Rachcoff Vella Architecture has designed Hill House located in Mount Martha, Australia.

from Rachcoff Vella Architecture:

The brief was to create a simple, calming environment that embraces the beach side location whilst not being a ‘Beach Shack’. It was to cater for a single client with specific needs that could accommodate a future change of owner and potentially family living scenario.

Situated on narrow site on the rise of a hill overlooking spectacular views, the site has a north-south orientation with views at opposing ends; the challenge to manage these two factors effectively whist working with a 5.0m fall from front to back.

The building that was conceived in two parts; a simple linear plan responding to the site, and a curvaceous and embracing form delivering a requirement of the brief. The later as a request for an engaging and welcoming facade that was delivered by distorting the form to offer a distinct personality and suggestion of protection.

Hill House is proudly a sculptural object embracing an artistic and playful response whilst delivering uncompromised and flexible living for its inhabitants. Specifically designed and well crafted design details and consistent material selections are important contributors to the execution of the design concepts for this project.

Hill House is a two storey detached residence designed to accommodate the needs of a part time occupant and the influx of her various guests on regular occasions. The internal spaces are extruded along the sites long axis taking in the views, whilst being shielded against the harsh North-West sun by a veil of adjustable sun controlled external louvers.

Conceptually the interiors are conceived as spaces that allow the main occupant to engage with the surrounds, embracing a relaxed lifestyle and calm environment. The flexibility of the internal spaces also allows her to host an influx of guests and increase the energy and pace of life.

Materials are purposefully kept to a limited palette of matt finished ‘spotted gum’, ‘Grey Tundra’ natural stone and white flat painted walls to reflect the calmness called for in the brief. The exclusion of highly polished surfaces is juxtaposed by the more colourful and flamboyant nature of the client and her guests. Delicate detailing of the joinery and considered fixture selections are designed to be playful and to add drama to the spaces.

Spatially accommodating one occupant in a house that at times can have up to 10+ adults, in a relatively modest sized house required innovative planning and zoning. Essentially the main occupant lives on the first floor taking in the natural light and views and when required the ground floor can open up like a hotel for guests as they arrive.

The ground floor is zoned both spatially and mechanically with separate heating and cooling. Bedrooms are treated like suites with suitcase layout space in each robe, day-spa bathroom and access to the views on the adjacent ground floor terrace, giving the guest a sense of both seclusion and being on holiday.

The house achieves an extremely high level of thermal comfort through: exceptional insulation, motorised sun protection that responds to the suns position, utilisation of Low VOCC paints, and the thorough cross ventilation achieved with the efficient floor plan.

Photos by: Shannon McGrath and Entrant

Horst Architects have designed the Beck Residence in Corona del Mar, California.

Perched atop a rocky seaside promontory, this loft renovation is an efficient response to the problem of limited space with simplicity and restraint being the guiding principles of the design solution. The clients requested a design which would accommodate office work by day and intimate social and familial gatherings by night. The interior spaces have been completely reconfigured into an open plan evolving around a double height entry volume containing the principal stairway.

Sliding partitions and fabric behind frameless glass have replaced traditional means of enclosure and spatial transition. A sculptural interplay of material, light and form define spaces, which are both intimate and communal, sheltering yet expansive. Indoor and outdoor living is integrated by frameless, bi-folding doors. Windows are positioned to embrace the view of the harbor, while second skin systems such as wood shutters mediate the late afternoon sun and provide privacy.

The changing play of light on surfaces, the breezes that move through and around the structure, the touch and smell of walls and gardens, the play of colors, the sound of spaces all play a part in the reception of architecture as it is lived in, and are important determinants in our well being.

Interior Design: Aria Design

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The goal of the architectural concept was to upgrade the existing traditional structure with puristic architecture. Monika Gogl therefore worked very consciously with contrasting materials such as local wood, natural stone, granite, glass and exposed concrete. The timeless style puts nature at its centre. Alongside the planning of the building complex, the office and its entire interior design was also commissioned. Numerous items of furniture and individual pieces were individually designed, which optimise their functions with much attentionto detail and lend the interior design its harmonic and elegant overall impression.

