Kempson Road Residence, by Giles Pike Architects, is an 1870’s brick house in London that has been updated with an impressive double-height glass extension in the back of the building. Five floors where completely refurbished following a clear intervention that balanced old and new: existing materials like brick and wood established a rich tectonic dialogue with new elements like steel and glass. Continue reading →

Keperra House testifies the magical sense of space inside a small building in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. This brilliant house was conceived by Australian studio A-CH serving a single dweller at the end of a garden of an existing property. A monolithic concrete volume is partially covered by a shinning metallic skin that provides a glowing aura to the house. Although small in scale, there’s a bunch of little surprises waiting to be discovered inside this tiny home of 45sqm! Continue reading →

Organic materials of stone and larch compose a holiday house in the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland. Borreraig House by Dualchas Architects is a pure tectonic manifest of integrity and simplicity. The house is divided into three rectilinear volumes, each one with a simple pitched roof. Exterior walls are clad with horizontal larch panels while exposed stonewalls define the perimeter of the site. Continue reading →

As we all know, sometimes appearances can deceive… In Brittany, France there’s a unique complex of intertwined living and working spaces in the form of a single building: Two Houses and Two Studios by RAUM. The purpose of such an unusual design was to create a hybrid program that gathers two holiday houses and two studio flats that can be rented by one or more families. A brilliant strategy was adopted in order to balance this game of opposites: volumetric fragmentation of the program. Continue reading →

A small two-story cabin forms an extension to a woodland house in Ontario, Canada, surrounded by a dense forest where white snow seems to rule during wintertime. This unusual 65sqm volume was erected in order to shelter a brand new dining and living room. An impressive black-pitched roof seems to be floating between the trees and the existing house. This optical illusion is created by a mirrored paneled exterior reflecting the surrounding trees, while a sheltered area marks the entrance to the front of the cabin. Continue reading →

Once again recycled shipping containers prove their worth. This time as an amazing building complex serving as the administrative and office site of the industrial company Royal Wolf in Victoria, Australia. Designed by Room 11, this is a pure manifest of how to efficiently adapt an industrial object – like a shipping container – to a higher function. Continue reading →

In the heart of a forest in The Netherlands there’s a house full of mystery and grace: Villa 1 by Powerhouse Company. A Y-shaped volume sets the stage for a generous distribution of the domestic program: every arm is carefully oriented on the site and towards the sun. Continue reading →

On the slopes of Mount wellington, Tasmania one can find a small two-story building with a profound sensible approach to its natural surrounding context. Untreated timber cladding creates a chameleon-like effect to this compact house, which enhances even more the relation with nature through the use of reflective mirrored glazing. How can two constructive elements produce such integrity and respect towards Mother Nature? Little Big House is the answer to this question. Continue reading →

An enigmatic dark building punctuates the skyline of the beautiful city of Portland: it’s called Tower House. This four-story volume is situated on a steep hill and its silhouette resembles a tower. The reason behind this conceptual approach results from the vertical distribution of the program – a direct spatial consequence of the site’s topography. Like in a medieval tower, a black pedestrian bridge establishes the contact between the street and the building. Continue reading →

Designed by Coast Office Architecture, TBone House is a surprising three-story building in Stuttgart, Germany, which unexpectedly references the letter T in its unusual form. Continue reading →