Hasta La Ideas

This slatted structure by architects Plasma Studio looks like it’s crawling over an apartment building in the Italian Dolomites (+ slideshow).

Plasma Studio were faced with the dual tasks of adding a circulation space and a new family home to an existing block in the South Tyrol village of Sesto, close to the Austrian border.

“An under-utilised roof space gave way to an angular crown, connected to a ground floor reception space and architectural office by the host’s renovated spine,” said the architects.

Parametric software created an angular shape that folds around and on top of the original cuboid form, covered by thin strips of larch wood similar to the Strata Hotel the studio designed just down the valley.

The structure appears to grow out of the hillside, snaking up the back of the building as a series of faceted planes.

Two levels are housed inside the extension, which uses the sloping site so the lower floor nestles against the top floor existing building but opens out onto a garden on the same level behind.

Inside, bedrooms face on to a corridor lit by a glass chasm that extends up and over the building.

An open-plan living, kitchen and dining area are housed in the upper storey, which sits at a slight angle to the structure below to further differentiate it.

The large balcony on this level looks out to the forested hills and snow-capped peaks on the other side of the valley.

These two floors are linked by internal and external staircases, and also connect to the circulation core that provides access to each of the six apartments in the whitewashed building underneath.

Plasma Studio has also designed an apartment block with jagged copper balconies and angular LED street lamps.

More houses set in the rugged Italian landscape include a gabled home with stripy wooden walls and a holiday retreat that incorporates an enormous window frame into a reconstructed stone wall.

Photography is by Hertha Hurnaus.

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The architects sent us the project description below:

Paramount Residence Alma

This project was conceived to fulfil a two-part problematic: (1) Residence Alma -a Tyrolean guest house with 6 holiday apartments from the 1960s adorned with a pitched roof – was due for a common circulation and service core, and (2) the project architect, Ulla Hell, was looking for a new home for her young family of five in the mountain community of Sesto. The result: an under-utilised roof space gave way to an angular crown, connected to a ground floor reception space and architectural office by the host’s renovated spine.

Having already made their mark on nearby Residence Königswarte with the addition of the Strata Hotel in 2007, Plasma Studio sought to follow a similar skin organization. A timber strip section in larch wood was borrowed from the neighbouring Strata and extruded along two paths. The first stretches across the site, picking up the topography on either end of the building and climbing to enclose a third storey balcony. Here, the edge skirts around the existing footprint, leaving corners exposed to acknowledge its presence.

A second path draws the timber skin up from behind, folding around the chimney to return to the ground. Interstitial spaces between the exterior walls and wooden bands swell at ground level to offer sheltered outdoor living spaces. The design team employed parametric modelling software to optimize the density of these timber strips and their metal substrustructure, balancing budget, aesthetics, privacy and views. This approach allowed for flexibility throughout the design phase and output shop drawings for pre-fabricated elements at an efficient pace.

The Alma addition departs, however, from the Strata in its approach to volume. The practical constraints of a multi-room hotel structure called for a regular distribution of modules along a connecting spine. The perceived volume was achieved through horizontal sections around free-flowing terrace spaces. With the Alma, we took advantage of a more flexible program to create unique spatial conditions. These interior volumes are rendered legible from the exterior by the timber strips–an honest depiction of the playful activity within.

The interior of this family home is characterized by 360-degree views. Perhaps the most spectacular of these being a view of the sky through an incision over the central stair. This opening delivers an immediate reading of exterior weather conditions, collecting precipitation and receiving direct sunlight.

The main living spaces are split over two floors with first floor bedrooms off a skylit corridor, and an open plan kitchen, dining and family room encircling a fireplace on the second floor. By grouping functional elements in orthogonal cores, the surrounding space is liberated. The exterior walls of the main living spaces collapse inwards to catch light, views and varying degrees of enclosure.

All living spaces in the private residence have direct access to the outside through a series terraces or gardens. Its multiple access points include: a main entrance through an internal connection to the neighbouring house, a series of openings that follow the natural topography, and an external stair connecting the third floor terrace to the garden. Each inhabitant has come to find their own favourite route.

