* Residential Architecture: Enclave House by BKK Architects

Residential Architecture: Enclave House by BKK Architects: “..This project has been undertaken for a couple and their children of varying ages. (In Melbourne, Autralia), it includes alterations to an existing Edwardian House and a new separate studio to the rear of the site..The house is designed so that the spaces within and around the house will be adaptable over time to suit the changing needs of the family. The possibility for the studio space to be converted into an office has been considered as has the basement entertainment area conversion into a gym or multi-purpose play room. A central courtyard contains a pool and landscaped areas..The environmental initiatives for the project can be summarized as follows; •There is a 25,000lt underground rain water harvesting tank. •Double glazed windows throughout. •Highly insulated walls floors and roof. •Locally resourced, sustainable, plantation timber cladding. •Materials that are low-maintenance with inherent finishes. •Low-VOC materials. •Highly water efficient fixtures and fittings. •The existing residence has been retained and restored. •The planning and construction is designed to be highly adaptable..Formally, the extension at the rear of the existing residence is conceived through a subtractive approach that appears to have been carved from a solid block, chiseled away to cater to the planning/heritage overlays, whilst also drawing light back into the residence..Deep reveals form the windows to the upper floor to protect the gaze from the surrounding residences. An interior lightwell and water feature extend the garden space to the centre of the living spaces. The garden has also been carefully crafted to create its own secret garden, complete with designer cubby house. There is an overwhelming sense of seclusion in both the house and garden that creates a type of space that is the family’s own, a retreat from busy lives and the surrounding chaos..The fabric of the building/s operates like a protective cocoon. The differing materiality of the two levels of the extensions creates the impression that the house has been capped or that a ‘helmet’ is placed upon the exterior walls..”  Ample glazing, natural light; interesting form, materiality, interior volumes; sustainability..

See our post on another home by BKK Architects: Residential Architecture: Beached House by BKK Architects.

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image: © John Wheatley – UA Creative; article: “Enclave House / BKK Architects” 28 Jan 2013. ArchDaily.>

 

* Residential Architecture: Mineral Lodge by Atelier d’Architecture

Residential Architecture: Mineral Lodge by Atelier d’Architecture: “..Mountain ranges often appear to be sublime. Under a mantle of snow their enormity would seem to defy the possibility of architecture. Time does not pass. Eternity stands opposed to the fragility of human accomplishments. And yet contemporary architecture has a place in an ancient hamlet. A fact amply demonstrated by the recently constructed Mineral Lodge at an altitude of 1200 metres in Savoie, France..As the site offers exceptional views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, the project makes use, perhaps emphasizes, this stunning and dramatic natural landscape. In such an impressive environment building must take place with a light hand. In this natural and majestic scene, building becomes an act which must be in dialogue with the immemoriality of the rocks’ own historical movements. The rocks fix time. Building therefore is the moment at which human time encounters geological time. The Mineral Lodge is a refuge of stones and rocks. As such it stands at a distance from the norms governing the tradition of recently constructed chalets. The latter are marked by an attempt to portray luxury. The hamlet of Villaroger has strict construction rules. The project which began with both the ruin of a farm – all that remained were the outside walls – and an adjacent pre-existing chalet offered the chance to construct a dialogue between a vernacular architectural presence and the contemporary desire for a sustainable architecture informed by the most recent technological developments..This dialogue guided the construction. A physical link was created with the pre-existing chalet by providing a nine metre vertical opening between the buildings. In the new chalet the stonewall of the old chalet was left as it was. Careful reinterpretation of vernacular architecture accompanied the project. What matters therefore is the emergence of another chalet from a pre-existing ruin. This is an important undertaking because the Mineral Lodge establishes architecture in a place where previously there had not been architecture but mere building. The Lodge departed from a historical perspective and was inscribed in vision of the future. The stone house was not rebuilt. The project imagined possibilities for ruptures and transitions such as the square wooden box that is projected outside the glass wrap of the curtain-wall. This element acts as a reference to local overhang attics and addresses the typology of vernacular architecture..A number of views on the landscape are provided:  the ruins facing North are punctuated by an “observatory balcony” with a panoramic view. The second floor level delivers a variety of vistas. The roof takes an important role in the project. Instead of constructing another traditional wooden roof, a reinforced concrete roof serves as an envelop and allows for a more flexible use of space. Height limitations imposed by regulations gave the opportunity to work on a variety of levels connected by different staircases. The interior space is thought as a series of sequences providing areas based on fluid and open circulations. The kitchen situated on the ground floor is covered by a large skylight..The use of stone as surface cladding is visible throughout the project. The horizontal and vertical openings of the staircase volume could only have been constructed with concrete walls. From outside the openings which correspond to program are not immediately legible. Heightening thereby the effect of the surface. The idea of a visible relationship between the interior and exterior is abolished. At the same time, this strategy reflects the older chalets of the village in which the openings do not indicate what kind of space lies behind: bedroom, kitchen, living room… The Mineral Lodge’s wooden box has a singular contact to the stonewall. Each stone registers its relationship with each wooded panel. The latter adapting to accommodate the irregularity of the stones. Through this interaction fundamentally different materials achieve a subtle connection..Earthquake constraints and avalanche protection are integrated into the structural design. Mineral Lodge in terms of sustainability and energy consumption achieves the highest standards due to geothermal heating.  A heat pump circulates water in three 150m deep drills in the rock where temperature is stable year round, and the presence of underfloor heating and double-flux ventilation means that the entire heating and cooling system is invisible..In sum, the Mineral Lodge embedded in existing ruins yet not touching them creates an intermediary space. This interstitial space maintains as productive an ongoing tension between past and present. As a result, the Mineral Lodge offers an architectural environment without expressing any kind of traditionalism. In opposition to the conventional chalet where window sizes used to be constrained by thermal insulation, the Mineral Lodge offers more light into the house with high quality glass and framing. In the French Alps the traditional architectural expression in ski resorts have become a commercial slogan lacking any sense or interest.  The Mineral Lodge is a rare attempt to counteract this nostalgia driven architectural predilection ever apparent in Savoie..”  Extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting form, interior volumes, fenestration and materiality..

