A painted-timber skin that skirts around the top storey reveals the heights of staggered floors inside this Hamburg house. Designed by Kraus Schoenberg, it’s the W in our A-Zdvent calendar. Read more about Haus W »
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Haus W by Kraus Schoenberg appeared first on Dezeen.
Next up in our A-Zdvent calendar series is V-House in Leiden, the Netherlands. Architects GAAGA named the building after its roof, which pitches inwards to create a V-shaped profile. Read more about V-House »
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V-House by GAAGA appeared first on Dezeen.
London-based studio Alex Cochrane Architects added a timber balcony and an open-plan interior to this Victorian boathouse in a deer park in the south of England.
Overlooking a lake in Great Windsor Park, Berkshire, the boathouse was once the royal boat keeper’s lodgings but now operates as a writer’s retreat.
Alex Cochrane Architects stripped out the interior of the building but retained its A-frame timber beams, which had to be sandblasted due to damage from nesting birds.
Large casement windows have been added to the southwest elevation, while folding doors open onto the new balcony. Roundel windows also allow light to reach the exposed roof structure.
“We wanted to open up the two gable elevations to daylight and views without changing too greatly the historical appearance of the boathouse and its internal timber structure,” Cochrane told Dezeen.
“We also wanted to include a cantilevered balcony that would ‘float’ over the lake, and in doing so had to tie back a series of steel beams to the original framework positioned in the centre of the boathouse,” he added. “This was a complicated exercise given the fragility of the existing structure.”
The entrance to the boathouse leads into the kitchen and living area, which also contains a built-in sofa and desk under the window.
The shower, toilet and dressing areas are placed in the centre of building and divided by sliding doors and mirrors, while the bedroom at the far end leads to the balcony overlooking the lake.
A low-level joinery unit runs the length of the building, serving as a bookshelf and reclined seating, with a dressing table incorporated at the bedroom end.
Oak veneer panels have been used throughout the interior, including the kitchen units and bed as well as the walls and doors of the bathroom.
A ground source heat pump from the lake supplies the heating coils beneath the Douglas fir floorboards.
We recently reported on Alex Cochrane Architects’ redesign of the menswear department of Selfridges in London.
We’ve also featured a boathouse in Norway with folding flaps in its facade and another in Texas with a waterfall cascading from its upper storey.
See all our stories about boathouses »
See all our stories about British houses »
Here’s some more information from the architects:
Alex Cochrane Architects were offered the opportunity to design and oversee the comprehensive restoration and remodelling of a Victorian Boathouse overlooking the lake of Virginia Water in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.
The top floor of The Boathouse, once the Royal Boat Keeper’s lodgings, now serves as a spectacular all-inclusive retreat taking advantage of one of the most outstanding settings of the south east of England. The ground floor maintains its purpose of housing boats with two large timber doors opening outwards onto the lake.
Proposal:
It seemed appropriate that The Boathouse, an independent but redundant structure, set in isolation on the banks of a lake and surrounded by unparalleled natural beauty, should be revived as an ultimate place of refuge, inspiration and reflection away from the demands of city life.
ACA proposed a number of extensive changes to the structure. These included the substantial opening up of the two end elevations with new and larger windows, the addition of a new timber balcony that would ‘float’ directly over the lake and the complete stripping out of an obsolete interior for a contemporary open plan arrangement of three interlocking ‘living’ zones. In addition, we were able to deliver an environmentally sustainable approach towards the heating of The Boathouse.
Architecture / Main works:
The interior fabric was completely stripped out revealing a surprisingly sound A-frame structure that until then had been hidden from view. Years of neglect and nesting birds had nevertheless taken their toll requiring the A-frames to be sandblasted exposing the true warmth and texture of the wood. These repetitive structures now serve as key historical and functional elements of the design.
The two white painted timber boarded end elevations were extensively opened up to allow light to penetrate the darkest areas of the Boathouse while ensuring a more transparent relationship between the interior and its natural setting. Larger period style casement windows were added on the southwest elevation and new period style folding doors now open wide onto the new cantilevered balcony.
Roundel windows were added at both end elevations providing for further light at ridge level while celebrating the newly exposed roof structure and elevated heights.
Altering of the external appearance had to be very measured. Surprisingly the structure was not listed, but any unsympathetic alterations to its original form would risk reversing years of history, royal associations and familiarity for those using the park. Any contemporary design solutions would be reserved for The Boathouse interior.
