Creative Architecture in Australia Explore the Notion of Prospect and Refuge
Creating a deliberate contrast in form and color with the surrounding neighborhood buildings, the Hewlett Street House envisioned by MPR Design Group draws attention instantly. Located in Bronte Beach, Australia, the original family house is said to explore the notion of prospect and refuge: “The prospect were the constantly changing beach and coast views to the south of the site. The refuge was the other contrasting character where we created introspective spaces that provide a sense of sanctuary and enclosure“, the architects explained.
From afar, the house resembles a large nest, composed of two sculptured concrete pierced boxes, allowing a large degree of openness. The upper volume was oriented towards the beach views, while the lower one faces to the street. A total of three levels make up the house, with the living areas located above and the bottom two floors hosting the bedrooms and other refuge areas. The unusual geometry intermediates a visual play of light and shades, while also ensuring natural ventilation.
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5 CommentsSustainable and Futuristic Architecture in Stuttgart: OLS House
Organic shapes achieved with unexpected curves are the defining elements for the design of OLS House near Stuttgart, Germany. The reinforced concrete residence was developed by J.Mayer H. Architects to meet the living needs of a family of four. Slats and anti-glare sheeting provide sun protection and the roof, built with zinc plate cladding is fitted with solar panels.
According to the architects, OLS House is divided into “an elevated ground floor with entrance area, utility room and spa, and a second floor with an open, flowing floor plan containing the living, dining and kitchen areas. Full-height glazing provides a free view of the valley and terrace looking over the garden area. Upstairs are the sleeping areas, dressing rooms and bathrooms. The central design element is a sculptural staircase that connects all three levels“. The outside-inside design unity is striking and ultimately inspiring-have a look!
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Imposing Modern Architecture in Sri Lanka: Chamila & Rohitha House
This project presented to us by architect Channa Horombuwa is a conversion of a half-way done ordinary-looking house in Dompe, Sri Lanka into a contemporary piece of architecture. The house was at the half way mark, without a roof but with a collection of raw brick walls and slabs, when the client realized that the outcome of the house was not going to be what he has been expecting. The new residence now consists of five bedrooms, three bathrooms, large living, dining, pantry, TV lobby and kitchen. The Gym is a separate section located next to the pool.
The large living room with a double height opens out to the large front garden on one side and to the swimming pool and deck on the rear side. The intension was to maintain the outdoor indoor relationship very effectively with the use of large glazed panels. The entrance lobby or the stair lobby is once again a double height space with a floating staircase running in one stretch as a feature on one side against a textured colored wall with a series of glass openings at random sizes. The garden runs around the house and joins the swimming pool at the rear end. The glass floor above the deep end of the swimming pool is a special feature and a popular seating space for the visitors. [Photos and information provided by architect Channa Horombuwa]
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5 CommentsFlexible Modern Architecture: Surprising Narrow House in Japan
It is always fascinating to observe Japanese architecture in its most flexible sense. Fujiwaramuro Architects have completed the design for Narrow House, a project that seems to defy the laws of space, located in the downtown residential area of Kobe, Japan. The total area of the site of 36.95 square meters meant a good challenge for the architects, which ingeniously built living space vertically.
Despite its name, the inhabitants can enjoy their space, just like in any other horizontally-developed residence: “The slatted, drainboard-like floors on the first through third floors are connected to the slatted tables, stairwell and skylights, allowing sunlight to reach right to the bottom of the house. Three-dimensional gaps and holes in the visual field eliminate any sense of a two-dimensional spatial narrowness, or sensation of being fenced in“. Would you consider living in a home like this? Except for the lack of courtyards, we have to say we fail to see the disadvantages.
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5 CommentsGenuine Rocky Architecture in Switzerland: The Chamoson Residence
Salvaging the best features of a traditional 1800s house, Savioz Fabrizzi Architecte envisioned a contemporary residence in Chamoson, Switzerland. The genuine rocky surface makes the project perfectly blend in the natural surroundings. According to the architects, “the renovation seeks to maintain and reinforce this character, emphasizing the existing stone structure while using concrete for the parts to be replaced, in order to create a completely mineral feel to the whole”.
Insulating concrete was added to the existing structure, in order to reinforce it. Sustainable feature are also present in the design: “23 m² of solar panels on the roof produce about 35% of the annual heating requirement (heating and hot water). In harmony with the exterior, the interior is formed from unrefined mineral materials, with its natural stone, exposed concrete and polished screed floors”. How would you comment on this renovation process? Would you live in a home like this?
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5 CommentsIntricate and Delightful 3D Paper Architecture by Christina Lihan
When one thinks of construction materials, paper is probably the last idea that comes to mind. Artist Christina Lihan of Lihan Studio creates intricate buildings with fascinating details by using hand-cut paper. Her works (discovered on My Modern Met) are amazing three-dimensional replicas of famous bridges, various landmarks and buildings across the world, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal.
