Hasta La Ideas

This house near Mexico City by local office MMX Studio comprises an assortment of exposed concrete buildings arranged around small gardens and courtyards (+ slideshow).

Located west of the city in an area known as La Herradura, Cap House was designed by MMX Studio as an ensemble of one-, two- and three-storey blocks, which open out to gardens on two different levels.

“The dwelling should not be the result of fragmenting a larger envelope, on the contrary, it should be the outcome of adding multiple rooms, each one with its own scale, proportions and identity,” said architect Emmanuel Ramirez.

An entrance punctures the perimeter wall of the front courtyard, leading through to spacious living and dining areas on the ground floor, as well as a single-car garage.

The first floor contains additional living rooms, which open out to a plant-covered roof terrace, while the uppermost floor accommodates a bedroom and adjoining bathroom.

The concrete walls remain exposed inside the house as well as outside, contrasting with wooden doors and window frames.

Alongside the traditional architectural photography, photographer Yoshihiro Koitani composed one image showing the same woman in eight different positions.

“We have always been interested in exploring all the ways in which the spaces can be used,” Ramirez told Dezeen. “We gave the photographer total freedom to decide how the space can be inhabited beyond the obvious, and it is through this image that we can understand a sense of scale and flexibility.”

Other houses we’ve featured from Mexico City includes a house with a slate facade and a three-storey wall of plants, a black house with a high-walled courtyard and a house with overlapping rectilinear blocks of glass and concrete. See more architecture in Mexico City »

Here’s a project description from the architects:

CAP House

Located in a residential neighbourhood at the west of Mexico City, the house responds to a fragmented urban environment where the volumetric configuration of the buildings creates an uneven landscape of colours and volumes.

The proposal adopts the logic of its context, and applies it within the plot by subdividing the program into its diverse parts.

Each space takes shape as a response to the specific needs of the program and gets added onto a larger cluster of articulated volumes.

Thus, the formal manifestation of the idea gets away from the more traditional operation of subdividing a larger envelope and instead, works with a logic of adding units of varying characteristics to create an ensemble rather than a standalone piece.

This project explores the idea of the room as the basic unit of the house. The dwelling should not be the result of fragmenting a larger envelope, on the contrary, it should be the outcome of adding multiple rooms, each one with its own scale, proportions and identity.

The scale of each room and the openings of the volumes are determined by the needs of the interior spaces, thus they manifest through the façade as a relaxed and non-committed gesture.

Nodes of vertical movement, courtyards and gardens create a balance within the sequential progression of rooms across the site.

The geometric outcome of this operation creates an articulated pattern of interlocked volumes and voids that complement one another within the scheme.

Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Client: JAR & MCSV
Date: 2013

Status: Built
Type: Residental
Credits: Jorge Arvizu, Ignacio Del Rio, Emmanuel Ramirez, Diego Ricalde Team: Javier Moctezuma, Erendira Tranquilino

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MMX Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

Movie: a recently completed concrete house in São Paulo is depicted as a luxury home from the 1950s in the latest architecture film by Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan.

Kogan, founder of São Paulo office Studio MK27, worked with film producer Lea van Steen to produce the movie, which is entitled Modern Living and based on a Bauhaus film by the late architect Richard Paulick.

The movie centres around Casa Pinheiro, a family house comprising rectilinear concrete blocks that appear to be stacked on top of one another at perpendicular angles.

A large living and dining room occupies the ground floor of the building and can be opened out to the garden by sliding glass walls, while the middle floor accommodates four bedrooms with access to a roof deck and the uppermost level contains a separate family room.

In the film, these spaces are presented as “the latest innovations in housing construction and technology,” filled with gadgets and space-saving solutions, such as a built-in vacuum cleaner and chutes for laundry and rubbish.

A garage is tucked away in the basement and is shown in the movie as the storage area for the owner’s classic Corvette.

Security is also highlighted in the film, as a housekeeper demonstrates how post can be collected “in total isolation from the outside world” and how every space can be monitored using a CCTV system.

Architect Marcio Kogan worked as a film director in his early career and this is the third film he’s produced at one of his buildings, following a house filmed through the eyes of the client’s pet cat.

