Homes

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Forest Living In The MH House

Per Jacobsen, this São Paulo haven is a slice of creature comfort amidst the rich Atlantic forest. Pretty nice surroundings, we should say. The MH House interacts with the greenery enveloping it by evoking a free-flowing design.

But really, though, what does “free-flowing” men? Is it another mumbo-jumbo on minimalism? Well, partly, yes. Free-flowing could mean less things and less distractions. But at the heart of it, free-flowing takes away as many boundaries as possible to redefine the constrictions of space by opposing it. In effect, you get quarters that don’t feel removed from the total structure — an integrated living abode with its parts in peaceful harmony.

You’ll find here an abundance of glazed doors, sliding open to fetch you from the main living area toward a large outdoor terrace for open-air living. Open-air living might be too on the nose in describing a space that resides in the forest, but that’s a small blemish of semantics. And, really, how else might it be described? There’s lush vegetation everywhere. And it’s around you. Open-air living sounds just right.

This outdoor space offers an atmosphere that’s both cozy and calm. You can swim, longue, read a novel, or just stare at the just in idle. Elsewhere, you’ll see a modern aesthetic, but with natural materials thrown in for a healthy balance. You’ll see plenty of wood-lined surfaces, sawed granite floors, and timber cladding. The house invites the outside in. It’s such a cliche thing to say, of course. But cliches exist for a reason.

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Photos courtesy of Jacobsen

July 27, 2019 / Comments Off

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The Red Hill Farm House Is The Perfect Ranch Hideaway

Here comes a modern twist on the all-American classic. The Red Hill Farm House subverts conventional ranch house design by making heavy use of blackened timber facades. A design choice that mimics the essence of local farm houses while pushing it a notch further.

Sitting on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne, the Carr and Jackson Clements Burrows Architects-designed retreat draws from a concept from the latter. The property features an area of farm land enveloped with open paddocks that sweep down toward the coastline.

The house’s design and materials draw from its surroundings. In other words, the region’s rural vibe inform the architecture, influencing elements including stables, fences, and the tasteful minimalism of its exterior. The architects explain:

“The volumes are utilitarian in their typology, where function is reduced to a minimum and openings are large and dramatic.”

You’ll notice the Red Hill Farm House boasts a lower profile than most other ranch retreats. To be clear, the decision is a deliberate one. The architects wanted to make the space subtle and keep it from standing out like a sore thumb. Moreover, modern twists here include a roofline that folds and creases to create a series of angular forms. As a result, you get a nice call back to the rugged ranges of the region’s landscape. The architects say:

“At first hidden from view, the roof line unfolds on approach, revealing itself fully on arrival in a playful origami of angles and immediately announcing the modernist approach taken.”

The result is a sublime, subdued take on the familiar farm house aesthetic. Check out more photos below.

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Photos courtesy of Carr

July 25, 2019 / Comments Off

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Pentahouse

Architect Karina Wiciak’s Pentahouse draws inspiration from the mountain range, quite literally. Employing pentagonal geometry in the design, Wiciak created a minimalist abode featuring sloped concrete walls, recalling cliff sides and mountain peaks.

The 6,243-square feet space, supposedly, should house a single family, though you really wouldn’t know by looking at it. Yes, there are sharp, jagged edges. Despite such delicate design choices, this remains a cozy and still humble living space. It’s got a handful of extruded pentagon, all different sizes, that dovetail into one another much like mountain ranges do.

Different pentagons serve different things. For example, the smallest one forms an entrance to the house, when then loosens into a larger pentagon that boasts two liveable floors. The entire concrete space comes covered with plenty of glass windows, which let in natural light aplenty.

The only sad thing about this design? It’s just a concept. Yet, what you see are just computer-generated renderings of Wiciak’s genius. The likelihood of this ever becoming real run low, sadly. However, if by some miracle it does become real, there’s no doubt a small family will come to appreciate its oddball delights.

Not all people will realize the structure’s deconstructivist touches, and not many will appreciate its minimalist flourishings. It might even throw some people off, given its aesthetic rigidness. Still, this stands as one of the most impressive concrete spaces we’ve ever encountered, real or otherwise. Hit the link below to get more information on this beautiful concept.

