In Kyoto, the interior walls within an apartment on the fifth floor of a 40-year-old building failed to take advantage of both a prime corner location and beautiful views of the landscape outside. The small spaces along the exterior walls were the only rooms to see daylight, which made the rest of the unit feel dark and unwelcoming.

Japanese design studio YAP, led by architect Yamaguchi Akito, was tasked with updating the residence for the 21st century. The first thing they did was knock down the existing interior walls to prepare for a new layout. Once the partitions were gone, Akito was struck by views of the wooded hills across the street, which are full of temples and hot springs. “Isn’t it possible to create a space on a calm scale where you can feel this comfortable light and wind throughout the house instead of dividing it into rooms?,” he thought to himself.

His solution finds a compromise between distinct, enclosed spaces and a completely open studio. Instead of partition walls, he would define the various zones of the house using open plywood boxes as rooms-within-rooms. Filled with built-in furniture like benches, tables, counters, and bed platforms, these new spaces allow a clear view of the windows and balcony from even the innermost wall of the apartment.

The architects explain: “Considering the skeleton of a single room as a site, a porous ‘nest’ with a width of one and a half (2.7 m) and a depth of four (7.2 m) was constructed in the center of the house. It is a three-dimensional object made of 25-mm square steel pipes that connect the rigid and strong RC skeleton of the condominium and the furniture that creates the living scenery. A bedroom, piano space, and dining room are located inside. Light entering from three directions creates shades of brightness due to the presence of three-dimensional objects. This is a proposal for a renovation method that creates a place by building a ‘nest’ instead of creating a place by finishing the partition wall and surface.”

The use of budget-friendly plywood makes this concept easy to imitate, and with much of the wood left unfinished, it brings a new sense of warmth and connection to nature to a space that consists mostly of hard, cold concrete. The boxes can also be dismantled and removed in the future without requiring significant renovations or yielding much waste, in case the occupants decide they want a different layout. Private spaces and storage areas like bathrooms and closets are fully enclosed along the perimeter walls.

Akito’s design philosophy centers upon the question, “Who is architecture for?” Noting that our built environments have strayed further and further from nature in recent decades, he says there’s a disconnect between what people want and need from buildings and what architects, developers, and building managers tend to provide. “I want to share the opportunity to regain the lost trust of architecture,” he says.

The post Plywood Boxes Create New Spaces Within a Dated Kyoto Condo first appeared on Dornob.

One version of the split-level concept is Water Netsch’s “field theory” design philosophy. The architect and former SOM design partner (who died in 2008) envisioned a building that appeared fairly conventional from the outside but contained multiple interior levels connected by open-riser stairs inside. He applied the concept to his own Chicago residence, originally completed in 1974, and in 2013, SOM helped the new owners update it with modern sensibilities while retaining all the properties that make it special.

Set in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, the home lacks any indications as to its unusual interior layout when you view it from the street, unlike archetypal split-levels, where the entry door height is usually somewhere between the lower and upper levels. That doesn’t mean it’s boring, however. Its brick facade juts forward at an interesting angle, with a wall of glass strategically pointed toward the desired view. The home is by no means small at 3500 square feet, but once you step through the door, Netsch’s “field theory” comes into play, making it feel much larger than it really is.

SOM says the theory is “based on complex geometries that establish intricate relationships between form and function.” That’s apparent when you see how the space is divided. Not a single room in the house is rectilinear, and many are only defined as separate spaces by their slight elevation above or below the next.

“Skylights that at first seem strangely placed are soon revealed as highly calculated decisions, framing views and illuminating specific spaces at certain times of the day and year,” say the architects. “Netsch’s application of field theory creates expansive sightlines between rooms; indeed, the only spaces in the entire house with doors are the bathrooms.”

“The renovation added new appliances and cabinetry to a well-worn kitchen. A continuous 40-foot walnut counter and shelf were installed to recall the original linear service bar. The half bath was renewed with new counters, lighting, and a cleverly concealed water closet. New tile work and counters refresh the existing master bathroom configuration. To reconcile the open concept with the need for privacy, concealed sliding doors were designed and installed at the bath and master bedroom area.”