Here is a statement from the artist revealing further details of her sculptural paper buildings: “These artworks are made using unpainted, plain watercolor paper. I use very heavy 300 lb. cold press paper: Lanaquarelle, Arches and Fabriano. Although the pieces look like sculpture, they hang on the wall and range from 2″ to 6″ deep. They are framed in shadow box frames, which I usually make, out of wood, either stained or left natural, depending on the piece“. We invite you to patiently check out the impressive details of each design and let us know if you find Christina’s projects as delightfully entangled as we do.
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Modern Architecture & Storytelling: Giraffe Childcare Center in Paris
Hondelatte Laporte Architectes completed the design for The Giraffe childcare center, a 60 bed childcare center and 20 bed day nursery located in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburban area of Paris. The objective of the architects was to animate the urban landscape by using a child’s imagination, thus resulting into an unusual building, seemingly supported by wild animals, such as a yellow giraffe which appears to be eating the leaves of the surrounding trees, a polar bear and a family of ladybirds.
The project is an original mix of modern architecture and storytelling: “The facades of the building are made out of white corrugated iron that provides a minimal background to the wild animal sculptures. The building changes its identity and becomes a landscape in its own right, a metaphor for the urban jungle. The animals and the trees link the building to nature and motion“. The Giraffe childcare center was awarded the green “zéro Energie Effinergie” label for its sustainable features. 
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5 CommentsRussian Home Architecture With an Interesting “”Patchwork” Appearance
Peter Kostelov envisioned Volga House, a modern residence with intriguing wooden features, located in Konakovsky District, Tverskaya region, Russia. The design of the house is derived from the characteristics of other traditional dwellings in the area and showcases an interesting “”patchwork” look. Wooden planks trimmed unconventionally overlap to create a very original facade. The architects explain that the project was inspired by the Soviet era style, when private house construction industry used to be rundown and backward”.
The interiors of House Volga were especially imagined for two adult couples-parents and their grown up children. On the first floor, the residence accommodates a kitchen and dining room,a quests room, the boiler room, bath and shower plus a summer veranda. Two bedrooms, two wardrobe rooms, washing room, two toilet and shower rooms are located on the second floor, while the work shop, sauna, summer veranda take up the upper floor. For a more detailed insight of the project’s structure, have a look at the house plans at the end of the post.
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5 CommentsArchitecture Museum at the Edge of the Edge
Set to open in June of 2013 in the rising city of Nanjing (pop. 6.5 million) in China, the Sifang Art Museum will be a 30,000-square-foot space devoted to contemporary design and architecture. Designed by Steven Holl, the museum is part of the Contemporary International Practical Exhibition of Architecture, a privately financed project that will also include a convention center and 20 villas each with a unique design by architects like Ai Weiwei and David Adjaye. The new identity of the museum has been designed by Singapore-based Foreign Policy Design Group.
Set within the gentle terrain of Laoshan in Nanjing, the architecture of Sifang Art Museum is a well-constructed mix of harsh angularity with an elegant appeal whereby the asymmetrical structure hovers in space. Every view angle yielding a different trapezoidal perspective; the collateral system adopts the trapezoidal form. The Chinese saying — Strength within Gentleness — is inspired by bamboo — the material and form used for landscaping and parts of the structure. This underpins the brand identity, describing the gentle landscape where in old China, scholars and artists took recluse to master their craft or refine their thinking. The demure that also balances the masculinity of the architecture. White, is also a canvas a museum would function as.
— Foreign Policy Design Group description
I’m going to guess that the previous logo was designed when the overall project was first conceived and before any architectural renderings were done, because that is one crazy-angry logo. As usual, Foreign Policy Design Group’s work taps into the overall essence of a subject to create an edgy (almost literally) and sophisticated logo and identity system that demands its own attention. The thin, monospace characters (in both languages), loosely spaced, stacked, and colored in only stark black pay homage to the architecture of the museum without resorting to a typical solution of museums of using the silhouette of its building. The approach is further enhanced in the stationery, where each item has one angled edge, reminiscent of either the central staircase or any of the archways in the museum. Between the museum itself and the identity, there is no reaction other than I want to go to there.
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Old House in California Completely Transformed by Nonzero Architecture
Broom Way Residence is a 4.200 square foot residential project, completed in the historical city of Brentwood, California, by Nonzero Architecture. The clients requested a larger living space. The best solution to extend the 1950′s old house was…to demolish and start building it from scratch. In order to emphasise the value of the magnificent lush vegetation and the rich site, the architects provided a new and modern house, spacious and welcoming, with large windows and spectacular views. Focusing on sustainability, the architects tried to bring the nature inside the house. The wide terrace, the open space living plan and last, but not least, the floor to ceiling windows, that allow the light slipping inside the house, create a bright and cozy environment. To wrap it up, all these elements underline the importance of nature, as parts of our lives.
Everyone agreed to focus on sustainability: natural ventilation has been encouraged. There’s also another relevant action that proved the environmentally friendly approach: the materials used in defining the project were natural, sustainable and carefully chosen. The radical transformation implied also recreating a mid-century modernism, somehow adapted to the more recent design patterns. The staggering view over the seashore and the historical town make this house even more precious. Due to the fact that the house is surrounded by such a rich vegetation, the architects tried to incorporate the design and obtain a continuously fluid landscape.
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