Hasta La Ideas

Brazilian studios MMBB and H+F Arquitetos reference tower blocks from the 1960s with this social housing complex flanking the Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge in São Paulo (+ slideshow).

The Jardim Edite Social Housing Complex replaces a large favela on the junction between Avenida Berrini and Avenida Marinho, a part of the city that has seen a boom in high-end real estate in recent years.

MMBB and H+F Arquitetos teamed up to design the complex, creating 252 new residences within three 17-storey towers and a pair of adjoining two-storey blocks.

Each unit has two bedrooms and an area of 50 square metres – the maximum permitted size for social housing in the city.

Public services occupy the ground-floor spaces, offering a healthcare facility, a children’s daycare centre and a catering school. There are also communal gardens and rooftop terraces for residents.

The architects deliberately left out any parking provision, which they hoped would deter local office workers from moving in. Instead, many of the favela’s original residents returned to occupy the new homes.

“For us it is a laboratory for investigating ideas for the kind of city we want to build here in São Paulo,” H+F’s Eduardo Ferroni told Architectural Record.

Other recent architecture stories from Brazil include a new art museum and art school in Rio and a concrete photography studio, also in São Paulo. See more architecture in Brazil »

Photography is by Nelson Kon.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Jardim Edite Social Housing Complex

The Jardim Edite Social Housing Complex was commissioned to replace a favela located on one of the most significant areas of recent growth in both the business and financial sector of the city of São Paulo.

To ensure the integration among the housing complex and its rich surroundings, the project articulated the housing program vertically and occupied the ground floor entirely by public facilities, available for the residential community as well as for the rest of the city, inserting the complex in the economy and everyday life of the region.

The rooftops of the public facilities also functions as a common area for the inhabitants, connecting housing buildings within each block, allowing for a secluded place for social interaction between the residents in the midst of the metropolitan scale of the surrounding area.

The project has a total area of 25.500 sqm, with 252 housing units of 50 sqm, a restaurant school (850 sqm), a basic health-care unit (1300 sqm) and a daycare center (1400 sqm).

Location: Av. Eng. Luís Carlos Berrini with Av. J. Roberto Marinho, São Paulo
Area: 25.714 sqm
Client: Prefeitura Municipal de São Paulo – Secretaria Municipal da Habitação (Sehab/Habi)
Architecture: MMBB and H+F

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by MMBB and H+F Arquitetos appeared first on Dezeen.

German firm Archequipe has renovated a townhouse in Cologne’s Deutz district with a gabled facade that steps back and forth to respect the boundaries of a neighbouring residence.

Haus KLR was designed in the 1980s by architect Jutta Klare as a home for herself and her husband. Originally the five-storey building had housed an apartment for the couple’s in-laws on its second floor, but this space has now been converted into an architecture studio for Archequipe.

Thirty years ahead of its completion, the architects have given the building a facelift, re-plastering the staggered white walls that comprise the south, east and north elevations.

These offsets help to maximise the building footprint on each floor while respecting a guideline that required various setbacks on different storeys.

“The valid building law requested three metres distance between ground floor and the eastbound property line while the second floor required 4.5 metres distance to the same boundary,” explained the architects.

There’s also a south-facing oriel window that reinterprets the local 1930s vernacular.

Archequipe’s renovation included repainting the frames surrounding all the building’s windows, which are either square or made from combinations of square panels.

Stone floors were restored throughout both the studio and house, which includes a large dining room that opens out to the garden. Bathrooms were also overhauled on each floor.

Other houses we’ve featured from Germany include a renovated 1970s house in Offenbach and a gabled residence in the town of Metzingen. See more German houses on Dezeen »

Photography is by Roland Unterbusch.

Here’s some more information from Archequipe:

House KLR

The House KLR was built 1982 in Cologne as a townhouse with two units. In these days it was one of the first realised buildings of the architect who designed it for her husband and herself. A rentable in-law apartment with a separate staircase was supposed to support the young couple financially.

The district Deutz, where House KLR is located, was traditionally regarded as a secondary part of Cologne, whose centre resides on the opposite side of the river Rhine. In the last decade the once neglected district Deutz evolved into a popular address within Cologne’s inner city.

Most parts of the neighbourhood were erected in the 1930s with 3-4 story residential buildings while the narrow building site of House KLR was used as a fruit and vegetable garden until the 1980s. The simple and practical post-war architecture, nowadays most common in German cities, dominates the area today.

One challenge regarding the design was to follow building laws while producing sufficient living space on the small plot. The valid building law requested 3.0 metres distance between ground floor and the eastbound property line while the second floor required 4.5 metres distance to the same boundary. In reaction to these demands a sculptural structure originated that seems to jump back and forth playfully multiple times.

The diversely leaping cubes led to additional useful surfaces which made the construction of a sufficiently spacious roof terrace for the in-law apartment possible. The two remaining facades – one facing the street the other the garden – were designed in the style of the sculptural structure of the east façade, thereby, preserving the element of the oriel present in the surrounding buildings. Besides the motif of the oriel the small window formats and the plastered facade as typical elements of the neighbouring housing were included into the design.

