Tag Archives: Architects

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Architecture: Kārearea House In New Zealand

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The Local Project (December 15, 2024): Located in the Wakatipu Basin on New Zealand’s South Island, Kārearea House by RTA Studio, which takes inspiration from the region’s majestic native falcons, is the most breathtaking home shaped by nature.

00:00 – Introduction to the Most Breathtaking Home 01:12 – The Location Centred Brief 02:36 – Approaching the Home 03:09 – Walkthrough of the House 04:11 – Restrained Interior Styling 05:44 – The Kitchen Design and Appliances 07:21 – A Balanced Material Palette 08:29 – Curating The Views 09:21 – Proud Moments

What defines it, however, is the site’s staggering 360-degree views to The Remarkables, Coronet Peak and the Crown Range, and the architects’ response to these multifaceted aspects. “We’ve done a few houses in this area and, over the years, we’ve developed an approach that’s firstly about identifying the significant views,” says Richard Naish, founder of RTA Studio.

Though Naish acknowledges that the perspectives are a gift, he believes good architecture is more about the control and release of views. This philosophy underscored RTA Studio’s approach to crafting the most breathtaking home shaped by nature. The roof lines played heavily into this idea; designed to follow the contours of the land and echo the surrounding topography, the roof dips in parts and soars in others, creating views both vast and precise.

#Nature #Home #NewZealand

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Australia Design: Burnt Earth Beach House Tour

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The Local Project (December 3, 2024): Located in Anglesea on Victoria’s surf coast, Burnt Earth Beach House is an architect’s own home inspired by nature. Architect John Wardle designs a holiday home deeply embedded in its landscape, grounded in an enduring love of terracotta, a fascination with ceramics and the unique beauty of bricks.

00:00 – Introduction to the Architect’s Own Home 01:48 – Walkthrough and Layout of the Home 03:18 – The Material Palette 04:48 – The Bathing Spaces 06:12 – Unique and Favourite Moments 07:16 – Creating A Special Place

As an architect’s own home inspired by nature, Burnt Earth Beach House reflects the hues and tonality of the ochre-coloured cliff edges of Anglesea just beyond. “It was very important that we do something here that would transcend time but do so in a way that is completely different from our homes in Melbourne,” says John Wardle, founding partner of Wardle. The home’s facade is expressed through an invented brick developed alongside brickmaker Klynton Krause.

The process involved extrusion and hand tearing the brick surface prior to cutting, which exposes a raw, uneven surface, making every brick unique. Approaching the architect’s own home inspired by nature, a courtyard acts as an informal living zone and is bordered by a kitchen that houses a vast square central terracotta island bench. The space then bends around into the dining area with a reading nook that looks into the courtyard. Upstairs, a study appears to float overhead, enveloped in a hand-knotted screening from Vietnam.

#Architect #Nature #Home

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Tours: Iconic Mid-Century Modern In Palm Springs

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The Local Project (November 12, 2024): Inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Steven Harris Architects, Palm Springs Residence is a study in restraint, honouring both the existing structure and the work of those who came before. This sensitive renovation reimagines the original house, known as Charney House, designed by Donald Wexler in 1956.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Iconic Mid-century Home 00:52 – The Original Plan and Inspiration 02:18 – A Minimal Layout 02:48 – The Afternoon Light and Vibes 03:46 – A Very California House 04:05 – Proud Moments

“Wexler was brilliant, with an extraordinary sense of syntax and grammar; everything lines up with everything,” says Steven Harris, partner at Steven Harris Architects. Interestingly, Harris and his partner bought the house accidentally. “We were helping another friend with their house and fell in love with the place,” recalls Harris. After spending time inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler, Harris’s vision was rooted in preserving as much of the original as possible. “Almost everything here is original to the house,” he notes. “For me, the greatest liability would be for someone to drive by on the street and immediately say, ‘oh! that’s a Steven Harris house.’”

