Certified Way to Stand Out as an Architect: Cube-Inspired Coat by Ichiro Suzuki
We usually do not post fashion items on Freshome, but Mihai (the founder of Freshome ) really liked this intriguing geometry-inspired coat and wanted to present it as a way for architects to stand out in the design world. With cubes being highly fashionable these days, this unusual suit will probably appeal to all of you out there interested in the latest style trends. The coat was envisioned by Ichiro Suzuki, a Japanese designer currently living in London and awarded in various international menswear competitions. Feeding his passion for tailoring, Ichiro comes up with extravagant ideas for clothes, each of the items having a strong visual impact. This particular coat is included in his latest collection, which he describes as follows: “I have taken elements of structural engineering and geometric design and molded them around living forms using traditional hand-crafted techniques of bespoke tailoring; a marriage of seeming incompatibles that I term bio-geometric tailoring“. We would like to know your honest opinion regarding the design of this cube-inspired coat. Do you think it would make an impression in the creative industry? Would you personally wear it?
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Leave a commentCrab Creek House by Robert Gurney Architect
Architect Robert Gurney designed the Crab Creek house in Annapolis, Maryland.
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Project description:
This house, located in Annapolis, Maryland, is built on the foundation of a 1960s post and beam modern house. The foundation was kept in an effort to retain it’s proximity to Crab Creek, an estuary that feeds the Chesapeake Bay.
Strict environmental regulations prohibited enlarging the pre-existing footprint or adding significant square footage to the house. The house is organized around a linear bar, clad in white stucco.
From this central spine, additional spaces are articulated as independent volumes, projecting vertically and clad in either wood or metal siding. The spaces are also organized around a swimming pool and views toward Crab Creek. A continuous wall of glass and covered porch heightens the interaction between inside and outside. The primary spaces in the house are oriented toward the water views, have high ceilings and are light filled.
Visit the Robert Gurney Architect website – here.
Photography by Hoachlander Davis
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Urban Ravine House by Bortolotto Design Architect
Bortolotto Design Architect have designed the Urban Ravine House in Toronto, Canada.
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Description from the designers:
Located in Toronto’s Summerhill neighbourhood, the original 1,600 square foot, darkly traditional, staid 2 1/2 storey house was designed without consideration of its breathtaking ravine site. Today, sits a 4,000 square foot, four storey home that is oriented at all four levels to the natural beauty of the ravine to the south, with views to the city’s towers during the winter months and with views of a natural forest in the summer months. The house now has two faces, the traditional one facing the street and a modern one open to the ravine.
The driving concept in the design of the house is to connect it to the outside world. At the rear of the house which faces south, the inside is connected to the rear yard ravine through views to the spectacular landscape, the city and sky, and through outdoor decks and steps that lead down the sloped forested yard. As well, natural light is introduced to the centre of the house from the roof to the ground floor through a continuous vertical opening of a glass and wood central staircase via a skylight.
Visit the Bortolotto Design Architect website – here.
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Glass House by NAF Architect & Design
NAF Architect have designed the Glass House in Hiroshima, Japan.
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Project description:
This building is based on a simple system of stacking large concrete blocks of 1.0 m x 1.0 m x 1.5m like building blocks on top of one another to make a structure with big undulation like breakwater or wave-dissipating blocks. These large concrete blocks are manufactured at any cement factory in Etajima city, Hiroshima, at a very low price as excess cement is reused and often used for surface of retaining wall or anchors of rafts for cultured oysters. These large concrete blocks are manufactured from leftover concrete whenever there is an order of concrete at cement factory, as there will always be a surplus, and sold as a product instead of discarding. As concrete blocks are manufactured at such a rate, according to the operation situation of the factories, the construction progressed according to the pace of the manufacture of the concrete blocks. The construction of this building was not based on the time schedule, as in standard construction progress, but waited for the stock of large concrete blocks to continue the work; a “slow architecture” perceived ridiculous in modern construction work.
Groove is cut on the surface of these blocks to have them lifted by cranes. By stacking blocks to make vertical line of this groove, reinforcing steel can be placed through the blocks to secure quake resistance. This method of stacking is made standardized to give variation of direction and intervals; at a place giving view and making passage of the wind and at another place securing the privacy.