Architects: Gogl Architekten

Location: Hinterglemm, Austria

Project Manager: Monika Gogl

Design Team: Nina Steinbacher, Daniela Amann, Hildegard Platzer-Rieder, Elisabeth Oettl, Hannes Schroll, Jonas Davidson, Claudia Waler, Michael Kapeller

Area: 5,047 sqm

Year: 2012

Housing Technology: Bopp Ingenieure OG

Lighting Planning: Akzente Lichtsysteme

Photographs: Mario Webhofer

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The client

They have four kids, and that is a big family by contempory standards, They are both teachers in their late thirties. The first, and the most important thing they wanted in their new home was a place where their kids could play, read and study. They wanted lower floors for the kids and upper for themselves. They already tried it out with another architect, but it did not satisfy them, that’s when they said that they found about me, who appeared to be more playful, and more creative.

The site

irregular and sloped site boasted a great view. It is situated in a nice newly built surburb. The view reminded me of a scene from a movie, LA surburbs at night. Instantly, a name for the house came up-Panorama House-which they nodded with some ambience.

The Design

The basic request of upper and lower spatial organization and the shape of the site promted a long and thin house with fluctuating facade which would allow for more differentiated view. The key was coming up with a multi_functional space which  is a large staircase, bookshelves, casual reading space, home cinema, slide and many more…

The client was very pleased with the design, and the initial design was accepted and finalized almost instantly, only with minor adjustments. The Kitchen and dinning space is another important space where family gathers to bond. the TV was pushed away to a smaller living room. The attic is where the best view is possible, it is used as a play room for younger kids.

The multi-use stair and slide space brings much active energy to the house, not only children, but also grown ups love the slide staircase….An action filled playful house for all ages…

the fluctuating facade is accentuated my mirrored bottom and top angles. It can bring about some illusion when looked at with some concentration. The various sized windows provide different outlooks. Korean Houses are floor heated, which is quite unique and brings users to the floors more than to furniture such as sofa and chairs. so many windows are placed quite low, considering the long living habit. There is no high legged dinning table for the family, only a portable foldable short-legged table. The space kept empty until any specific function arises…

Architects: Moon Hoon
Location: Chungbuk, Korea
Architect In Charge: Moon Hoon
Design Team: Lee Ju Hee, Kim Dong Won, Park Sang Eun
Area: 57,050 sqm
Year: 2011
Photographs: Namgoong Sun

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Located on five acres of dense Ohia forest, this cast-in-place concrete house frames indoor and outdoor living spaces along with views of the forest, the sky, and the coastline on Hawaii’s Big Island. It continues our exploration of a reductive architecture that enhances the experience of living in this compelling environment.

The main feature of the house is a concrete beam, 140 foot long, 48 inch tall x 12 inch wide running the length of the building with only three short concrete walls supporting it along its massive span. Laminated beams and wood planks make up the roof that hangs below it. The concrete beam allows for sizable spans of uninterrupted glass and covered outdoor space, which creates a permeable edge between the man-made and nature. These huge expanses of openness amplify the sensation of living in the Ohia forest.

Ohia trees are endemic to Hawaii. They are the first trees to grow on new lava flows. Lavaflow 7 sits on a 1955 lava flow on the slopes of Kilauea crater. The Ohia’s brilliant red flower, called the Lehua, are a striking contrast to the ruddy green leaves and shades of gray of the tree’s bark and the black lava. Like the Ohia, the gray concrete house blends into the existing landscape of lava and trees while splashes of color in the house mimic the Lehua.

The nature of the house is long and thin, with private and public areas divided by a lanai and bisected by a lap pool. The thinness of the house provides passive cooling through cross ventilation allowing for the elimination of mechanical air conditioning, consistent and diffused light quality in the rooms through out the day, and a view of the forest, sky, and ocean from every room. Other sustainable features include a rainwater catchment system that supplies all water used along with a solar heating system for domestic hot water. A loose distribution of spaces around the few solid walls creates a house that is equally open in all directions and welcomes nature in.