All the casement windows, doors and their respective frames were replaced along the long elevations due to rot and worm. A conservationist approach was adopted for any existing element that needed replacing in order to maintain the period appearance of the Boathouse within its natural setting.
The floor structure was far from level and inadequate to support the proposed interior elements and the cantilevered structure supporting the balcony so there was little alternative but to replace the joists in their entirety with new ones.
There was no local supply of gas but Virginia Water Lake presented itself as a fine opportunity to provide constant heat throughout the year by way of a ground source heat pump. The Crown Estate were in full support for this ecological approach of laying 300m of ground loops 2m deep on the lake bed. The heat generated from the lake would supply the under floor heating coils beneath solid timber flooring.
Additionally, the removal of all the internal linings allowed for high levels of insulation to wrap around the perimeter walls, roof structure and between the floor joists increasing the sustainability credentials of the refurbishment.
Fit-out / Arrangement:
The interior is divided into three open zones providing the essential means that one might wish for in everyday life such as sleeping, reading, bathing, resting, working and eating.
A multi purpose low-level joinery unit runs the full length of The Boathouse connecting these three zones. This joinery unit predominantly serves as a library while two upholstered reclining benches are advantageously integrated below the windowsills and a vanity desk is incorporated at bedroom end of The Boathouse.
Upon entering The Boathouse one arrives in the cooking, eating, writing and seating area. This zone remains open plan with a degree of flexibility allowing the various activities to take their course. A large low-level table provides a central location where these activities can merge.
The middle zone is further divided into a series of interlocking but ultimately separate spaces including the shower, changing, loo and vanity areas. The design allows for a dynamic relationship between all four parts while addressing the conflicting attributes of privacy and transparency in the form of concealed sliding doors and mirrors.
The third zone is the resting and sleeping area where a large bed lies at the center, looking out over the cantilevered balcony and onto the lake. When the folding glass doors are open, one absorbs the unsurpassed views of Virginia Water and Windsor Great Park. It is here that the romanticism of The Boathouse interior and its relationship within its natural setting is most profound.
Materials:
The Boathouse design was very much material led. Contemporary design solutions were incorporated within the project and building process but traditional and natural materials were preferred. The goal was to offer a warmer atmosphere that might be expected in a retreat of a former age. It was also essential that the pallet of materials remained restrained to underline the clarity and simplicity of the interior elements and the spaces.
Straight-grained oak veneered panels were generally the material of choice with full-size honed Carrara marble slabs introduced in the shower area as well as for the kitchen and vanity surfaces. Dinesen Douglas floorboards were chosen due to their solidity, long lengths, wide widths and a livelier grain that would be the perfect complementary material against the more uniformed grain of the oak joinery units.
In keeping with the minimalist aesthetic, honed Basalt hearths provided an earthy colour and depth to two fireplaces that are otherwise without any decorative detail. Mirrors line the tall cupboard doors and sliding vanity panel serving a practical purpose as their reflections playfully confuse the arrangements of certain parts of the interior. Great attention was given to even the smallest of components. Bespoke solutions were provided for door handles, lighting, switches and even the toilet flush.
Very fine detailing and precision in the fabrication process were key in defining the purity and quiet sophistication of the interior elements. In order to achieve such an acute level of precision, the joinery and fabricated elements were constructed in workshops and later assembled on site.
Furniture & Lighting:
Nearly all the furniture is bespoke and integral to the design of The Boathouse interior. Two chaise long sofas come together to form a large bed, the reclining seats below the windowsills appear to be carved out of the bookshelf unit, the main seating area returns to form a writing desk and a very large low level table serves a number of functions: it can be an eating or entertaining surface or a platform for books and objects.
A number of free-standing chairs inhabit the interior including Gio Ponti’s Super Leggera, Norman Cherner’s plywood chairs and the Hans Wagner CH25 all preferred for their pared down aesthetic.
Erco track lighting provides directive light from high level, cage lights with bronze bulb holders are suspended above the low-level joinery table and a gold plated Ball Light by Michael Anastassiades hovers above the changing area bench.
Objects and Art:
In line with a less-is-more approach and where emptiness is actually celebrated, the selection of artwork has been purposely limited. A seascape photograph entitled Hurricane by Clifford Ross is appropriately positioned above the bed and facing the lake while William Peers’ sculptures from his 100 Days and Flow series inhabit parts of The Boathouse.
