#two-story concrete exterior house timber posts

[samblerg]

Concrete - Exterior

[architectnews]

Singapore Houses: Residential Properties

Singapore House Images, Residential Architecture South East Asia, Architects, Property Designs

Singapore Houses : Properties

Key Residential Buildings in Singapore, Contemporary South East Asia Homes

post updated 2 August 2021

New Houses in Singapore

e-architect cover interesting and high quality completed Singapore Houses and proposed new residential properties across Singapore. Our focus is on contemporary South East Asian residences.

Singapore Residences

South East Asia Residential Architecture News

22 Jul 2021 Kandis Residences

1 May 2021 Perfect Feng Shui Design: Aamer Architects photo : Amir Sultan Perfect Feng Shui House According to the clients, the site for this house epitomises the Perfect Feng Shui. Like other houses designed by Aamer, this house was also designed to capitalise on what the site offers while maximising the landscaping and other means of passive cooling to create experientially delightful spaces in the tropics.

30 Apr 2021 San House Design: Aamer Architects photo : Albert K S Lim San House In Chinese calligraphy the word san which means 3, is written in three strokes over three levels. It perfectly describes this three storey terrace house in an urban area just off the central shopping district of Orchard Road in Singapore.

27 Apr 2021 Boomerang House Design: Aamer Architects photo : Derek Swalwell Boomerang House The site of Boomerang House is narrow and long, with a small frontage to the waterfront. To maximise the view to the waterfront, Aamer designed the house to curve like a boomerang so that all the bedrooms could have views of the waterfront.

28 Apr 2021 Railway House Design: Aamer Architects photo : Skewedeye Pte Ltd Railway House As a typology, the semi-detached house is often perceived as a Siamese twin, reluctantly conjoined to its symmetrical other via a single party wall. The desire to challenge such a notion drives the parti of the Railway House, a single-family house. By separating and pulling the main building block away from the party wall, a semi-detached house breaks free.

22 Apr 2021 Park Nova Design: PLP Architecture Park Nova Luxurious Green Tower

24 Apr 2021 Tan’s Garden Villa Design: Aamer Architects photograph : Sanjay Kewlani Tan’s Garden Villa Back in 2001, the Owner, Mr Adrian Tan, commissioned Aamer to design his house(s) at No 42. There a large bungalow plot was divided into two to accommodate separate but identical houses which won the prestigious Singapore Institute of Architects’ Design Award in 2004.

28 Sep 2020 Fluidity on the Hill Design: Aamer Architects photograph : Skewedeye Pte Ltd Fluidity on the Hill Fluidity on the Hill sits on a steep odd-shaped hill with existing large trees, this seven bedrooms multi-generational house meanders fluidly upwards over five floors diverting around the very mature trees. Broken down into parts, the massing reduces as it goes higher. The house is intended to stand out whilst not overpowering the context.

13 Mar 2020 Canvas House, Blair Road Design: Ministry of Design Architects (MOD) image courtesy of architects studio Canvas House Blair Road: Heritage Shophouse MOD has newly completed an all-white Canvas House for co-living, set in a heritage shophouse in Singapore along Blair Road.

4 Mar 2020 Raw & Refine House Design: Aamer Architects photo : Sanjay Kewlani Raw & Refine House This new property is a reconstruction of a small bungalow house. The design is attracting attention from the community for its dynamic form and interesting use of materials.

1 Mar 2020 Seductive Simplicity House Design: Aamer Architects photograph : Skewedeye Pte Ltd Seductive Simplicity House Designed to fit snugly into a tight bungalow plot in the East of Singapore, this residential project stands out for its austere simplicity and unpretentious timelessness.

28 Feb 2020 Ninety 7 House, Siglap Hill Design: Aamer Architects photograph : Patrick Bingham-Hall Ninety 7 House One of those stimulating occasions where owner and architect are effectively collaborating, in sync, resulting in a pleasant process & cool project. The Ninety 7 House sits on Siglap Hill, the highest point in a residential suburb in Singapore, the site is breezy and enjoys spectacular views of the city skyline and the surrounding low-rise neighbourhood.

More contemporary Singapore Houses online soon

Singapore Houses 2019

30 May 2019 The Forever House, Serangoon Architects: Wallflower Architecture + Design photo : Marc Tey Photography The Forever House in Serangoon For the client, their dream residence would also be their definiteive family home. It had to have an urban presence, while having an open yet secure exterior space with sufficient privacy from the street.

29 May 2019 Lambda Residential Villa Architect: Mercurio Design Lab, Italy image courtesy of architecture studio Lambda Residential Villa The inspiration behind the radical shape of Lambda originated from a scale model of a Lamborghini Gallardo.

29 May 2019 59B House, Bukit Timah Architect: ONG&ONG Pte Ltd photo : Photographer: Derek Swalwell F59B House This was an additions and alterations property project on an existing house in Bukit Timah. The owner’s father built the original house and the building was in an awkward position on the plot.

18 May 2019 Fish House Design: Guz Architects photo : Patrick Bingham Hall Fish House A modern tropical bungalow encapsulating the essence of living in the hot and humid climate of Singapore by creating open spaces which encourage natural ventilation and offer residents views to the ocean.

More new Singapore Houses welcome for consideration on e-architect

Singapore Houses 2018

13 Feb 2018 Pearl Bank Apartments, Pearl’s Hill, Chinatown photo courtesy of CapitaLand Pearl Bank Apartments, Chinatown Prime site atop Pearl’s Hill to be rejuvenated with an iconic high-rise residential development, by CapitaLand Limited.

15 Jul 2017 House 24 Design: Park + Associates photo : Edward Hendricks © Park + Associates Pte Ltd House 24 The courtyard screen fronting the street was an opportunity to explore what timber craftsmanship might mean in contemporary architecture, and Park + Associates envisioned the screen to be a well-crafted element with modern aesthetic and detailing.

1 Nov 2016 Secret Garden House, Bukit Timah Design: Wallflower Architecture + Design photo : Marc Tey Photos Secret Garden House Singapore The Secret Garden House, designed by Singapore based Wallflower Architecture + Design, is situated in the good class bungalow area of Bukit Timah. The owner’s brief was to have a luxurious, tropical, contemporary family home. Being the owners of a construction company and by building it themselves, it would also showcase their professional capabilities.

13 Oct 2016 65BTP Residence Design: ONG&ONG photo : Derek Swalwell 65BTP House This is a home surrounded by a vast garden that converges at a colossal pre-war rain tree with such magnificence that its presence is ingrained within the very architecture of the house itself.

Recent Singapore House Designs

19 May 2014 Bukit Timah House in Singapore Design: Wallflower Architecture + Design photograph : Marc Tey Ge Wai Bukit Timah House in Singapore This house sits on high ground, and the rear of the site has wonderful views overlooking the greener and more affluent residential addresses in Singapore. Our client’s brief was to design a home of two stories, with an attic, and importantly a roof terrace facing the rear and overlooking the valley.

11 Dec 2013 One Tree Hill House Design: ONG&ONG Architects photograph : See Chee Keong One Tree Hill House This house at One Tree Hill is designed to cater to the homeowner’s unique needs. The architectural layout includes a double volume space in the living area that opens out into a beautiful garden and water feature.

20 Aug 2013 Wind Vault House Design: Wallflower Architecture + Design photo : Jeremy San Wind Vault House As the brief was substantial, the overall form of the house needed to be pushed to the envelope limits. Naturally, there are also other considerations; the context and proximity of neighbouring homes, the daily sun path and the prevailing winds. Conceptually, the house is a raised reinforced concrete tube whose open ends are oriented in a general north-south direction.

20 Aug 2013 The Wall House Design: FARM, Architects photo : Bryan van der Beek and Edward Hendricks The Wall House This is a tale of two houses – similar looking, yet independent and coming together to form a coherent whole. The two blocks sit on a sprawling piece of land, belonging respectively to the retired parents and one of their children.

25 Jul 2013 Nest House Design: WOHA photo : Patrick Bingham-Hall Nest House Singapore Another delightfully sensitive and articulate design from this world-famous Singapore architects studio. This house is part of a family compound, and expresses the owner’s close relationship with her grandfather who has his own house within the compound. The design reflects the close bond between the grandfather and granddaughter by orientating the main spaces towards his house and gardens.

10 Oct 2012 The Winged House Architect: K2LD Architects Pte photo : Patrick Bingham Hall Winged House A private family residence situated on a uniquely shaped triangular plot, the Winged House frames the site with two prominent forms – the trapeziums. These forms open towards the main view at the back of the site where 3 existing majestic palms are, and of lush greenery.

9 Oct 2012 JKC1 Singapore Architect: ONG&ONG Pte Ltd photo from architects JKC1 Singapore This is one of three ‘good class bungalow’ plots carved from a larger plot developed by the Keck Seng Group. The house sits on a slight incline and overlooks a pool in the front yard, following the feng shui belief of balancing the “mountain” and “water” elements.

Nassim Villas Design: Zaha Hadid Architects picture from architects Nassim Villas Flanked by huge luscious tropical hardwood trees on either sides and diagonally facing the Singapore Botanical gardens sits one of the most breathtaking and desirable sites in Singapore. The intention of this design is to mimic the landscape, allow the architecture to be part of it, thereby accentuating the locale and its prominence.

Botannia Design: MKPL Architects picture from FD Botannia Singapore Singapore—an island of just 710 square kilometres with a growing 4.9 million population— projects herself as city in a garden, no mean feat, since most Singaporeans live in high-rise public housing while others live in low-rise enclaves or condominiums where ratios of total floor area to site area range from 1.4 to 2.8.

Singapore Properties

Major Singapore Residential Architecture, alphabetical:

Beach Road – New mixed-use district Foster + Partners Beach Road Singapore : Design Contest

Farrer Court – residential development Zaha Hadid Architects Farrer Court Singapore

The Interlace Singapore Development Ole Scheeren of OMA The Interlace Singapore Complex

Moulmein residential tower WOHA Architects Singapore tower building

Newton Suites WOHA Architects Newton Suites

Pinnacle @ Duxton Design: ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism image © C)ARCStudio Pinnacle @ Duxton

Residential Complex, Alexandra Road OMA Singapore development

Scotts Tower – Residential tower building Rem Koolhaas Architects / OMA Singapore Tower : iconic architecture

Tangga House Design: Guz Architects picture : Patrick Bingham Hall Tangga House

More Singapore Houses online soon

New Architecture in this South East Asian City

Singapore Architecture Designs – chronological list

Singapore Architecture News

Singapore Architecture

Singapore Architecture Tours

Singapore Building Photos : images of recent buildings

Singapore Buildings – no images

New Houses

Capella Singapore – luxury hotel, Sentosa Island Foster + Partners Capella Singapore

Buildings in East Asian Countries

Hong Kong Architecture

Malaysian Architecture

Chinese Architecture

Thailand Architecture

Houses / photos for the Singapore Residential Architecture page welcome

Website: Visit Singapore

The post Singapore Houses: Residential Properties appeared first on e-architect.

[cessanderson]

What Classifies A House Style: What Makes A Bungalow Home? http://bit.ly/2CvdYDf

If you’ve been paying attention to architectural trends lately, you know that bungalows are back in a big way. With that in mind, we thought it was the perfect addition to our What Classifies A House Style series. Keep reading to learn what makes this architectural style so unique and why the bungalow home has held a special place in our hearts for so many years.

Bungalows originated in Bengal, India. Image: M Valdes Architects PLLC

History of the bungalow home

The word “bungalow” derives from the Hindustani word “bangala,” meaning “belonging to Bengal.” Bungalow houses were first constructed in Bengal, India in the mid-nineteenth century. At the time, India was under British rule and the ambassadors who traveled there sought to design an informal, easily-constructed rest house to use during their visits.

Soon after, the style became popular in England and it was eventually brought over to America. Architect brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene are credited as the most influential early practitioners of this style in the United States.

Together, they designed bungalows in Pasadena, California. Their designs were well received and were highlighted throughout the country through popular magazines like House Beautiful and Good Housekeeping. Soon enough, pattern books featuring bungalow designs and complete mail order house kits became widely available, allowing the bungalow style to spread quickly across the country.

Bungalows come in many shapes and sizes. Image: Bovender Team with Allen Tate Realty

Types of bungalow homes

Believe it or not, not all bungalows are created equal. The bungalow home comes in many different variations throughout the country. We’ve listed a few of the most popular styles below. Read them over to get an idea of the different types of bungalows that exist in today’s design landscape.

Craftsman bungalow

The term “Craftsman bungalow” is used to describe classic bungalows, no matter where they might be located. Traditionally, these homes feature street-facing gables with shingled roofs. Additionally, they’re often painted or stained brown or dark green to blend with nature. Finally, they’re most known for their wide, overhanging eaves

California bungalow

Since the California bungalow is very similar to the Craftsman, the two can be told apart by the materials used in their construction. California bungalow home exteriors typically use stucco, wood – especially redwood – shingle and horizontal siding but not brick. However, other bungalow subtypes do use brick.

Modern

Modern styles have curved corners to provide a sense of motion. Additionally, they may have portholes or bulkheads. They’re usually made of materials like concrete, glass and brick. Meanwhile, the interiors are typically light and airy with modern touches.

Tudor revival

Tudor revival bungalows have steeply-pitched roofs with large, elaborate chimneys. Additionally, they feature wall cladding, tall and narrow windows and decorative half-timbering.

Prairie style

Prairie style bungalows were developed by an especially creative group of Chicago architects known as the Prairie School. Frank Lloyd Wright was among the members. These homes have massive piers, used to support their porch roofs, as well as rows of casement windows, broad and flat chimneys and contrasting wall materials and trim.

See the list below for some of the defining characteristics of bungalows. Image: Carl Mattison Design

Characteristics of a bungalow home

Even though there are many different types of bungalows, the style still has a defined set of characteristics that ties them all together. To that end, we’ve taken the liberty of listing some of those bungalow home characteristics below:

Exterior

Balanced and well-proportioned, but not symmetrical, appearance from the front

A low, exposed roof, often with beams or rafters showing

A modest front porch or veranda

Square, tapered columns, sometimes called “bungalow columns���

Interior

Usually 1.5 stories

The front door opens to the main living space

An open floor plan that lacks a formal parlor or sitting room

Simple decorative accents

Plenty of built-ins as a means of decoration

The post What Classifies A House Style: What Makes A Bungalow Home? appeared first on Freshome.com.

Tara Mastroeni

[delhi-architect2]

Journal - The Future of Architecture: Why Modular Construction Will Take Over the World

Now open for entries, the 8th Annual A+Awards is celebrating the Future of Architecture, giving global recognition to forward-thinking designers forging new solutions for our evolving world. As part of the program, the “Future of Architecture” editorial series will highlight the growing trends that will help shape the built environment in the new decade. Enter the A+Awards now to be considered for upcoming coverage.