Architects: Craig Steely Architecture
Location: Pahoa, Big Island, Hawaii, United States of America
Architect In Charge: Craig Steely
Project Team: Luigi Silverman, Mary Barensfeld, Seth Pare-Mayer, Chris Talbot
Structural Engineer: Ray Keuning
Construction: Michael Lynch
Year: 2013
Photographs: Bruce Damonte

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Recognized by united nations and world banks, the City of Yiwu houses the world’s biggest small goods market, having seemingly arisen over night, is now the center of trading for small goods in the world.  The people of Yiwu, once workers on the farming fields dared to change their  fates and stepped into the world of business and landed on success. “Breakthrough Innovations” is this city’s most valued essence. The city strongly encourages young entrepreneur, and with that in mind, the Lahas Zone was idealistically concieved and designed, centering a green enviroment that can incorporate services, offices, and exhibitions all into living comfortably.

For the successful implementation of such a green zone for innovations, Capital Domain commissioned avant-garde architect of the natural styles, Tsueng-Jen Lin to create the showroom that will symbolise Lahas Zone. Differing from past sale centers, Lahas Zone was comprohensively renovated from an old factory building instead of built a new on the Lahas Zone site in accordance to maintaining green. In facing the many challenges of the old structure，while maintaining the integrity of recycle design and adhering to the developers intentions, Lin has created Chinese stylised models of living for the post contemporary age. Lin Believes，that the principles of green design is in the recyled use of the property and how to utilise an abandoned building undergoing a program change to it’s full potential.

The design for this abandoned factory would also have to consider long term use beyond just a showroom, to incorporate a club like setting for future use in the effort the be true to green design. The plan is to continue transforming the space’s fucntionality in the future, section by section, to maximism its recyle output and a continuing renew to program. However the current main purpose was to utilise minimal construction to achieve a showroom with an air of ‘Subtle Happiness’. (The idea of ‘Subtle Happiness’ or ‘Syoukakkou’ cames from the famous author Haruki Murakami to mean: Though it’s subtle and maybe pedestrian, it’s a feeling of happiness that you’re completely sure of.)

To ease the cold atmospherics of the building’s bare cement facades, Lin tried to aesthetically create a space thats in contrast to the building but would fit the warmer atmosphere that humans need。Therefore by adding wooden elements upon the bare concrete, combining tonality of the materials，it casts rough and delicate shadows through the space，texturising  the spacial visage. The combination of these materials used through out the site blurs the thresholds of exterior and interior while it breaks through the boundries of architecture and interior design。

The layout had to be displayed well to not only to house the showroom models for the Lahas Zone but also display the exterioral relationship between the unit models within the sunny atrium. To feel the nature from within the unit models, the atrium had to simulate the desired neighbourhood surroundings inclusive of backyards, veranders and vertical gardens etc. thus to better portray the green life to customers; to experience outside from within and vice versa.

As the feature of the atrium, to welcome guests and customers, erects a giant wooden cavern structure, acting as the focus.  The structure starts way before one even enters the space, drawing people in to the interior and then attentions will be paid from the floor all the way to the 3 story high ceiling that folds over to represent the roof to truly display a crossing of the interior/exterior threshold. The ‘roof’ is refracted in to many slices to reflect the atriums intake of sunlight, encouraging the Chinese people’s traditional views on wood and warmth, which is perfect for an atrium where people can wait and/or discuss the Lahas Zone. The other section of the atrium that is not encompassed by the wooden ‘roof’ but is left with it’s original solid concrete walls with the model of this residential developement to give customers a sense of assurence and cofidence. The balance of the atrium between the two distict sections creates a functional and emotional dialogue for customers to decide their dreams for their future lives.

