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There are small homes, then there are smaller homes … then there are super-skinny, ultra-mini houses inside of homes. The strange starts on the outside but quickly works its way to the interior. For starters, the whole (larger) home is sandwiched between thick and solid concrete slabs that rise straight up on either side of an extremely narrow building site. But step inside, please, and see an even smaller surprise.

Within the thick exterior walls, a wood cabin-shaped box serves as a suspended loft bedroom space. The wooden siding and conventional cabin (or mini-house) shape make it seem almost like a forest retreat … except that it sits within a living room area in an already-small house. This curious little home-in-a-home part even has windows and a skylight of sorts.

Kitsch or not, this room-within-a-room concept turns a somewhat cramped-feeling master bedroom interior into a cozy sleeping quarters – the wood serving to warm the space and set it apart from the colder concrete and bare white surfaces around it.

A multi-story vertical space serves to create some breathing room in the middle of the house while also acting as a light well. This openness is mirrored in the open-tread stairs that cling to the concrete sides and drop down from the lofted bedroom. These slim metal staircases also serve as bridges to connect spaces across voids, allowing movement but maintaining a sense of separation and spaciousness as well.

Even at three stories tall, this slim Ryoichi Kodi Kojima boasts less than a thousand square feet of space – and that is if you include the small front porch below and tiny deck area on the third floor above. All things considered, it is hard to tell that this complex Japanese home is so small (at least by American standards) from the dynamic floor plans and three-dimensionality of the interior.

The post Skinny Little Mini-Home Has an Even-Smaller House Inside! first appeared on Dornob.

“To see the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine finally open is emblematic of Lower Manhattan’s storied future and defining past,” says Santiago Calatrava, the architect who designed the structure. “I hope to see this structure serve its purpose as a sanctuary for worship but also as a place for reflection on what the city endured and how it is moving forward.”

Calatrava and his eponymous firm also designed and rebuilt the WTC’s “Oculus” transportation hub, which opened in 2016. The station’s arched wings “symbolize a dove released from a child’s hand,” or a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The Saint Nicholas church design is similarly intended to evoke the ideas of strength, resilience, and light, according to Calatrava. “Architecture can have an intrinsic symbolic value, which is not written or expressed in a specific way but in an abstract and synthetic manner, sending a message and thus leaving a lasting legacy,” he notes.

Taking architectural cues from another well-known Greek house of God, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the new church features four stone towers that support and surround a large inner dome. Calatrava also chose to sheath the towers in Pentelic marble, the same material that makes up the Parthenon in Athens.

The ridged dome is constructed from thin stone and laminated glass panels. Thanks to the lighting inside the church and behind the stone, “the entire church appear[s] to glow from within, invoking the feeling of being a beacon of hope amid the night.”

The interior includes more Byzantine-influenced design, with 40 windows and structural ribs and a glass painting of Christ in the center of the dome’s ceiling. In between the ribs is iconography of 20 prophets in traditional Byzantine colors.

In addition to the worship spaces, the church also has two “community” rooms on the second and third floors, areas that are open to the public for meetings and other activities. Calatrava feels “these spaces are a significant component of the building’s program as they accentuate the church’s open and welcoming relationship with the greater World Trade Center Memorial site, as well as the community of Lower Manhattan.”

The church leaders are grateful to have their physical structure restored, but they’re even more excited for what its return symbolizes. “This Shrine will be a place for everyone who comes to the Sacred Ground at the World Trade Center, a place for them to imagine and envision a world where mercy is inevitable, reconciliation is desirable, and forgiveness is possible,” said His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in a statement. “The National Shrine…will stand as witness not only to the vitality of Holy Orthodoxy, but for America’s commitment to religious freedom. The Shrine will be a defiant symbol of opposition to the forces or intolerance around the globe.”

The post 20 Years After 9/11, the World Trade Center’s Only Church is Reborn first appeared on Dornob.

“We’ve tried to take all the iconic qualities of Quito – such as the enjoyment of living in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, in a city on the equator where the seasons are perfect for both human and plant life – and bring that experience into the vertical dimension,” says BIG’s founder Bjarke Ingels. “IQON is an entire vertical community of individual homes; an extension of La Carolina Park that now climbs all the way up to the rooftop.”

BIG approached the design in characteristically bold fashion. “IQON’s architectural identity is defined by its ‘stripped back’ facade.” the BIG website says. “The raw, exposed concrete simultaneously functions as the building’s structure. Individual ‘pixels’ are stacked 32 floors high and rotated to provide the best possible views while simultaneously creating terraces for the apartments.”

