Cottage in Vineyard by Ramón Esteve

The house is located in the municipality of Fontanars, on the outskirts of the village surrounded by large acreages. The project seeks the maximum environmental and landscape integration because of its border location between a zone of pine forests and the grapevine fields, being diluted practically in the vegetation. To this contributes the decision to develop the entire program in a single plant, in addition to the material chosen, which provides shade consistent with the place.

The access to the plot is through a path surrounded by olive trees. In the background, you can see the house, hidden by groups of cypresses, poplars and pine trees. You enter the house through one of the wooden structures. The concrete central space is a fluid common area dominated by a big replace towards which all the rooms are opened. From the inside, the views are framed by the pine wood surfaces that intersect the central space. By being considered a second residence, both these structures and the porches can be totally locked when the house is not inhabited.

A wide porch, placed at the end of the house, completes the home. It provides a lounge area linked to a dual landscape, on one side the immediate views of the pine forest, on the other side those of the vineyard. The house is modulated by the timber planks of 20 cm. that built the wooden boxes and also the timber formwork for pouring concrete.

“The house is composed by two monolithic structures forming two large blocks made of different materials, the first one made of white concrete, both inside and outside, cut across by structural surfaces made of thermally-modified pine wood”. Ramón Esteve

Cottage in Vineyard, Fontanars dels Alforins, Valencia, Spain, by Ramón Esteve

House 7 by Studio de Lange

The house is the result of ongoing, long relationship with clients who are known for their knowledge love for art and design. The special dialogue enables both client and architect to achieve high level of perfection, unique solutions and ‘one off ‘details.

House 7, Rishpon, Israel by Studio de Lange
Photography by Amit Geron

House of Yards by Marte.Marte Architects

House of Yards, by Marte.Marte Architects

Pavilion Ponderosa by Paolo Cucchi Architects

The project develops on about 0,86 acres and is located in the North-East of Johor Bahru, Malaysia, inside a high-end gated area, just next to a prominent golf course, surrounded by abundant greenery. The client, the owner of two adjacent plots of land, approached us asking to organise the parcel facing his existing bungalow with swimming pool, tennis court and pavilion.

He expected an extroverted building able to release expansiveness as well as to guarantee privacy, an escape that could help to feel well after a day of work and at the same time a place to share with friends. Architecture and landscape, closely blended together, offer a harmonic ensemble where water, greenery, and light play the primary role of regeneration. Essential modern idiom, material and visual contaminations between outside and inside maximize the sensorial experience to live closely connected with the beauty of nature, and its calming and soothing power.

Compact and porous, the pavilion, nestled on a strip of current water, opens up at the center, offering the feeling to sit immersed in the tropical context. Glass voids break the travertine envelope and glimpses of the garden invade the internal space. The rhythm of running water, from the sprightly jets along the granite wall fence, performs a miracle of freshness, provoking and renewing emotions. Attentive combination of light, natural and artificial, rhythmically enhances the belt of fluidity that embraces and nurtures as vital lymph the composition.

Pavilion Ponderosa, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, by Paolo Cucchi Architects

Home 13 by i29 Interior Architects

Dutch studio i29 interior architects transformed a former rental apartment in de Pijp, Amsterdam into a spacious loft. The original layout had many rooms and scarce daylight. The main objective was to achieve maximum use of natural light and to create a spatial experience. The interior features a simple material scheme with large oak wall panels, white plastered walls, dark blue furniture pieces and light grey synthetic floors.

An integrated wall cabinet organizes the living, kitchen and dining area in one large gesture. Several functions have been integrated in this block such as storage space, a television cabinet and a custom designed kitchen which can be hidden behind two large sliding panels. A contrasting black kitchen island combined with a large high table is placed in the middle of the room and divides the space. Furniture in black and dark blue tones are in contrast with the light airy space. The top floor including two bedrooms and a bathroom, is finished in white in combination with the rough oak flooring. New rooflights above the stairs and in the bathroom are made to flood the rooms with natural light. A built-in bath and custom designed sink blends in with the rest of the space.

Home 13, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, by i29 Interior Architects
Photography by Ewout Huibers

Figueras Polo Stables by Estudio Ramos

This project is located in a distinctive region of Argentina known as “La Pampa”. Pampa is an indigenous word meaning “plains” or “flatland”. Along with its mild climate and fertile soils, the area is ideal for agriculture. When traveling through this area, there is an overwhelming feeling of a never-ending horizontality. The horizon, as in middle of the ocean, becomes a very strong element. The poet Atahualpa Yupanqui refers to the landscape of The Pampas as “serene and pensive”. This project, with its pronounced horizontalism and simplicity of elements, attempts to make a reference to all of these themes.

