| SN House by Studio Guilherme Torres Posted: 10 Nov 2011 01:05 PM PST Studio Guilherme Torres have sent us images of the SN House they designed in Londrina, Brazil. 
. Description from the architect: Perfect for the leisure time of a large family, this house in Londrina, Brazil seems like its floating in the air. That is due to the volumetry and the large spans without pillars designed by the architect Guilherme Torres. From the unevenness of nearly 3 meters of the ground, it came the idea of a residence with a cantilever main floor to reserve more space for the leisure area on the lower level. "I've docked the house on the slope" says the architect Guilherme Torres, "By doing that, I've released the space underneath it to the garden, the pool and the living rooms". The irregular relief was won by a monumental block of prestressed concrete containing cables of high strength steel driven and trapped inside the slab itself. This feature allowed the span of 17.5 meters long besides the 4.5 meters cantilever volume beyond the wall that mark boundaries of the leisure area. Suspended and without pillars, the construction brings straight, pure and simple forms. Contrasting with the white masonry, stone and wood coatings have the power to warm the look without breaking the contemporary twist of the proposal. "By being natural, they carry an amount of rusticity and promote comfort", says the author. The independent functioning between the two storeys was another right solution. On a daily basis, the life of the family is concentrated on the upper floor, where it is distributed the bedrooms, the kitchen, a living and dining room, all accessed by the side ramp and garage on the upper hall. But on weekends, they enjoy to receive the large family in meetings on the spacious and comfortable leisure area with pool, garden, barbecue gourmet and two generous lounges. The project considered the use of local labor and simple materials, used in large volumes. Decorative stone, exposed concrete and white masonry are the elements that define the whole volumetry. The project uses rainwater capture for reuse and solar heating system for faucets, showers and pool. All the residence was designed considering the solar axis and natural profile of the terrain. To maintain the privacy while not giving up the view, the entire block of bedrooms has received a closure of wood louvers, and due to this feature the house can remain open windows and have permanent cross ventilation.                Visit the Studio Guilherme Torres website – here. Photography by Denilson Machado . .  |
| Poplar Garden House by Onix Architects Posted: 10 Nov 2011 05:19 AM PST Onix Architects have designed the Poplar Garden House in Groningen, The Netherlands. 
. Description from the architects: Close to the city centre of Groningen the allotment gardens of Tuinwijck are situated. This green oasis between the railway track and the Helperzoom offers the inhabitants of the city a low budget possibility to create the most eccentric gardens. It is an ecological allotment garden where the elderly as well as children, artists and so on can enjoy their time. The gardens have an average size of 200 square meters and are rented out. On the lot, where gardening is primary, it is allowed to build up to 36 square meters. Sewerage, water and carboy are available. Power supply is only possible with solar batteries. This sunny lot is situated between the playground (South) and the ditch (North). These two different orientations were the reason to design two different outside areas. One is an introvert space, in the shadow of the apple trees, orientated on the ditch, and the other an extravert space on the creek garden and the playground. The condition of the soil (boulder clay) was the reason to choose for a creek garden. The water can drain away through the creek to the ditch. Through stepping-stones at the south side, the plank bridge can be reached, which at the eastern side of the house provides for a connection with the north side. The house has a saddle roof, which is one of the types that you see a lot at Tuinwijck, the other type is the pent roof. The volume has been formed so that the house embraces the two outside areas. It is a garden house as well as a shed and a sculpture. The house is completely formed by one plank size and is made from poplar wood. The window stills are made from planks as well as the foundation. The house is never finished. The planks are easy to take out so that in the future art can be integrated in the house.         Visit the Onix Architects website – here. Photography by Peter de Kan . .  |
| Union Square Loft by Naiztat + Ham Architects Posted: 10 Nov 2011 01:14 AM PST Naiztat + Ham Architects designed a loft interior in Manhattan, New York. 
.                Union Square Loft by Naiztat + Ham Architects This 3600 square foot loft in the Union Square Area of Manhattan exemplifies the industrial era it was born out of. Its tall vaulted ceilings, structural steel columns, floor-through configuration and open feel were hidden by years of adhoc and maze-like modifications. Both the Architects and the Owners saw the potential in this jewel but understood also that there was a need for luxury in its utilitarian functions. The first idea was to open up the space, expose all the elements that were inherent to the building (i.e. brick and terra cotta walls and ceilings, columns, etc.). The second was to place modern and simple interventions into the loft’s envelope to define living spaces without doors or other conventional methods of closure. Bathrooms – The free-standing wet volume, skewered by a wood portal, houses two-and-a-half bathrooms, the laundry room and storage. The Architects treated this volume as a “fruit”, with a slick, white architectural skin and the interiors of the rooms as its colorful pulp. In a loft of natural colors and materials, the bathrooms are the color-burst and jewel. All the bathrooms are treated with the same tiles and variations of the same fixtures – always emphasizing the contrast of the white (fixtures) against the color (tile). This interior wet volume is shorter than the structural ceiling and borrows natural light through a skylight over the tub and an obscured-glass window which is part of the mirror element wrapping the bathroom wall. The master provides luxury with a full walk-in shower, heated towel bar, double sinks, bidet, radiant floors and soaking tub. Kitchen – The Architect found a home for the kitchen adjacent to the freight elevator (where the garbage is picked up daily by the building’s super). Although this was a logical and comfortably nestled spot for this minimalist Boffi Kitchen, the team felt it was unfortunate that there was no natural light. With the help of a cooperative building, the freight elevator doors were replaced with new fire-rated glass doors, so that when the freight elevator is not on the floor, the light from the window in the shaft extends into the kitchen. Again, acting as a modern intervention in this rustic interior, the Kitchen is meant to be more “Architecture” than “Kitchen”, with only the sink, stovetop and hood visible. The sliding doors along the wall have a mechanism which allows the lacquer doors to pop forward and slide over one another, hiding or revealing the refrigerator, wine refrigerator, ovens, microwave, pantry, and ice maker. The island’s seamless Corian countertop folds down on both the north and south sides nesting the white lacquer cabinets in the middle. To maintain the integrity of the white kitchen object, minimalist hardware was used and only touch latches for the front of the island, helping it read as a solid block. The white of the kitchen is a stark contrast to the terra cotta walls and gray concrete floors. The kitchen is both beautiful to look at and functional; it works to prepare a dinner for 20 or just to heat-up NYC’s menagerie of takeout. .
Visit the website of Naiztat + Ham Architects – here. Photography by SpieglerWong Photography .  |
