Modern Mexican Homes by Dellekamp Arquitectos
Faced with a challenging hillside site and a budget of only $60,000, Dellekamp Arquitectos managed to design and build this striking modern home in Mexico City. The structure is composed of two rectangular volumes partially embedded into the hill. Three sides of the cubes are stucco walls, punctuated by only a few small windows. The fourth side, however, is composed entirely of glass. The home effectively has two opposite fascias, depending upon where it is being viewed from. The interior uses concrete floors throughout and rooftop terraces expand the living areas exponentially. The architects chose to emphasize the diagonal nature of the site with a unique paint scheme on the exterior. The square façades are divided into gray and white triangles, clearly reflecting the surrounding hillside.
Four-to-One Table by Leon Fitzpatrick
The low slung Four-to-One table is a new product recently released by Leon Fitzpatrick. The dining table and matching chairs draw inspiration from both Asian design (its low seating position) and mid-century Scandinavian design (use of bent plywood). The table is easily disassembled and reassembled, making it an ideal candidate for transitional duty between interior and exterior spaces. A sense of intimacy is forged among the table’s patrons with a flush center insert that is softly lit.
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Cascade House by Paul Raff Studio
Located in Toronto’s Forest Hill, the Cascade House by Paul Raff Studio is a dramatic departure from the surrounding built environment. The home’s straight-edged façade, composed of black slate and glass, was designed to reflect the owners’ love of modern art and allow copious daylight to flood the interior. The 3500 square foot home is spread over three levels, the lowest of which is partially sunken into the earth. In addition to designing in accordance with the owners’ modern preferences, the architects also emphasized energy efficiency as a foremost issue. Consequently, several basic but effective design strategies are incorporated into the design. For instance, the slate that adorns the exterior is carried into the interior on both floors and a central “spine.” During Toronto’s cold winter months, sunlight enters through the large windows during the day and is absorbed by the slate, effectively warming the house through the night. During summer months, automated shades and passive ventilation keep the home naturally cool. Despite its aesthetic departure from tradition, the Cascade house employs environmentally conscious design principles that can be adapted to any home.
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Hind House by John Pardey Architects
On the banks of the River London, John Pardey Architects designed and built the Hind House, which responds dramatically to its context. Erected upon a plot of land prone to frequent flooding, the home stands upon coated steel columns, safely hovering above the river when it exceeds its banks. The juxtaposition of a home surrounded on all sides by water is surreal, but tranquil. There are no nearby neighbors and a stairway from the elevated living areas disappears into the river at its base. The home itself is composed of three primary rectilinear volumes. Clad in zinc and cedar siding, they cantilever over the river from a central core, supported by exposed I-beams. Interior spaces take full advantage of the unique site with floor to ceiling windows. The cedar exterior siding is continued inside on floors, walls, and ceilings. Accessibility issues aside, the Hind House is a dramatic demonstration of contextually appropriate architecture, and it allows its occupants to live in an area previously deemed uninhabitable.
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Renovated Church Home in Kyloe, Northumberland
A nondescript exterior and a yard dominated by headstones give no indication of the residential nature of this historic church in Kyloe, Northumberland. A couple decided to purchase and readapt the structure, investing nearly three times the purchase price into renovations over the course of several years. The exterior remains mostly untouched, save for skylights running the length of the roof. Inside, the owners took a similar approach. Restoration is more prevalent than renovation, with original stained glass windows throughout, and repurposed church fixtures abounding. Much of the original seating in the church was refinished and placed throughout the home, and unused wood and building materials were fashioned into a dramatic staircase leading from the main living space to an upper level library. The choice to live in a church is an unorthodox one, but this home’s owners managed to salvage a structure that might have otherwise been doomed to deterioration.
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The Camouflage House by Johnsen Schmaling Architects
The Camouflage House sits atop a bluff overlooking a lake in Green Lake, Wisconsin. The house’s name is derived from its inherent ability to blend into the surrounding landscape. Johnsen Schmaling Architects had exactly that in mind when they designed the home. Its low profile and dark vertical structural members are combined with unfinished cedar panels and bright veneer panels to mimic the natural palette of the surrounding forest. The result is a home that, especially during the fall months, appears to be a naturally occurring part of the environment. The house expands to two levels at the rear, with expansive glazing and a terrace to take advantage of the lake views. Inside, the material and color selections continue, along with the juxtaposition of vertical and horizontal elements.
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Concrete Modern Home by AFGH
Rising dramatically from a hillside in Switzerland, this monolithic concrete home was designed by the German firm of Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler. The home serves as the vacation residence of an art gallery owner, and its austere concrete construction creates a gallery-like atmosphere in the home’s interior. The use of concrete transitions seamlessly from exterior to interior, where floors, ceilings, and walls are all formed by the material. Niches, benches, and shelving were incorporated into the concrete formwork to create integrated custom elements. In keeping with the gallery theme, furnishings are sparse and sculptural. The interior also features unfinished plywood accents to offset the use of concrete. The overall form is a slightly skewed cube, with interior volumes extruded from the façade. The architects chose concrete as a modern interpretation of the traditional architectural vernacular surrounding the home, which consists primarily of historic stone homes. Fuhrimann and Hächler tout their design as a modern reflection of the past.
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Apartment Interior by h20 Architects
Modular storage system that also serves to delineate rooms. This home of a Parisian advertising executive was formerly a cramped, dark apartment divided into six rooms. Now, thanks to the efforts of h20 Architects, his home is a bright, vivacious space with cleverly integrated storage throughout. Storage was a primary concern for the client, who needed to house and display his extensive comic and book collection. The architects seized the opportunity and used shelving and alcoves as a method of room delineation, which creates an open, reconfigurable plan. The system designed by h20 also incorporates media storage and a built in office area. Ebony stained floors and clean white walls are complemented by vivid accent colors lining the shelves and on kitchen and workspace surfaces.
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Lot 23 House by Juan Esteban Correa
A Colombian couple living abroad (in Spain) for many years decided to come back to the country to have a place to spend weekend and holidays with the family, a long established tradition among Colombians. Architect Juan Esteban Correa was responsible in helping them find the right place for their holiday house on a well inhabited and secure site with specific natural conditions like warm weather, nice views, not flat, among other. It was his mission to design a house for them and the kids with a modern, contemporary look that could remind them of their life in Europe and that could preserve that actual look. Defined by stylish intersections, pure volumes with character and a stunning scenery, the house’s exterior got beautiful wooden accents and a pool with a deck to enjoy the dry warm weather.
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Luxury Beach House in Brazil by Bernardes Jacobsen
The Guaruja House, designed by Brazilian architect Bernardes Jacobsen, is a vacation home perched high upon a hillside along the coast of Sao Paulo. The front elevation suggests a modest dwelling, but the view from the rear tells otherwise. The home is built upon a platform that hovers above the hillside, supported on pillars. Two levels of living space, defined by glass facades look out upon the sea, and the entire rear wall slides open to create a single indoor/outdoor space. A sprawling wooden deck affords generous lounging areas and is supplemented by a pool along its border, mimicking the ocean in the distance. Locally sourced wood adorns most of the horizontal surfaces in the home, including the floors, ceilings, and underside of the roof. The Guaruja house also uses local species of trees in both the interior and exterior, paired with rough hewn stone walls to further eliminate the distinction between the home and its natural environment.
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