Modern Residential Design

Clinton Murray Gunyah Residence Solid as a rock - A challenging section on Gunyah beach in Bundeena, forced Clinton Murray to rethink the vernacular (perhaps simple) Australian beach side house and create a resilient coastal retreat. Built to last forever. Overview Huge boulders throughout the cliff side, would have made slapping a wooden prefab house on the top of the plot the easiest option. Choosing instead to hide the house well down the plot near the breaking shoreline, posed challenges, yet rewarded both the architect and owners with stunning results. It also appeased the planning officials and nearby residents. "The linear site is divided midway by a massive rock face, defining two distinct levels. The natural, sheltered enclave at the base of the rock face is where we believed the building belonged." Tucked into the hillside, the copper clad roof has set out to weather itself in the ocean green shade of the bay beyond, further minimising the impact of the building fo...

As Modern residential Design celebrates its belated birthday, I thought I bring you couple of Top 5s whilst preparing for the arrival of my second son. Top 5 Posts on Modern Residential Design And here's the traffic / commented / linked list of what you guys thought was coolist! Arthur Casas - House in Iporanga A true Tropical Jungle residential retreat. Minimalist, contrasting, yet befitting it's location. Marcio Kogan - Laranjeiras House My ideal beachside mansion, open plan, indoors and outdoors blurred, simple palette and spashes of colour. Marcio Kogan - Mirindiba House Amazing spans that defy gravity, cavity hidden doors, texture, colour and ahhh. Melling:Morse Architects Ltd - Split Box Hometown favourites from my university days, Melling:Morse are the masters of timber in New Zealand. Arkhefield - Balaam House Flow, privacy, segmentation of rest and action areas, scaled to fit with its neighbours and what links to exterior spaces. Jonathan Segal - The Prospect From ...

David Hertz - Studio EA Floating Residence Suspended Tetris - David Hertz has produced a number of fantastic residences and the Floating or Binder Residence in Venice, CA is no exception. It's paired back black minimalist play on volumes and floating separated masses intrigues. Overview The project is located on a small, 37 foot wide lot on a pedestrian only street in Venice, CA. Rather than create one solid object, David followed his residential design signature of two, two story units. The upper levels of the units seeming to float above minimal tilt up concrete walls and pillars of the lower levels. The two upper levels being attached by an open-air bridge. The larger of the structures is used as a residence while the other is used as an art studio and guest room over a garage. The glazed panels, central to the floating effect are also large, sliding doors that conceal themselves so that the ground floor appears to be open to the exterior courtyards, thus blurring the definiti...

MacGabhann Architects Tuath na Mara Residence Armoured Longboat - Standing vigilant over a northern Fjord in Ireland, the Tuath na Mara Residence, by MacGabhann Architects appears solid as a rock. Zinc clad for resilience, the low slung house blends seamlessly into the heather-covered rocky landscape, its own seams, echoing the strata of surrounding rocks. Contrasting a well hunkered core, the roof line warps and twists upwards like wonderful grey weathered seaweed, revealing the surrounding views to the living areas. Overview The project's focus around the specifics of the site and putting the personal and particular experiences above the powerful and the public, seeks to create a mood which is meditative instead of tensing or relaxing. The site is hidden from the public road and is accessed from high ground on the landward side where the first experience is of an elevated view of the site and the sea beyond. Therefore the importance of the roof, or fifth façade, dictated a me...

Arkhefield Couran Point Island retreat - The team at Arkhefield bring us one of their latest residential wonders in form of a simple, low maintenance, sustainable living volume which can be enjoyed all year round. The motives behind the design - maximising space and privacy - are attacked head on, as are the isolation and harsh climatic conditions on the island with basic low maintenance materials. The resulting simplistic structure, appears as a coastal tree, with its roof-line shaped by the strong winds and elements. Elements from which it can hunker down further, shelter, isolate and reorientate the use of external spaces. Overview The house offers a stark contrast to the predominant low shacks by the way that it expresses and celebrates volume, simplicity of form and its ability to manage/manipulate the external environment. The house appears to be inspirational amongst the community with many new houses currently under construction on the island being designed and sited in a si...