The lack of accessibility of this type of design is definitely a concern, not only to accommodate guests and future residents, but in case your own physical abilities change (and let’s be real, all architecture should be accessible by default). But it’s also easy to see the appeal. There’s something exciting about discovering each new level of the home as you make your way through it.

If you find this unusual type of interior layout intriguing, check out two versions from Japan: a dramatically cantilevered home in Osaka with eight tiered interior levels and a narrow wooden house in the city of Toyota full of compact platforms that ascend from the ground level up to the ceiling in a spiraling pattern.

The post Deceptively Simple-Looking Home Conceals Complex Multi-Level Interiors first appeared on Dornob.

Talks of this $2 billion redesign began back in 2012, but it wasn’t until this year that it was actually given the go-ahead by the National Capital Planning Commission. Even so, it’ll still probably be another 20 or 30 years before the 17-acre South Mall campus begins its redevelopment. The aim of the overhaul is to unify the museums and research centers by eradicating inefficient building systems and introducing modern spaces to create a natural flow — as opposed to the current layout, which is said to “plague the area” and make each building seem isolated from the rest.

The site in question includes some of the Smithsonian’s oldest buildings, including a “castle” that was built in 1855, which itself will soon be restored to serve as the centerpiece of the entire redesign. BIG hopes that by rejuvenating the Castle, they will take away its cold, practical feel (it’s currently being used as an administrative center) and use it to enhance the visitor experience by focusing its development on public access.

Located in front of the Castle is the Enid A. Haupt Garden and underground Ripley Center. The new masterplan calls for part of the garden to be “peeled up” in order to showcase the Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art below it, similar to the style of Paris’ Louvre Museum. The BIG team is also planning to demolish the large and isolating concrete wall situated in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, opening things up to allow fluid access to the National Mall and creating an outdoor area perfect for larger art installations.

Who is BIG?

The Bjarke Ingels Group is a London, New York, and Copenhagen-based firm that was formed in 2005, consisting of designers, architects, urbanists, inventors, researchers, and landscape professionals. The firm is well known for its involvement in international projects that combine technological achievements, economic systems, and global communications.

Their website reads: “Like a form of programmatic alchemy we create architecture by mixing conventional ingredients such as living, leisure, working, parking, and shopping. By hitting the fertile overlap between pragmatic and utopia, we architects once again find the freedom to change the surface of our planet, to better fit contemporary life forms.”

BIG is determined to preserve the historical elements of the Smithsonian campus, having been extremely selective of the architects they’ve brought on board to help with the transformation. Ultimately, their goal is simply to bring modern accessibility to an authentic build, allowing more people to enjoy the things that history has gifted us. The institution’s old buildings are going to be enhanced in terms of strength and utility, but they will still retain their original characters.

The project is expected to be completed in 2034 and will span an area of 123,703 square meters. We can’t wait to see how it all comes to fruition!

The post D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution Gets a BIG Overhaul first appeared on Dornob.

Of course, densely-populated cities — and micro-unit buildings — are nothing new. Ultra-compact urban housing has always been a less expensive option for people who need access to jobs and resources in big cities but can’t afford to live in larger houses or apartments. But as housing gets more expensive overall and larger units are subdivided into studios to help meet demand, more of us will have to learn how to downsize our lives.

Faced with the prospect of living in a micro-apartment, the first question you might ask is “but where would I put my stuff?” Most of us aren’t minimalists, and whittling down our possessions to the bare minimum is pretty much as hard as it sounds. Single-room apartments also present challenges when it comes to working from home, entertaining guests, and having children. The key to making small spaces work for a wider variety of people is to work in more adaptable layouts and multifunctional furniture pieces.

