Archinect - News

This oceanside Nova Scotia home is designed as a ‘prototype for modest living’

2023-10-10T11:22:00-04:00

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects has completed an oceanside home on Nova Scotia’s South Shore described as “a prototype for modest living.” The Chester House measures 1,350 square feet and was designed to be “culturally and economically appropriate to its setting.”

Image credit: James Brittain

Externally, the home features minimally detailed eaves, corners, and openings to “underscore and elevate the architectural simplicity.” In contrast to the wooden base, the upper story is clad in a weathered steel sleeve which “appears to slide over” the base. The top floor facade is surrounded by glass to create panoramic views of the forest, while small punch windows create vignettes of the landscape features.

Image credit: James Brittain

The ground floor contains two bedrooms and a staircase constructed of an origami-like folded perforated steel plate. The decision to place bedrooms on the ground floor was driven by a desire to create a sheltered, quiet environmen...

A split structure made of poured concrete, steel beams, and wood

2022-02-14T11:23:00-05:00

He was drawn to the pit house design because it would make the home feel like a bunker. Like the pipeline, which was removed, the house would be embedded into the land, but instead of posing an environmental threat, it would provide a healthy habitat for plant and animal species to flourish. He also wanted the house to be no larger than the 1,400-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment he’d been living in with his son. The Edgeland House’s green roofs are perhaps its most magnificent feature.

Julie Pool visits Edgeland House in East Austin, by Bercy Chen Studio, to chat with the author Christopher Brown.

Edgeland House, view more on Bercy Chen's Archinect profile

Ai Weiwei-designed home goes on the market for $5.25M

2019-07-01T13:21:00-04:00

Ai Weiwei, artist and activist, has dabbled in architecture more than once in his career. From his Bird's Nest collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron to his work on the Jinhua Architecture Park, Weiwei's interests in architecture would eventually draw him towards a residential project. Located in Ancram, NY, the home's first owner had built it as a vacation retreat for Chinese-American businessman and renowned art collector, Christopher Tsai.

Rear view of main house. Image © Michael Bowman Photography

Guest house. Image © Michael Bowman Photography

Weiwei collaborated with the Swiss architecture firm HHF to design the art enthusiasts getaway home. Built on 37.5 acres, the house comprises a large main house consisting of 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The main house is a connection of cube-like sections equaling to 3,700 square feet. In addition to the main house, Weiwei designed an additional guest house with a timber structure and corrugate...

REX's Necklace Residence brings a family's dream home one step closer to reality

2019-03-26T12:30:00-04:00

REX recently unveiled the final design for the Necklace Residence, a yet-to-be-built, luxurious family dream home of its own kind. Overlooking the Long Island Sound, the intricately designed 43,500-square-foot project is an ensemble of five private family homes created for a husband and wife, their four children, and each of their children's future families. It was designed so that each home can be experienced autonomously while being part of a larger domestic network, like a necklace, REX describes.

The Necklace Residence's layout also allows the family to experience different views of the surrounding landscape, from a dense forest on one side to the ocean on the other.

Rendering © Luxigon.

Clad in highly reflective glass to blend into its natural landscape, the Necklace Residence also encompasses two shared pavilions: the Event Pavilion and the Entertainment Pavilion. The second and third tier beneath the main level have a garage, gym, home theater, indoor swimming pool, staff ar...

A small factory of bricks

2018-07-02T15:35:00-04:00

Three nine-foot-high, 300-square-foot rooms stacked atop one another, along with two interior bricked-in patios on the first floor furnished with clay pots of cacti and other regional plants, which offer the only visual disruption of the house’s earthen hues and exacting lines. Inside, the brick walls are adorned with little but the shadows of the day’s moving light.

Luisita Lopez Torregrosa traveled to Mexico City, to profile Taller / Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo and their Studio Iturbide project, built for Rocha’s mother, the photographer Graciela Iturbide.

via Ben Sklar

Unknown pioneer of solar energy, Konrad Frey, is given a second look

2017-10-18T17:23:00-04:00

Konrad Frey was a pioneer who designed and built solar houses based on data and scientific insights. Yet Frey and his work are largely unknown. A project by the architectural theoretician Anselm Wagner aims to change that.

"The architectural designs of Konrad Frey are characterized by the fact that their form is a consequence of function. Had he worked in Vienna, had his activities started in the urban context, his architecture would have become a topic of research long ago," says art historian and architectural theoretician Anselm Wagner.