Limited material and colour palettes give strength to the space, with splashes of colour in the children’s washroom. The otherwise white walls provide a backdrop for an ever-changing display of shadows from the pleated roof above.

As the extension sits within the steep topography, substructural elements were developed in reinforced concrete, while the superstructure was built from prefabricated cross laminated timber (CLT) insulated with wood fiber and sealed with black bitumen. The outer skin in larch wood strips on a galvanized steel structure was determined according to cost and aesthetics by the aforementioned parametric model. A consistently limited colour code was applied to the exterior, allowing the volume to dissolve into the surrounding hillside when viewed from afar.

Through its use of form, materials and views, this newly completed addition flirts with its context at three scales. The first, and most immediate, with its host: as an addition to the Alma residence, it shares a newly renovated core, carrying the fractal geometry from the roof down to Plasma’s Italian office through the Alma’s cartesian skeleton. The second, with its neighbour: together the Strata and the Alma define the next generation of the family-owned hotel complex. And finally, with its terrain: the sculptural addition acts, not as a parasite, but as a mediator between the existing house and surrounding topography, extending from the landscape like a lichen.

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by Plasma Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

The towering fortress of fairytale character Rapunzel inspired this steel-clad house extension that accommodates the three oldest daughters of Austrian architect Stefan Marte (+ slideshow).

Named Maiden Tower, the four-storey residence sits alongside the family’s existing concrete home in the Alpine district of Vorarlberg, western Austria, and is clad with oxidising steel to create a visible contrast between the new and old structures.

Stefan Marte, of Marte.Marte Architects, planned the building over four storeys, allowing each daughter to have her bedroom on a different floor to her sisters.

A corridor leads through to the extension from the existing house, arriving at a small library. Beyond this, the girls have their own separate kitchen and dining room.

A corner staircase leads up to the bedrooms, while doors lead out to a swimming pool and terrace in the garden.

Corten-steel panels clad three sides of the tower, while the east elevation features floor-to-ceiling glazing, offering views back towards the main house.

Additional windows and doors are dotted across the north and south elevations and can be concealed behind hinged steel shutters.

This is the third project by Marte.Marte Architects to feature on Dezeen recently, following a twisted bridge and a concrete holiday house.

See more architecture by Marte.Marte Architects »
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Photography is by Marc Lins.

Here’s a project description from writer Marina Hämmerle:

Maiden Tower

What could match the massive presence of Marte’s concrete home, this raw, stony material, this self‐contained unit? Oxidising steel: just as raw, just as authentic in its expression and its properties. The interior impression remains the same – wood surfaces, warm colours, fine pores. The new exterior structure, on the other hand, is masculine, striving skywards, rising up from the surrounding landscape like the neighbouring pear tree. That behind the massive exterior lies a building of lightweight materials may be inspired by the tale of the Trojan horse.

A new space opens up between the two buildings, complemented by an in‐ground pool – uncompromising, hard, less sensible, but therefore all the more magical, idiosyncratic, and sensuous. Oxidising steel on the walls and bottom, encased like in a suit of armour. The tower also appears this way with its steel ventilation flaps to the north and south and fixed glazing to the east.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel… Through the library, down a few steps into the separate kitchen, and then through the dining room, facing the pool, the little princesses can climb the newel stairs to their bedrooms. There, they are presented with a view, on the one hand, of their parents’ protective house and, on the other, the nearby scenic forest. The spatial perspective mirrors this interplay of freedom and guidance, becoming a symbol of their possibilities for development within the family.

The whole structure seems so sealed off, but in terms of use, it not only offers an astonishing amount of free space, but also conveys respect and draws boundaries. This makes it possible to live together in a relatively small space and at the same time provides each person with opportunities for participation and private space.

What an unparalleled atmosphere for the girls. If it is true that the first few years of life shape our future spatial desires, then these girls will have had a very valuable personal experience that their future Prince Charmings will probably not have had: a life in manifest appreciation.