Architizer’s A+Awards, the world’s largest awards program for architecture and building products, has a special theme this year — “The Future of Architecture” is aimed at unearthing the most forward-thinking projects around the globe, with a particular focus on architecture that responds to the most urgent issues of our time. The A+Awards is open for entries now, with an Early Entry Deadline of February 14th 2020, so be sure your firm submits its best projects before then to secure the lowest possible entry fee.

Enter the 8th Annual A+Awards

The future of architecture is not worth considering without also considering the future of the construction industry as a whole. With a few exceptions, construction suffers from inefficiencies that detrimental not only to clients’ time and money, but the well-being of the environment. Material waste, high labor costs, long construction times and onerous levels of maintenance are just a few of the many consequences of today’s outdated building practices. It’s no wonder,then, many are arguing for modular construction to overhaul the industry.

If carried out successfully, modular construction has the power to potential to revolutionize the building process, with factory-controlled quality, reduced construction schedules and a smarter use of materials make it considerably more sustainable than conventional techniques. The following A+ Award-winning projects were composed using this increasingly popular construction method, proving that the functionality of modular construction does not have to mean compromising on design:

Cherokee Residence by Reddymade and LivingHomes | Plant Prefab

A Jury and Popular Vote winner in the 2018 A+Awards, the Cherokee Residence is comprised of six modules on two levels that form the primary living spaces, custom built stair volume, garage, and guest annex. Inspired by midcentury modernism, the design blurs the boundary between exterior and interior spaces while maintaining a strong sense of privacy.

Utilizing prefabricated construction methods for the majority of the home minimized neighborhood disruption and reduced the time and cost of overall site construction. Off-site and on-site construction of the home occurred simultaneously, allowing the project to be delivered and assembled on site in a single day.

People’s Station by People’s Architecture Office

A finalist in the Architecture +Prefab category in the 2018 A+Awards, the People’s Station is a cultural center designed to reinvigorate the Kwan-Yen district in Yantai, China. Sitting just beyond the edge of the business district, the building features large open entryways, semi-outdoor areas, and sections lifted above the ground. It acts as a nexus that invites visitors to explore the historic core of the city.

With the use of a proprietary, prefabricated system, the People’s Station was conceived and built in three months. A large exhibition space, lounge, bookstore and a cinema comprise the interior of the building. The ground floor features portable appendages that, when attached, increase the building’s footprint in an accordion-like manner, extending its range of uses.

Pipa House by Bernardes Arquitetura

Pipa House was developed as a product that could be replicated and sold in modules to other clients. It was a Popular Vote winner in the 2019 A+Awards. The house was designed for building efficiency through an industrialized system that allowed its rapid execution and very low waste production. Its structural system in glued, laminated eucalyptus wood makes the house adaptable to different sites.

The house has individualized heating systems, air conditioning, and electrical installations divided in modules, which simplifies its maintenance and operation. The external walls in prefabricated concrete panels guarantee good thermal response and zero maintenance.

Clinton Corners by Lake|Flato Architects

Nestled discreetly on a sylvan lot in the Hudson Valley, Clinton Corners was envisioned as both a family retreat for weekends away from the city and a gathering space for special occasions. It was a Jury Vote winner in the 2019 A+Awards. The simple building shapes leverage prefabricated panelized construction to streamline design and integrate fast track construction.

Fabricated in a nearby facility, the exposed heavy timber frame and super insulated wall panels were delivered to the site and assembled in less than three weeks. The precision of the prefabricated components also provided a high performance building envelope resulting in greater energy performance and precise control over indoor air quality.

North Fork Bluff House by Resolution: 4 Architecture

The North Fork Buff House is a modular, prefab home designed as a multi-generational retreat for a large family. The home is compressed of four modular units that were fabricated in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Two of the modules contain four equitably sized bedrooms, each with their own bathroom.

The other two modules are combined together to form the home’s entry and an open kitchen, dining, and living space with a media room at one end and a music room on the opposite end. The modules are built above a basement that houses a playroom and two bunk rooms.

citizenM Bowery by Stephen B. Jacobs Group and concrete

Originally designed as a conventional poured-in-place concrete building, the client, citizenM, decided to have the hotel redesigned using modular construction. The 19-story, 100,000-square-foot hotel is the tallest modular hotel in the world.

Due to the change in the building’s structural system, the double height mechanical room, originally located on the 18th floor, was moved to the 3rd floor. Furthermore, the hotel consists of 210 guest room modules, the majority of which are doubles for a total of 300 rooms.

Longs Peak Privies by Colorado Building Workshop / University of Colorado Denver

One of the eight incredible green architectural projects that received an A+ Award last year, Longs Peak Privies uses lightweight prefabricated construction and emerging methods of waste collection to minimize the human footprint in Colorado’s environment.

The final design solution is a series of prefabricated, structural gabion walls. Stones collected on site are used as ballast. This assemblage method allows for rapid on-site construction and an architecture that disappears into the surrounding landscape.

We can’t wait to see which projects you enter for consideration by our expert jury. Submit your works for the 8th Annual A+Awards before February 14th to secure your Early Entry Discount. Good luck from the whole team at Architizer!

Enter the 8th Annual A+Awards

The post The Future of Architecture: Why Modular Construction Will Take Over the World appeared first on Journal.

from Journal https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/collections/the-future-of-architecture-why-modular-construction-will-take-over-the-world/ Originally published on ARCHITIZER RSS Feed: https://architizer.com/blog

[biofunmy]

$225,000 Homes in Maine, Virginia and West Virginia

Richmond, Maine | $225,000

An 1870s extended cottage with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, on 0.37 acres with river views

The owner of this mid-coast Maine Victorian is a founder of the Maine Maritime Museum in the city of Bath. The house is less than a block from the Kennebec River, with views to Swan’s Island, a wildlife management area that is a five-minute ferry ride from shore. A market, a coffee shop, a library, a post office and a Russian Orthodox church, serving a community that immigrated from the Soviet Union starting in the mid 20th century, are all within walking distance. The larger cities of Augusta, Lewiston and Portland are 17, 24 and 42 miles away.

Size: 2,672 square feet

Price per square foot: $84

Indoors: The lower floor is built around a center hall with twin front parlors, each with maple floors, a bay window and an original tin ceiling. The dining room runs behind the staircase and connects to a room with a free-standing wet bar (this space is currently decorated with vintage posters supporting Prohibition). Another door leads to the kitchen, which has maple cabinets, tile floors, stainless-steel appliances and a pantry.

A short hallway separates the kitchen from a large family room in a two-story addition. It has an electric fireplace and a full bathroom.

Three bedrooms are on the second floor, along with a bathroom with a jetted tub and a laundry room. There is also an office that looks out over the rear deck and river.

Outdoor space: A side porch is off the kitchen, and the rear deck extends from the family room. A one-car garage is on the addition’s lower level, with a carport next to it.

Taxes: $3,252 (2018)

Contact: Rick Bisson, Bisson Real Estate, Keller Williams Realty, 207-317-0366; my.flexmls.com

Norfolk, Va. | $235,000

A studio loft with one bathroom in a circa 1900 converted industrial building

This is the first-floor unit in a condominium building that at one point was a warehouse for Hofheimer’s, a now-defunct shoe company. It is in the waterfront Freemason neighborhood, just west of the central business district, known for its cobblestone streets, mature trees and historic residential and industrial architecture.

Size: 919 square feet

Price per square foot: $256

Indoors: The building’s main entrance opens to an atrium wrapped by a staircase and flooded with light. Plants supplied by residents thrive there.

The unit is a long rectangle with hardwood floors and exposed ceiling beams and metal ducts. In the center of the room is a free-standing walk-in closet that is mirrored on one side. The mirror reflects the L-shaped open kitchen, which is built along one wall with wood cabinets and granite countertops.

A washer and dryer and a mechanicals room are behind a pair of louvered doors next to the kitchen. Beyond that is the custom-designed bathroom, with walls faced in subway tile and a walk-in shower with an integrated corner bench. The bedroom area is on the opposite side of the central closet.

Outdoor space: The unit comes with one deeded space in a parking lot. It is across the street from an Asian-inspired waterfront public garden with a two-story Taiwanese pagoda.

Taxes: $2,508, plus a $340 monthly homeowner’s fee

Contact: Benjamin Canty, Garrett Realty Partners, 703-939-7816; properties.hamptonroads.com

Fairmont, W.Va. | $212,000

A 1927 Tudor Revival house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, on two acres

Built on the southeast outskirts of Fairmont — an old coal-mining city (population 18,400) that is experiencing a revival, with a new park and improvements to the business district — this brick-and-stucco house with half-timber detail has superior materials and construction. (The brick is from the celebrated Hammond factory that once existed nearby; the foundation is structural terra cotta.) It is 18 miles southwest of Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University.

Size: 2,270 square feet

Price per square foot: $93

Indoors: A number of upgrades, including a bathroom addition to create a master suite, were the work of the owner, an accomplished artisan.

The front door takes you into a large foyer, now used for dining. To the right is a living room with a white-painted brick fireplace. (There is also direct access from a side door.) The kitchen, which is brightened by the original casement windows with vintage hardware, is to the left.

Two bedrooms, including the large master, are on the main level. The new master bathroom has granite surfaces. The original exterior windows, backed with burlap curtains, remain above the hand-carved sink with its industrial copper faucet.

The second floor has two additional bedrooms, as well as a room without a closet that is used as an office. The upstairs bathroom has a wall of split, polished lumber and a walk-in concrete shower with a rain shower head.

The unfinished basement includes a washer and dryer.

Outdoor space: Most of the two-acre property stretches behind the house and has grassy and wooded areas. Parking is available to the side and in the back.

Taxes: $1,381

Contact: Heather M. Neill, Heritage Real Estate Company, 304-612-3746; wvheritagerealestate.com

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Sahred From Source link Real Estate

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[erichhughesiii]

The Role of Microfinance Institutions in Build Change’s Retrofitting Strategy

The year is moving fast; my time supporting the team in Colombia is over. My time is now fully committed to the program in the Philippines.

During my initial trip, I had the chance to visit some of the communities where Build Change has been working and become familiar with the existing tools used in these communities. Also, I was introduced to the crucial role that microfinance institutions (MFIs) play in Build Change’s strategy to retrofit vulnerable houses in the Philippines.

A lot of questions came to mind after that trip. Specifically, how to transfer the governmental responsibility of having safer houses for the low-income population to an external agent, and how to make MFIs’ business of providing loans to retrofit houses profitable? Compared with Colombia, where the government plays the principal role of providing grants to homeowners to retrofit their houses, there is very little government involvement in improving informal housing in the Philippines. Instead, microfinance institutions play a pivotal role in working directly with homeowners to finance housing retrofits.

MFIs have been working in the Philippines for many years. According to the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Asian Development Bank, MFIs are organizations that offer a broad range of financial services such as loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance products to low-income homeowners or households and their microenterprises. Small loans from microfinance institutions are recognized as an effective method of directly improving the lives of those in need — a service that can often have a long-lasting impact.

Homeowners and households must successfully navigate several steps to obtain credit from an MFI. For example, the homeowner has to submit a membership application, there is a background check investigation, there is general documentation to be filled out, and the homeowner must pay a safety deposit that is usually 20% of the total loan (applicable on some loans). This last requirement reduces, in general, the total amount of money that can be used in retrofit applications.

Deficiencies in informal construction in the Philippines are similar to deficiencies identified worldwide in these types of structures, including a lack of a ring beam on the top of masonry walls, inferior quality materials, inadequate locations of openings, excessive openings in shear walls, irregular layouts, and high gable walls. Developing a full retrofitting assessment and solutions for a house requires a lot of engineering effort and time in order to obtain buildable documents and building permits. As a result, Build Change developed a simplified approach focusing on eight deficiencies:

All exterior walls must include a minimum solid wall length of 1.5 meters or 35% of the total length of the wall. This requirement reduces potential torsion effects in the house.

Columns are required at the intersections and ends of walls, allowing the transformation of a partially confined or unconfined masonry system into a confined masonry system.

Ring beams are required on top of the walls. Many homeowners of informal one-story houses wait to build a ring beam until the concrete slab is poured during a second floor expansion. In the meantime, these houses are vulnerable to earthquakes and wind forces.

Openings must be protected by the placement of confining elements around them. This enhances the performance of the wall as a confined masonry member.

For unplastered masonry walls, 1.5 centimeters of mortar plaster are specified at each side.

If parallel walls spaced more than 3 meters apart exist, a new perpendicular CMU wall 1 meter long between parallel walls is required to buttress the walls for out-of-plane lateral forces.

If a masonry gable wall exists, two options are specified: Construct a slanted ring beam at the top of the gable wall; or demolish the wall and replace it with a gable wall made of a lightweight material such as timber.

Anchor the roof framing to the ring beams with metal straps, if not previously completed.

The full application of this retrofit strategy typically creates a total scope of work that far exceeds the loan amount accessible to homeowners through an MFI. Therefore, prioritizing and dividing the scope of work into different phases is required. It demands extra engineering time. To make this work scalable, existing resources must be improved to automate as much of this process as possible.

MFIs use loan officers as liaisons between the institution, the homeowner, and Build Change. Loan officers are usually salespersons without a technical background. However, the assessments that they perform require the loan officers to take actual house measurements. With very little guidance on how to take accurate measurements, they may find this process too complicated. Any confusion when performing an assessment will likely affect the quality of the final bill of quantities (BOQ) and scope of work.

Figure 1. Tool developed for loan officers to guide them through assessments.

In response to these problems, Build Change has created an XLMForm application using FieldSight, an application developed by UNOPS and the World Vision Nepal Innovation Lab to ensure Nepal is properly rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 2015. This platform allows data collected by loan officers in the field to be directly monitored from Build Change’s office. A new feature of the app involves using pictures to help loan officers identify the elements that must be measured and minimize the judgment and interpretation required by the loan officer.

Currently, only a single typology (one-story houses without future expansions) is available in this simplified procedure. However, the goal is to extend the app to cover other typologies, such as one-story houses with the capacity for future expansion, two-story houses with a lightweight roof, one-story timber houses, and two-story houses built from multiple materials.  With the development of more modules that can cater to more typologies of homes, we can cover a more significant portion of the market.

Figure 2. Visiting a house in the Philippines with a loan officer of Kasanagaka (local MFI).

I had the chance to visit an MFI client in Southville, Rodriguez, Rizal. The requirements and scope of work determined previously for this client’s house by the MFI loan officer were very different from the type of intervention the homeowner was expecting. Many factors could have contributed to these differences. However, in my opinion, loan officers require more training and improved, user-friendly tools to ensure that a scope of work is generated that is consistent with the homeowner’s desires.

To conclude this blog, I believe that the approach and strategy adopted by Build Change to promote safer housing and better construction practices is correct, given the lack of government involvement in informal housing vulnerability. Homeowners committed to having a safer house play a key role in promoting better construction practices among local builders.

