Chapel < House

I havent seen a reuse project as amazing as ZECC Architects' conversion of a Dutch chapel into a house in a long time. In today's society it is far too often a building such as this would just get torn down and replaced with a Mc Mansion. It makes me smile to know that some people see the beauty and character in these old buildings and actually reuse them to create something so unique.

The original chapel was part of a large housing complex of the Friars of Utrecht, which at its height, around the mid-20th century, housed 217 residents. The remaining 13 elderly friars, however, moved to a nursing home in 2005, and the complex was divided up and converted into about 40 apartments. Take a look at the before photo of the chapel:



ZECC took this space and created a very modern and minimalist home. I appreciate that the design team chose to keep many of the original features like the high gothic stained glass windows and the original choir organ.










holy @#*& check out those stairs!!

Andrea Air Purifier

Andrea is the first award-winning designed air filter capable of absorbing toxic gases, such as formaldehyde, from home and office environments through the natural absorptive and metabolic properties of living plants.

Andrea elevates the science of pure air into an art form by bringing fresh air and stylish design into the home and office.

Any kind of household plant (sold separately) can be used as the filtration agent, offering freedom to select the foliage that best suits the motif of any part of your home.

Can you say AMAZING?

Oh, the views!

Welcome to the Bar House By Peter L. Gluck & Partners.

This house, located in Aspen, Colorado, is all about the views. This home was created with as much southern exposure as possible perpendicular to the valley, as the sun comes only from the south.


Gluck designed the 5,750-square-foot house in two parts: An elongated, two-story volume with kitchen, living, and dining areas on the first floor and bedrooms and bathrooms on the second floor, and a discrete guest suite separated from the house by a driveway. The second-floor spaces are positioned in a single-loaded corridor on the south side of the second floor, allowing for clear views of the valley and admitting sunlight into every room. A VIEW AND SUNLIGHT IN EVERY ROOM. CAN YOU IMAGINE?

Simple forms and simple, durable materials complete the design, as do efficient heating and cooling systems. The house is completely clad in Ipe wood, and interior finishings include concrete floors, wenge-wood, built-in cabinetry downstairs and English sycamore upstairs, and rolling fabric panels that act as shades for the mostly glass southern exposures.

I’m pretty sure I’d spend as much time as possible on the roof just checking out the spectacular 360-degree view.

For Sale: Sustain Minihome Prototype

Instant cottage!

It is a design classic, and the only one ever built. The miniHome Solo is solar and wind powered, a complete off-grid, self-sustaining year round machine for living. Designed by Andy Thomson of Altius Architecture, it was built to the highest standards without compromise.

All materials and finishes were chosen to be VOC free and mould resistant, easy to clean and maintain. Walls are thermosteel panels, custom made solid insulation. Complete with dual flush toilet, gray and black water tanks, full kitchen with propane powered fridge and stove, microwave and richlite counters.

"Quite possibly the world's first, completely self-sufficient, ecological trailer design, the miniHome features many of the 'mod-cons' that consumers have come to expect, without the associated energy, resource or material use. Within a well-organized 38 sm (350 sf), there is everything you need for comfortable, year-round, sustainable living. Designed for a 50-year life expectancy, the miniHome offers the possibility for year-round, affordable living on almost any site. It is equally at home in a remote, wilderness setting – completely off-grid – or in an urban trailer park. Its remarkably sustainable combination of energy efficient systems and beautiful finishes usually associated with luxury condominiums results in a home that sings the virtues of simplicity and conservation."

All of this for only $100K? WTF.

Six Ramsgate

Six Ramsgate house is a contemporary masterpiece by Wallflower Architecture + Design. It’s a wonderful example of how the proper use of proportion, rhythm, light and materials can create beautiful spaces. The house is located at 6 Ramsgate Road, Singapore and sits on a 1200 square meter site. It is approximately 25m wide by 48m deep, and because of the intermingling of internal gardens and column-free vistas, there is a continuous and unbroken visual depth of 40m that ties together the entrance foyer, swimming pool, formal living area, internal garden court and formal dining areas.






The environmental transparencies at ground level and between the courtyards are important in passively cooling the house. All the courtyards have differing material finishes and therefore differing heat gain and latency (water, grass, water, granite). As long as there are temperature differences between courtyards, the living, dining, and pool house become conduits for breezes that move in between the courtyards, very much like how land and sea breezes are generated. The use of thick masonry walls on either side of the house keep temperature gradients small within the house and also act as enormous ‘ducting’ in guiding air currents between courtyards. At the second story, solid hardwood louvers that can be adjusted by hand allow the desired amount of breeze and sunlight to filter through. And at the 1st story, substantial trellising minimize sun entry into habitable areas.

Lego Houses?

Remember how much fun it was to build things out of legos as a kid? I myself was obsessed with Legos (hell, I still am) and would build little communities of houses. A new German company called HIB has recently come up with a modular housing design based on Lego-style blocks that consumers can put together themselves. LIFE SIZE LEGOS!!

The HIB-System is an eco-friendly home design that's soundproof, insulated, energy-efficient and structurally sound without the use of any chemicals or toxins. Based on modular blocks created from naturally cut timber, local Black Forest pine and insulation materials including wood chips, clay, mussel shells and pea shingle gravel, HIB-System homes can be assembled quickly by consumers themselves or with limited help. The blocks, which weigh no more than 25 kg each, are easily handled without the need for expensive lifting devices and lock into each other in Lego fashion. The resulting construction is earthquake- and storm-proof even at three stories tall, and a concrete floor can be added for even greater strength and stability.

Interior and exterior walls can be finished in plaster, wood, brick or metal finishes; they are also mould-proof, and the insulation used achieves energy-efficiency levels 40 percent higher than those attained using standard insulation materials, HIB says. Consumers who use the HIB-System can either design their own houses or choose from an array of models pre-designed by professional architects. For construction, HIB can recommend local, certified partners to provide assistance, or consumers can do it themselves using HIB's pre-planned system whereby components are cut to size and numbered in the factory prior to delivery.

Bloomframe

Just a few weeks ago I spent an afternoon talking about porches and balconies with an architect friend. We were trying to come up with a space saving solution that would allow more people in the city to have balconies. Well it looks like Hofman Dujardin beat us to it with the BloomFrame.

The BLOOMFRAME breaks out of the 2-dimensional facade to add to the usable space in this innovative design by Hofman Dujardin Architects. Bloomframe is an innovative window frame that can be transformed into a balcony allowing an increase in usable space with minimal intervention. Bloomframe offers the user a flexible living environment. By opening the window frame, it is possible to walk out through the facade and to enjoy a comfortable balcony. The dynamic balcony enables adding outdoor space to compact apartments in urban high-rise areas.