Architect: Valerio Olgiati
Location: Scharans, Switzerland
Collaborators: Nathan Ghiringhelli (project manager office Olgiati), Nikolai Müller, Mario Beeli
Client: Linard Bardill, musician + poet
Structural Engineer: Patrick Gartmann, partner of Conzett, Bronzini, Gartmann AG, Chur
Project Area: 285 sqm
Project Year: 2006-2007
Photographs: Courtesy of Valerio Olgiati

The Atelierhouse Bardill replaces an old barn in the protected centre of the village Scharans. The building permission was granted by the local authorities only under the condition that the new building would have exactly the same volume as the old barn. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects: Ezzo
Location: Felgueiras, Portugal
Architect in Charge: César Machado Moreira
Collaborators: Fátima Barroso, Hugo Torres, Carla Barbosa
Project year: 2008
Constructed Area: 200 sqm
Photographs: Joao Ferrand

It’s a project for a rural hotel located in a farm with 10 hectares of land, 90% of which are used as vineyards. The interior of the land contains various previously existent elements. The main building from the XVI century stands out and several little constructions which are very damaged and/or ruins (the house of the home keepers, the pet store and kitchen). Read the rest of this entry »

Architect: Alberto Campo Baeza
Location: Granada, Andalucía, Spain
Client: Caja de Granada
Collaborators: Alejandro Cervilla García, Ignacio Aguirre López
Structure: Andrés Rubio Morán, Mª Concepción Pérez Gutiérrez
Engineering: R. Úrculo Ingenieros Consultores S.A.
Estudiantes: Miguel Cabrillo, Sergio Sánchez Muñoz, Petter Palander
Project Area: 15.000 sqm
Project Year: 2006-2009
Photographs: Javier Callejas

We would like to make “the most beautiful building” for the Museo de al Memoria de Andalucía (Andalusia’s Museum of Memory) in Granada. The MA. A museum that wishes to transmit the entire history of Andalusia. As early as Roman times, Strabo described the inhabitants of Andalusia as “the most cultivated of the Iberians, who have laws in verse.” 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: Sancho-Madridejos Architecture Office
Location: Almadén, Ciudad Real, Spain
Principals: Sol Madridejos & Juan Carlos Sancho
Assistant – Technical Architect: Martin Pozuelo
Project Leader: Luis Renedo
Project year: 1996-2001
Photographs: Hisao Suzuki

The idea of situating and relating a series of objects in the landscape- Dwelling, Chapel, Hunting pavilion and Guard´s residence- gave the project a dual significance: in addition to the close relationship between landscape, objects and itinerary -between space and objects-, each item had to provide a different response with different emphasis, from the most symbolic to the most silent or private. The unifying thread was to be the concept of the fold: the fold as a hidden generator of different spaces. Read the rest of this entry »

Architect: Atelier ST
Project Type: Single Family Residence
Location: Zwickau, Germany
Photography: Bertram Bölkow

High over a river meadow a sharp edged dwelling house rises on the gentle ridge of the Cainsdorfer local situation. It uses the available hillside situation of a generous property, contrasts by his clear geometry, nevertheless, consciously and strikingly with the grown landscape. Read the rest of this entry »

Architect: BAK Architects
Architects: Maria Victoria Besonias, Guillermo de Almelda, Luciano Kruk.
Location: Mar Azul, Buenos Aires, Argetina
Collaborator: Sbastian Indrl
Land area: 595,50 m2
Built area: 90 m2
Contruction year: 2006/2007
Photography: Gustavo Sosa Pinilla and Daniela Mac Adden

Mar Azul is a seaside town at 400km south of Buenos Aires, characterized for his large dune beach and his leafy coniferous forest. The owners, has chosen a field in the forest with a challenging topography, away from the sea and from the most lived zone, to construct a cottage without loosing the important presence of the landscape.

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Architect: Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects
Location: Marbella, Chile
Local Architect: Christian de Groote
Project Area: 370 sqm
Project year: 2009
Photographs: Nicolas Saieh

The site for this weekend house slopes gently down to the north-east, and has attractive views in the same direction. This proposal is intended to make dynamic use of the whole site, taking advantage of the special qualities created by this slope. Read the rest of this entry »

Architects: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Client: Zollverein School
Location: Essen, Germany
Construction: March 2005 - July 2006
Project architect: Nicole Berganski, Böll & Krabel
Built area: 5.000sqm
Masterplan: Rem Koolhaas, OMA
Landscape: Agence Ter
Photos: Iwan Baan

The Zollverein Design School is located between a historical coalmining factory and a sprawling suburb. The building is a 35 meter cube, which, at the scale of the large neighboring factory buildings, stands in strong contrast to the finer suburban texture. Its intense presence announces the former factory grounds. Read the rest of this entry »