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image: © N.Borel; article: “Mineral Lodge / Atelier d’Architecture” 10 Jan 2013. ArchDaily. http://www.archdaily.com/316873>

* Residential Architecture: Shoffice by Platform 5 Architects

Residential Architecture: Shoffice by Platform 5 Architects: “..‘Shoffice’ (shed + office) is a garden pavilion containing a small office alongside garden storage space located to the rear of a 1950′s terraced house in St John’s Wood, London, UK. The brief required the shoffice to be conceived of as a sculptural object that flowed into the garden space..A glazed office space nestles into an extruded timber elliptical shell, which curls over itself like a wood shaving, and forms a small terrace in the lawn. The interior is oak lined and fitted out with storage and a cantilevered desk. Two rooflights – one glazed above the desk with another open to the sky outside the office bring light into the work space..The project was a close collaboration between Architect, Structural Engineer and Contractor. The lightweight structure, formed with two steel ring beams, timber ribs and a stressed plywood skin, sits on minimal pad foundations. Much of the project was prefabricated to reduce the amount of material that needed to be moved through the house during construction..”  Extensive glazing, natural light; interesting form, fenestration, materiality..

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image: © Alan Williams Photography; article: “Shoffice / Platform 5 Architects” 09 Jan 2013. ArchDaily. http://www.archdaily.com/316282>

* Residential Architecture: Stoneridge House by In Situ Studio

Residential Architecture: Stoneridge House by In Situ Studio: “..In Situ Studio provided a contemporary redesign to an existing house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA..This 1960s-era Deck House built in 1986 is located on a beautiful wooded site in Chapel Hill. We have transformed it to suit the client’s needs, while maintaining the integrity of the Deck House. The gable roof portion of the house over the living and dining room has been lifted to the north, creating a two storey wall of glass. Skylights are strategically located in order to brighten darker areas of the house. The main house and the master suite addition take on different forms, and they are set apart from one another to distinguish between old and new. The addition floats above the ground and is connected to the main house by a screened porch and glass hallway link. A new entry to the main house was designed in a way that is intended to integrate the two forms..”  Extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting interior volumes; abundant use of wood..

image: Richard Leo Johnson; article: Contemporist

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