Are you ready for a magical trip inside an exquisite piece of contemporary architecture? In Tokyo, Japan there’s a four-story building full of unexpected spatial surprises: House H. Located in a very small site totally surrounded by multi-story residences, the challenge became crystal clear for both architect and client: merge privacy with the basic need for daylight and views over the tight exterior area. Continue reading →

There’s always something enigmatic when building a bridge, as it serves as a means of connection between two worlds that once where separated by a river. In Suldal, Norway a small miracle was conceived when a town felt the need to establish a deeper relation with a vast wooden landscape for recreation. Hose Bridge was the solution to this challenge. Continue reading →

In Hokkaido, Japan there’s a residence that evokes the serenity of a temple: Layered House. Its scale and tectonics reinforce a state of quietness, a perfect place for living in one of the busiest areas of the city. A hermetic two-story volume with a total floor area of 202sqm preserves the necessary boundary between domestic and urban environments. A large gap on the front facade indicates the entrance and garage areas, accompanied by three tiny square windows. The rest of the facade remains totally opaque, like a defensive wall. Continue reading →

A giant light volume erupts from the ground of Hiroshima, Japan. House in Tousuien serves both as a home and domestic museum for an avid collector of motorcycles and his family of four. We’re talking about a three-story building with a total floor area of 208sqm completely covered in translucent panels. The outcome couldn’t be more impressive: an inhabitable lantern that glows its warm light through the entire neighborhood. Continue reading →

In Oita, Japan there’s a house that gathers a mother, a child and a dog: Dog Salon. This small single-story building with a total floor area of 66sqm is totally covered in grey metallic panels contrasting with the surrounding rice fields. The program follows the desire to combine work and living areas in a small space : one end of the building serves as the living space while the work area – a dog salon – is placed on the other side. Continue reading →

To reduce construction time and costs in architecture, the option is quite simple: prefab. In Santiago de Chile there’s a prefabricated house that reinforces this statement by using second hand shipping containers as the main module for the design of this unusual home. The challenge was to adapt these modular pieces to a very sloped site near the Andes Mountains. An ingenious solution was adopted by letting the containers rest on the slope, following the natural topography of the site… hence, the name of the project: Casa Oruga, which means Caterpillar House. Continue reading →

In Kanagawa, Japan there’s a shiny volume with an unconventional shape that shelters a family of four and a series of domestic gardens. House with Gardens is a small four-story building with a project area of 136sqm placed in a quiet residential area where birds can be heard all day long… The designation of this piece of contemporary Japanese architecture fully expresses the concept behind a remarkable fusion between nature and urban context. Continue reading →

Sometimes architecture presents an opportunity to revitalize forgotten places: PINC Pavilion has generously fulfilled this difficult task in Porto, Portugal. A forgotten ancient garden is now blessed by the presence of a small building that irradiates serenity through a row of concrete frames. A flexible program determined by the University of Porto can be held inside and outside this volume: all sorts of events like conferences and meetings or even used as a dining room, a training center or just as a quiet retreat for students and teachers. Continue reading →

Not all houses have the privilege of being surrounded by woods and a small field, especially not in a dense urban city like Tokyo, Japan. H Orange is one of these rare examples: a small three-story building, with a project area of 115sqm, placed in an outstanding urban setting where privacy is not an issue. Continue reading →

Garoza House is a small prefabricated home in Spain – a 75sqm two-story building that utilizes various dry-construction systems to achieve absolute comfort and efficiency. This compact prefab is based on a modular design that takes into consideration the production in a workshop, with all interior finishes, of the maximum size supported by conventional truck or train transport (3m wide, 2.5m tall, and up to 12m long). Continue reading →