House in Utsunomiya by Soeda and Architects

House in Utsunomiya is for parents and their son. They desired a commodious “doma” (dirt floor) and a flow line to their parents’s house neighbored on the south. The site faces the street northerly and is surrounded by four houses in other sides. Light was able to come through from the south side through small void between the other homes.

We arranged the doma at the center of the site and made it pass through the house. The three-storied doma with three large windows brings in natural light into the next four rooms; living room; dining room; master bedroom; and guest room. On the other hand, the doom is the penetrating void connected to the void of the south outside. So the floor of the doma is troweled with the charcoal mixed concrete as well as of outside, and the wall lightness level is brought closer to external wall. Some rooms are connected with the doma, and once the Japanese shoji (sliding paper screens) is opened, all rooms become one. The two stairs in the doma are made of light steel rods and laminated timbers, which prevent the relations between some rooms from disconnected.

House in Utsunomiya, by Takayuki Soeda Soeda and Architects, Photography by Takumi Ota
via: archdaily

Tagomago House by Carlos Ferrater

The residence is located on a gently sloping site facing the sea and Tagomago Island, a Mediterranean landscape of pine and cedar trees. The proposed organization positions the living space at the core with independent small structures located around it. Given that the house is intended to be a vacation residence this allows for more flexible use, depending upon the number of occupants. The articulation of the house along a longitudinal axis provides ideally individual units independent from the core.

Tagomago House, by Carlos Ferrater

The Cube by Electrolux: Belgium

Combining ground breaking design, fantastic cuisine and stunning locations, The Cube by Electrolux is taking fine dining to a new level. Travelling across Belgium, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Sweden, two spectacularly designed restaurants will be popping up at some of Europe’s most famous landmarks, inspiring guests with wonderful meals, events and once-in-a-lifetime views.

The Cube is fully transparent and consisting of glass encased in a white, laser-cut aluminium layer. Everything apart from the floor is pure white.

The interior is white Corian in combination with matt and glossily varnished wood. The wooden floor and carpet under the tables give it extra warmth and atmosphere, while the terrace outside provides an exclusive view across the Jubelpark, the centre of Brussels, the Atomium, etc.

The Cube is sited on top of the triumphal arch at a height of 45 metres. The entire structure has a surface area of 150 m2 and weighs 60 tonnes. The guests are taken to the top of the arch by lift.

The Cube, by Electrolux, Photography by Carol Kohen

The Good Residence by Crone Partners

Embracing the challenge of a relatively tight inner suburban location, and restrictive building envelope, the designers worked closely with the client to rationalise their “wish list” into a concise and deliverable brief. Little was lost in this process and even less in the translation to a finished home for the builder / client and their young family.

The house’s finely detailed bold rectilinear form is set back from the street amidst a carpet of natural ground cover. Entrance down the side of the house is made via a subtle path formed from old railway sleepers embedded into the ground. Whilst sitting comfortably in its street context proportionally, and with setbacks respectful of its neighboring properties, the view from the street confirms immediately that this house is quite different to those around it. The project is realized through a series of simple intersecting and overlapping rectangular forms. Each “box” represents a distinct portion of the overall program. A sleeping / study zone, a living zone, a garage / workshop, and cantilevered above all of this, a parents retreat, complete with its own living area and secluded outdoor terrace.

Good Residence, Sandringham, Victoria, Australia by Crone Partners, via: contemporist

Villa Överby by John Robert Nilsson

This 250 square meter dream home is designed by architect John Robert Nilsson near a lake in Sweden. It features truly amazing views of this lake as from terrace as from inside of the house. Simple shapes, clean lines are things that characterize its design. Very few materials were used in its construction. Limestone, silvery white ash, matte white painted walls and ceilings characterize the house from the inside. The exterior is done in brown with black puff, tar paper, steel and lots of dark colors. The contrast of the interior and the exterior is easily noticeable thanks to clean rooms with large glazed walls.

Villa Överby, Värmdö, Stockholm, by Designer, for John Robert Nilsson

Townhouse by Elding Oscarson

The narrow site is sandwiched between very old neighboring buildings. Three thin slabs are projected into the open volume, softly dividing its functions. The continuous interior space is opening up to the street, to an intimate garden, and to the sky.

Townhouse, Landskrona Sweden, by Elding Oscarson

Richard Meier Model Museum in Long Island City

Richard Meier will once again begin welcoming visitors to his Long Island City model warehouse, a 3600-square feet and features works from spanning the Pritzker Prize winner’s 40-year career.

Most prominent in the museum are large scale presentation models and study models of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, an institution widely regarded as Mr. Meier’s most ambitious project and one that required fifteen years to complete. The collection also includes the first model for the Smith House in Connecticut, one of the early works that established Mr. Meier’s reputation, a series of un-built projects such as a 2002 design for the World Trade Center Memorial Square in New York, prototypes for furniture and product design as well as collages and sculptures composed of wax elements, architectural model pieces and stainless steel.

Tours of the gallery are by appointment only and last approximately 45 minutes. Appointments can be made through Richard Meier & Partners Architects: modelmuseum@richardmeier.com. The model museum is closed to the public during the winter months due to the climate’s impact on the models.

Richard Meier Model Museum, Long Island City, Richard Meier & Partners Architects

Kelle by Atelier d’Architecture Bruno Erpicum & Partners

The disused skeleton of a building attracted the attention of a person passionate about architecture. This person envisaged making his home out of it. A few quality parts were retained to create the volume of the property interior. A brick wall was found and this was extended from the road and formed the interior wall of the hall and the kitchen. The wall also extended outside and enclosed the garden. The living room is as high as the building itself and the office is laid out on an upper level between the metal trusses. The bedrooms are more contained and are located within a large, container-like area. They each open out onto the garden at the side and the light in the wash rooms comes from the two interior bay windows. Raw materials are given pride of place, new items have been used for the ceiling or are cemented and the concrete flooring has been polished and reflects the light.

Kelle, Belgium, by Atelier d’Architecture Bruno Erpicum & Partners

The Garden Shelf by Dreier Frenzel Architecture

The Garden Shelf by Lausanne-based firm Dreier Frenzel Architecture is a summer pavilion for a family in Geneva, Switzerland. composed of three, distinct volumes arranged in an offset manner, the small concrete structure directs its focal point to the immediate site – the garden – rather than the more distant view from the slope which it resides on.

Hugging the natural topography of the plot, the design scales down the garden in a terraced fashion. The individual boxes vary in size and host appropriate programs inside: the smallest form holds storage while the larger ‘rooms’ accommodate a kitchen and a spacious seating area. The interior is connected for the inhabitants to step up or down between functions. When not in use, a system of wooden shutters that run along the open faces enable the shelter to be enclosed.

The Garden Shelf, Geneva, Switzerland, by Dreier Frenzel Architecture, via: designboom

Northbeach Residence II by Heliotrope Architects

Located on a northwesterly oriented beach fronting the Strait of Georgia. The site includes many second-growth douglas firs, a beech grove and a grassy meadow with good solar exposure. For over a thousand years this site was a summer camp location for the Lummi Indians, and due to its archeological significance, no footing excavation could take place on the site. Further, its location in a federally designated flood plain required that the structure be raised off the ground several feet. The design brief called for a very low-impact, easy to maintain summer home that provides necessary programmatic functions with minimum distractions from the land and the view.

Northbeach Residence, Orcas Island, Washington, USA, by Heliotrope Architects
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