In the Finnish countryside at the intersection of a forest and a cultivated orchard, a family with three children built a generous home of 220 sq. m. It’s an honest and straightforward two story structure with a gently pitched gable roof. Resting at the top of a rolling hill, this holiday home takes great advantage of the view. Continue reading →

The Pop-Up House sets a whole new standard for easy to assemble on site prefabricated buildings. They are designed to comply with stringent PassivHaus standards for providing excellent indoor air quality and comfort, while reducing energy requirements to heat and cool homes. In short, they’re every thing I dream of in a modern home. Continue reading →

This transformation of a former warehouse in to a photography studio and offices is large in size and creativity. At 450 sq.m. the space accommodates large scale photography studios, offices, and post-production. Support for the business is given in the make-up and dressing rooms, lounges, and a café. The brief was to craft all of these areas with flair and within a limited budget. Continue reading →

If you must add insulation and new windows to your existing home, I strongly recommend you treat yourself to a sparkling small addition while you’re at it! Of course your good deeds of adding a photovoltaic array and a grey water recycling system make this guilt free. On this couldn’t be lovelier, hilly green site in Looe, Cornwall a locally sourced timber framed and glass walled room with uninterrupted sea views is the perfect example. Continue reading →

Located about 25 km north of Central Tokyo, this compact house sits on a small L shaped lot in an area of typically dense housing. Faced with the common Japanese need to squeeze a comfortable home onto a tiny (108sqm) site, Naf architects came up with the simple, powerful idea of “snapping” a stereotypical gable roof box to correspond with the bend in the lot. It feels like a scaled down barn that has been surgically sliced with the finest Japanese steel and opened out to create two separate volumes. Continue reading →

There is a wealth of prefabricated buildings to ease the pain of new construction or additions to increase space or accommodate a dream. Looking for extra living space, a private garden office, or your very own yoga studio? Pod Space is a strong contender in the design, construction, and delivery of a modern prefab space that goes above and beyond average in style and performance. Continue reading →

With a unique perspective on nature and common room placement and proportions, this home, by architect PASCAL FLAMMER, set within wheat fields and forests is refreshing in its modern simplicity and outlook. With a classic Swiss chalet form, the blackened timber covered house’s aesthetic is straight forward with a serene peacefulness. Continue reading →

Solidly anchored by poured-in-place concrete foundations, this luxurious residence rests on the hillside of an aspen forest in Park City, Utah. The two level 12,000 sq.ft. home’s main rectilinear form is parallel to the hill for maximum immersion in to nature. Its materials of wood, concrete, and steel blend in to their surrounding in texture and tone. Perpendicular to the major form, the entrance is dramatic with its exposed frame of heavy timber and blackened steel that mimics the trees. The drama of the double height living spaces with floor to ceiling windows is only surpassed by the spectacular forest views. Continue reading →

This tiny lot in Toronto narrowly escaped becoming an alley way or a diminutive dark traditional infill home. Once again out of an extreme challenge rises a bright solution. In this case the Galley House, by Williamson Chong, at less than 12 feet wide is 62’ long and three levels of 2,400 sq.ft. With three bedrooms and double-height spaces, once inside the width becomes insignificant. Continue reading →

Day light is often an underutilized design element. Yet for artists, one a sculptor and one a media artist, who own this Sonoma, California home, that brilliant component is mandatory. Designed by architect William O’Brien Jr., here natural light takes center stage as the most important aspect of the house’s design. Continue reading →