Limestone

The residents of the luxury Park Hoog Oostduin in The Hague have recently moved into their apartments. They now live quietly in green surroundings, but in the heart of the city as well. Therefore, the access pass to their private parking garage reads "Living in the park, enjoying the city".   Modernist giantThe project designed by the architectural office cepezed is a transformation of the former Shell office at 75 Oostduinlaan, which had long been part of the Shell campus in the stately Benoordenhout district. The 1968 ensemble was originally designed by H.E. Oud, son of the well-known modernist architect J.J.P. Oud. The most important part consisted of a considerable high-rise block, visible from afar in many places in the cit... Altro

Il progetto è stato sviluppato a Povo, alla periferia di Leiria, in Portogallo. Un'area dove gli elementi rocciosi sono predominanti nel paesaggio, terreni calcarei, topografie irregolari e forti contrasti. Questo contesto geologico unico ha dato subito agli architetti un punto di partenza concettuale, onirico e romantico allo stesso tempo, senza perdere il legame con quella che è la realtà fisica e intrinseca di questo luogo. Nasce così l'idea di una grotta, un austero rifugio scolpito e dentellato che viene umanizzato dai suoi occupanti. Questa premessa è uno sguardo e un omaggio agli inizi dell'umanità e al suo rapporto simbiotico con l'ambiente che la abita, contiene in sé il paradosso de... Altro

The project location, a bland suburban security estate on the outskirts of Johannesburg provided the framework and context for the project. The house directly responds to its physical and climatic environment, with a private, enclosed courtyard garden providing shelter from the relentless visual onslaught of the Tuscan and faux farmyard buildings surrounding it. The dwelling consists of two wings - one public and one private - connected by a vaulted brick entrance hall that encloses the building from the street. The public wing is a single large living space, with oversized sliding doors that allow the northern façade to be opened up completely towards the private garden. A drum-shaped nook punctuates the rigid geometry of the plan... Altro

Perched at the edge of Tank Hill in San Francisco, California, this garden is an exploration of prospect and refuge—both nestling into and perching above the dramatic topography it calls home. In San Francisco, project size is limited by the high cost of living and the city’s topography. This Tank Hill site was embedded in a hillside with a steep, wooded backyard, offering limited outdoor options for its young family. To increase inhabitable space and maximize natural light, Surfacedesign carved into the hillside to create an intimate backyard garden inspired by the client’s affinity for rock-climbing and sculpture. The architectural planes of the retaining walls that structure the garden are explorations of the essence of... Altro

The client was drawn to the site, the top of a bluff of an abandoned limestone quarry in West Virginia with sweeping views of the Potomac River. The house and artist studio is perched at the edge of the 100’ cliff to take full advantage of the magnificent view. In response to the client’s request that the house be “of the place”, cast concrete walls were anchored to the bedrock with caissons that extend down into fissures in the rock. Anice@Hoachlander Davis Photography The two concrete masses support Vierendeel steel trusses above that allow the living and studio space to utilize floor to ceiling windows that blur the line between inside and outside. The narrow plan affords natural cross ventilation and the el... Altro

Nascosta tra carrubi e olivi dell’altopiano ibleo, con una tra le più belle viste sul litorale sabbioso della città, villa DH fu realizzata nei primi del Novecento come residenza estiva da destinare al ramo cadetto di una tra le più importati famiglie nobiliari sciclitane. Ammantata di storie e leggende sulla sua costruzione, è stata suddivisa in una fase successiva in più proprietà e ha subito numerose trasformazioni anche di rilevante entità sul finire del secolo scorso. Acquistata pochi anni fa dall’attuale proprietario, è stata oggi riunificata, ristrutturata e reimpaginata nella distribuzione interna, così da ripristinarne la leggibilità dell’unit... Altro

Brownstone è uno stile di architettura presente a New York. Questi edifici sono noti per essere case a schiera e case verticali con facciate in pietra arenaria, collocate su terreni lunghi e stretti. Il progetto consiste nella ristrutturazione di una di queste residenze, e, allo stesso tempo, cerca di rispettare il carattere storico di questa architettura e offre una soluzione pratica, contemporanea e tecnologica per la settorizzazione di un vasto programma distribuito su sei piani.   Questi sei livelli hanno finito per definire la distribuzione degli ambienti, sempre ben integrati per sfruttare al meglio l'ingresso limitato dell'illuminazione naturale - garantita solo attraverso entrambe le facciate. Al primo piano si trovano... Altro