The building consists of 220 residential apartment units ranging from one to three bedrooms in size. Some apartments even have panoramic views of the city and the nearby Pichincha volcano. “Each apartment floor features through-units – apartments that have terraces on both the north and south facades – which not only allows for views across the entire city, but also offers the opportunity for cross ventilation and a sense of openness, ” explains BIG partner Thomas Christofferson.

The country’s rich biodiversity is fully embraced in the IQON plan. “Celebrating native trees and plants, the building integrates greenery wherever possible to take advantage of Ecuador’s temperate climate and ecology – the country with the most plant species per square meter in the world,” the company website says. Trees and shrubs adorn each balcony, and the ground floor features a public vegetable garden.

The building’s ecosystem is intentionally circular. As the company explains, “The building also acts as an urban tree farm; once the vegetation planted on the terraces outgrows its planter, it can be replanted in parks all over the city. In this way, the building becomes part of a green cycle – from park to building, and back to park.”

The lower floors incorporate room for five retail shops and 36 commercial offices, and the inside of the ground floor offers a soft contrast to the building’s sharp-angled exterior. “The ground floor plaza includes generous public spaces, retail units, and public art. This central plaza functions as a new east-west pathway, connecting the park to the rest of the neighborhood,” the BIG website says. “Upon entering the lobby, the material palette transitions from the raw, pared-back exterior to a more refined aesthetic; marble stone pavers complement the custom millwork reception desk, and concrete touchpoints nod to the facade. Deep emerald green tones are utilized on the ceiling tiles, mailboxes, and through to the elevator lobby – an area located beyond a blackened-steel portal.”

IQON also boasts a rooftop pool and terrace, sports and spa facilities, a music room, and a bowling alley.

“IQON…represent[s] the ongoing transformation of Quito into a cornerstone of architecture, design, and innovation,” said Uribe Schwarzkopf’s co-founder Tommy Schwarzkopf. “As the first residents move in and businesses begin to take space in the building, we are looking forward to seeing [it] come to life and become part of the fabric of the city.”

The post BIG’s First South American Project is the Tallest Building in Quito first appeared on Dornob.

The renovation will begin in May 2023 and be completed in 2026 for a 2027 reopening ahead of an important occasion: the 1,125th anniversary of Sugawara no Michizane’s death. Keeping the shrine completely out of commission for a three-year renovation wasn’t an option, since Tenjin is worshipped internationally and Dazaifu Tenmagu draws up to 10 million tourists every year. The renovation will repair the hall’s thatched Japanese cypress bark roof and its lacquered interiors, and make the whole structure more resistant to earthquakes.

Fujimoto’s single-story temporary sanctuary hall will be set up in front of the honden hall to host rituals and worship. Made of steel beams, it’s designed so it can be quickly built in just a few months between February and May 2023. The temporary hall is the same size as the main hall but will be open to the air, set on a black platform with a single solid wall in the back. A ramp enables wheelchair access, and unlike the main shrine, the temporary hall will also allow visitors to enter without taking their shoes off.

The temporary hall’s defining feature is its tilting green roof, which will disguise and soften the construction going on behind it while also creating the spectacle of a “floating forest.” Grasses, shrubs, and full-size trees will be transplanted onto it for the effect of a mature forest.

At a press conference, Fujimoto said, “I aimed for a design that can connect the tradition of Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine with today and pass it down to future generations.”

“We will build a ‘cave’ in front of Kumamoto Station to welcome everyone to visit,” says the team at the Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine. “Since it has only been exhibited for three years, we wanted it to be a place that will be pleasing to the Tenjin Sama and all the visitors. It has been designed to blend in with the surrounding landscape, carrying on the tradition and connecting to the future.”

Sou Fujimoto’s unconventional nature-oriented approach to architecture has produced some incredibly unique projects in the past. For his “Flowing Cloud” resort complex in China, the architect created a terraced plan cascading down a hillside, partially covered by a ceiling made of woven grasses. In Budapest, the Hungarian House of Music revives a 300-acre city park with 97,000 square feet of both open and enclosed exhibits and theaters, all topped by a distinctive circular roof inspired by the vibration of sound. And in Maebashi, Japan, the architect’s renovation of the Shiroiya Hotel produced a faux hillside covered in greenery, trees and walkways.

The post Sou Fujimoto’s Temporary Shrine in Japan is Topped with a Floating Forest first appeared on Dornob.

