Located in Austria, Amalia House is 733 sq. ft. large and serves as a holiday home. It’s sweet that the house is named after the owner’s grandmother and it seems to have its own symbolic meaning, since the house gathers the family members from all over the country.

There are two bedrooms on the first floor and a sleeping place available in the living room. The ground floor is a rather narrow but long room, which is functionally divided into the living room and the space of kitchen and eating by the floor level difference of three steps. This level difference not only helps to psychologically segregate an open plan space of the ground floor but also repeats the natural line of a slope the building is situated on. Continue reading →

An old barn provides a place for music creation. Is there something more poetic and inspirational than that? Atelier Bardill by Valerio Olgiati occupies the site of a former barn in the protected historical villagescape of Scharans, Switzerland.

Built on a land´s plot at the old center of the Swiss village, the form of a small volume (only 240 sq. m.) engages in dialogue with pre-existing construction, sheltering a studio for a musician in a single space that opens onto a large courtyard. Continue reading →

The client of this residence is an artist and apparently not a struggling one. The building stands somewhere in the desert landscape of Central Idaho, has the size of 3,686 sq. ft. and is meant not only for living, but also as a working studio and for exhibiting artworks.

Looking at these pictures, at least one thing is clear: the artist will definitely have the opportunity to work undisturbed, not bothered by the street noise (I can’t even see the access road!). Continue reading →

In the middle of a vertical rhythm of tree trunks, an orange metal line draws a roof. Located near the Mount-Orford, Quebec, Residence Eastman surprises for its unusual volume shape. By the look of it, it is clear that the architects’ notion of the ideal house is fundamentally different from conventional ideas. Continue reading →

This project is situated in the rural area of Eastern Belgium. The ground floor takes a vast area of 350 m2, but it enclosures open outdoor spaces within its walls. The entire planning of the Kempeneers house is orientated from the outside envelope towards the interior spaces. The house is not exposed to its surroundings, quite the opposite – it looks like a modern fortress. Continue reading →

I live in a city which has hundreds of historical buildings, many of them are under state protection as monuments of architecture, and the whole center of the city stands under the UNESCO protection. Yet, almost once a month I bump into the original wooden windows (because they are so old and “bad-looking” and need professional restoring) being thrown away and new ones (often plastic ones) are put in.

The problem lies in many aspects, but let me focus on the idea where the windows are taken out of their native place. At best, a professional carpenter-restorer has the opportunity to take the original handles and knobs and re-use them in other projects. Unfortunately, in most cases the original substance goes to waste.

I’m not sure if the designers of the Rake project have analyzed the problem in such a way, but what they did create is fresh, cool and intriguing. They collected the windows from the nearby building that was being demolished and reused them in the new-made cube pavilion in Trondheim, Norway. Windows of different sizes and looks were gathered to form the facades, whereas doors form the ceiling. Continue reading →

The simplicity of this house is manifested in its generosity. Big spaces, gorgeous white, exquisite warmness of wooden cladding – it is so Mediterranean I can almost smell the Basil. Only the sultry silhouettes of Federico Fellini’s femmes-fatale are missing here. Continue reading →

Take a look at this beautiful renovation project of a 1912 dairy building converted into a 2,200 sq. ft. modern home. I love how the old stonework exterior has been preserved, cleverly disguising a contemporary light filled interior. Keep on reading to see what lies inside… Continue reading →

Being able to work in a large, raw space with high ceilings and abundant natural light, is every artist’s dream. Heck, I wouldn’t just work there, I could live there. The Mhouse combines the two, providing two interlocking L-shaped volumes configured around a central courtyard – one serves as an art studio and the other is for living. Continue reading →

The location of the Bridge House is simply adorable, nestled in a heavily wooded lot over a seasonal stream, on Bainbridge Island, Washington. This picture looks as if it had been taken out of a fairytale as natural light shimmers and glitters on the water and leafy vegetation. Continue reading →