Improving construction practices is a long road, but it is the only way to ensure safer housing on a large scale, years and decades into the future. This aligns with Build Change’s mission to save lives and significantly reduce injuries and economic losses in earthquakes and windstorms. Additionally, becoming involved with the retrofitting of vulnerable houses can be a source of growth for MFIs, allowing them to reach more homeowners. That said, Build Change must continue to help MFIs with the technical support, the development of the tools, and the training of loan offices to achieve our final goal.

  The post The Role of Microfinance Institutions in Build Change’s Retrofitting Strategy appeared first on Simpson Strong-Tie Structural Engineering Blog –.

from Simpson Strong-Tie Structural Engineering Blog – http://seblog.strongtie.com/2019/07/the-role-of-microfinance-institutions-in-build-changes-retrofitting-strategy/

The Role of Microfinance Institutions in Build Change’s Retrofitting Strategy published first on your-t1-blog-url

[architectnews]

Scottish Architecture News: Buildings in Scotland

Scottish Building News 2021, Architecture Photos, Property Scotland Images, Architects, Design Links

Scottish Architecture News

New Architecture Developments + Buildings in Scotland – Built Environment + Architects Updates

post updated 22 June 2021

Scottish Buildings News

This page contains a selection of major Scottish Architecture News, with projects arranged chronologically, latest first. Each architecture news item links to an individual project page. We’ve selected what we feel are the key Scottish Building News stories.

The focus is on contemporary Scottish buildings but we do post on changes to major traditional buildings in Scotland.

Scottish Architecture News 2021

Scottish Architecture Designs – chronological list

22 June 2021 Scottish design project makes AJ Architecture Awards shortlist Calton Hill City Observatory Edinburgh design by HarrisonStevens: Calton Hill City Observatory in Scotland’s capital has been nominated for an AJ Architecture Award this week. The design by HarrisonStevens, the Edinburgh-based Landscape Architects and Urban Designers, Calton Hill City Observatory has been nominated in the Landscape and Public Realm category in the annual awards: Edinburgh Building News 2021

9 Jun 2021 Kincardine, Places for Everyone News A community-led design project in a Fife town has been nominated for a Scottish Design Award. Created by HarrisonStevens, the Edinburgh-based Landscape Architects and Urban Designers, the Kincardine, Places for Everyone project has been nominated in the Future Building or Project category in the annual awards: Kincardine, Places for Everyone Project

28 May 2021 Pleasure Scene Exhibition – The Digital Culture of Contemporary Architectural Drawings

11 June – 25 July 2021 29 Trafalgar Avenue, London, SE15 6NP, England, UK

Pleasure Scene Exhibition

The inaugural exhibition at Trafalgar Avenue marks the culmination of an 18-month collaborative project bringing together nine artists from across the UK to respond to the iconic modernist ruin, St Peter’s Seminary, Scotland.

20 May 2021 European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention 2021

rankinfraser landscape architecture are shortlisted for The Dunbar Battery in East Lothian. It is one of ten works in category B – Exterior Spaces – judged by the architects, Delphine Péters, Olga Felip and Isabel Aguirre, after evaluating 49 participating proposals.

The Dunbar Battery, Dunbar, Scotland, United Kingdom. rankinfraser landscape architecture photo © rankinfraser landscape architecture

The 5th edition of European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention, with a success of participation that coincides with the celebration of its 10th anniversary, publishes the names of those shortlisted in the a and b categories.

European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention 2021

11 May 2021 First Passivhaus Primary School, Perth and Kinross Design: Architype Architects image courtesy of architecture practice North Perth Passivhaus Primary School The school, which will replace both the current North Muirton and Balhousie Primary Schools, is being delivered by Robertson Construction Tayside on behalf of hub East Central with Architype as both Lead Consultant and Passivhaus Designer.

23 Apr 2021

New leisure centre in Ayr

hub South West and contractor, BAM, set to revive Ayr town centre with construction of new leisure facility

Work to develop a new leisure centre in Ayr is progressing following South Ayrshire Council’s appointment of hub South West, the construction and infrastructure-focused partnership which operates alongside local Authorities and private sector enterprises in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway:

Read the news in full at New leisure centre in Ayr

2 Apr 2021

Trust objects to plan for 82 houses and a ‘visitor centre’ adjacent to The Pineapple, Hill of Airth

Conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland has lodged a formal objection to a planning application lodged by George Russell Construction for a housing development at Mains Farm, Airth, directly adjacent to The Pineapple and the historic Dunmore Estate.  Dating to 1761, The A-Listed Pineapple is one of Scotland’s most exotic and celebrated buildings and was constructed by the Earl of Dunmore amid a purpose-designed landscape.  The property has been in the Trust’s care since 1973.

The Pineapple, Dunmore Estate: photo © The Dunmore Pineapple, Falkirk. David Robertson 1999, National Trust for Scotland

An unsolicited proposal for a visitor centre along with 22 houses was made public in 2018 and the Trust entered into correspondence with the developer.  Contrary to the impression given in the developer’s Design and Access Statement, the Trust did not endorse the proposals and merely requested assurances on the ecological impact on rare species as well as clarification on the purpose of the visitor centre. No such assurances were forthcoming and the developer eventually withdrew the planning application for this initial scheme.

The new application, which is now under consideration by Falkirk Council, almost quadruples the number of proposed houses to 82. The overall scheme causes the Trust great concern for the integrity and setting of the landscape around the Pineapple, as well as the threat to wildlife.   It is also the Trust’s view that a development in this location would set a planning precedent that may mean more of the area being re-zoned for development.

The National Trust for Scotland’s Chief Executive, Phil Long said:

“The Pineapple is one of the most significant buildings in Scotland and its unique ambience is dependent on its setting within Dunmore Park with its woodland and abundant wildlife.

“It is clear to us that this development scheme would have a hugely adverse impact on the site, which is designated within the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.  As we have seen all too often, inappropriately-scaled and sited developments have impaired or overwhelmed many important historic and natural landscapes and it’s our obligation to ensure that this does not happen to The Pineapple.”

2 Mar 2021 Radisson Hotel Objection News

From Architect Alan Dunlop:

As the architect and designer of the Radisson SAS, a project that has garnered many architecture and hotel design awards, nationally and internationally. I write to object in the strongest possible terms to these proposals.

photograph : Andrew Lee

Read Professor Alan Dunlop’s objection in full at Radisson Hotel Glasgow

Readers comments welcome – this is one of gm+ad’s major works, the planning submission pushes the glass volume out into the street, and creates a new entrance at the north west corner. Alan Dunlop’s original design gave back space to Argyle Street, encouraging a generous approach to the public realm in the heart of Scotland’s largest city.

26 Feb 2021 Lower Tullochgrue, Aviemore, northern Scotland Design: Brown & Brown Architects photograph © Gillian Hayes Lower Tullochgrue, Aviemore Lower Tullochgrue is the refurbishment and extension of a traditional house in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park. A dilapidated steading has been replaced by a contemporary extension, with a timber and glass upper volume above a stone plinth, with the existing topography of the site maintained at all times.

26 Feb 2021 Strone Cottage, Scottish Highlands Design: Loader Monteith Architects photography : Nigel Rigden and Gillian Hayes Strone Cottage, Scottish Highlands The Strone Cottage is the adaptive restoration and extension of a highland bothy in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland.

12 Feb 2021 Upper Parkbrae House, Oyne, Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland Design: Brown & Brown Architects photograph © Nigel Rigden Upper Parkbrae House, Aberdeenshire This contemporary Scottish property design is comprised of a timber and glass box, which is cantilevered above the landscape, and sited on a stone wall which runs both inside and outside of the building.

11 Feb 2021 ER Residence, Glasgow Property

10 Feb 2021 Langside Halls Queen’s Park, Glasgow

5 Feb 2021 Scottish Design Awards 2021 Programme

1 Feb 2021 Kingsborough Gardens, Glasgow

Scottish Architecture News 2020

Summer to Winter news items:

18 Dec 2020 Literature House for Scotland, John Knox House, Edinburgh Winning Architects: Witherford Watson Mann ; Groves-Raines Architects Studios ; Studio MB photograph © Daniel Lomholt-Welch Literature House for Scotland Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust has selected Stirling Prize winning architectural firm Witherford Watson Mann to lead the next phase of development at the Literature House in Edinburgh. They will be working in partnership with Groves-Raines Architects Studios and Edinburgh-based Studio MB.

20 Nov 2020 Cloch Lighthouse in Gourock Design: Benjamin Tindall Architects Cloch Lighthouse in Gourock Guiding light. Dougall Baillie Associates to advise on changes to home at the Cloch Lighthouse. The professional services of a Lanarkshire civil and structural specialist have been enlisted to advise on a significant upgrade to accommodation at one of Scotland’s most picturesque and dramatically-situated lighthouses.

19 Nov 2020 Holiday Inn Pacific Quay Hotel Architects: Mosaic Architecture + Design image courtesy of architects Holiday Inn Pacific Quay Hotel Glasgow Mosaic Architecture + Design, one of Scotland’s most experienced practices, has secured Glasgow City Council planning approval to build an £18m Holiday Inn Pacific Quay hotel on the site of the former Glasgow Garden Festival.

10 Nov 2020 Quarry Studios, Deeside, Cairngorms National Park, Scottish Highlands Design: Moxon Architects photo © Timothy Soar Quarry Studios in Cairngorms Quarry Studios is conceptually anchored in the landscape by two main elements; vertical concrete chimneys acting as a counterpoint to the low profile of the roof and a massive timber wall that intersects each volume.

6 Nov 2020 Laurieston Living Award News Design of Phase 2: architects Anderson Bell Christie image courtesy of architects Laurieston Living Glasgow A local Glasgow housing development has been named the best Affordable Housing Development of the Year in Scotland. Laurieston Living, which is being delivered by Scottish home builder Urban Union, scooped the award at this year’s Scottish Home Awards – seeing off competition from across the country.

5 Nov 2020 Chivas Brothers HQ in Glasgow International design studio Graven, has designed new, award-winning offices for Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, on Blythswood Square in Glasgow’s city centre: Chivas Brothers Glasgow

29 Oct 2020 Science Centre Glasgow Photos We took some photos of this cluster of interesting buildings in a rare window of good weather: photo © Adrian Welch

photo © Adrian Welch

photo © Adrian Welch Science Centre Glasgow

29 Oct 2020 Canonmills Garden Recognised for Success at the Scottish Homes Awards

Canonmills Garden, Artisan Real Estate’s stylish new homes development in Edinburgh, is in the running for two prestigious accolades in this year’s Scottish Home Awards which takes place on Thursday (October 29):

Canonmills Garden Edinburgh

8 Oct 2020 Langside Halls Queen’s Park, Glasgow

11 Sep 2020 Scottish Design Awards 2020 Winners

11 Sep 2020 The Carpenter’s House, Stenton, East Lothian

10 Sep 2020 Scottish Architecture Conference The programme for the RIAS 2020 convention has been announced. With the Grain will run online from Monday 28 Sept – Friday 2 October: RIAS Convention 2020: With the Grain

7 Sep 2020 Hidden Stories Map: Glasgow Doors Open Day

4 Sep 2020 St Peter’s Seminary Cardross Building

30 July 2020

Planning Application Submitted for New Town Quarter Development

Plans have now been submitted for one of the largest developments to come forward in Edinburgh’s city centre for a generation.

Ediston and Orion Capital Managers have been working together on their shared vision for New Town Quarter, previously known as New Town North, since last year and have carried out what has been one of the largest consultations ever on a city centre development.

New Town Quarter Development

27 July 2020

Maven acquires site in Edinburgh

Maven Capital Partners, a leading UK property and private equity manager, has purchased a site at Murieston Crescent, Edinburgh, for the development of a purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) complex.

Murieston Crescent Edinburgh

21 July 2020 Builders frustrated by poor performance on crucial planning decisions

Responding to official planning performance statistics for 2019/20 published today, trade body Homes for Scotland (HFS) described another overall increase in decision times for housing applications as “hugely frustrating”.

Director of Planning Tammy Swift-Adams said:

“Despite an 11.5 per cent drop in the number of decisions made on local housing applications (defined as being for less than 50 homes), the time taken to make those decisions crept up for the second year running.

“This is concerning given that these small developments are, by nature, the lifeblood of SME home building businesses – a sector supported by Scottish Government loan funding during the crisis, but also needing local government support if it is to thrive”.

“Things are no more positive for major housing applications (those for 50 or more homes), decisions on which were two weeks slower than the previous year at 37.5 weeks – more than double the 16 week statutory timescale.”

“With all of the consultation and discussion time that has gone into improving the planning system, it is extremely frustrating to see this evidence that improvements are just not emerging on the ground.”

“And, of course, we also await the Scottish Government’s decision on whether planning application fees will be increased again. This decision, and the timing of its implementation, must be made in the context of this performance – with home builders currently receiving some of the poorest service across the system whilst already paying the lion’s share of fees.”

Swift-Adams also points to the Scottish Government’s new consultation document proposing changes to Scottish Planning Policy. These include removing the principle that planning applications that will help solve housing shortages should be looked upon favourably by decision-makers. The paper also seems to suggest that planning authorities should focus more singly on allocating their preferred sites and pay less regard to whether or not the homes that are needed are actually going to be built.

She continued:

“Scottish families and communities don’t need housing land. They want real homes to live in, and more of them. That requires a better functioning system and policy that encourages local planning authorities to ensure the sites they choose for housing development can and will be delivered. With the housing market showing encouraging signs post-lockdown, now is the time for local authorities to work closely with home builders to deliver the homes required.”

More Scottish architecture news is welcome on e-architect

Scotland Building Updates Early 2020

Winter to Summer news items:

4 June 2020 Red Tree Magenta, Shawfield, Glasgow Design: NORR, Architects photo © Keith Hunter Photography Red Tree Magenta Building Clyde Gateway embarked on delivering the first commercial building at the 11ha Magenta Business Park site, Shawfield to act as a catalyst to the market, prove it as a business location and to demonstrate the viability of the remediation strategy for the wider site.

27 May 2020 New Homes Quality Board – interim board announcement

First step towards creation of New Homes Ombudsman scheme

The first step towards the creation of a New Homes Ombudsman (NHO) scheme has been announced with the appointment of an interim New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) chaired by “New Homes Quality Champion” Natalie Elphicke MP.

As a new independent body, the NHQB will have responsibility for the quality of new build homes and consumer redress. It will be guided by the principles of independence, transparency and integrity, and will comprise a mix of representatives of consumer bodies, home builders, warranty providers, lenders and independents such that it will not be dominated by any one group.

The interim board has ‘met’ for the first time and will now:

• oversee the composition and appointment of a permanent board; • complete, consult on and adopt a new comprehensive and robust industry code of practice that will place more stringent requirements on all parties involved in the construction, inspection, sale and aftercare of new homes; • agree a process to appoint a New Homes Ombudsman (NHO) service to adjudicate against the new code.