When the real estate agents say it’s one of a kind, they aren’t kidding. The sprawling residence stretches out across the hilly landscape against a backdrop of blue-green mountains, gazing out at the city lights in the distance. Featuring numerous covered lanais and terraces, the home is surrounded by the splendor of Santa Fe nature, backing up to a national forest full of pine trees and rocky outcroppings.

The sheer size of this residence is remarkable enough in its own right. Measuring 11,450 square feet, the single-story home occupies a generous footprint on its 3.4-acre double lot. Private homes of that size can easily feel a little empty and impersonal, but the warmth of the traditional materials and intimate scale of each room make this adobe house downright cozy. It’s one of the largest single-level homes in its neighborhood, Santa Fe Summit, according to real estate agent Ginger Clarke of Barker Realty, and features four extra large bedrooms, six bathrooms, and an attached guest casita.

“The details and materials throughout are carefully crafted to highlight the combination of beautiful architecture and expansive views offered by this exceptional property,” reads the listing for 1432 Old Sunset Trail. Indeed, the home has just about everything you could ask for from an adobe structure: soft curving walls in pleasing neutral tones, giant wooden beams, beautiful brickwork, flagstone floors, no fewer than seven fireplaces, polished plaster walls, and latilla (slatted wood) ceilings.

Those experiencing the house in person enter through a gated forecourt hidden behind an adobe wall, followed by a central entry hall that opens to the dining room and living room. The standout feature of the living room is a large two-sided stone fireplace with a floating hearth. Overhead, the long “viga” wood beams enhance the sense of spaciousness, while the diagonal lines of the latilla wood draw the eye to the softly textured walls with built-in display niches.

The kitchen houses a large central island with bar-style seating, wooden cabinetry, high-end appliances, built-in wine storage, and windows overlooking an adjacent terrace. Many of the home’s six bathrooms are the size of a bedroom you’d find in a more average-sized home, and the walk-in closets are the stuff of dreams. Other amenities include an in-ground outdoor hot tub, a new elevator, and a separate exercise room with a SwimEx pool.

As of December 12th, 2022, the home is still available. One might imagine that the market for $8.5 million houses is fairly limited, but Clarke believes that this mansion’s location in a popular destination city will make it attractive to international buyers seeking beautiful vacation digs. The estimated monthly payment for a mortgage this size? A mere $47,694.

The post $8.5 Million Santa Fe Mansion Embodies the Beauty of New Mexico first appeared on Dornob.

The high and low points of the installation seem to shift as they catch the light from different angles, creating a dynamic, almost kinetic effect. Designed by famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the British Antique Museum opened in September 2022, honoring the close relationship between the town of Kamakura and Great Britain.

Just a one minute walk from Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and a seven-minute walk from Kamakura Station, BAM exhibits British antiques collected over the years by museum director Masaomi Dobashi. The museum consists of four floors, each representing a different era and theme. The first floor is the museum shop, featuring a London taxi and telephone box. On the second floor, visitors will find Georgian-era antiques, including leather trunks, red cloaks, and bearskin hats worn by the Royal Guard.

On the third floor, visitors step into the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels with a Sherlock Holmes-themed exhibit that recreates the fictional detective’s study and living space down to the most intricate details. The museum explains that “in the front, there is an armchair that invites clients in, and the gourd-shaped gasojin (soda water maker) that appears in Holmes’s story, as well as antique microscopes and physics and chemistry equipment, are reproduced as they were at the time.”

Standout objects on the museum’s Victorian-themed fourth floor include a John Broadwood & Sons piano, an extra-large gramophone made in 1935, a fireplace from a Kensington mansion, and stained glass featuring an image of Queen Victoria.

“As a connection between Kamakura and England, there is the National Trust movement that started in England in the Victorian era,” Dobashi explains on the BAM website. “It is the permanent preservation of historically significant land and assets through donations, and many scenic spots have been preserved as heritage. Kamakura is the place where the idea of the National Trust was introduced for the first time in Japan. ‘Kamakura’ is linked to the desire to cherish the good old British things, and the wonderful cultural heritage is still inherited.”

Kuma’s process of designing the British Antique Museum is documented in the book Kengo Kuma: Creating a Small British Antique Museum in Kamakura by Masaomi Dobashi, revealing more details about the connections between Kamakura, Great Britain, and Kuma, who also designed V&A Dundee, a branch of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum located in Dundee, Scotland.

