Distinctive Home Design for Art Lovers Overlooking Stuttgart: Apartment Sch

Distinctive Home Design for Art Lovers Overlooking Stuttgart: Apartment Sch
Imposing Sunset Strip Residence in LA With Extensive City Views
Modern Creativity on Display: Apartamento Cobogo in São Paulo, Brazil
Massive Weekend Retreat Balancing Modernity and Coziness: Casa ALD

Posted: 11 Sep 2014 06:28 AM PDT

Ippolito Fleitz Group was commissioned to develop a creative home on a hillside in Stuttgart, a site offering fantastic views over the city nestled in the valley below. Apartment Sch stretches over three mezzanines in the upper levels of a building dating from the 1980s and was especially designed for a couple in love and involved with art. The clients' remarkable collection of paintings is said to create a striking interplay with the materials, geometric forms and colors of the interior. Envisioned around pictures and perspectives, the apartment frames exquisite panoramic views from most of its rooms.

The first level hosts the kitchen, a lounge area with a snooker table, a laundry, workroom, and an interior for guests. According to the designers, the living mezzanine is reached from the first landing, where a large mirror that opens up the sloping roof acts as a virtual window. Its oval shape is dissected into four equal parts, which are gently inclined towards the centre and thus produce dramatic and surprising mirror images. The mezzanine contains the living room, fireplace and balcony. The family bedrooms are located above, together with a sauna. [Photos by: Zooey Braun]

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Imposing Sunset Strip Residence in LA With Extensive City Views

Posted: 10 Sep 2014 11:30 PM PDT

Sunset Strip Residence by Los Angeles based Mcclean Design Architects is an imposing residential project consisting of three units: luxury villa, glass garage and cozy guest house. According to the developing team, the house is approached by means of a gated driveway and guard house. The garage sits in a spot that enjoys spectacular views of the surrounding canyons and is glazed on both sides. All three buildings are connected by a water feature that leads the eye to a pool and spa at both ends. The main house is approached along the water feature by means of a short stair which leads to the front hallway, glazed and open on three sides with room for a significant art piece on the focal wall.

The social core of the house is the main living room, two stories tall and featuring spectacular views of the Los Angeles Basin and the ocean beyond. This interior incorporates a bar and glazed wine cellar as well as an elongated see-through fire place that is visible from the family room on the other side. The combined kitchen and family room has a more intimate feeling than the living room and appears to float over the water feature. The house is located in one of Los Angeles most famed neighborhoods, only minutes from Sunset Strip, yet still offers a peaceful natural environment the inhabitants can enjoy. [Photos and information provided by Mcclean Design Architects]

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Modern Creativity on Display: Apartamento Cobogo in São Paulo, Brazil

Posted: 10 Sep 2014 12:44 PM PDT

Envisioned and implemented by Filipe Ramos Arquitetura Design, Apartamento Cobogo in São Paulo, Brazil is the result of a complete renovation. According to the project description we were e-mailed, all walls found on the site were removed, and the existing concrete beams exposed. Windows were replaced and new millwork installed. Parts of the existing parquet hardwood floor were kept and the former kitchen area was filled with reclaimed parquet wood pieces in the same style as before. The entire floor was ebonized to make all pieces match in color.

The highlight of this 57 square-meter apartment is the see-trough concrete brick wall built to divide the living room and bedroom areas. These bricks are called “cobogo” in Portuguese and they are part of the history of Brazilian modernist architecture. This is one of the most inviting modern apartments we’ve seen lately and its design strengthens our belief that minimalism will soon have to make way for creative twists in order to increase the welcoming factor. [Information provided via e-mail by Filipe Ramos Arquitetura Design; Photographer: Maira Acayaba]

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Massive Weekend Retreat Balancing Modernity and Coziness: Casa ALD

Posted: 10 Sep 2014 10:06 AM PDT

This weekend retreat designed and implemented by Juan Carlos Baumgartner of SPACE Architects is projected on a land of little over 1,000 square meters in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Casa ALD consists of two main volumes: a prism into which another rectangular wooden prism is embedded. Since the very beginning, the purpose of this project was clear: to create a house in which a balance between modernity and coziness was struck. Therefore, the architects chose to use few materials in order to achieve a quick reading of the volumes. The first prism consists of a black metal structure that ends on an exposed concrete staple. The two fronts of this volume are made of glass, which helps create a transparency to the interior area and gives a feeling of permanently being in touch with nature. The second volume is a cantilevered wooden cube, under which a terrace is generated. Requirements for the design of this project included a swimming pool, and the architects fulfilled them by creating one and covering it with black venetian glass tiles. In this way, the swimming pool was turned into a water mirror that reflects the house. For this project, the developing team decided to integrate art into architecture so that the selected works became a part of the design instead of functioning as mere decorative items: “With this principle in mind, we commissioned a hyper-realistic 2 x 6 m painting of a Porsche 78; which was placed in a double-height space. In addition to the painting, Juan Carlos Baumgartner designed a mural that works both as the visual end of the swimming pool and as the vestibule of the house entrance”. The house has four bedrooms, a double-height living room and an open plan kitchen that is integrated into the space. In the living area, a modern cast glass sphere chandelier hangs from the ceiling. By using few but carefully selected materials, we created delightful areas that met our clients' expectations. Sustainable design features for Casa ALD include the use of recycled content materials low in VOC levels and wood from certified forests. Furthermore, the lighting is almost entirely LED-based. [Photos and information provided via e-mail by Juan Carlos Baumgartner Architect]

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