Architect: ODOS Architects
Project Type: Restoration and extension, residential.
Location: Ballymahon, Ireland

The Dublin based practice of ODOS architects takes a humanistic approach to their work by prioritizing the users functional needs, and their relationship to nature. This private residence features a refurbishment and extension of the existing farmhouse and stable complex in Ballymahon, Co.Longford. The 450 sqm. addition emphasizes elongated rooms with plenty of opportunities to view and connect with the surrounding exterior. Rich, warm wood clads the exterior facade as a high contrast to the surrounding buildings; this makes the home addition a place of interest as you approach the entry.Traditional Portland Cement was replaced with environmentally friendly Eco-CEM and the house boasts a renewable energy source in it’s high-efficiency wood pellet boiler which supplies the underfloor heating.- ODOS Architects Read the rest of this entry »

Architect: Fearon Hay Architects
Location: Great Barrier Island, New Zealand
Constructed Area: 250 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2008
Photographs: Patrick Reynolds

Located on the Eastern coastline of the Huaraki Gulfs, Great Barrier Island the ‘Great Barrier House’ is a relaxed holiday destination that references traditional notions of bach occupation. Drawing inspiration from the idea of two sheds linked by stretched tarpaulin, the house consists of two habitable areas joined by an expansive floating pavilion. Wide expanses of sliding glass doors & adjustable blinds allow the pavilion to respond to different environmental conditions while providing the location for eating dining & relaxing within the natural surrounds of the property. Read the rest of this entry »

Designers: Taro Kono and Hiroshi Muranishi
Project Type: Single family residence
Location: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture
Completion: March 2010
Site Area: 1,105 square feet (102.65m²)
Floor Area: 1,287 square feet (119.52m²)

A new construction in Kyoto built on a narrow lot measuring less than 14 feet wide. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects: XPIRAL / Javier Peña Galiano
Location: Murcia, Spain
Collaborators: Lola Jiménez, Susana Velasco, Malte Eglinger
Structural Engineering: IDEEE
Services: Federico Garcia Salmerón
Construction Engineering: Luis Fernando Perona, Miguel Ángel Carceles
Promotor: Juan Carlos López Orenes
Project year: 2003-2006
Budget: US $1,15 M
Constructed Area: 467 sqm
Photographs: Juan de la Cruz Megías & Jesus Granada

The house among pines acts as an interface between domestic life and the land. It is a device that allows inhabiting the plot. It is not a house for vacation but for daily use. In this way, the whole space is for the enjoyment of its inhabitants. The lower area is voided in the mountain, inlaid with the uses that hardly require sunlight and the main access to the upper floor. Between this access and the one to the plot, the shadow of the cantilevered upper area creates an exterior suburban hall, thought as a car access. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects: Anderson Anderson Architecture
Location: Sonoma County, CA, USA
Collaborators: Ben Kinmont; Drew Allen, Contractor; Terry Nettles, Engineer
Project Area: 4,500 sq ft
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Anthony Vizzari

The Orchard House is a highly site-specific, cast concrete construction, rationally pre-fabricated through the use of a limited set of repeated, modular formwork, and standardized SIPS sandwich panel and pre-fabricated truss framing components. This approach allows a high degree of adaptability to the landscape, while keeping construction costs to a minimum. Read the rest of this entry »

Architect: Jarmund/Vigsnæs AS Architects MNAL
Assisted by: Claes Cho Heske Ekornaas
Contractor: AS Ventilasjonsservice
Gross area: 160 m²
Location: Kolbotn, Norway
Years of design: 2005-2008
Photography: Ivan Brodey, Nils Petter Dale

The client, a young couple, asked for a spectacular house on a limited budget. They had purchased a challenging site with 8 meters height difference from the access road to a plateau, and they wanted a house that “looked like you could shoot a James Bond movie in it”. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects: Chenchow Little
Location: Sydney, Australia
Project Team: Tony Chenchow, Stephanie Little, Janice Chenchow, Angela Rowson, Jenni Dang
Structural Engineer: Ruggero Benvenuti – Benvenuti S.C Pty Ltd
Builder: Tecorp Constructions Pty Ltd
Project Area: 280 sqm
Project Year: 2006-2008
Photographs: John Gollings

The Freshwater House developed the idea of the operable façade to mediate between the requirements for privacy and shading on a relatively public site adjacent to the beach. The resulting building is made up of three distinct parts; a podium base, a garden/ living space, and a bedroom volume clad with operable screens; each designed with unique spatial and material qualities. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects: 123DV Architecture
Location: Vroondaal, near The Hague, The Netherlands
Completed: 2009
Photography: Christiaan de Bruijne

Capturing the character of Dali, Jugendstill forms, Spanish facades and nautical life in one villa.

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Architects:  Andrew Maynard Architects
Location: Melbourne, Australia
AMA Team: Andrew Maynard, Mark Austin, Matthew McClurg
Project year: 2008
Constructed Area: 120 sqm
Budget: $500,000
Photographs: AMA

Emerging from behind its high boundary wall, the distorted roof form of Vader House interrupts the symmetrical roof line typical of Fitzroy, and breathes new life into this Victorian Terrace. Read the rest of this entry »

Architect: Elding Oscarson
Project: Single Family Residence /Townhouse
Location: Landskrona, Sweden
Structural Engineer: Konkret
Builder: Skånebygg
Structure: leca-masonry, metal deck slab
Gross Floor Area: 125sqm
Construction Cost: 280,000 Euro
Completion: 2009
Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman

The narrow site is sandwiched between very old neighboring buildings in Landskrona, Sweden. Since mid 20th century it has been empty, waiting behind a wooden fence. It is only 5 meters wide with a tiny area of 75 square meters. Immediately adjacent buildings are low, but the street is lined with buildings of various height, size, facade material, age, and approach. Behind the row of buildings is a colorful world of back yards, brick walls, sheds, and vegetation. We find this small-scale, motely, naturally worn place extremely beautiful. Read the rest of this entry »