The Richmond Apartment by Melbourne-based Tsai Design is a perfect example of how this can be done. Tasked with creating a spacious home and office in a 376-square-foot (35-square-meter) one-bedroom apartment, the multi-disciplinary firm managed to produce a result that was fresh, modern, airy, and uncompromising on quality. Most importantly, it’s not cluttered — far from it, actually, thanks to a series of clever built-in and sliding elements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3yHLikvjPU

“The design is in support of the tiny house movement,” they explain. “The design questions the notion of living in excess; in the number of belongings, as well as the size of living areas. The client bought a tiny 35-square-meter one-bedroom apartment without a working kitchen. The challenge [was] to refurbish the unit with clever interventions to create a generous living condition.”

About two-thirds of the narrow space is painted white, all of it facing the apartment’s only windows. The other third is anchored by new wooden surfaces on the floor, walls, and ceiling, creating the illusion of additional space. Not only does this area house a new galley kitchen and plenty of multipurpose built-in storage, but it also offers a series of shallow closets that divide the kitchen from the bedroom.

The apartment has cabinets, drawers, and work surfaces galore, providing lots of places to hide objects that would otherwise make the space feel busy. Crucially, there’s a “home” for just about everything, from bottles of wine and kitchen implements to shoes and umbrellas. The wood adds warmth to the space and gives it a unified appearance — one offset beautifully by black marble accents. Mirrors on the opposite wall make the space seem a lot larger than it is, while window seats provide the inhabitants with a connection to the outdoors.

Above all else, the most important aspect of Tsai’s design is its ability to transform. The flexible main room can act as a living area, study, office, or dining room. Tabletops fold down, televisions appear from behind hidden panels, and an entire dinette for two pops right out of the kitchen wall, complete with flat-pack stools. Take a really close look, and you’ll find that there’s also plenty of room for books, plants, dishes, clothing, decorative items, and even a bicycle.

The post Small, Smart, and Super Functional: This Micro-Apartment is Packed with Space-Saving Features first appeared on Dornob.

But as burgeoning populations and environmental constraints continue to make density a greater priority around the world, a lot more of us could end up living in smaller spaces in the near future. Could you rise to the challenge of making a small living space not just functional, but comfortable for you and your family?

The need to fit more people into smaller spaces has produced an array of creative and innovative interior solutions, encouraging us all to look at the spaces we have available to us in a whole new way. The Lithuanian architecture practice HEIMA, for instance, offers not just one, but four different micro apartment layouts in the Ševčenkos loft district in the country’s capital city of Vilnius. Completed in 2017, this series questions what we really need from our living spaces and what could be discarded for the sake of simplicity.

All four studio apartments include a bed, kitchenette, living area, and bathroom while presenting unique floor plans that might appeal to different kinds of inhabitants. Some might place the bedroom nook alongside a galley kitchen, while others might set it just off the living area and put the kitchen on the other side.

Each lofted bed sits atop a storage platform that can keep clothing, shoes, and other personal items organized and out of sight, with curtains on ceiling-mounted tracks sliding open and closed to conceal it from the rest of the apartment. The beds lift up on hydraulic arms to reveal even more storage space beyond the built-in drawers and wardrobe cabinets, in case you’re wondering where the owners could possibly keep tools, recreational equipment, and other items that typically need to be tucked away.

The micro apartments also have their own individual color schemes to differentiate them from each other, as reflected in the furnishings and the shade of the grout between the tiles. They range from an introverted green, which places the bedroom around a corner for maximum privacy, to a more extroverted dark red, where everything is a little more open. Some of the furniture is multifunctional, too, like desks that become coffee tables when turned on their sides. Each studio comes with two of these, and they can even be stacked to save more space.

The architects note that they’ve stripped away everything that isn’t essential, leaving only the most important elements behind. Everything is streamlined for a clean and orderly appearance, but look closely and you’ll see that the spaces still contain a few luxuries. Living in a tiny space doesn’t have to mean going without a washer and dryer, a range hood, a workspace, a spacious bed, or even a window seat.

As long as you’re able to avoid accumulating too much stuff — which is easier said than done — a space like this could be surprisingly livable.