All accessories have been chosen to serve a practical purpose whether it be Andrew Bird’s log baskets from Great Yarmouth, Liam O’Neill turned wood bowls from Co. Galway or Fiamma Montagu’s ceramic tableware and vases.
Project Team, Suppliers and Contributors
Client: Galewest Investments
Architects: Alex Cochrane Architects, London
Project Management: Clinton Cowley for Galewest Investments, Berkshire
Main Contractor: Robert’s Building Company, Surrey
Joinery: John Baulkwill for Opus Magnum, London
Stonework: David Jones for Verona Marble, Kingston
Floorer: Peter Moyces for Cavendish Floors, Chiswick
Sculptures: William Peers, Devon
Ceramics / Tableware: Fiamma Montagu, Oxfordshire
Tatami mats: Wabi Sabi, West Sussex
Freestanding Furniture: Supplied by Aram, London.
Lighting: Ball Light by Michael Anastassiades, Sigmar, London Filament lighting and accessories, Urban Cottage Industries Track lighting, Erco, London
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by Alex Cochrane Architects appeared first on Dezeen.
The form of U-House by Jorge Graca Costa was inspired by traditional Mediterranean courtyard houses to protect it from the windy climate of western Portugal and it’s the twenty-first door on our A-Zdvent calendar. Read more about U-House »
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U-House by Jorge Graca Costa appeared first on Dezeen.
Two chunky concrete storeys are perched above a living room without walls at this house in São Paulo by Brazilian architects Studio MK27 (+ slideshow).
Led by architect Marcio Kogan, Studio MK27 imagined the house as a solid object punctured by large voids. “[It is] a monolithic volume that, in its empty interior, contains other volumes,” explains the team.
Perforated metal screens slide back and forth around the perimeter of the ground floor living room, allowing the space to either reveal or conceal itself from the surrounding garden and swimming pool.
“The common area is therefore an open space, like a rip in a concrete box, totally integrated with the garden,” say the architects.
On the upper floors, more metals screens can be pulled across the windows to provide privacy for the bedrooms, television room and office located behind the concrete facade.
Suspended treads rise up though a narrow stairwell to connect each of the floors and eventually lead up to a terrace on the roof.
Studio MK27 is based in São Paulo and other projects we’ve featured by the practice include a house filmed through the eyes of a cat and a collection of furniture built by construction workers.
Photography is by Fernando Guerra.
Here’s some more information from Studio MK27:
Casa Cubo An urban house resting like a monolith over the garden; a single cubic volume housing every function and opening and closing to the outside.Each design has small, very simple rules that give the structure its form. The rule here was to inhabit this pure volume, building openings wherever necessary and considering climate conditions.
The common area is therefore an open space, like a rip in a concrete box, totally integrated with the garden. The cube-box is rebuilt on this floor using metallic panels – made of perforated sheets – that can be opened all the way.
When closed, this system gives the room privacy and shade. When open, indoor space becomes an extension of outdoor space.
The other top two floors are held in a concrete box, where the project’s rules, the perforations in the cube, are continued: there are open windows in the bedrooms, television room and office, providing ventilation. Nevertheless, the cube’s materiality remains clearly identifiable.
On openings in the bedrooms, the same metallic paneling works to filter the light. A second layer for closing is made of sliding glass panels. This entire system of metal and glass panels is completely embedded in the walls, giving the homeowners total control of lighting and ventilation.
Like its simple volumes, Casa Cubo uses few architectural materials. The façades are comprised of rough concrete – shaped using a handcrafted wooden mold – and the metallic panels – whose color is reminiscent of the concrete itself. The inside is structured by a specially designed ceramic tile floor that forms a continuous fabric in the common area.
Casa Cubo at night becomes a lantern. The internal space is seen on the façade: the dense volume of concrete is muted, giving way to volumes of internal light, as if they were extruded from the cube itself. A monolithic volume that, in its empty interior, contains other volumes.
