D.’s, which are expected to become less costly.

The north wall is lined with built-in bookshelves accessed from a shallow ramp. Made of broad bamboo stair treads, the ramp serves as a gallery for concerts on the concrete floor below. Lining it is a railing of rice grass laminated within sheets of tempered glass.

The ramp leads to the second-floor master bedroom, where clear windows near the ceiling offer a prime view of the light shows outside. ‘‘I love waking up to unshaded light and watching the passage of the moon,” Ms. Brody said. “On July Fourth, we watched four fireworks displays from our bed.”

The Barcode Armchair from Jane Hamley Wells

A new chair from the Chicago, Illinois furniture manufacturer Jane Hamley Wells.

The Barcode armchair was designed by Mark Suensilpong, and is made from teak and stainless steel.

Small spaces Folding Table

Multi-purpose furniture are perfect for small spaces and compact homes. That is why when I found the Folding Table by NYC-based design studio Dror, I thought to myself: “what an excellent idea!”

With a simple unfolding motion a clean surface, minimalist-design table is transformed into a functional workspace. Simple, stylish and practical - I love it.

Prefabricated Element House

This prefabricated house is called the Element House - a modern and rational housing type with high architectonical quality, located in Troms, Norway.Designed by 70°N arkitektur in cooperation with Senja Elementer AS, this prefabricated house concept is focused on interior flexibility with regard to the inhabitants needs and economical situation, where the first model comes with eight variations including a 30m2 flat for rent.

With a simple, box-like form, this prefab interior layout follows a cozy open plan concept for the main living room, dining room and kitchen, whereas the front of the house offers large windows which allow maximum exposure to sunlight, a most valuable element considering the area’s extreme weather conditions.

The wall elements of this prefab are produced indoors under climatically controlled conditions and then quickly put together on the building site. This reduces the problems with water in the construction which is a large problem for the building industry in North Norway.

Modern House in Carapicuiba

Covering an area of 368,30 sq. meters this modern house, or pavilion, is located in Carapicuiba, São Paulo, Brazil. The project was made for a still active retired couple by Brazilian architecture firm, Una Arquitetos. Positioned on a curved terrain, this house architecture design has managed to keep intact a good part of the original woodland on the plot, while the timber structure allows the house to sit lightly on the ground, with minimal intervention.

With its sequence of spaces that are covered and uncovered, raised and semi-buried, this house offers spaces with panoramic views as well as closed spaces shaded by vegetation - all related by the transparency of the entrance room.

Delivering the Wow Factor

This 4,000sqft farm house, designed by archiect Tim Lewis at Lewis & Hickley, was designed with a very simple, yet potentially difficult brief. The main criteria was the ‘wow’ factor, and the design certainly encompasses that. And how.

Taking it’s inspiration from the jagged white chalk that defines the landscape of the south of England, the farm house maintains and incredibly modern look without alienating the surrounding countryside. The odd angles of this house exude a strange yet pleasing mix of modernism and natural beauty, a difficult accomplishment indeed.

Wow is really the only word to use for this.

More details can be found at architects Lewis & Hickey.

Nazca Restaurant by Giancarlo Mazzanti

Name: Nazca, Peruvian Restaurant
Architects: Giancarlo Mazzanti and Paula Galarza
Collaborators: Sergio Garzón, Alberto Aranda, Diana Vásquez
Contractor: Jaime Pizarro
Design: 2003
Construction: 2004

The project is located on the new T zone in Bogota, Colombia. The program is divided in two zone: snacks, bar and VIP on the 2nd floor, dining and kitchen on the first floor.

The project looks to enhace the relation with street level, by overlooking pedestrians from a big stair on the entrance, to sit and watch.

Through this stair you arrive to the second floor, and after passing through the terrace you enter the bar area. From there, you go down one level onto a more protected and intimate space, on which is the main dining area which opens to an inner patio.

Modern Minimalist House in Japan Folds to Frame Magnificent View

Although just a short two-hour drive east of Tokyo’s bustling downtown core, this modern, peaceful abode in Japan’s Boso Peninsula offers a relaxing retreat facing the Pacific Ocean with the majestic mountains as its backdrop. Designed by Kiyonobu Nakagame Architects, this contemporary design embraces minimalism to the fullest, with a simple layout that yields to the surrounding awe-inspiring views. Storefront-style windows cover most of the house exterior, framed by a continuous wall that wraps around corners and folds upwards to create a private upper-level loft space

Floating Weekend Getaway in Swedish Archipelago

Found by Materialicious this floating house somewhere in the Swedish Archipelago floats this sweet little floating retreat that a husband and wife escape to on weekends.

