Hasta La Ideas

This house in the Scottish Highlands by London office Raw Architecture Workshop is partly buried into its sloping site and features a kinked plan that directs views towards the sunrise and sunset. (+ slideshow).

Located on a patch of former grazing land on Scotland’s rugged northwest coast, the house was designed by Raw Architecture Workshop for a young couple who wanted to optimise views of the sun rising behind mountains in the east and setting over the islands in the west.

“During an initial visit we pinpointed specific axes that would provide [the] best views from the site,” said the architects. “These were translated into physical models and the symmetrical, splayed and cranked plan was derived.”

Starting from the simple gabled form of typical Highland cottages, the architects created a building that provides the space required by a modern family and twisted the plan to direct one end towards the mountains and the other towards the islands.

The gable ends were widened to create space for expansive windows and the roofline lowered in the middle to reduce the building’s mass and exposure to the harsh climate.

Burying the exposed concrete base into the hillside also protects it from the weather and allows the surrounding soil to provide natural insulation.

Wild grasses that will gradually grow up around this submerged section will help to ground the house in its surroundings and the architects chose a black stained timber finish for the exterior surfaces to echo “the characteristics of the peat, gorse and stormy skies.”

To make the most of the spectacular views, the main living spaces are arranged on the upper storeys, with the basement containing an entrance hall, boat room and spare bedroom.

“There is a clear distinction in internal arrangement of space and function across three levels denoted by changes in light levels, scale of spaces, floor to ceiling heights and materials,” said the architects.

From the dark entrance area, a birch ply staircase leads up to a first floor containing three more bedrooms and a hallway incorporating library shelving.

The staircase is filled with natural light from a long vertical window and continues to the open-plan upper floor containing the main living space, which is connected to a kitchen and dining area.

In this space the building’s pitched ceiling results in a complex series of angled surfaces as it kinks in the centre before framing windows in the gabled ends.

Pale wooden floors and cabinetry add to the light and bright feel of this room, which opens onto a narrow covered terrace with steps leading to the garden at the higher end of the site.

Photography is by David Barbour.

Here’s a description from the architect:

House at Camusdarach Sands, Scotland

Over 2000 years ago the occupants of Skara Brae, Orkney used locally sourced materials to build partially submerged dwellings providing thermal insulation and protection from the storm battered climate. The weather definitely hasn’t improved, but for the most part the buildings remain intact.

Incorporating these principles, Raw Architecture Workshop has completed a new build house on steeply sloping former rough grazing land at Camusdarach Sands.

The Clients, a young couple already living and working in this isolated location, were keen that we develop the proposals to capture the spectacular sun rise views over the mountains and sun set behind the islands. Given the topography of the site our early response was to locate the living spaces on the upper portion of the plot, with sleeping accommodation and entry level stacked below.

During an initial visit we pinpointed specific axis that would provide best views from the site. These were translated into physical models and the symmetrical, splayed and cranked plan was derived.

Similar forms were also explored in the section to reduce the visual mass, significantly improve the field of view from opposite ends of the space and increase daylight levels, which are critical in mid-winter around this line of latitude. In time the wild grasses will re-grow around the building to further reinforce the idea of a building built into, and not on top of, the hill.

Construction is low tech consisting of an exposed concrete base sitting beneath the more expressive timber frame superstructure. There is a clear distinction in internal arrangement of space and function across 3 levels denoted by changes in light levels, scale of spaces, floor to ceiling heights and materials.

Entrance is at the lower level into a darker, utilitarian concrete bunker. As you progress up through the building, via the birch ply staircase, spaces enlarge, daylight levels and ceiling heights soar, and materials are characterised by a lighter finish. The angular form of the building is reflected in the black painted cedar internal door handles and handrail detail of the plywood balustrade.

We were conscious that connection to the garden would be critical for a rural house and felt it important that you were able to step out of the main living spaces directly onto the landscape. This factor controlled the balance between elevating the top floor sufficiently to see the islands and keeping it low enough so that you were only 3 steps from the garden.

Environmental considerations vary in scale and type, from building position and orientation, local labour, skills and materials, to the inclusion of an air source heat pump and super insulation to provide a U-Value of 0.15 [W/m2k] to walls and roof.

The final external colour was much debated and in the end black was chosen to tune into the characteristics of the peat, gorse and stormy skies. Perhaps, in a few years, we might try a deep red…

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Architecture Workshop has a kinked facade appeared first on Dezeen.

Three mature trees were rooted to the centre of this site in Western Australia, but architecture firm MORQ managed to convince the owners to build their family house around the peeling trunks and burgeoning foliage (+ slideshow).

Located south of Perth in the town of Margaret River, Karri Loop House was constructed around one large Karri tree and a pair of Marri trees – both of which are indigenous to this region of Australia – after MORQ came up with a design that prevented them needing to be chopped down.

The single-storey residence has an H-shaped plan that wraps around the trunks of the three trees and also frames a pair of irregularly shaped courtyards.

