From the architect

From the very start it was clear that the landscape around the villa should be preserved as much as possible. A basement was created for the house and the ground floor is semi-positioned in the slope of the hill. The first floor towers above the partially glazed ground floor and the undulating dune landscape. Both the northerly and southerly facades of the first floor are largely made of glass, while the easterly and westerly facades have a more closed character. The closed facade areas on the first floor are made of coloured, sustainable timber. The glass areas on the ground floor and first floor have exceptionally large sliding components, with the moving parts in light oak. The details of the glass styles and the upper and lower lines have been kept to a minimum. The large glass facades ensure a connection between outdoors and indoors; contact with nature is tangible throughout the house. At the same time, the patio in the heart of the villa provides maximum daylight in all the rooms.

Attention for energy
Special attention is devoted to energy in Villa V. An efficient and compact structure has been designed with excellent insulation. The available energy is used effectively, there is geothermal energy storage, a heat pump and solar collectors on the roof, which is covered with moss sedum. Only natural materials have been used in the building. For example, the facade finishing on the first floor is made of Waxedwood sustainable timber. The moving parts are made of French oak. All the interior elements, including the walls, the cupboards in the children’s rooms and the fireplace, are made of veneered plywood. The wood used at the entrance and the garage has a special origin: it comes from an old ship that was found at a demolition company in North Brabant and which was bought in its entirety and used in the building.

Architect: Paul de Ruiter Architects
Photography: Tim Van de Velde

Description

Wellspring is an invitation to investigate and understand the natural processes to restore the relationship with the environment. It simulates an ecosystem through soil, rocks and plants, able to recover its natural balance. Like raindrops falling on the inside of a cave, purified and enriched by the water lifecycle.

Designer: Martín Azúa
Photography: Martín Azúa & Sergi Vich
Collaboration: Marc Vidal

From the designer

The Belly Desk is an elegantly understated design. Featuring a curvaceous and full figured top with a storage underbelly, this desk maintains a deceptively slender silhouette with subtly sloping lines and smooth tapered legs. Its painted tabletop is perfectly balanced on solid oak legs, highlighting the purity of its form and providing rich contrast that warms any modern office or entryway. One deep drawer on traditional wooden runners offers ample storage space to conceal various gadgets, tools, and documents and keep its spacious surface free of clutter.

Designer: Steuart Padwick
Photography: Angus Thomas

From the designer

The excessive upholstery and therefore required hard shells of a sofa make it a very bulky piece of furniture.

The camp daybed is a sleeping bag with legs, on which we can relax during the day and sleep at night. It has a very deep seat to provide ample space for sleeping.

A padded fabric is hung over the low backrest and tightened with rubber bands. Like in a tent there are attached back pockets to store unused pillows or magazines. Of course the duvet cover can be easily removed and washed. The use of a 3d-fabric made of polyester, which is also used as an outer membrane for mattresses allows a welded seam. The frame is dismountable and thus very easy to transport.

Materials: Steel and Vinyl Straps for the Frame, 3d-knitted fabric and cotton for the sleeping bag

Dimensions: 200 x 90 x 70 cm

Designer: Stephanie Hornig

From Fabbian

Normally, when we look at clouds, we seek organic shapes, similar to objects of living beings. In this case, the creative process has been reversed: this is a special object which, during its creation, revealed all its potential.

“Cloudy is a paradox! – explains young designer, Mathieu Lehanneur – This lamp has been created using extremely complex steel moulds, which have given it an almost magical lightness, a glass cloud floating in the air”.

An object-lamp therefore which, from the pencil of the designer to its engineering and manufacture, has taken on the shape of a light and evanescent cloud.

“By mixing together clear white glass with high-luminosity LEDs – explains Mathieu – Cloudy is a ray of sun after the rain!”

