Archinect - News

Modern summer home by Akb emerges from cluster of scattered islands in Ontario's Georgian Bay

2024-08-29T17:37:00-04:00

Toronto-based architecture and interior design studio Atelier Kastelic Buffey (Akb) has designed a modern cottage secluded amidst the natural beauty of Ontario’s Georgian Bay.

Image: Doublespace

The retreat is located three hours north of Toronto on a small island called Whistling Wind in a community named Pointe Au Baril. The region is defined by the expansive sky, open waters, and the many rock archipelagoes that are scattered along the coast of the Bay, forming many narrow waterways.

Image: Doublespace

The cottage comprises four pitch-roofed structures, which are each scaled proportionately to fit the island’s one-acre size. They are clad in silver-weathered cedar shingles, and, in certain light conditions, they are barely discernible from the brownish-gray rocks that surround them.

Image: Doublespace

The main cottage is at the highest elevation, and it is joined by a smaller cabin, a sauna, and a boat storage, which also contains a small fitness room. They are situated on differe...

A Finnish architect unveils a new cottage design before stepping into the Olympics spotlight

2021-07-15T19:06:00-04:00

A Finnish architect with hopes for Olympic gold has unveiled her designs for a new log villa whose inspiration she says came to her during training for this year’s games in Tokyo.

Finland-based manufacturer HONKA is now offering an Olympic windsurfer’s designs for a cottage as part of a series of cost-efficient log villas tailored to cold archipelago environments.

Honka Tyrsky. Image courtesy Honka.

Tuuli Petäjä-Sirén is a practicing architect and Olympic silver medalist who previously served as standard-bearer for her country during the 2016 opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. Her new Tyrsky model evokes waves at crest breaking onto shore in the seaside fishing villages where she had trained.

Honka Tyrsky. Image courtesy Honka.

The 1.5-story cabin is packed with high ceilings, a built-in sauna, and multipurpose mezzanine built from timber logs that enhance an ecological focus that has defined Petäjä-Sirén’s previous work. Two and three-bedroom versions of the home are available th...

This mushroom-shaped nature retreat offers panoramic vistas

2021-04-02T15:23:00-04:00

Strolling through the woods outside of Xin Yu City in China's eastern Jiangxi Province, one might stumble across a peculiar little cottage: shaped like a cone dropped from one of the surrounding pine trees and sitting slightly elevated from the forest floor, the dwelling begins to blur the line between nature and fabricated shelter.

Photo: Fanfang Tian.

Dubbed The Mushroom, the 50-square-meter (538 square feet) house is composed of two basic, intersecting volumes: "The main part of the mushroom is the guest room space, with a panoramic window set up near the viewing height," as the project description explains. "When sitting on chairs or leaning on the bed, the guests are immersed in the surrounding nature."

Photo: Fanfang Tian.

"The loft serves as a child area, linked by the small-scale stairs. The pure white cone-shaped roof is rounded on top, creating a sense of unbounded extension to the space."

Photo: Fanfang Tian.

"The bathroom and storage ...

Wooden "boat" cottages float on Poland landscape

2021-02-23T11:25:00-05:00

Designed by Poland-based Karpiel Steindel Architecture, a series of modest cottages situate themselves within the Polish landscape, with a mountain backdrop to the north, and panoramic views to the south.

The homes resemble mountain huts and have been dubbed "The Boats," for their boat-like form and use of aged wood intended to imitate raw planks.

Set at different points on a hill, each cottage capitalizes on its position, with two forming an exaggerated A-frame geometry and two others resembling a more traditional cottage vernacular.

Large glass walls compliment the blackened wood paneling and skylights allow natural light into the main spaces. Two of the structures host a large viewing deck where residents can lounge and enjoy the outdoors.

The infinite variations of Mr. Wills’s Cape Codders

2018-11-05T23:50:00-05:00

I repeat: The most influential residential architect of the 20th century — and unless you are a longtime reader of this blog (and why aren’t you, pray tell?) you probably never heard of him...Bottom line: Royal Barry Wills’ ethic dominated the housing landscape then — and I’d say, even now.

Since at least 2008, Pam Kueber (of the The Mid-Century Modest Manifesto) has been singing the praises of American architect Royal Barry Wills.

First-time learning his name, already a fan, what is your take?

