Month: September 2021

The transfer of city life to a rural environment is a current topic in the commissions that architectural studios receive nowadays. This house is the consequence of the owners’ decision to exchange a fifth-floor flat with views of the city for a house with trees and a garden in a nearby village. The first ingredient, the location, simplified the design decisions in many ways. Its dimensions and orientation allow the house to sit on one side, as if it was a white cat lying in the sun, stretched out as far as it can. This decision means that most of the rooms open into the southeast and the garden, taking advantage of the morning sun and the views over a nearby exterior. This first structuring line is complemented by the rest of the program, configuring an L-shaped floor plan. The rooms are placed on the larger side of the L, and a porch and a garage are placed on the short side. Forming another L-shape symmetrical to the previous one is a group of holm oaks and oak trees, which provide a backdrop to the landscape and greater intimacy to the interior of the plot. Between the two L-shaped volumes, there is a grassy area and a bathing area, surrounded by the house and the trees. The interior also benefits from the relationship with the boundaries. This condition allows a controlled opening towards the northwest, enjoying the cultivation of other plant species such as flowering pear trees, jasmine, and ivy that cover the dividing walls, as well as ground surfaces covered with vinca and rosemary. The pear trees provide protection from direct sunlight on summer afternoons, and as a whole, the vegetation manages to condition an exterior with which the house establishes crossed air circulation.

When Maxine and Chris Garret found out they were expecting twins, they relocated from Brooklyn, New York, to a Victorian house in Maplewood, New Jersey. The new home had more space for their growing family, but it needed updates, so they hired designe…

The former Hand and Flower pub on the Kings Road have been carefully restored and extended by Paul Murphy Architects (PMA) to create a new high-quality, mixed-use development and in its own small way, mend the part of the street pattern.

3 attached houses replace a villa from the 1950s in a residential area overlooking Lausanne. The project makes maximum use of the plots potential for densification while taking care, through its form and materiality, to fit into its suburban and green context.

House 2 was built as a complement to an existing house from the end of the 19th century. It works as a kind of annex building or garden pavilion. Located at the far end of the property, it is also a backdrop for the garden. Its communal space is a generous double-height winter garden, which ensures the transition between the intimacy of the rooms and the outdoor space.