Other recent buildings by Studio MK27 include a photography studio with two folding walls and a house where two chunky concrete storeys are perched above a living room without walls. See more architecture by Studio MK27 »

See more architecture movies »
See more houses in Brazil »

Photography is Fernando Guerra.

Here’s a project description from Studio MK27:

Casa Pinheiro

The Pinheiro house is a puzzle game. Rotating three volumes around one nucleus generated not only a particular spatial dynamic, but also different visual relations between empty and full, between the private and semiprivate areas and the view of the city.

The site is located on the other side of the Pinheiros River, one of the main rivers that define and cut into the city of São Paulo, in an essentially residential neighborhood, Morumbi. From there it is possible to see the entire valley filled with gardened houses, the river and, on the other margin, another hill, the corporate area of the city drawing the metropolitan skyline with its typical skyscrapers.

The program boasts three floors: a garden, a terrace with fireplace and barbecue, home theatre, dining and living rooms, washroom, kitchen, four bedrooms, office and family room. In the basement: a garage, laundry room, utility rooms and a gym. The nucleus of the circulation is made of a continuous staircase joined in a structural wall. This block, which organises the structure and distributes the fluxes, is the pivot around which the boxes revolve.

The volumes are developed to create constant and distinct relations between the inner and outer spaces. The bedrooms on the second floor look out to the pool and take advantage of the deck above the roof of the living and dining rooms. The box comprising the bedrooms projects outwards over both sides of the first box. From one side, the cantilever determines the main entrance of the house and, on the other, it shades the terrace.

The spiral movement continues with the third box, supported by the second and projecting outwards over the first. It shades the window of the master bedroom and part of the deck while, simultaneously, creates new visual relations with the other bedrooms and the terrace.

All of the boxes are bare concrete frames. The living room and the bedrooms have their sides closed by freijó wooden folding panels which filter the light and allow for permanent crossed ventilation. The family room, on the top floor is enclosed by glass, to preserve the view.

The result strengthens interactions, the crossing of eye views and vectors through the garden: eyes that see the view and the treetops around the pool, eyes that are turned back to the house itself, its volumetry and, above all else, to its own life.

Project: Pinheiro House
Location: São Paulo, Brazil

Architecture: Studio MK27
Architect: Marcio Kogan
Co-architect: Lair Reis
Interiors: Diana Radomysler

Collaborators: Carolina Castroviejo, Carlos Costa, Laura Guedes, Mariana Simas, Oswaldo Pessano, Suzana Glogowski
Team: Andrea Macruz, Samanta Cafardo, Renata Furlanetto
Architecture collaborator: Fernanda Reiva

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Studio MK27 appeared first on Dezeen.

This L-shaped wooden house by Dutch studio Pasel Kuenzel Architects sits at the water’s edge on an artificial island in Amsterdam.

Rotterdam studio Pasel Kuenzel Architects designed the family home in Grote Rieteiland, one of six islands that makes up the man-made archipelago of Ijburg, east Amsterdam.

Each residence on the group of islands is allocated a similar-sized plot and shaped by strict scale and massing guidelines.

For this house, the architects created a rectilinear building with a three-storey tower on one side and a small courtyard at the entrance.

“Within a strict and complex set of urban rules [we] succeeded to develop a plain and sober urban villa that is unique in its reduced design and compelling in its materialisation and level of detailing,” said the architects.

White-painted wooden boards clad the house’s exterior, interspersed with windows that extend right to the edges of the facade.

A monochrome colour scheme dominates the interior, which accommodates a large open-plan living area on the ground floor and bedrooms and workspaces inside the tower.

Sliding doors provide access from the ground floor to a waterside garden, while the master bedroom opens out onto a large roof terrace.

Other properties built in Ijburg include a two-storey house clad with timber and a house with a spiral staircase climbing its exterior. See more Ijburg houses »

More residential projects by Pasel Kuenzel Architects include a rectangular house with two courtyard gardens behind its exterior and a house clad in a chequered pattern of timber and white render. See more projects by Pasel Kuenzel Architects »

Photography is by Marcel van der Burg.