Overall composition of the building consists of roof and transparent glass to enclose interior space with the aforementioned concrete block structure. There is no roof over the concrete blocks. Therefore rays of the sun pour over the blocks, and the reflection of the light shines inside the house. Furthermore, vines of various flowers will be planted along the block, changing breakwater-like structure to a hill of flower and greenery in the future.
Mass of stacked large concrete blocks is far too enormous as a structure of a building, and the silhouette is far from ordinary. The building also has a function of landscape which controls wind, light and green, leading these factors interior and giving freedom to the interior space which exceed the form of conventional architecture.
Visit the NAF Architect & Design website – here.
Photography by Noriyuki Yano
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Elliott Ripper House by Christopher Polly Architect
Architect Christopher Polly has designed the Elliott Ripper House in Sydney Australia.
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Description from the architect:
The project simply and directly extrapolates existing formal qualities in plan and section, with extension of key existing materials and finishes to retain some memory of its previous incarnation – while providing a significantly expanded series of connected interior volumes that harness access to sunlight, ventilation and views of tree canopies, sky and district beyond.
The design strategy entails:
1. The insertion of a ground floor open plan kitchen, dining and living volume generated by extension of the existing envelope and ceiling and floor levels to an averaged plan footprint of a former lean-to, followed by a rear first floor addition that extrudes the previous floor plate and gable-ended pitched roof form over the new ground floor spaces.
2. The retention of the cathedral volume within the new first floor room arrangement and extrapolation of the first floor raked ceiling-to-wall datum that scribes the alignment of all heights wrapped around this volume, delicately bridged to raked ceiling lines by lightweight translucent polycarbonate – with an open stair and large sculpted void that vertically expands the relationship between two previously unrelated floors.
Fine steel plate elements contrast an age-old weatherboard cladding profile and large expanses of shallow pocket fixed glass and western red cedar externally sliding doors & pivoting windows offer varying degrees of openness and enclosure.
A centrally located ground floor service core accommodates an enlarged bathroom, laundry and storage, enabling direct connection of living spaces to clearly defined landscaped outdoor spaces, while a first floor bathroom enhances amenity to two added bedrooms.
The plan arrangement reflects modern patterns of use by the provision of two living spaces to enable vital separation of adult and children functions. The rear open plan volume provides a ‘day’ space for meals preparation, eating and expansive enjoyment of the rear garden, while the upper living room provides an ‘evening’ space for watching TV, reading and separation from utilities. A third first floor bedroom provides flexibility for future use as a study.
Surrendered floor space enables delight in a sculpted expanded stair void and cantilevered balcony. Inexpensive gloss opalescent polycarbonate reflects & transmits light by day while enabling a lantern-like quality of spaces by night to emphasise the volumetric expansiveness of first floor interior forms. Recycled Blackbutt flooring stitch old and new ground floor zones, economical LVL frames a recycled Blackbutt lined stair, while walnut stain over extended existing pine flooring enriches the first floor.
Significant parts of the of the existing structure were consciously retained to reduce its carbon input. Use was made of recycled Blackbutt timber externally and internally; high-performance glazing to reduce heat loads; external retractable blind to control northern solar access and heat gain; substantial wall and ceiling thermal insulation; energy efficient lights & appliances and water-saving fittings.
Visit Christopher Polly’s website – here.
Photography by Brett Boardman
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Small Apartment Integrating Charming Design Ideas by Architect Flavio Castro
We received a lovely small apartment from Architect Flavio Castro, with an inspiring design and layout. Apartment Putti is home to a young couple, meaning that its structure had to offer expansion possibilities for the family. New hybrid functional interiors had to be created. This is the case with the office, which can also be used as a place for gatherings, by simply adding extra cushions and poufs. According to the project description, the premise for the reduced space (60m2), was to define a functional layout and gain further detailed control of the sizes of furniture, without invading areas of minimal movement. From the dark brown wood panel to the beige sofa, the project sought to compose integrated functional spaces, with complementary colors. We like the feel of this place, as well as its original decorating elements. Do you share our opinion? [Photographer: Alessandro Guimaraes]
You’re reading Small Apartment Integrating Charming Design Ideas by Architect Flavio Castro originally posted on Freshome. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+
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10 CommentsWissioming Residence by Robert Gurney Architect
Architect Robert Gurney designed the Wissioming Residence in Glen Echo, Maryland.