All photos by L. Garbačiauskas

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Lead architect Fouad Samara, whose eponymous firm enjoys a new office on the ground floor of the building, approached the project with a whole checklist of expectations. He wanted the building to have lots of light, a sense of spatial luxury, honesty in its use of materials, and functional flexibility.

The stack of luxury lofts addresses a need for dense high-end housing in the city while also contributing to the beauty of Beirut itself. The architects drew inspiration from traditional Lebanese houses known as “beit,” marrying their orderly and streamlined sense of purity with the flexibility of late modernist urban lofts in cosmopolitan cities like London.

“Functionally, we tried to fulfill the demand for flexible — truly and effortlessly flexible — small to medium size residential units in the heart of vibrant Beirut,” says Samara. “It was important for us to create an architecture that met this rising demand that also created an inspiring addition to the city, and an uplifting place to live.”

“I think this is what Le Corbusier was referring to in Vers Une Architecture, where I think he was yearning for not “another” architecture or “new” architecture as he was mistakenly interpreted, but for architecture as it had always been, and always ought to be — a relevant, ordered, and coherent architecture: a ‘modern’ architecture.”

Each apartment is double-height, fulfilling the architects’ desire for a spacious quality. Dark steel, pale wood, and exposed board-formed concrete give the structure a raw industrial character, and generous glazing opens each of the seven stacked units up to daylight and spectacular views of the city. But for Samara, the most crucial element was the ability to transform the interiors to meet the occupants’ changing needs, imbuing the lofts with a sense of home that’s often lacking in modern apartment towers.

Flexibility is especially poignant in fast-changing Beirut, which Samara calls “chaotic” in its constant evolution. If your apartment can shape-shift along with your life, you can stay in one place much longer, feeling a little freer to put down some roots.

Each apartment features two rooms or modules on a lower level and another two linked by a bridge on an upper level. Internal staircases and storage like built-in cupboards are located in the main open living space, while exterior staircases, elevators, and utilities are contained within a narrow space at the back of the building. But it’s those sliding walls that really make the Modulofts apartments so striking and novel, sliding right out of the apartment and into the air to create 16 different interior configurations.

The bedrooms can be self-contained by the walls or opened to the main space at will. Occupants can shift the layout for all sorts of purposes, making certain areas feel cozier or enlarging them to host gatherings. As they transform their homes individually, they also transform the look of the building as a whole, so it rarely looks exactly the same way twice in one day.

The post Modulofts: The Apartment Tower with a Shape-Shifting Facade first appeared on Dornob.

The house was initially two stories tall and built using brick masonry that had begun to leak and crumble in the twenty years since its construction. High winds, salt water, and sand erosion are no joke! To make the home more structurally sound and protect it from further exposure to the harsh coastal elements, the architects surrounded the original brick in a five-inch layer of concrete.

The design team also noticed that the captain’s house was relatively squat compared to the surrounding buildings and that its bathrooms occupied most of the interior space closest to the ocean—an arrangement that they felt was wasting some gorgeous vistas. To make the most of the home’s seaside location, the architects rearranged its layout so that common areas like the living and dining rooms could overlook the sea and have more access to fresh air and natural daylight. They also equipped the house with a rounded, lookout-like third floor.

The third story is undoubtedly one of the renovation’s most spectacular additions. The textured concrete of the room’s vaulted ceiling beautifully contrasts with its wooden floors. Up a small ladder, this new area houses a loft that the family can use to gaze out over the land or sea, unobstructed by the roofs of neighboring houses. Vector explains that the balconies on the each end of the vault tie the home to two drastically different worlds: “one being the serene sea [and] the other one being the noisy port.” The roof’s rounded shape encourages rainwater to run off the sides of the house, reducing the potential for leaks. More symbolically, the arched ceiling simulates the feel of a temple, in which the captain’s religious family will be able to meditate and pray. Of course, the space has been left relatively open to accommodate changing needs and is also ideal for working out, playing games, and entertaining guests.

