A Subterranean Home For The Modern Hobbit

Apr 6, 2015

Many buildings attempt to establish a sense of place, a sort of integration with surroundings, but this home by Santiago Viale literally becomes the place; an extended appendage of Mother Nature herself. Worn stone walls and a series of green roofs help reinforce the connection to the site. They also act as natural insulators along with the surrounding earth.

The House in Q2 is a subterranean dream home that takes advantage of a sloping site to create interior space that is sustainably protected and emotionally visceral. The home emerges as a flat plane that appears sliced into the landscape and becoming a part of the natural aesthetic.

The home opens up at the bottom of the hill as large sliding doors extend the interiors to the sprawling valley beyond. The kitchen and living areas join the master bedroom at the open end of the home and are given the most generous space, views, and cross-ventilation for passive cooling.

Small House Compromise Yields High Return On Freedom

Apr 6, 2015

Maybe the idea of a tiny house appeals to you, but the practicality not so much. For small families and empty-nesters who need a bit more space for their things, a small house might fit their needs perfectly. That’s what Lily Copenagle and Jamie Kennel found out as they crafted their “just right” sized home that comes in at 704 sq. feet.

The couple had a simple mission – to build a small, sustainable home that’s easy to clean, with an open and spacious feel to it. They began with a $190k property, which was quickly razed to allow a clean slate. They proceeded to work with a contractor to get the new home started, and did much of the work themselves.

By working on the project themselves, the couple saved a decent chunk of money, and kept the overall costs to around $135k, resulting in a total of just over $300k spent. They finished the project in 2012, paid off the mortgage in full, and currently pay just $370/month in utilities and bills.

Their neighbor remarked, “On weekends, they actually go places and do things. They’re not tied to the projects most of us are tied to. I’m so charmed by the simplicity of it.” The same neighbor also said they probably couldn’t share a closet with their spouse, but we have to imagine that it’s a fair trade off to have the financial security of owning the home, and the flexibility to travel freely.Two green-roofed sheds in the backyard provide extra storage for the couple’s miscellaneous items and a workspace. The city also awarded them a $9k reimbursement for the green roofs. Below you can see the small shared office space they allocated in the floor plan.

The laundry setup isn’t exactly normal, but then again, it makes putting laundry away after washing/drying quite easy.

Photos by Aaron Leitz for The New York Times

Despite their ability to afford a much larger home, this couple made a concious decision to live modestly, below their means, and it seems they are reaping the benefits. While some friends, family, and architects questioned their decision, Lily and Jamie have no regrets.

Woman Converts The Bank She Once Worked At Into Her Dream Home

Apr 6, 2015

Before Cathy Calhoun eventually became a jewelry store owner, she worked as a bank teller at The National Bank of Spring City in Spring City, PA. In 1989, the old bank went up for sale and Cathy jumped at the opportunity to own it, paying a paltry $52,000 for the vacant building. She had a vision. A vision that would take 24 years of tireless renovation to become what it is today: a Pennsylvania girl’s dream home.

Scroll down to watch a video tour of the up-cycled old building, which includes a trip through the 2-story boardroom-turned-master suite complete with seating, a fireplace, jacuzzi and a big-screen TV. What she did with both the original vault and the newer one is truly unique, but we’ll let the video do the talking for that one.

A spiral staircase adds a dramatic curve to the otherwise boxed layout of the bank.

Photo Credits: YouTube

Cathy’s modern updates are extensive and eclectic, but have managed to preserve, even celebrate the bank’s historic aesthetic. All said, it’s clear that the money she put into this bank was a very wise investment, indeed.

This Modern Pyramid House Pays Homage To Classic Architecture

Mar 31, 2015

Maybe the Egyptians had it right all along.

This contemporary manifestation of the iconic pyramid form makes an emphatic statement about the simplicity of an inherently structural architectural expression. Before architects and builders developed building technology to more efficiently battle gravity’s limitations, we relied on literal formal response to those rules. Simply put, the higher you built, the smaller the footprint. The result was the pyramid: a pure geometric form that allowed ancient builders to reach heights never seen before.

This conceptual design from Mexican architect Juan Carlos Ramos pays homage to this classic vernacular while mixing in features that can only be constructed using modern techniques and materials. It’s an interesting dichotomy of old vs. new, telling a story of how far we’ve come as builders. For example, one of the facades is completely transparent, housing a massive triangular glazed opening.

Horizontal and vertical slices are cut into the pyramid, opening up areas for decks, views, and even a car port.

The main living space welcomes an open view to the outside, speaking to the structural and architectural feats we are able to achieve.

An Old Barn Receives A Modern Facelift

Mar 30, 2015

An old barn in upstate New York proved an abundant source of modern inspiration for architect Kimberly Peck. On the exterior, little was done as far as architectural expression in order to preserve the traditional gabled roof form of the existing barn. The simple addition of three large sliding doors on one side open up the interior, which was the main focus of the renovation.