Nicola Barclay, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland, said:

“While housing is a matter that is devolved to the Scottish Government, consumer protection remains a reserved matter and so comes under the responsibility of Westminster, making a UK-wide solution crucially important. Working closely with colleagues in the Home Builders Federation in England, we are delighted to see this progression which reinforces our determination to ensure a high-quality home for each and every purchaser. We are also pleased that the stringent requirements will see consumers receive the same level of clarity and consistency wherever they live.”

The ambition is that a permanent chair and board will be in place by Autumn with a view to the new code and ombudsman service being in place by the start of 2021. There will then be a transition period for builders to sign up to the new arrangements. It is anticipated Government will ultimately legislate to improve consumer redress as soon as possible and these new proposals aim to complement such reform.

Natalie Elphicke said: “This is a welcome move, and a much needed step in the right direction. I am committed to ensuring that the new arrangements will deliver a step change in the quality of new homes and customer experience. They will be based in the principles of independence, transparency and integrity, values I know Government and the industry are determined to instil. I look forward to working with all parties to finalise and implement these changes as quickly as possible.”

All the new arrangements will be paid for by the industry and once established, the NHO will be free to consumers, with access being through a new portal.

Natalie Elphicke is a qualified barrister and solicitor. In 2015 she was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to housing. Natalie’s background is as a national specialist in complex housing and structured finance law and public policy. A former international law firm partner with over £4billion transactional experience, she had been described as “probably the best in the City” in her specialist area of housing.

She has extensive experience structuring and successfully setting up new organisations in her professional capacities, working with a diverse range of stakeholders. This includes most recently at the Housing & Finance Institute. She has a strong reputation as an independent commentator on housing matters ranging from housing policies to building new homes faster as well as in relation to the quality and safety of new build construction.

Natalie is a member of the Jaywick Sands coastal community team and a member of the NHBC advisory panel. She is a voluntary worker at her local homeless shelter, having previously volunteered at free legal/advice centres over many years. In December 2019, Natalie was elected as a Member of Parliament for Dover & Deal.

21 Apr 2020 Housing delivery can build way out of coronavirus crisis

Responding to today’s publication of the latest UK State of the Economy report, Chief Executive of industry body Homes for Scotland Nicola Barclay said:

“Whilst public health has quite rightly been the government’s top priority up to now, it is clear that the economic fallout could have even further reaching consequences for the country. Today’s report highlights that Scotland’s GDP could fall by 33% during the current period of social distancing, with construction noted as one of the most exposed sectors.

“We share the Economy Secretary’s desire to rebuild the economy as quickly as is safely possible and believe that we can, quite literally, build our way out of this. This is why we are working on a recovery plan which includes the core components necessary to kickstart home building, including putting robust control measures in place to protect workers, home purchasers and tenants, as well as working across the sector to ensure everyone is ready to go as soon as we can.

“Delivering the homes of all types that our country needs brings many significant benefits in terms of protecting vital jobs and skills, improving social wellbeing and contributing more widely to the economy through the extensive supply chain.

“Restarting from a standstill requires considerable planning and co-ordination so it is imperative that the Scottish Government works closely with industry to establish a programme for recommencement so we can provide the homes that so many people desperately need.”

9 Apr 2020 Mark Baines, Glasgow School of Art

Mark Baines, who has been a seminal part of the School for 50 years, has passed away (not Covid-19 related).

Mark was one of the first cohort to study on the full time programme at the Mac, went on to work with Andy and Isi at Gillespie Kidd & Coia, with Ian O Robertson Architect and Ian Bridges Architect before returning to GSA to teach generations of architecture students, most recently as Stage Leader for the DipArch programme.

Below is a tribute from his long-time colleague Johnny Rodger, Professor of Urban Literature at The Glasgow School of Art:

Mark Baines

It is with great sadness that we hear of the passing away of our colleague Mark Baines. As an esteemed and respected teacher, practitioner and critic, Mark Baines played a distinctive and vital role at the heart of architectural culture in Glasgow and Scotland in general. Any comprehensive list of his important achievements and his experiences could never be retailed in the space available here, and his place in Glasgow life was a unique one.

His long connection with the Mackintosh School of Architecture started in the early 70s when he was amongst the first cohort of full time architecture students at his beloved Glasgow School of Art. After going out to work as a practising architect for a few years he returned to teach in the school in 1982 and he taught there right up until 2020.

Generations of students were influenced by his encyclopaedic knowledge of the field and his quiet, patient, insightful and inspirational analyses which opened up a whole new spatial and structural world to them. He was the critical eminence grise behind the student edited annual MacMag, and he guided and oversaw the production of that publication which has refined and exposed the creative spirit of the Mac students since 1974. Public recognition of his position as a towering figure in the pedagogical culture of the Mac came when at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s annual Design Tutor of the Year Awards in 2013 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.

After MSA Mark started his professional career at the firm of Gillespie Kidd and Coia. The firm had a long association with teaching in the school going back to the 1920s and arguably longer, and Mark joined them as they were at the cutting edge of the rebuilding of the country after WWII. His experience there under the tutelage of Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan, set the standards for his own life as an architect and architectural teacher in terms of the fundamental importance of drawing, the vision of the discipline as a collaborative one through the methodologies of the studio, and the necessity of a discursive critical approach to the work.

Mark went on to work with other firms like Ian O Robertson Architect and Ian Bridges Architect through the eighties and onwards , especially on housing projects, and in 2007 completed the design and construction of the massive Merchant Building –a contemporary response in scale and material to the historical setting of Glasgow Cross – with his firm Gholami Baines.

As a critic Mark Baines played a prominent role as a public intellectual, writing chapters and articles for magazines, books and catalogues, putting on exhibitions and giving talks to innumerable groups and societies. Although his knowledge of architecture and architectural history was inexhaustible, and his moral and ethical discourses on where we live and how we do it drew a broad civic public, he became particularly well known for his critiques in a few specialist areas. After working with GKC and studying their work he became one of the acknowledged world experts in the field, writing extensively on the importance of their work in an international sense.

Among the exhibitions he curated on the GKC work, his 2007 one drew the biggest viewing public that The Lighthouse has ever had for any show. He was also an authority on the great 19th century Glasgow architect, Greek Thomson, wrote extensively on his work, campaigned to save numerous of his buildings, and was Chair Person of the Greek Thomson Society. Although his own tastes and indeed practice were of a contemporary not to say modernist outlook, Mark Baines worked tirelessly to broadcast to the world the genius of Thomson’s work and his importance to architectural history.

Mark was a respected and admired colleague, and was recognised by his fellows for the perspicacity of his vision, the originality and acuity of his judgement and the consistency of his approach. For many people he embodied the successes of the studio system at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, as a humane teaching and learning environment. Generations of students and colleagues from all around the world have been humbled then inspired by the breadth of his culture and his willingness to share it. He will be missed greatly at the Glasgow School of Art to which he was totally committed as a creative and collaborative institution.

Johnny Rodger, Professor of Urban Literature at The Glasgow School of Art

9 Apr 2020 New Town North Development at Former RBS Site image courtesy of architects Edinburgh New Town North Development

10 Mar 2020 Judges line up for 2020 Scottish Design Awards

The judging panels for the 2020 Scottish Design Awards have been confirmed with a mix of figures from industry and academia coming together to celebrate the nation’s best new work:

2020 Scottish Design Awards News

29 Feb 2020 Celebrate Perth’s New Creative Hub – Official Opening and First Exhibition Perth Creative Exchange, a £4.5 million creative hub which will help boost the local Perthshire arts economy, was officially opened at a launch ceremony on Wednesday February 26, by the Provost of Perth and Kinross, Dennis Melloy. photo : Fraser Band Perth’s New Creative Hub

29 Jan 2020 The Watch House, Crail, Crail, Fife, Eastern Scotland Architect: Alan Dunlop drawing © Alan Dunlop The Watch House in Crail, Fife Planning Approval and Listed Building and Conservation Area Consent granted unconditionally for this historic property renovation in Crail. The building is listed and sits within the conservation area in Crail, overlooking the Firth of Forth and The Isle of May.

17 Jan 2020 Paisley Museum Building News, western Scotland Design: AL_A image courtesy of architects office Paisley Museum Renewal Plans to transform Paisley Museum into a world-class visitor destination telling the town’s unique stories, including that of the globally admired Paisley Pattern, have taken a major step forward as The National Lottery Heritage Fund announced £3.8million of support for the project.

25 Feb 2020 The Glasgow School of Art appoints Penny Macbeth as new Director The Glasgow School of Art has appointed Penny Macbeth, currently Dean of Manchester School of Art and Deputy Faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor for Arts and Humanities focusing on external engagement and partnerships, as its new Director following an extensive international search: New Glasgow School of Art Director: Penny Macbeth

25 Jan 2020 New Gorbals Housing Association, Crown Street, Glasgow Design: Page\Park Architects photograph : Keith Hunter New Gorbals Housing Association Glasgow The new home of the New Gorbals Housing Association is a bespoke office and civic piazza forming the centrepiece of the Crown Street redevelopment in Glasgow.

7 Jan 2020 Lesley Samuel joins Halliday Fraser Munro as a landscape architect

A rise in masterplanning project wins across Scotland has seen award-winning architectural design and planning practice Halliday Fraser Munro bring high-level expertise to its team, adding landscape architectural services to its portfolio:

More info on the Edinburgh Architecture News 2020 page

More contemporary Scottish Architecture News on e-architect soon

Scottish Architecture News 2019

27 Nov 2019 Ashtree Road Pollokshaws Award News

Graeme Nicholls Architects along with clients Home Group in Scotland and Merchant Homes Partnerships are celebrating this week after their Ashtree Road development won not one, but two awards at the prestigious 2019 AJ Architecture Awards.

Ashtree Road Buildings

10 Oct 2019 ; 23 May 2019 New Macallan Distillery Building, Speyside – 2019 RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award Winner Architect: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners ; Exhibition Design: Atelier Brückner photo © Speirs + Major New Macallan Distillery Building The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience in Speyside reveals the production processes and welcomes visitors while remaining sensitive to the beautiful surrounding countryside.

5 Oct 2019 Scottish Architecture Student Films Two films here, by Edinburgh architecture student Daniel Lomholt-Welch:

Schiehallion:

Fragmentation:

1 Oct 2019 Perth Affordable Housing Electric Car Charging Points Perth housing development news: Muirton Living

25 Sep 2019 RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award 2019

24 Sep 2019 RIAS respond to Public Enquiry into 2 Scottish Hospitals

The Scottish Government has announced a public inquiry will be held to examine issues at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) sites.

RIAS President Robin Webster OBE says; “The RIAS welcome the move by Health Minister Jeane Freeman’s to hold an inquiry into the delivery of Scotland’s 2 hospitals. This follows our earlier support for inquiries into failures in Schools across Scotland and our continued involvement in these discussions.

The removal of a co-ordinating overseer with professional independence; a broad and comprehensive understanding of the building design and the procurement process; with the time to apply that understanding and vitally, the executive authority to influence it, has inevitably allowed many gaps in the procurement process to open up; such that responsibilities are clouded, and appropriate resolution of issues fails to occur.”

18 Sep 2019 Fairways – Townhouses, St Andrews, Fife Design: Sutherland Hussey Harris image courtesy of architecture office Fairways Townhouses by St Andrews Old Course The Fairways – Townhouses in St Andrews are laid out so that one taller, tower-like building form addresses the urban setting facing towards the town centre.

6 Sep 2019 Whitehorn Hall Student Accommodation, St Andrews, Fife Whitehorn Hall Student Accommodation

8 Sep 2019 Scottish Design Awards Winners Clydebank Community Sports Hub by Marc-Kilkenny Architects wins: Scottish Design Awards 2019 Winners

6 Sep 2019 Paisley Museum Renewal News Paisley Museum Renewal News Paisley Museum Renewal, Scotland, design by AL_A, transforming the building into a world-class destination showcasing the stories of a Scottish town whose influence reached around the globe.

2 Sep 2019 £200m construction projects signal Glasgow move for architects Halliday Fraser Munro

Barclays Campus, Buchanan Wharf architects Halliday Fraser Munro relocate to larger Glasgow office after winning £200m worth of city construction projects

Halliday Fraser Munro Architects in Glasgow

Scottish Buildings News in 2nd Part of 2019

Scottish Building News 2019 image courtesy of HfS

Scottish property news from earlier in 2019:

Scottish Architecture News 2019

More Scottish Architecture news online soon

Location: Scotland

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Scottish Architecture News 2011

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Scottish Building News 2009

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Scotland Architectural Resource Links

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland News

RIAS/RIBA Awards 2019 Shortlist news

Scottish Borders Buildings

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Buildings / photos for the Scottish Building News page welcome

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The post Scottish Architecture News: Buildings in Scotland appeared first on e-architect.

[duvalsmith]

My mother Robin has made a proposal for the new library; however, the tender calls for a local designer, which she isn’t quite (yet). If anyone out there knows a building firm capable of taking on a project in the 6 – 8 million dollar range, who would be interested in using this design, please get in touch.

Share this around: I think it’s a great design, and unless we get involved as a community, we’ll probably end up with something a lot more ordinary.

  Robin’s design notes follow:

Introduction

The design of a new Library for the people of Motueka presents multiple challenges including current & future requirements with due consideration to all. The building footprint to be as light-weight & green as possible, & the effects of changing Climate – especially related to flood protection – is incorporated in the design. The weight given each of these considerations is integral to the effective, efficient & aesthetic design of the Library.

The Site

Site A is on Wallace Street at the southern end of Decks Reserve being 43 metres long by 25.5 metres wide with the Long axis in a north-south direction & the main entry on the western side for access from both Wallace Street & the existing car park. The raised site for flood prevention (raised approximately 1.2 metres), incorporates & facilitates wheelchair access with gentle inclines from all directions, (see Orientation map) including the car park where the approach runs parallel with that from Decks Reserve to accommodate a gentle incline. The Japanese garden to the east of the site presents an attractive landscaping opportunity to merge the perimeter paving adjacent to the new building with a terraced rock garden & winding path down from the raised building platform through sympathetic planting to the existing garden. A Gingko Biloba tree indicates where terracing may begin.

Protection & benefit from the sun are important design considerations, as is natural ventilation, heating & cooling. The centrality of the site with its multiple approaches, its proximity to Decks Reserve & the Japanese Garden enhance the new Library’s appeal as a popular destination.