Frey studied solar energy in the 1960s and designed Austria's first solar house in 1972, together with Florian Beigel, using a combination of active and passive harnessing of solar energy. "The Sun Houses of Konrad Frey: Environmental Research and Solar Design Knowledge", a research project funded by Austrian Science Fund FWF, will produce an online catalogue raisonné and a monograph of Frey work.

The Marly House employs neighborly design strategies

2017-02-13T15:05:00-05:00

In the town of Marly-le-Roi, just outside of Paris, a new residential project by Karawitz Architects gives new meaning to the idea of curb appeal. Set on a leafy street lined with fenced-in houses, the Marly House strives to open up to the street through a series of innovative strategies. It still has a fence, but perforations give passers-by a glimpse into the garden.

According to the architects, “Everything is a pretext to awaken the curiosity of the passers-by, [from] the pre-grayed larch cladding that envelops the whole thing right up to the rafts, thanks to the absence of covers, to the fold of the main facade—which opens a perspective towards the garden.”

The Marly House is raised up and access is made from this underground space, which doubles as a carpark. Inside, the ground floor is marked by fluid connections between the three primary spaces, which orbit around a central fireplace and a prefabricated steel staircase.

Check out more images as well as drawings in the image gal...

Tracking down Sears Catalog Homes

2016-05-17T15:45:00-04:00

Not long ago, the Sears, Roebuck and Co. mail-order catalog was the ultimate marketplace, much like Amazon is today. You could even buy a house straight from the catalog. Just pick out the home you like, and voila, Sears would deliver it just for you. [...] From 1908 to 1940, Sears sold between 70,000 to 75,000 homes, so there are plenty out there, you just need to know where to look.

↑ This photo shows a Sears "Magnolia" kit house in Benson, North Carolina. (Photo: Rosemary Thornton; image via Wikipedia)

"Sears Modern Homes offered the latest technology available to house buyers in the early part of the twentieth century. Central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity were all new developments in house design that "Modern Homes" incorporated, although not all of the houses were designed with these conveniences. Primarily shipped via railroad boxcars, these kits included most of the materials needed to build a house. Once delivered, many of these houses were assembled by the new homeowner, relatives, friends and neighbors, in a fashion similar to the traditional barn-raisings of farming families." (via the Sears Catalog Home Wikipedia page)

Richard Meier’s High and Mighty Beach House

2014-07-11T12:27:00-04:00

But building the $2.25 million steel-and-glass structure he had in mind presented a number of challenges on Fire Island. For starters, they had to dig 10 feet below sea level to bury the wood piles. Then they had to put a steel frame on top that could support 25 tons of glass. Sam Wood, the contractor, had been working on Fire Island for 30 years and had never seen anything like it. “It’s built like a mini-skyscraper,” he said.

Return of 'mansionization' has some L.A. homeowners grumbling

2014-05-05T13:35:00-04:00

Six years ago, Los Angeles politicians imposed new limits on the size of new and renovated houses, promising to rein in what they called "homes on steroids" dwarfing blocks of smaller buildings. But as the housing market rebounds and construction picks up, many homeowners complain that "mansionization" has revved up — reigniting long-standing policy battles and sometimes bitter fence fights over the face and feel of L.A.'s neighborhoods.

A Peek Inside Yanukovych's Luxury Villa

2014-03-17T15:56:00-04:00

After Viktor Yanukovych fled, many Ukrainians were astounded by their former leader's opulent residence. So far images have only been shown of a few rooms. A SPIEGEL ONLINE special with 360-degree panorama photos now offers a walkthrough of the spectacular villa.

Results of the [SYDNEY] Container Vacation House competition

2013-12-05T12:39:00-05:00

[AC-CA] recently announced the results of their [SYDNEY] Container Vacation House competition. Entrants had to design a waterfront vacation house on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia using only a freight container.

Out of 307 proposals, the jury chose three winners:

1st prize (US$3,500): Ales Javurek, Czech Republic (see cover pic)

2nd prize (US$1,700): Eunjin Koh and Jonghyun Kim, South Korea

3rd prize (US$800): Andrew Nicolle and James Moulder, Australia

Images courtesy of [AC-CA].

AGi architects wins in two categories for 2013 Middle East Architect Awards

2013-11-14T19:02:00-05:00

AGi architects enjoyed yet another lucky year in the 2013 Middle East Architect Awards recently held in Dubai. In addition to being shortlisted in five categories, the Spanish-Kuwaiti firm won two awards for The Star House and the BBS Pre-School, both in Kuwait. The Star House received Residential Project of the Year — making it the second year in a row that AGi won in the category — while the BBS Pre-School was named Institutional & Cultural Project of the Year.

