You Won’t Believe What This Awesome Brewery Used To Be

Jun 9, 2015

As part of a massive neighborhood revitalization project in the Güemes district in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, this funky, open concept brewery was crafted from the shell of an old, broken down police station. What was once home to handcuffed criminals, on-duty patrolmen and stale donuts now serves locals cold, crisp lagers and plenty of interesting sights. The rennovation was led by Guillermo Cacciavillani, cofounder and creative director of Bar Makers.

In the architect’s words: “To transform the neighborhood, making it an engaging place, a living history, is the spirit that is revitalizing an area that for many years was marginalized in the urban scene of the city.” What better what to inject life and vigor into a neglected area than to provide a vibrant social gathering space as functionally appropriate and majestically pulled off as the Capitan Central Brewery?

The beauty in the juxtaposition of old against new is immediately noticeable, giving new life to an old shell. Concrete benches and planters are used to reinforce the starkness of new material that plays on what was once there. Flashes of bright red punctuate interior circulation, both of people and the brewery equipment systems. A wall of delicately detailed windows open the space to an outdoor court, providing the interior with ample natural light.

The courtyard sits adjacent to the massive concrete entry. The grand industrial procession pays homage to the police station that once stood here.

The Undeniably Stunning 399sf “Salish”

Jun 8, 2017

Here’s a looker! Three words: stunning, clean, bright. Ok, a few more words. This 399sf masterpiece can be found at the Wildwood, a luxury vacation resort, and is the newest addition to their set of homes. It costs $315k, but that gets you quite an impressive little home in an absolutely beautiful setting. And perhaps it can serve as inspiration to build your own version for a lot less!

Feast on the pictures below and enjoy!

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Container Madness!! Massive House Built With 31 Shipping Containers

Mar 10, 2015

Few words come to mind that would appropriately describe a home that was built with an astounding 31 recycled shipping containers, but I’ll do my best. Australian architects ZeiglerBuild shocked the architecture community when they conceived this grandiose experiment, evoking the curiosity of a child who was just given Legos for the first time. The home is spread out over three interlocking stories and features a salt water pool and some impressive exterior graffiti art.

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The exterior of the home was treated as if they containers had been left in the open to the devices of urban hoodlummery and vandalism. It’s a unique approach that in an odd paradoxical way calms the massive scale of the building. A structure of this size has every opportunity to appear as a wart on the landscape no matter where it is situated, but the celebration of the container’s facade gives the building an innate sense of place. The playful juxtaposition of new and old is evident everywhere, cohesively binding the interior to the exterior.

10+ Rustic Hand Built Little Cabins We Adore

Mar 17, 2015

1Kevins Tiny House

A very unique tiny home that includes a large sliding panel in the front and plenty of rustic charm throughout. Check it out.

2Rustic Guest Cabin Makeover

This Socal barn was reborn as a classy rustic cabin.

3Topanga Cabin

A simple cabin built for weekend getaways and surfing trips. Check it out.

4Pocket Shelter

Situated outside Asheville, NC you’ll find this gorgeous tiny house on wheels built by Aaron Maret. Check it out.

5Humble Abode

This tiny house was built entirely from salvaged materials and shows off incredible detail. Check it out.

6Japanese Forest Home

Perhaps one of our favorites is this secret getaway, built entirely by hand using locally milled wood. Check it out.

7Sauvie Island Cabin

This 300sf cabin located on a farm is available for rent and guests are treated to fresh milk, eggs, and homemade bread, not to mention an amazing setting. Check it out.

8Timberclad Surfer Cabin

When two brothers wanted to build a special retreat for their families, they ended up with this clifftop cabin. They worked with WMR Architects to design a low-impact home on a budget. Check it out.

9Freecycled Cabin On Puget Sound

Olson Kundig is not stranger to eco-friendly designs with a big wow factor, and this cabin built using mostly salvaged material is no exception. Check it out.

10Wheelhaus Caboose

This stylish “park model” RV remains in its own class, and with a perfect combination of rustic elegance and modern finishes. Check it out.

Just Another Wooden Box In Portland? See What They Did Inside!

Jun 5, 2015

Portland, Oregon is home to many oddities and outliers. It’s a city made famous by the quirkiness of its people and places. Recently new homeowners and designers Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick have embraced that culture and then some when they built their tiny, modern and altogether wonderful dream home. A tiny 50×50 foot corner lot in Portland’s Inner Southeast neightborhood was all they needed to think up this starkly clad wooden box, giving them a modest yet functional 704 square feet of living space.