“British antiques and modern electric cars are exhibited there, and it can be said that it is a timeless fusion of old and new,” Kuma says. “This time, the British Antique Museum BAM, which stands on the approach to Kamakura’s historic Dankazura, is lined with pure antiques that have absorbed more than 100 years of time collected by Mr. Dobashi. In that sense, I thought that the design of the building should be as pure as possible. As a result of repeated deliberations, we eliminated all the windows and made it simple, adopting a facade inspired by Kamakura-bori, which symbolizes the traditional culture of Kamakura.”

The post Kengo Kuma Honors Japanese Woodworking Traditions with Striking Museum Facade first appeared on Dornob.

The architects were tasked with building for the long-term while using present resources wisely, working with designers, consultants, builders, and craftsman to develop a space that improves the success and well-being of students. The College wanted The New Library to honor its past without just passively “blending in.” The result is an inspiring structure that preserves a human scale.

“The result — a solid and confident, yet deferential new kid on the college block,” says Allford. “The light-filled, warm-wood interior lifts spirits and fosters connections. The overarching commitment to build something that will stand the test of time can be felt in every material and detail, and from every viewpoint. This is the epitome of how to build for the long-term.”

Sited in a sensitive historic setting along the boundary wall between the enclosed Master’s Garden and open Fellow’s Garden, The New Library is a contemporary, sustainable addition to the Magdalene College campus. Its exterior consists of elegant brickwork set adjacent to the wood-and-glass gables. The older college buildings are made of load-bearing brick with timber floors and similarly gabled pitched roof structures — the architects simply translated these elements into modern forms that maintained a sense of harmony with the historic facilities.

The interior spaces are built with cross-laminated timber structural elements as well as hardwood bookshelves and tables. There’s a sense of rhythm to the layout, with all the roof lights, columns, light baffles, windows, and balustrades forming an orderly “warp and weft” throughout the space. Natural light comes streaming in at just the right angle to illuminate the library without creating glare or damaging the books. Spaces are single, double, or triple height, ranging from small and intimate study areas to awe-inspiring halls with contemplative views.

“The library is approached from Second Court, through a little doorway, and out under an old Yew tree,” say the architects. “From this shady corner, you sense the presence of the river opening out at the edge of the lawn. We wanted to make the building a journey that gradually rose up towards the light. On the way up there would be rooms, galleries, and places to perch with a book. At the top, there would be views out over the lawn towards the water. We wanted to create a variety of ways for someone to situate themselves depending on inclination. You might sit in a grand hall, a small room, or tuck yourself into a tiny private niche.”

They add: “For us, good architecture plays a variety of experiences against underlying order so as to produce harmony. The new library is based upon a logical latticework of interrelated elements. A regular grid of brick chimneys supports the floors and book stacks and carries warm air up to ventilate the building. Between each set of four chimes, there is a roof lantern bringing light down into the spaces below: air rising and light falling.”

The selection marks the first time the RIBA Sterling Prize has been awarded to a college. It’s also the first win for Níall McLaughlin Architects, who have previously been shortlisted for the prize in 2018, 2015, and 2013 for its timber Bishop Edward King Chapel.

The post Níall McLaughlin Architects Wins the 2022 RIBA Prize for Magdalene College Library in Cambridge first appeared on Dornob.

Some find the 64-square-foot size and seeming flimsiness of such tiny houses inhumane, while others believe they’re an important stepping stone to getting people off the street permanently. The architects feel that Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village was always meant to be transitional, giving occupants a sense of security and ownership as well as access to necessary services and facilities until they can move on to more stable housing. They expanded upon that idea in their latest project, creating larger permanent homes for disabled and formerly homeless veterans.

The firm certainly has the experience to back up its ideas. They’ve been creating shelters for vulnerable populations for over 20 years. Six years ago, they partnered with nonprofit developer Restore Neighborhoods Los Angeles and community bank Genesis LA to create a variety of housing prototypes that could help ease the homelessness and housing affordability crises in California. These projects are all rooted in the idea that everyone deserves dignity and a sense of community.

Located in the South Los Angeles community of the same name (just south of Watts and northwest of Compton), Willowbrook Apartments is a seven-unit complex occupying an awkwardly shaped, long-vacant plot of land close to public transit and a community church. Each unit is 300 square feet and includes a private bathroom, kitchenette, and universal design features for accessibility.

Galley-style kitchens and plentiful natural light create a feeling of expansiveness. The units are mirrored back-to-back to save space, and they’re all anchored to a communal outdoor space. A taller structure offers a community meeting room, storage space, and offices to form a “coherent urban campus, even on a small scale.”

