Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter

---

• Masculine Stockholm Apartment Featuring Vibrant Details
• Dark And Modern Waterfront Villa Ypenburg III
• Large Bright Stockholm Apartment Displaying Fine Details
• Interview with Robert Oshatz: The Natural Beauty and Lyrical Music of Architecture
• Creative Office in Valencia by Ana Hernández Palacios
• Intriguing Modern Crib in India: Khadakvasla House
• Impressive Modern Home in South Africa by Luis Mira Architects
• Music Meets Nature: Santa Amaro House by Isay Weinfeld
• Old Defense Barracks Turned into Modern Living Spaces: Mosman House

Masculine Stockholm Apartment Featuring Vibrant Details Posted: 18 Oct 2011 07:32 AM PDT Another Stockholm apartment caught our attention today. This one has a special masculine feel to it and we would love to see how many of our readers are interested in this kind of interior design. This small but classy and elegant 36 square meter studio apartment is located in the vicinity of Vasaparken, a beautiful Stockholm park. High ceilings ensure that the bright natural light coming from the two opposing windows caress the entire floor plan and offer the possibility of designing the place using dark colors. The 1880s apartment still has the original oak flooring, but the furniture and furnishings give the charming one-room apartment a modern feel. From the hallway, the inhabitants can access the living room/bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen, so no space was left unused. You can rent it from here. Like it?

Dark And Modern Waterfront Villa Ypenburg III Posted: 18 Oct 2011 06:29 AM PDT Located in The Hague, Netherlands, this next residence stands out from across the scenery in a successful attempt to enhance its natural surroundings and offer passers-by an incredible display of contemporary architecture. Flaunting its dark facade, Villa Ypenburg III rises three storeys up and shelters large, bright spaces that contrast with its exterior. Designed by Rotterdam-based BBVH Architecture, the modern house sits at the edge of one of the canals. The large waterfront villa is located in the Ypenburg district of the city – hence the name. Photographed by by Luuk Kramer, the exceptional villa in the Netherlands seems to not only offer modern architecture details, but also gathers unobstructed views of the surroundings. The horizontal appeal of this magnificent urban villa is given by large cantilevering terraces on all three floors. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Large Bright Stockholm Apartment Displaying Fine Details Posted: 18 Oct 2011 04:04 AM PDT Stockholm apartments seem to have a very special charm. Maybe it’s their original flooring, bright interiors and high ceilings or maybe it is the terraces that capture views of the city – whatever it is, each and every apartment presented on Freshome has a specific charm. This next Stockholm apartment displays interesting features that range from the floor plan to the white details and exquisite fireplaces. Located on Bellmans Street in the Södermalm district of Stockholm, the apartment is part of a 1900 building, but displays all the modern day necessities. Occupying 166 square meters, the apartment is divided into living and sleeping spaces: 4 bedrooms, a large kitchen, 2 large living rooms with working fireplaces, two bathrooms and a balcony. For rent from Eklund Stockholm New York, the apartment overlooks the nearby Mary Magdalene Church and presents a fascinating collection of spaces for those looking for a beautiful place to live in the city.