The exterior is intentionally subdued and clean, allowing what happens on the inside to punch you hard right in the face (figuratively, of course).
Take, for example, the bedroom. Yes, this is the bedroom! The daring couple has made creative use of a tall ceiling and an empty canvas to paint this little niche with style and flair. An exposed beam frames (visually and structurally) the bed loft that looks out to the neighborhood below. Naturally, this opens up the space below for storage, a closet, and even an exposed vanity. Did I mention it was functional? You would never guess that this is the kitchen of a tiny home. The space is luxurious and ample to say the least. Aside from all the light and space, the coolest feature is the exposed hood vent ducting that punctuates the industrial feel of the interior. Opposite the kitchen is this storage wall that holds everything from books and records to audio/video equipment. Katherine and Matt have modulated the openings with seemingly random opaque sections. It’s a visually interesting move that does well to hide otherwise unattractive elements like the heater vent.

Image Credit: John Clark

Students Design Retro-Rustic Offgrid Nomad Camper For Easy Towing

Sep 2, 2015

The housing crisis may be over, but plenty of people all over still face the challenge of trying to find a place to call home. This retro-rustic styled dwelling is one of the prototypes from +FARM‘s summer design studio, where students immerse themselves in design and construction practices, attempting to bring new solutions to fruition.

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The 2015 Nomad Studio shown here is modest, but beautiful, with a tiny 8′ x 5′ interior that sleeps two and quickly transforms into a lounge space. It has deployable solar panels that create 1kw, powering the coffee maker and film projector, and there’s even a stowable composting toilet hidden away.

Photos courtesy Andrew Nisbet

Diamond Shaped Dune House Appears Sunken Into The Earth

May 1, 2015

The Dune house looks half-buried in the earth, a striking sight on the island of Terschelling in the Netherlands. The unusual design comes courtesy of Marc Koehler Architects, and its diamond shape delivers a most unsual perspective of the surrounding plains and the distant North Sea.

Inside the home you’ll find a layout that mimicks the name, creating a sense of wandering a dune as you traverse the various levels. Regardless of where you are, plenty of windows illuminate the shapes and angles inside with a dazzling light. A variety of sustainable elements went into the build, including prefab wood, solar panels, and a biomass fireplace.

Photography: Marc Koehler Architects

Off-the-Grid Sustainable Masterpiece of New Zealand

Mar 4, 2016

Jeff Hobbs, ex-boat and cabinet-maker, founded his newest venture, Room to Move, in anticipation that the tiny house movement would continue its momentum and to introduce the movement to the people of New Zealand. In this project for his client, Briar Hale, the craftsmanship, attention to detail, and meticulous planning that Jeff puts into his work is showcased flawlessly in the end result of this home. This tiny home was built in the spirit of sustainability, from the solar panels to the salvaged native wood used for construction material. New Zealand should be proud to host these futuristic, sustainable homes!

The roof hosts a 600-watt solar panel and rainwater collection system, contributing to the home’s sustainability.

Among other clever space-saving features, this L-shaped sofa conceals a double bed. The wood stove is another sustainable feature responsible for providing the home with hot water.

The kitchen in all of its glory: kauri bench tops, hand-crafted ceramic sink, gas stove, and a 130-liter solar fridge.

The cavernous bedroom loft with a skylight for sleepless nights of stargazing.

9 Most Amazing Green Roofs In The World

Jun 14, 2015

Green roofs have plenty to offer. Not only are they architecturally interesting, they have a drastic effect on reducing a building’s carbon footprint. Covering any roof in a thick layer of properly drained vegetation naturally insulates the interior, but also absorbs heat that would typically be reflected back into the sky, preventing all kinds of ecological problems on a large enough scale.

Architects have taken notice, and are beginning to embrace green roofs as a focal point of their designs. Here are 9 green roofs that will knock your socks off (which is good, because no one wants to walk on grass with socks on).

