Hasta La Ideas

London architect Ben Nightingale has renovated a Victorian property he owns in Hackney, transforming three separate flats into a large family home featuring a double-height library and an attic playroom.

Ben Nightingale, one of the co-founders of Kilburn Nightingale Architects, bought the four-storey house on Greenwood Road to provide a family home for his wife and their three young daughters.

The building had previously been converted into three separate flats, meaning Nightingale had to completely re-plan the layout. This included removing existing walls, creating openings in the floor and rebuilding the original staircase.

“This project shows how a typical Victorian home can be opened up for more flexible use by a family, and also be adapted to positively reduce the carbon footprint,” Nightingale told Dezeen.

“The layout breaks down the traditional horizontal layering of this type of house, and the addition of a number of different types of insulation, photovoltaics and solar thermal panels greatly improve the energy efficiency,” he added.

Like many of London’s townhouses, the building has two storeys accessible from ground level – one that is slightly raised above the street and one that sits in line with a sunken garden. The architect transformed both of these floors into communal family spaces.

The lower ground floor accommodates a large kitchen and dining room that leads straight out to the garden beyond.

The double-height library area is positioned at the back, creating a visual connection with two living rooms on the floor above.

The first of these is a relaxed space facing out over the lawn, while the other is a formal area where the family can entertain guests.

The architect worked with a local joiner to add new sweet-chestnut window frames and cladding to an old extension at the rear of the house, intended to “mask the original poor quality brickwork”.

Five bedrooms and two bathrooms occupy the two upper levels. The attic was also remodelled, creating a playroom for the children that doubles as a guest bedroom.

Photography is by Charles Hosea.

Here’s the project description from Kilburn Nightingale Architects:

71 Greenwood Rd, London E8
Repair/remodelling and refurbishment of an existing house

This project involves the conversion, repair and extensive remodelling of a semi-detached mid Victorian house in Dalston, Hackney.

The house was purchased by Ben and Jane Kilburn at auction as a freehold building containing three flats. Ben Kilburn is a director with Richard Nightingale at Kilburn Nightingale Architects, an architecture practice based near King’s Cross.

This project presented an opportunity for Kilburn Nightingale (with Ben in the role of architect/owner) to develop a design that would take into account the joint requirements of contemporary family living (with three daughters aged 10, 8 and 5) and the rehabilitation and improvement of a house that had been neglected and interfered with by previous owners.

The renovation was designed to provide a functional home taking into account a need for flexible living space that would allow for a number of different activities to take place concurrently (so that the family could be ‘together’). The arrangement also needed to allow more privacy when required. The design also avoids having the lower kitchen/living area separated from the rest of the house by a formal, underused living area at upper ground level.

To achieve this, upper and lower living areas are connected to each other through a new double-height space at the rear of the property, and also connected to the garden through double-height glazing. This sense of openness is enhanced throughout the house by a number of new windows in the flank wall bringing light into the middle of the house.

The lower ground floor of the house has been remodelled to provide kitchen, dining and living area, with the double-height space at the rear of the house opening up to a flowing living space above. This upper living space is loosely divided into a more relaxed area closest to the balcony and views to the garden, and a slightly more formal living room at the front of the house.

First and second floors are divided into bedrooms and new bathrooms, and the attic has been converted to provide a flexible study/sleep-over/play space. Access to the attic is via a ‘hit and miss’ stair that is designed to take up as little space as possible.

The connection of the lower two floors of the house with the garden is made partly through the large windows/doors at the rear of the house, but also through the construction of a new shed/studio at the back of the garden. The large glazed double doors of the shed face back to the big doors in the glazed screen at the back of the house, with the suggestion that the shed is akin to a piece of the house that has floated out into the garden.

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townhouse with sweet-chestnut joinery appeared first on Dezeen.

Mirrored walls and projecting staircases create optical illusions inside the brick-lined atrium of this apartment complex in Ghent, Belgium, by local office Atelier Vens Vanbelle.

Named Gewad, the building housing four individual apartments was constructed on the site of a former costume shop destroyed by fire, which architect Maarten Vanbelle of Atelier Vens Vanbelle bought and decided to redevelop with partner Dries Vens.