The Design

A 44 metre x 26 metre footprint at its extremes is modified by the reducing irregularity of the northeastern aspect of the build that results in a total 1056 square metre footprint. This footprint is orientated so that southern, southeastern & eastern light – & morning sun- is maximized, especially in the book shelving & display areas, while northern & western sun is modified variously. There is flexibility available according to season. The raised concrete slab foundation incorporates a ground source heat/cooling pump system laid under adjacent north sloping ground rising up from Decks Reserve. This method of heating/cooling is efficient, economic & green. In combination with natural ventilation which is employed throughout the building with many windows opening, it is envisaged a comfortable temperature & excellent ventilation will be reliably & constantly maintained for minimal cost. It is envisaged all grey water will be processed & reused, in either the Japanese Garden or the Reserve.

Structural Elements

Poured concrete slab foundation Cross Laminated Timber structural wall panels with monolithic plaster & timber cladding Wooden Glulam beams Roof structure- Kingspan Insulated Panels on Mi-Tek PosiStrut truss system – facilitates all electrical wiring installation & heating/cooling systems. Aluminium windows & doors Plywood interior lining treated variously. Plywood shelving & stairs

  The Design

The ground floor plan approximates a half circle with 90′ angles off the 44 metre north/south axis. The mezzanine level is 12 metres wide out from the 44 metre west wall. The north & south walls measure 12 metres & 16 metres respectively before morphing into variously angled/lengthened facets that form a curving facade favouring an eastern orientation. This architectural intrigue creates varied interior alcoves conducive for a variety of uses & options in contrast to the main circulation areas. At the northern end of the curvature is an open terrace overlooking Decks Reserve that is adjacent to a Cafe for the use of library patrons & the general public. It is bound to prove popular with patrons. Although integral to the overall Library design the interior of the Cafe is separated from the Library proper with toilet facilities shared by kitchen staff & library staff. A fully equipped kitchen with walk-in cool pantry services the Cafe. It is also envisaged that this facility can operate in the evenings to offer cooking demonstrations/classes & that both the daytime Cafe & the evening classes will provide on-going revenue for library maintenance & new resources, visiting speakers etc thus ensuring a vibrant & dynamic library. The monopitch roof rising from approximately 3 metres to between 7 & 9 metres along its long north/south axis, is staggered to maximise the gain of south eastern light into the interior. Diagonal Glulam beams angle down to breach the building platform. Supported by posts these structural arches bridge over the paving to add an aesthetic dynamic to this lowered facade. The curved roof edge softens the sharp wall angles & pays gentle homage to the neighbouring Japanese garden, as does a Gingko Biloba tree. Conversely the monolithic clad west wall stands proud & tall, it’s covered Entrance enhanced by a triangular timber structure supporting diagonal trellis behind which green, perfumed (frangipani?) sun-loving plants add shade to a small, balcony – private & shaded behind the diagonal trellis.

A short cantilever relieves the monolithic surface, creating little more than a shadow along its length. Yet by employing it, shade is indeed possible for this hot west facing wall – for small cost. Roll-down Bamboo blinds attached to the underside of the cantilever unfurl & are hooked over on the 2 metre high vertical wood trellis surrounding narrow courtyards opening off the Art Studio & the staff room to provide shade from the afternoon sun. The western interior walls are also cooled by the Ground-source Pump System. The Art studio with its bi-fold doors behind the trellis-enclosed ‘court ‘ benefits from good natural light that can be modified by unfurling blinds. A simple, proven & effective way of modifying heat gain, light & air quality used in conjunction with the bi-fold doors opening out from a studio space to alleviate the buildup of paint fumes & carving dust is essential. The studio facilities include two sinks, pottery wheels, easels, a pull-down screen, access to the under stair storage room, work tables etc. The eastern/southern section of the ground floor accommodates the Children’s & Young Adults collection, an enclosed, story-telling Koru, Information technology, an Arts & Crafts studio, toilets, & a storage room. The spiraling plywood Koru Story Telling circle has wide application & appeal. Age is no barrier to enjoying the recounting of a wonderful story- & there’s many an inspiring way of telling a good yarn. An enclosed, (glazed, vine-shading roof, open balustrade) balcony opens off this east orientated area. The large, sliding, glazed doors can remain open on warm days even when it’s raining. This eastern orientation & balcony connection extends the ground floor choices, vying with the angled alcoves offering quiet reading, study, technology, & various seating arrangements , or the play-pit for toddlers – all combine to create a vibrant environment with wide appeal. Further into the interior under the mezzanine, older children & young adults enjoy autonomy. The smaller, northern end of the ground floor contains the cafe, kitchen, toilets plus the staff kitchen/sitting room. The circulation/returns desk is conveniently sited opposite the lift & throughway into the ground floor junior books. A four metre wide Entrance Foyer & stairwell clearstorey where a lift is located is graced by a changing exhibition wall that extends- doubles in size – up to the mezzanine floor. Seen on entering the building it guarantees exposure for both professional & budding artists. Additional wall & floor space is available for art display & large sculpture may also be commissioned & sited in the exterior angled wall. A dedicated fire exit is located on the east wall. There are two stairways up to the 13 metre wide x 44 metre long cantilevered mezzanine floor that houses the adult collection, the Stack & Research room & the quiet room. Winding around the Koru is a wide, generous staircase that incorporates reading/study/computer stations as it ascends – opportunity for individual pursuits, 2/3 person collaboration, quiet contemplation. Ascending through the clearstorey the second staircase off the Entrance Foyer turns at right angles to accommodate the 2m x 2m lift.

These all access the adult book collection on the first floor. Presenting a more formal layout, a generous selection of reading is available with a variety of sitting areas designed in which to sample selections, study, use technology. Together with the various children’s sections on the ground floor a generous & varied display & shelving of books is accommodated. While increased capacity is possible, providing generous floor space enhances easy access & safety, efficient flow & flexible use. This mezzanine level looks down over the ground floor & it is envisaged that performance can be enjoyed from here. Stacking forms & chairs are stored for such occasions in the store room under the spiral stairs. Staff lockers are located outside the main toilet block.

A generous Stack room facilitates regular rotation, frequent changing displays & the acquisition of new literature to ensure lending keeps abreast with current publications. The rotating Stack means shelved books don’t need to unduly compromise floor space ensuring room for shared reading activities, performance, gatherings & quick exits.

A ‘quiet’ room for smaller groups, feeding mothers, book clubs etc. offers opportunity to withdraw from the main circulation area. This room has the capacity to extend should its needs take priority – the research area in the next door Stack room can relocate within that room.

Within the Stack room research & administration is accommodated while the Head Librarian’s office opens on to a small, north facing balcony overlooking Decks Reserve. A single toilet serves these two spaces while a further 4 toilets serve the remainder of the mezzanine floor.

All plumbing installation for both levels of the library is along the west wall.

The lift not only provides excellent connection between the Circulation Desk & the Stack room, it also facilitates frailty & disability.

A pleasant sitting/reading area adjacent to a green, shaded, west facing balcony completes this upstairs level.

  Conclusion

Design of a new library is a rare pleasure, to be afforded the thoughtfulness, the mindfulness it deserves. A benefit for the whole community – diversely aged, of multiple ethnicities, interests & passions, a library has the capacity to nourish potential by providing opportunities not only for reading, learning & fostering the arts but as a place to gather & share; a place to grow & explore. Young & old enjoy various experiences in purpose-designed spaces that connect to a green exterior graced by mature trees & a cultivated garden – & to the adjoining Cafe. Space surrounds it, generous car parking adjoins it – all contribute to enhancing a Library that in turn enriches the lives of those it serves. Aesthetically dynamic architecture, purposefully designed to reflect the values & philosophies expressed herewith will resonate with the people of Motueka. In creating a sense of Place, the connection with community is confirmed.

A New Motueka Library: Design Seeking Partners My mother Robin has made a proposal for the new library; however, the tender calls for a local designer, which she isn't quite (yet).

[anneedmonsonus]

A Solar Passive ‘Shed-House’ in the Country

Rolling country views, a pony, dogs, a beautiful solar passive new build, a lovely family and two pet sheep who are convinced they are people – this wonderful home visit was one of my favourites and I’m so pleased to share it here today with these gorgeous photos by Heather.

Nestled in the Perth hills in picturesque Stoneville, this family home is special – it is proof that building on a budget does not need to mean you have to automatically go the project home route, but that you can have a beautiful custom-designed, completely individual and eco-friendly solar passive home.

I first published this story on the original part of my blog here, but as one of my most-read (and most-Pinned!) Home Envy stories, this one deserves a reboot.

LIVING ALFRESCO: This outdoorsy family designed their home to suit them and their love of being outside. “We live an outdoor lifestyle and the house reflects and facilitates this,” says Niall. “The living space opens out onto the elevated deck which looks across the property and the reserve to the north. This is the heart of the house. The interior spaces are functional, practical and comfortable.” Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

LIFE IN THE COUNTRY: Irene and Niall count several different things as their favourites to do at home. “We love working in the garden together, checking the progress of our baby trees and discussing plans for the house and property; taking long walks and rides down the Heritage Trail; and sharing a bottle of wine with friends on the deck at the end of the week.” Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

THE HEART OF THE HOME: Niall, Irene, Oisín, and Aoife (and dogs Cruise and Dinah) love to spend time as a family here in the open-plan living area. “We spend most of our time in the open-plan family area whether it’s in the kitchen cooking, sitting at the dining table for meals, working in the office or curled up on the sofas watching movies,” says Irene. High ceilings increase the feeling of spaciousness while glazed walls to the north and south fill the room with natural light and provide carefully considered views over the property. Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

Home owners Irene Coveney and Niall Browne are the brains behind boutique design studio Coveney Browne Design, which specialises in passive solar, energy efficient and sustainable design.

11-year-old Aoife with her pony Brego. Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

Home owners and designers Irene Coveney and Niall Browne, who hail from Ireland and run boutique design studio Coveney Browne Design, met while studying architecture in Dublin.

“I had grown up with horses in rural Ireland and when we migrated to Australia we did so with the dream of eventually designing and building our own home in a rural location where we could keep horses and raise a couple of ‘free range’ kids,” says Irene. But finding the perfect block of land was a challenge.

“We wanted a north-facing slope situated within easy commuting distance of the city with enough cleared land to provide protection from bushfires and grazing for horses, and ideally close to local shops and trails for riding and cycling,” says Niall.

Their dream finally started to come true in 2012, when they purchased a five acre property with lovely views of forest and rolling fields in the Perth Hills suburb of Stoneville. Irene says they immediately loved the location and its cultural significance. “The site is located directly opposite the Heritage Trail which runs along the path of the original Mundaring Loop rail line from Perth and now offers a wonderful public amenity for walking, riding or cycling,” Irene tells me. “Once we had found the right property everything else came together quickly as we both knew what we wanted and how to achieve it.”

Their aim was to create an energy efficient house that would be beautiful, functional, affordable and, above all else, a family home.

“We love the functional honesty of the Australian rural vernacular – older farm houses, wool sheds etc,” says Irene. “As in these traditional buildings, lightweight sheet materials are offset against the richness of natural timber with elements of rustic brickwork.” With its timber-framed windows, wraparound veranda and pretty gardens, what I love is that this home very much looks like a house but the steel exterior also brings to mind the typical Australian shed.

BUILT-IN CABINETRY: The home features beautiful modern cabinetry. “Continental Joinery in Walliston provided the cabinetwork with everything fabricated exactly as per my details,” says Irene. “I have used Markus for a number of projects in the past and the quality of his work is always excellent.” Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

Coming to Perth from Europe and with years under their belt designing houses, Irene and Niall bring two pairs of fresh eyes to the West Australian home design and building field.

“There is a cultural acceptance and local reliance on the ‘project home’ building industry for private housing in Western Australia,” says Niall. “This is an industry that relies heavily on catalogue designs and does not build to suit the challenging climate that we experience or address individual client requirements. In a harsh climate such as ours we should be looking carefully at the unique characteristics of a site and the materials and building forms we employ. We need smarter, location sensitive housing. We need to think carefully about what we want from a home; what is really important for a particular individual or family.

Niall and Irene say there is a common perception that there is a much higher cost associated with the bespoke house.

“This isn’t necessarily true,” says Irene. “With a good understanding of how to work with budget, local knowledge and a sound understanding of the industry it is feasible to deliver a custom-designed home for the same budget as an equivalent standard ‘project home’. We need a change in mindset and a rethink of how to design and build our West Australian homes.”

I visit Niall and Irene’s own custom-designed West Australian home on an early summer’s day that quickly turns unexpectedly rainy. I am introduced to their kids, Oisín, 12, and daughter Aoife, 11, as well as their pets, Brego “the best little pony in the world”, Cruise, a sweet 15-year-old whippet, Dinah, a young Catahoula leopard dog, and two sheep, Sean and his girlfriend Barbara, who were bottle fed as orphaned lambs and don’t quite grasp that they are sheep.

Irene, Niall and I sit around the kitchen table drinking coffee while rain beats on the tin roof and elderly Cruise drifts blissfully in and out of consciousness on the couch. The house is still in the finishing touches stage when Heather and I visit for these photos –the walls unpainted, the floor still concrete – and there is a nip in the air, but inside the house is a perfect temperature. And despite the storm clouds gathering, the home’s solar passive design meant no artificial lighting is needed – a big difference to my own 1970s house on a dark day. While the house was still in the finishing bits stage, I thought it was so lovely and had such a pleasant, calming feel to it. It was the kind of house where I visited and lingered annoyingly because I didn’t feel like leaving yet.

The home, which has 200sqm of living space, was carefully designed as a passive solar home and has been carefully oriented along an east-west axis. Wide canopy eaves shade the external walls in summer but allow the winter sun to reach all the principal rooms through large north-facing windows.

ENTERTAINING AT HOME: “We love having friends over,” says Irene. “The main deck opens from and extends the open plan living space and is perfect for shady summer barbecues or overlooking winter bonfires.” Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

ART WALLS: “My brother Joe is an artist and I have several of his pieces around the house,” says Irene. “My favourite is hanging in the kitchen. We also have a small collection of original PJ Redoute prints from his ‘Roses’ volumes which we love. As in our previous houses, our favourite roses will eventually be incorporated through the gardens which will give these some context.” I personally also loved all the horse photographs and drawings. Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

SAVING WATER: The downpipes are connected below ground to a 50,000 litre rain tank which feeds all plumbing fixtures and garden taps with the exception of the kitchen sink. “By using rainwater in this way we estimate that we save over 100,000 litres a year,” says Niall. “If water levels get low towards the end of summer we can switch to mains water and keep a reserve for fire fighting. The house was plumbed to allow for future connection to a grey water recycling system which will irrigate the gardens.” Photos by Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography.

While energy efficiency housing is generally something one characterises with modern houses of the past decade, interestingly Niall and Irene drew on features of the West Australian houses of yesteryear to design theirs.

“Traditional West Australian houses built prior to the 1950s and the post-war project housing boom typically had high ceilings which were vented into the roof space, combined with low level wall or floor vents that allowed cool air from the floor space below to move up through the house,” says Niall.

“As the cooler air warmed, it would rise and escape through the roof space, effectively acting as a natural air-conditioning system. The high ceilings ensured that the warm air could move quickly to the upper part of the room keeping the living spaces cool.”