The Cloudy “cloud”, when switched on, thus reveals all its luminosity and evokes sunlight after the rain. A design lamp containing in itself a positive sign of hope and optimism.
Cloudy, available as a suspension lamp or light fitting, features gradient white blown glass and die-cast aluminium structure. It is lit by high-power LED lamps.

Designer: Mathieu Lehanneur
Manufacturer: Fabbian

From the architects

This new work environment for FINE Design Group embodies the creative agency’s energy and collaborative nature.
To create the new space, Boora Architects capitalized on the exposed steel structure, concrete floors, and abundance of natural light of a 5,475-square foot raw shell space. The result is a loft-like open office environment with a relaxed feel.

Within the open space, key elements define distinct program zones:

The “Barn” is a 3-pronged room that floats at the west end of the space and houses two offices and the agency’s conference room. The Barn’s complex shape creates the opportunity for distinct program areas around its exterior – the billiards area is sheltered on one side while team work spaces face the kitchen and the open workstations. Wrapped in a writable and magnetic surface, the walls are used for brainstorming and pin-up space.

The residential-scale kitchen is a staff gathering spot and the hub for the many events the group hosts. Tile from Heath Ceramics, glazed in a custom pattern of matte and gloss, defines the space with a continuous field of color from wall to floor. Floating shelves hold dishes and healthy snacks and a custom butcher block island completes the space.

At the east end of the office, Boora designed a walnut-clad bookcase that houses an eclectic mix of books and objects. Functionally, the bookcase screens the print/copy zone, provides a touch-down spot for laptop users, and frames the lounge area. Curtains can be drawn between the lounge and open workstations to divide the space and provide visual privacy.

Architects: Boora Architects
Photography: Jon Jensen

From the architects

105 Villiers involved a very contemporary conversion of a pre-war cottage into a light, modern and minimal family home. The house explores dramatic volumes and lightwells to enhance the living experience in a heavily constrained inner-city site.

Architect: Shaun Lockyer Architects
Photography: Scott Burrows

From the architects

The ArRiyadh Development Authority has announced that Zaha Hadid Architects will build the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With over 5 million residents, Riyadh’s population has more than doubled since 1990. To serve its fast-growing population, the city will build a new public transport system.

The 20,434 sq. m. King Abdullah Financial Disctrict Metro Station will serve as a key interchange on the network for Line 1, as well as the terminus of Line 4 (for passengers to the airport) and Line 6 of the new Riyadh Metro. The local monorail can also be accessed from the station via a skybridge. With six platforms over four public floors and two levels of underground car parking, the KAFD Metro Station will be integrated within the urban context of the financial district, responding to the functional requirements for a multimodal transport centre and the district’s future vision. The project extends beyond the simple station typology to emphasize the building’s importance as a dynamic, multi-functional public space; not only an intermediate place perceived through quick transitions, but also a dramatic public space for the city.

The design places the station at the centre of a network of pathways, skybridges and metro lines envisaged by the KAFD master plan. Connectivity diagrams and traffic across the site have been mapped and structured to clearly delineate the pedestrian routes within the building, optimize internal circulation and avoid congestion. The resulting configuration is a three-dimensional lattice defined by a sequence of opposing sine-waves (generated from the repetition and frequency variation of station’s daily traffic flows) which act as the spine for the building’s circulation. These sine-waves are extended to the station’s envelope and strictly affiliated to its internal layout, translating the architectural concept to the exterior.

King Abdullah has instructed the new Riyadh Metro be completed in four years. Prince Khaled bin Bander, the governor of Riyadh, said the project is progressing to plan and the ArRiyadh Development Authority has released details of the city’s public transport plan including the six metro lines that will serve as the backbone for public transport in the city.

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects

Architects: Two in a Box
Photography: Dietmar Tollerian

From the architect

“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life – the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.” Claude Monet.

The project for this house emerged from a very simple premise, to build on a very steep piece of land with a gradient of almost 100%, boasting wonderful views and on a tight budget.