Rather than a standard arrangement of single-storey apartments, the properties slot together in multi-layered shapes that mean each one is spread over at least two floors.

“We did not want to design apartments that would feel like an apartment, with all rooms obediently after the other,” said the architects. “It had to be houses, hence all apartments have two or even three floors.”

The surviving rear facade was retained along with an existing courtyard which, complemented by the central patio and the street on the other side, allows daylight to reach each apartment at all times of the day.

Influenced by the courtyards found at the heart of homes encountered by the architects on a trip to Italy, the patio provides a communal entrance featuring a staircase that ascends to the top floor and incorporates landings, offering access to the apartments on different levels.

The walls of the atrium are built from brick salvaged from the ruined shop. Stairs are made from different materials, with some hidden behind brick walls and others projecting over the atrium, creating a complex composite effect intended to evoke the illusory drawings of M.C. Escher.

“You see countless courtyards with stairs, balconies and doors in places where you least expect it,” said the architects of their experiences in Italy. “That was also the intention: that you step inside and not immediately know how the apartments are oriented.”

Windows around the atrium allow glimpses into the interiors of the apartments and add to the communal feel, while their careful placement restricts views of the most private rooms.

At the top of the atrium is a polished aluminium mirror that reflects sunlight and views of the sky into the spaces below and amplifies views of the surrounding neighbourhood when seen from the roof terrace.

The irregular arrangement of the apartments also creates unique spaces and details, including private balconies, sloping walls and double-height spaces.

One apartment features a wooden staircase with widened treads that provide storage and casual seating areas, while another has an opening above the living room that exposes dark-stained wooden beams.

Materials including wood, concrete and second-hand terracotta flooring were chosen to ensure the building ages well with use. The intention is that residents will gradually adapt the public areas to meet their needs.

“We have let a lot of materials coexist, without letting it be too crowded,” the architects pointed out. “By playing with textures and materials we create atmosphere and define different residential functions.”

The architects’ studio is contained in a former coach house at the rear of the courtyard, which features planting that will mature over time to create a lush garden.

The street-facing facade is rendered in a whitewash in accordance with the local council’s request and features a ground floor wall incorporating the trunks of 23 chestnut trees.

Photography is by Tim Van de Velde.

Here’s some more information sent by Atelier Vens Vanbelle:

Four inventive city apartments

Puzzling around central patio

This project brings together four new apartments which run perfectly under, over and trough each other. The building was erected on the spot where once stood a burnt costume shop. Maarten bought the dilapidated house with his brother and parents, and began puzzling together with his business partner Dries. “There was a lot of thinking concerned. We started from zero, only preserving the rear facade. Not only an urban intervention, but thanks to the old rear facade the original dimensions of the courtyard were also retained.” “Each apartment overlooks both the street, the central patio, and the courtyard, so that at any time of the day somewhere sunlight can come in.”

Italian interior square

Whoever enters the building, stands on a particular courtyard. The architects had shortly before the start of the project on tour in Italy, and there the idea grew. “You will see countless courtyards with stairs, balconies and doors in places where you least expect it. That was also the intention: that you step inside and not immediately know how the apartments are oriented. ‘The staircase consists of different materials and we even spotted a piece of’ reverse ‘staircase. “It reminds of a drawing of graphic artist Escher, which kicks all directions seem to go.”

The patio provides a unique circulation throughout the building. The residents come out against each other, or see each other occasionally pass through a window. “Without that privacy is violated. We made sure that no one else is living inside look. “The patio is built with stones recovered from the burned building. Above the patio there’s a large mirror made of polished aluminum. It was positioned in a way it reflects down the sunlight during the day and seen from below it reflects the sky.

House Feeling

“We did not want to design apartments that would feel like an apartment, with all rooms obediently after the other.” It had to be houses, hence all apartments have two or even three floors. “We have thought very longtime about how we could fit the apartments together.” These apartments define eachothers shape and layout. Besides the two floors there are also other elements that reinforce the ‘house feeling’: each apartment has a separate entrance which can be reached with stairs from the patio, and each apartment has both a street, patio and courtyard side. Each resident enjoys fantastic views of the city of Ghent, a private terrace and nooks and crannies that you would not expect in an apartment. One apartment has a meter high atrium, the other a piece of glass in the bedroom floor, or a hall with a sloping wall. On the street side there is a meeting room for the architects, and at the rear of the courtyard there’s a charming former coach house as a studio for the two.

