* Residential Architecture: Villa F by Hornung and Jacobi Architecture

Residential Architecture: Villa F by Hornung and Jacobi Architecture: “..a curving road wraps the coast of rhodes, greece, flanked by the ocean on one side and a pre-existing retaining stone wall on the other. german practice hornung and jacobi architecture have proposed a single-family residence embedded into the fibers that make up the mediterranean context manifested as a contemporary vessel. the main entrance is the only object that interrupts the continuous rock barrier, a garage that resides underground ending in a winding staircase at the opposite end. the first level puts the user in the middle of the convergence of light, space, and views. the general form consists in a bent and faceted rectangular prism, lifted off the ground framing the ocean’s horizon. the elevated exterior ground plane houses a swimming pool and ample yard space under the overhanging bedroom space, where parametric triangular apertures open sight lines from the private program to the water below. the living and dining rooms are next to the pool, in a semi-elevated level from the entry and kitchen area. the program also prompted for a guest house which was embedded into the landscape as a separate structure from the primary house, connected by a landscaped walkway that maintains a certain level of privacy for each party but retains a sense of unity as well..”  Extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting form, materiality, interior volumes, details..

image: © bloomimages; article: Designboom

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* Residential Architecture: Shelter Island House by Stamberg Aferiat + Associates

Residential Architecture: Shelter Island House by Stamberg Aferiat + Associates: “..Architects Stamberg Aferiat + Associates have designed the Shelter Island House in New York, USA..Let the line that divides art from architecture be transparent. This project gave us an opportunity to bring our influences, inspirations, aspirations and years of architectural design to bear in one place with only ourselves and our budget to define the boundaries..Cubists looked beyond the mechanical view of how the eye sees and employed the brain’s ability to remember and anticipate, allowing one to take in a seemingly disjointed array of phenomena but still have the whole make sense. The increasing plasticity of lightweight building materials allows us some of the Cubists’ slight-of-hand to simultaneously evoke the immediacies of built form as well as architectural dream states – the hovering roof, translucencies between inside and outside, and walls that are not walls..Practice what you preach: Architecture coupled with color can bring joy while providing the basic necessities. Building our own house gave us the leeway to be as bold with our color choices as the work would allow and to push boundaries that few dare, but our choices were always based in serious color theory..Sir Isaac Newton observed the different behavior of color created with pigment and color created with light. The Impressionists and Fauves experimented with Newtonian principles to create light effects with pigment. These experiments have redefined thoughts on how colors relate to one another. Guided by Newtonian color theory, the intense palette of the house allows richly-colored reflected light to pass through translucent walls, suffusing spaces with a delighting glow..”  Extensive glazing, natural light; interesting fenestration, form, interior volumes; exuberant color..

image: Paul Warchol; article: Contemporist

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* Residential Architecture: Seaview House by Parsonson Architects

Residential Architecture: Seaview House by Parsonson Architects: “..in new zealand‘s capital (ndlr: Wellington), located on a hill overlooking the botanical gardens and the wellington harbor to the east, the ‘seaview house’ by local studio parsonson architects takes its place amidst its closely adjacent neighbors but with a distinctly different architectural language of its own. the clients, a family composed of a wide range of age groups, needed a spacious home that would accommodate specific needs of privacy, a range of leisure activities, and common gathering areas. as the sloping site is covered with dense vegetation, the massing strategy placed three floors between laterally-located barrier walls clad in green corrugated steel panels that shelter the living spaces and help the edifice blend into the greenery. bedrooms are located in the top floor which is wrapped in a contrasting skin of slender western red cedar louvers that counteract the hard surfaces of the exterior partitions with the conceptual intention to recover the wooded nature replaced by the construction. the primarily glass facades are open to the east, offering stunning views and morning sun to the several social spaces stacked vertically over one another, maintaining a certain sense of separation. a covered indoor swimming pool can be opened to the exterior, sharing the level with extra bedrooms for visiting guests. gallery walls are integrated into the main living area on the middle floor to display artworks in a warm atmosphere of white vertical elements and warm victorian ash flooring..  Extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting form, materiality, interior volumes and details..

See our posts on other homes by Parsonson Architects:

• Residential Architecture: Pekapeka House by Parsonson Architects
• Residential Architecture: Shoal Bay Bach House by Parsonson Architects
• Residential Architecture: Apple Bay House by Parsonson Architects
• Residential Architecture: Salamanca House by Parsonson Architects

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image: © paul mccredie, courtesy of parsonson architects; article: Designboom

* Residential Architecture: Bunker House by Estudio Botteri-Connell

Residential Architecture: Bunker House by Estudio Botteri-Connell: “..The house has been built in a suburban neighbourhood and has been thought for someone who will live there permanently and whose children, friends and couple will visit them from time to time. From meetings with the client, many concepts arise that seek architectonical answers: “a house which can integrate social life in direct relation with the outside, having a space in it which hosts and protects intimacy. A space where one can stay while the rest of the house remains asleep. An introspection space; a temporal oasis.”..In response to these concepts, at first sight the house is built along two different elements: the Bunker that is solid, hermetic, almost impenetrable; and the open, permeable Action area  that dissolves  the limits in constant movement..The Bunker is a singular poetic image, a primitive shelter, a home for lonely dreams and an intimate  space. Practically void of the outside, it “opens up” a larger universe, holding  the Dweller in their complete reality. The Bunker presents itself to the outside as stony, still, immemorial as a carved rock. However, there are lines that cross it through, that mold it and engrave it…GRAVITY, LIGHT, WATER and AIR outline TIME and SPACE. Its inside layout- “heartbeats of the one who lives in it”- defines a warm, soft and expandable heart… Geometry is surpassed..The spiral staircase stops being a mere connection element between distant points to become an entrance to a cosmic and mysterious universe, an escape from ordinary life from time to time and a feeling of “ascension” drawn by the development of the axial focus… The Infinite..The Action Plan – made up of transparent membranes, white walls and  large tiling surfaces-defines  areas embedded in a larger one which in fact are  the actual  limits of  the  plot of land. The neutral Green and its different degrees of seizure. The Water, with its leading role in everyday life, is sometimes a mirror and sometimes entertainment but always a connection between the World and ME. The Light passes gently through the concrete walls. The Gravity permanently facing challenge..And there come Lines Again: Family Lines, Friendship Lines and Work Lines making space  constantly flow. It is a place for social life. Among them, overlooking the scene, concrete walls rise..”  Interesting form, at times elongated rectangular geometry; extensive glazing, natural light; indoor / outdoor sensibility.. don’t be put off by the architect’s description; many interesting details and features..

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image: © Gustavo Sosa Pinilla; article: ”Bunker House / Estudio Botteri-Connell” 27 Feb 2013. ArchDaily