Lin believes that people should persue a more relaxing atmosphere for living, thus monochromatisied the showroom, to depict a more peaceful life style. The whole showroom is set up like a little cafe where people can come and enjoy a drink or some coffee, to read a good book or some magazines under the warm sunshine. The subtle mood of the space is set for future occupants to project their dream lives of living and working into the Lahas Zone, to own ‘Subtle Happiness’ for themselves.

Architects: CROX International Co., LTD
Location: Yiwu City, China
Design Team: Ben-Tao Li, Qiang Han, K. Kei, Tsung-Jen Lin
Photographs: Ji-Shou Wang

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Horst Architects have designed the Strand Residence in Dana Point, California.

From the architects:

This AIA award winning home resides at The Strand in Dana Point, California. A series of overlapping reflecting ponds within the home’s central courtyard instills a sense of meditation and retreat where one can contemplate the ocean and sky.

Indoor and outdoor living is orchestrated by balancing views with privacy, communal space with intimacy. The clear expression of the steel skeleton structure, in filled with glass and wood, allows the structure to sit lightly along the coastal terrain, while limestone walls anchor the structure. The interplay of light, materials and composition contribute to a sense of place rooted into the site.

Photographer: Toby Ellis

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The Kempart loft project emerged from a meeting between Daniel Dethier and a client, who was passionate about precision engineering. It demonstrates how industrial spaces can be transformed into housing without becoming locked into stereotypes.

We were fortunate to have a committed and receptive client who was fascinated by precision engineering. This allowed us to apply our research into a loft’s reinterpretation, and to integrate a technically advanced architectural object. Our approach was, quite naturally, based on the client’s profile rather than the site’s historical nature – as it does not present any heritage value whatever.

The movement to transform small and medium-sized industrial sites into housing units began in the 1970s. Often, however, such renovations were superficial in nature – a passé, rough-hewn treatment for a lifestyle out of synch with contemporary expectations. Most observers are aware of this, yet preconceptions about how “lofts” should be designed are as deep-rooted as they are pseudo-contemporary. Hence, getting off the beaten track and proposing bold aesthetic choices combined with cutting-edge finishings was more difficult in this context than for other types of projects. For the Kempart loft, the concept was straightforward: to create a living space for a couple with no children in an abandoned industrial bakery. Beyond the basic technical requirements, our proposal was mainly focused on the space’s layout, function and sensitivity.

To begin, we opened the space up as much as possible, removing the tie beams and strengthening the rafters with metal plates set in the ridge beam. The resulting 154 sq. m open area was structured by the introduction of a rounded modular unit housing two bathrooms, storage areas, a toilet and the heating and ventilation systems. The modular unit divides the interior space and provides for various functions while creating a range of ambiences. Beginning with the entrance, the space provides zones for the hall, office, lounge, kitchen, dining room, bedroom and dressing room. The lounge area is located on the southern side of the space, while the bedroom is to the north.

The modular unit has a unique design; its silhouette, aluminium cladding and careful attention to detail were all inspired by the Airstream trailer’s aerodynamic aesthetic. We commissioned artist Jean Glibert to select the bathroom areas’ saturated colours, which can be glimpsed through three porthole windows that can be rendered opaque. These variegated tonal elements energise the interior architecture, which is predominantly white, a colour that reflects the indirect light and emphasises the unit’s brushed aluminium skin. The pure lines and tonal range produce a feeling of weightlessness, reinforced by the understated, high-tech furnishings, which were also commissioned. Particular attention was paid to the placement of the floor-to-ceiling windows and the to the views from the lounge area – one can look down a street and out towards the spacious terrace, whose surface area is equivalent to two-thirds of the interior space. The terrace almost doubles the living space and offers the inhabitants direct contact with the neighborhood.

Architects: Dethier Architectures
Location: Liège, Belgium
Architect In Charge: Daniel Dethier
Artist: Jean Glibert
Area: 154 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Serge Brison

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Designed by Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects of New York, My Boon is a new 6,700-square-foot lifestyle boutique on Cheongdam-Dong in Seoul’s Gangnam-Gu neighborhood. The basic concept for the shop derives from a simple statement from the client: “My style, my body, my soul.” The focus is on the best in trends, fashion, accessories (style), beauty cosmetics and vitamins (body), and art, music, movies and books (soul).