Project: Cube House
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Project: October 2008
Completion: July 2012
Site area: 900 sqm
Built area: 540 sqm
Architecture: Studio mk27
Architect: Marcio Kogan
Co-architect: Suzana Glogowski
Interior design: Diana Radomysler
Custom made furniture design: Suzana Glogowski
Collaborators: Henrique Bustamante, Anna Hellena Villela
Team: Beatriz Meyer, Carolina Castroviejo, Eduardo Chalabi, Eduardo Glycerio, Eduardo Gurian, Elisa Friedmann, Gabriel Kogan, Lair Reis, Luciana Antunes, Marcio Tanaka, Maria Cristina Motta, Mariana Simas, Oswaldo Pessano, Renata Furlanetto, Samanta Cafardo
Landscape designer: Isabel Duprat
Structure engineer: Gilberto Pinto Rodrigues
Construction manager: SC
Consult Eng: Sérgio Costa
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Studio MK27 appeared first on Dezeen.
Huge rectangular holes puncture the walls and ceilings of this four-storey split-level house in Tokyo by Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects, the next window of our A-Zdvent calendar. Read more about House T »
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by Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects appeared first on Dezeen.
House S in Osaka by Suga Atelier has a concrete facade that looks like a rockface and it’s the latest addition to our A-Zdvent calendar. Read more about House S »
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House S by Suga Atelier appeared first on Dezeen.
Sloping meadows and woodland thickets are all that surrounds this boxy concrete house in the mountains of western Austria by local studio OLKRÜF (+ slideshow).
Haus Rüscher is located around a kilometre away from the nearest village and OLKRÜF designed the house as two self-contained buildings that impact as little possible on the surrounding countryside. “It was important for the client to build a very compact house that would not spoil the local landscape by sealing over the top surface with unnecessary concrete, gravel or tarmac,” the architects explain.
The outer shell of each building comprises a single casting of concrete, designed to reference the solid volumes of the surrounding mountains. “The most challenging part of the project was the single-piece construction,” architect John Read told Dezeen.
The larger of the two buildings contains the living rooms and bedrooms, while the smaller structure is a guesthouse with a sauna and shower room in the basement.
In the main house, split levels differentiate between the living room and kitchen on the ground floor, while upstairs the children’s room sits lower than the master bedroom to allow enough ceiling height for bunk beds.
Exposed concrete walls are sandblasted to create smooth interior surfaces on the lower level. Floors are lined with elm boards, which also clad the walls and ceilings in the bedrooms.
Large windows pierce the concrete facade on different sides to give residents clear views across the mountain and forest landscape.
“The most successful thing for us was managing not to compromise on the design from start to finish,” added Read. “That is something that rarely happens in the industry, but in this case the final result is almost identical to the original concept. Partly this was due to our perseverance and partly it was due to the client believing and sharing in our vision.”
See more Austrian houses on Dezeen, including one that appears to climb down a hill.
Photography is by Adolf Bereuter.
Here’s some more information from the architects:
Haus Rüscher
Location
As solitary solid masses embedded in the landscape sits the project Haus R. It hangs on a steep incline at almost 1100 m in altitude and a kilometre from the nearest village of Schnepfau. To the north, the houses back on to thick woodland that cover the rest of the hill, in all other directions lay pasture lands. Because of the elevated position the house enjoys incredible views in every direction, especially of the Kanisfluh mountain and the valleys of the Bregenzerwald.
The sparsely populated landscape is reflected in the simple form and basic materials chosen for the design. The double shell is constructed without any horizontal construction joints. The entire outer wall was constructed as one solid piece. In this way the solid concrete hull corresponds to the simple mass of the surrounding mountains. The grassland grows right to the edge of the building to emphasize the concept of the house as a rock emerging from the ground naturally. In addition, a small guest house was included in the design that abides by the same rules of design. It compliments and emphasises the first by creating a ‘natural rock formation’ rather than a solitary monument.
Circulation/Rooms
It was important for the client to build a very compact house that would not spoil the local landscape by sealing over the top surface with unnecessary concrete, gravel or tarmac. The top surface surrounding the building had to remain as natural as possible.
It was also important that house had a generous living space for entertaining and accommodating guests, but should not be too big for everyday use. As well as providing open space, the design had to incorporate smaller, more intimate areas for when people wished to relax in peace. The guest house and the separation of the sleeping rooms using split levels, are a result of these thought processes.
From the mountain track leads a set of stairs between the two houses, which are both entered from the rear, so that the entrances are not visible from the track.
The ground floor is shared into separate zones through different room heights in the living and eating area, the kitchen and the circulation paths. The high ceilings in the living space allow incredible views in all directions. In the west, the rooms entire height and width is glazed to give a panoramic view of the surroundings. The lower kitchen area is orientated towards the open living room, above which a vertical air space flows through all the levels. The first floor and cellar levels are reached through a set of floating wooden stairs that pierce the concrete of the outer wall, supporting themselves on one side only.
