This week on Dezeen: this week British designer Thomas Heatherwick presented a structure comprising 154 staircases for a vast development Manhattan’s West Side and we geared up for next week’s London Design Festival. (more…)
House in Goa is a residential project completed by Ankit Prabhudessai in 2015. The home is located in Margao, Goa, India. House in Goa by Ankit Prabhudessai: “Elegantly placed on a bush hammered granite is a slightly tilted yellow white Frangipani tree which welcomes the visitors with its intoxicating fragrance and beautiful flowers. I tried to tell the stories about the relationship of the indoors to the outdoors , of..
From the architect. After a successful collaboration for Andronikos hotel in Mykonos, KLab architecture and Andronikos hotels joined forces again for a new hotel in Santorini.
A large house from the 70’s, located in Imerovigli Santorini, of three floors was rethought as 6 suites hotel. Above the volcano caldera and the famous rock “skaros” KLab architecture changed throughout the existing building to accommodate the needs of the new hotel.
6 large suites and a sky bar on the terrace were conceived as a modern interpretation of the cave like vernacular houses of Santorini. New vaults and arches and curvaceous edges recreate the unique aura of traditional houses.
Paul Cocksedge has unveiled the latest design in his mission to save vintage speakers from obsolescence, with a small Bluetooth device that can now provide stereo sound (+ movie). (more…)
From the architect. The architecture of the house explores a play of volumes, materials and stark play of light & shadow. The volume blocking is strong & rigid with a further accentuation through contrasting materials – the stunning corten steel with stark whites. Corten steel is used prominently on the façade with seamless joining techniques following a strict geometry. The monotony of white blocks is broken with sharp block patterns created through aluminum grooves.
The house performs multi-functional role to suit the lifestyle of the clients – metamorphosing its spaces in a live-work-play system. From a cozy family den, to a design studio to spaces to exhibit their love for art and a space for hosting soirees for large group of guests – the house was to serve a multitude of purposes leading to a smart segregation of functions for privacy as well as creating transformational spaces to suit a variety of situations.
The interiors take a minimalist route with clean walls featuring art collections of the owners. The challenge of the interiors lay in translating the fashion philosophy of the brand into a spatial story. This involved taking the most recognizable facet of the brand, that is Color-blocking, and exploring interiors through that. Hence, the usage of color blocked carpets, surfaces clad in teak to create stark contrasts with the white walls. The main living room features an eclectic brass chandelier composed of saxophones, reminiscing the brand’s love for retro eras. Brass highlights have been featured in furniture to infuse minimalist glamour.
While the ground floor follows a more formal tone to spaces & interiors, the first floor houses a private suite in the form of linear spaces that join & split to move from public to private. From an entry through the middle into the bar lounge, the space takes a loft-like approach through a pergola sun roof allowing natural light, sliding industrial doors and striped marble. This section houses a bar lounge for entertainment which opens into a linear open air exhibition space, a design studio, and bedroom attached to a lyrically monochromatic bathroom.
From the architect. From the architect. One of the main goals of the UWC College Dilijan project was to create an Armenian international school that is a lot more than just another international school located in Armenia. We managed to accomplish this objective by integrating the complex of modern buildings into the natural historical environment. The famous Armenian tufa and local stone were used as the main building materials. Eco-friendly “green” walls and roofs were used for school’s main building.
As a result, the small houses with different story levels for students, with their textured masonry, red roofs and overhanging balconies, almost replicate the samples of old local architecture. The architects also divided the extended main building into smaller sections with a roof composed of separate fragments and glass inserts equal in height to the facade. All the buildings of the complex are co-scale and have no more than three floors.
The roof is one of the key architectural elements of the school’s main building. Consisting of smoothly curved and generously landscaped plates, it gives the building a marked resemblance to the surrounding hills, causing it to actually merge with the landscape. For greater effect, we used a non-standard lawn and native plants, which means the building naturally changes its appearance during the year as the seasons change.
Due to the fact that UWC Dilijan College is located in a seismically active zone, special attention was paid to the security and stability of the buildings to account for variations in the Earth’s crust. A general drainage system was installed on-site, and retaining walls were built for protection against landslides.
