Fraser Cooke’s Tokyo Home from The Selby
The Selby, which features photographs, videos, and paintings by Todd Selby, recently added a series that chronicles the Tokyo home of Fraser Cooke. London-born Cooke is Nike’s global energy marketing director, and his minimalistic space reflects his profession and passion for music and art. A record collection, myriad Nike sneakers, and local art and advertisements occupy the otherwise reserved domicile, which also includes select modern furnishings.
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Sommarhus by Lindstrand Palme Arkitektkontor
Lindstrand Palme Arkitektkontor was the creative force behind this vacation home in Sweden, which was recently awarded the Architecture Debut Prize 2009. The home takes cues from the local vernacular, utilizing a simple rectangular plan and shed roof. The material palette further reinforces the local influence, with corrugated metal roofing and naturally weathered wood siding. Modern flourishes are plentiful, though, with sliding glass doors lining both sides of the structure, skylights, and an upper level terrace cut into the roof.
The home’s interior reflects its simple conceptual roots and features bright, open living spaces. Naturally finished wood was used to construct built in shelves and an open-tread stairway. The same wood adorns the floors throughout the home.
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Lakeside House by NOW for Architecture and Urbanism
In the Finnish lake district of Saimma, NOW for Architecture and Urbanism and Tuomas Toivonen collaborated to design a modern retreat on a rocky hillside site. The steep site was left in its natural state, and is covered with native evergreens, lichen, and blueberries as it descends toward the lake.
The home was conceived as a place for a multigenerational family to gather and spend time together. The plan of the home is an exercise in moderation between “a collective experience and individual privacy.” To achieve this specific objective, the architects arranged a series of private spaces around a large living room that opens to views of the lake. The relationship between private and public spaces can be easily altered with sliding and revolving walls. A strict white palette was used, allowing the bright interior to reflect the changing colors of the environment throughout the day and individual seasons.
Photographs by: Maija Luutonen
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Island Home by IROJE KHM Architects
On the banks of South Korea’s Han River, a deconstructivist residential complex by Seoul-based IROJE KHM Architects sits in marked contrast to the modest neighboring dwellings. The complex employs nautical aesthetic cues and engages the riverfront with glass facades and an expansive communal outdoor space and pool. Sharply angled, intersecting floors and roofs create dynamic interior spaces. No two units are exactly the same. Rough concrete surfaces and exposed metal structural elements create an honest, raw environment inside. A subtle white and grey color scheme allows the dramatic building form to be the primary, defining element of the structure.
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Social Housing for Miners by ZON-E ARCHITECTS
In Degana, Spain, a small mining town in the heart of the Cantabrian Mountains, Zon-e Architects designed and oversaw the construction of the first new residential development in the region in 25 years. Built using state funding, the structure houses local miners in 15 unique apartments. Outside, the building utilizes an irregular geometric form that reflects the jagged peaks of the adjacent mountains. Locally sourced black slate, whose color and texture are aesthetically reminiscent of coal, covers most exterior surfaces. Inside, spaces are uncluttered and implement the same slate from the exterior on the floors. Each apartment has generous windows and unobstructed views of the Cantabrian Mountains.
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Auto Body Shop Transformation to Home by Levitt Goodman Architects
When graphic designer Debbie Adams and furniture designer Peter Fleming decided to build a home, they were forced to reconcile their considerable creative talent with a limited budget. To do so, they sought an unlikely site- a vacant auto body shop in a working-class neighborhood on Toronto’s west side. Bordered on either side by a railway line and a supermarket parking lot, the pair saw potential in a structure that most would have passed without a second thought.
Adams and Fleming enlisted the help of Levitt Goodman Architects and transformed the former industrial site into an urban alcove that fosters creativity. An introverted floor plan and interior garden provide a quiet refuge from the sights and sounds of the surrounding city. Throughout the home, materials have been repurposed, including a wall in the living room constructed from refinished metal panels found on the site prior to construction. Green features are seamlessly integrated as well, including radiant floor heating, a planted roof, and sun tunnels in rooms without exterior windows. Most important, the project replaced a debris-filled brownfield site with a home that merges creative thinking with ecological responsibility.
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Deepstone House by Simon Winstanley Architects
Built atop a stacked stone base embedded into a hillside, the Deepstone House is the latest project from Simon Winstanley Architects. Overlooking the Solway Firth in southwest Scotland, the Deepston House foregoes the traditional architectural style of neighboring structures, instead choosing a dramatic juxtaposition of a glazed pavilion perched on a solid base. The stone utilized on the base is recycled from the quarry that previously occupied the site. Evidence of the quarry can still be seen in the rocky face of the hillside.
The lower level of the home contains a garage and bedrooms, while the upper pavilion houses living, dining, and kitchen spaces. Energy efficiency was a top priority for the homeowners, and the home incorporates a number of technologies to meet their demands. They include triple glazed windows filled with inert glass and termally-broken frames, roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, a whole-house heat recovery ventilation system, and geothermal heating.
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Interior Photography by Hotze Eisma
Netherlands-based photographer Hotze Eisma has been working for nearly two decades to “chronicle inspirational one-of-a-kind homes, people, and places for the world`s finest lifestyle magazines.” Eisma’s portfolio has been developed through professional commissions and his own personal travels. They include a variety of different styles, locales, and subject matter. Carefully considered lighting and a candid tendency allow Eisma to truly capture the mood of his subjects, whether live or inanimate.
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Riverhouse Niagara by ZERAFA STUDIO
ZERAFA STUDIO designed the Riverhouse Niagra, a striking modern home located on the banks of the river bearing the same name in Niagra Falls, Ontario. Two stacked rectangular volumes comprise 4700 square feet of interior living space and 1200 square feet of outdoor terrace space.
Thoughtfully designed exterior lighting highlights the varied textures of the materials adorning the home. These include rough-cut limestone, metal panels, and cedar cladding. A lap pool lies adjacent to the rear deck and a covered patio created by a cantilevered upper volume.
Floor to ceiling glass runs the length of the home, creating an open, transparent atmosphere inside. Sprawling, uncluttered public living spaces occupy the lower floors while bedrooms reside upstairs.
Photos by Tom Arban
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Luna2 Hotel by David Wahl and Melanie Hall
In Bali, Indonesia, American architect David Wahl designed Luna2, a private beachfront resort. He teamed up with the resort’s owner Melanie Hall, an interior decorator, to create the Neutra-inspired abode. The five bedroom structure is rented to only one group at a time, and is a contemporary getaway that offers the intimacy of a private home paired with the services of a luxury hotel.
Ocean views, sun decks, sprawling patios, and a massive pool occupy the space behind the house, creating an opulent and picturesque atmosphere. Both levels of the home open onto the yard through sliding glass doors that can be left open to create a seamless indoor to outdoor transition.
Bright colors set against black and white backgrounds characterize the style of most spaces inside. Design themes vary from room to room, but bold patterns and modern furnishings and fixtures unite the entire dwelling.
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