Windows and co

An exception, perhaps, but the architects design everything by making models. “Because we are so focused on light. We make a model, which we orient in the same way as the future home, and by filming the inside we see how the sunlight penetrates the building. “In the apartment building we find numerous examples of well-positioned roof and interior windows. In the upper apartment, where three boys live together, the bathroom is connected to the living room through an inside window, and look out simultaneously by a roof window: “So you see your own house from unexpected angles in a way it remains fascinating. The head of the architecture department of Ghent said that our project is a kind of synthesis of urban living: How can you live together in a small area, but do not suffer the disadvantages concerning light, circulation and privacy?”

Anti trends

The architects wanted to create the feeling that the apartments have spontaneously, coincidentally, almost organically grown. “We do not want architecture for architects. It should not be finger-on that we have thought hard about the design. The intention is that our project is going to look better by getting older, rather than to decline. Hence we have worked with many beautiful old materials: wood, concrete, old floors, etc. The patio has yet to change: vegetation, balconies and washing lines. It should all be a little more ‘lived’. ‘The façade takes humility on the street. Besides the base, formed by 23 chestnut trees, the façade is a purified version of the classic whitewashed facade. The white plaster was one condition of the city services.

Controlled multitude

The material is not motivated by ephemeral fads. In the living room of Maarten’s apartment we see a wardrobe made from grooved plywood of Polish pine, which has a beautiful drawing. That pine wood contrasts with the dark smoked oak parquet. The ceiling is partly concrete, partly from pasting, partly from wooden beams and there is even an iron beam visible. “So much more fun if you watch your ceiling from your seat.” In the kitchen we find even a dash reclaimed terracotta floor, feeling like the oak. “We have let a lot of materials coexist, without letting it be too crowded. Name it controlled quantity (laughter). By playing with textures and materials, we create atmosphere and define different residential functions. Sociability is a bit of a dirty word in modern architecture, but honestly we are quite fond of it.”

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features brick walls and a mirrored atrium appeared first on Dezeen.

This zigzagging house in Australia by Iredale Pedersen Hook is raised above the ground on stilts to minimise its impact on the native landscape and wildlife (+ slideshow).

The holiday home was designed by Australian studio Iredale Pedersen Hook for a site near the town of Nannup. Situated between a forest and a flood plain, the area provides a habitat for local fauna including emus, kangaroos and snakes.

The house was given a cranked layout to create different experiences along its length. It was also lifted off the ground to enhance views and reduce disruption to the site.

“This is a holiday house, a place of temporary inhabitation that offers a variety of experiences and relationship to the native landscape,” said the architect. “Spaces are strung in a line, an open-ended line that allows one to enter, exist and then leave and continue.”

The kinked plan optimises different views of the forest on one side and the horizon on the other. It accommodates outdoor living areas, including an enclosed balcony at the rear of the property and a pointed terrace that projects towards the flood plain.

Windows on the angled facades alternate between vertical apertures that make the most of the view towards the nearby trees and longer openings overlooking the plain.

The use of the stilts and their diagonal cross-braces references the fallen trees that are a common feature around the forest edge, while the material palette used for the exterior references its natural setting.

“Materials were carefully selected to dialogue with the context,” the architects explained. “Dark Colorbond steel, rusting steel and recycled jarrah [wood] contributes to the notion of the building as ‘shadow’.”

Long steel grate ramps lead to an entrance at one end of the house and a balcony at the other, continuing past the master bedroom and main living areas to the sheltered terrace.

The main entrance opens into a dark corridor that meanders past bedrooms, a laundry and a study, before reaching the two terraces on either side of the bright, open-plan living and dining room.

The architects said they wanted to enhance the experience of moving between interior and exterior spaces by emulating the experience of “wandering through a forest in and out of darkness and openness.”