The overall retail experience is structured to be anything but typical – My Boon’s ambitions are evident in the fact that the objects, clothing, cosmetics for sale are displayed. This served as a starting point for our design investigation, which sought to create an architecture that would reflect the brand’s ethos and the balance between the best of contemporary culture and a natural, healthy lifestyle.

The scheme is divided into three zones; a large retail space for fashion, apparel and footwear; a juice bar and café; and a retail gallery of personal accessories and objects that acts as a connector between the two spaces. The design defines each of these zones through subtle shifts in materiality and color. The project employs unifying elements to tie the spaces together. Wood end-grain flooring is used throughout, with changes in color at each zone: natural finish at the north sales area, black at the retail gallery and white stained finish at the café.

To reinforce a visual connection between the three zones, a louvered ceiling of natural wood runs the length of the space. Throughout all three zones, polished, stainless-steel shelving details add a consistent element to hand-troweled concrete walls and reclaimed, rough-sawn wood. Black is used as a framing device in each space to reinforce the spare palette of light woods, troweled concrete, white carrera marble, and polished stainless steel.

Throughout the shop, careful attention was paid to curating merchandise within a mix of social spaces. In the retail area, concrete planks, which feel more industrial, are stacked across the sales floor to create an adjustable display space and impromptu seating areas. The cafe is the main social space of the store, where customers can recharge their bodies with a healthy menu of fresh juices and snacks. It is part apothecary, as well as a café, with a hygienic atmosphere.

The café area features a counter-height bar of white marble and gradient white glass above that gives an ethereal lightness to the space. The design is an investigation of the artificial versus the natural – wood surfaces punctuated by rubber tabletops, blackened-steel display boxes and concrete planking. It is not so much materials in opposition, but, rather, all materials having a level of industrial refinement to create a sense of ambiguity and mystery.

Architects: Jaklitsch – Gardner Architects PC
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Design Team: Stephan Jaklitsch, Mark Gardner, Christopher Kitterman, Mariana Renjifo, Bjarke Ballisager, Margaux Schindler, Liz Kelsey
Architect: Kukbo Design
Collaborator: Milan Vukmirovic
Area: 622 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Nacasa & Partners

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The New Canaan Residence is nestled into a lush hilltop site in this forested part of Connecticut. The house was designed to engage the landscape and immerse the occupants in the full range of environments that the site offers. What the completed house doesn’t show is its modest beginnings: this is a renovation of a 1950′s house which had a series of unsympathetic additions from the 60′s and 70′s, and whose owners originally wanted only a kitchen upgrade.

The New Canaan Residence welcomes its owners and their visitors into what feels like a floating pavilion in the tree canopy. A winding drive brings visitors through the forest to arrive at a low and gracious landscaped court that frames the glass entry pavilion. From this court, the transparency of the house is evident: floor-to-ceiling glass allows views through the house, incorporating the landscape into the body of the house. The tree canopy becomes a part of the architecture and creates a visual perimeter that changes with the seasons.

The upper level features the home’s primary gathering spaces, as well as bedrooms and a gymnasium. A staircase tucked behind the free-standing fireplace opens on to the lower level of the house, which is carved into the earth and gives views directly onto the forest floor. The lower level provides additional social spaces and features a media room, library, and two home offices. The lower level spaces link to a series of “outdoor rooms” that feature a fireplace and distinct seating areas. The grounded, cozy nature of the lower level provides an experiential contrast to the expansive and light-filled level above. The swimming pool and separate pool house emphasize the project’s strong lines and classically modern roots.

Architects: Specht Harpman
Location: New Canaan, Connecticut, USA
Architect In Charge: Specht Harpman
Interior Decoration: Carrier & Co.
Area: 6,000 sqm
Year: 2011
Photographs: Elizabeth Felicella

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