Downstairs, new concrete window frames that protrude from the house have been installed as part of a “window-furniture” system. Aside from being windows, these extended areas can also be used as couches or lounge chairs and contain several cabinets for storage. Plus, the overhang of their concrete envelopes will help prevent water and unwanted wind from entering the house. In the living room, family members can climb into one of these padded window seats to read, draw, or daydream. The master bedroom even hosts an extra-deep windowsill that doubles as a desk!

“At dusk, the gentle light comes out from the[se] translucent glass blocks,” read the architects’ project notes. “We hope the house gradually becomes the carrier of emotion for the captain’s family, and gives deserved dignity and decency to the daily life of ordinary people, which is particularly meaningful under the current circumstance of China.”

The post Renovation of a Captain’s House: Unusual Seaside Home Design first appeared on Dornob.

A great example of limitations turned opportunities, this lovely house has a plan strictly dictated by Vastu mandates for orientations and placements, but the result flows with an elegance that looks loosely organic.

Cantilevered roofs, copious trees and indoor/outdoor water features blend the distinction between house and garden, creating a series of seemingly-infinite loops, lines and angles, despite the theoretical rigidity of the layout formulated by Khosla Associates.

The mild climate of Bangalore, India lends itself to such treatment, while a range of materials helps mix and match experiences as well: chiseled stone columns teak furniture, polished concrete floors mingle man-made with natural elements.

But returning again to Vastu: it is incredible how specific some of the requirements for spatial use and circulation are, but it goes to show that these kinds of restrictions can become liberating, letting architects worry about the details and connections.

“In keeping with the clients desire for a strictly Vastu compliant house, the placement of spaces in the house are in synch with the plan of the Vastu Purusha Mandala (the ancient Indian science of orientation and placement).”

“Thus apart from positioning the main areas of the house according to the elements – Master bedroom in the Earth zone (SW), kitchen in the Fire zone (SE), and the pool and entrance in the Water zone and Air zones (N and NE), – even positions of doors, the direction of the stairs, location of beds, wardrobes and desks and the positions of the wc’s in the bathrooms had to be in accordance with the correct energy flows. In all other respects however, the clients gave us complete aesthetic freedom.”

“The biggest challenge while designing the house was to arrive at a visually appealing piece of architecture from a rigid program that dictated the specific locations of various spaces. Our approach was to respond to the traditional science, extract its essence yet arrive at a fresh and innovative interpretation of the same.”

The post Vastu Constraints Frame House first appeared on Dornob.

There are many individual designs and interior ideas for making a small space more livable, but a single piece of transforming furniture or tactic for organizing better can fail to cover the big-picture questions of dealing with larger plans and layout strategies.

Poliform approaches the problem of small space living from the opposite angle – looking first at the larger-scale issues of size, demographics, needs and style, then focusing in on specific solutions that work as part of a whole plan for specific small homes, from entire interior design ideas down to furniture, furnishings, storage and decor.

My Life in 80 Meters Squared is a project that seeks to address the needs of a specific demographic: young urbanites who occupy modest boxes with more room than many but much less than a typical luxury dwelling. In other words, this may seem large enough to some, but is certainly not a mansion by any means.

In the kitchen, two tracks make for maximum efficiency in terms of spatial use. Walk-in bedroom closets provide ample storage without getting in the way. Furniture doubles as spatial dividers, creating conceptual partition walls without actually closing off different areas and making the rooms feel smaller. A couch here, bed there big bookshelves along the wall – no single object is the solution, but all together they work.

At the heart of this interior design is a wide-open living room and lunch area with double-height ceilings and the primary view to the outside, making this a strategy that would work even in a boxed-in condo or apartment unit stacked above, below and between neighboring residences. Again: this is just an idea – a built experiment, if you will, but is somehow far more convincing than the ultra-modern, single-style variants you typically see in idealized magazine layouts where not a single design object can be found out of place.

The post How to Design a Small Space in Style first appeared on Dornob.

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So simple yet so central, a mattress platform provides a basis not just for sleeping in but also for styling an entire bedroom. This combination of beds and bedrooms shows just how powerful a single piece of furniture can be.

