Quant 1 Apartment

The Stuttgart-based studio ippolito Fleitz Group has designed the Quant 1 Apartment. Completed in 2008, this apartment is located in a converted 1950’s laboratory building in Stuttgart, Germany.

“QUANT is a luxury, new residential project in a converted 1950s labaratory building in Stuttgart. The exclusive apartment complex is situated in one of Stuttgart’s prime residential areas within convenient walking distance of the city centre. To give potential buyers a feel for the multifarious design possibilities inherent in a QUANT apartment, the landlord, LBBW Immobilien GmbH, has commissioned some exceptional model apartments to serve as illustration. ippolito fleitz group has created two unique interiors to complement the building’s sophisticated exterior, designed by Wilford Scupp.

The glamorous, curved staircase forms the central core of the apartment and opens up the two floors to create an open airspace, around which all the other rooms are grouped.  The private rooms consists of a bedroom, bathroom and dressing room and are nestled together on the upper floor.

“The adjoining bathroom is enclosed by porcelain stoneware executed in horizontal stripes, generating a very tactile feel. A mirrored bathroom cupboard of whitewashed oak stretches along the length of the room. With its mirrored doors and multiple illuminated compartments, it exudes a sense of abundance and offers generous storage”.

“The entrance area of the apartment, which appears twice the size thanks to a mirrored wardrobe, leads directly to the staircase and down into the dining area, which is open over the entire height of both floors. The lofty space is dramatised by three pendant luminaires suspended from the ceiling and a wall of curtains hung all the way down one flank of the room. The dominance of whitewashed oak furnishings on the upper floor is continued in the living and dining areas in the form of a whitewashed parquet floor. A continuous expanse of floor guides the eye towards an open kitchen”

“The kitchen surfaces are solid surface, which contrasts admirably with the retracted, green-varnished glass wall. All in all, natural colours and materials preside throughout the entire ground floor, including the living area. A tall pile of logs and an open fireplace with a concrete lip make a cosy impression, even without a crackling fire in the grate. Firm colour accents have been splashed across the ground floor in the guise of a lilac armchair and structured wallpaper on the staircase wall, which evokes a glass mosaic. In the summer months, the entire ground floor can be opened up to the outside terrace via the large window front.”

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images and information.

Wissioming2 Residence

The Washington-based studio Robert Gurney Architect has designed this Wissioming2 Residence. This two story contemporary home is located in Glen Echo, a town in Montogomery County, Maryland USA.

“This new house is sited on a sloping, wooded lot with distant views of the Potomac River. The house is positioned to preserve a majority of mature trees and is oriented towards the river views and south facing slope”.

“The house is organised into two volumes connected with glass bridges that span a reflecting pool which separates the volumes. Secondary volumes intersect and overlap the two larger structures rendering the composition more dynamic.  Material changes in thr various elements intensify the relationships. Expanses of glass open to a terrace organised around a swimming pool with two ‘infinity’ edges reinforcing the connectivity to the wooded landscape”.

The interior of the residence is painted with light. The walls have been constructed with slender, steel window frames composed in ‘Mondrian’ inspired patterns combined with translucent panels, wenge and white oak millwork and Pompeii Scarpaletto stone to define interior spaces. The white terrazzo flooring juxtaposes the black window frames and unifies the volumes on the main floor.

“This house is designed to provide spaces which are organised to integrate its inherently picturesque site in a way that the architecture becomes subservient to the landscape that surrounds it”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above information and images.

Black Townhouse

Cecconi Studio have designed this model unit interior for a new townhouse development in Toronto, Canada.

“The 662 s.f. show suite is a careful study in urban living, its manifest simplicity belying its essential complexity. It embodies the modern impulse for openness, unity, and fluidity, within which functional parts are accommodated effortlessly. The character of the different zones is easy to read though their interrelationship is dense and multi-faceted”.

“Three distinct yet continuous areas - dine-cook-live - are defines clearly within the spatial totality, linked by an interplay of surface plans in cadence; horizontal and vertical, matte and reflective, transparent and opaque, dark and light. Deep expression, custom millwork contracts the space, creating intimacy and warmth, while the white lacquer, custom kitchen island provides visual expansion and release. The oak stair on a single stringer behind floor-to-ceiling plate glass is highlighted with LEDS, imbuing it with complexity and dimensional depth”.

As part of the overall design discourse, there are few freestanding or decorative furnishings within the suite. The integrity of its interior architecture stands on its own, enlivened with carefully-calibrated artificial and natural light. Sliding veneer panels - for concealed storage, media, and food preparation - maintain the model’s architectonic focus, ensuring clear and extended sight lines. The eye is led through the space where its discrete elements are introduced then fused into a seamless whole”.

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above information and images.

Dalene Cabin

The Norvegian architect Tommie Wilhelmsen has designed the Dalene Cabin. Originally completed in 2009, this 1,290 square foot contemporary cabin is located at Østhusvik, on the island Rennesøy, Norway.

The cabin has been placed overlooking the sea surrounding the island and opens up its facade towards the south, to bring in as much light as possible. The interior and exterior is united through the folding doors which open up the facade.

The outside is firpannels whilst the inside there is oak on all surfaces, including oak flooring. There is also concrete on the backwall and the fireplace.

“The floors and terrace changes in level to give a more dynamic feeling inside and at the same time it helps to integrate the cabin into the landscape”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above information and images.

Beachfront Luxe Home

“Situated on a beach enclave along Southern California’s Gold Coast, the contemporary residence located at 3442 Padaro Lane can be reached via a long gated driveway leading to a vivid red entrance door.”

Upon entertaining the property, you are drawn into widening views of sand and surf as rooms unfold to stunning views. “Elegant white oak floors and windows framing ocean views provide an elegant palette for exquisite art and fine furnishings. Comfort, privacy and a serene sense of luxury surround you in this “open” floor plan. The entry level offers a private bedroom opening to an interior courtyard, a great room that encompasses a step up living room with windows above the sand, a comfortable dining area next to the outside entertainment deck along the beach, and a chef’s kitchen with every amenity, as well as a two bedroom wing with access to the outside for walks on the beach”.

“The upper level is reminiscent of a New York style loft with huge gallery like space and rooms with no beginning and no end. You move from a light filled office with large picture windows framing the coral trees at the entrance and an intimate second level private sun deck with fireplace to the closet area (without enclosures) to the bathroom with its fireplace and large glass shower overlooking the beach and finally to the spacious master bedroom itself”.

Special thanks to Freshome for the above images.

Oak Tree Kitchen

Laser-cut steel and rough-hewn wood collide in this kitchen by Wiedemann Wekstatten in Munich. This kitchen has been created with timber from eight perfect oak trees.

George and Lucia Wiedermann who operate Wiedemann Werkstatten, a third-generation custom design company in Munich that specializes in “extreme kitchens”, “used precision laser cut steel, no nails, and no glue in this project for a large design agency”.

The kitchen features timber which was cut from eight oak trees milled at a local sawmill. “There are very few sawmills in Germany capable of processing large timbers such as these,” according to the Widemanns

Special thanks to Remodelista for the above images.