Hasta La Ideas

Budding novelists will lust after this writer’s hideaway in upstate New York designed by New York City architects Cooper Joseph Studio (+ slideshow).

The exterior is clad in black stained cedar to absorb sunlight during the cold winters, and a built-in ladder leads up to the roof.

The interior is sparsely furnished with custom-made pieces made from walnut, including a desk, a magazine table and even the sink in the bathroom.

See more dreamy places to work on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Elliott Kaufman.

Here’s some more information about the project:

Writer’s Studio
Ghent, New York

The writer’s studio is a place for one person to work, read and listen to music. Open vistas to a pond and fields are to one side, the other side is immersed in deep woods. The overall impression of the structure is deceivingly simple. Each façade is composed with distinct apertures specifically arranged to the light, the views and tailored, like a bespoke suit to his size and eye level. The inside is, uncluttered and elegant, unified by the use of walnut.

Design solution

Minimalist detailing, open glazed corners and transparency running the length of the structure challenge the simplicity of the “box”. Given harsh winters, the fireplace becomes the visual center, anchoring the asymmetrical composition with large, richly conceived hearth. On a structural level, the fireplace also anchors the large cantilevered corners to either side.

The studio volume is a small, rectilinear and restrained single-room space in the woods. The entire interior is immersed in walnut in varied ways. The rigid orthogonal geometry of the room is juxtaposed with dynamic sculptural designs of the furniture – a desk, a side table and two black leather armchairs. The sliding doors are walnut plank, the pantry counter is walnut, the floors are highly polished walnut, the sink in the bathroom is made of walnut as well as some of the wainscoting in the main room.

On the outside, cedar received a matte black stain, the same surface treatment for the flat broader, horizontal boards and the highly textured, thinner slats. Each was a precisely laid and mitered at the corner. Copper trim and scuppers set off the forms. The choice of using only wood framing was pragmatic, but it worked very well for even the large cantilevered roof sections over corner glass-to-glass windows at the north side of the building.

Energy and sustainability

Our strategy involves efficient equipment, passive heating and cooling, locally available materials and a wood-burning fireplace that uses wood fuel from trees on the property. The stone is black slate.

By locating the house in the deep deciduous woods, we are able to take advantage of the leaves as sun shading in the summer months. In the winter, when the trees lose their leaves, the building’s black exterior absorbs sunlight and with the fireplace, there is a reduction in fuel consumption.

Interior finishes:

The interior walls are a composition of walnut slats and white surfaces. A bookshelf, the kitchen and the window seat are all entirely of solid walnut allowing for uniformity of texture and color. The sliding door to the kitchen is walnut as well. As sunlight is filtered through the trees, the floor becomes a key surface, reflecting natural light with a warm hue. It’s high polish balances nicely with the lower intensity sheen on the walls and horizontal surfaces.

The fireplace has a river stone surround (to code) set flush to the wood slats. Next to it is the wood storage area. The wood enters this alcove from behind, as there is a hidden door in the north façade of the building allowing the fire to be easily maintained without having to bring the wood through the front door.

Bathroom:

With a shower wall entirely in glass and a ceiling-mounted “rain” fixture, it feels like being outdoors. Its drains are all hidden so that there is virtually no reading of the shower except when in use. The same slats continue in the bathroom on the entire entry wall and elsewhere above the local black slate. We designed the bathroom sink in walnut as well. Here we used solid stock with channels cut to carry the water to a trench drain cut into the wall. The channels are sloped. They are closer together near the faucet and further apart to the edges there providing more surface for a cake of soap or glass.

Furniture:

As there are very few objects within the space, it was critical that their design and materiality work well with the minimal interior finishes. Again, for the desk and table we turned to walnut for its warmth, strength and texture.

The desk is located on axis with a fireplace with views around it north to a pond and fields beyond, but it has an asymmetric relationship to the elements of the room. Technically, it was an achievement to make a large, heavy, wood top cantilever and its sculptural form makes this possible. In this way, when you enter the room, there is no visible structure and the plane of the surface floats freely. Below, on the backside there is a shelf (with hidden pencil drawer) for the printer. The electric connection is under the open base, and only a small slot for the cord disturbs the desk surface. The “scholar stone” sits above this slot.

The magazine table echoes the form of the desk nearby but with a ribbed construction that relates to the slatted walls in the room. Once more, the triangulated geometry sets it apart from the architecture. Each rib differs in configuration from its neighbor so that viewed in one direction it emphasizes the angular surfaces and from the other the surfaces blend to appear as solid planes. It’s a bit of an optical illusion due to the precise geometry. The form holds the books or newspaper on the open shelf against the lounge chair so that the room still appears free of clutter.

Project Name: Writer’s Studio
Location: Ghent, NY 12075
Completion date: Fall 2007
Size: 525 sq ft
Project Team: Wendy Evans Joseph, FAIA – Principal in charge
Thruston Pettus- Project Manager
Farzana Gandhi
Jonathan Lee
Landscape Architect: Peter Rolland
General Contractor: Romanchuk and Sons
Project Scope: One room building with bathroom, pantry, fireplace. Cantilevered glass corners.
Project Materials: Exterior: cedar siding, stained matte black. Interior: walnut, local grey slate, riverstone.