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Description from the architect:
This house located in Glen Echo, Maryland is sited on a heavily wooded lot overlooking the Potomac River. Glen Echo stands as a rare enclave of modern houses in suburban Washington, DC. The new house occupies the footprint of a pre-existing house in an effort to minimally disturb the site, removing no mature hardwoods in the process. A new swimming pool is suspended twenty feet above grade to further reduce the impact to the steeply sloping site.
In an effort to lessen his dependence on the automobile, the owner/ builder required that his office become part of his residential compound. The office is located on the ground floor of a detached structure separated from the main residence by a reflecting pool. That structure also contains a garage on the first level and a guest suite above. Translucent glass and panels of Kalwall are used to allow the building to serve as a lantern to the main house at night.
Structural pre-cast concrete planks are employed throughout the project in effort to expedite the construction process, span large open areas and to provide the ability to heat the house hydronically. Combined with a 5” concrete slab and terrazzo flooring the structural system provides additional passive heating. Large overhangs on the glazed southern wall and the tree canopy minimize solar gain in the summer.
Wood siding is combined with soft gray terne coated stainless steel and black steel window frames to provide an exterior material palette that fits comfortably in the landscape. Bluestone, gravel and water complete the palette.
Interior materials such as white terrazzo flooring, white oak cabinetry and aluminum compliment the light filled and minimally detailed space. The creation of this atmosphere refocuses one’s attention outward, allowing the owner to reconnect with the inherently picturesque site already preserved through the design.
Visit Robert Gurney’s website – here.
Photography by Maxwell MacKenzie
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Graticule House by David Jameson Architect
Architect David Jameson designed the Graticule House in Great Falls, Virginia.
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Description from the architect:
Situated on a hillside site, the Graticule House is conceived to be a trace, or reference datum, allowing a reading of the relationship between the building and nature. Fundamental to the conception of the house is the notion of cadence, where repetitious vertical and horizontal markers of the building’s tectonics are juxtaposed with the particularity of the forest and ground plane. Light and space are modulated by meshing ribbons of glass and wall planes that form a tessellation of solid and void.
Visit the David Jameson Architect website – here.
Photography by Nic Lehoux
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Glenbrook Residence by David Jameson Architect
Architect David Jameson designed the Glenbrook Residence in Bethesda, Maryland.
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Description from the architect:
Two stone structures surround a glass pavilion within a wooded landscape in Bethesda, Maryland. The concept for the Glenbrook residence was to create three distinct structures: one for the most public programs (entry space, garage and guest bedrooms), one for the most private living programs and one where “public” and private can co-exist. Each space has an outdoor terrace or some special connection to the site while the roof of the glass pavilion folds beyond one’s cone of vision to create the feeling of being outside. The building is made of all natural materials with a 100-year lifespan and features an underground spring-fed water furnace HVAC system.
Visit the David Jameson Architect website – here.
Photography by Paul Warchol
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Jigsaw Residence by David Jameson Architect
David Jameson Architect designed the Jigsaw Residence in Bethesda, Maryland.
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Description from the architect:
Recycling a single story suburban house located on a busy corner site, Jigsaw introverts itself in a continous spatial flow around an open air courtyard carved from the home’s remains. Fundamental to the conception of the house is the notion of reflectivity, rendering unclear the boundaries between inside and outsite. Light and space are modulated by meshing ribbons of wall and glass that form a tessellation of solid and void. The conditioning of these internal and external walls is identical. Planes of stucco exterior walls transform into plaster interior walls while passing through glass. Clerestory glazing and window constructs are carefully sited to afford privacy to the occupants while framing and extending views through the site.
Visit the David Jameson Architect website – here.
Photography by Paul Warchol Photography
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