Sometimes I feel that we are a bit obsessed with the modernity of architecture, with the “coolness” of its design, with the philosophy of minimalistic shapes, that sometimes the true, or at least another, meaning/form of architecture is forgotten.

So, when we suddenly bump into a genuinely recognized piece of Architecture (with a capital A), it’s like a breath of fresh air. We realize over and over again: the classics are timeless. We go on admiring the old classic architects’ sense of generosity, and, while observing their work we can’t help feeling that their inner slogan must have been “beauty for beauty’s sake”.

The Sheats Goldstein Reidence is one of those masterpieces. Continue reading →

A natural disaster often causes loss and tragedy. The C-house testifies the resurrection of a building that was a victim of three unprecedented flash floods. In Kildare, Ireland, Dot Architecture designed the walls and sloping roofs with chunky chimneys for the remaining ruins.

Re-utilization stood as the main goal for this project as much as making it safe from possible future floods. This contemporary home is an interpretation of a traditional Irish bungalow, respecting its surrounding context. Continue reading →

This joyfully striped structure is a 2,691 sq. ft. house, situated on the steep lake bankin Green Lake town, Wisconsin. I find that the house looks especially attractive – with these warmly colorful stripes – in the monochromatic context of winter or as autumn leaves fall to the ground. Continue reading →

Architecture always dealt with the notion of memory and time. Commonly, destruction brings tragedy and at the same time opportunities to remake our relationship with the surrounding context. In Iwate, Japan, Koji Kakiuchi developed a small open-air shelter over the remaining concrete foundations of homes that were swept away during the March 2011 tsunami.

This symbolic construction with only 7, 29 sq.m. provides a space for victims to meet and also allows them to homage all those who have perished in that tragic day. In fact, the cabin form reminds the shape of hands joining together in meditation, like a small temple where people can pray…or simply share the loss of a brother or a father… Continue reading →

Sea and sand set the scenario for this unique example of how to transform traditional into modern! I’m talking about Casa na Areia, a private house on the Atlantic Ocean’s shore, in Grandola, Portugal.

This project is willing to bring the forgotten past into a brighter present! The recovery of four existing wood-masonry buildings (ancient fishing facilities), became the main key for turning these independent units into a single complex with 180 sq.m. Continue reading →

You might think this villa enjoys sun heat somewhere on the luxurious California coast or the French Cote d’Azur. You would be mistaken: this time the story comes from Ljubljana, Slovenia, so don’t be led astray by the southern, Mediterranean appearance of this house. Such a location makes this project even more exciting… Continue reading →

It is no surprise this house is situated in Arizona. Doesn’t it look Western enough? Apparently, the clients and the designers of the house love this American flair of the fabulous Wild West.

Cladded with harshly looking profiled metal panels and composed of rough cube blocks, which resemble a quaint water-tower structure in the middle of a Western American town in the beginning of the 20th century, the building is definitely stylish and has its own peculiar atmosphere. Continue reading →

This house, situated in Lithuania’s Pavilniai Regional Park, must have been a contradictory project. First, because it is located in a regional park, which already sounds a bit out of place considering a 3,520 sq. ft. modern home in relevance to its surroundings , and secondly, because it has to do with historic substance – moreover, with the newly discovered valuable historic substance. Yet, the project has been carried out and, owing to the architects’ talent, became an outstanding landmark of the park. Continue reading →

In my opinion, the surrounding that we create for ourselves has to excite, to stimulate one’s mind and to raise emotions. The surrounding must not be dull, it must be alive and mustn’t leave one careless. It has to feed our hunger for impressions or even for being impressed. Besides, since we live in the 21st. century, it has to interact with people, to be in touch with them and make them an active part of itself. Continue reading →

Do you believe in fairy tales? Let me tell you one. Inside Montemor-o-Velho Castle in Portugal, we find a contemporary building that´s reoccupying the medieval Princesses Palace…of which little is known and almost nothing is left, except for the ruins of the ancient walls that seemingly bounded somewhere in the past. Now the memory remains suspended in the present, in the intimacy of the Tea House. Continue reading →