It was this highly complicated plot of land, surrounded by pine trees, that defined a good part of this project. The land, and its perspectives, constantly changing as the hours pass, the colour of the trees, the movement of sun and shadows…

On the one hand, the reduced dimensions of the plot and its complex orography, and on the other the desire to leave the minimum imprint on the land led us to seek out a floorplan which, matching the trees that surround it, emerges from a trunk well anchored to the land and opens up in braches on each floor, in such a way that each branch becomes the terrace of the upper level at the same time as it becomes the porch of the lower one.

All this helps create a very formal building, with huge cantilevers facing out to emptiness, the woods and the sea which lie before it. A structure which opens up to these views and the sun, and which thanks to the terraces and the porches confuse the interior with the exterior.

A building which is equally formal in both its volume and the materials which compose it. Concrete, iron, timber and stone combining in a way that emphasizes the character of each one.

In the end, the whole building represents a dialogue between emptiness and fullness, between materials, between outside and inside; seeking out a balance between these highly contrasting parts.

Architect: Daniel Isern
Photography: Adrià Goula

From Antoni Associates

A young family re-locating to the Western Cape was looking to change from city living to a more relaxed country lifestyle in which to bring up their young family and settled for the exclusive Pearl Valley Golf Estate located near Paarl, just 30 minutes away from the Mother City of Cape Town.

The owners approached Antoni Associates to create an interior that was modern but with an emphasis on ‘barefoot luxury’ and the use of natural materials. The design approach by Mark Rielly and Jon Case was to focus on the use of natural organic materials such as timber and stone. These tactile materials add a sense of homeliness and warmth to the contemporary architecture. Timber flooring was used throughout, which contrasts with the raw off-shutter concrete ceilings, warm stone and marble cladding.

The owners of this home love to entertain and wanted the house to reflect their lifestyle. The informal family spaces include an open plan kitchen, informal dining and open bar, all linked to the entertainment lounge. A feature marble clad two-sided fireplace divides and screens off the family lounge from the spa room. These areas of the house flow out onto the outdoor entertainment deck with a sunken outdoor boma (a typical South African outdoor enclosure). Here timber seating is casually arranged around an open fire.

The furniture is modern and complementary to the experience of the home. The clients’ love for colour has been introduced with injections of bold prints and vibrant fabrics. Bespoke furniture from OKHA Interiors is featured throughout. A combination of bold and discreet lighting was used to create a “wow” factor and the layering of lighting set various moods. Subtle lighting has been incorporated in all recesses and feature bulkheads to give a warm glow to peripheral edges. Concealed lighting has also been used to highlight and accentuate the organic natural finishes.

Interior Architecture and Decor: Antoni Associates
Main Furniture Supplier: OKHA Interiors
Photography: Adam Letch

Description

The original house was simply rebuilt. The only thing that was left after the demolition was the structure. New large windows and a small balcony were added to the house to extend the interior views. The design included a series of modern white spaces including a new master bedroom, bath and dressing area. The continuous paving, walls and new wooden carpentry, all in white, are common elements all through the house, giving light and serving as a common thread throughout the different spaces.

Interior Design : ATELIERII
Photography : Ivan Chuang

From the architects

Located between the Atlantic Ocean and a freshwater pond, this residence is for an adventurous couple and their four sons. They wanted a house for their large family and numerous guests with a lawn, swimming pool, pool house, garage, and sports courts on a site with a limited building envelope due to coastal and wetland zoning.

The large program, relatively small footprint, and daunting regulations dictated a building envelope densely packed with program that stood as a barrier between the ocean and the pond. Thus the design process was one of subtraction rather than addition: carving away at the solid mass of the house to reconnect site features and views and to distill the experience of the place.

Spaces run the full width of the house with floor to ceiling sliding doors on both sides. The spaces create apertures through which views, light, and air completely penetrate the house, dissolving its mass.

Passersby see directly through the house to the sky and landscape beyond. With the sliding doors open and recessed into the adjacent walls, interior spaces are transformed from formal rooms to open pavilions, merging seamlessly with the site.