Mazzali is your typical Italian design-and-production company insofar as its focus is on sleek minimalist frames, headboards and mattresses, but the group also takes some more daring directions with select pieces (and photographed layouts).

Plug-and-play headboard additions, for instance, turn a bench-plus-daybed set into a sleep-worthy master bed as needed.

In other cases, the underlying frame is still a platform, but its simplicity is hidden behind a sensual curve up the side or underneath.

A frame and a canopy clearly go a long way – but so do color schemes: black and white warm when brown is added to the mix.

Finally, there is something to be said for a bare-bones bedroom set as well – a full or double may suffice where a king or queen cannot fit, or when a guest bed is all that is required.

The post Fit for a Queen (or King): 8 Curved Platform & Canopy Beds first appeared on Dornob.

Contrary to the common creative aphorism, thinking outside the box is not always harder (or better) when it comes to architecture.

Beyond Modernism as a style, there are practical reasons why rectilinear forms prevail, from the shape of building plots to the pragmatics of human living, material and structural simplicity.

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With that in mind, here is a series of squared domiciles that range from wood and concrete to metal and glass, span from small to large, underground to cantilevered, but all have one vital thing in common: they work with straight-angled forms in unique, creative and compelling ways. Click the thumbnail images above to learn & see more!

The post Inspiration, Squared: 25 Cool Cubic Homes & Box Houses first appeared on Dornob.

All architecture has to start somewhere, so why not with the favorite family pet? Designed around the needs of its smallest residents, this compact Japanese dwelling blends fixed needs with fluid spaces for both humans and cats alike.

While various rooms are still divided by walls, a series of interior human-sized windows and door-less transitions are matched on a smaller scale by shelves and room-to-room slots acting as cat-oriented portals.

The feline-friendly shelving also organizes space, driven by and driving other design decisions including the placement of openings, counters and cabinets.

Framed in wood, these simple custom innovations by the Japanese firm Key Operation form another layer of detail that matches the window trims and built-ins found on various floors of the structure.

On the outside, local building codes necessitated dull grey stucco-covered sides but allowed sufficient freedom for unusually-square windows of various sizes (and the ability to paint a partially-enclosed garage a rather garish pink).

As models of the spaces show, there is rich complexity in plan and section enhanced by a playfully-tilted roof. Coupled with colorful illustrations, one can start to see a cat-like meandering in the method of the layout.

The post House Cat as Client: Interior Design Inspired by Pet Cats first appeared on Dornob.

Some people walk into unfilled apartments for rent and find it impossible to envision living in them – others see a blank slate to be filled with creative possibilities. For those in either camp, this self-contained, twelve-piece prefabricated room cube is a great plug-and-play solution.

The component parts of the Z Box by Dan Hisel are made large enough to be few in number, but small enough to carry up winding stairs and slot through conventional human-scale doorways.

Once on site, assembly is relatively simple and low-impact – the all-in-one, self-contained bedroom module can be positioned wherever you want it within an open-plan layout, creating space within but also shaping space around it. In addition to color and texture cues, the structure pulls back at the base to make it feel more like the box is a floating element within the dwelling, not a permanent built-in object.

Curtains pull back to reveal a beautiful wooden bedroom (which would work great as a study, library or other meditative space, too), while modern wire mesh gives it a sense of security and autonomy when viewed from the rest of the residence. There is shelving inside and outside as well as nooks for pets, slots for shoes, diffused lighting and other elements making the most of each square inch displaced by the box.

“The Z-Box solves two problems facing the owners of a newly renovated, yet wide-open loft: where are we going to sleep? (ZZZ…) and where are we going to put all this stuff? The solution comes through an act of amalgamation wherein the functions typically performed by several disconnected pieces of furniture are combined, cooked down, and distilled into a carefully carved block of perforated steel, polycarbonate, and Douglas Fir.”

