Interior Design Sense

Architects: Gigaplex Architects
Location: Woodland, Utah, USA
Client: Jonathan “Earl” Stein
Project year: 2006
Constructed area: 147 sqm
Photographs: Gigaplex

Program:

Our charge was to design a house for a newly single man with two grown daughters from whom he expects multiple grandchildren. Earl, the client, is foremost a sound engineer, but also a screenwriter (of course), director and producer in the film business, with many big Hollywood pictures to his credit, and hence he has to be on the road for lengthy periods of time. He requested a home both cozy in scale and yet comfortable for weekend guests up to fish the bountiful Provo River, which runs just alongside, to the south, and onto which he has access for a three-mile stretch. The goal was to provide both a visual and an aural connection to the blue ribbon waters coursing just a grandchild’s stone throw away. Earl had seen and witnessed several of the firm’s previous projects, and hence, from the very get go he asked that a cylinder be incorporated. It wanted to be smart. Shockingly, he also asked that the whole project be completed very inexpensively.

Solution:

Not one but two corrugated metal grain silos, with a short, complementary link, were incorporated in order to help modulate the space and increase the square footage enough to comfortably house grandchildren, who will certainly be born with bamboo flyrods in their hands, and other guests, and to provide the required nooks, niches and other interstitial spaces enough to reek of coziness and holing up in the mountains until another job might raise its ugly but otherwise very real and seemingly necessary head.

Architects: Takao Shiotsuka Atelier
Location: Japan
Client: Private
Project year: 2008
Constructed area: 237 sqm
Photographs: Toshiyuki YANO (Nacasa & Partners Inc.,)

The site faces the sea and has deep depth. And it inclines toward the sea by the vertical interval like 2M. We arranged the house in the center of the site. The plane shape of the house is wedge to spread towards the sea.

We planned the first floor as a place to enjoy a garden. The part facing the garden of the half underground is a glass window. By it, a slope of the ground just appears as form of the openings. The exterior floor covered with the white gravel. Since it is surrounded by the outside wall, outside can also be felt like the interior of a room. By place to stay and movement at that time, relations with a person and the ground surface change.

The second floor enabled it to set up a sense of distance with the sea variously in the inside of a building. The both ends of cylindrical space long in the direction of marine are glass windows. An indoor partition wall is also glass. We can look at sea side and the location of the other side at the same time from the room. Even if the sojourner is in any place, he can see or feel the sea.

The first floor that enjoys the yard, the second floor that enjoys the sea, and 2 space were divided clearly. Owner enabled it to spend the time of non-every day by going back and forth mutual space with the different feature appropriate for the cottage.

Architect: McBride Charles Ryan - Rob McBride & Debbie-Lyn Ryan
Location: Mornington Peninsula, Australia
Project Team: Drew Williamson, Fang Cheah
Clients / Builders: Donna & Mark
Constructed Area: 258 sqm
Photographs: McBride Charles Ryan

The Klein bottle is a descriptive model of a surface developed by topological mathematicians. Klein bottle, mobius strips, boy surfaces, unique surfaces that while they may be distorted remain topologically the same. I.e. a donut will remain topologically a donut if you twist and distort it, it will only change topologically if it is cut.

The surfaces that mathematicians have developed hold intrigue for architects as they hold a promise of new spatial relationships and configurations. Technology (CAD) has played an important part in all this, it is now more possible to efficiently describe more complex shapes and spaces and communicate these to the build. Previously the more orthogonal means of communication – plans, sections and elevations naturally encourage buildings which are more easily described in these terms, i.e. boxes.

This holiday house is situated on the Mornington Peninsula 1.5 hrs drive from Melbourne. It is located within the tee-tree on the sand dunes, a short distance from the wild 16 beach. From theoutset MCR wanted a building that nestled within the tree line. That talked about journey and the playfulness of holiday time. What began as a spiral or shell like building developed into a more complex spiral, the Klein bottle. MCR were keen to be topologically true to the Klein bottle but it had to function as a home. We thought an origami version of the bottle would be achievable and hold some ironic fascination. (The resulting FC version also has a comforting relationship to the tradition of the Aussie cement sheet beach house).