The colors are acid-bright, with neon yellow paths winding around small stone patios and drought-tolerant landscaping. The architects wanted it all to feel very California: cheerful, sunny, and fresh. “Each bend and turn in the path provides real or implied mindful pause from the street to the front door, enhancing the separation from the public realm to the private,” the team explains. “This is something that is meaningful and critical for all residents, but even more so for those that have previously been unhoused.”

The complex will serve as a model for similar developments. The team chooses urban infill lots that are considered less than ideal by most developers, inserting either individual affordable starter homes costing $200,000, 5-bedroom duplexes for troubled teens, or small communities for vulnerable populations, like Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village and Willowbrook Apartments. The projects aim to be livable, reproducible, and anything but depressing.

“I hope this project captures the imagination of the culture, showing how such housing can actively enhance its neighborhood, no matter where the residents lived previously,” says Michael Lehrer, founder and president of Lehrer Architects. “This is critical to destigmatize these types of housing projects, and to destigmatize the people who live there, demonstrating the true beauty of complete neighborhoods that take care of all residents.”

The post Lehrer Architects Create Cheerful Permanent Housing for LA’s Disabled Vets first appeared on Dornob.

At last, the pandemic has receded just enough for in-person events to be safely held once more, and there’s never been a better excuse to hit up the best architecture and design festivals near you. This October, international architects, designers, artists and innovators are coming together in cities around the world to present exciting new concepts and discuss how their work can help shape the future. Check out details on Archtober in New York City, Seoul Design 2022, Dutch Design Week, and more.

Archtober — New York, United States

October 1st – 31st

New York City’s architecture festival returns for its 12th year, offering lectures, exhibitions spread across the city, and “Building the Day,” a series of architect-led tours. This year, Archtober is also celebrating the reopening of the city and the ability to hold events in person. Standouts include “Grand Designs: Architecture at Green-Wood,” exploring the Green-Wood cemetery’s monuments and mausoleums; “Pumpkitecture,” a pumpkin carving competition among architects; “Border Crossings: Architecture and Migration in the Americas,” a lecture series by the CCNY Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; and The Museum of Modern Art’s “Life Between Buildings,” an exploration of how artists have engaged the city’s interstitial spaces.

Tallinn Architecture Biennale — Estonia

September 7th – November 20th

With the theme “Edible; Or, the Architecture of Metabolism,” the 6th Tallinn Architectural Biennale (TAB) invites audiences to reflect on the relationships between food and architecture, and to reimagine how our planet’s food systems could work with architecture’s capacity to perform metabolic processes. Held at the Museum of Estonian Architecture, the festival will include five main events: a Curatorial Exhibition, a two-day Symposium, an Installation Program, and an International Architecture Schools’ Exhibition.

10th Architecture Biennale Rotterdam — The Netherlands

September 22nd – November 13th

Exploring the theme “It’s About Time,” the 10th edition of the Architecture Biennale Rotterdam will be presented a former gas storage facility in the city’s western harbor area. “It’s About Time alludes to the increasing pressure of time: if we are to counteract the consequences of climate change, we must act quickly! The title also focuses on time and speed as crucial factors in the working processes of architecture and spatial design. This way, the Architecture Biennale Rotterdam draws attention to social themes: It’s About Time calls on the profession to work effectively on pressing socioecological issues.”

Seoul Design 2022 — South Korea

October 19th – November 2nd

Organized by the Seoul Design Foundation and set at Zaha Hadid Architects’ Dongdaemun Design Plaza, this design event will present exhibitions, design forums, and a design market offering a global platform to both rising star designers and established international designers to discuss the present and future of design.

Biennale Interieur 2022 — Belgium

October 20th – 24th

The 27th edition of the international design platform Biennale Interior will be held at Kortrijk in Belgium, providing a s pace where rising talent and established brands can mix, and where visitors can be inspired. The event description reads: “In a busy, ever-changing world, INTERIEUR makes a statement by boldly embracing imaginative quality, local connections, and long-lasting relationships. Biennale Interieur brings brands and talent together, exploring meaningful answers in the field of design and interior, life, work and leisure environments.”

Designart Tokyo 2022 — Japan

October 21st – 30th

Presenting art, design, interior design and fashion, Designart Tokyo will explore the theme of “Together” and include a new “green innovation” exhibition bringing together furniture and art by young designers, artists, and manufacturers based on the event’s “sustainability x technology” concept.

