* Residential Architecture: Bodrum House by Richard Meier & Partners Architects

Residential Architecture: Bodrum House by Richard Meier & Partners Architects: “..Richard Meier & Partners unveils the first completed project in Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula. The house is part of a Master Plan composed of twenty-one houses designed by world renowned Architect Richard Meier. Composed of twenty-one houses located just outside the village of Yalikavak on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula, the residential project occupies a dramatically steep hillside site featuring views to Yalikavak Bay. The site’s dramatic topography makes each 1-acre parcel unique and will provide privacy from neighboring parcels. Five prototype houses will be offered, with each house approximately 330 square meters plus an additional 40-square-meter guest house..While the plan of each prototype remains fixed regardless of its location on the site, the organization of the podiums varies depending on the siting of the individual parcels. All houses will be sited to maximize views and to establish an entry sequence that further exploits the views regardless of the siting of the individual parcels. A clear promenade sequence will characterize each prototype, with an entry drive leading to an exterior entry stair then into the house’s foyer and on to a double-height living room. In each residence the fireplace chimney will be the central organizing element. Each house will contain a living room, dining room, kitchen, and powder room on the ground floor; three bedrooms on the upper floor; and media room, laundry room, and staff bedrooms on the basement level..Richard Meier comments: “The Bodrum Residence is our first completed building in Turkey and a milestone of the Bodrum Houses development. We have designed all the houses to read as a single object on the landscape, giving them a cubic appearance and connection to the site. The exterior spaces have been “carved out” of the structures’ volumes while remaining under an overarching roof, giving each house a subtractive sculptural quality. Each element of the master plan’s organization reflects an ambitious attention to detail and innovative use of construction solutions. We hope this new development is not only in direct dialogue to its place, but also that it becomes the best living environment in Yalikavak.”..About Richard Meier & Partners Architects: The work of Richard Meier & Partners is instantly recognizable and internationally respected. For over four decades, we have been appointed to create important public and private buildings. Our offices in New York and Los Angeles employ a multicultural staff of talented professionals practicing architecture, urbanism, product design and exhibition design. We aspire to thoughtful, elegant contemporary architecture that exceeds our clients’ expectations for beauty and elegance. Richard Meier & Partners is led by Richard Meier and six partners – Michael Palladino, James R. Crawford, Timothy Shea, Bernhard Karpf, Reynolds Logan, Dukho Yeon – and sustains an international practice with offices in New York and Los Angeles..”

See some of our other posts on projects by Richard Meier & Partners Architects:

• Architecture: Leblon Offices by Richard Meier Architects
• Architecture: Teachers Village by Richard Meier & Partners
• Architecture: Architect Richard Meier on Creating Public Spaces
• Architecture: Mitikah Office Tower by Richard Meier Architects
• Residential Architecture: Rachofsky House by Richard Meier
• Architect Richard Meier – Interview
• Richard Meier Model Museum in Long Island City Reopens

image: Richard Meier & Partners Architects; article: Arthitectural

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* Residential Architecture: Tepoztlan Lounge by Cadaval & Solà-Morales

Residential Architecture: Tepoztlan Lounge by Cadaval & Solà-Morales: “..Tepoztlan, is a small town nestled between rocky cliffs located to the south of Mexico City, 50 kilometers away from the vibrant metropolis. With its well preserved historic center and wild countryside, Tepoztlan is a town of legends and deep cultural roots that has been appreciated by writers, poets, artists and musicians over many decades, turning it into their hometown or weekend retreat. Located in this incredible context and surrounded by an astonishing landscape, the Tepoztlan Lounge is the first building completed of a larger project that also includes a series of bungalows of different sizes and designs, which can be rented by years, months or days..The lounge is set to be a central communal space for leisure in nature, and is located in the perimeter of an incredible lawn; the idiosyncrasy of the project relies on enabling the experience of the carefully manicured lawn while promoting the experience of the wild nature existing in the boundaries of this central space. The project is a negotiation between interior and exterior, a construction of an in-between condition, an inhabitable threshold, which becomes the main space of the project; the limits between the open and the content space merge to produce a single architectural entity..The design establishes three separate living quarters designed in accordance to the 3 activities planned; each of them is a set space defined by its use, but also by a very clear and simple architectural container: the first holds an open bar with a kitchenette, together with a couple of restrooms and dressing rooms; the second is a play area for children that can also be used as a reading room when temperatures drop at night; and finally the largest container is the living area, an enclosed, tempered and comfortable space for conversation, TV, etcetera.  But it is the desire to give continuity between these three separate areas where the project is empowered and becomes meaningful; a continuous space, in full contact with the nature but protected from its inclemency is set up not only to expand the enclosed uses, but also to allow new activities to arise..And it is through the definition of this central space, through the definition of its shape, that the contiguous courtyards are defined; those are as essential to the project as it is the built architecture, and allows constructing as a whole, single spatial experience. At the same time that the three built containers give continuity to the central space by mans of their use and space, the adjacent patios qualify it, while providing diversity and idiosyncrasy to open space. The design of the swimming pool is part of this same intervention, and responds to the desire to characterize the spaces; its formalization necessarily resonates the layout of the lounge, while incorporating to its nature the possibility of a multiplicity of ways of using water, and plunging on it..The building is located as a plinth valuing the views of the mountains. The building wants to be respectful to the existing context, and understands that the vegetation and life at open air are the real protagonist. Two impressive trees that are in place are incorporated within the layout of the lounge, as if they were part of the program itself. The Tepoztlan Lounge is constructed in concrete not just for being a inexpensive and labor intensive material in Mexico and to minimize its maintenance, but also to expose its structural simplicity and neutrality towards the astonishing nature..”  Ample glazing, natural light, nature views; interesting form, interior volumes, details and site integration; indoor / outdoor sensibility..