Here is a short description from the architects:

The Power of Simple Things

Close and compact are the residences lined up along the waterside of Grote Rieteiland, an artificial island in Amsterdam’s hip neighbourhood Ijburg.

Within a strict and complex set of urban rules pasel.kuenzel architects succeeded to develop a plain and sober urban villa that is unique in its reduced design and compelling in its materialisation and level of detailing.

The building is a composition of a horizontal plinth for living and a vertical element comprising workspaces, bedrooms for the kids, a master bedroom and above all a tremendous roof terrace. Due to a 12m wide glazed facade on the south side the main living area relates directly to the water. The house grants access via a patio facing the street and marking the threshold between public and private.

The unusual materialisation of white painted raw timber boards of Douglas fir underlines the compelling power of simple things.

Architect: pasel.kuenzel architects
Team: R. Pasel, F. Künzel, F. Pocas
Client: Private
Location: Amsterdam, NL
Date: 2009-2013
Size: 307 m2

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Pasel Kuenzel Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

A cluster of five gabled cabins make up this summer retreat in northern Denmark by architects Powerhouse Company (+ movie).

Powerhouse Company designed the holiday home for a family in northern Sjælland as a twist on the traditional Danish summer house, with five interconnected cabins arranged in a five-fingered plan.

“This solution faithfully reflects the rather different desires of the family members,” said the architects. “One wanted a picturesque, cosy and archetypal summer house, while another wanted a spacious and contemporary feeling.”

Externally clad with blackened timber boards, the cabins overlap one another to create a central living area that opens out to a series of wooden outdoor decks.

“Summerhouses are traditionally family spaces but when children grow older they need more independence from their parents, hence the ‘village of cabins’ organisation, with radiating individual spaces that are united in the centre,” the architects added.

The living room, kitchen and dining area occupy three of the cabins, while one contains a master bedroom and another houses two smaller bedrooms.

White walls and timber flooring feature throughout the house and angled skylights bring extra daylight into each cabin.

Other projects by Powerhouse Company include a house in the woods with overhanging floor plates, a proposal for a dance and music centre in The Hague and a spiral-shaped house extension.

See more projects from Powerhouse Company »
See more holiday homes »
See more Danish architecture and design »

Photography is by Åke E. Son Lindman.

Here’s some information from the architects:

Village House

Powerhouse Company was asked to design a weekend house for a young family in northern Sjælland, Denmark. Village House is an exploration on the possibilities of the Summer cabin, the traditional Danish vacation home. While keeping the cabin’s footprint small, spatial as well as sustainable, there is a wide range of spatial possibilities, by using a five-fingered floor plan.

The house is a cluster of five wings, like miniature cabins. These fan out like a hand spreading five fingers over the site, generating a variety of views, light effects and outdoor areas. This variation means the house provides an enjoyable environment all year round and at all times of day. For example, a large window above the living room allows sunlight to bathe the dining table at around midday. Summerhouses are traditionally family spaces, but when children grow older they need more independence from their parents. Hence the ‘village of cabins’ organisation, with radiating individual spaces that are united in the centre.

Each member of the family effectively has the option of privacy when they need it. Meanwhile a star-shaped central space, uniting the living room and kitchen, forms the shared area which nevertheless offers pockets of seclusion to spend time alone while still in the family circle. This solution faithfully reflects the rather different desires of the family members. One wanted a picturesque, cosy and archetypal summerhouse, while another wanted a spacious and contemporary feeling. Both desires are united in the design.

In basing Village House on the classic Danish summerhouse, while adding modern ideas of space, Powerhouse Company has created a contemporary harmony. The elementary wooden structure has a pitched roof, and it is black, the most discreet colour in nature, like the dark shadows in the surrounding woods. Inside, the uniform white surface maximises the northern light. The rustic but modern solution is low maintenance, which is more important for a holiday home than offering lots of space. From an architectural point of view, its close relationship to the context is especially significant in a holiday home. The house contrasts with the routine home of the clients, and provides the basis for a separate lifestyle. Isn’t that what we are looking for when we go on holiday?