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Marte.Marte Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Portuguese architect Duarte Pape has combined a long stone wall with folding timber facades in this residential extension in northwestern Portugal (+ slideshow).

Duarte Pape used timber cladding and blue limestone to extend the traditional Portuguese house located in a tiny rural village called Mação.

“The goal was to create a connection between the old structure and the surrounding nature,” explains the architect.

A long stone wall constructed from Portuguese blue limestone Ataija runs the entire length of the extension and stretches out into the surrounding landscape, providing protection from prevailing northerly winds.

Oriented for maximum sunlight, the south and east facades of the extension are encased in a timber shell with screens that concertina open in front of sliding glass doors.

Constructed from American pine, the timber structure extends beyond the building facade forming a chunky frame that overhangs the veranda.

A canopy can be suspended within the void of the frame to create a covered outdoor space.

The blue limestone floor and wall create a uniform backdrop within the interior space, broken up by a central support column that features a small open fireplace.

Private bedrooms and bathrooms are contained within the existing building, while the extension houses living areas, a kitchen and transitional spaces.

Duarte Pape collaborated closely with local carpenters and stonemasons during the design and construction process, including local sculptor Moisés Preto.

Other timber extensions we’ve recently featured on Dezeen include a converted chapel with a blackened-timber extension and a timber-clad house extension with curvy towers that point outwards like periscopes.

See all our stories about extensions »

Earlier this year we featured a Portuguese house that nestles into the landscape with an angular upper level that follows the incline of the hill.

See more houses in Portugal »

Photography is by Francisco Nogueira.

Here’s a project description from the architect:

Located in a small village in the Portuguese North West border, the project arises from the necessity of expansion of a preexisting old housing structure, with typical and vernacular identity, and adaptation to new constructive and spatial requirements.

The preexisting structure – ground floor and first floor levels – hosts the private housing program, rooms and bathrooms, which in the constructive issue, sought to recover some of the traditional construction techniques, keeping as well the humble architecture language.

The new expansion volume, receives the social housing program – living rooms, kitchen and transition spaces – takes on to an contemporary language that searches for the better landscape framework, connected with the efficient sunlight orientation, that creates an fine relation between interior & exterior space. The option for the wood and noble material facade, contributes to the low visual impact and good integration to surrounding atmosphere.

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by Duarte Pape appeared first on Dezeen.

This timber-clad house extension in Norway by Oslo studio Rever & Drage features curvy towers that point outwards like periscopes (+ slideshow).

Located on a hillside in the outskirts of Molde, the single-storey house had only a small bedroom and bathroom on its western side, so Rever og Drage Arkitekter was asked to increase the size of both of these rooms.

Two towers with quarter-circle profiles were installed on the roof of the extension to function as lightwells. The first curves west to bring evening sun into the bathroom, while the second is pointed east to let morning sun into the bedroom.

The bedroom extends outwards by just over a metre while the bedroom is now more than three metres wider. Together, the rooms frame a small terrace in the south-east corner of the plot.

The clients asked for views across the water towards a mountain range, so the architect added generous windows to the southern elevations of both rooms.

The exterior of the building is clad with white-painted timber boards to reference both the white-painted brick and brown timber panels of the existing house.

“We initially wanted to make a clear distinction between the extension and the original building,” explain architects Tom Auger, Martin Beverfjord and Eirik Skogen Lilledrange. “At the same time we did not want to create too much contrast in terms of materials and formal means.”

The architects carried out all the construction themselves.

The small city of Molde is best known as the home of an annual jazz festival and Danish architects 3XN recently completed a cultural centre to be used there during the festivities.

See more architecture in Norway, including a wooden house overlooking the sea and a small gabled summerhouse.

Photography is by Tom Auger.

Here’s a project description from Rever og Drage Arkitekter:

Extension of single-family house, Pedervegen 8, Molde

The new owner of a detached house in Molde wanted an extension of an existing bath- and bedroom. The house was still in more or less its original 1962-condition and appeared as a time-typical house from this period. That is Scandinavian functionalism with a flat roof and brown exterior panels contrasted with white brick walls. Furthermore the house had an elegant and somewhat closed composition.