Above: site plan
The differing room heights also resulted from the needs of the two very different sleeping rooms. The lower sleeping room was designed for the children, and was intended to be able to accommodate a double bed or bunk bed system and therefore utilises an intentionally higher format. Latching on to the side of this room is the slightly bigger main bedroom, which has a normal room height and enjoys views of the Kanisfluh. In addition, the guest house bedroom replicates the feel and elegant style of the main house but in miniature. In the cellar, beside the storage rooms and the technical room, there is a small sauna and separate shower room.
Above: ground floor plan
Materials and Construction
The 65cm thick hull of the building was formed in two parts: The outer shell and the core insulation managed to avoid the usual visible construction joints by being constructed from one continuous piece of concrete over 9.5 meters in height. Connecting on the inside, the internal walls are also constructed in one solid piece, with the interior walls, for the most part, echoing this process by casting several walls straight through multiple levels in a single piece. The floors are then set into place afterwards by drilling metal into the triple height finished wall to provide the basis for the supporting structure.
Above: first floor plan
All the exposed concrete areas in Haus R have a sandblasted finish, the floor is fitted out in Elm and in the cellar the floor is finished in polished screed. By contrast, the two bedrooms (and the guest house) are completely clad in wood. The windows in these rooms are flush with the outside of the building whereas the windows on the ground floor are flush with the inside of the building, this was to allow the inclusion of sun blinds that prevent overheating in during the summer. The jamb is constructed entirely from concrete all the way up to the beginning of the window frame.
Above: section
Both roofs were designed inverted. As an important fifth facade, they were finished with a layer of large format prefabricated concrete slabs. The house is also fitted out with a ground source heat pump that provides the majority of the energy for the under floor heating all year round.
Above: front elevation
The thermal mass of the building is exceptional for its size due to the buildings extensive use of exposed concrete within the insulation shell. This provides stable warmth through the winter months and a consistent cooling effect during the hot summer days.
Above: side elevation
The construction of the building was very complicated and challenging for the many reasons; the concrete walls were cast in one single piece which was experimental for both the builders and the architects. The mountain weather was unpredictable and often extreme. Site access was difficult for the heavy construction vehicles. And the large format windows, that were inserted into the concrete jamb, had very little margin for error.
Above: rear elevation
However, the house, from the initial design to the finished building hardly changed at all. This was only possible due to an intense and detailed communication between the architect, the construction company and the client. An important element in this process was the guest house.
Above: side elevation
It was constructed using the exact same methods and materials as the main building and provided a useful proving ground. In this way all parties were able to evaluate and optimize the experimental construction methods for the main building, ensuring a very high quality finish.
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by OLKRÜF appeared first on Dezeen.
A secluded balcony surrounded by timber protrudes from the clean white facade of this house in Osaka, Japan, by architect Ido Kenji (+ slideshow).
The architect planned the three-storey house to cover two thirds of the site, allowing for a driveway in front and a small garden at the rear.
“The client requested a garden on the south side of the site, so I decided to make the building three storeys to secure the required rooms,” said Ido Kenji.
There’s no bedroom, but a traditional Japanese room on the ground floor provides a sleeping area that opens out to the garden.
The living room occupies a double-height space on the middle floor and a study overlooks it from the level above.
Pine is used for flooring, surfaces, doors and bookshelves throughout the house. ”It’s aimed as a quiet, soft space with the wood and the paint-finished walls,” added Kenji.
The frame of the house is also timber and structural beams are exposed around the edges of the rooms.
Kitchen and bathrooms are located above the car port at the front of the building and lead out onto the balcony.
The house was completed in 2010 but was not published at the time.
Other houses we’ve featured from Japan include a house in Nagoya with a stretched facade and a house for an elderly couple in Sendai.
See more Japanese houses on Dezeen »
Photography is by Takumi Ota.
Above: site plan
Above: ground floor plan
Above: first floor plan
Above: second floor plan
Above: long section
Above: cross section
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Ido Kenji appeared first on Dezeen.
Today’s addition to our daily A-Zdvent calendar is a renovated summerhouse in Spain with a spiral staircase leading to the roof. Read more about PC House »
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PC House by XVA appeared first on Dezeen.
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