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Cooper Joseph Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects Swatt Miers have suspended three glass pavilions over the edge of a valley in northern California (+ slideshow).

Located in the grounds of the client’s home, the three Tea Houses were designed to provide quiet, contemplative spaces that are free from the distractions of television, internet, telephone and even music.

The largest of the three pavilions provides a workspace that can also be used for hosting small parties, while the second is for sleeping and the third was conceived as a meditative space for a single person.

Overhanging trees shade the transparent glass walls, which are held in place by horizontal steel joists and vertical concrete cores.

A bathroom bridges the largest of the two rooms and underfloor heating keeps each space warm.

We’ve previously featured a music recital room inspired by a Japanese tea house and a meditation hut with a v-shaped roof.

See all our stories about tea houses »

Photography is by Tim Griffith.

Here’s a project description from Swatt Miers:

The idea for the Tea Houses originated when the client and architect partnered years earlier on the sustainable remodel of the 6,000 square foot main house. During construction the client found respite in a remote location on the site, below a ridge an under a grove of Heritage California Live Oaks. As a high-tech Silicon Valley executive, the desire was to create a place where he could simply retreat into nature.

Years later the vision was realized as three individual Tea Houses. The 270 square foot ‘meditating’ Tea House, nestled under the canopy of the largest oak tree, is a place for individual meditation.

The slightly larger ‘sleeping’ Tea House, approximately 372 square feet, is a space designed for overnight stays. This structure is joined by a sky-lit bathroom ‘bridge’ to the largest Tea House.

At 492 square feet, the ‘visioning’ Tea House is for intimate gatherings and creative thinking. The notion of ‘quiet simplicity’ is a consistent theme throughout – there are to be no phones, internet, televisions or audio systems within the structures.

‘Respect’ and ‘restraint’ are the principles that would guide the construction, and extreme care is taken to minimize impacts to the landscape. The design concept of three separate’ micro’ structures, versus one large structure, enables the project to tread lightly on the land.

And to ensure preservation of the Heritage Oaks’ root systems, the teahouses are literally lifted off the ground, supported by cast-in-plate concrete structural cores. Steel-channel rim joists cantilever beyond the vertical cores to support the floor and roof platforms.

The Tea Houses are passively cooled to eliminate the noise impact from mechanical systems. Steel-framed doors and awning windows provide high/low ventilation.

Natural cooling is further enhanced by shading from strategically located landscaping, including evergreen oaks, bamboo, deciduous maple and gingko trees. Heating is distributed through a quiet and efficient in-floor radiant system.

The sculptural interpretation of a simple tea house has succeeded in a magnificent tribute to the beauty of nature. As the sunlight and shadows move across the hillside the Tea Houses take on different forms- at sunrise the structures disappear into the long shadows; the soft silhouette of the midday sun casts dramatic reflections off the glass; and by evening, the structures glow like lanterns.

Site plan – click above for larger image

Viewed from afar or viewed from within, the Tea Houses are works of art living amongst the trees and grasses of their native California hillside.

Plans and elevation – click above for larger image

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by Swatt Miers appeared first on Dezeen.

The second of two new libraries in Washington DC by architects Adjaye Associates comprises grey concrete blocks with yellow timber fins.

The William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library is located in a residential neighbourhood in the south of city and sits on a gently sloping site.

The central volume of the building contains reading areas for adults, children and teenagers, while group study areas and conference rooms are located in the three wings that adjoin. Faceted concrete legs raise these wings above the ground, creating a sheltered amphitheatre and bicycle parking area by the entrance.

Read about the first of the two libraries here, or click here to see Adjaye’s recent designs for a bitumen-coated pavilion at the Tate Liverpool gallery.

See all our stories about David Adjaye »
See more libraries on Dezeen »

Photography is by Edmund Sumner.

Here’s some more text from Adjaye Associates:

Adjaye Associates’ Community Libraries in Washington DC open to the public

Adjaye Associates’ new neighbourhood libraries for the District of Columbia, the William O. Lockridge/ Bellevue Library and Francis Gregory Library, have opened to the public. The brief called for the new buildings to be “flexible, accessible, welcoming and inviting” and the libraries challenge the traditional closed typology, introducing a social element with a strong urban and cultural programme.

The William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library

“Communities need empowering buildings – and this neighbourhood library is all about the creation of a strong beacon for its community. The primary act of public architecture is to create spaces that are socially edifying and socially liberating – using design excellence as a social force that makes good. This is at the heart of my work, so it is very exciting to see this building welcome its community through its doors.” – David Adjaye

The William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library is characterized by its celebration of views across the neighbourhood, and the insertion into the dramatically sloping site topography. The challenge was also to create a civic building within a residential context. Rather than a single monolithic form, the library is a cluster of geometric volumes, both elevated and grounded physically to the site.