The building (we think) is also within that tradition of the use of an experimental geometry that could be adapted to more suitably meet contemporary needs, and desires. In that sense it is within the heroic tradition of invigorating the very nature of the home, most notable of this tradition would be the great experimental heroic houses by Melbourne architects in the 50’s (McIntyre and Boyd in particular).

The house revolves around a central courtyard, a grand regal stair connecting all the levels. There is a sense of both being near and far to all occupants.

Its endless, curling shell-like quality particularly in the tee tree brings about a comforting togetherness.

Architects: Parasite Studio
Location: Timisoara, Romania
Project Team: Baldea Maja, Wneczel Attila, Toma Claudiu
Project year: 2007
Constructed area: 150 sqm
Photographs: Andrei Margulescu & Magazine Architectura

The apartment is located on the first floor of a building raised in the last century in the central area of Timisoara, within an area of protected buildings.

From the first design sketches we tried to get distance from the interventions that have become „standard procedures” in the local scene of designing within old buildings. The owner, a jazz passionate, wished for an elegant and flexible apartment of high standard, with vast multifunctional areas within the living space. The apartment was supposed to serve the needs of a single family.

The design we settled upon was an intervention where the white color is dominant and plays the role of a clean and immaculate background on which the main theme of the apartment is evolving – the furniture, which is treated as a unitary contemporary insertion. The effect of the interior design is based on the contrasts between support/insertion, old/new, permanent/temporary. The basic themes of the design are the rhythm of the paneling of the furniture pieces, the cuts and the cut-outs within them that follow the rhythm and the modulations of an idea of musicality.

The furniture and partition units define areas and organize the space, ordering the whole display of activities. By its design, the furniture overcomes its state of static object within space and takes part in a dynamic manner in the definition of the apartment.

From the former structure of the apartment we maintained as a main feature the dynamic longitudinal wall that separated the two living areas (diurnal/nocturnal) – a structural element that integrated niches for depositing and passages. It is “wrapped” in the new furniture and transformed into a functional volume that takes part in the interior definition of space, a contained that plays the role of a space divider.

The initial configuration of the apartment is almost entirely maintained. The original woodwork and metalwork are entirely refurbished and integrated within the concept, endowed with a contemporary “plastic” materiality. Also the wood parquet was maintained and treated as a valuable feature of the apartment that tempers the new intervention and confers “warmth” to the living areas. The general appearance of “septic” white is counterbalanced by the paneling, the color of the niches, the lighting units integrated in the furniture and the personal objects of the owners.

Architects: ARX PORTUGAL - José Mateus y Nuno Mateus
Location: Caparica, Portugal
Project team: Paulo Rocha, Stefano Riva, Andreia Tomé, Marco Roque Antunes, Pedro Sousa, Tânia Pedro
Project year: 2000- 2003
Construction year: 2004- 2007
Constructed area: 640 sqm
Structure: SAFRE, Projectos e Estudos de Engenharia Lda.
Photographs: Telmo Miller

This is the second project for the urbanization of the Aroeira’s golf course, a field of lawns, sand zones and lakes, and in this case, also a pine tree area. The terrain is narrow and long, slightly triangulated and with a soft inclination alongside the lot. It is also densely occupied by large pines, which end suddenly at north by the immediate vicinity of the golf course.

The house consists on three continuous bodies, articulated by two patios. The first body, a ground floor, is longitudinal to the entrance and is used as garage and working area. The second is transversal and comprises the common life of the house, the kitchen and living-rooms, overlapped in two storeys, opening up to the landscape. The last one is once again longitudinal and a one-floor body, now in suspension, and comprises the bedroom area.

The two patios are layered in white manufactured tile, the first one destined to a service usage and the second one, of double height, complements the living-room ambiance with a gardened mirror pool.

