Sustainability

“Inspired by traditional Georgian facade design at the front and featuring minimalist staggered cubes at the rear, this single-family home is a two-faced agglomerate of volumes. These create a nuanced floor plan in the back of the house and come together at the front to unite in an overall form that is highly contextual.

This 4 bedroom bungalow is submerged into it’s surrounding – the picturesque landscape with rice fields, coconut and palm trees of Bali sets the scene for an understated architecture with surprise. The family home consists of rooms that are separated by greenery and lush foliage. Building elements such as pillars, windows, and walls become visually entangled with trees and bushes, fountains and sculptures – and blend into one memorable event.

Bees are perhaps the insects that most arouse our fascination and curiosity. With the exception of Antarctica, they are found on all continents, in all habitats that contain insect-pollinated flowering plants. Representations of humans collecting honey from wild bees date back to 15,000 years ago, and pots of honey have even been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs like Tutankhamen. Although we generally have a fixed idea about what cartoon bees look like, there are thousands of species around the world, with different sizes, colors and behaviors. There are even several examples of solitary bees, many without stingers, and even some species that survive by plundering other weaker colonies. But something that has consistently impressed researchers is the organization of their hives, which are truly highly populated cities with an efficiency to make any urban planner envious.

Located in the upcountry dry zone region of Sri Lanka about 2 kilometers away from the Diyathalawa military training school, is a cozy abode designed by Architect Damith Premathilake. Perched amidst a forest of pine trees on a cliff, the house is an ideal hide out for relaxation and contemplation in the climate which has a temperature of about 20℃ (68℉ ) throughout the year.

Solar heating has existed in architecture since ancient times, when people used adobe and stone walls to trap heat during the day and slowly release it at night. In its modern form, however, solar heating first developed in the 1920s, when European architects began experimenting with passive solar methods in mass housing. In Germany, Otto Haesler, Walter Gropius, and others designed schematic Zeilenbau flats that optimized sunlight, and following the import of “heliotropic housing” to the U.S., wartime fuel shortages during World War II quickly popularized passive solar heating. Variations of this system then proliferated around the world, but it was not until 1967 that the first Trombe wall was implemented by architect Jacques Michel in Odeillo, France. Named after engineer Felix Trombe, the system combines glass and a dark, heat-absorbing material to conduct heat slowly into the house.

Every project starts with a dream. This one starts with a hope for a better future. The client’s family relocated to Jakarta in support of their children education. The plot size is 8 x 20 m in measurement. A 90 cm alley was created to maximize sunlight, ventilation and rain water catchment area.

In certain parts of the planet, nature sometimes creates harsh conditions for the human body. To design a building in these places is almost like building a garment, an artifact that protects and comforts. It is an issue of technological performance, but it must go hand-in-hand with aesthetics. Making humans experience well-being is more than just working on comfort and safety, it is also about exploring the symbolic and sensory aspects of the spaces.