A 21st century sophisticated work developed in the middle of the wildest landscape…Can you imagine? The small cabin that I’m about to show you gives us the hope that a balanced relation between modern world and natural landscapes is still possible!

This perfect relation gains a special meaning by the way it blends seamlessly into the slope of the mountain. Peter Frazier of UI Architects designed it to be a low profile and uncluttered work space as well as a meditation room and a guest house. Continue reading →

A little leisure port seats the stage for a refreshing interpretation of the boathouse concept… In Fussach, Austria, a boathouse colony is now blessed by the shining silhouette of a different volume! Surrounded by a small canal, the Boathouse reflects its modern design in the Constance Lake blue dark water… And what a wonderful sight it is! Continue reading →

This micro cabin, called Nido, stands amidst the wood overlooking one of the many lakes in Finland. I would do anything to be there now, as the heat in the city becomes almost unbearable. But not only because of the inviting and calming nature would I like to be there. In my opinion this tiny cabin is absolutely adorable! Continue reading →

In Ljubljana, Slovenia, there´s a little treasure waiting to be discovered… Sometimes in architecture the smallest programs are the most challenging! The new extension of Villa T captures all the attention because of its singularity…

Picture the following equation: dining + living + covered parking + bicycle storage. Now add this to an existing house while utilizing a constructed area of only 43 square meters to assemble all these factors. That was the starting point of this tiny masterpiece redevelopment of an historical residential area. Continue reading →

Let us dive into the history of architecture and seek inspiration in somewhat older architectural layers. I invite you for a short journey to the glorious times of the American Modernism, namely the Mid-Century Modernism.

You can find many grand design examples and famous names that represent this style. In an earlier article I wrote here about John Lautner and his beautiful Sheats Goldstein Residence. This time our Architectural Classics Column is dedicated to A. Quincy Jones and the Crestwood Hills Project. Continue reading →

You don’t have enough room to accommodate your guests? Take a shipping container, place it in your garden and refurbish it as a home for guests. Just like the initiators of the next project did. As a result of their cooperation with the architects, they now can enjoy this cute metal addition as a guest house. Big windows, an outdoor space in the form of a narrow terrace, and even a canopy with street lamps: all the attributes necessary for a small home away from home. Continue reading →

This modern triangle structure with its striped roof is a coffee house in Niihama, Japan. Being relatively small (at least it looks very well-knit), this building is able to host up to 80 people.

Basically, the structure is shaped out of a one-pitch-roof surface, which lifts up directly from the paving level. Amazing, how smartly did the architects utilized this primary shape and put all the necessary rooms into it, so that it became not only functional but also exciting and stylish. Continue reading →

Home extensions are always a good opportunity for architects to experiment new concepts and solutions. In Washington DC there´s a house extension that looks like the graphic image of a Barcode. I’m not joking…A sequence of horizontal steel rods resemble a barcode on the glass facade of the new building extension. Continue reading →

A south-American breeze of wisdom and elegance, Casa Larrain kind of reminds me the early years of primary school, when children used to draw a simple roof and wall to represent a house – So simple and yet so powerful… Placed near the Pacific Ocean in Bahia Azul, Chile, there’s a summer house that confronts all the usual solutions of shape, program and construction! Continue reading →

I always look at architecture as an artificial extension of the human body… Houses are built to shelter, to protect… So, as a physical and concrete body for life, aging become an inevitable process in architecture.

Copper has the noble capacity of aging in a seductive and tender away. Ecker Abu Zahra Honighaus in Luftenberg, Austria, fully reflects this creative choice! The house is located in a large plot of green land, a parallelepiped volume clad in copper and glass. The window openings are deliberately positioned and designed, almost revealing a cut style very similar to Tim Berton’s Edward Scissorhands! Continue reading →