The Symmons Plains homestead was first established in 1839 by John Arndell Youl, a Tasmanian colonist known for introducing brown trout to Australia. Seven generations of the Youl family lived and farmed the expansive property until it was sold to our client in 2011. Over the years, the Youl family made a number of additions to the property, most notably the tennis court, airstrip and world-class raceway. The homestead itself comprises of a large limestone living quarters, flanked by two symmetrical brick outbuildings - both of which were in an advancing state of disrepair before Cumulus works began.   Understanding the significant heritage value of their new property, our clients approached the project with a clear vision; firstly t... Altro

La casa si trova in un angolo nella parte ovest di Città del Messico. Risponde a tre premesse fondamentali: la conservazione di alberi già esistenti come elementi centrali del progetto, l'isolamento dal transito inerente alla strada e l'inserimento di un ampio programma architettonico su un lotto di dimensioni limitate.   All'interno del suo ambiente chiaramente urbano, il senso di privacy è ottenuto con successo grazie a una facciata monolitica e quasi cieca che si estende all'esterno della strada, interrotta solo da alcune aperture in corrispondenza di moduli specifici per l'illuminazione e la ventilazione, che rispondono al progetto architettonico dell'interno. La facciata sud, invece, è più aper... Altro

This complex of  dwellings was made on a rather difficult task, with a petrol pipe that crosses the ground diagonally. To make the real estate investment feasible, an asymmetric composition of six houses as a unitary building body was made, with no repetitiveness and monotony. Altro

House B is the middle house in a development by Whispering Smith’s Director, Kate Fitzgerald, a project that has become one of the most informative case studies of best practice urban infill in Perth. In a city famous for demolishing suburban character to make way for ubiquitous ‘Mcmansions’ House B is an important project because it exemplifies the value a mindful architect can place on existing built and landscape character as leaders of development.   House B sits is an existing 1950’s post war brick house and surrounding mature trees left in place by Kate when she planned a subdivision with a micro-lot now known as ‘House A’. The small house and it’s relationship to the existing House B h... Altro

Charles Rose Architects was commissioned to design a family vacation home on a site in Chilmark, adjacent to an agricultural area and with distant views of the Atlantic Ocean. The house site was limited by a unique deed restriction that set the maximum height of the structure at six feet above grade on the building’s uphill side. The design responded to this restriction by sinking the upper floor into the grade along its north side, and stepping the two floors of the house down the existing slope. To capture the view of the ocean and surrounding landscape, a roof deck was set within a flat, planted roof. This strategy preserved the view-sheds of properties further up the hill.   At first, our clients imagined a house which... Altro

Kalkparken i Faxe is a beautiful project that uses graphic concrete in landscape architecture in a remarkable way. The project is designed by landscape architect Ellen Schelde, who was inspired by the local limestone and wanted to convey the history of the nearby limestone quarry through her design. The path that leads to the edge of the limestone quarry and geological museum is visible when entering the park. Patterned graphic concrete plinths act as a stairway, spreading through the park’s gently sloping terrain and leading up to the limestone quarry. As the local limestone is fragile, the designer chose durable concrete to tell the stories of the ancient fossils discovered within the layers of limestone.   The plinths &ndas... Altro

Did You Know That… The main characters of “Selection” – a modern and exquisite gastronomic play – are fish and meat? The main plot puts a spotlight on these two in a unique chef’s interpretation (Ayk Weishtort), exploring the subject in an unconventional way. Sundukovy Sisters took on the role of set designers, creating minimalistic décor, so that no detail of the action escapes the eyes of a curious observer. The interior marries two polarities as contrasting as the stars themselves: hot and cold, fiery and water-based, rugged and smooth. Reflection in Our Design The heroes were attired in different colors, which prevail in their habitat as well: “gold” for fish and “silver&... Altro