Niall says on larger properties, tall roofs extended into wide verandas, providing a shade canopy to protect the house below. “We employed similar techniques in our own home with high ceilings throughout fitted with adjustable ceiling vents,” he reveals. “A central raised ridge vent runs for half the length of the house and uses prevailing breezes to create a strong chimney effect drawing hot air out in summer. Combined with high levels of insulation in walls and ceiling, low-e glazing and ceiling fans in all rooms, the result is a house which stays cool all summer.” Using a local Builder, Warden Constructions, to build the house to lock up stage, the build time was just four months!

Internally the concrete slab and brick walls provide thermal mass to stabilise temperatures all year round and the long roof extends out over the car port at the west side of the house providing additional shading from the hot afternoon sun in the summer.

“The narrow plan carefully places doors and windows opposite each other providing excellent cross ventilation and passive cooling at night,” says Irene. “We typically experience cool summer nights in the Perth Hills allowing the house to be purged of warm air at night. The modest, considered use of brick and heavily insulated frame also contribute to ensuring we do not experience the typical Perth build-up of heat as the summer progresses.” The home uses solar hot water and is wired to allow for the installation of solar photovoltaic panels in the future.

The entire family adores their new house. “We love our new home – all of it,” says Irene. “From a practical viewpoint, we’ve been very pleased with how well the house has performed environmentally. It has exceeded all our expectations. Spatially we love the high ceilings; the volume of the living area and how it integrates with the elevated deck as one large indoor-outdoor space all opening up to the northerly view.”

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Love sustainable home principles and always dreamed about building or renovating to a unique design of your own? “We would be very happy to give advice to anyone interested in designing a new home or renovating their existing home,” says Irene. “We place a particular focus on sustainable living and energy efficient homes.”

I am always getting emails asking for recommendations for builders for difficult sites – well Irene and Niall don’t shy away from them!

“We love to work on tricky sites with distinctive character; places with interesting topography or that are caught on the side of a hill, places that are exposed to wind, places that have an interesting history or have an odd aspect,” says Niall. “These are many of the qualities that from a traditional ‘home builder’ viewpoint make a site difficult to build on and this is quite true when dealing with generic catalogue designs. For us, they are the very qualities that inform how a house should work. How we respond to a place, work with the landscape, take advantage of views or catch the breeze and the sun is what makes that house unique, of its place and unrepeatable in any other location.” You can contact them through Coveney Browne Design at www.coveneybrowne.com.au. Maya x

Like this story? You can see other inspiring home renovations by following House Nerd on Facebook, Instagram @housenerd, Pinterest, Twitter @HouseNerd_ or Bloglovin.

HOME LOWDOWN

THE OWNERS

Irene Coveney and Niall Browne, their son Oisín, 12, and daughter Aoife, 11, who live with their pets Brego “the best little pony in the world”, Cruise, a 15-year-old whippet, Dinah an 18-month-old Catahoula leopard dog, Sean the sheep and his girlfriend Barbara bottle fed as orphaned lambs and several chickens.

THEIR HOME

A new-build, custom-designed solar passive country home on a five acre property

LOCATION

Stoneville, Western Australia

BUILT

2015

THE DESIGNERS

Niall and Irene both hold Honours degrees in architecture and designed their home under their own boutique design company Coveney Browne Design

FEATURES

Veranda, rolling country views, open-plan kitchen, living and dining, four bedrooms, one designed to be large enough as a second living space for the kids when they have friends over, home office, paddocks, stable, chook pen

PHOTOGRAPHY

Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography

The post A Solar Passive ‘Shed-House’ in the Country appeared first on House Nerd.

from Home Improvement https://house-nerd.com/2019/05/07/solar-passive-shed-house/

[mrstevenbushus]

How to get the best out of building with SIPs

Despite their popularity in Scandinavia and the fact they offer a number of benefits for home building projects, structural insulated panels (SIPs) have only recently been established as a mainstream option in the UK.

The system comprises pre-insulated panels, usually made from engineered wood-based sheets sandwiched together with a core of high quality rigid insulation – like polyurethane – in between.

A strong, lightweight system, SIPs can be manufactured to create large sections of wall, floor and roof, and are typically supplied in kit form to make a whole house.

“It’s a strange thing to say, but homes constructed with SIPs have a very solid quality to them, because you’re reducing the number of elements needed for a build,” says Malcolm Thomson, managing director of SIPs Scotland. “It makes a big difference to the overall feel of the property.”

The panels are made in a factory to your own bespoke requirements and then slotted together on site. Some prefab specialists can even supply them with windows and doors, plasterboard lining and service channels already installed.

This means that once the SIPs kit is delivered, the shell of your new home can be erected far quicker than with a traditional construction method. So, if you’ve made the choice to go down this route for your project, read on to find out how to make the most of this innovative system.

Superb energy efficiency

SIPs are renowned for offering exceptional thermal performance, which can significantly exceed Building Regulations without the need for excessively thick walls.

“They give you a very simple way to build to Passivhaus principles,” says Andy Clays, partner at SIPS@Clays. “You get a really well insulated property without making any extra effort, as there aren’t any gaps in the joins like you can sometimes find with other methods.”

While you can opt to install the panels on just the walls or the roof, for the best energy efficiency, Malcolm and Andy both recommend using a complete package.

“It depends on the desired performance that you’re trying to achieve,” says Malcolm, “but you’ll hit higher targets more easily with a full kit.”

This contemporary home by SIPs Scotland features a traditional stone exterior topped with a sloping roof. The property was built with Kingspan TEK panels

That’s because working with a single system and supplier means the structural design, supply and erection is all done under one roof – giving you confidence the planned performance will be achieved.

It can also help with budgeting and project scheduling. “Because the panels are pre-insulated, once you’re on site and the house has been erected, the insulation is automatically done,” Malcolm continues. “With some other systems you have to go back and add in several extra layers. That takes a lot of time and labour and therefore can increase the subsequent costs.”

Design possibilities

When it comes to planning your SIPs home, arguably, the only potential limitation is your own imagination.

Houses of all sizes and shapes are possible, and after the structure is complete, it can be clad with pretty much anything you like. So, whether you want a traditional build with a classical stone finish or a modern white rendered abode featuring large swathes of glass, it is all very much achievable.

One design element that SIPs do lend themselves especially well to is creating spacious living areas in lofts, thanks to their strength and insulation performance in a relatively lean panel thickness.

“If you have paid good money for a plot of land, why would you put roof trusses in?” asks Andy. “You might be looking at what would traditionally be a two-storey residence with a standard covering, but using a SIPs system, you could achieve three full levels with a nice, versatile room in the attic.”

But while the sky is the limit when it comes to aesthetics, as with any build, you must hire the right professionals if you’re keen to get the best out of your scheme.

SIPS@Clays built this large, modern Northumberland home, which is clad in attractive grey bricks and features lots of fenestration

“Having a good architect with a strong knowledge of the system will assist in maximising the overall benefits,” says Malcolm. “They can help you with factors like window placement for solar gain and adding to the house’s overall performance.”

In terms of the SIPs structure itself, working with an experienced designer can help identify cost efficiencies. For instance, the most economical roof form will be to combine the panels with a ridge beam and apex gable ends.

“From a practical point of view, this is the most efficient way to build the kit,” Malcolm continues. “It’s very simple engineering-wise, which keeps fees low.”

As a result of the excellent levels of airtightness that are inherent with a SIPs build, you need to ensure that you’ve got a good stream of fresh air circulating throughout the house via proper ventilation.

“This is the same as it would be in any highly efficient property,” says Malcolm. He recommends installing a mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) system to maintain a fresh air supply.

Maximise glazing in your home

Opting for a high-performance setup such as SIPs can help to enable greater use of glass in your scheme.

The panels, the insulation and airtightness values can offset the comparatively lower U-values of windows, feature glazing and sliding doors.

Their strength and performance also means these panels can also be used to create wow-factor features like impressive vaulted ceilings.

There are limits to how far the SIPs can span without extra supports, of course, but your structural supplier can advise.

Should you decide to opt for a style with a lot of glass, Andy suggests adding more internal insulation to avoid any potential issues with cold bridges – especially if you’re aiming for Passivhaus or a similar standard.

“It’s a common sense approach that’s being more frequently implemented in the self build projects we see,” he says.

Attention to detail is vital here. “Many new houses are built with lots of glazing and the lintel heads around them can be quite substantial,” Andy continues.

“As there’s no insulation there, it becomes a weak point in your thermal envelope.” Adding 25 to 30mm of internal insulation to a standard 142mm panel can remove an element of that cold bridge – allowing you to enjoy the aesthetics of contemporary design without increasing your heating bill.

Modern, light filled SIPs home for retirement

When they decided to construct a home for their retirement, Brian and Donna wanted a quick and easy build.

The speed of construction possible, thermal performance and airtightness of SIPs convinced them that it would be the best option. The panels and accompanying glulam beams also allowed them to have wide open spans and voids, which could have been more difficult to achieve with other materials.

The couple’s architect son, Stefan, investigated several kinds of SIPs, including a local manufacturer, before settling on Kingspan TEK.

“I had greater confidence in the product as it is from such a large, well-known company,” he says. He worked very closely with the supplier, Point 1 Building Systems, who provided their own engineering package for the structure. After an eight-week process, the panels arrived and were erected quickly in under three weeks.

The one-and-a-half level design enabled the creation of double height spaces on the ground floor, with sloping ceilings and dormer windows to upper rooms.

Externally, some of the SIPs panels were clad in a white through-coloured render and others with oak weatherboarding attached to timber battens, finished with several coats of lacquer.

Aluminium-framed glazing was installed and the roof has been finished with interlocking slate-effect concrete tiles. Taking this approach to the covering has helped to keep costs down without impacting on the overall appearance of the striking modern property.

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Mix & match construction systems

One of the advantages of this system is that it can partner well with other construction methods. You could build in blockwork or insulating concrete formwork (ICF) for the walling, for instance, and top the house with SIPs to create a live-in loft.

The panels are also often used as an insulating wrap for oak frame builds. “You can keep the structural beams visible inside the house as a feature and wrap the SIPs around them externally,” says Malcolm.

“This gives you the energy efficiency of the structural insulated panels with the beautiful aesthetics of the oak internally.”

However, if you’re building to a strict time frame or want to minimise potential disconnects in the process, you might consider sticking to a singular system for all of the structural elements.

“Once multiple suppliers and trades start getting involved, there is a crossover of responsibility and accuracy,” says Andy.

“We often get asked to put our panels on the roof of a traditional construction. While this is perfectly doable, that house needs to have been built really precisely. SIPs are made to within 2mm of accuracy, so if measurements aren’t exactly right, it becomes tricky to determine who’s going to ensure everything fits together.”

Top image: SIPS@Clays created this sprawling modern build, which fully demonstrates the design potential of SIPs panels with its variety of jutting lines and angles

Find structural systems in Build It’s directory

At the heart of any major self build or renovation project is the structural system you choose. Find specialist suppliers for brick-and-block, timber frame, structural insulated panels (SIPs), insulating concrete formwork (ICF) and alternative construction methods.

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The post How to get the best out of building with SIPs appeared first on Build It.

Article reference How to get the best out of building with SIPs

[garagedoorshampshire]

Six Floor Luxury Home With Massive Family Entertainment Zone

From a steep 1,400 m2 hillside site, which drops off to the famous sequence of Clifton’s white beaches, this stacked modern South African home appears to float over its infinity swimming pool. Architects at SAOTA designed the 943 square meter house in Cape Town to have its main living area and pool terrace situated on the uppermost double volume level; six generous bedrooms and a multitude of impressive entertainment spaces occupy four lower floors. A glazed boundary links the interior with the great outdoors. The glass walls connect indoor living space with an enormous back garden that opens directly onto Table Mountain National Park, and to the pool that flows straight toward the sea out front.

Entry is made via Nettleton Road, which is the most sought after street in South Africa. From the road, there is a carefully composed first impression of the four lower stories, with just a tantalising glimpse of the two further luxury levels above. The volume that floats over the pool features a glass floor, allowing views of the water’s still surface. The pool patio is home to an outdoor lounge that offers the inviting warmth of a blazing fire pit.

This volume is the principal living area of the home, it includes family rooms, a kitchen, bar, multiple dining areas, a winter lounge, a study and an art studio. The expansive, double height luxury living room becomes an outside space when two entire walls of glass are retracted. The living room floor matches with the light patio tile on the pool terrace for a seamless transition between inside and out. The sofas are kept light to tone with the neutral decor. A sculptural floor lamp arcs over the U-shaped sofa arrangement. The interiors were created by ARRCC together with OKHA.

The lounge seating faces out to the stunning ocean horizon, and back to a private garden that is carpeted in lush green lawn. Wide concrete stepping stones make a path across the grass. Just off the main living room is a quiet home office. The upper level plays host to a wine loft.

A long wooden dining table seats twelve. The dining set neighbours an open plan kitchen at the end of the living room. Outside, sun loungers offer a relaxing spot on the patio, with an alfresco dining set situated just out of view on the left beneath a pergola.

Two black mid century modern chairs face back across the lounge toward the rear garden. A neutral area rug warms the lounge floor. An array of books cover the surface of a modern coffee table.

The house plays host to an impressive curation of South African art, like these African masks mounted above the kitchen. The gallery wall is painted dark grey for added dramatic effect.

Three white kitchen bar stools sit at a long white countertop, which wraps the ends of the kitchen island.

An understated grey linear pendant light is strung low from the high rafters, to hover close to the dining room table. Animal horns twist at the centre spot of the table – another reminder that this crisp contemporary abode has South African roots.

A smaller lounge area looks out to sea through a panoramic window.

Wooden strips wrap the towering wall and vast ceiling of an enormous games room. Pool, ping pong and a football table all stand poised for fun. Colourful decor accents create an uplifting atmosphere.

At the back, the games room leads directly into a cinema room. Porky Hefer’s ‘Blowfish’ is suspended from beneath a mezzanine landing. The entertainment volume also features a beauty spa and sauna.

The sweeping mezzanine ends at a tv room.

The walkway also serves as a stylish modern art gallery along its length.

A crumpled cloud-like pendant light floats in the tv room, above a taupe L-shaped leather sofa. Two gloss black accent chairs face the leafy window view. Green and yellow colour the floor rug and monochrome surroundings. Timber ceilings feature in many of the rooms, which are made from the blemished boards that shuttered the concrete ceilings elsewhere in the home.

The staircase is almost indistinguishable amongst the mystical decor of the entry façade, with its striking art pieces and mysterious lighting effects. A Paul Edmunds sculpture colours one wall of the largely concrete space. The ladders propped against one wall hints at the staircase’s ascent.

A glass balustrade flanks the first level of steps, allowing sculptural wall art to shine through its transparency, and a Paul Blomkamp tapestry to reflect across its surface. You can find more beautiful staircase designs here.