The school’s concertina roofs, which spread over two atrium spaces, form interesting shadows and reflections that complement the ‘shattered glass’ floor design. Their configuration and patterns allow sunlight to penetrate deep into the atrium spaces harmonizing the exterior changing colours with interiors shades of green and yellow. The two elongated atriums thus become the main spaces responsible for a most important part of the educational process – informal interaction and close cooperation between students.
Thanks to the efforts of the international holding RD Group, UWC College Dilijan became the first building in Armenia that has received the BREEAM environmental certification.
From the architect. LINEA – an office and the showroom for exclusive quality and interior decoration materials.
The building is located in the historic district Zverynas, the former summer resort and recently part of an old town of Vilnius. Rich with old wooden houses and natural vegetation it is considered one of the most preserved historic small scale homesteads of the city. This is what has become the main challenge – to face the strict architectural and urban protection requirements, by the same time to create a contemporary, memorable, open and inviting object for the public use.
The structure of the building responds to the surrounding small urban scale. The composition consists of two smaller volumes that cross and overpass each other. Slightly irregular volumes reflect the shape of the plot as well as create the sense of a natural move. This is what comes from the neighboring buildings – chaotic, irregular, old wooden and brick structures. With an intention to integrate into the small urban building scale of Zverynas the volume is complex as well as the silhouette interprets the gable homestead house typology. The narrow facades are orientated towards the main street.
The main idea for the aesthetic expression was inspired by the urban environment and the company’s name “Linea”(Lat. – one of the meanings is”the line”). The composition of the volumes is inspired by he small, variable character of adjacency, whereas the external expression and materiality reflects the activities and interpretation of the company itself. Ceramic plates are individual rectangular ceramic elements are used for the facade finishing. Blinds as well as separate volumetric ceramic stripes in front of the glass windows create gracefulness, lightness and the sense of openness. The dynamic facade line graphics is perceived by opaque surfaces interlacing with a variety of single ceramic strips. In addition to the aesthetic function the horizontal blinds protect the premises from overheating. The shadow graphics become an integral part of the interior. The goal was to achieve a sense of integrity – therefore, the ceramic wall finishing also continuously covers the roof slopes. The plastic roof ridge detail underlines the idea of continuity and integrity of the volumes.
The compact building structure consists of the three floors. The first and the second floors serve as the exposition space. The third floor shelters the office space. The stairs as well as elevator ensures the accessibility to the commercial spaces on the second floor.
An idea for the interior was a maximum withdrawal of excess decorating. Leaving open, floating interior spaces was with a clear idea for sales – to exhibit and represent the interior and finishing materials. Exposed concrete surfaces, apparent duct systems and exhibited lightning become secondary background elements. (Interior design proposed together with the interior design studio – “Plazma”).
The plot is paved with openwork concrete pads filled with rubble. It becomes a comfortable way to drain the surfaces and collect the rain water. As an interface with the homestead surroundings proposed is the lawn and the greenery. Emphasized is the openness, easy accessibility and the public nature of the building.
The site for the 5 x 5m four storey tower is situated in the centre of the upmarket shopping precinct of Merivale, Christchurch. The Client purchased this tiny vacant 25m2 site (previously used for public toilets) from the City Council approximately 15 years ago. The current re-build of the City since the devastating 2011 earthquakes has given developers the opportunity to re-think urban space and public engagement.
The Tower has a tapering cross-section to accommodate the maximum plot ratio allowed on the site. The four floor plates are attached to an atrium that travels the full height of the building. The ground floor accommodates a garage, laundry and entrance/stair leading up to the living, office, kitchen on the first floor. An open steel stair takes one up through the open atrium void up to the second floor which contains the bedroom/study and bathroom. At this level a retractable concealed ceiling stair connects one to the third floor library/reading room. The final connection is out onto the roof terrace via the library ladder. This ‘moon’ terrace house the mechanical plant and affords 360 degree views across the city.
All the natural lighting is obtained from the south only, as the remaining three facades are located on the boundary. This southern facade clad in silver aluminium is in sharp contrast to the remaining solid black elevations. An integrated 3 story electronic adjustable louvre system provides privacy at night while during the day its ‘open mode’ reflects natural light deep into the various floors.
The client has provided a ‘generous build’ that generates visual and physical richness to the surrounding existing built fabric, both during the day (totem) and night (lantern)
Sig Nordal 