The plinth of the elevated house is carved into a series of stepped planters that are further sculpted into the entry steps, mediating the different grades required by flood control regulations.

Besides dictating the minimum first floor height, regulations also set the roof height. To maximize the ceiling heights within those limits, the house utilizes a steel moment frame to pare down the thicknesses of the floors and roof to the absolute minimum.

The design strategy to accommodate the extensive program is to nest spaces within one another. Operable partitions pull out from the walls of the living room, carving out a media room within the living room when privacy is desired.

Conversely, with the partitions open, the media room merges with the living room for large gatherings. The thickness of the wall separating the dining room and kitchen is also cut away, utilizing its depth to accommodate a wine rack that also functions as a light fixture.

The process of carving is applied at the material and detail level as well. The 5/8” corten steel plate that clads the base of the house is waterjet cut into a delicate pattern that defies its mass. Inside, corian is employed for the ease with which it can be milled.

Corian countertops are cut to form towel bars, bunk bed frames are carved to create ladders, cabinet doors are recessed to form handles, and wainscoting is subtly etched with meaningful words chosen by the clients.

Materials were chosen not only for their workability, but also for their durability in the harsh coastal environment. Heavy gauge corten steel siding is zero maintenance in spite of being relentlessly sandblasted by the wind.

Cedar siding and screens are finished using a Victorian technique in which the iron sulfate in a blend of white vinegar and iron filings reacts with the tannins in wood, creating an ebony finish that penetrates through the material and will not require refinishing.

The lack of harsh stains or finishes reduces the ecological footprint of the house. Geothermal heating and cooling as well as vegetated roofs further reduce the environmental impact.

Using the design approach of sculpting away rather than building up, the house is pared down until the experience of the extraordinary site is dominant.

Architect: Bates Masi Architects
Photographer: Michael Moran

From the architects

It is not every day that a body is found buried on your building site, but on a summer’s morning in 2012 this is exactly what happened while builders were laying foundations for RIBA award-winning architects AR Design Studio’s latest project. By 6pm they had found another 2.

After the initial astonishment, the Police and later a team of Archaeologists were brought in who thankfully identified the remains as being of Roman origin. After a period of intense excavation, it was confirmed as a site of Archaeological importance when further evidence of Roman burials and defensive fortifications were uncovered, including the discovery of a rare Roman burial urn. Once the site was cleared of artefacts and the bodies taken to the local museum for research, work on the building could continue.

These ancient findings further added to the already rich historical context of the property situated in the town of Winchester, the old Roman capital of England. The project was to convert the original servants’ quarters of the large Manor House that overlooked the surrounding grasslands. It was built by the Earl of Airlie in 1856 while he served as Camp Commandant at the nearby Peninsular Barracks military base and split into two more modestly sized dwellings in the 1950s.

Since then, the servants’ quarters had fallen into a state of disrepair after the unfortunate passing of a sole elderly owner. It remained vacant for a number of years, until the long-time occupants of the Manor House sought to retire and move into the more manageable servants’ quarters and turn it into their dream home.

The owner’s love of glass fuelled their brief to construct a beautifully simple sculptural glass staircase and a contemporary glass extension, situated at the rear of the property in the space created by the ‘C’ shape of the building, which would open itself up to the garden.

The couple approached AR Design Studio Chartered Architects because of their experience in dealing with glass architecture and their interest in how this material can be used to create seamless relationships between inside and outside space, between the man-made and nature.

Hidden from view behind the buildings traditional façade, the finished extension is an elegant piece of modern contemporary glass architecture. It completely reinvents the feel and atmosphere of the previously dark and cramped servants’ quarters; all within the rich and poignant historical context of the site.