Location: Sjælland, Denmark
Partner in charge: Charles Bessard
Project leader: Lotte Adolph Bessard
Team: Charles Bessard, Lotte Adolph Bessard, Ted Schauman, Kristina Tegner, Peter Nilsso
Structural engineering: Ove Heede Consult ApS
Energy consultancy: Ellehauge & Kildemoses

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Powerhouse Company appeared first on Dezeen.

A pattern of metallic bronze leaves covers the facade of this house in Mayfair, London, by British architecture firm Squire and Partners (+ slideshow).

Squire and Partners sandwiched the five-storey house between existing buildings, retaining an eighteenth-century facade in front.

The leaf cladding, made from 4080 folded aluminium pieces, was inspired by a nearby building covered with a Virginia Creeper plant.

The building’s facades have been designed to fit in with the different areas they face.

“The east and west portions of the building are finished with a stucco render to match the existing Waverton Street facade, with full-height bronze-framed windows of traditional Georgian proportions,” said the architects.

“A discreet Cotswold Buff brick facade with oak-framed windows then faces the more utilitarian Red Lion Yard,” they added.

The interior features five bedrooms, a swimming pool, gymnasium, cinema, a rooftop pavilion and two separate roof terraces.

A living wall of native plants grows down one side of a lightwell that features in the centre of the house.

Photography is by Gareth Gardner.

Other creative facades in London include a cast iron facade on the Paul Smith store in London, a faceted glass surface on a building in Oxford Street and an office building with four glazed slashes in the aluminium surface.

See more residential architecture stories »

Here’s a project description from the architects:

Mayfair House

Squire and Partners approached their commission to design a private house as a crafted building, sensitive to its Mayfair Conservation Area context but with a unique contemporary presence. Sited at a junction of streets and views, and being physically linked to a listed Georgian wall at the termination of Chesterfield Mews facing Curzon Street, the building responds to a variety of contexts and viewpoints.

The project involved the retention of an existing 18th century façade facing Waverton Street, and the design of a new building comprising three linked volumes to create a unique home in central Mayfair. The accommodation provides five bedrooms, a swimming pool, gymnasium, cinema, rooftop pavilion and two separate roof terraces.

Construction involved sandwiching the retained façade between two steel frames which was then suspended while piling and construction of the lower ground floor took place. This floor then became a platform from which excavation of the two basement floors and construction of the concrete frame above could happen simultaneously, speeding up the weather tightness of the site and fast-tracking the programme.

The east and west portions of the building are finished with a stucco render to match the existing retained Waverton Street façade, with full height bronze framed windows of traditional Georgian proportions. A discreet Cotswold Buff brick façade with oak framed windows faces the more utilitarian Red Lion Yard.

The middle part of the building is set back from the restored listed wall on Chesterfield Gardens to create a light well drawing daylight into the central spaces, and features a playful bespoke leaf façade.

The façade of this element takes inspiration from a facing building on Curzon Street, mirroring an established Virginia Creeper with a contemporary interpretation of leaves expressed as a metallic shingle.

The PPC coated folded aluminium leaves – 4,080 in total – subtly vary in tones of bronze to mimic organic growth patterns, and clad a three storey elevation facing Curzon Street including a rooftop pavilion.

At the centre of the c-shaped building internally, a grand double height space gives views into the light well which features a living wall planted with a variety of native plants.

Social spaces are located off the main double height volume, with the gymnasium, cinema and swimming pool situated in the two basement floors. Bedrooms are organised on the upper two levels, above which sits the stunning leaf- clad rooftop pavilion.

Westminster planning committee described the proposal as ‘striking’ and ‘raising the bar for design within the borough’.

Project Team
Client: Central Investment Properties Architect: Squire and Partners
M&E: Wallace Whittle UK Ltd
Structure: Heyne Tillett Steel
Quantity Surveyor: Rider Hunt
Planning Consultant: The London Planning Practice
Contractor: GPF Lewis Ltd
Interior Designer: Bill Bennette Landscaping: Haynes Design

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Squire and Partners appeared first on Dezeen.