Richly textured, dark jarrah wood used on the floor of the corridor contrasts with the bright living spaces, while carefully chosen colours and textures were introduced throughout the interior to evoke the natural surroundings.

Treated plantation pine was used for 90 per cent of the building’s framework and recycled local timber features on the outdoor decks as well as internal flooring and storage.

Photovoltaic panels on the roof supply the home’s power and a solar-powered system heats its water, which includes rainwater captured from the roof.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s a project description from Iredale Pedersen Hook:

Nannup Holiday House

The Nannup Holiday house forms part of a wandering path through the landscape from Perth to Nannup. This path dialogues with the landscape of intense forest, meandering river and rolling hills, each experience is carefully choreographed to enrich the occupancy of the house. A Jeykll and Hyde experience of the landscape is carefully controlled through oscillating vertical (forest) and horizontal (horizon) openings and the contrast of grounded and floating experiences. While the exterior dialogues with the numerous fallen trees, the interior is revealed through a sequence of ‘growth rings’ coded and extruded in relation to the building program.

Program Resolution

This is a holiday house, a place of temporary inhabitation that offers a variety of experiences and relationship to the native landscape. Spaces are strung in a line, an open-ended line that allows one to enter, exist and then leave and continue. The house is part of a broader and longer experience that constitutes the experience of being on ‘holiday’, the travel to and from the site and the experience of visiting local towns and tourist attractions are then contemplated and celebrated in the context of this residence. Spaces are organised to provide a sense of seclusion and retreat, guests view the forest from a distance through vertical windows, the boys view the horizon and rolling hills through shared horizontal openings and the parents almost touch the natural landscape. These areas are collected by a dark, twisting and cranking space clad in recycled jarrah that oscillates between interior and exterior creating a sense of ambiguity and wondering through a forest in and out of darkness and openness. Outlook from this space is carefully controlled to provide detailed relief, openings also align to view through interior to exterior to interior and back to exterior.

Built form context relationship

The building hovers above the native landscape minimising disturbance, it is a shadow to the immense forest, cranking in plan and undulating in section. The plan twists in relationship to program requirements and variety of views. The section undulates in direct dialogue to the backdrop forest enriching the spatial experience with variety and complexity; spatial proportion varies between rooms capturing the verticality of the forest and the horizontality of the horizon.

It sits between the edge of the forest and the edge of the flood plain, the space between fire and flood, a fragile zone of existence. The ground level is dominated by roaming wild pigs (the size of humans), tiger snakes, dugites and other less threatening native fauna including emus and kangaroos. The elevated house with access via the steel grate ramps creates a safe retreat to observe nature.

Materials were carefully selected to dialogue with the context, dark Colorbond steel, rusting steel and recycled Jarrah contributes to the notion of the building as ‘shadow’. This concept continues internally, the main passage being dark and an extension of the exterior (recycled Jarrah) and primary living spaces being lighter and more connected to the exterior (recycled WA Blackbutt). Small fragments of intense colour capture the colours of the forest undergrowth.

Integration of Allied Disciplines

The core building team camped on site during construction; it became an obsession, highly crafted and full of pride. Our structural engineer also travelled regularly to site while visiting his own holiday farm in the vicinity. His knowledge of local conditions and contractors was highly valued. The project enjoyed a high level of respect and collaboration between all teams; this is reflected in the end result.

Sustainability

This project offers a holistic approach to environmental sustainability commencing with design and placement of access paths. The vehicle access path is placed along the site edge an area that requires annual clearing for the firebreak. This enables us to minimise the clearing of land. The materials required to build the access path were quarried from the site (gravel and clean yellow sand). These areas were immediately rehabilitated with plant species already existing on the site.

The house was sited and designed to minimise clearing of bush and removal of trees. The area under the house is then free for re-introducing local species and will be fed by the grey water recycling.

Materials were selected based on a life cycle analysis of embodied energy, Colorbond cladding provides a durable exterior core and inhabited areas include recycled Jarrah and recycled WA Blackbutt. Timber off cuts was re-used for storeroom linings.

The building structure is 90% treated plantation pine and most furniture constructed from hoop pine plantation plywood. The structure was mostly pre-fabricated to minimise building waste.