Interview with Robert Oshatz: The Natural Beauty and Lyrical Music of Architecture Posted: 18 Oct 2011 03:06 AM PDT In the words of the great German philosopher Friedrich von Schelling, "Architecture in general is frozen music." If this is to be believed, then the Portland, Oregon based architect Robert Oshatz could be considered a regular virtuoso. Having worked as an architect since the early 70s, Oshatz has become renowned for designing homes with a unique "sense of poetry," and an appreciation for the natural world – resulting in homes so catered to the local environment that they often appear to blend into the landscape. According to Oshatz, his unique style of design is part of a larger belief in creating human dwellings that exist at peace with the environment that they occupy. Q: How did you get started as an architect? I got started back when I was 15. I started working for an architect in junior high school after I became fascinated with mechanical drafting and people said you should be an architect… I had no idea what that was but it sounded nice and so I started playing around designing hypothetical houses and building little models. When I started high school, there was an architect that had an office a block away and I asked him if I could come in and clean up and run errands and just be around to see what it’s like to be an architect. He wasn’t too busy at the time, so he put me down at a drafting table and started to teach me. It ended up that in my 3 years of high school, I went to school from 9am to 12pm, and then worked for this architect from 1pm to 5pm. Though afterward I went off to college to get a degree in architecture, the most important things I learned were during those 3 years of high school working for that one man. Q: How would you characterize the kind of architecture you create? I think of my work as an architecture that is at peace with its environment, and also where people are at peace within it. What I try to do is I look at every site as having its own sense of poetry to it, and I try to capture that poetry in its physical structure. At the same time, I’m also looking at the project of the client in components; the first is very simple – how many bathrooms they want, or how many people sleep in the house and an idea of the budget. But then there’s also more of a psychological or emotional component that’s important – the way a person wants to have light coming into their home and how they perceive color and textures… All that goes into putting together the project because the idea is to design a structure that’s unique to a person so that they’re not adapting to the structure, rather it’s as if the structure is adapted to them. Q: What is the role of nature in your design? When you try to think in terms of what is beauty, we always associate beauty with natural elements in nature or the human body. [Conversely], when you think in terms of nature, you think in terms of beauty, and when dealing with nature, everything seems to be in its right place without the need for intervention by man. So when I’m designing something I look at nature as one of the points or starting points. If the home will be situated on a beautiful environment, and now I’m being asked to put a structure into that environment…I design the structure so it feels like it was a part of the environment. And sometimes your site isn’t as beautiful, so I design the structure to enhance the beauty of that sight. Q: How do you balance innovative design with functional home-building? When I design a structure, I don’t start with a preconceived idea of what the structure might look like. I start by designing it based on how they want to live in the structure. For example, I might walk out to the site and meet a client and ask what is it about the site they like so much – because there’s probably more than just the fact that it is a right location or right price. Then I ask how they want to live on the property – I’ll ask "what’s the first thing they want to see when they wake up in the morning, where they want the sun to come in, etc." So if I were to design this structure with a preconceived notion I’d be very hard-pressed to solve that with how my client presented it to me. But once I know what the client wants, then I begin designing the home to be nothing more than a reflection of the interior space so that what you see on the outside is actually happening on the inside of the structure, and vice versa. It’s kind of like the human body… you have these vital organs and you have these skeletons that protects them and the skin that covers everything and determines what you see… but the most important thing is that it functions and works the way the client wants to use the structure, and that the home remains as vital and important to the person living in it as their own body. + Robert Oshatz Images: Cameron Neilson Alex Levin is a writer for Granite Transformations, a green remodeling company that advances sustainable construction practices by finding new ways to reduce waste and recycle such as using broken Skyy vodka bottles to make countertops.

Creative Office in Valencia by Ana Hernández Palacios Posted: 18 Oct 2011 02:13 AM PDT Ana Hernández Palacios of studio Masque Spacio designed the office for Lexington Avenue Agency in Valencia, displaying a minimalist, yet sophisticated interior. Her inspiration derived from the urban feel of New York. The black and yellow stripes were inspired by the cabs and the skyscrapers. Here is more from the press release we received: “First of all, the office needed to be divided in two spaces and to be transparent in order to get enough natural light. We chose an industrial curtain combined with a sticker from the identity logo to give the office a first touch of identity and urban style. In the first room you can see the incorporation of the black and yellow lines from the logo giving it an extra corporative touch. We opted for furniture from Uno Design by Javier Mariscal and the ecofriendly Eiffel, a recycled paper stool from the pretty new RS Barcelona. This combined with white office furniture and a white floor to create the urban and sophisticated touch. The corner lamp was created to give an extra industrial touch.” Enjoy the photos!