Above: floor plan – click for larger image

The owner wanted to get the evening sun in the bathroom (which was on the east side of the building) and to keep the morning sun in the expansion of the bedroom without being exposed to neighbours. Views of the spectacular mountain range to the south were required from both rooms.

We initially wanted to make a clear distinction between the extension and the original building. At the same time we did not want to create too much contrast in terms of materials and formal means. We chose to use wood cladding, as the existing building, while the colour of the new cladding was taken from the original bright brick walls. We also changed the orientation of the panels. In order to solve the requested light preferences we brought in a new form, the quarter circle, which we held for a type of basic shape that could easily relate to architecture of the early sixties.

Above: cross section through bedroom – click for larger image

The bathroom has a clear everyday zone in the innermost part with shower, toilet and sink, while the outer section provides the more time-spending bathroom artifacts; a bathtub, a wide window sill with a view and a door to the garden. The latter part has a skylight in the shape of a curve facing west. The room bathes in the late evening sun when the west-coast weather allows it. Tiles are sober in the inner part, whilst the outer part has a more festive consortium. The contrast between the inner and outer zones of the bathroom was in danger of being too hard. The relaxing ambiguity is that the outer zone suggests peace of mind in its use, yet at the same the form here is intense. While the inner zone, which reflects more efficiency, has a calmer expression in terms of colours and patterns.

The bedroom is long and has three different zones. First, a dressing-section with a large mirror and a backstage-like atmosphere. In the middle a lounge area with a fireplace and a generous window facing the green to the north. At the end of the bedroom is the bed with a large window and its view to the south. Over the bed a vaulted ceiling with a window heralding the morning sun as well as giving a view of the stars at night.

Above: cross section through bathroom – click for larger image

In retrospect, we were surprised at the modest exterior contrast between the extension and the original building. To a large extent we believe this is due to the fact that the selected wood panels have about the same size as the bonds in the original brick wall, so that these two surfaces relate. This is particularly evident in the north facade. Also, the quarter circles seem to work as form and at the same time they provide the building with a touch of relieving humour.

Architects: Rever og Drage
Location: Bjorset, Molde, Norway
Design Team: Eirik Lilledrange, Martin Beverfjord, Tom Auger
Area: 20 sqm

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Rever & Drage appeared first on Dezeen.

London studio David Mikhail Architects has renovated a nineteenth-century house in London and added a glazed kitchen and dining room at the rear (+ slideshow).

Recent additions and extra staircases were removed to make room for the new rear extension: a larch-framed glass box that stretches along the rear elevation to create an open-plan kitchen and dining room at the lowest ground floor level. This room is double-height on one side to accommodate a staircase and mezzanine library.

As well as using Siberian larch, the architects specified pale brickwork for both interior and exterior walls. Doors and windows are framed by chunky timber surrounds, while balustrades are made from bronze.

“These materials were all chosen to provide texture and scale and to achieve a domestic intimacy, which can so easily be lost with the tendency towards abstract planes and surfaces,” David Mikhail told Dezeen. “They also need to mediate between both the feel and the construction of the new and the older parts of the house, the inside and the outside.”

Other additions include a pivoting wall, which links the study with a billiard room, and a new landscaped garden comprising tiered patios and built-up planting areas.

The house was first constructed in the 1830s at three times the width of most London terraces, resulting in a later conversion into three separate residences. David Mikhail Architects’ job was to restore the original logic of the building so that it could again be used as a single family home.

The architects tracked down early photographs of the building and consulted other architects that had worked on the property in the 1980s to piece together plans of the original design and layout.

In front of the library is the original grand staircase, which winds up between the upper ground floor and first floor of the house. Previously there were no corridors beside this stair, but now residents can walk around it to reach the new rooms beyond.

One of these corridors leads through to a study in the north-east corner of the building. The architects extended this space to add an extra metre in length, creating a top-lit window seat beneath a large skylight. This extension also increased the size of a living room underneath.

