Håkansson Tegman House

Johan Sundberg has designed this Håkansson Tegman house in Höllviken, Sweden.

Höllviken was originally a seaside resort, but the forested rows of summer houses are now continuously being transformed into a carpet of permanent housing. The site itself is a somewhat complicated corner lot with roads to the north and west.

The client for this project was a middle-aged couple with children who have now left the household. A modern and nature-oriented one story house was commissioned, where sensuous qualities were the most important parameters throughout the design process.

“The house is angled around an inner garden and, much like the Bergman Werntoft house, rests on the tradition of the Danish atrium house from the 60s and 70s. Three small bedrooms crowd together in the northern wing of the house, while the western wing is a continuous sequence of spaces consisting of a kitchen, dining room, library, living area, and winter garden”.

“The outer walls along the streets are clad with Pedersen clay bricks working as a screen. The structure is a steel-enforced timber frame. Windows and sliding glass doors are made from Schüco aluminium profiles. The front and garage doors are custom made from ammonium smoked oak.

The Stone Houses

The New York City-based architectural practice Leroy Street Studio has completed the Stone Houses project. The two contemporary residence were built as weekend retreats for a mother and daughter in East Hampton, New York.

Located in eastern Long Island, this weekend retreat sits on a flat, open 12 acre site. The clients, a mother and daughter, requested a residence that was low-maintenance that incorporated Westchester granite and great expanses of glass to take in views of the property. Dry-stack stone walls were use to unify the exterior and interior spaces and to knit the compound together. “The walls, linked by water features, provide a unifying texture and distinguish the private, southern-oriented arrival side of the buildings from the northern -facing curtain walls”.

“The mothers’ house is split into public and private wings by a gallery overlooking a sculpture court. The public wing is a singular volume subdivided by wrapping roofs: the lower roof creates an intimate dining area and screened porch, and the upper one defines the entry vestibule and living room”.

“The daughter’s house is composed of perpendicular roof planes which over-sail the stone walls; and a taught box of oak glu-lam portal frames wrapped in a continuous skin of louvers”.

“The two buildings together create an abstract composition of planar materials which redefine the property as a series of internal and external courtyards spaces for the family”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Saratoga Creek House

The Berkeley based studio WA Design have completed the Saratoga Creek House project in 2009. This two-story contemporary, 7,000 square foot, residence sits on a two acres lot and is located in Saratoga, a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA.

“This large woodland site lies in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, only ten miles east of San Jose yet far removed from the bustle of Silicon Valley. The clients for this house were a technology company executive and his wife”.

“The property is shaded by mature heritage oaks, their dense canopies almost closing over the southern portion of the site. Defining the eastern edge of the property is a meandering seasonal creek. The creek is nearly dry in the heat of summer but swells to a rambunctious flow with the arrival of the winter rains. The riparian habitat along the creek is one of the strongest assets of the site. Dense growths of miner’s lettuce, native juncus, and bay trees crowd the water’s edge. The home is a response to the goals of preserving and enhancing the presence of the existing oak woodland and seasonal creek”.

The house massing is a set of smaller structures interconnected by glassed-in walks and vaulted roof structures that wind through the oak canopy, responding in plan to the requirements of the protected drip lines. Courtyards and outdoor spaces unite the house and landscape. The pool, pool house and adjoining patio all step down a gentle slope to meet the large grass playfield to the north. The field is bordered by a cleaved granite walk that mimics the shape of the creek edge, effectively transposing the form of the creek itself onto the higher land. At the southern end of this path is a sculpture patio. The nine-foot-tall serpentine sculpture we designed is derived from the actual shape of the creek as it traverses the property”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Tea Houses

The Californian based studio Swatt Miers Architects have designed the tea house project. These three tea houses are located in Silicon Valley, California, USA and was completed in 2009.