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Photos courtesy of Wamhouse

July 23, 2019 / Comments Off

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Tsai House

You’re looking at the only house in the United States legendary artists Ai Weiwei designed. And it’s yours if you have $5.25 million. The Tsai House, or Tsai Residence, sits in the town of Ancram in upstate New York, built there in 2006 as a weekend retreat of Christopher Tsai. Tsai is considered the foremost collector of Ai’s art.

Graham Klemm listed the house on June 2020. The current owners bought the home from Tsai in 2013 for $4.25 million, a million less than the current sticker price. Yes, real estate is a crazy industry. Of the owners, Klemm says:

“They are art lovers, and the house is livable art. It’s extremely finely detailed and extremely interesting.”

If you don’t know Ai Weiwei, shame on you. Just kidding. Seriously, though — he’s one of the most high-profile artists in existence, in large part because of his political activism. For the 2008 Summer Olympics, he collaborated with the architects Herzog & de Meuron on the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest.

Enough about Ai Weiwei and more about the house. It sits on a hill at a property that spans 37 acres. The house features three bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms. Four connected modules make up the residents, clad with corrugated metal on the exterior. Then you have soft gypsum wood panels on the interior. You’ll find an abundance of large glass windows, which come coupled with solid walls to bring the outside in as much as possible. The empty wall spaces also invite potential owners to hang their favorite art.

Klemm considers the design as very minimalist. He adds that agricultural sheds of farms flocking the area inspired the overall design.

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Photos courtesy of Klemm

July 21, 2019 / Comments Off

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Cove House

Only in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia will you find this spectacular residence, called the Cove House, by Jusstin Humphrey Architect. Set in Australia’s Gold Coast, the Cove House is a layered and multi-dimensional meditation on entryways and edges.

This elegant abode is a standout amid the array of equally eye-catching architecture in the area. The main feature here is a spatial interplay between the indoors and outdoors. The space is an examination of how the outside relates to the inside, and vice versa. Since the site was adjacent to the easement, it was important for the space to have an edge. It allows the opportunity to engage with the neighborhood on three sides.

Instead of sectioning them off, Justin Humphrey Architect welcomed engagement and does a great deal to communicate the house’s materiality to passers-by. The tapered roofline is another highlight here, which floats intentionally over the concrete easement wall. It adds robustness and also a touch of softness to the nearly brutal aesthetic presentation. As a result, the house bed more easily blends into its domestic geographical context.

Landscaped courtyards give a sense of eerie height, but the sheer hangaar-like openness of the space contradicts this. And that contradiction enriches the visual element of the Cove House, at once a privacy haven and delicate invitation to come in. It’s a house that tries to redefine the meaning of habitat in the context of people who live inside this habitat and those who’d like to jump inside it.

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Photos courtesy of Justin Humphrey Architect

July 1, 2019 / Comments Off

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The Bridge House

From the same folks that built a vinf on the bater, this Bridge House hovers above a small river on a farm. Don’t take the placement a precarious choice, though. This thing can apparently withstand harsh winters. It’s in Russia, too, and we all know how intimidating winters are there.

According to BIO-architects, the firm who designed this quaint piece, it took them only one look at the area to decide on a house that spans the river. They prefabricated the Bridge House nearby and delivered it to the site for assembly.

It features mostly wooden, with its main structure heavily reliant on the material. But it’s also got plenty of glazing. As the name suggests, it doubles as a bridge, which means it provides access to either sides of the riverbank. Yes, the owners can actually enter one side and emerge on the other, thereby crossing the river. Pretty neat idea.

Inside, there’s 150 square meters of space, but that’s mostly taken up by a spacious kitchen and dining area. There’s also a minimalistic but still lavish living room set-up with chic seating. And a piano, to boot, probably for entertainment purposes.

Elsewhere you’ll find a loft bedroom above the kitchen entered via a ladder. There are also a couple more bedrooms on the ground floor, one of which boasts its own tiny kitchen. There are two bathrooms, plus a partially covered deck outside.

The whole house features generous helpings of insulation, so much so that you won’t need any heating even when it’s as low as -15 degrees Celsius outside.

