Binimelis House – Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos
May 27, 2009 at 12:00 am | Posted in architecture, houses | 2 CommentsTags: architecture, chile, concrete, houses, stone, timber
The Binimelis House designed by Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos is located in Colina, Chile and is situated on a triangular shaped block with a slope of 40%. The living spaces are located upstairs with the bedrooms cut into the hillside downstairs.
The house has been orientated parallel with the terrain to create a direct relationship with the landscape on both levels while also taking advantage of the northern sun and views (an ideal arrangement with street access to the upper living areas from the south). A kink in the upper volume also directs the occupant’s view toward the valley and away from a nearby quarry.
Concrete, timber and stone form the simple, yet beautiful palette of materials but it is how they are used that is most appealing to me. The lower level’s organic dry stone walls create a nice contrast with the crisp and sharp nature of the upper level’s gloss stone tiles, reinforcing the appearance that the upper level is just sitting or floating there.
The stone tile cladding on the upper floor is also interestingly detailed. Check out the section detail showing this cladding extending onto the roof and how there is no hidden box gutter – the water would just run off the edge and down the walls. The other section showing the window/door opening has a 50×50 steel angle near the roof edge. I assume this would divert the rain to either side of the opening. It would be interesting to see how this works in a heavy downpour.
Photos: Aryeh Kornfeld
Visit the Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos website here.
For more photographs and drawings visit Archdaily here.
Via Archdaily
Ramp House – Archivirus
May 5, 2009 at 12:17 am | Posted in architecture, houses | Leave a commentTags: greece, ramp house, skateboarding
Designed by Athanasia Psaraki of Archivirus, the Ramp House is a project that questions and redefines the individual elements of ‘house’ and ‘skate ramp’ melding them together to create a new type of multifunctional living space.
“The ‘skateboarding’ element is adopted in every possible way. When the client asked me to design a home where she could be able to skate, I immediately eliminated the idea of just putting a mini ramp in the living room. For me, the challenge of this project was to make a living space where the ramp, the bowl and all the interpretations of those terms would actually become the building elements for this space. I wanted to make a ‘ramp house’ and not a ‘house with a ramp’.” Athanasia Psaraki
Located in Athens, Greece, the Ramp House is an 80 square metre roof addition to an existing 3 storey building. Externally timber was chosen for the balustrade, pergola and louvres to complement the existing timber balustrades and windows – both dominant features of the existing building.
“Basic house elements such as the fireplace and storage units are hidden inside the ramp forms. I also tried to combine the street aesthetics of the skate scene using concrete and the cosy atmosphere of a house using wood. So concrete walls mould into the floor and then concrete turns into wood to create a ramp partition with the kitchen.” Athanasia Psaraki
Even details such as the balcony sliding door have not been overlooked with it too reflecting the shape of the adjacent ramp as shown above.
I think this is a really cool space though I’d sure hate to stack it onto the kitchen stove when a meal’s being cooked or even the fire place for that matter! 😉
Photos: Theo Vranas and Athanasia Psaraki
Visit the Archivirus website at www.archivirus.gr
via archdaily
Stahl House (Case Study House #22) (1960) – Pierre Koenig
April 5, 2009 at 11:08 pm | Posted in architecture, houses | 3 CommentsTags: case study house #22, mid century modern, pierre koenig, stahl house
The Stahl House (Case Study House #22) was designed by Pierre Koenig in 1959 as part of the Case Study House program. Situated in the Hollywood hills, the house is a simple L-shaped pavilion overlooking the city of Los Angeles. The layout of the house turns its back to the street, with all major rooms facing the swimming pool. Access to the entry is gained from the carport via a footbridge over the pool made from precast concrete blocks.
One of the most radical and minimal houses in the Case Study program, the Stahl house was framed using only stock steel components. This allowed for the living wing of the house to be completely open, enclosed only by glass walls and steel columns. Together with the concrete footings cantilevering over the cliff face, the house created a dramatic and heroic setting famously captured in Julius Schulman’s photographs.
Photos: Julius Schulman
Floor Plan
Josh Agle (aka Shag)
January 29, 2009 at 2:06 pm | Posted in architecture, art, houses | 3 CommentsTags: art, harry seidler, john lautner, lowbrow, pierre koenig, pop surrealism, robin boyd, Shag
Josh “Shag” Agle is one of my favourite lowbrow artists. Hailing from America, Shag is best known for his flat perspective, vivid colour paintings depicting lounge and tiki-themed scenes.
His paintings are visually influenced by avant-garde animation of the early fifties and sixties and usually have a subtle sense of humour to them leaving the viewer asking the question, “What’s actually going on in this scene?”
To me his paintings have a cool nostalgic feel, depicting the jet-setting high life of the 1950’s. Another great subtle feature in some of his paintings is his reference to classic mid-century modern houses. A number of his paintings have featured the work of Australian and American mid-century architects such as Robin Boyd, Harry Seidler, John Lautner and Pierre Koenig.
For more info visit www.shag.com
Above: Robin Boyd House II – Robin Boyd
Above: Robin Boyd House II – Robin Boyd
Above: Rose Seidler House – Harry Seidler
Above: Rose Seidler House – Harry Seidler
Above: Malin Residence “Chemosphere” – John Lautner
(I’ll put money on it that the photographer in this painting is a nod to the modernist architectural photographer Julius Shulman who famously photographed the Stahl House)
Above: Stahl House (Case Study House #22) – Pierre Koenig (Photo – Julius Shulman)
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James-Robertson House – Casey Brown Architecture
January 13, 2009 at 4:06 am | Posted in architecture, houses | Leave a commentTags: architecture, australia, coastal, houses
This has been one of my favourite Australian houses for quite a while now. Designed by Casey Brown Architecture, the house is located on a steep 45 degree slope at Mackeral Beach in NSW. It consists of three pavilions; the upper housing the main bedroom, the lower two housing the living and kitchen and beneath those are the guest bedroom and bathroom. I really like the use of materials (stone, steel, timber, glass and copper) allowing the building to blend nicely into the surrounding environment. The slender black steel structure and extensive use of glass creates a beautiful glowing ‘lantern like’ structure at night and I particularly like the frameless glass of the upper windows at the corners each pavilion.
For further reading visit The Cool Hunter
Klein Bottle House – McBride Charles Ryan
November 18, 2008 at 1:51 pm | Posted in architecture, houses | 3 CommentsTags: architecture, australia, houses, robin boyd award
The Klein Bottle House, designed by McBride Charles Ryan, was recently awarded the 2008 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – the highest award for residential architecture in Australia.
"This holiday house is situated on the Mornington Peninsula 1.5 hrs drive from Melbourne. It is located within the tee-tree on the sand dunes, a short distance from the wild 16 beach. From the outset MCR wanted a building that nestled within the tree line. That talked about journey and the playfulness of holiday time."
"What began as a spiral or shell like building developed into a more complex spiral, the Klein bottle. MCR were keen to be topologically true to the Klein bottle but it had to function as a home. We thought an origami version of the bottle would be achievable and hold some ironic fascination. (The resulting Fibre Cement version also has a comforting relationship to the tradition of the Aussie cement sheet beach house). The house revolves around a central courtyard, a grand regal stair connecting all the levels. There is a sense of both being near and far to all occupants."
Photos: John Gollings
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