The main apartment reaches over the three lower levels, the entrance to the amount of the middle level. The kitchen and dining area are set in the lowest level, so that the garden can be used as an additional dining area during the summer. The garden is also regarded as a recreational area, as for his unique position – below street level and shielded by the enclosing wall – it gains the character of a lonesome oasis in the midst of the city. The bedrooms of the main apartment are located on the first floor and are connected with the two other floors through stairs within the apartment.

The in-law apartment is also structured as a maisonette, and reaches from the second floor till the attic. Today it accommodates the Cologne architecture office of archequipe.

In 2012, exactly 30 years after building House KLR, extensive renovation work was performed. All facades were newly-plastered. Roof sheetings and window benches were renewed, the windows painted in a corresponding color. Inside, the stone cottage floors were refurbished, and walls plastered smoothly. Bathrooms on all levels were completely renovated.

Architects: archequipe, Freie Architekten
Location: Cologne, Germany
Team: Jutta Klare, Bartosz Czempiel, Sebastian Filla

Area: 300 sqm
Year: 1982/2012

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by Archequipe appeared first on Dezeen.

Portuguese architect João Branco has revamped a cluster of farm buildings and animal pens to create a weekend retreat for a family in Portugal’s Sierra de Janeanes district (+ slideshow).

The renovated house is contained within the rustic stone walls of the old agricultural structures and sheltered beneath a traditional clay-tile roof.

The ground floor of the building steps up and down to adjust to the hilly terrain, grouping the house into four different zones. There’s also a new corridor that forms an axis across the length of the plan.

“The usual program of a single-family house is organised so that each space can be used with a degree of intimacy and independence,” said the architect.

The largest room of the house is a central living area with a double-height ceiling, exposed stone walls and a combined stove and seating area.

In contrast, the mezzanine floor above is surrounded by wooden floors, surfaces and furniture, and is used by residents as a library. A long desk runs along one side, creating a balcony study space with enough room to seat several people.

A total of five bedrooms are arranged in two groups, positioned at opposite ends of the house. Each has direct access to one of two new courtyards, plus bathrooms are located alongside.

The main dining room and kitchen sit alongside one another in one corner of the building, but also lead out to an outdoor dining area at the highest point of the site.

There’s also an outdoor swimming pool that offers views out towards the distant mountains.

“Throughout the work process the idea of contrast and surprise was always present,” added Branco. “An exterior that mimics the stony and massive surroundings is very distinct from the sober and very illuminated interior that offers a delicate unexpected encounter in contrast with the rough brutality of the circumambient.”

Other renovated Portuguese houses on Dezeen include a former poet’s house turned into a writers’ retreat and a stable building converted into a holiday home. See more houses in Portugal »

Photography is by Do Mal o Menos.

Here’s a project description from the architect:

House in Serra de Janeanes

The access area of this site is a welcoming space as the existing buildings and stone walls convert it in a confined and shady location. As you course along westward, the slope to reach the highest part of the garden is considerable. At this point, stripped of limits, the distant mountains are the only horizon.

The task consisted in converting the agricultural use buildings in a weekend home for a four generation family. Thus, the usual program of a single-family house: living room, dining room, kitchen and five bedrooms, is organised so that each space can be used with a degree of intimacy and independence. To this program was also requested the addition of a library.

The main areas of the house occupy the old corrals – four stony and dark volumes, with very occasional openings, adjacent amongst but with no communication between them, located at different levels and following the slope of the land with North orientation.

The project proposes two fundamental operations: first a new longitudinal axis that cuts across the various existing buildings, like a corridor carved in stone that unites the various spaces. Secondly, two new patios enable natural light to reach the innermost parts of the house.

The work is completed with an exterior dining area and a swimming pool located near the existing barn floor at the upper part of the land, taking advantage of the best views and most advantageous sun exposure. Throughout the work process the idea of contrast and surprise was always present. An exterior that mimics the stony and massive surroundings is very distinct from the sober and very illuminated interior that offers a delicate unexpected encounter in contrast with the rough brutality of the circumambient.

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by João Branco appeared first on Dezeen.

Since publishing a residential extension in Italy by architects Plasma Studio earlier this month, we’ve picked another faceted house from the studio’s archives located in the same South Tyrollean village.

Plasma Studio designed the Cube House on a steep site between two existing properties in the village of Sesto, high in the Dolomite mountains.

Triangular sections of the facade jut out to meet the slope, fusing the building with the site.

Main access to the house is past two parking spaces on the lower level dug into the hillside.

The staircase dog-legs up through the centre of the house, surrounded by the living, dining and kitchen area on the first floor. Bedrooms occupy the top storey.

Generous south and east-facing balconies and terraces double the amount of useable floor space. “We opened the facade as much as possible in order to widen up the tight interior,” said the architects.