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Photos courtesy of BIO-architects

June 3, 2019 / Comments Off

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Alphington Tower House

What does home mean? Especially in the context of family? Austin Maynard Architects sought to find out. Its Alphington Tower House is more a meditation on the occupants of space than the space itself. How do we create architecture to accommodate people? Can adults and children share a dwelling that allows them growth, social nourishment? And if yes, how?

The answer? Nature. This home shelters 8-year-old twin boys who needed an outlet for nature, outdoor recreation, and the arts. Which explains why the Alphington Tower House appears as a series of small structures on the exterior. Each one, unique in size and shape, come together in a single material palette for a coherent overall aesthetic.

Turning the concept of outdoors on its head, the house invites neighbors rather than gate them out with boundaries. As such, the front yard becomes a communal garden. A space everyone can occupy, fostering a sense of communal bond even between strangers.

This is also reflected inside. Whereas the exterior look seem to be disparate parts integrated together, the interiors feature free-flowing, cavernous pockets. Hidden sliding panels open up portals to interaction; each much about discovery as they are connection. Whereas minimalist design sometimes becomes the thing admired, here it’s merely a means to an end. Each object has a purpose. Each hole, ladder, flooring detail, is for something.

One final highlight deserving mention is a hideaway rooftop that’s free of definition. It could be for high-altitude BBQs. Or finger painting sessions. Maybe even sculpting in the summer. Whichever, the space lets the kids explore whatever they intend to dip their toes into.

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Photos courtesy of Peter Bennetts

May 20, 2019 / Comments Off

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Four Leaves House, Japan

There’s no shortage of excellent, quirky homes in Japan — such is the Four Leaves villa located in a forest in the Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture of Japan.

The privately-owned house is designed to accommodate the owners and their friends in the rich natural environment surrounding the space. Each facet of the household comes masterfully designed, giving special concern to orientation. For instance, the living and dining spaces face south-east for a brighter environment. On the other hand, the master bedroom and bathroom are facing west for optimum privacy and a grand view of the forest.

Rather than making the environment adjust for the house, the designers opted to do the exact episode. They built the home’s compartments into three interconnected volumes placed on site among pre-existing trees.

What gives the house its name is its uniquely shaped roof. The designers made curved surface that mimic gently twisted leaves. The resulting silhouette resembles a pile of leaves that have fallen from the branches of surrounding trees. A slight dash of architecture parlante, but not too on the nose.

Timber cladding and exposed ceilings keep the structure organic. Curved wooden joists, meanwhile, come naked on the interior to highlight the contour of the ceiling. There’s a strikingly anti-minimalist approach here despite the simplicity of design. It defocuses the structure to let the outside in, making the forest an integral part of the villa. Hit the link below to find out more, and make sure to check out KIAS’ other excellent projects.

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Photos courtesy of KIAS

May 1, 2019 / Comments Off

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Sharp House

The Sharp House, from March Thorpe Design, is a minimalist masterpiece smack dab in the middle of the desert. Developed for a retired couple from New York City, it’s infused with tastefully subtle interiors serving as a sharp contrast to the frenzied NYC lifestyle.

The house sits in five acres of land somewhere in the picturesquely brutal northern Santa Fe, New Mexico. MTD wanted to be as economical as possible when it came to construction. As a result, they went with exposed cast and concrete for the structure. Come to the northern and southern parts and you’ll find full height glass apertures to invite solar gain and efficient cross ventilation.

The interior, at 2,000 square feet, is a spacious, arresting reprieve from the outside heat. There are two bedrooms, dining, kitchen, and living areas, plus a bathroom. Toward west you’ll find an integrated ladder that leads to the roof for phenomenal views day through night. It’s New Mexico, so this should come as no surprise. The state has some of the most scenic natural wonders in the country.

Never mind its neo-brutalist atmosphere being a bit too complementary to the brutalism of its location. The skilled integration of materials with geometrical elements sufficiently makes up for that on-the-nose element. That’s no share to MTD, by the way. The Sharp House remains a fine example of refined design. It stands to accommodate the interplay of space, light, shadows, and shade. It’s a meditation of geography, too, and how architecture can play a role in it. See more below.