The Seacliff House by Chris Elliott Architects wins two 2013 Sydney Design Awards

2013-11-11T17:22:00-05:00

The Seacliff House by Chris Elliott Architects is a residential house built for Chris Elliott's family on the famous Bondi Coogee to Coastal Walk in Sydney, Australia. Aside from maximizing both the narrow block space it is built on and the views of its coastal surroundings, the Seacliff House recently received two residential category 2013 Sydney Design Awards among others.

70's Vegas underground home on the market for $1.7M

2013-09-12T20:43:00-04:00

The above ground structure is just like any other– with the only hints being multiple air conditioning units, and emergency exits around the property. The underground interior is one that’s stuck in the hippy chic 1970′s days. Pink draperies, carpet and classic columns outfit the dated interior. Putting greens, a rock facade barbecue and natural style light settings make for an interesting setting that’s completely user controlled.

Shortlist for the 2013 RIBA Manser Medal highlights the UK’s best new homes

2013-09-09T21:44:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects has revealed its shortlist for the 2013 RIBA Manser Medal - Best New Home -- the UK's most distinguished private home design award. [...] Locally presented and judged, the RIBA Awards are specifically for structures in the UK by RIBA Chartered Architects and RIBA International Fellows. Winners are also considered for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

UPDATE: Winners of 2013 RIBA Manser Medal and Stephen Lawrence Prize

DESIGN IN FILM: THE MODERN HOUSE

2013-08-20T14:55:00-04:00

Modern homes, both real and fake, as featured in the movies.

From microchips to algae: Finding ways to make buildings that live, breathe and think

2013-05-23T13:33:00-04:00

The BioIntelligent Quotient House, which opened in March, is the first to use external tubes of algae to help heat, shade and generate power for the building. But Khoury Levit Fong (KLF), the Toronto firm in which el-Khoury is a partner, came up with the idea six years ago, and incorporated it into a design that won – then lost – an international competition for a huge new museum in Shenzhen, a major Chinese city near Hong Kong.

Eisenman's House VI, Venturi's Philadelphia House, and Louis Kahn’s Esherick House all set to hit the market

2013-05-01T18:18:00-04:00

Three of the most important modernist houses in the Northeast, including the 1964 house Robert Venturi designed for his mother, have been (or will soon be) put up for sale by their long-time owners, two of them without covenants that would ensure their preservation.

Venturi's Philadelphia House

Louis Kahn’s Esherick House

Edwin Heathcote compares the Schröder House and Eames House

2013-04-08T19:33:00-04:00

Unlike Rietveld’s complex interplay of layered planes, the Eameses, looking towards more commercial approaches to middle-class housing, created something more like the box that Rietveld was trying to escape.

Pool House Florida by NL Architects

2013-03-21T14:00:00-04:00

About a year ago, we published the rather unusual proposal for a Bike Pavilion in China's Hainan Province designed by NL Architects. The concept of using any available square inch of roof space seems to have grown into a trademark of the Amsterdam-based architects, as they are now sharing their latest proposal, a pool house for a client in Del Rey Beach, Florida.

Project Description from NL Architects:

In October 2011 we received an exhilarating email by Andrew R:

I have researched a number of highly successful up and coming contemporary architects with world- wide acclaim, and feel that the work of NL Architects exemplifies the vision I have in mind for my future home.

Andrew purchased a property in Del Ray Beach, Florida and planned to replace the existing 12,000 square foot mansion with a smaller home of 8,000 and guest house of 4,000 square foot.

Clearly a potential dream assignment; we immediately started drawing... we prepared a ‘sketchbook’ that intended to cataly...

Architect aims to build ‘endless’ house using 3D printer

2013-01-18T17:34:00-05:00

Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars from Universe Architecture in Amsterdam has designed a house that is not only created using a 3D printer, but also ‘endless’ in its design. A visitor to the home could walk in a constant path continuously through the house, as it’s designed as a möbius strip

House in Tavira by Vitor Vilhena

2012-12-12T14:34:00-05:00

Context
South of Portugal, Algarve, Tavira. Here the ocean peeks, while the 400 olive trees surround the house. An old building has to give place to a new one, keeping the two- volume-footprint in the soft topography.

Solution
Based on the area occupied by the pre-existence, maintaining the orientation of the housing compartments south, the architectural concept seeks to create two parcels with separate identities, including one volume with irregular geometry and other volume of regular geometry that communicate through a glass hallway. The surrounding outdoors relate to the terrain, landscape and vegetation.