The concept was to provide a clean and light architectural intervention alongside the traditional shell of the building which would positively affect the feel and functionality of the property. The spaces are designed to accentuate a play between light and dark; contrasting from the bright and open communal spaces to the more subtle and secluded, almost cave-like retreat spaces in the old house. The existing layout was clarified; vertical voids were cut through the house to unite the cellar, ground and first floors and redirect the flow of the house to naturally draw the user towards the new glass space at the heart of the home.

This extremely light and spacious frameless glass extension houses the open-plan kitchen, living and dining areas. As the delicate structure reaches over to form the walls and roof of the extension, it creates a flexible inside/outside space allowing sunlight to flood through the home and filter down gradually, creating beautiful shards of light and shadow.

As a contrast to the extension, the formal lounge, study and dining room have a more sheltered and embracing nature. Upstairs, the Glass House has 4 large double bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. The master suite has its own walk-in wardrobe and views overlooking the garden and the top of the glass extension below. All the essentials have been accounted for, in the form of utility and laundry rooms, study and WC that flank the glass box.

The strategic placement of the large roof light floods the entrance hall with sunlight that tracks through the double-height space with the time of day and the seasons. Timber ceramic tiling was used as an innovative alternative to traditional timber flooring because it does not discolour in the weather and is a perfect surface to compliment the underfloor heating throughout. This allowed for a seamless floor finish running from the inside to the outside onto the cantilevered patio.
The rest of the house is finished to a minimal and clean appearance to allow the functional glass structures to stand out as exquisite pieces of sculptural art in their own right.

Whilst still retaining a subtle street appearance, the finished property now renamed Clarkes, is completely transformed from its previous gloomy and decrepit nature. The modern renovation and extension creates a light, airy and open living environment bursting with traditional values, contemporary style and innovative design.

Architects: AR Design Studio
Photographer: Martin Gardner

You can watch a ‘making of’ video – here

Description

The design studio of Merel Karhof, colour mill ‘De Kat’ and sawmill ‘Het Jonge Schaap’ proudly present Windworks, an event that will take place at colour mill ‘De Kat’, at the Zaanse Schans in the Netherlands from the 12th – 19th of May 2013.

Windworks is a collection of upholstered furniture pieces, of which the wood, upholstery, dyeing and knitting of the yarn are all made with a free and inexhaustible energy source; the wind.

In 2010 Karhof made a ‘Wind Knitting Factory’, which is a wind-powered knitting machine. The blades embrace more than a meter in diameter, and the wind caught by them powers the ‘mill’. In this way it is possible to knit a long scarf. When it is windy the machine knits fast and with less wind, the machine knits slowly. Occasionally the knitwear gets ‘harvested’ and transformed into, amongst other things, scarves. Every scarf gets a label that tells the time and date on which the wind knitted the scarf. This mobile wind factory illustrates a production process and it visualizes what you can produce with the present urban wind.

Ever since she made her first knitting factory Karhof had the wish to use the harvest of her factory to upholster chairs and stools. And what better place to do this than in the world famous windmill area, the Zaanse Schans in The Netherlands. To create a collection of furniture, ‘Wind Knitting factory’ designer Merel Karhof initiated a collaboration between three millers: a saw miller, a colour miller and a knitting miller (Karhof herself). The Zaanse Schans is an area located on the river ‘Zaan’ in the province of Noord Holland and is home to a collection of well-preserved historic windmills. Each one of these produces a different kind of raw material. There is a colour mill called ‘De Kat’ (the Cat), which has been fitted out to grind colouring materials, as well as a sawmill called ‘Het Jonge Schaap’ (the Young Sheep), that saws planks from trees to old Dutch measurements.

For the occasion of this collaboration, Karhof designed a series of furniture pieces. The wood will be sawn by the wind and assembled at the sawmill; from there it will be transported by water to the pigment mill. Here yarn will be dyed with natural dyes, grounded by the colour mill. After the dyeing process, the ‘Wind Knitting Factory’ knits the yarns, and with each harvest, the wood structures will be upholstered.

Finally, the upholstery will be constructed from little pillows, each representing the amount of time needed by the wind to make it. The result will thus give an insight into how much time is needed to produce the upholstery.