The building, commissioned by professional Polo Player Nacho Figueras, is a stable for polo horses with 44 stalls, an area of 3850 square meters and a length of 180 meters. It’s composed of two long volumes and freestanding walls, which when articulated, create diverse spaces and situations. The floor plan has two parts well distinguished by their functions. One has a more social use and overlooks the polo field, and the other, facing the back of the property, houses work facilities and groom’s quarters. The volumes that face the field are partially hidden behind extended walls and massive planted earth slopes, which not only provide privacy to the stables, but also subtly reduce the building’s impact on the landscape. Only the center of the building is revealed, where a large water pond is located next to the covered exterior terraces and the tack room. The roofs are planted with wild native grasses in an intentional contrast to the perfection of the polo field’s turf. The slopes serve as both, access to the roof and as natural stands from which to observe the polo matches. Water, the universal symbol of life, purity and harmony, is used to connect and articulate these spaces, as well as to create a serene atmosphere. Two basic materials were used for the construction of the whole project: exposed concrete and local hardwoods. These materials were chosen because of their aesthetic properties, low maintenance and beautiful aging. A very special and intimate connection is forged between the horses and the people who train and take care of them. It has been our aim to design these stables as the space that contains and nurtures that relationship.

Figueras Polo Stables, General Rodríguez, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, by Estudio Ramos
Photography by Franco Molinari, Daniela Mc Adden, Cortesía de Matías Lix Klett

Holiday House in Cap Ferret by Atelier du Pont

The terrain that slopes gently towards the sea is typical of Cap Ferret: a small forest of strawberry tree, yucca, and pines. The challenge was to design a project that would exist in harmony with its surrounding landscape and have a limited impact on the existing vegetation.
The house echoes forest cabins and the multiple openings serve to accentuate its relationship to nature. Its implantation allowed to preserve a maximum of existing trees, and the façade uses mostly wood to mimic the pine grove around it. The construction blends into the topography of the terrain. The spaces were designed for a large sibling so that everyone while getting together, can still benefit of intimacy and calm. The «cabins» are connected to one another through a series of terraces. A large internal curved lines stairway exists in counterpoint to the triangular openings and the other diagonal lines that frame the views of the surrounding nature.

Holiday House in Cap Ferret, Lège-Cap-Ferret, France, by Atelier du Pont
Photography by Takuji Shimmura, Philippe Garcia

Ghost Wash House by A-I-R Architects

Ghost Wash House  Paradise Valley, Arizona, by A-I-R Architects

BG Apartment by Francesc Rifé

This dwelling is located at a key point of the city of Seville: next to La Maestranza bull ring and the Guadalquivir River. The owners of the flat, located on the top floor of a classic building, were aiming to achieve a more open space with more light. The dwelling is clearly divided between daytime and night-time areas. The latter includes two small bedrooms, a bathroom and an en-suite bedroom with a dressing room. The materials to be highlighted in both bathrooms are Calacatta marble and bleached pine wood.

The day time area consists of an access, planned in glass and marble, a feature dividing the outside and the inside of the dwelling. Leading on from the entrance, there is a significant open plan kitchen finished in bronze and a living room, split up into two environments: on the one hand, a reading area with chaise longues and a sofa area facing the fireplace, with a television, large windows and views of the river. Following that there is a dining area that acts as a fulcrum between the open space and a rear office area, acting as a bridge with the enclosed night-time area. The project’s highlight material is large format bleached pine, used for the walls and floor, with the exception of the entry area, office and bathroom where Calacatta marble has been used.

BG Apartment, Seville, Spain, by Francesc Rifé
Photography by Fernando Alda

Spotlight Volumes by Lukas Peet

The Spotlight Volumes series was originally designed by Lukas Peet in 2010, With the table light being the newest addition to the series. Available in any pairing of the four available shade sizes allowing for 16 possible configurations. Featuring an energy efficient dim-able LED globe light bulb and billet machined Aluminum dimmer knob with subtile laser etched ‘AND” logo for easy indication of the level of light being emitted.

The standard surface finish is a textured matte powder coat, with decorative finishes available in anodized clear, black and gold. while the electrical cord wraps and knots around the fixtures midsection, communicating the restriction of the two joined halves. With a machined weighted base finished in felt.

Spotlight Volumes, by Lukas Peet