Vitor Vilhena Architects
Location – Tavira, Algarve, Portugal 400 m2
Building costs: 1.3 M
Started: 2011
Finished: 2012

Oscar Niemeyer's LA house for Joseph and Anne Strick

2012-12-07T13:23:00-05:00

... he did design one house in the US, "where he was long banned because of his leftist political associations," according to an Architectural Digest story from 2005. The 1963 Strick House sits on Santa Monica's architecture-packed La Mesa Drive, and it was designed via post--Niemeyer never visited the site or met Joseph and Anne Strick, who commissioned the house (Joseph was a filmmaker best known for his adaptation of Ulysses and in fact divorced Anne before the house was even finished).

Eric Chavkin shared an interesting story about this house in the comments from the news post announcing Niemeyer's death...

I wrote this a couple of years ago

Go Oscar go...102 years.

In 1964 Oscar Niemeyer designed a residence for the art doc and film director and also producer Joe Strick. I got to meet Joe Strick as he was partners with a friend of mine, screenwriter and director Fred Haines, who I invited and they arrived to party at the book launch of Voluptuous Panic held at Adam Parfrey's Echo Park house.

That was fun evening. Of course Parfrey and I asked Strick about working with Niemeyer but the owner and architect never did meet only corresponded.

Funny how it goes; Inventor and new cinema filmaker Stick hires a world famous architect Niemeyer to design a modern home in Los Angeles, then the Brazilian architect's only residence in North America. During construction Strick and his wife divorce. The property is sold and later forgotten, almost demolished, b...

The NYT takes us on a tour of Henry Urbach's SF home

2012-11-01T13:50:00-04:00

Mr. Urbach, 49, until recently the curator of architecture and design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and his spouse, Dr. Hartman, 52, a psychoanalyst, have approached the design of their home as if it were a conceptual art exhibit for two. The apartment’s many mirrors aren’t for checking for stray nose hairs. They “complicate spatial relationships,” Mr. Urbach says.

The cost of living in a "landmark status" Frank Lloyd Wright home

2012-10-26T14:13:00-04:00

Its owners are hoping to sell the house before Nov. 7, when the City Council is scheduled to vote on giving it landmark status, which they oppose. Though they agree that the house ought to be saved — “The property is gorgeous,” Mr. Sells said in its master bedroom one morning — they say they must first safeguard their investment, as well as their livelihood. “If it becomes a landmark,” Mr. Sells said, “we’re out of business.”

Narrowest building opens in Poland

2012-10-22T11:53:00-04:00

The narrowest building in Poland, and possibly the narrowest in Europe, is the brainchild of Israeli writer Edgar Keret. It was conceived as a memorial to his parents' family, who died in Warsaw during the World War II Holocaust. The house was actually squeezed in-between two existing central Warsaw residential buildings on the edge of the former Warsaw Ghetto. Polish architect Jakub Szczesny designed the weird construction, which is still a real house with all the necessary facilities.

Previously: Polish architect building world's narrowest house between Warsaw tower blocks

UNStudio completes Haus am Weinberg

2012-10-16T11:34:00-04:00

UNStudio’s recently completed Haus am Weinberg, located on the outskirts of Stuttgart, affords pastoral views of the stepped terraces of an ancient hillside vineyard on one side and cityscape vistas on the other.

Whilst structurally the Haus am Weinberg and its garden landscaping reflect the strata and gradations of the nearby vineyard landscape, the true experience of the house is to be found from the inside out.

Ben van Berkel: “The Haus am Weinberg adopts a stereovisual spatial effect, acting almost as an optical instrument, whereby not a parallax view, but a parallax experience is created. Moments of parity with the surrounding landscape from inside the house form a constant experiential connection and awareness of its immediate context.”

The inner circulation, organisation of the views and the programme distribution of the house are determined by a single gesture, ‘the twist’. In the Haus am Weinberg the central twist element supports the main staircase as it ...

RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize 2012 Shortlists Five Houses

2012-09-18T18:38:00-04:00

Yesterday we published the shortlist for the RIBA Manser Medal 2012 for the best new house, and today we're following up with the list of shortlisted houses for this year's Stephen Lawrence Prize which the RIBA announced just recently. [...] The prize, set up in memory of the teenager who was setting out on the road to becoming an architect when he was murdered in 1993, is intended to encourage fresh talent working with smaller budgets.

A Rational Approach

2012-08-21T13:57:00-04:00

When asked, the German-born “Father of Fonts” insists that there is nothing similar about designing a typeface and designing a house. “They’re totally different,” he says, in excellent English peppered with correctly implemented expletives. “With a typeface, you design a space. A letter is defined by the inside space, more than it is by the outside. You design for shape, but also for function.”... “In either case,” he concedes, “the design is as much about function as it is about aesthetics.”