To avoid disturbing the delicate shallow roots, the architects raised the house off the ground by positioning it on hand-placed steel tripod footings, rather than digging pile foundations.

Dramatic double-height ceilings and large windows were then added to the living room and master bedroom to “celebrate the presence of the trees” by offering residents views of the leaves and branches overhead.

“These trees, their root systems and their unstable large branches presented a challenge to the build-ability of the house,” said the architects.

“We like to think of this project as a mutually beneficial development; the building is designed to retain the trees, while the trees visually contribute to the quality of the inner space,” they added.

A raised deck runs along the northern side of the house to create an outdoor seating area beneath the canopy of the Karri, while a sheltered triangular terrace at the end of the living room features a vertical window framing another view of the tree.

A rainwater harvesting system is built into the roof, which channels water through to an irrigation system feeding the tree roots.

Plywood clads the inner and outer walls of the house. On the outside, it has a roughly sawn surface coated with a layer of black paint, while interior surfaces have been sanded smooth to reveal the natural grain.

Wooden ceiling beams were left exposed in various rooms inside the building. Straw bales were also added to provide insulation, but are concealed within the walls.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s some more information from MORQ:

Karri Loop House

The mature trees located in the middle of the site (a Karri and two Marris) played an essential part in shaping our project. The first part of the design process was spent in investigating the requirements for retaining these trees, as well as convincing the clients of their unique presence on an otherwise anonymous site. With the support of a renowned arborist, the decision was finally made to keep the trees. As a result, the house sits in between the tree-trunks and its outline defines two open courtyards of irregular shape. These embrace the trees and the surrounding landscape, around which family life occurs.

A tall window in the dining area and a periscope-like skillion in the master bedroom, celebrate the presence of the trees from within the house, framing views of both foliage and peeling trunks. These trees, their root systems and their unstable large branches presented a challenge to the build-ability of the house. We like to think of this project as a mutually beneficial development: where the building is designed to retain the trees, while the trees visually contribute to the quality of the inner space.

To protect the integrity of the shallow root-system a matrix of steel tripod footings was used: each of them had to be dug by hand, and repositioned every time a root was encountered, resulting in an irregular structural grid. These footings also raise the house off the ground and give it a somewhat temporary look.

Any part of the house footprint overlapping the root system would result in an uneven rainwater supply to the roots, which could cause a shock to the trees. Rainwater collected on the roof is therefore taken under the house, channelled into a trickling irrigation pipes and then evenly fed to the tree roots.

Lightweight construction seemed the most appropriate response to the existing trees requirements, however straw-bales were chosen as a preferred form of insulation. This decision required all perimeter walls to be prefabricated as ladder-frames and later assembled on site. It also resulted in unusually thick perimeter walls, seldom employed in timber framed buildings.

The house was mainly constructed out of timber, whose grain and texture inform both interior and exterior spaces. Wall linings use different grades of plywood: rough sawn, painted black on the outside, and sanded, clear-treated on the inside. The floor and ceilings are also in clear-treated plywood. The roof structure is resolved with Laminated Veneer Lumber beams, which are left exposed on the inside of the ceiling.

Project typology: new house
Site: Margaret River, Western Australia
Floor area: 290 sqm
Year: 2013
Number of inhabitants: 2 adults + 3 children

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three indigenous Australian trees appeared first on Dezeen.

This black wooden house in Austria by Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten is raised off the ground on wonky metal stilts to frame views of the landscape and allow room underneath for a sheltered garden (+ slideshow).

Austrian firm Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten designed S House for a pair of school teachers in Vorderweissenbach, northern Austria, who asked for a floor area of 130 square metres arranged on a single storey.

There was no requirement for a basement floor, so the architects were able to position the building at the highest point of the sloping site. The front of the structure meets ground level, while the rear is lifted several metres into the air.

Rooms are arranged on a U-shaped plan that wraps around an elevated terrace. Bedrooms and a study run along one side and the other half contains a large living, dining and kitchen space.

“We tried to combine the requirements and the qualities of the plot in a very cost-effective design. The U-shape of the house made a very familiar and protected terrace with stunning views,” architect Dietmar Hammerschmid told Dezeen.

The architects gave the building a timber structure, meaning construction could be completed in just four months.

Exterior walls are clad with roughly sawn spruce and were painted matte black using traditional Swedish Falu Rödfarg paint.

“We chose the black paint because the U-shaped building has a very large surface and a dark building integrates better into the surrounding landscape,” added Hammerschmid.

Wooden floors run through the house, while large windows frame views towards the surrounding hills.

Here’s a brief description from Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten:

S House – Vorderweissenbach

Initial situation was a steep, rather small plot of land with excellent views.

The owners required a cost-efficient house with a maximum of 130 square metres of living space. A basement was not necessary. These requirements led to the decision, to base the whole building on pillars.

The U-shaped floor plan responds to the neighbouring settlement. Living rooms and bedrooms are oriented to a terrace that offers great views of the surrounding hills.

Because of the chosen typology the natural terrain could be untouched over the whole plot.

