CONTEMPORIST

La Grelha Restaurant by Hernandez Silva Architects
Mosewich House by D’Arcy Jones Design
Floating Earth by Ma Yansong for Alessi

La Grelha Restaurant by Hernandez Silva Architects

Posted: 24 Jan 2012 02:50 PM PST

Hernandez Silva Architects designed La Grelha Restaurant in Jalisco, Mexico.

The gastronomic concept of the restaurant comes from its name, "La Grelha" which means barbecue in Portuguese, where all the formal concept of the project is created, the space is a high terrace on which fine columns stand and are topped by a nearly flat steel structure, and covered with wood that wraps and shapes the space, the walls keep the brick in a raw manner only painted in white, and are only used for the service area, a very thick wall creates a boundary and marks the closing of the street where the logo of the restaurant is also placed, the entrance is confined to the corner, it welcomes visitors and gives a very nice waiting room, this space also is bounded to the bottom of a metallic double curtain where vegetation lines climb to make a big green box that lights up at night and in the evening by the setting sun, there is also a wall coming down from the roof and floats above the water surface.

The interior space is clear and very bright, due to space where light interpass the ceiling, the bar is at the center and it is defined by a squared lattice, the bar divides a little the space into two, allowing one part to look over Street to the east and the other to the north where big trees in the side street can be seen, this area is elevated to trick the car parking, this space is prepared to extend a wooden platform area over the cars and to define an area for smokers. Both spaces are linked by a very long reflecting pool with wall of climbing plants to give depth to the space, at the background one can observe huge grills with their extractors.

The whole place was built on a short budget, so we opted for the use of simple materials, even the red glass lighting is very characteristic of the region, the floor is quarry and most of the furniture is pine.

Guadalajara has a perfect climate almost all year, so making a terrace is ideal for this food concept, rain can be sometimes heavy but for very short time; here it can rain in one hour what falls in a city for a year, therefore the terrace has a hidden window behind wooden marimbas and only extends when the weather demands it.

Visit the website of Hernandez Silva Architects – here.

Mosewich House by D’Arcy Jones Design

Posted: 24 Jan 2012 12:29 PM PST

Canadian designer D'Arcy Jones, designed the Mosewich House in Kamloops, BC, Canada.

Description form D’Arcy Jones Design:

This functional and inviting family house is perched on the edge of a steep slope in a suburban setting. Existing ponderosa pines, bunch-grass and sagebrush were carefully preserved by siting the house away from the street.

A private, sunny courtyard merges the kitchen and dining areas with the landscape. Intimate views of vegetation and exposed rock are a welcome contrast to long views towards the river valley below.

A robust, dark tinted stucco mass anchors the house to the ground, morphing as one continuous mass to create courtyard walls, terraces, fireplace chimneys and structural shear-walls. Opposite, yet never quite touching, is a muted stucco mass bending and wrapping asymmetrically to frame dramatic views. Interior spaces are defined by modulating the voids between these two contrasting stucco masses. When these stucco masses extend inside the house, the threshold is defined with floor-to-ceiling glass, translucent in some locations for privacy.

Deep cantilevered overhangs provide both shade and upper level rock gardens. Carefully located operable windows provide effective cross-ventilation, eliminating reliance on air-conditioning.

Double-height dining and living spaces separate upper level bedroom wings. This central spatial “sigh” is naturally lit from two directions, admitting light deep into the interior. Punctuating this open space is a sculptural maple and steel stair, connecting all three levels of the house.

Mirroring the formal language of the exterior, dissimilar interior materials never meet, separated by thin reveals. A refined exterior palette of smooth concrete, cement stucco, aluminum windows and red cedar is paired with an interior of white gypsum-board with maple and slate flooring; the theme of a two-tone stucco exterior is repeated inside by interlocking cherry and maple millwork. Built-in cherry ledges double as overflow seating and toy chests.

From the interior, it is easy to forget you are in a conventional subdivision. Calm and simple, with moments of playfulness and subtlety, one surprising twist is a sound-proof recording studio hidden under the garage. One of the clients is a physician by day, a cover-band drummer by night.

This project continues and articulates an ongoing search for form, material and space finely tuned to the particulars of site and client, synthesizing simultaneous qualities of simplicity and complexity.

Visit the D’Arcy Jones Design website – here.

Floating Earth by Ma Yansong for Alessi

Posted: 24 Jan 2012 07:46 AM PST

Chinese architect Ma Yansong has designed the Floating Earth tray for Alessi.

Description from Ma Yansong:

A tray , like earth, holds many things.
we look to the earth
but see see only what rests upon it.
she fades from sight,
and seems not to exist.
yet she persists.
a boundless surface
upon which all is reflected;
the home, the city.
an ever-expanding scope.
each rising layer, then, a tower storey.
an unscripted space full of kinetic potential.
but rooted in the still, same earth.
there is nothing without the earth
and yet the earth is not here for us -
she can leave anytime.
it is the blue sky that she loves.

Visit the Alessi website – here.