Distressed metal balustrades dress the rest of the concrete staircase with russet patina.

Different areas of use are defined by a split level floor inside this luxury bedroom, where the bed is raised to prime status. The rest of the suite includes a generous lounge area and an open plan bathroom. Three of the six bedrooms in this home interlink as a family suite.

The entry façade.

Floor plan.

The home has a four car garage attached. This level also houses a staff room and staff bathroom.

Floor plan showing the beauty spa and sauna room situated around the double height family entertainment zone.

Here we see the situation of the dedicated home office space, and the wine loft.

Layout illustrating the impressive size of the master suite.

Primary living zone.

Love this home? Here are two similar sea side homes on the same road, by the same architect!

Nettleton 198 Nettleton 199

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from Interior Design Ideas http://www.home-designing.com/six-floor-luxury-home-with-massive-family-entertainment-zone

[itsasif007-blog]

10 exceedingly strange great buildings from around the globe

New Post has been published on http://liststories.com/10-exceedingly-strange-great-buildings-from-around-the-globe/

10 exceedingly strange great buildings from around the globe

There is no doubt that art and architecture can depict the unusual. And when artistic licence meets the concrete world of construction, the results can be nothing short of mind-boggling. In this account, we take a tour in which we discover a horizontal skyscraper, a circular skyscraper, a robot building, a bizarre towering castle of wood, and the world’s largest bread basket, among other constructions that will expand your mind and even end up on your travel itineraries.

10. Horizontal Skyscraper – Vanke Center (Shenzen, China)

When is a skyscraper a skyscraper in name and shape, but not in behavior and function? When it is a fairly typical looking skyscraper that has been painstakingly constructed to lie on its side! The building logically would look totally typical if you were to turn your head 90 degrees to the side when you examine it, for the building’s position is what makes it weird. Why? Because the structure is an eerie sideways skyscraper, built horizontally along the ground but in the form of a skyscraper. Strange and thought provoking. The brainchild of Steven Holl Architects, the Horizontal Skyscraper – Vanke Center in Shenzhen, China may look normal in shape, in sharp contrast to the oddity of its physical position

Standing on supporting pillars, the building is actually the length of the height of the Empire State Building, while its physical location is stretched along an immaculately landscaped garden with grass, woody plants and pools of water. The construction of the building extended from 2006 to 2009. While bizarre, the building has both ample glass and ample class. It serves its purposes including office and conference centre functions plus apartments and hotel suites, creating both a distinctive place to work and live while providing a modern and iconic place to visit. Considered a winner, the project was recognized with a 2010 Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, showcased as an example of excellence.

9. The Wooden Skyscraper (Archangelsk, Russia)

A house of cards may not stand well, but a wooden skyscraper? If one is creative enough to think out of the box and crazy enough to construct a monster castle of boards, then one may well be on their way to scraping the heavens with a tower of mere timber. A work of a madman, a convict, and a potential mad genius, albeit one flouting building regulations in a concerning way, the Wooden Skyscraper of Archangelsk in Russia is a towering monstrosity that is best described as a monument to one man’s personal journey to Babel in the sometimes frozen North.

Known as Sutyagin House, the 144-foot building was begun in 1992 by underworld lord Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin in defiance of both building regulations and architectural challenges. Impressive in stature, massive but clearly rickety upon close inspection, the giant building stood in the face of all imaginable building regulations before its reign of rebellion was brought to a close. Rising spire-like but resembling a skyscraper merged with a supervillain’s castle, the massive wood structure dominated the local region for years before deteriorating during his time in prison. After his release, city authorities finally succeeded in having the structure, which had been built based on inspiration from Japanese and Norwegian wooden structures and intended as a status symbol and as accommodation, to be demolished.

8. Robot Building (Bangkok, Thailand)

Technology and state of the art buildings often go hand in hand, but it is almost unheard of for a full size skyscraper to actually look like a robot. Technologically advanced buildings may boast their advancement with the right materials, shapes, and structural elements, but simply being constructed to look like artificially intelligent, non-living humanoids is a brave mechanical step in a radically novel direction. Built with an array of superficial features added on to a body, torso and head like structure, the high tech United Overseas Bank headquarters in the form of a robot building in Bangkok, Thailand forms a globally unprecedented and exceptionally striking project.

While looking just like a robot might seem laughable as a merging of architectural and technological oddity, the construction also constitutes a spectacular and unique example of creating a building with “robo-morphic” architecture. The idea was to reflect the high-tech nature of the bank through architecture and the work certainly did its job. The half window, half wall bump out eyes, antennae and ears combine nicely with the abdomen, torso and head to make a pretty cute, albeit huge and stationary robot headquarters. And where did Thai architect and genius Sumet Jumsai get his inspiration? He created the vision for the building based on the idea he developed by seeing his son’s toy robot after the Bank of Asia commissioned him to design them a new headquarters building.

7. Genex Tower (Belgrade, Serbia)

Eastern European architecture can gain the look of science fiction constructions, sometimes merging the modern and the castle-like in one building. Strange, awkward-looking in the eyes of some but also undeniably impressive in sheer size, the Genex Tower of Belgrade is an architectural monstrosity dating back to times of great conflict. Looking like a bizarre cross between the CN Tower and the Brandenburg Gate on steroids, the structure is extraordinary for its gate-like shape coupled with its narrowness and sheer height.

Built as the novel and daring planned creation of architect Mihajlo Mitrovic forms a massive arch built with two skyscrapers, the taller reaching a height of 377 feet, further distinguished with a huge yet remarkably incongruous revolving restaurant perched 459 feet above the ground. The restaurant’s circular shape is a prime example of the irregularity and incongruity of the different structural components of the tower’s form and strange spatial layout. The connecting section of the building that creates the arch shape consists of a two story bridge walkway extending between the unified towers. Walking between the two towers is a startling experience, with nothing below for hundreds of feet as you boldly walk the relatively short distance bridging the giant towers.

6. Burj Khalifa (Dubai)

Acclaimed as the tallest building on the planet, the Burj Khalifa is remarkable not only for its sheer size and height at 2,716.5 feet and more than 160 stories. The building holds a multitude of world records, including tallest building in the world, highest occupied floor, most stories of any building globally, highest outdoor observation deck, tallest service elevator, and tallest free-standing structure. (Oh, and there was also that time Tom Cruise climbed up the side.) Constructed of the gigantic building was started in 2004, while the exterior of the building reached completion in 2009 prior to the opening of the structure in 2010.

Built in part to increase tourism revenue, the construction was supported by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in a bid to create an extraordinarily striking creation that would garner a significantly greater global recognition of Dubai. Containing hundreds of apartment and hotel suites, the building also boasts swimming pools and elevators that include equipment that can reach speeds of 33-feet-per-second. Constructed primarily from reinforced concrete with significant quantities of steel structural elements, the tower has both a stepped appearance and narrow spires that reflect Islamic architectural styles characteristic of Dubai.

5. Goldin Finance Tower (Tianjin, China)

Remarkable for its incredibly ordinariness and simplicity in shape coupled with impossible height and slenderness, the Goldin Finance Tower of Tianjin, China reaches an astonishing height of 1,957 feet but is essentially cube shaped and remarkably spindly. Almost a third of a mile high, the building has been likened to a huge walking stick due to its spindly appearance and supertall design as it nears completion. With 117 stories contained within its vertical rise, the Tianjin central business district landmark is deceptively ordinary in its almost stereotypically skyscraper shape. However, the sheer height of the building combined with its relatively narrow and square base shape in fact accentuates the dramatic appearance of the building, giving it the incredibly striking appearance of a giant square stick.

Unlike more bulbous or spire adorned tall buildings, the Goldin Finance Tower is at its heart a functional building that devotes the bulk of its construction to practical usage thanks to its continuous square shape that rises to great heights without being reduced to narrow spires and vanity constructions. With four prominent corner reinforcements rising vertically, the building contains finely designed, rectangle-shaped window patterns that add to the meticulous and functional look of the building’s construction. Inside, the construction includes sky lobbies and the world’s highest swimming pool, adding more distinctive elements to the already dramatic looking tower.

4. AlDar Headquarters (Abu Dhabi)

Built in Abu Dhabi, the bizarre AlDar Headquarters might shock first time visitors or lead to a false UFO crash report. Why? Because the enormous but beautiful structure is in fact the world’s first circular skyscraper. Towering at 360 feet tall, the building represents unity, stability and rationality as well as infinity and was completed in 2010. The structure resembles a gigantic plate that has been stuck into the desert ground, widened slightly and then packed with office space. The two sides of the building are interspersed with a continuous edge of windows that resembles a band that has been used to join two halves, but further increases the sideways landed UFO appearance of the structure.

Reinforcing beams crisscross the outsides of the building, creating the appearance of a myriad of diamond shape structures on the sides. On a smaller scale, within each diamond like face section, multitudes of diamond like lines define the shapes of multiple window panels grouped together. The result is the convex outer shape the building, which resembles two plates put together in form. While many buildings have been constructed with rounded foundation, the creation of a towering circle that is actually placed to stand upon its side like a UFO or a giant wheel is in fact unprecedented in architectural achievements.

3. Dancing House (Prague, Czech Republic)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is remarkable, but its lean was certainly not intended and apart from the lean, its architecture is normal. Conversely, the Dancing House in Prague, Czech Republic was purposely built in such a manner that it may look at first glance to be in a state of collapse. Started in 1994 and finished in 1996, the structure consists of two leaning figures that represent dancers Fred Astair, depicted by the concrete tower, and Ginger Rogers, intended to be represented by the leaning glass tower that stands on concrete legs. The combination of the two indeed looks just like a man and a women in the moment of embrace while enjoying a graceful and intimate dance.

The result of architectural collaboration between American architect Frank Gehry and Croatian architect Vlado Milunic, who recruited Gehry to work with him in fulfilling the request of Dutch company Nationale Nederlanden to build an iconic headquarters building. The building where the Ginger Rogers structure stands had been destroyed during WWII by Allied bombing, while the structure that represents Astair, which survived largely intact, was the home since childhood of Václav Havel, who later served as Czech president and commissioned a study of the site by Milunic after Milunic shared his vision.

2. Longaberger Headquarters Basket Building (Newark, Ohio)

Is it bigger than a breadbasket? Well, this turn of phrase may be less useful as a generalization of measure when the breadbasket in question is not just over a foot long, but is an entire office building. Not a full skyscraper, but a building so remarkable in scale for what it represents and as a subject, we have to take our hats off to the Longaberger Company Headquarters building in Ohio. Why? Because the entire building is not only constructed as a gigantic bread basket but it actually looks like one, built to include even a textured exterior design that replicates the look of a woven basket.

The building is fully realistic, complete with metal handles weighing nearly 150 tons that are specially heated to keep them in good condition. The 7-story building was able to accommodate 500 employees, with a intricate and remarkable authentic macroscale weaving design. The spaces in between the replicated weaves formed the windows of the remarkably distinctive building. After facing financial challenges, the company, which specializes in baskets, pottery, and other home décor relocated to a “normal” building in 2016, to the disappointment of some and the satisfaction of others who expressed a preference for working in a more practical building.

1. Fake Hills (Beihai, China)

?

The hills may be said to have eyes in horror films, but in Beihai, China, those hills that you see may definitely be filled with human eyes as people go about their business in a bizarre but awesome building complex that has been fashioned in the form of a hilly skyline. The Fake Hills represent a very bold expression of the urban planning concept of harmonizing building form and character with the surrounding environment. Extending lengthwise and paralleling the beach except for one unit at right angles, the fake hills form a silhouette of foothill like appearance that are accompanied by lush gardens interspersed with lower individual buildings in between the structures and the beach.

The main structure is unified and narrow, with a curving outline but having a straight across edge that is intended to contain numerous amenities and access points, allowing people to walk along the width of the laterally compressed hills as they undulate up and down. In December 2016, Beijing based MAD completed the first phase of the project as the fake hills get up and running toward being able to accommodate a rich diversity of uses. The towering hills are intended to reflect the hilly coastal scenery of the southern Chinese port city in which they stand, adding depth and character in a dramatic manifestation of economic development efforts compared to the more mundane form of standard apartments.

[chasenewton911-blog]

Houses For Sale in Naples, TX

Tbd Cr 4218, Naples, TX

Price: $129900

2+- multi use acres located just south of Naples. The tract has gentle rolling topography with around 40 feet change in elevation predominatley made up of sandy loam soils for growing grass or native pine trees as well. The tract has approx 3000 feet of county road frontage along the entire west line with several access points of entry. The tract had a timber harvest a couple years ago and is at the point could be replanted in pine without an extensive site prep done.

813 County Road 2599, Naples, TX

Price: $129000

Secluded 27+ acres with a two bedroom, two bath mobile home on a private 35+ acre lake. Beautiful setting, great hunting and fishing. Bring your horses, small pole barn. Call Choice Smith at (903) 277-3745 or csgofish10@hotmail.com for more information or a showing of this property.

300 County Road 4219, Naples, TX

Price: $349900

looking for 20 acres with a beautiful home and privacy in a great community? this may be your lucky day. this home was dreamed of for years and wanted a home that the adult children and grandchildren would want to come home to for visits. they hit their mark with this one. this home has 2,558 sq ft and features 4 bedrooms and 3 baths and 3 living areas. there is a formal dining room and the cooks kitchen features double ovens and open concept. the dishwasher and microwave are only 3 years old. the kitchen also offers an island breakfast bar. another good feature of the home is that the ac compressor was replaced 3 years ago. another feature of this farm to enjoy is a built on site 30×30 shop with a loft, roll up door, room for storage or equipment. there is also a newly constructed rv port with 2 carports and loft space for more storage overhead. the covered back porch invites you to come sit a spell. this private oasis with impeccable details awaits you today.

5820 Us Highway 259 N, Naples, TX

Price: $29500

This Lot/Land located at 5820 Us Highway 259 North, Naples, TX is currently for sale and has been listed on theochomesearch for 82 days. This property is listed by Redfearn Real Estate Co for $29,500. 5820 Us Highway 259 N is in the 75568 ZIP code in Naples, TX.

1132 County Road 2590, Naples, TX

Price: $119000

Beautiful country home! If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful home, look no further! This extremely clean 3 bedroom, 1 bath home sits on 13+ acres with lots of shade trees, a small pond and beautiful land. The land is fenced and divided into 3 sections with water and electricity! The sale includes a fully equipped workshop, a nice barn and 17 x 20 metal building..Don't let this piece of property pass you by, call today for your private showing!

5820 Us Highway 259 N, Naples, TX

Price: $84000

Very well maintained property sitting on a acre with a 2014 3 bedroom 2 bath single wide mobile home and 25×35 shop with electricity and three car carport. Property has really nice mature trees. Great property at a good price.