For this special event, Karhof built a new ‘Wind Knitting Factory’ that incorporates a new feature; a pennon, that gives the machine the facility to turn away from the wind when the speed gets too high, therefore allowing it to operate independently.

The machine and the furniture will be on show at colour mill ‘De Kat’ for one week during National Windmill Day in the Netherlands. A small wooden house will be constructed to display the furniture and other wind-made products.

Windworks shows a production triptych between three windmills and it makes visible what can be produced with wind power. It shows how windmills working together can become a complete and holistic industry.

The exhibition runs from the 12th – 19th of May 2013

Designer: Merel Karhof
Photography: Merel Karhof

From Innarch

The idea / inspiration for the design derives from sack filled with coffee grains. The walls of the bar are organically shaped and colored like coffee sack made up of “Plywood” type of wood, whereby the pillars in between are coated with textile coffee sacks. Tables and hanging chandeliers represent the coffee grains lined up asymmetrically in order to generate the impression of being inside a coffee sack. The separating wall has a double function; decorative and functional. Its organic shape consists the most dominant part of the premise enabling a unique feeling of sitting unlike any other one comes across in everyday life. Each of the plywood element was designed individually. This because for the creation of an entire organic shape, each of the element needs to be designed separately.

Interior Design: Innarch
Photography: Atdhe Mulla

Description:

Infor, the third largest business software provider in the world (right behind Oracle and SAP) recently relocated its headquarters from Alpharetta, Georgia, to the Flatiron district in New York City, the new hotbed of tech companies. Enlisting the help of design firm VOA, Infor CEO Charles Phillips had a very specific vision to make the new office space as open to innovation as possible. The new collaborative layout brings a social essence to the floor, a core component of both Infor’s product capabilities and the way team members develop ideas. In fact, even Charles embraces this new structure by working on a laptop at an open table (none of the executives have their own offices) and inviting employees to work together to share fresh ideas alongside large, interactive monitors and modern architectural design elements.

Spanning two floors, the 48,000 SF space serves as the main customer sales center and corporate headquarters for the New York team. Upon entering the 4th floor reception, visitors are greeted by a large two-story media wall and a stair that leads to the conference center below. The state of the art conference rooms can be re-configured with pocketing walls and oversized sliding walnut barn doors. An adjacent breakout lounge below a large opening along 20th street provides a spatial connection between the conference center and the open office above.

The building, located at 641 6th avenue, was originally a department store, built over 100 hundred years ago. There were very few windows on the perimeter, and a very deep interior space. Before the redesign, as you can see, the space was a very typical office with poorly positioned offices lacking good ventilation and natural light. The result was more than just an office space, but a customer experience with a good flow of circulation and more natural light than before. In fact, Infor is reporting that 98% of the potential customers they bring to the office eventually buy their software. Charles attributes much of that to VOA’s design and the collaborative effort that went into the design of their new HQ.

Interior Design: VOA
Photography: Ari Burling

From the architects

Located in central Tokyo, right around the corner from the major thoroughfare Meguro Street, is a ‘soba’ noodle shop, the owner’s residence situated above. The building has Machiya-style wooden louvers, invoking a traditional Japanese townhouse, but the depth of each louver is varied sequentially across the face. Regionally different patterns of light spill through the façade from the interior, allowing a gradual change of character at dawn, especially as viewed from the main street.

Architect: ISSHO Architects
Photography: Koichi Torimura

Architect: Stephen Dynia Architects
Photography: David Agnello

From Souda

Kreten Side Tables are the result of a concrete molding process used to create smooth, industrial organic side tables that breathe life into an often-quotidian material. Each table is formed in a rubberized-fabric that is filled with fiberglass reinforced concrete. The weight of the concrete, in conjunction with the stretch of the fabric allows each table to take on a unique form.

Designer: Souda
Photography: Souda and Courtney Reagor