Dutch Design Week 2022 — Holland

October 22nd – 30th

The theme of this year’s Dutch Design Week is “Get Set,” highlighting a shift in mentality from preparation to action. The largest design event in Northern Europe will bring together over 2,600 designers to showcase the latest innovations through exhibitions, networking events, lectures, award ceremonies, and debates. Held across various venues in Eindhoven, DDW aims to show how designers around the world are helping to shape a positive future. More than 350,000 visitors are expected.

The post The 7 Hottest International Architecture and Design Events to Hit This October first appeared on Dornob.

Located in the town of Franklin, about 20 miles south of Nashville, Cyrus’ former home is set in a secluded rural area at the end of a private dirt road. Five bedrooms might not sound like much for such an expensive home, but the eight-year-old farmhouse measures an extremely generous 6,689 square feet and includes four full bathrooms and two half bathrooms. A massive barn-sized 30-foot-long living room takes up much of that real estate, featuring a double-height wood beam ceiling, built-in bookshelves, and a huge stacked stone raised hearth fireplace.

The style of the home is tailored to its Southern setting, with details like wide-plank rustic wood floors, shiplap interior wall paneling, tongue-and-groove wood ceilings, wainscoting, classic hexagonal bathroom tiles, and textural brick. A double-wide island with a snack bar takes center stage in the home’s country-style kitchen, complimented by two-tone cabinetry, a brick fireplace, and premium Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances. The main floor primary suite also boasts its own fireplace, and a clawfoot soaking tub tucked into a bright corner with views of the trees outside.

The other four bedrooms, a den, game room, and rooftop deck make up the rest of the home’s square footage. French doors in the living room open onto a palatial screened porch with yet another stacked stone fireplace, tile floors, and a swing suspended from the ceiling by ropes. This indoor/outdoor space leads out to an in-ground swimming pool and spa surrounded by a terrace and small putting green. A smaller, separate barn-style building could act as a guest house or recording studio. Best of all, the property enjoys lots of privacy thanks to its cul-de-sac location, and a buffer of forest on all sides.

Since the home never went on the market this time around, no new photos are available, but we do have the listing photos from when Cyrus purchased it in 2017. It’s possible she made some renovations since then that have boosted the property’s value. The sale is just the latest real estate deal for Cyrus, whose estimated net worth is around $200 million. Last year, she sold her Hidden Hills home for $7.2 million (the same neighborhood multiple Kardashians and Jenners currently call home). In 2020, she sold her $1.7 million Malibu home to Matthew Wilder, and before that, she sold a Toluca Lake, Los Angeles mansion to Texas oil heir Nats Getty and his wife, YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous.

The post Miley Cyrus Sells Nashville Ranch for $14 Million first appeared on Dornob.

The fact that the clinic is a live/work environment goes a long way towards giving it a homey vibe, which is instantly more relaxing than a sterile institutional facility. The dentist, a director in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, will use this new location as a second home base. Set in an area full of medical facilities and just down the street from a nature-rich area with parks and museums, the location straddles the line between the professionalism of a more conventional setting and the comfort of a home.

“We thought it would be best to create a simple and relaxing environment stripped of stress and fear, an easy place for patients to visit,” the architects explain. “It is also the client’s desire to contribute to the community as a dentist by being able to create this project. As an architectural project, the essence of this design emerged by combining the management philosophy of the dental clinic with the architectural solution.”

First and foremost is curb appeal. The plot is designed with plenty of trees in both the front and back, with large windows looking out at them from the lobby and treatment areas. From the moment they walk up, patients can see that this is no ordinary dental clinic. Inside, they’ll find beautiful spaces lined entirely with wood for a warm and cozy feeling. The exterior walls are made of unpainted cedar wood cladding, and the interior is finished with structural plywood. Once seated in the chair, each patient will be able to gaze at branches gently waving in the breeze as their treatment commences.

According to the firm, “the private rooms were first arranged assuming the patients would not be threatened by a fearful feeling, but instead with a relaxed environment as they look at the forest in front of them. The rest of the spaces are allocated as necessary to support the dentistry functions. The second floor has a residential function, and its shape has a set back from the private rooms on the ground floor. The solution was not to prioritize a wide space, but we had a desire to create a space for treatment within it.”

“To solve the problem in a deductive way, design started from the treatment space and then passed to deciding on other elements, thereby eliminating any arbitrary operations and making the space for the patients the first priority. The idea was to create a dental clinic that would be easy for patients to come to, and that they would return to again and again.”