“The ambiguous situation with respect to the identity of the Z-Box (it is simultaneously one thing and several) is further enhanced by the lights within its walls, which, with the flick of a switch, transform the box from prismatic steel cube into glowing lantern. “

The post Room in a Box: Bedroom Cube by Dan Hisel first appeared on Dornob.

To be fair, total weight is actually closer to sixteen and one-half pounds … but that includes a set of sleek chairs, a side table, a shelving unit and even a high-tech carpet to lay everything out on. How? With engineering ingenuity, new technology and ingenious components.

Clearly a play on words, the conceptual Light Room by Bram Greenen (recent graduate of the Utrecht School of Arts)?uses lightweight materials to make a point about sustainability and style.

In short: a little goes a long way, if we can find ways to lower the cost of high-end synthetic textiles and other hybrid alloys that make up this marvelous living room idea.

Knitted fabrics from nylon and silt to kevlar form much of what you see, with some tension cables, aluminum and fiberglass in the mix as well. Structure is emphasized not for aesthetic reasons but as a simple consequence of the goal: reducing how much physical stuff goes into the making of each object. Air, light and shadow fill the resulting voids.

The post 16-Pound Space: Futuristic Lightweight Living Room Layout first appeared on Dornob.

Concrete alone may not be the most welcoming material, but its cool and impersonal properties can invite warm contrast. In this case, a boxy modern glass and concrete house exterior give way to a dynamic, open and livable home within. Designed by Braeuning Architekten, it’s called Haus am Eisberg, or “house on the iceberg.” 

A Striking Minimalist Silhouette

It is probably best to understand this structure in terms of its sequence. So, moving from the outside toward the inside, a resident (or guest) follows the gravel driveway and parks under an unremarkable (minimalist) concrete overhang. On approach, a few windows and the overall shape of the main dwelling suggest there may be more than meets the eye, but mostly one is faced with more concrete, some tinted glass and metal roofing.

While ‘cold’ materials like steel and concrete can be found throughout the home, orange-and-red accents, brown tiles and other mitigating features and fixtures serve to provide a healthy degree of ‘warm’ contract. Also, many of the long interior spans (making such an open plan with thin floors possible structurally) were enabled by the use of these ‘cooler’ materials. While it features a ‘modern box’ palette of concrete, steel, glass, black and white, other elements and design strategies make it feel homey as well as contemporary. 

A Large House with Just One Room

On the interior, everything shifts quite suddenly. Space and lines of sight open up drawing the eye across multiple floors, and out the back toward various framed views of natural landscapes beyond. A prominently-suspended fireplace conveys a sense of warmth, reinforced by the collection of logs suspended between floors like a work of abstract modern art.

Few places are truly closed off within the open plan of this concrete house, including the bedroom (separated from the main living room by a single suspended sheet) and sculptural bathtub (set underneath the main landing but still exposed to the main-floor common area). Nonetheless, with respect to an observer on the outside, these places remain private and separated – out of view from prying eyes.

More from the architects

“The client expressly did not want a series of self-contained rooms, but rather a well-thought-out sequence of open areas, with views across the half-storey offset levels and across the orchards into the Neckar valley to the city. The intensive cooperation between the client and the architect, the examination of modern living concepts and one’s own personal needs were in the foreground of the planning and subsequent implementation. By arranging the various living areas on split levels across the four individual levels, private and public spaces are separated without spatial restrictions. “

“From the narrow entrance area with indirect lighting, the spacious living levels open up with exciting material and color changes and clear lines. With a play of light and dark in the lighting and the different room heights and perspectives, exciting accents are set. In the material mix, the red and orange epoxy resin floors define individual living areas and form a strong contrast to the concrete gray of the flights of stairs and the outer walls.”

“Despite the building geometry, which at first glance appears futuristic, the house turns out to be a gable-roof house on closer inspection, just like the houses in the neighborhood. The fact that it looks completely different is largely due to the materials used. The exposed concrete gives it an independent, archaic, modern character. “

The post A Surprisingly Warm and Welcoming One-Room Concrete House first appeared on Dornob.