In the garden the building offers a large, weather-protected area.

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Pachl Seebacher raised up on stilts appeared first on Dezeen.

Black-painted timber contrasts with clean white window frames on the walls of this cube-shaped weekend home in Normandy, France, by Paris studio Beckmann-N’Thépé Architectes (+ slideshow).

Located on a quiet countryside plot in Bellavilliers, Beckmann-N’Thépé‘s House in Normandy is surrounded by little but woodland and fields.

The architects designed the house as a “minimalist object”, with a simple geometric shape and only one pronounced opening on each side.

Horizontal timber panels clad each wall and are painted black, giving the facade the appearance of charcoal.

“A line diagram cube with a 50 square-metre base on the ground, [the house’s] black-tinted wooden wall panelling responds to the woodland environment,” said the architects.

Small square windows puncture three elevations, while the fourth has glazed doors that lead out to a small terrace.

There’s also a fifth opening – a front door that is camouflaged within the cladding but revealed by a simple canopy.

A combined living room, dining area and kitchen takes up one half of the ground floor and features a double-height ceiling.

One bedroom is tucked away behind, alongside the bathroom, and a second occupies a mezzanine floor above.

The house was completed in 2009 and functions as the holiday home for a family of four.

Photography is by Stephan Lucas.

Read on for more information from Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé:

House in Normandy
Bellavilliers, France

The house is located in the Normandy Bocage, surrounded by hedgerows and looking out over Bellême Forest. Set on the first third of a plot of land 150 m long, it stands in an isolated residential area in the Perche countryside.

A minimalist object, a line diagram cube with 50 m2 base on the ground, its black tinted wooden wall panelling responds to the woodland environment. With just one opening on each side judiciously oriented and highlighted with white, the front is made up of a wooden frame lined with high performance thermal insulation.

The double height in the living-room, also lit through a large bay window opening onto the south side, tends to expand the space.

The strict comfort needed is provided – a living space comprising a living-room with fireplace, open-plan kitchen, bathroom and cupboard space; and a night-time area with two bedrooms, one treated as a large open loft space, and a bathroom.

A few trees decorate the driveway and create a filter between the house and the lane outside.

The dormant partners’ requirement, the desired originality in the response, and the €120,000 budget together defined this simple volume, combining a good floor surface area to frontage ratio. The qualitative approach to the project in terms of materials and energy performance was the key here.

Program: Secondary residence for 4 people
Architects: Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé (Paris)
Client: Private
Area: 80 m2 net floor area
Cost: EUR 120 000 excl. VAT

Project manager: Nicolas Gaudard
Architect: Laura Giovannetti
Assistant architects: Mathilde Billet, Arthur Billaut, Thimothée Kazmierczak

Masonry, wood structure: GUILLET S.A. Excavation : ZUNINO
Plastery: Nicobat
Electricity: Leon
Plumbing, ventilation: Chardel

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by Beckmann-N’Thépé Architectes appeared first on Dezeen.

Paris studio Marchi Architectes layered up timber slats of different thicknesses and proportions to give an irregular texture to the walls of this sunken house extension in Normandy, France (+ slideshow).

Adélaïde and Nicola Marchi designed the single-storey Black House to accommodate a new open-plan kitchen, dining room and lounge for an existing family house, allowing the owners to reconfigure their current layout.

The structure extends from the rear of the property, but is set at the lowest level of the site so that it is barely noticeable from a road running alongside.

Black-stained timber cladding covers the walls and roof of the extension, allowing it to look like the shadow of the main house, while the textured surface was designed to help it blend in with the surrounding woodland.

“The dark timber cladding plays with light and shadows so that the extension disappears in the shade of the forest around,” said the architects.

Shutters are clad with the same material and can be slid across the windows to screen the interior.

Inside, a two-stage staircase folds around one corner to create routes into the extension from different storeys of the house. There’s also an extra door leading straight out to the garden.

The kitchen is tucked into the corner beneath the staircase, while the dining table sits in the middle of the space and the living area is positioned at the far end.

A pair of skylights help to distribute natural light through the room and heating is provided by a wood-burning stove.

Photography is by Fernando Guerra.

Read on for a short project description from Adélaïde and Nicola Marchi:

Black House

The client wanted to move the living spaces to a more open and transparent space, in order to free some spaces in the old house. A unique volume is set up, arranging kitchen, living and dining room. From the interior, wide views are offered to the garden and landscape.

The extension is connected to the existing house as a structurally light volume, as not to overload the foundations. The project is minimal: the volume is integrated in the surrounding, partially recessed in the topography of the ground to stand lower than the street level.

The dark timber cladding plays with light and shadows so that the extension disappears in the shade of the forest around.

Program: Housing
Size: 80 m2
Date of design: 2010-2013
Date of completion: 2013

Project team: Olivia Massimi, Marcello Orlandini
Client: Private
Consultants: Baldeschi, SBH, Valentin, Vauchel-Louvel

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in the forest by Marchi Architectes appeared first on Dezeen.