Modern Residential Design

SPF:a Brosmith House On a slightly different scale to other posts, Zoltan Pali, of Studio Pali Fekete architects (SPF:a) has created a fantastic huge residence here in Mulholland Scenic Parkway, overlooking the San Fernando Valley, California. I think that the crisp clean lines of this design are what appeal. The large openings and long dimensions of this house and the other SPF:a works, fit together with Isay Weinfeld and Marcio Kogan works in my top list. It's crisp, clean and minimalist, but without feeling like a hospital or cleaned out art gallery. In other words, grand, but with cosy areas as well. The house has a breeze corridor, separating the living and sleeping areas, and SCALE. The presence of the huge wood clad master bedroom is impressive and the views from the living room out across the pool, wow! Hidden beside this are a somewhat private swimming area leading to a cozy living room. To keep your back warm whilst you gaze out the window across the pool, the living area...

Andre Hodgskin Paihia House Mentioned a couple of posts back, here's a really nice dark wood covered house in the northern bush of New Zealand. Apologies for the small images. Andre has created a chic bachelors pad in the bush, overlooking the Bay of Islands, at the warmer end of New Zealand. Barely enough room has been cleared from this Tee Tree covered area for the house. The simlpe rectangular layout is divided into deck, living, dining, kitchen, then up or down to a bedroom at the far end (I will try and get a plan up soon). The front and rear of the house are stripped by wood with shutters that open up to let light in for the kitchen. Larger garage door size shutters fold up to let light into the living room, and a vertical door folds out for outdoor bathing. The ends of the rectangle have large decks, for both the living and each of the bedrooms. That bright green wall houses the fireplace and passage out to the deck and clearing at the rear of the house, where the entertain...

Helena Karpouzas Residência , Garopaba Hunting for a Brazilian cantilevered house that I remembered after yesterday's post (which I couldn't find), I came across this little Brazilian bach . Another little summer retreat, it's full glass and opens right up so that you can eat in relative cool, then has a great solid stone clad basement for sleeping comfortably below. Using the slope of the land, each room has an exit to the beach, and the mezzanine has a lifeguards view of the incoming waves. Simple timber and glass construction allow, the upper two storeys (the only ones visible from the beach) to blend in with the surroundings and let in all the sights and sounds of the beach. There's a minimal solid structure at the rear, supporting everything and housing the majority of the plumbing and water tank no doubt. This beach is fairly far down the coast in Brazil, so I am picking this has just the right amount of overhang to block out the midday sun, yet let in all the lig...

JLS Design Steel Tree House Right, well, my first entry for Temperate Architecture, houses able to handle real cold and loads of snow, yet with balconies for those 3 weeks of heat in summer. Rather than the traditional wide plan of a solar gain type house, this house protects/ stores the heat through wrapped up rear rooms and opens out at the front. JLS Design have created a superb semi cantilevered house here. The steel and concrete construction, lined with warm redwood slats looks wonderful in this forest setting. The strong pillars support lighter steel frames and then the soft wood panels encase the liquid sand (windows). Its a nice transition and these strong supporting pillars encroach slightly on each floor, helping to partition the open plan areas into their segments of kitchen, dining and living. Between them are little bay window/balcony areas on the sides and a large deck out front on both main floors. Layout wise the rooms that need the view are at the front looking down ...

Francisco Portugal e Gomes Casa Milhundos This place is another on my list of great layouts. Taken from Arkinetia - (Thanks for the dig last week on your blog!!) Admittedly it looks a little plonked into it's surroundings, but it does have the solar gain sympathetic layout, that I'm into and the pristine white rear structure seems "protected" by the rough black box in front. Moving through the house in a South - North direction the front one story slate/dark stone covered box contains the living and dining/kitchen areas. below this box is a huge cellar the length of the building. Moving back, through the entrance foyer, you arrive at the stairwell, wet wall with toilet beside the staircase, and a bedroom either side of these. This is repeated upstairs. The daytime and nighttime areas are separated and the Master bedroom could be upstairs away from it all. It's very minimalist, no doubt in response to the brief, but I think I'd like to open it up a little mor...