215 Daingerfield St, Naples, TX

Price: $129000

Charming 2 BR and 2 Bath with a large Bonus room that could be a third bedroom. This home has plenty of storage and large open rooms, an inviting sun room and romantic back yard. The carport has a neat design and the adjacent lot and what used to be a beauty shop building are also included. This property is laid out really nice and offers options to a new owner.

100 Reynolds St, Naples, TX

Price: $79950

Great for starter or retirement home. Close to town. Home need a little TLC. Garage enclosed into a large Family room. Inside photos coming soon.

113 Baker St, Naples, TX

Price: $89000

Lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home sits on a Spacious Corner Lot with mature pecan trees. This well-kept property features a large living area, a split master bedroom, and a cute kitchen that opens to a large breakfast area. Second bathroom boasts double lavatories for extra space and storage. Covered patio allows for taking in the peaceful view of the shaded backyard, while mature lawn and storage shed top off the property's exterior.

405 Pace St, Naples, TX

Price: $88500

Nice 3 bedroom 2 baths with formal living area. Newly built 20×30 metal shop on a quiet dead end street in Naples, TX.

111 Wheatville Rd, Naples, TX

Price: $98500

Step back in time with this well-maintained,spacious 2 bd/1ba on 4 acres. Home has a welcoming living room, relaxing family room/office/3rd bedroom with fireplace and a peaceful screened sun room. Features country living within walking distance to downtown. Won't last long, call today.

201 First St, Naples, TX

Price: $57000

4 bedroom, 2 bath home in town. Large living area with plenty of built in for storage. Master bath has spa tub. Attached carport, 2 lots with large trees for shade. Close to shopping and schools.

215 County Road 2592, Naples, TX

Price: $85000

Secluded three bedroom, two bath Jim Walters home on 5.3 acres. Fenced, cross fenced, shed, storage building, chicken coupe. Updated home built in 2001. Call Choice Smith for more information or a showing of this property at (903) 277-3745 or csgofish10@hotmail.com.

45 County Road 4312, Naples, TX

Price: $230000

This property is for the family who wants to get away from the city for relaxation and fun.Great for horses or 4 wheelers with Pines planted for future income.

1 Geo16cam001, Naples, TX

Price: $2145200

PRESTIGIOUS 3-STORY VILLA – nestled in the hills of Sorrento, with sunset terrace views over the Gulf of Naples. This property is located in Vico Equense, a coastal town in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in southern Italy. Features include a large kitchen with dining room, swimming pool, hydro-massage shower and Jacuzzi. Large garage. For an addit'l fee, our partner, UNIQITALIAN, provides English speaking location consultants, travel and logistics, in-country chaperones, and onsite design, renovation and personal shopper services. This property is advertised under a marketing agreement.

Cr 2512, Naples, TX

Price: $139900

With a scenic 8 acre lake, beautiful pines and oaks, majestic homesites and lakesites, what do you have? 46.64 acrs of fun! Hunt, fish, hike, bike and enjoy the "Park Life" Hdqs. area overlooking the lake! Centered around a 20/25 concrete slab, you have a perfect steak cooking, picnic table, campsite! Joining us on two sides is the "US Gov. Wildlife Area" A 2700 acre game managed property that includes a 225 acre green tree waterflow reservoir plus two 120 acre "wetlands" duck hunting lakes. This recreation property has it all – The perfect place to kick back, relax or just luxuriate at the lakeside! Property has electricity, water and sewer on site.

506 Wl Doc Dodson E, Naples, TX

Price: $29900

Priced to sell!! Approx. 1886 square feet. Needs a lot of work but well worth the asking price. Perfect for investors, call today!

303 Daingerfield St, Naples, TX

Price: $15000

Cute home inside the city limits of Naples. Nice yard with mature trees, partially fenced and .75 of Acre plenty of room to relax and play. Home has a little over 1400 sf, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and wood burning insert.

5810 Hwy 259 N, Naples, TX

Price: $165000

Make your dream of starting a business a reality! Formerly the Morris County VFW Post #1890. Steel Frame building with 5580 sq ft. Huge bar w/stools, featuring beer cooler, ice maker, 3 bay stainless steel sink, refrigerator and ice cooler. Built-in electronic gaming stations. Multi stall male and female restrooms. Large kitchen with two electric ranges, an abundance of cabinetry and prep space, refrigerator, chest freezer, misc. small kitchen appliances and window service to main bar area. Storage and large walk in cooler. Accordian style partition allows separation near the mid point of the building. Office with desk and file cabinet. Large dance/meeting area. Carpeted stage, large freestanding speakers with stands, 3 TV's, tables, chairs, display cases and smoke eater fans. Privacy fenced area off the back with metal storage building, huge stationary BBQ/Smoker and small BBQ/smoker. Handicap ramp and rock drive/parking lot.

[jeremystrele]

A Lush Modern Tropical House In Kerala With Indoor Greenery

By the Chaliyar river in Malappuram, Kerala, India, the CAER project is a reimagined modern day fortress that melds with its tranquil tropical surroundings. Measuring 3950 square feet, this serene home has been designed by Encasa Archstudio to encompass natural beauty at every turn. A single story of interactive spaces fulfill the homeowners’ wish for family time, whilst private quarters are boldly shielded behind solid concrete and a jungle of Elephants Ear. The lush green indoor spaces offset the raw exposed concrete decor and rugged rubble walls. Wooden elements and a decorative clay tiled ceiling add rich tone and texture to the luxuriously large living space, where natural light floods through impressive gable windows.

The single story house sits low in the lush landscape, its pitched roofs nudging toward the height of nearby trees.

The tropical house showcases a beautiful wall of planting as fanfare up to the front entrance.

A covered porch gives shade to calling guests, and for the homeowners themselves to relax by the front lawn and look out upon their serene village green surroundings.

Transitioning from rustic pathway to wide concrete steps, the exterior of the home provides a first taste of what is to come once inside of the home, where rugged rubble walls and fine concrete finishes await.

Parallel pathways bed an interesting design into the grassed yard.

A combined concrete and wooden column design creates a touch of grandeur on the front porch.

A huge pivoting door is perhaps the most impressive feature of the front entrance, and instantly elevates expectations for what lies beyond it.

Concrete is replaced by wood flooring planks for just a moment in the front entryway, to warmly define the threshold of the home.

A rubble wall builds a great deal of texture into a snug lounge area, where a yellow settee sends a bolt of sunshine across the dark stonework. Potted indoor plants carry the outdoor aesthetic into the home in a small way, but there are larger and more abundant green spaces yet to come.

Indoor plant beds are set directly into the polished concrete floors of the open plan home, which creates the feeling that the house has been built around the flourishing landscape, leaving it blissfully undisturbed.

A perfectly pristine courtyard grows a manicured lawn and a small tree beneath a sun drenched skylight. Horizontal metal bars create beautiful light play across the boughs and a moody raw concrete backdrop.

As the sunbeams change direction throughout the day, so do the wonderful light effects.

A step up onto polished concrete once more takes us into the vast open concept living space.

A small coffee table provides a quick visual stop, before the eyes roll on to rest at a large formal dining area.

Blue upholstery sets the modern dining chairs apart from the rest of the neutral living room decor, and provides the first moment of a calming accent colour that weaves into the kitchen space too.

Custom made dining room pendant lights descent from the pitched ceiling above the dining space, where great gable windows bring in the sky.

The live edge dining table carries a beautiful natural aesthetic, which elegantly complements another courtyard tree, this time situated just outside of timber frame sliding doors.

A live edge dining bench breaks away from the formal dining chair style, and serves as an observation bench for the second courtyard’s pretty view.

The two courtyards greenly border the dining area on each side. A collection of assorted vases draw greenery to the table.

Clay roofing tiles were inverted and reused as decorative ceiling tiles, creating a wonderfully warm pitch to the cool concrete living space. Electrical conduits were hidden in the gap made between the roof and ceiling tiles.

A downplayed TV wall has been created off to one side, with a basic wall mounted TV set and a floating wooden media shelf unit. Modern technology does not win over Mother Nature in the starring roll of this green interior design.

Trellis runs along the north side of the living space to manipulate light intensity, and to accept a cool breeze.

Elephants Ear seeks the sun.

The large kitchen has a restrained linear installation of understated wooden cabinets and clean white countertops. A table has been arranged at the heart of the kitchen for family breakfasts. Modern blue stools provide a vibrant moment in the subdued setting. Automotive paints were used on the kitchen walls in place of tiling in order to maintain the home’s unique texture palette.

A concrete wall and a small jungle of Elephants Ear rule a line between the interactive living space and the bedroom quarters.

Wooden pocket doors slide a neat partition across the row of private bedrooms.

Minimalist decor bestows a fresh and cool feel within the sleep spaces that is perfect for the hot, tropical climate.

Tiny courtyards with indirect roof top ventilation communicate the tropical theme even within powder rooms. Geometric tiles add a stylish essence.

Because the sit-out area and the zoning of the living room and kitchen are oriented along the north-south direction, they benefit from the sun’s early rays. By night, exterior lighting sets the polished porch aglow.

Sectional drawing showing lounge and dining room courtyard.

Sectional drawing showing bedroom pocket doors.

Sectional drawing showing parallel courtyards.

Floor plan.

Check out the house tour:

Be sure to subscribe to Home Designing on Youtube for regular architecture and design videos.

The post A Lush Modern Tropical House In Kerala With Indoor Greenery first appeared on Interior Design Ideas.

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[architectnews]

Red concrete museum tells the story of Alpine ibexes in Pitztal valley

Swiss architects Daniela Kröss and Rainer Köberl have completed a red building "like a small castle" to celebrate the history of wild ibex in the alpine region of Pitztal, Austria.

The Ibex Museum St Leonhard charts the history of a native ibex goat species that became extinct from the area but was successfully reintroduced in the 1950s.

The museum was designed as a four-storey tower with a bridge

Kröss and Köberl wanted to make the building feel like a landmark, so they designed it as a four-storey tower, connected to the hillside by a monumental bridge.

They also chose a red-toned materials palette, comprising pigmented concrete and powder-coated steel, to allow the building to stand out against its green backdrop.

Precast panels of red concrete clad the exterior

"Up on a wooded mountainside, you see a reddish building, somehow appearing like a small castle," said Kröss.

"The red/brownish colour puts the building in a harmonious coexistence with the nature surrounding it," she told Dezeen.

The red colour helps the building stand out as a landmark

The Ibex Museum is located in the parish of St Leonhard, next to one of the oldest farmhouses in the valley. It sits on a site that previously housed a barn.

The new building is designed to reference both the wooden farmhouse and the original barn, with a precast concrete facade featuring a texture that resembles timber boards.

The reception is located on the upper ground floor

"When we first visited the site, we found a very harmonious ensemble between the historic building and an old barn," said Kröss. "We wanted to develop the new building in the same place and on the same footprint of the barn."

"The idea of maintaining the wooden structure of the barn led to the wooden cast in the prefabricated concrete elements of the facade."

Windows frame specific views of the surroundings

The two lower levels of the museum both have ground-level entrances, thanks to the way the building nestles into the slope.

A cafe and bar are located on the lower ground floor, while the upper ground floor contains the main reception.

Visitors move up through the building, finding the main exhibition spaces on the two upper levels.

The bridge extends out from the top-floor terrace, leading visitors to a hillside enclosure where they can encounter seven ibexes.

The bridge connects the exhibition galleries with an ibex enclosure

The layout of the building was largely influenced by the desire to make the museum accessible to all. The idea was to help all visitors "climb the mountains and see the ibex face to face."

With this in mind, many of the windows are positioned to offer specific views of the landscape and surrounding buildings.

Pine wood lines the bar and cafe on the lower ground floor

Interior finishes follow the colour palette of the exterior, with red-speckled terrazzo floors, red-painted service ducts and soft-red-grey walls.

The bar has a more cabin-like aesthetic, with walls lined in locally sourced pine wood.

Other notable recent Austrian projects include a geometric timber house in a traditional Austrian village and a private spa made from stone blocks.

Photography is by Lukas Schaller.

Project credits

Client: Gemeinde St Leonhard im Pitztal Architecture: Rainer Köberl, Daniela Kröss Planning: ArGe Architekten, Rainer Köberl, Daniela Kröss Project management: Julian Gatterer Construction management: R&S Planbau Structural consultant: Georg Pfenniger Landscape design: ArGe Architekten, Rainer Köberl, Daniela Kröss Exhibition planning: Rath & Winkler Exhibition design: Himmel Studio für Design und Kommunikation Electrics: Technisches Büro Schwienbacher Building services: Technisches Büro Pregenzer

The post Red concrete museum tells the story of Alpine ibexes in Pitztal valley appeared first on Dezeen.

[juliandmouton30]

Oversized roof shelters terraces on either side of CEBRA's Danish summer house

A pitched roof extends well beyond the internal walls to create sheltered terraces around the edges of this summer house designed by Danish architecture studio CEBRA for a site overlooking the country's Vejle Fjord.

CEBRA created the property for a client who resides in the studio's Iceberg housing project – a harbourside scheme in Aarhus comprising jagged volumes modelled on a cluster of floating icebergs.

The Treldehuset summer house is located on a wooded site next to the fjord. The views towards the water and the desire to promote outdoor living informed the building's orientation and layout.

The house features a low-lying gabled form, with its rear elevation facing towards the water. The living spaces are contained in a larch-clad volume that extends along the spine of the building.

The building's pitched roof extends to meet an outer wall positioned beyond the thermal envelope, creating the impression of a smaller house nested within a larger one.

"At first glance, the house is traditionally designed with a pitched roof paralleling the long sides of the site and a gable facing the view," said the architects.

"However, at a closer look, we are dealing with a kind of double house – a house inside a bigger house. This idea evokes thoughts of the Russian babushka dolls."

The spaces around the perimeter of the thermal envelope form roofed terraces that the owners can use as an extension of the living areas on summer evenings, even when it's raining.

The exterior walls and roof are clad in dark slate that reads as a solid shell wrapping around the building. The edges of the gable ends are lined with aluminium profiles that frame the timber interior.

The black aluminium continues across the surfaces of openings carved into the walls and roof, which allow sunlight to reach the terraces and frame views of the surroundings.

The house's interior is divided into two parallel parts that extend along the narrow site. The shared areas including a living room, kitchen and dining area are positioned to the west and open onto the wider of the two terraces.

More private spaces including a guest bedroom, bathroom and utility room are arranged along the eastern side of the building. A bedroom looking out onto the fjord can be connected to the adjacent living area.

The main living space is lined on two sides with sliding glass doors that can be retracted on warm days to link this room with the surrounding terrace.

The interior is lined with timber that creates a sense of continuity with the outdoor spaces. Concrete and white-painted walls contribute to the muted and calm feel of the rooms.

Photography is by Mikkel Frost.

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from ifttt-furniture https://www.dezeen.com/2018/02/05/cebra-summer-house-holiday-home-architecture-denmark/