Totally off-grid, far from anywhere, and there’s a little motor on the back and a flip-up steering wheel on the roof for whenever they want to move the cabin.

Engine Offices by Jump Studios

Jump Studios has created an animated but suitably slick new office environment for communication group Engine.

The five-storey building accommodates twelve companies under the Engine umbrella. The challenge was to create a space that would appeal to a broad range of tastes while respecting and upholding the individual brand identities.

Clients can opt for multilateral or unilateral engagement with the different Engine companies, which meant for group working areas between companies as well as for each company individual requirements.

The communal areas reflect the Engine DNA while working floors were kept reasonably generic to allow for the personalisation of space. This idea is most clearly manifest in a series of perfectly formed, striking elements that run through the building as a kind of backbone that effectively link the ground floor to fifth.

Popstage MeZZ by EEA Architects

The city of Breda, Netherlands, decided to bring in the EEA Architects firm to design a small adjacent theatre to an existing building.

The old brick building from the late 19th century now has a restaurant and cafe on its ground floor, and offices and meeting spaces on the upper floors.

The popstage emerges from the earth. It appears to visitors as a small found object with an animal shape, almost like a primitive organism arising from the netherworld. It is completely closed, without outside openings, only a few slits on the peak like fish gills. It looks like a ground protuberance and it attaches to the old building like a parasite. The new building, that connects to the old one through a corridor, holds the stage, the lobby and a concert hall.

To satisfy concerts’ acoustic requirements, the whole structure was build as a double dome, a shell within a shell with an empty space between them. The two shells are separated by one meter, which is enough to serve as a passageway and provide sufficient sound insulation. The first inner shell is made in plywood and an insulating material and has no openings. The framework, the second shell that envelopes the first one, is a hybrid cement and steel section covered by a 10 cm thick layer of porous cement, also for acoustic purposes.

The pre-oxidized plates of copper give it the brown color that the city wanted. The unusual choice of a metal material like this, used to mould supple forms, make the structure a kind of lung, seeming as if it could breathe and make the surrounding area breathe.

Modern Waterfront Retreat on Rocky Cliffside Beach, Innovative Staggered Design

This stunning beach house, designed and owned by architect Clinton Murray, clearly expresses a labor of love. Having overcome the harsh landscape of Gunyah beach in Bundeena, New South Wales, this modern waterfront retreat nestles warm luxuries into the rocky cliffs and puts the house within splashing-distance of the shoreline. The view from afar reveals an oxidized copper roof which blends beautifully into the lushly green background. Beneath the roof is the concrete base – finished to resemble weathered wood planks – and the home’s upper level which, in contrast to the cool main floor, consist of warm, earthy layers enveloping the sleeping quarters. To make a truly grand entrance, guests follow a bridge to the front door, which opens to reveal a large and airy gallery-style space complete with floor-to-ceiling windows and magnificent views in every direction. As you descend through the home’s levels, you’ll pass through the main living areas and eventually find yourself with your toes in the sand and water lapping at your ankles. The home’s innovative stepped design not only creates a wonderful effect and use of interior space, but also minimizes the home’s visual impact from the water.

Modern Japanese Step House - Simply Stylish Urban Design

Taking an inside-out approach to this modern house design, Japanese Kiyonobu Nakagame Architects displayed this architectural artwork on a hilltop, among cliffs and pristine views in every direction, with the Hirose River rushing by below. Overlooking the city of Sendai, Japan, this unique house is a step up from your typical designs – literally. Its silhouette boasts a series of “steps,” create separate volumes of space and ascending to the main living area, housed at the far end of the home and lifted up off the ground, at height of fashion and function. The home’s minimalist interiors focus on the awe-inspiring views, neatly framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. Simple but high-impact details add a sophistication to the otherwise uncomplicated, modern space – slim slats cut into the walls to cast slivers of sunlight on the white walls; cool stone and warm wood floors; and of course, plenty of steps.