The old columns and beams have been left alone and remain the primary conceptual, providing a rustic framework for the secondary additions to adhere to. The result is a harmonious mixture of old and new, paying homage to the history of the barn while providing the comfort and functionality of a modern facelift.

This Hemp Winery Is About As “Green” As It Gets

Mar 29, 2015

Château Maris considers itself to be the ‘greenest’ winery in all of France. Not only is it sustainable and biodynamic, but its cellar walls are made almost entirely of organic lime and compressed hemp blocks that naturally insulate and breath, allowing the winery to stay at the optimal temperature year round without the use of active heating and cooling systems.

I’ll try and stay far away from any poor attempts at weed puns (as hard as that may be) so as not to detract from the truly remarkable application of everyone’s favorite herb. Of coure, hemp comes from the fibrous stems and branches of the marijuana plant and not the female “cannabis sativa” we know from recreational use. Hemp has many practical applications, none more impressing then using it to create this biodynamic wall system.

After considering other organic wall materials such as stone and straw bail, hemp was picked because it is inexpensive and lightweight, making shipping and building with much easier. The Château is currently in the process of a LEED Platinum certification, and boasts other sustainable features such as using recycled bottles and paper for labeling, and donating a percentage of sales to eco-friendly organizations. Find more about Château Maris here.

Jaw-Dropping Views Await In This Stunning Copper-Clad Beach House

Mar 29, 2015

A breathtaking and vertigo-inducing 250 foot drop to the Pacific Ocean provides a daunting, yet beautiful backdrop for this modern beach house. The Buck Creek House, designed by California-based firm Fougeron Architecture, marries the sea with the surf through strategic openings that frame only the most jaw-dropping views.

The unique aesthetic of the home’s exterior make a fleeting attempt to steal your attention from the crystal blue water, but do so in vein. The back end of the home is largely opaque for purposes of privacy, and clad in shimmering copper panels that change throughout the day depending on the light. However, there is no containing the sea-side facade, which opens completely to pier over the looming shear cliff.

The interiors are clean, sleek, and do just what only what’s necessary to supplement the ocean views. High vaulted ceilings expand the spaces vertically, allowing light and air to flow through the home with elegant determination. This spectacular beach house has three bedrooms, a cantilevered master suite and a living room that opens to an adjacent exterior courtyard.

Picture Perfect Glass Cottage With A Wall Of Moving Shutters

Mar 29, 2015

Almost as if Walt Disney himself placed this perfectly gabled little cottage in the middle of a tree specked grassy meadow, this house by architecture studio Zecc and Roel van Norel evokes warm feelings of fairy tale nostalgia. The house was built in the rural countryside of Utrecht, The Netherlands, and contains a modest floor plan with an open layout, lofted sleeping area, and functional kitchen with full bath.

The forest-facing facade features a wall of motorized shutters that have the ability to open up completely to the landscape beyond. The shutters modulate light and create varying degrees of privacy depending on the desired use.

The interiors are built out with natural materials. The finished concrete slab gives mass and weight to the floor, while the wood on the wall finishes and ceiling give the vertical elements a feeling of weightlessness.

The roof line is asymmetric, overhanging further on the end that protects the wall of moving shutters.

When the sun goes down the shutters close, providing the visual protection desired during the night.

PreFab Dome Homes Compliment A Beautiful Chinese Garden

Mar 28, 2015

The dome is an age-old architectural form that was lauded in its conception for its ability to create seemingly unsupported spans, resulting in an abundance of open space. This timber dome home is one of a series that were built in the middle of a lychee garden in Gaoming, China. The huts are light-weight, low-energy, and meant to be a contemporary take on traditional Chinese forms and expressions.

1 of 8

Architect Timothy Oulton designed the shells to be comprised of 80 pre-fabricated timber panels that could be easily assembled on site, ensuring a speedy and accurate assembly process.

Interiors feature elements, such as the grand spiral staircase, that mimic the circular shape of the overarching dome structure. Each of the homes is built to German Passive House Standards, which are widely known to be among the most strict internationally. The goal was to build a collection of eco-friendly shelters that became a backdrop to the surrounding gardens, rather than an intrusion.

Luxurious Minimalist Beach House On The Hamptons

Mar 28, 2015

Over 40 years ago a couple purchased a small, 1/4 acre lot of land just 500 feet away from the Atlantic shore. At the time, they didn’t have the means to develop a house there, and as the years went by the local zoning ordinances changed. When the time finally came for them to build a home, they had to work within the confines of those limitations, which meant building very small.

As a result of the regulations, they had to work with a 15′ x 20′ footprint and two stories; the home could only be 600 square feet at most. Those regulations also forced them to consider the geometry of the house, as FEMA required the first floor to be elevated 6′ above natural grade and the town restricted the height to 25′ above natural grade.

Photos by Bates Masi + Architects