The dentist’s private living quarters on the second floor are designed so that in the future, they could be used to expand the clinical facilities. He might not always want to live there, and wants to leave open the possibility of creating a special treatment area for children. The architects designed the floors with space for the necessary pipes and utilities so that it would be possible without a significant remodel.

The post Relaxing Dental Clinic Uses Trees and Natural Light to Ease Anxious Patients first appeared on Dornob.

Nicholas and Stanley spent every weekend working on the house over the course of 15 years, making use of found and recycled materials and allowing their plans to grow and change as they went. Today, the home looks nothing like the cottage it once was, or like any other house on the street. It’s entirely unique. And while the jagged black exterior isn’t for everyone, it suits them perfectly, and it’s more welcoming inside than you might imagine.

“We changed so much from when we started at the age of 25 to when we finished at the age of 40,” Stanley told Dwell. “By being hands on and playing around with ideas, we came up with a lot of stuff that we wouldn’t have if we were sitting at the drawing board and pushing to get things done quickly. And, as young architects, getting your hands dirty is the best way to learn.”

Collecting materials from warehouses and country yard sales, the couple began adding vertical exterior cladding made of Oregon timber beams. They staggered the heights of each board to mimic the way a city skyline rises and falls. It also extends higher than the actual roofline, providing enough privacy for a rooftop bath. They kept the gabled form and scale of the original home but opened and expanded it, creating new nooks and crannies both inside and out. The gable shape is echoed with a pergola on the rear facade. Zig-zag shapes along the exterior walls create space for large expanses of windows without sacrificing privacy.

Inside, the jagged black motif is repeated, and black is used to anchor many interior elements within an airy, light-filled space that’s otherwise painted white. This color palette, plus the incorporation of materials like a welded steel framework to which they attach elements like hammocks, gives the former cottage an industrial feel. Over the years, some mezzanine areas that were open have been partially enclosed to create newly private rooms, while low ceilings were eliminated. But the entire home maintains an open traffic pattern, with most rooms, including bathrooms, flowing into each other without doors.

Believe it or not, after all that, the couple decided they were ready for something new altogether. They put their one-of-a-kind home on the market and purchased a new property on the same street in order to start their creative process all over again.

The post Splinter Society Gives a Melbourne Home a Spiky Black Makeover first appeared on Dornob.

The design of the bridge looks deceptively simple. It’s made of metal, with a solid surface to step on and chain link mesh on either side for safety. But figuring out exactly how to support it took some experimentation. “It was a long-distance run with occasional sprints from initial design, through design to completion of construction,” say the architects. “Professionalism, precision, and hard work [are at] the top of the list. How else to describe the more than 100 bridge variants, the countless structural analyses and calculations, the demanding coordination of design, production, logistics, and finally the construction itself.”

To access the bridge, visitors either take the ski resort’s chairlift to the entrance, or they can walk or bike all the way up the nearly 2.5-mile-long trail. Though it takes longer to cross, the experience of braving the Sky Bridge 721 is at least slightly less scary than that of China’s Hongyagu Scenic Area, which spans 1,601 feet and features a walkway made of glass panels. China has at least 60 such glass bridges, in fact (some of which have been known to crack on occasion).

Sky Bridge 721 overthrew the previous record-holder for the official title of “World’s Longest Suspension Bridge,” the 516 Arouca Bridge in Portugal. The runners-up include the Kokonoe Yume Bridge in Japan (1,280 feet) and the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in Switzerland (1,621 feet).

Sky Bridge 721 adds yet another reason to visit the Dolní Morava resort, whether you’re actually staying there or not. Previously, the area’s biggest draw was the Sky Walk Dolní Morava, a unique wooden structure spiraling from ground level to a height of 180 feet. Pedestrians climb the Sky Walk for beautiful views of the mountains as well as the valley of the River Morava. In the summertime, everything is lush and green. In winter, it’s shrouded in white, and most visitors also take advantage of spectacular skiing, bobsledding, and other snow-oriented activities.

The Sky Bridge and Sky Walk are also part of the “Bridge of Time,” an educational trail and game created as a collaboration between LESY ČR (Forests of the Czech Republic), the municipality of Dolní Morava, and the Museum of Czechoslovak Fortifications from 1935 to 1938. The Bridge of Time includes augmented reality elements and 10 educational panels, engaging visitors with both history and topics of environmental protection.