The long roof form increases the capacity to capture rainwater, this is re-used in the house. Grey Water is recycled for garden watering under the house. Water is heated from a solar hot water system with back up instantaneous gas hot water systems located close to areas of water use to minimise water waste. Water consumption is reduces with rated fixtures and fittings.

Photo Voltaic cells balanced over the year easily cover consumption requirements. Power consumption is minimised through energy efficient equipment, use of LED and Compact Fluorescent globes and feature wall mounted light fittings manufactured from plantation plywood.

Applied coatings are minimised and generally Low Voc or oil.

Architects: Iredale Pedersen Hook architects
Architectural Project Team: Adrian Iredale, Finn Pedersen, Martyn Hook, Drew Penhale, Caroline Di Costa, Jason Lenard, Matthew Fletcher
Structural Engineer: Terpkos Engineering
Builder: Brolga Developments and Construction

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rises above the Australian bush on stilts appeared first on Dezeen.

American firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed this wooden lodge as the holiday home for a family at the Kicking Horse Mountain ski resort in Canada (+ slideshow).

Kicking Horse Residence, which was named as one of the ten recipients of the American Institute of Architects‘ 2014 Housing Awards earlier this week, was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson as a weekend retreat that can accommodate the family and their guests, but can also be left unoccupied for long periods of time.

“The clients desired a weekend gathering place for their active family of five that would allow for flexibility to accommodate larger groups of family and friends, and provide a direct connection to the outdoors for seasonal recreation,” said the architect.

A forest of aspen and spruce trees surrounds the site, so timber was chosen as the primary building material. But unlike the typical wooden lodges of the region, the house features an angular structure intended to reflect the clients’ Scandinavian heritage.

“The Kicking Horse Residence is a family retreat that uses evocative forms to embrace the natural world,” said the architect.

The three-storey house is made up of two wings, connected by a central staircase. The largest of the two is an asymmetric volume accommodating the main living and sleeping spaces, while its rectilinear partner contains a family room offering views of the mountain peaks.

The building nestles into the slope of the site, creating entrances on both the lower and middle levels. The first functions as the main access and the second is a landing providing access to nearby ski and bicycle trails.

Bedrooms are scattered throughout the house. Three sleeping spaces are located in the loft, while two master bedrooms sit at opposite ends of the middle storey, creating a cantilever at the front of the building.

The base of the house is surrounded by concrete and contains a garage, a mudroom and a play space for the children.

Here’s a project description from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson:

Kicking Horse Residence

The clients desired a weekend gathering place for their active family of five that would allow for flexibility to accommodate larger groups of family and friends and provide a direct connection to the outdoors for seasonal recreation. They requested careful arrangement of the program to maintain privacy on the narrow lot between two neighbouring residences, while focusing on the views and providing direct access to nearby ski and bike trails.

While Kicking Horse Mountain resort is a relatively new ski destination, the majority of the custom homes in the area still take the form of traditional timber structures. The clients appreciated the intimate scale and warmth of traditional mountain lodges but wished to explore the possibility of creating a Modernist cabin more rooted in their Scandinavian heritage that connected directly to the landscape. The sloping site is adjacent to a ski trail and surrounded by a forest of aspen and spruce trees. Located between two neighbouring residences, the careful arrangement of program maintains privacy through the thoughtful composition of windows, while focusing on the views and providing access to the nearby ski and bike trails.

The house is composed of two primary elements: a dense bar along the northern edge of the site containing the sleeping and bath spaces, and an open shell with living and dining spaces oriented toward the extraordinary mountain views. A central stair volume links these two forms, with the main entrance at the lower level and an upper landing for ski access on the west side.

The linear form of the sleeping spaces cantilevers over a board-formed concrete base containing the garage, mudroom, and playroom. A standing seam metal roof folds over the peak to become an articulated wall with operable vents, bringing light and air into the loft spaces. These lofts contain bunk beds that allow flexible sleeping arrangements for children or guests.

Anchored by a tall concrete fireplace, the geometric form containing the living and dining spaces floats above the forest floor, allowing natural drainage patterns to flow uninterrupted through the site. Plywood-clad walls and ceiling planes extend to the exterior, framing alpine views and sheltering an outdoor deck.