1 | 8 House | Bjark Ingles Group (BIG)

BIG is known for going…well…big! This green roof is no different. The symmetrical shed roofs provide the perfect opportunity for the dual cascading green carpets that meet at an exterior courtyard at the base of the structure. (source)

2 | CR Land Guanganmen Green Tech Showroom | Vector Architects

When a green roof isn’t enough, why no couple it with some green walls? Vector Architects have left no exterior sufrace naked, creating an extruded square shell that naturally protects the interiors from swings in temperature. (source)

3 | California Academy Of Sciences | Renzo Piano

If I didn’t use ‘undulating’ and ‘elegant’ in the same sentence to describe this one I’d have an angry gathering of former architecture professors burning me at the stake (not literally). Mr. Piano is a master of his craft, and this is one of the truly iconic contemporary buildings in the Western Hemisphere. (source)

4 | Marcel Sembat High School | archi5

High school has changed a lot since my day. This beautiful structure is highlighted by the (don’t say undulating…don’t say undulating) faceted curvilinear roof structure (nailed it). (source)

5 | Beijing Capital International Airport | Foster + Partners

In a stroke of perfect irony, visitors to the world’s most industrial, pollutant contributing city are greeted with one of the world’s most sprawling green roof. China is no stranger to environmental paradox, as they are a leader in sustainable development, yet continue to degrade the planet through their bustling industry. (source)

6 | School of Art, Media, and Design | CPG

Two interlocking sloped green roofs wrap around a central public space in this project by Singapore based firm CPG. The roofs are accessilble to visitors, providing a lush carpet to make a picinic and take in a view of the surrounding Nanyang. (source)

7 | Villa Bio | Enric Ruiz-Geli

Spanish architect Enric Ruiz-Geli designed this home intented to reflect the landscape of the area. Even though it’s surrounded by homes that are less-than-camouflage, the green roof acts as a bridge between natural and man-made.(source)

8 | Chicago City Hall | City of Chicago

In 2001, the City of Chicago tasked a team of architects, landscape architects and engineers to design and build a 38,800 square feet of green space. It is an initiative that makes great strides towards covering our cities in well-manicured lawns. (source)

9 | Vancouver Convention Center | LMN + DA with MCM

A lush carpet of green velvet covers this convention center, which sits in a prestigious waterfront site in the heart of downtown Vancouver, BC. The architectural team created a man-made peninsula that mirrors the surrounding landscape. (source)

He wanted to build a simple cottage, but ended up with a massive castle

Feb 29, 2016

Every man’s home is his castle, a sentiment Jim Bishop took to heart when he began construction on his namesake project, Bishop Castle, in 1969 at the age of 25 in Wetmore, Colorado.

Jim Bishop on the balcony of his castle.

Jim Bishop bought the two-and-a-half acre of land just outside the limits of the San Isabel National Forest ten years earlier for $450 at just 15. The land was used by his family for the occasional camping trip until his marriage in 1967, when he was then inspired to begin the construction of a simple stone cottage for him and his wife on their property. The inspiration to build a castle came when the issue of installing a water tank arose. An iron worker by trade, this was an easy feat for him to accomplish. However, upon the remarks of family and friends that the iron and stone work he had chosen for building materials made the cottage look rather as if he were building a castle, he decided to switch gears and do just that: build a castle. Why not?

Jim's initial incorporation of ironwork was purely ornamental, but is now used structurally along with steel to secure the castle's foundation. — Jim’s initial incorporation of ironwork was purely ornamental, but is now used structurally along with steel to secure the castle’s foundation.

In the beginning stages of his castle, word spread and many offered their help to Jim in the construction of the castle. But no one ever did come to help Jim build his castle, which did not deter him in the least from his vision. “By God, I’ve gotten this far by myself!” he declared. “If you want something done right, do it yourself!” So, for the next 40 years, Jim balanced his work as an iron worker with the construction of Bishop Castle, a project that only ever kept growing in size.

Jim Bishop at work on the iron work of his castle.

Like any construction project, occasional issues arose: a running dispute since resolved was with the San Isabel National Forest, where he collected the stones and rocks for the castle. Jim’s goal is to complete Bishop Castle in its entirety before he passes away. He still has many additions to his vision to complete before that time is nigh, among them being the installation of a moat and draw bridge, a balcony large enough to fit an orchestra, and even the construction of a second castle!

One of the entrance signs to Bishop Castle with Jim's terms and conditions to visitors. — One of the entrance signs to Bishop Castle with Jim’s terms and conditions to visitors.

Until then, Bishop Castle is open to visitors as an official tourist attraction, as listed by the state of Colorado’s Chamber of Commerce. The price of admission to Jim Bishop’s legacy is a donation to the (continuing) construction costs.