Using the grounded main volume to host the library central stacks and primary reading, the elevated volumes create a welcoming portico at the entrance that can be used for events and informal gatherings. The volumes mediate the scale of the building by using small, medium and large forms, derived from the library’s program but also capturing the surrounding urban fabric and the site topography, while resonating with neighboring residences of a similar composition. Wrapped in a concrete and glazed skin replete with timber fins, the envelope not only resolves structural and shading requirements, but also articulates the vertical presence of the building juxtaposed to the sloping landscape.

By fragmenting the building into smaller volumes, the arrangement takes advantage of the natural topography by setting the library to maximize the eastern exposure for filtered natural lighting, which is the primary light source. On plan, the volumes follow the geometry of the site to form a series of identical, shifting rectangles.

The library service areas are layered, with adults, teenage and children’s services contained within the separate volumes. The first floor contains the circulation desk, adult browsing, sights and sound, a meeting room and library staff support spaces. The second floor has additional adult browsing and children services. The third floor contains further adult, meeting rooms and teen services. The concrete staircase, taking visitors up to the higher levels, matches the incline of the street to suggest a sense of bringing the street – and the neighbourhood – inside.

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by Adjaye Associates appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects studioMDA have completed an aluminium-clad gallery in New York where all the artworks on show are visible from outside (photographs by Roland Halbe).

As the second Paul Kasmin Gallery to open in Chelsea, the building has a simple rectangular layout with white walls and a concrete floor.

A gabled skylight is screened behind parapet walls and allows light to filter into the gallery through a louvred ceiling.

When the gallery is closed, a grid of metal shutters slides down over the glazed facade for security.

Click above for larger image

Other New York galleries we’ve featured include one by Foster + Partners that has just been nominated for the 2012 RIBA Lubetkin Prize.

See more galleries on Dezeen »

Here’s some information from architect Markus Dochantschi:

Paul Kasmin Gallery

Located in the densely populated gallery neighborhood of Chelsea in Manhattan, the Paul Kasmin Gallery seeks to create a new dialogue between pedestrian, visitor, and art. The design of the gallery creates a clean open space connecting the street to the inside. The gallery features a floor to ceiling glass façade, allowing over sized pieces of art to be delivered. The interior space benefits from a large skylight, flooding the space with natural light.

The façade has two defined architectural attributes: the storefront glazing system and the full height aluminum façade. While the perforated gate of the aluminum loading dock gate provides security, the open design allows art to be showcased even when the gallery is closed.

This is the first Chelsea Gallery to open its façade in its entirety to the public, breaking the typology of the traditionally visually disconnected gallery.

studioMDA has also redesigned the entrance of Paul Kasmin’s Gallery at 293 Tenth Avenue, as well as the new store on 27th Street. This is the third location in Chelsea for Paul Kasmin Galleries.

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by studioMDA appeared first on Dezeen.

This 4.5 metre-wide house in Los Angeles by Anonymous Architects was inspired by the narrow residences found in Japanese cities.

The three-storey house is named Eel’s Nest – a reference to the unusually narrow proportions of its plot – and is located in the hilly Echo Park neighbourhood in the north of the city.

Another small house had occupied the site before, but all that remained were basement walls which have been incorporated into the new structure.

To save space there are no corridors inside the building, but stairs lead up from the entrance to a first floor living room, second floor bedrooms and a terrace on the roof.

Other Californian houses we’ve featured include a writer’s residence in north Hollywood and a Malibu house with aeroplane wings for a roof.

See more houses on Dezeen »

Photography is by Steve King.

Here’s some information from Anonymous Architects:

Eel’s Nest
Echo Park, California

The name Eel’s Nest is often given to very narrow lots in Japan, those typically 5 meters or 15 feet in width. The width of this lot in Echo Park is exactly 15 feet and architect Simon Storey felt it was the perfect site to experiment with compact and efficient urban living.

By building vertically, simply and minimally, he was able to use every square foot of space to create a live-work house.

The lot size is 780 square feet and the original building on site was around 370 square feet. The permit from 1927 shows a small house on it’s own lot, which this rules out the possibility it was a carriage house.

It’s existence was so unique that employees at the building department said they had never seen anything like it.

In order to maximize the site and expand by an additional story special permission was required by the planning department. The original house was completely demolished except a few walls in the basement, which are still visible.

Because the house is built to the property line the code requires that the house be fire rated on the exterior.

To solve this challenge, Simon clad the house cement plaster for fire resistance. The interior space has now doubled to create a Warm wood floors and cabinets run through every level and light penetrates into the living and first level spaces by creating an open stair at the 2nd level.

A roof deck, which rises above the dense urban development, has views that extend as far as the Hollywood sign and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Architect: Anonymous Architects
Size: 960 sq.ft (approx 89 sq.m)
Lot size: 780 sq.ft (approx 72 sq.m)
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1
Design and Construction complete in March 2011

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Anonymous Architects appeared first on Dezeen.