Alterations inside the iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler were largely stylistic and inspired by a Wassily Kandinsky painting. “If you look at it from the air, you will see flashes and curves and various shapes, which on one hand is quite graphic, and on the other, almost every view is perspectival because the things you’re looking at are only oblique. Things shift off of each other in a very curious and interesting way.” Stepping inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler, the front door is indicated by a covered passage, flanked by an oblique terrazzo sidewalk extending from the driveway.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Architecture: ‘Shepherd’s Hut’ – A Secretive Design

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The Local Project (July 26, 2024): Inspired by structures found near New Zealand’s Southern Alps, The Shepherd’s Hut is the worlds most secret home. The minimalist house – designed by Fearon Hay in collaboration with interior designer Paul Kennedy – sits comfortably in the landscape while offering a flexible set of interiors.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the World’s Most Secret Home 01:07 – Behind the Design and Name 02:31 – The Arrival Sequence 02:58 – A Playful and Relaxed Brief 04:29 – The Floor Plan and Layout 06:25 – The Interior Material Palette 07:59 – The Exterior Material Palette 08:48 – Proud Moments

Settled on the Wānaka lakefront, the worlds most secret home is often in the path of cold wind crossing from Makarora. “When there are storms, you can feel very alone, but with the warmth of the fires, my two dogs rugged up with sheepskin, you essentially become a shepherd,” says Matt Chapman, custodian of the property. “When we created the home, I didn’t want too much space for an abundance of possessions. I’d reached a point in my life where minimalism and simplicity were the ways I wanted to exist.”

While maintaining a minimalist focus, the design brief for the project proposed a spatially flexible home that enables new experiences. “When we encountered the site, it was an opportunity to build a structure with length,” says Tim Hay, architect at Fearon Hay. “We liked the idea of a very simple silhouette … we wanted the building to have a sense of retreat and integration with the landscape.”

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Urban Architecture Tour: ‘Upper House’ In Brisbane

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The Local Project (October 11, 2024): Addressing the issue of connection deficit in vertical living, Upper House fosters a sense of community among residents. Crafted by Koichi Takada Architects on behalf of developer Aria, the ultimate penthouse and spacious apartment building proposes a new, healthier way of inhabiting a city. Set in South Brisbane, known widely as a social and cultural hub, Upper House sits close to art galleries, theatres, bars and cafes.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Ultimate Penthouse 01:22 – Including the Surrounding Culture 02:07 – The Facade Inspiration 02:48 – The Calm Interiors and Layout 03:59 – A Neutral Material Palette 04:35 – The World Class Design 05:37 – A Walkthrough of the Wellness Retreat 06:17 – Creating a Connective Space

The project takes cues from the suburb, inviting people to come together: while the building offers 1000 square metres of communal amenities, it also embodies a work of art and features the ultimate penthouse. Michael Hurley, development director at Aria, describes the design as “a series of dancing balconies” with timber ribbon running up the facade and a triple-height timber rooftop.

“[The design] just screamed out and said ‘world-class, never-been-done-before’. It was curvy, it was organic, it was unique, and it was Aria” he says. At the base of Upper House, a large podium displays work by Indigenous artist Judy Watson. The piece recognises the Turrbal people as the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which the project is built. Beyond the podium, the facade is inspired by Moreton Bay fig trees – what can be viewed as ribbons are timber ‘roots’ framing the main structure and the ultimate penthouse. Curling around the edges of the roof, the bold details form a pergola and shading device that protect the open wellness retreat.

#Penthouse #HouseTour #Wellness

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Design: ‘Federal House’ Tour, Eastern Australia

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The Local Project (July 26, 2024): This home’s design facilitates a rare co-habitation with the forested landscape and represents a balance of modern architecture and the purity of nature. From a distance, Edition Office’s Federal House appears like a shadow nestled into the folding hills of the hinterland, a sharp contrast to the vibrant surrounds.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Home 00:58 – The Initial Brief 02:11 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:07 – Shaping Light Through Design 03:30 – The Warm Material Palette 04:01 – A Holistic Experience 04:57 – Thankful Moments

Upon approach, the textures of the exterior convey a distinct dialogue with nature. This home’s design acts to deepen relationships between people and the natural setting and intimately shows the inner machinations of the environment. The brief outlined a home that would act as a sanctuary and elemental respite from the clients’ high-pressure careers. The occupants of Federal House enjoy a relationship with the hillside, forest and grassland at the site’s rear as well as panoramic views over the forested horizon from the heavily inset living-zoned platform and sheltered pool.

