* Residential Architecture: House in Monasterios by Ramon Esteve

Residential Architecture: House in Monasterios by Ramon Esteve: “..The house is located in an elevated area, from which it dominates a hillside leading down to the sea. This view marks the direction the walls will take and, in an abstract form, define the project. The house is structured as a compaction of volumes of varying heights, and the form established by the main walls..The articulating space volume of this sequence is obtained from opening courts and patios in the central space of the house. A series of open courtyards are formed, covered in its perimeter like an atrium, in search of the access to the house, obtaining different perceptions of the house..The views from any point intersect and are never interrupted along the permeable sequence at the end of which, limited between glass membranes, is the lobby. Thus, it creates an approach path that exposes the more intimate side of the house so that, once inside, you discover the long views over the hillside to the sea..Among the great defining walls, the space is closed with large glass panels protected with wooden movable planes, graduating the closing level of each piece..The housing program is focused very clearly in the direction marked by the walls, and volumes depend on the spatial hierarchy of spaces. Two wooden emerging volumes, materialized by the chimneys, mark the counterpoint to the horizontality that defines the entire house..”  Extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting fenestration, interior details and materiality..

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image: © Mayte Piera; article: ”House in Monasterios / Ramon Esteve” 09 May 2013. ArchDaily

* Residential Architecture: Queenscliff Residence by John Wardle Architects

Residential Architecture: Queenscliff Residence by John Wardle Architects: “..This house acts as an optical instrument, a series of devices that frame views beyond the abutting foreshore to the south toward the Heads of Port Phillip Bay (Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia).  The most significant promenade through the site, and house itself, takes you from the street along a gently stepped path to the entry stair which then elevates you sufficiently to appreciate the view as you arrive at the uppermost level.  The careful choreography of this sequence is amplified by materiality and adjacencies.  Fine timber detailing alongside the path, woven wicker within the stair and Calacatta marble in the kitchen.  The experience on entry is private and cocooned from the exterior.  Once above, the views expand and are focussed on the horizon of the ocean to the south..A challenge for Victorian coastal houses is to reconcile the southern views with northern solar orientation. In this instance, a courtyard has been introduced to gain northern aspect to the living spaces and to capture the afternoon sun within an environment shielded from the strong southerlies. The principal bedroom is oriented south stealing ocean views through the main living pavilion and across the courtyard..The house is carefully zoned to allow for privacy between parents and adult children on a narrow site. The main living and dining space is where family and friends come together. In this way, the house is designed for a busy family life, allowing for both privacy and communal gathering.. The direct visual connection between the interior and the sea encourages the contemplation of ships crossing the Heads en route to distant ports, a relaxing retreat from work..”  Extensive glazing, natural light, astounding sea views; interesting form, timber cladding and screening, interior volumes, materiality, contextuality..

See our post on another home by John Wardle Architects: Residential Architecture: Shearers’ Quarters House by John Wardle Architects

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image: © Trevor Mein; article: ”Queenscliff Residence / John Wardle Architects” 07 May 2013. ArchDaily

* Residential Architecture: Caxinas House by AUZprojekt

Residential Architecture: Caxinas House by AUZprojekt: “..portuguese practice AUZprojekt has just shared with us images of their newest renovation in the small fishing town of vila do conde, Portugal, in a very dense urban context. the narrow rectangular plot contains an internal courtyard towards the back end and dictates the type and use of vertical circulation so as not to intrude excessively in the limited width available. a wing along the back side of the main volume extends the living areas that open to the private patio and creates another terrace on its rooftop..”  Interesting interior volumes and details..

image: courtesy of AUZprojekt; article: Designboom

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* Residential Architecture: Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Residential Architecture: Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP: “..Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP have designed the Optical Glass House in Hiroshima, Japan..This house is sited among tall buildings in downtown Hiroshima, overlooking a street with many passing cars and trams. To obtain privacy and tranquility in these surroundings, we placed a garden and optical glass façade on the street side of the house. The (interior) garden is visible from all rooms, and the serene soundless scenery of the passing cars and trams imparts richness to life in the house. Sunlight from the east, refracting through the glass, creates beautiful light patterns. Rain striking the water-basin skylight manifests water patterns on the entrance floor. Filtered light through the garden trees flickers on the living room floor, and a super lightweight curtain of sputter-coated metal dances in the wind. Although located downtown in a city, the house enables residents to enjoy the changing light and city moods, as the day passes, and live in awareness of the changing seasons..Optical Glass Façade: A façade of some 6,000 pure-glass blocks (50mm x 235mm x 50mm) was employed. The pure-glass blocks, with their large mass-per-unit area, effectively shut out sound and enable the creation of an open, clearly articulated garden that admits the city scenery. To realize such a façade, glass casting was employed to produce glass of extremely high transparency from borosilicate, the raw material for optical glass. The casting process was exceedingly difficult, for it required both slow cooling to remove residual stress from within the glass, and high dimensional accuracy. Even then, however, the glass retained micro-level surface asperities, but we actively welcomed this effect, for it would produce unexpected optical illusions in the interior space..Waterfall: So large was the 8.6m x 8.6m façade, it could not stand independently if constructed by laying rows of glass blocks a mere 50mm deep. We therefore punctured the glass blocks with holes and strung them on 75 stainless steel bolts suspended from the beam above the façade. Such a structure would be vulnerable to lateral stress, however, so along with the glass blocks, we also strung on stainless steel flat bars (40mm x 4mm) at 10 centimeter intervals. The flat bar is seated within the 50mm-thick glass block to render it invisible, and thus a uniform 6mm sealing joint between the glass blocks was achieved. The result?—a transparent façade when seen from either the garden or the street. The façade appears like a waterfall flowing downward, scattering light and filling the air with freshness..The glass block façade weighs around 13 tons. The supporting beam, if constructed of concrete, would therefore be of massive size. Employing steel frame reinforced concrete, we pre-tensioned the steel beam and gave it an upward camber. Then, after giving it the load of the façade, we cast concrete around the beam and, in this way, minimized its size..”  Extraordinary.  Extensive glazing, filtered natural light and views; interesting interior volumes, details, light sensibility and materiality..

image: Nacasa & Partners; article: Contemporist

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