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Vancouver-based Omer Arbel Office (OAO) has completed work on their award-winning project 75.9, a new construction of a private home located adjacent to a hayfield in rural British Columbia. The design scheme won in the 'Future Project House' category at the 2019 World Architecture... View full entry
Late SCI-Arc founding director Ray Kappe’s final residential design has hit the market in Venice Beach, California, for a listed price of $4.2 million. The 2,482-square-foot home has three bedrooms and was originally built in 1947. Kappe began the commission in 2019 (the same year he passed... View full entry
Multistudio has broken ground on a noteworthy new four-residence supportive housing project in Lawrence, Kansas, which they say is evocative of their goal of pushing the limits of what’s possible within their community and the industry as a whole. The project involved collaborating with clients... View full entry
I started the blog McMansion Hell to document—and deride—the endless cosmetic variations of this uniquely American form of architectural blight. [...] I worry that I’ve actually reinforced the idea that McMansions are a relic of the recent past. In fact, there remains a certain allure to these seemingly soulless suburban developments [...] the McMansion is alive and well. Far from being a boom time fad, it has become a durable emblem of our American way of life. — The Baffler
Wagner says that, without noticing, the media’s focus on gentrification and the affordability of cities has meant that the rise of “modern farmhouses” and other forms of McMansions following the end of the great recession has gone largely unscrutinized. She claims these and other designs... View full entry
Apparent Japanese architecture aficionado Kim Kardashian recently traveled to the country to meet with Pritzker winner Tadao Ando, according to an Instagram post made by the celebrity mogul Thursday. Ando is designing a private residence for Kardashian in the Palm Springs area, the details of... View full entry
Zurich-based firm Appels Architekten has designed an open, simplistic family home in Bavaria, Germany, composed of wooden cubes. Called “House by the Lake,” the home balances privacy and spaces for gathering. As detailed by the architects, this configuration allows residents to retreat... View full entry
The new developments look startlingly alike, often in the form of boxy, mid-rise buildings with a ground-floor retail space, sans-serif fonts and vivid slabs of bright paneling. The bulky design is conspicuous, jutting out of downtown streets and overpowering its surroundings. Over time, it attracts a certain ecosystem — the craft breweries, the boutique coffee shops, the out-of-town young professionals.
It’s anytown architecture, and it’s hard to know where you are from one city to the next.
— The New York Times
The disappearance of America’s vernacular architecture and subsequent rise of what some call developer modernism is the product of necessity, reluctance towards artistry, and the monopolization of residential development across the country, according to the Times’ real estate reporter Anna... View full entry
A pair of landmark projects in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito is now complete, representing firsts for both BIG and Safdie Architects, respectively. QORNER, the 24-story Safdie-designed tower, is the firm’s first residential project on the continent and serves as an extension of its founder’s... View full entry
For many years, industrial hemp was illegal in the US due to hemp’s association with drug use, despite the fact that it does not contain more than 0.3 percent THC [...] Building residential homes with hempcrete was therefore effectively outlawed until 2018, when the Farm Bill distinguished between hemp and cannabis plants. Then, in September 2022, hemp building materials were added to the model US residential building code, paving the way for legal use in 2024. — Reasons to be Cheerful
The International Residential Code (IRC) accepted a modified appendix in September that some are hopeful could be a catalyst for further adaptation throughout the building industry. Builders for Climate Action spokesman Chris Magwood says its greatest potential lies in commercial... View full entry
New regulations, called Part O, took effect in England in June, requiring that new homes are built with some measures to combat overheating. The regulations aim to reduce solar gain — the increase in room temperature caused by sunlight — ensuring the safety of occupants, even if it may remain uncomfortable. — The New York Times
Hundreds of UK residents died in this week’s “heat apocalypse” that posed particular challenges to those living in the country’s many recently-converted office buildings and council housing. Brick masonry remains the predominant residential construction material, though Low Energy... View full entry
Eric Owen Moss has shared photos of his self-designed private residence overlooking the coastline on a small 30’ by 50’ plot in Los Angeles’ beach-adjacent Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The former SCI-Arc Director’s new A+M home is inspired by the Case Study homes published by... View full entry
As part of the firm’s desire to fill the “middle market” of residential housing options with inspiring contemporary architecture, Chicago-based practice Future Firm has designed a new 1,300-square-foot residential project, called Hem House, that has provided the city with a sustainable... View full entry
To appease his wife wanting more diversified views from their home, 72-year-old Vojin Kusic designed and built a fully operational rotating house. The unique project was born through the couple’s former home, which Kusic routinely remodeled to meet wife Ljubica’s desires. After altering the... View full entry
The Don't Move, Improve Awards is an annual program organized by New London Architecture highlighting the city's best new home extensions and celebrate innovative home improvement projects. In its eleventh year, each selected winner demonstrates "how a well-designed home can improve quality... View full entry
Set in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, the CH House, designed by ODDO Architects, brings together three generations of family to create an interconnected space of community and residence. The narrow home is inspired by the traditional homes of Hanoi with large openings to the exterior and... View full entry