“Our philosophy was to give the building back its dignity as a single house, and to be mindful of the likely original plan form,” David Mikhail told Dezeen. “But to combine original features with modern details is a question of both philosophy and detail; it needs an absorption in both to work.”

David Mikhail launched his studio in 1992. Other residential projects in London by the practice include a set of houses with triangular skylights and an extension that is just one metre wide.

See more residential extensions on Dezeen, including a barrel-vaulted addition to a farmhouse.

Photography is by Tim Crocker.

Here’s some more information from David Mikhail Architects:

East London House

Introduction

The East London House is the principle house of a picturesque development built in the 1830s and Grade 2 Listed. At 16m, it is the width of three typical London houses. The original house had been subdivided into three units, with an uneasy relationship to the garden. A glass conservatory to the rear gave the only rear access via an internal spiral staircase. These multiple alterations over time changed what was once a grand home into a jumble of dark, disconnected rooms, with no meaningful access to the large garden.

Client brief

This was to re-establish the elegance of the original, whilst removing the feeling of their being separate dwellings. At the same time, to inject a fresh, modern feel, maximising natural light and harnessing the potential of a large rear garden. The clients have children and other family members often stay. They had several ideas about how the house could function, but guidance was sought on how to connect the various levels and to make sense of the warren of rooms and staircases.

Spatial Strategies

Spatial remodelling has focused on the rear, the basement and the attic. The garden has also been designed by David Mikhail Architects (with planting by Jane Brockbank) and is the other major addition to the building. Much of the remainder of the work was about meticulously restoring the original, with recent works such as staircases and extensions removed. Upper ground and first floors were refurbished to respect the original. For example, one wall has been rebuilt on the upper ground floor to concord with the original plan form, making resultantly smaller, but more usable rooms. (Study/Billiards rooms). The basement and rear garden were excavated to give level access and a sense of openness to the landscape while the gentle terracing of the garden avoids the sense of being underground. The garden forms two spaces, a formal walled garden with water features and raised beds, and beyond it a rougher area for play, with garden sheds and turf.

Upon entering the house the original sweeping staircase is now presented in its original form, with the entrance hallway fully restored. Originally there were no views through beyond the stair, and no real connection to the garden, but now the stair hall is a prelude to the main event. Moving forward either side of the stair, you pass through the rear wall of the main house into a naturally lit double-height library with views to the garden and a bronze staircase down to the dining area. We were keen that this journey from the old to the new was explicitly experienced. The extension itself is a modern open-plan kitchen and dining space giving full views of the garden, with the junction between old and new highlighted through the use of linear flat roof lights.

Planning constraints

Although many original-styled features were present, some were later additions. Unfortunately, many records had been lost. We tracked down the local architects that had worked on the terrace in the 1980s and also used images from the Metropolitan Archive. We were able to use their records to form an understanding of where original details lay, and presented this knowledge to planners in the form of a room-by-room analysis. The extension was designed to clearly differentiate the new from the old, making our own works legible in the future. Even so, the design challenge of such a strategy is to do so in a way that resonates with the scale and sensibility of the original.

Materials and construction

The rear-half of the basement and rear garden was excavated and underpinned to increase head height and accessibility. The extension is a predominately timber and steel structure. Where two-storey, steel gives way to posts and beams of laminated Larch, forming a timber portal frame. The engineering required to achieve such a thin library floor was challenging.

All the timber used in the project is a white-oiled Siberian Larch, including the bespoke sliding doors designed by the architects, the floors the joinery and the external cladding. A white brick with light-grey lime mortar is used inside and out. Metalwork and ironmongery is bronze. A specialist precision metalwork company, where joints are glued rather than welded, constructed the fine bronze stair.

Above: basement floor plan – click for larger image

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

Above: first floor plan – click for larger image

Above: second floor plan – click for larger image

Above: third floor plan – click for larger image

Above: cross-section – click for larger image

Above: rear elevation – click for larger image

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David Mikhail Architects appeared first on Dezeen.