Freedomek House No. 61

In the Pilsen Region of the Czech Republic lies the two-story Freedomek House No. 61. It arrived to the site in two modules fully furnished, right down to the cabinetry and furniture. It certainly gives a new meaning to the term “popup house.”

Don’t mistake speed for clunkiness, though. This prefab home boasts some brute thanks to a construction made almost entirely of timber. That includes the wood fiber insulation and the northern larch facade. And don’t forget the oak flooring and gorgeous birch plywood furniture.

The aesthetic is true outside as it is inside. The larch gives the exterior a hint of texture with those ridged panels. Almost staccato-like, but cleaner and more refined. The modest upper level opens into a decently spacious deck, offering views of the country’s ninth most populated region. Minimalism has its ups and downs, and this one is definitely an up.

As a design principle, minimalism is about less, not lesser. The Freedomek House No. 61 nails that concept by keeping both interior and exterior subdued. No overlap exists between the two spaces, offering almost no transitory shock when traveling from one to the other. That’s a hard balance to pull off; Atelier Stepán deserves praise for doing it effortlessly.

Minimalism might not be your preferred your style. It’s definitely an acquired taste. But it’s hard to deny the pristine lines and angles inside and outside the Freedomek House No. 61. Few minimalist homes are as complex with such few elements. If you still don’t like it, check out the link below to see Atelier Stepán’s other works.

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Photos courtesy of Atelier Stepán

April 4, 2019 / Comments Off

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Cree House

Paying $2,500,000 for what’s essentially a house on stilts like something only a lunatic would do. But the Cree House isn’t just a house on stilts. Designed by architect Albert Frey in 1955, thisPalm Springs household is a mode-century modern masterpiece ready for takers.

The residence occupies 8.2 acres is stands on a rocky hillside thanks to a sturdy foundation of steel stilts. The main panels come painted in chic Encelia green, which does a great bit to blend with the surrounding landscape. But what takes the cake are those yellow fiberglass accents wrapped along the deck. Together, they make the overall exterior look camouflaged in with the sparse greenery lining the hillside.

Inside, you’ll find a gorgeous 1,124-square-foot, one bedroom interior. It’s nearly untouched, as well, with the original features in their most pristine. Those include native stone fireplace, wood paneling, vintage kitchen appliances, and cabinets. Wide glazed windows introduce vistas marked by parched uplands and invite a great deal of natural light in. These also expand to the modest living space out to a 600-square-foot deck.

The house also goes by the nickname “The Forgotten Frey.” A single family has owned it for quite some time. And it had not been open to the public until Modernism Week 2019. Suffice it to say that this nearly-untouched architectural marvel will be an easy buy at $2.5 mil for all you takers. Hit up Christie’s International Real Estate for more information, or check out the photos below to see the interior and other views.

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Photos courtesy of Christie’s International Real Estate

March 21, 2019 / Comments Off

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Payette Lake Cliff House

This waterfront vacation retreat is a rejuvenating reprieve from the troubles of city life. Head over to to Idaho and see this quaint, wood-clad home from McCall Design and Planning. You’ll love the fact that it sits on a rocky cliff that overlooks Payette Lake.

The exterior features mostly teak over a rainscreen system. But you also have thermally broken steel windows and natural zinc aged prior to installation. The designers wanted to keep the ruggedness of the home as much as possible. They wanted it to remain as congruous to its surroundings as possible.

Everything, right from the entrance — a warm wood front door on the middle level that loosens into a an open vestibule, which leads to the dining area on one side and the living room on the other — to the wrap-around picture windows that allow the main social areas to peek outward into expansive landscape vistas, has been meticulously implemented to have as deep a connection to the outside as possible. Which is why the house itself features a zig-zag plan, for all the rooms to have views of the wooded scenery and make the people inside them feel “as though you’re outside,” according to the designers.

Inside, you’ll find plaster-finished walls that create a soft, mottled finish. This serves up a sharp and welcome contrast to the space’s sharp steel lines and wooden elements. The centerpiece is a circular staircase made from bent I-beams and wood.

The Payette Lake Cliff House is one of the finest examples of architecture that integrates the outside into the inside instead of putting barriers between human living spaces and nature.

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Photos courtesy of McCall Design and Planning

December 27, 2018 / Comments Off

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