Month: January 2020

House for a Buddhist – Monchique. In the hills of Monchique, between ups and downs, taking advantage of an extraordinary situation is this single-storey house. Set in a southern slope, with access by small and winding tar road, lies over one of several existing terraces that tear the steep slope into small cultivable levels. It is in this scenario that one arrives to contemplate all the open view towards the Algarve coast and sea. The small hills are diluted as the distance increases and the entire path of the sun is visible from the edge of the pool.

As the traditional role between men and women become blurred in modern society, the privacy at home and the basic nature of spaces in the house is being changed. Even the privacy among family members that had been overlooked in the past patriarchal era with a large family is now the most basic thing to insure, especially among married couples. The economic independence of women through increased participation in society plays a role in this. As a result, the kitchen has turned into a café-like space with a large table out of its traditional function of producing the food. It is also a wine bar for the soon-to-be married couple to stop by after work.

As the traditional role between men and women become blurred in modern society, the privacy at home and the basic nature of spaces in the house is being changed. Even the privacy among family members that had been overlooked in the past patriarchal era with a large family is now the most basic thing to insure, especially among married couples. The economic independence of women through increased participation in society plays a role in this. As a result, the kitchen has turned into a café-like space with a large table out of its traditional function of producing the food. It is also a wine bar for the soon-to-be married couple to stop by after work.

The House Challenge 2019 has released the results of this year’s competition that gathered entries from all over the world. With a theme focusing on the Desert House, applicants designed new and original concepts for temporary housing in this harsh environment.

Architecture and design studio Payette designed an underpass lighting project for Lynn, Massachusetts. Lynn is one of 26 Gateway Cities in Massachusetts, urban centers that anchor regional economies and are facing social and economic challenges. The project brighten and activates with dynamic, colorful and programmable LED lighting installations.

From playful indoor pools to tranquil exterior fountains to soaring waterfalls and grand lakes of enormous proportions, architecture throughout the centuries has engaged with water in endlessly innovative ways. Sometimes serving aesthetic purposes, but just as often acting as centers of activity or promoting sustainability, water features can take countless different forms and serve multiple different purposes. Below, we synthesize a series of water features espoused by innovative contemporary architectural projects, ranging from single-family residential homes to vast commercial complexes.

Soboro is a two-bedroom house close to Victoria Park in east London. The building combines the tactile qualities of cast in-situ concrete with the precision of pre-cast panels. The restricted site and demand for a unique building suggested an essay in concrete. The new house was built on a small footprint in part of the large garden of an end-of-terrace Victoria stucco villa – no mean feat in terms of planning and logistics. Using a paired back minimal palette of concrete and timber the simple form of the house has a strong presence on the street. A two storey frontage belies the true volume within the house. The reason being the cavernous basement which extends under the garden of the original villa. The idea of carving the house from the existing garden came early in the design process and influenced the look of the building.