* Residential Architecture: 2012 AIA Housing Awards

Residential Architecture: 2012 AIA Housing Awards: “..award-winning dwellings include a variety of housing types such as a seaside courtyard house, a live/work loft, affordable apartments, and a monastery for Jesuit priests. However, they all seem to share strong connections to their sites, consideration for surrounding environments, and conservation of natural resources..ten residential projects were honored in four categories..”  Exceptional work, great interiors, lovely photos, 50-image slideshow..

image: One/Two Family Custom Housing, Hampden Lane House, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, Robert M. Gurney, FAIA; photo Maxwell Mackenzie Architectural Photographer; article: shelley d. hutchins, residentialarchitect.com

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* Residential Architecture: The SPLIT House by Superkül

Residential Architecture: The SPLIT House by Superkül: “..Split in plan and section, the parti of the house allows for a flood of light to the centre. The house is designed as space for spectacle – the owner is a regular host of a large network of friends and family, and wanted a place that could feel grand. The trick with this was to make a house that could also feel intimate for day to day living. A rich brown wood floor that connects with the ipe deck outside serves as a counterpoint to the high ceilings of the main space, and connects the inside to the outside. This, in combination with the design of smaller more intimate spaces and moments throughout the ground floor make for a house that is equally good for two as it is for 30..From the interior the house has views of the sky and the neighbourhood, and a strong connection to the landscape and pool out back. The use of a buff coloured brick and ipe siding make for a warm exterior material palette..”  Interesting interior volumes with significant wood details, ipe flooring, deck and cladding, abundant glazing and natural light, indoor/outdoor sensibility..

image: Shai Gil; article: Contemporist

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* Residential Architecture: Quail Hill House by Bates Masi Architects

Residential Architecture: Quail Hill House by Bates Masi Architects: “..Approaching the house by the winding driveway, the gabled form, massive chimney, and shingled siding are all reminiscent of traditional houses on eastern Long Island. Looking closely, the shingles are, in fact, a woven screen of oak surveyors stakes, similar to those that dotted the steeply wooded lot when the clients first saw it. Similarly, the massive chimney that anchors the house to the site isn’t solid at all, but is actually made of thin concrete panels..”  Vernacular inspiration with many subtle, playful touches, interesting interior volumes offering advantageous settings for a large contemporary art collection, abundant natural light, indoor/outdoor sensibility..

See our post on two other homes by Bates Masi Architects: Residential Architecture: Lion’s Head by Bates Masi Architects and Residential Architecture: Genius Loci, Montauk by Bates Masi + Architects.

image: Christopher Wesnofske; article: Arthitectural

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* Residential Architecture: S. Roque House I by Bruno Armando Gomes Marques

Residential Architecture: S. Roque House I by Bruno Armando Gomes Marques: “..The house consists of two volumes with distinct programs, and a total area of 600m2. In the volume at level 0, more regular and acting as the base, develops the more social area with the following program: entrance hall, living and dining room, kitchen, service toilet and office with wc. Upstairs, develops a more private area with the bedrooms. Each bedroom and wc defines the wedge shape of both volumes with different outlooks from each room, in a clearly distinct strategy from the volume at level 0..At level -1 are the laundry, storage room and garage. The height difference between the two roads confronting the land allows only two levels for the house, on the south side, while on the north side we added a third level for the garages, with a porch under a green cover. Thus, the program was complete and a solution has been found for mitigating the impact that three floors could impose on the surroundings..”  Dynamic form, ample glazing, abundant natural light..

image: Miguel Coelho; article: Contemporist

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* Architecture: CCTV Headquarters by OMA

Architecture: CCTV Headquarters by OMA: “..The China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing by architects OMA are now complete..The CCTV building comprises two towers that lean towards one another and are bridged at both the the top and bottom to form a distorted loop.. ’a reinvention of the skyscraper as a loop..’ (OMA)..”  Distinctive, iconic, challenging..

See other posts on work by OMA: Architecture: Marina Abramović Institute by OMA, Residential Architecture: The Interlace by OMA, Architecture: Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture by OMA and Architecture: Architect Rem Koolhaas (OMA) in The Simpsons.

image: Iwan Baan; article: Dezeen

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