The house is wrapped in slanted wooden slats, which help to screen balconies and terraces from the main road while still offering views to the mountains through angled openings.

Facing the hill behind, the back corner of the property is rendered white like the surrounding buildings and punctured with small rectangular windows.

Plasma Studio have designed another project in the area – a hotel clad with similar angled wood panels just down the valley.

See more Italian houses »
See more architecture by Plasma Studio »
See more design in Italy »

Photography is by Cristobal Palma.

Here’s the project description from Plasma Studio:

The major constraints of this project, its steep site, compressed between existing buildings and very limited allowance of development volume have shaped the form of this house.

It is inserted into the earth with two covered parking spaces to the front from where a small stair case leads up to the main living zones in the first floor and further to the bedrooms in the second floor.

Compact circulation

Because of the limited available floor area the staircase and circulation had to be designed in a very space-saving way – this lead to the continuous organisation in the first floor: the single functions cooking, eating and living are positioned around the circulation core in order to give connectivity and privacy at the same time to the single activities.

The staircase and built-in furniture piece, which is storage, oven and service cavity at the same time, divides and connects as a short cut at the same time. On the second floor the single sleeping rooms are connected to each other in the shortest possible way.

View and shelter

Given prominent location of the site directed towards the south and the Dolomites we opened the facade as much as possible in order to widen up the tight interiors – on both main floors ample balconies and terraces double the available floor area and offer great places to play for the kids and rest for the parents.

In order to provide shelter from the views of the passing by road a layer of wooden sticks was wrapped around the big openings directed to the south – depending on the varying size of the openings they provide different degrees of shelter and intimacy.

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Plasma Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

South Korean architect Moon Hoon designed this home with missing corners for a figurine collector and his family (+ slideshow).

Moon Hoon designed the house for an empty plot beside a lake in Bangdong, an area of South Korea popular with tourists.

“The vacant site seemed to invite some kind of a sculptural object, unhindered by its neighbours, standing rather conspicuously,” said the architect.

Polygonal facades are created by slicing the corners off a narrow cuboid. On each wall these outlines are repeatedly scaled down and recessed until they form windows in the centre.

Conan House, which translates as Toy House, was designed for a local TV producer who wanted somewhere to display his toy collection.

“He is an avid collector of miniature robots and figures,” said the architect, “a hobby that started from an early age that has not stopped.”

Hoon created square niches in the railings that surround the central staircase to display the best objects in the client’s collection.

The staircase spirals up the centre of the building around a skylit atrium, dotted with the display cases all the way up.

More paraphernalia is stored on a wooden bookcase in the basement that nestles in the bottom of the stairwell and wraps around a study area.

Moving up the building, levels are staggered to separate the entrance and living room from the dining and kitchen area.

The main bedroom and ensuite bathroom sit a few steps down from two children’s rooms that share a window.

A red slide cuts across the atrium to join the play areas split over the top floors, which have a yellow ceiling and are lit by windows in the sliced-off corners.

Wooden floors and stair treads run throughout the dominantly white interiors. The entrance is through one of the cleaved wall junctions, easily noticeable from the outside as it’s painted red.

Moon Hoon has also designed a house with a wooden slide slotted between a combined staircase and bookshelf.

Other residences in South Korea include a countryside retreat for a retired couple and villas covered in volcanic rubble. See more houses in South Korea »

Photography is by Nam Goung Son.

Here’s some extra information from Moon Hoon:

Conan House, Moon Hoon

The site

Bangdong is a famous place for sight seeing and leisure for nearby dwellers. It can be quite crowded during the holiday seasons.

The irregular plot of land situated right in front of Bangdong lake boasts a beautiful open view of the lake and a low mountain as a back drop. When visited for the first time, the vacant site seemed to invite some kind of a sculptural object, unhindered by its neighbours, standing rather conspicuously.

The client

He is a producer for a local TV station, with one kid and a lovely wife. His family visited my office one day and asked for a skip-floored house like Lollipop House, which they had seen in the magazines.

He was an avid collector of miniature robots and figures. A hobby that started from an early age, which has not stopped. His father was also an avid collector of natural stones shaped like something recognisable or possessing some abstract qualities. The collector gene was running in the family.

The architect

I am a playful architect. I have met the right client, who has kept his child-like mind intact with him. The design went through two alternatives, one each floor stacked and rotating, the other of a box with small broken floors moving up in a spiral.

Both had their ups and downs. The client chose the latter. The house has a central core that is used as an exhibition space and a railing for his toys.

The spiral and jagged floor levels follow the spiral stair case all the way up to the attic, where you can find a small red slide that traverses the void. The exterior expresses the inner spiral energy in a simplified form.

The space

The spiral staircase is a place for movement, play and exhibition. It plays a central role in the house. the other functioning rooms such as living, kitchen, bedrooms are attached to the system.

The windows are placed in the centre of each wall, mimicking the concept and inviting ample amount of light. The void in the middle gives much vertical depth in a otherwise a compact house.

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by Moon Hoon appeared first on Dezeen.