“An integral part of the game is the light fortification object at the beginning of the game (the so-called digger, “řopík”), from which you continue along a 2-kilometer-long marked route with educational panels,” the architects explain. “In order to complete the game, it is necessary to own a now-common smartphone and have access to the internet. Educational panels with tasks are arranged thematically and in time so that after nearly an hour’s easy walk along the marked trails, each visitor is brought back to the present. That is, to the starting point at the Slaměnka Hut.”

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Now, the forward-thinking Espacio 18 has turned their exceptional interior design eye toward yet another Oaxaca project. This time, it’s a group of residences in Colonia Reforma, just five short minutes from the city’s downtown area. Dubbed “Pensamientos Residencial” (Residential Thoughts), these four homes add to the studio’s impressive oeuvre with their distinctive focus on unifying architectural aspects. Their alluring apertures and connective patios amplify the structures’ openness and community-minded approach while also showcasing Espacio’s love of natural light and warm neutral tones.

The project addresses a local need for residential development. Rising land and property costs and increasing gentrification have led to more locals seeking housing on the city’s outskirts. Pensamientos Residencial was born as a result of this, commissioned by a real estate agency and catalyzed by the architects’ knowledge of the area and desire to repopulate the city’s suburbs.

The residences are divided into four distinct three-level houses, each with a land area of 120 square meters and laid out in the same way: an enclosed ground level/social area, a first floor including private areas, secondary rooms, and study/TV area, and a second floor that encompasses the main room and other services. While these layouts may seem pretty standard, the spaces are elevated through patios on each level, each with their own high-rise style walls that ensure privacy despite their proximity to other residences. The spaces are designed with flexibility and usability in mind — the template exists as a palette for residents to add their own stamp of originality through personalized interior touches.

The exterior, like many of Espacio’s projects, is deceptively spartan, comprised of clean lines and simple utilitarian touches dominated by neutral tones. Built with finishes made from locally-sourced wood from nearby spots like Huanacaxtle and reinforced with both steel and volcanic stones, the homes are built to last. And if the demand for housing on the outskirts of Oaxaca continues to increase, these structures will no doubt be the first of many in the area.

The post Espacio 18’s Oaxaca Housing Units are Full of Functional Flow first appeared on Dornob.

“Many aspects had to be taken into account when selecting the winning design,” explains Michal Sedláček, chairman of the competition’s jury. “The site for the philharmonic hall currently complicates the opportunity for people to meet instead of encouraging it, so the emphasis was not only on the architecture and operation of the building, but also on the design of the public spaces in the surrounding area. The Vltava Philharmonic Hall will become a vibrant center of life in Vltavská street — a new city park will stretch eastwards from the building, the south side will open up access to the water, a square will be created on the west side, and there will be a view of the new Bubny-Zátory district to the north. The building itself will be accessible from all directions and levels.”

To fortify Prague’s reputation as a European capital of culture, BIG architects embraced elements of music and rhythm in the 1,800-seat concert hall’s layout and details.

“The new Vltava Philharmonic Hall will be a symbol of openness, accessibility, and exploration,” says BIG partner Brian Yang. “From the Vltava square, streets ascend upward connecting interior balconies with exterior colonnades and terraces. Like eight, quarter, half, and whole notes, the step, the benches, facade, and colonnade are perfectly on beat, offering its resident orchestras effective and extroverted rehearsal areas, while bringing audiences within the halls closer to the source in an environment that is both majestic and intimate.”

Concert goers and other visitors can use the walkable rooflines to climb up the building’s exterior to reach a future rooftop café. Inside the building, three separate performance halls will serve as the home base for both the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic. The concert hall will also house the music archives of Prague’s Municipal Library on one floor.

“The Vltava Philharmonic Hall is composed as a meandering journey from riverbank to rooftop,” explains BIG founder and partner Bjarke Ingels. “Public flows and belvedere plazas unite the city life of Prague to the music within…Expressive yet pragmatic, the new Philharmonic will ascend to form a key landmark for Prague from river to roof.”

Ingels founded BIG in Copenhagen in 2005 and has since expanded its offices to London, New York, Barcelona, and Shenzhen. The firm’s team of architects, designers, and engineers have become famous for their innovative designs and technologies, like the Amager Bakke in Copenhagen, a cutting-edge power waste-to-energy site that doubles as a recreational ski slope. Their current projects include a metaverse space for media company VICE, a new “folding” neuroscience research center in Aarhus, and $600 million film studio for Robert de Niro in New York.

The post BIG Blows Judges Away in Competition to Design Prague Philharmonic Hall first appeared on Dornob.