Intriguing Modern Crib in India: Khadakvasla House Posted: 18 Oct 2011 01:16 AM PDT Khadakvasla House was designed by Mumbai-based studio Spasm Design Architects and is located in Pune city, Maharashtra, India. Here is a short project description from the architects: “In the vast openness of the surroundings, it made sense to trap a mysterious forest of dense green by stringing the rooms around it, as a Shangri-La against the infinite. This courtyard allows for a private dip in the thicket of the lush vegetation. The verandah, with its timber lattice, sets a backdrop that negotiates between the enclosures and the central courtyard. This transitional space op dappled shade promotes a lifestyle in close connection with the outdoors. The living room, a counterpoint in the house, is a tall glass box which will throb with the flickering of the fireplace on cold evenings and will frame the changing hues of the sky as the sun sets.” Have a look at the photos below and tell us your opinion on this modern (Indian!) home.

Impressive Modern Home in South Africa by Luis Mira Architects Posted: 18 Oct 2011 12:03 AM PDT House in Camps Bay is a mesmerizing looking crib designed by Luis Mira Architects and located in Cape Town, South Africa. Especially built as a holiday home for a single person with socializing habits, the retreat has amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean, Lion's Head and Table Mountain. Here is more from the architects: “In order to allow all rooms in the front of the house proximity to the sea, and to bring fresh air, light and circulation into the back of the house, two glass walled courtyards were introduced on the ground floor. One courtyard, built around the passage, connects the bedrooms and the other one is built inside the main bedroom as part of the en suite area. These two courtyards are reflective of sea views.The use of neutral and natural materials is the response to the desire of bringing the outdoors inside, achieved by contrasting the exuberant landscape with the 'blank canvas' of the interior. The ultimate concept of luxury is the constant extending and opening of the inside spaces to meet in full the unique and exquisite South African climate”. Enjoy the feel this home inspires and leave your witty comments below.

Music Meets Nature: Santa Amaro House by Isay Weinfeld Posted: 17 Oct 2011 09:57 AM PDT The Santa Amaro House displays a pretentious contemporary architecture ennobled by subtle details found in all the rooms – the living room, den, main bedroom, guest suites, the dining room and kitchen. The couple living here have grown children who no longer live with them, but often visit, so all the space was designed to custom-care for their needs. Surrounded by a quiet residential area, the house gradually shows its bold architecture and invites everyone inside, in a bright, comfortable and modern collection of spaces. The inhabitant’s passion for piano music was materialized with the construction of “a wide room with high ceilings was designed to accommodate three Steinway pianos – including a concert-grand piano -, spacious enough for small musical ensembles, such as, for instance, duos, trios or quartets“. Architect Isay Weinfeld, who works from his office in São Paulo, designed the residence as the perfect home for its owners insisting on details like the atrium built around one of three existing Brazilian ebony trees. Over 13,700 square feet are occupied by living spaces, entertaining rooms and private quarters, allowing the two-story residence to offer its inhabitants everything they ever needed.

Old Defense Barracks Turned into Modern Living Spaces: Mosman House Posted: 17 Oct 2011 08:32 AM PDT The Mosman House was created by Australian architects Popov Bass and its story speaks about the transformation of an old, run down construction into a fabulous contemporary residence. The three-story residence borrowing the name of the wealthy Sydney suburb it is part of – Mosman – was formerly used as defense barracks. From its early days, the contemporary home was an imposing structure and the renovation transformed it into a neutrally colored architectural expression of comfort and high-end living. The property in Sydney, Australia, exploits contemporary architecture for the benefit of the inhabitants. By renovating an old barrack, the architects wanted “to reveal the richness of materials through clarity of assembly“, so they built an astonishing rectangular concrete shell supporting a steel-framed roof vault. All the other spaces are arranged as follows: “The house accommodates 5 bedrooms over 3 storeys. The children's bedrooms, playroom and garage are accommodated on the lower ground level, with the living areas and master suite on the upper-ground entrance level. The uppermost level accommodates the library. The plan is a clear linear arrangement where living spaces and bedrooms open to the North, with service areas and amenities to the South.” The sketches at the end of the post will help in better understanding the floor plan for each level. Who knows, inspiration might strike!

You are subscribed to email updates from Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610