Douglas fir

The designer of the Lake Muskoka Boathouse grew up on the lake, spending childhood summers exploring its shoreline and taking part in the annual ritual of escape from the city to while away afternoons on the water.  These many seasons observing the materials and the rhythms of the area inspired the design of the building itself.   Photo by Révélateur Studio As a type, boathouses are essentially drying sheds, meant to protect watercraft and equipment from the elements, and facilitate their use another time: dry and ready to hand.  On Lake Muskoka the boathouse has also evolved over more than 100 years to represent leisure activities and a place to gather with family and friends at the water’s edge. A... More

Conceived as a retreat and sanctuary space this small accessory structure is carefully sited in the rear garden of a large wooded lot in Northwest DC.  The building not only creates visual interest in the garden, it serves as the focal point for family gatherings and outdoor activities.  The space is fully conditioned which allows for use throughout the year.   Allen Russ Photography, LLC The owners inhabit the space daily as painting studio, yoga room, and an escape from the noise of the city.  The windows, brick, slate, and copper echo the material palate of the existing house.   Allen Russ Photography, LLC This allows the studio to remain deferential to the larger main structure while creating a lante... More

Located in the Muswell Hill Conservation Area at the foot of Alexandra Palace, this renovation and extension turns a studio flat into a beautiful home for architect and landscape designer duo, Christian Brailey and Faye Johnson. The existing Edwardian studio has been entirely reconfigured and updated with large windows, mechanical ventilation (with heat recovery) and underfloor heating. Rethinking the stock response of a full-width rear extension, the design takes an identical massing but locates it along one side of the garden and sinks it down to reduce its impact on the host building and neighbours. The north-west facing home exudes texture and light; the smooth, cool concrete contrasts the raw plaster, which complements the swirled suns... More

Partners Ali C. Höcek (ACHA) and Cynthia Corsiglia’s renovation of a single-story slab-on-grade 1,900 sq ft midcentury building at 100 Third Street in Newburgh is an anomaly within an anomaly. A nineteenth-century industrial city on the Hudson River, Newburgh has retained its history of classical revival and factory buildings. The introduction of highway infrastructure in the mid-twentieth century compromised the economic and social well-being of the city, but left intact much of the historic fabric and spectacular architecture of its past. Stefan Hagen ACHA, the architectural hand of the partnership, renovated the building with a nod to the midcentury ambitions of its original design, emphasizing an integral grounding to t... More

De Matos Ryan has created an innovative, tree-less treehouse in the garden of a NorthWest London townhouse. De Matos Ryan Director Angus Morrogh-Ryan comments, “Our client was a young family, who lamented the loss of an ailing tree in their neighbour’s garden. The children longed to have a treehouse but were prevented from doing so by having no trees of their own. The brief was therefore to design a treehouse without a tree.” Hufton & Crow The new, 4.1m high space was designed in collaboration with the client’s children. Their unencumbered view of the world acted as a catalyst to a highly innovative and imaginative concept. Ideas were developed around creating a den that could only be accessed by children w... More

The most complex building project in SEA’s 70+ year history, the new facility expands capacity and speeds up the international arrivals process. The new, expanded International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is now open. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) led the design team, replacing a 50-year-old arrivals facility with a dynamic structure nearly five times bigger, dramatically improving the passenger experience. The IAF comprises an aerial walkway—the longest of its kind in the world—a Grand Hall, and a secure corridor to increase the number of international-capable gates. Dave Burk / Lucas Blair Simpson | SOM "This is an all-new welcome to our region and airport for an in... More

Archmongers has designed the new London office for Norwegian design studio Bakken & Bæck. The refurbishment uses durable and sustainable materials, such as fast-growing timber, recycled rubber, natural wood stains, and structural cardboard to minimise its carbon footprint.  French & Tye The industrial building in Hackney is spread across two floors. Its walls, ceilings, fixtures and fittings are coated in pale green tones to create a welcoming aesthetic. The bespoke, free-standing timber table and deep window surrounds on the ground floor allow the main space to be configured as a boardroom or an event space. Floor-to-ceiling curtains demarcate an informal space for conversation and collaboration.  Black rubbe... More

Having lived in the three-bed terraced ex. Warner property for 12months we, had grown used to the nuances and impact of both house and context, coming accustomed to the bright mornings to the rear and embracing the vulnerability to peeping pedestrians passing on the street. Building Narratives (Nick Dearden) With a young family we sought to modernise extensively, increasing the floor area on multiple levels. The existing 1930's house had seen some minor modifications over the years with an elderly owner who had also added a modest rear extension and modified the ground floor to open up the small, original rooms that define the rectangular footprint. Building Narratives (Nick Dearden) As a starting point we were keen to maintain... More

Los Angeles, CA—Architects Annie Barrett (of aanda) and Hye-Young Chung (of HYCArch) have completely transformed an existing Spanish-style house in Los Angeles for a couple anticipating semi-retirement, and the programmatic shifts that a new phase of life brings. Centered Home marks a long, deeply collaborative process between the architects, who run individual firms on opposite coasts, and the homeowners, who are passionate lovers of design and art with impeccable, exacting attention to detail. The home facilitates the owners’ aspiration to approach their future “expansively, intentionally, and with curiosity,” says design architect Annie Barrett. Brandon Shigeta Approaching Centered Home from the street, a de... More

Small is Mighty. The inventive reconfiguration and extension of a cottage in a Conservation Village in Scotland dapple photography The Origami House features a new rear extension to a family home in the Buchlyvie Conservation Area of Stirlingshire. The ground floor plan of the existing cottage was composed of small, dark rooms which closed the house off from the expansive rear garden. The clients asked Loader Monteith to upgrade the home and bring the outside in. dapple photography Loader Monteith were briefed to design a large ground floor extension to allow for plenty of natural light, a new dining space, study area, shower room and kitchen. The clients also specified the need for a new heating system and updated glazing throu... More

Embedded in the rolling hillside overlooking Cornwall’s Mawgan Porth beach, Dynargh is a six bedroom private seaside retreat, sensitively designed to embrace the natural contours of the land whilst maximising views out over the rugged Cornish coast. Evie Johnstone From the approach, the house appears as a trio of unassuming beach hut inspired cabins both in elevation and skewed plan form, helping to divide the volume and reduce the scale of the house. The ocean-facing facade reveals a further two stories following the slope, clad in a combination of Cornish dry-stone lower down, and striking sustainably sourced black timber on the upper levels. From the shore, the use of rustic local materials integrates the building’s for... More

The project is located in a inner city neighbourhood, where house tend to be built close to the property lines. Issues of privacy, exterior courtyards and available sunlight were explored as a way of informing the development of houses by balancing the request for openness and the limitations of due to proximity and fire codes. Yellow Camera The courtyard plays a central role in the residence, allowing generous amounts of daylight deep into the plan. The entrance expands into a bar of circulation and amenities that conceptually ‘anchor’ the house. Yellow Camera A second wrapper folds over this bar to create large multi-use spaces with views to downtown, and a focused view of the courtyard. The flexible plan has the p... More