The house design has specially centred on the relationship it establishes with the topography and the distant landscape.

It has assumed a serpentine shape, sliding across the slope, leaning whether to one longitudinal limit or the other, therefore assuring privacy where needed and allowing the enjoyment of the landscape when wanted.
At the same time the natural curve of land goes down, the roof goes up, and the house shifts from a ground-based situation to a floating one, supported by the delicate metal columns and drawing a trail across the garden down to the pool.

Architects: Parasite Studio
Location: Timisoara, Romania
Project Team: Baldea Maja, Wneczel Attila, Toma Claudiu
Project year: 2007
Constructed area: 150 sqm
Photographs: Andrei Margulescu & Magazine Architectura

The apartment is located on the first floor of a building raised in the last century in the central area of Timisoara, within an area of protected buildings.

From the first design sketches we tried to get distance from the interventions that have become „standard procedures” in the local scene of designing within old buildings. The owner, a jazz passionate, wished for an elegant and flexible apartment of high standard, with vast multifunctional areas within the living space. The apartment was supposed to serve the needs of a single family.

The design we settled upon was an intervention where the white color is dominant and plays the role of a clean and immaculate background on which the main theme of the apartment is evolving – the furniture, which is treated as a unitary contemporary insertion. The effect of the interior design is based on the contrasts between support/insertion, old/new, permanent/temporary. The basic themes of the design are the rhythm of the paneling of the furniture pieces, the cuts and the cut-outs within them that follow the rhythm and the modulations of an idea of musicality.

The furniture and partition units define areas and organize the space, ordering the whole display of activities. By its design, the furniture overcomes its state of static object within space and takes part in a dynamic manner in the definition of the apartment.

From the former structure of the apartment we maintained as a main feature the dynamic longitudinal wall that separated the two living areas (diurnal/nocturnal) – a structural element that integrated niches for depositing and passages. It is “wrapped” in the new furniture and transformed into a functional volume that takes part in the interior definition of space, a contained that plays the role of a space divider.

The initial configuration of the apartment is almost entirely maintained. The original woodwork and metalwork are entirely refurbished and integrated within the concept, endowed with a contemporary “plastic” materiality. Also the wood parquet was maintained and treated as a valuable feature of the apartment that tempers the new intervention and confers “warmth” to the living areas. The general appearance of “septic” white is counterbalanced by the paneling, the color of the niches, the lighting units integrated in the furniture and the personal objects of the owners.

Architects: ARX PORTUGAL - José Mateus y Nuno Mateus
Location: Caparica, Portugal
Project team: Paulo Rocha, Stefano Riva, Andreia Tomé, Marco Roque Antunes, Pedro Sousa, Tânia Pedro
Project year: 2000- 2003
Construction year: 2004- 2007
Constructed area: 640 sqm
Structure: SAFRE, Projectos e Estudos de Engenharia Lda.
Photographs: Telmo Miller

This is the second project for the urbanization of the Aroeira’s golf course, a field of lawns, sand zones and lakes, and in this case, also a pine tree area. The terrain is narrow and long, slightly triangulated and with a soft inclination alongside the lot. It is also densely occupied by large pines, which end suddenly at north by the immediate vicinity of the golf course.

The house consists on three continuous bodies, articulated by two patios. The first body, a ground floor, is longitudinal to the entrance and is used as garage and working area. The second is transversal and comprises the common life of the house, the kitchen and living-rooms, overlapped in two storeys, opening up to the landscape. The last one is once again longitudinal and a one-floor body, now in suspension, and comprises the bedroom area.

The two patios are layered in white manufactured tile, the first one destined to a service usage and the second one, of double height, complements the living-room ambiance with a gardened mirror pool.

The house design has specially centred on the relationship it establishes with the topography and the distant landscape.