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image: © Sandra Pereznieto; article: “Tepoztlan Lounge / Cadaval & Solà-Morales” 13 Nov 2012. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/293132&gt;

* Residential Architecture: Pangal Cabin by EMa Arquitectos

Residential Architecture: Pangal Cabin by EMa Arquitectos: “..The house is located on the top of a slope site of 5000 sq. meters, characterize by local trees like Quillayes, Cactus and Espinos. The principal views points to the valley and ravines oriented to the north..The assignment was to generate a refuge, efficient and simple, from the beginning of the construction process to his after use. The requirements to generate the project are basically the access, the implant of the house, the terrace and the pool, that were condicionated by the local vegetation of the place, trying not to intervene the natural field. For these reason the house was design in pilotis and a 40 meters gangway that connect the access with the house. Spatially, it must take advantage of the existing views, incorporating natural light and solar energy, without losing his privacy and sense of reception..The house is divided in two areas maintaining spacial continuous, using the Quillay tree as a reference of the site to design the house. That is why the social and services spaces where situated in a higher volume, orientating views through the north-est, and the dormitory was located in a smaller space oriented to the north for more privacy..The structure is made of steel, chosen because of its faster construction and versatility.. Coverings are made of wood, we used horizontal tongue and groove joint with dark tint for exteriors and plywood treated on albayalde for interiors. In both cases the idea was to generate an economic solution, natural and neutral condition, in response to the exterior and interior space. To improve the thermic comfort we use projected polyurethane insulation according to the climate of the place..The pool of 2 x 10 and 1.2 meters deep was implanted according to the natural characteristics of the site. It communicates through the terraces with housing and corresponds to an extension of it. The roofs of both volumes are the fifth facade for multiplying situations, routes and views in contrast to the small dimension house..The whole North West facade views are focus to the valley framing the view in one unique space. This makes you to be part of the environment from the interior of the house. Our objective was to develop a home friendly place and away from pretensions..”  Extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting materiality, interior volumes and details..

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image: © Marcelo Cáceres; article: Cifuentes , Fabian . “Pangal Cabin / EMa Arquitectos” 13 Nov 2012. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/293085&gt;

* Residential Architecture: Blurred House by Bild Architects

Residential Architecture: Blurred House by Bild Architects: “..Bild Architects designed the Blurred House in Melbourne, Australia..The first in a series of studies into the adaptation of vernacular Australian suburban typologies, ‘Blurred House’ is a major renovation and extension to an original 1930’s Californian bungalow in Melbourne’s inner-north. Reacting to the established convention of jarring juxtaposition of existing ‘old’ and introduced ‘new’ architectural elements ; the ‘Blurred House’ offers an alternative proposition; that of a blurring between ‘old’ and ‘new’ to produce a hybrid. Gradually transitioning from the vernacular to the contemporary, the division of architectural elements are deliberately ambiguous, producing a unique formal and visual language..Viewed from the street, the house appears largely unchanged, with a small clerestory window the only hint of reconfiguration. Both internally and externally; moving through the house, new materials, spatial characters and formal language is progressively introduced. By the time of arrival in the back yard, the house has evolved into a different building; no longer recognizable from its original starting point; an architectural ‘rabbit in a hat’..Reflecting the formal strategy of transition, rooms at the front of the property are left largely unadulterated, remaining more enclosed. On the other hand, living spaces to the rear are progressively more open and interconnected embracing the garden and pool areas. These varied spaces respond to different ‘modes’ of living, with different volumetric, acoustic, and light qualities. Whilst these spaces are linked to a greater or lesser degree, they are not ‘open plan’ in a conventional sense, rather configured in a more nuanced distribution of distinct spaces and functions..A hybrid of both old and new, oscillating between the past and present, the building sits comfortably in the street scape as something familiar yet alien. Distinct from both the area’s new housing and the original suburban fabric the ‘Blurred House’ is neither little red riding hood or the big bad wolf, somewhere in between..”  Very interesting major renovation and addition; extensive glazing, natural light; indoor / outdoor sensibility; interesting form and interior volumes..

image: TM Photo; article: Contemporist

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