Given its function as a weekend retreat, the house was designed to perform for extended periods without occupancy. The design inherently reduces exposure to natural drainage patterns by limiting the building footprint, and we worked directly with the contractor to detail the below grade drainage system to perform most efficiently for the soils on site. Electrical, heating, and security systems are monitored and controlled remotely so the client is made immediately aware of any issues, and an emergency generator was supplied in case of power outage.

The evocative forms of the house are oriented to capture daylight and views to the stunning mountain peaks above, but also act to effectively shed snow from the massive storms that move through the area. The client chose a local general contractor, native to the Golden, BC area, with a long history of building in remote areas. They enjoy both the craft involved in building intricate wooden structures from locally sourced timbers and also heading outdoors after a day of hard work.

Wood is a primary natural resource in this region. The local Louisiana Pacific Mill is a lifeline for the town of Golden, and a project goal was to express the natural diversity of wood in the architecture.

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holiday home at a Canadian ski resort appeared first on Dezeen.

This weekend cabin in a Washington national park, by Seattle architect Tom Kundig, features a protective steel exterior that slides across its windows and a floor raised up on stilts to prevent flooding.

Sol Duc Cabin was named as one of the ten recipients of the American Institute of Architects‘ 2014 Housing Awards earlier this week. Completed in 2011, it provides a rural retreat for a couple who take regular fishing expeditions in the Olympic National Park.

Kundig, principal designer at Olson Kundig Architects, was asked by the clients to create a “virtually indestructible” residence that could be left uninhabited for weeks at a time. It needed to be both secure and protected from the occasional flooding of a nearby river.

He responded by creating a 30-square-metre cabin clad externally with unfinished steel and raised up on four steel columns, similar to the Delta Shelter he completed in 2005.

“The cabin’s rugged patina and raw materiality respond to the surrounding wilderness while its verticality provides a safe haven during occasional floods from the nearby river,” said the architect.

Windows can be secured behind steel shutters that blend into the walls. Residents open them using a mechanical system of gears, drive shafts and U-joints, which are set into motion by turning a wheel.

“Sol Duc Cabin opens to the environment through human power,” said the architect.

The main space inside the cabin is taken up by a double-height living and dining area with a compact kitchen along one edge. A small washroom is tucked away at the back, while a ladder leads up to a mezzanine loft that functions as a sleeping area.

Walls, floors and ceilings are lined with timber panels. There is also a balcony with a see-through mesh floor, which faces out towards the river.

An overhanging roof provides some shelter over the balcony and shades the windows from the harsh sunlight.

The entire building was prefabricated and then assembled on site, reducing its impact on the rural landscape.

Photography is by Benjamin Benschneider.

Here’s some more information from Olson Kundig Architects:

Sol Duc Cabin

Providing secure shelter for every season, this steel-clad 350 sf cabin on stilts can be completely shuttered when the owner is away. The cabin’s rugged patina and raw materiality respond to the surrounding wilderness while its verticality provides a safe haven during occasional floods from the nearby river.

The overall design responds to the owner’s desire for a compact, low-cost, low-maintenance, virtually indestructible building to house himself and his wife during fishing expeditions. Composed of two levels, the cabin’s entry, dining and kitchen areas are located on the lower floor while a sleeping loft with minimal shelving hovers above. A cantilevered steel deck extends from the lower level, providing unimpeded views of the river.

Constructed primarily of unfinished, mild steel and structural insulated panels (SIPs), the cabin is supported by four steel columns and sits lightly on the site. Most of the structure — the steel frame and panels, the roof, shutters, and stairs — was prefabricated off-site, thereby reducing onsite waste and site disruption. Prefabrication kept typical construction wastage to a minimum.

With a cantilevered roof that provides solar shading and protection from the elements, Sol Duc Cabin opens to the environment through human power. Each of the building’s shutters can be opened and closed with hand wheels that move the shutters over the glazed portions of each facade. The shutters are operated by a series of mechanical devices including a hand wheel, drive shafts, u-joints, spur gears and cables.

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steel cabin on stilts appeared first on Dezeen.