It has assumed a serpentine shape, sliding across the slope, leaning whether to one longitudinal limit or the other, therefore assuring privacy where needed and allowing the enjoyment of the landscape when wanted.
At the same time the natural curve of land goes down, the roof goes up, and the house shifts from a ground-based situation to a floating one, supported by the delicate metal columns and drawing a trail across the garden down to the pool.

Architects: Parasite Studio
Location: Timisoara, Romania
Project Team: Baldea Maja, Wneczel Attila, Toma Claudiu
Project year: 2007
Constructed area: 150 sqm
Photographs: Andrei Margulescu & Magazine Architectura

The apartment is located on the first floor of a building raised in the last century in the central area of Timisoara, within an area of protected buildings.

From the first design sketches we tried to get distance from the interventions that have become „standard procedures” in the local scene of designing within old buildings. The owner, a jazz passionate, wished for an elegant and flexible apartment of high standard, with vast multifunctional areas within the living space. The apartment was supposed to serve the needs of a single family.

The design we settled upon was an intervention where the white color is dominant and plays the role of a clean and immaculate background on which the main theme of the apartment is evolving – the furniture, which is treated as a unitary contemporary insertion. The effect of the interior design is based on the contrasts between support/insertion, old/new, permanent/temporary. The basic themes of the design are the rhythm of the paneling of the furniture pieces, the cuts and the cut-outs within them that follow the rhythm and the modulations of an idea of musicality.

The furniture and partition units define areas and organize the space, ordering the whole display of activities. By its design, the furniture overcomes its state of static object within space and takes part in a dynamic manner in the definition of the apartment.

From the former structure of the apartment we maintained as a main feature the dynamic longitudinal wall that separated the two living areas (diurnal/nocturnal) – a structural element that integrated niches for depositing and passages. It is “wrapped” in the new furniture and transformed into a functional volume that takes part in the interior definition of space, a contained that plays the role of a space divider.

The initial configuration of the apartment is almost entirely maintained. The original woodwork and metalwork are entirely refurbished and integrated within the concept, endowed with a contemporary “plastic” materiality. Also the wood parquet was maintained and treated as a valuable feature of the apartment that tempers the new intervention and confers “warmth” to the living areas. The general appearance of “septic” white is counterbalanced by the paneling, the color of the niches, the lighting units integrated in the furniture and the personal objects of the owners.

Architects: ARX PORTUGAL - José Mateus y Nuno Mateus
Location: Caparica, Portugal
Project team: Paulo Rocha, Stefano Riva, Andreia Tomé, Marco Roque Antunes, Pedro Sousa, Tânia Pedro
Project year: 2000- 2003
Construction year: 2004- 2007
Constructed area: 640 sqm
Structure: SAFRE, Projectos e Estudos de Engenharia Lda.
Photographs: Telmo Miller

This is the second project for the urbanization of the Aroeira’s golf course, a field of lawns, sand zones and lakes, and in this case, also a pine tree area. The terrain is narrow and long, slightly triangulated and with a soft inclination alongside the lot. It is also densely occupied by large pines, which end suddenly at north by the immediate vicinity of the golf course.

The house consists on three continuous bodies, articulated by two patios. The first body, a ground floor, is longitudinal to the entrance and is used as garage and working area. The second is transversal and comprises the common life of the house, the kitchen and living-rooms, overlapped in two storeys, opening up to the landscape. The last one is once again longitudinal and a one-floor body, now in suspension, and comprises the bedroom area.

The two patios are layered in white manufactured tile, the first one destined to a service usage and the second one, of double height, complements the living-room ambiance with a gardened mirror pool.

The house design has specially centred on the relationship it establishes with the topography and the distant landscape.

It has assumed a serpentine shape, sliding across the slope, leaning whether to one longitudinal limit or the other, therefore assuring privacy where needed and allowing the enjoyment of the landscape when wanted.
At the same time the natural curve of land goes down, the roof goes up, and the house shifts from a ground-based situation to a floating one, supported by the delicate metal columns and drawing a trail across the garden down to the pool.