A reverberation of settler colonial homesteads of the past, this home’s design inverts the front verandah typology, looking inward to orbit an internal courtyard and present a tightly controlled outer envelope. Federal House’s interior spaces act as an elevated stage, a refuge from which to observe the passing of time through the shifting weather and seasons of the Northern Rivers hinterland. The covered outdoor spaces welcome in the landscape, where modestly scaled living spaces and bedrooms lie.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Architecture: ‘Stokes 14’ In Surry Hills, Australia

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The Local Project (July 26, 2024): When designing an architects own home above their own workplace, Smart Design Studio thought of the industrial qualities of the surrounding precinct and how they could bring them into the design of the home of William Smart.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Home 01:05 – The Original 1950s Warehouse 01:54 – Creating Tranquility Through Shapes and Materials 02:49 – A Walkthrough of the Home 04:42 – Proud Moments

One particular element to the interior design and architecture of an architects own home are the four vaults that feature heavily throughout. Fascinated with how he could light the vaults in different ways, Smart looked into how they would allow light play to reveal the material texture and quality of the home. Originally attracted to the 1950s warehouse because of its endearing built form, the architect saw past its deteriorated exterior and knew that it could become more.

As typical with most warehouses, the front brick facade hid an office space and mezzanine that overlooked the warehouse. After demolishing the front half of the building, Smart Design Studio created a new structure that was seven metres wide for the whole 34-metre length of the building. This new structure was then designed to hold the reception, staff bathrooms, offices, meeting rooms, a boardroom and, importantly, the residence above. Moving the house tour of an architects own home upstairs, the interior design reveals a tranquil and quiet reprieve from the office below. The residence above allows its owners to come inside and feel disconnected from the city and working offices below.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos

Los Angeles Design: Tour Of A ‘Modern Bungalow’

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The Local Project (April 30, 2024): For an architects own home, Mark Motonaga, homeowner and creative director at RIOS pulled together a range of design elements that makes his home feel safe yet joyous. Located in Los Angeles, Modern Bungalow was once an original single-family residence.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Home 00:41 – The Original Vision 01:35 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:22 – Designing Your Own Home 03:32 – Ideating the Backyard Landscape 04:12 – Proud Aspects

From the start of the project, the architect envisioned a modern home that could fit the scale of the original structure while reimagining what a bungalow could be. By creating a jungle-like refuge in the back of the house, RIOS has established a juxtaposition to living in a city.

To do this, the architect reversed the typical bungalow layout by putting the public spaces at the rear of the house and the private spaces to the front. Moreover, featured in the backyard is a pool, which is different to the traditional backyard pools often designed in the city.

Built to feel like people were swimming in a pond, it is complemented with a jungle-inspired garden that grows right up to the edge. At the beginning of the house tour, two large grey doors open up to a side courtyard referred to as the home’s foyer.

Architecture, Buildings, History, Reviews, Tours, Videos

Modernist Architecture: United Nations Building In New York City (1952)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K29KFhVKctA

Architectural Digest (January 1, 2024) – Michael Wyetzner of Michielli + Wyetzner Architects joins AD in New York for an in-depth walking tour of the United Nations.

Founded in 1945, the UN now comprises 193 member states, all of whom assemble at their modernist headquarters on the bank of the East River in NYC. The birthplace of international diplomacy, the United Nations became the first major building in New York to represent International Style architecture.

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Previews: Country Life Magazine – Dec 27, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – December 27, 2023: The latest issue features ‘This Splendid Land’ – Landscapes, Landmarks, Houses and Gardens; The Art of Knot Tying; Winston Churchill’s interior-design tips; A unicorn in the garden – fantastic beasts tamed…

Figs, wisteria, and the roses that ‘are ridiculously easy to grow’

Country Life’s 10 best gardens stories of 2023

By Toby Keel

The rose variety that’s ridiculously easy to grow: ‘Stuff some cuttings into the soil and two years later, they’ll be flourishing’

Long-standing Country Life contributor Charles Quest-Ritson is literally the man who wrote the book on roses — specifically The RHS encyclopedia of Roses — and back in June, he shared some tips on sharing and planting cuttings which proved enormously popular.