The idea for these tea houses originated years ago, when the owner and his younger daughter explored the remote hills surrounding their Silicon Valley home. Here they discovered an “idyllic setting below a ridge, under a grove of large California Oak trees. At first, the family thought the setting would be perfect for a tree house, Years later, after the 6000 square foot main house was extensively remodeled, the vision was realized as three individual tea houses, places where one could simply retreat into nature”.

“Each tea house is designed as a transparent steel and glass pavilion, hovering like a lantern over the natural landscape. Cast-in-place concrete core elements anchor the pavilions, supporting steel channel rim joists, which cantilever beyond the cores to support the floor and roof planes. With its minimal footprint, the design treads lightly on the land, minimizing grading and preserving the delicate root systems of the native oaks”.

Each of the three tea houses vary in size, each with its own unique purpose. The ‘mediation’ tea house is 270 square foot and is nestled under the canopy of the largest oak tree, as a place for individual contemplation. The slightly larger ‘sleeping’ tea house is a place designed for overnight stays and is approximately 372 square feet. “This structure is joined by a ski-lit bathroom core, which bridges 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 no phones, televisions or audio systems within these structures”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Austin City View Residence

Dick Clark Architecture have designed this minimalist contemporary home, a sustainable passive solar design in Austin, Texas.

There are a number of numerous configurable features in the home for entertainment, a spectacular view and a swimming pool.

“Inspired by the clients’ desire to live in a house that reflects their values and lifestyle, this house takes an architecturally minimal approach with simple massing, an understated material palette, and large expanses of glass.  Configured for entertainment, the glass box living area, along with large sliding doors from the dining and pool room invite guests outside onto the pool deck to take in the spectacular view of the Austin skyline.”

“The plan is very open,  there are visual connections between living/dining/kitchen. A see through oak screen separates the stair from the kitchen. To separate the public entry hall from the private bedroom wing, we did a floating bookcase/art display millwork piece, we used an ecosmart burner as well, it allowed us to create a fireplace mass that doesn’t touch the ceiling which adds non-partition quality of the house.  The siding is cypress, it runs inside and out.”

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Apartment Singel

Laura Alvarez Architecture have completed the renovation and interior design of this two-floor apartment in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The building itself is catalogued as a national monument.

The main idea was to transform the dark and claustrophobic existing apartment into a bright loft and at the same time bring into view special elements of the ancient building.

On the first floor, there is a 70m2 living area which is conceived as a continuous space capable to host different living activities without dividing them into different rooms. A light steel staircase creates a transition between cooking and dining areas.

On the upper floor, natural light is brought in through a series of satin-glass walls. This brings light into the lower level and the bathroom.

“An oak gray-painted window bench provides a seat to enjoy the beautiful view towards the Amsterdam channels. It is also thought as storage cabinets.”

“A nut-wood sliding door gives the possibility to close off the entrance hall from the living space.”

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above images.

Rural Villa Outside Aspen

Located just seven miles outside Aspen, Colorado is this picturesque rural villa which was designed by Lipkin Warner Planning and Design Associates.

“The owners had specific goals: a warm, modern, luxurious ranch house with lots of entertaining areas, a house barn and artist studio, capturing views of all four ski areas. Exteriors are of Pennsylvania lilac block cut stone, metal and pressure treated spruce”.

The interior of the villa is an open floor plan with Colorado sandstone and Bavarian reclaimed oak floors, “acoustically designed wood ceilings and alder and wenge walls and built-ins, giving warmth to a modern design. The owner artists’ hand is reflected in custom furniture and wrap around fireplaces with mantles of glass, wood and steel”.

“The owners’ mutual love of cooking and entertaining is reflected by the restaurant design kitchen, wine cellar and entertaining areas. Floor to ceiling windows and sliding floor to ceiling clad glass doors brings the magnificent views in and connects the outdoor living areas. Landscaping and water features assure absolute privacy. An open floor plan of this 6,200 sq.ft. home looks out upon horse pastures, 1400 sq.ft. barn and 1,000 sq.ft. artist studio where one of the owners designs and builds custom furniture of steel, acrulic glass, and wood”.

Special thanks to Freshome for the above images.