Atelier 111 Architekti creates a modern reinterpretation of the traditional Czech fisherman cottage

2018-11-05T14:11:00-05:00

Tucked within the natural landscape of Vysočina, Czech Republic is a 538 square foot structure inspired by traditional fisherman cottages. Although its size is limited due to building legislation, this holiday cottage provides scenic views and a space perfect for recreation. Consisting of four small structures, each satisfies a specific purpose. Three of the four cottages are connected unifying the central room, a residential kitchen, a small loft space for children, as well as a bedroom and a lounge located on the adjacent side.

Image © BoysPlayNice

The sleek, minimalistic interior creates a warm atmosphere thanks to the wood finish details that encompass the space. The large windowsalong the side of the cottage allows for perfect views of the water. The simple interiors nicely complement the surrounding areas allowing for the space to be a perfectly serine getaway. The fourth cottage, detached from the rest, has a dual purpose as a place for...

Florida Keys get new affordable housing after Hurricane Irma destruction

2018-08-29T14:42:00-04:00

Irma instilled new urgency to address the islands’ housing problem. “What was an emergency prior to the storm is now a crisis—an utter and complete crisis with regards to the housing for average worker here in Monroe County,” said Mike Laurent, executive director of the Florida Keys Community Land Trust.

The Florida Keys Community Land Trust was developed after Hurricane Irma hit last year to help built new affordable housing, which suffered the most damage on the islands. So far the trust has four new affordable cottages under construction with plans of building 20 more.

The new homes have been designed by Marianne Cusato, who led a similar disaster architecture project in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Designed to withstand 200 mile-per-hour winds and at an elevation of 12 feet, the cottages' monthly rent will be capped at $1,588 with preference given to families displaced by Irma.

A curvaceous, shingled weekend cottage in the Czech Republic

2017-05-15T12:48:00-04:00

Set in a community of “small-sized quaint” weekend cottages in Dobříš, Czech Republic, this house by Mimosa Architects features few exterior edges. Rather, the curvaceous structure was designed according to the desire of its occupants to “have an unusual, environmentally soft house built of natural materials.”

The home is made of massive wooden slabs and wood fiber insulation. The surfaces are covered with larch shakes, imparting “a tinier scale to the house as well as a feeling of solidarity with the forest behind its back”.

Living areas face a garden on the south side of the lot, while service rooms are located towards the front.

The fascinating DIY architecture of these Hungarian summer houses brings back childhood memories

2015-08-18T12:38:00-04:00

One of the strangest places in Hungary lies beside the Tisza River in a village called Gergelyiugornya. Hugged by a bend in the river, it’s a relatively narrow, woody flood basin area packed with small cottages that show an incredibly wide variety of architectural designs and creativity. [...] Most of these houses were built in the 80s, when the workers of socialist Hungary were allowed to build for themselves on small plots of land.

All photos by Attila Nagy. Head over to Gizmodo to continue the architectural walking tour through Gergelyiugornya village and discover more goodies.

Urban homesteading done right: Look at this hidden rooftop cottage in Manhattan

2015-06-18T13:45:00-04:00

Flying above New York City in a helicopter can be a beautiful thing, until you look down and see that someone has stolen and is living your dream life in a bucolic cabin on a rooftop in the West Village. Is there anything more enviable in the real estate racket of NYC than a house on a regular old apartment building's roof? [...] the porch is basically a glorified bulkhead over a hole punched in the ceiling of the family’s loft to make way for a nautical stairway that rises to a landing [...].

Require a little more luxury for your Manhattan rooftop abode? A mere $250 million could buy you this.

Second House First exhibition currently at the RAW Gallery, Winnipeg

2013-10-15T14:17:00-04:00

Check out the "Second House First" exhibition, currently at the RAW Gallery of Architecture and Design in Winnipeg, Canada until Oct. 27, 2013. Second House First gives an in-depth look into the cottages and cabins that surround Lake Manitoba in Manitoba, Canada. The exhibition explores and questions the growing differences between the cabin and the suburban house as well as the contrasting lifestyles of its residents.

Contributors include Conrad Koslowsky (Roz Barr Architects); Frederik Bo Bojesen, (Herzog & de Meuron); Scrap Marshall, (UCLA AUD); Yannick Guillen, (YG), and Lisa Stinner-Kun (University Of Manitoba).

Wild Potter Grayson Perry & FAT Design Shrine-like Cottage in Essex

2012-10-03T11:32:00-04:00

The new cottage will be decorated with sculptures, furniture, ceramics, and tapestries, all narrating her story: "a difficult childhood, young love, a truncated education, children, divorce and finally fulfilment in her career and love life," explained Perry. "The idea behind the project relates to buildings put up as memorials to loved ones, to follies, to eccentric home-built structures, to shrines, lighthouses and fairytales," the artist explained.