Architectural Digest (January 16, 2024) – Today AD travels to Connecticut to tour Tirranna, one of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s final designs. The Rayward–Shepherd House, also known as Tirranna and as the John L. Rayward House, is a home in New Canaan, Connecticut originally built in 1955 to an design of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Considered one of the greatest architects of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright produced over 1000 designs in a career spanning 70 years, revolutionizing architecture in the United States.
A pioneer of organic architecture, Wright believed any building should exist in harmony with its inhabitants and surroundings–a concept that runs through the veins of Tirranna. Join Stuart Graff, president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, as he walks you through one of the final designs of Wright’s career.
Architectural Digest (November 20, 2023) – The AD100 is Architectural Digest’s annual list of interior, architectural, and landscape design’s top talent. Today on AD, we join some of the industry’s most influential designers, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Leyden Lewis, Pamela Shamshiri, Bjarke Ingels, and more, for a closer look at their creative process and how they approach the concept of ‘taste’ in their designs.
Architectural Digest (November 9, 2023) – From the epic halls of The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim, New York City is home to some of the most famous museums in the world, each one looking completely different from the next.
Today Michael Wyetzner of Michielli + Wyetzner Architects returns to AD for an in-depth look at how the iconic museums and art galleries of NYC developed their unique designs and became some of the city’s best landmarks.
Director: Hiatt Woods; Director of Photography: Charlie Jordan; Editor: Alex Mechanik; Host: Michael Wyetzner
The Local Project (July 25, 2023) – From the moment the gates opened, client and interior designer Gillian Wynn knew Palms Residence was the secret garden house she had been looking for. After enlisting the help of Olson Kundig for the architecture and design of her home, Gillian delivered a brief that asked for something that was unlike the past work of the studio.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction From The Homeowner 00:57 – Collaborating With The Architect 01:28 – Intertwining The Indoors And Outdoors 02:43 – Venice’s Natural Light 03:14 – The Unique Kinetic Sculpture 04:09 – A Modest Palette 04:56 – Disappearing Into The Garden 05:27 – The Deconstructed Geometry Of The House
As the agenda of the residence was mostly focused on emphasising the garden, both Tom Kundig, Principal and Founder at Olson Kundig, and Gillian knew that in order to make her vision come to life, the home needed to be manipulated around nature. Seen throughout the house tour is a yoga studio, living and dining areas and a couple of bedrooms, each space blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor living and taking advantage of the paradise-like climate of Venice. Employing a number of design techniques,
Olson Kundig treats architecture like “layers of clothing,” in that there are multiple ways to open and close the home and manipulate how one can enter and exit. Yet it is how the garden is shaped around the home to encourage light to trickle through the trees and inside to complement the interior design that turns Palms Residence into a secret garden house. With the focal point of indoor and outdoor living, the home is complemented with wide glass doors and a glass-walled stairwell that invites the light in and creates a warming character.
Moreover, due to the home’s location, there is a magical quality of natural light that emphasises the architecture and interior design from the moment the sun rises and until it sets. Additionally, the home’s private yoga studio features a Gamelatron installation, a kinetic sculpture designed by the owner’s close friend Aaron Taylor Kuffner. Composed on site, the sculpture emits a sound bath via Indonesian gongs, which sets the tone of meditation and flow for the rest of the secret garden house.
The Local Project (July 21, 2023) – Exuding the immediate feeling of joy, Wurrungwuri by Carter Williamson offers a pleasant experience from the home’s heritage façade to its modern extensions to become the best modern home in the area.
Video timeline:00:00 – Intro To The Modern Home 00:43 – Interpreting The Brief 01:43 – The Collaborative Process 02:27 – A Walkthrough of the Modern Home 03:53 – The Exterior Landscape and Garden 04:25 – Responding To The Site of the Home 04:58 – Balancing Natural Lighting And Voids 05:51 – Interweaving The Old And New Addition 06:59 – Creating A Sense Of Discovery in the Home 07:36 – The Internal Heating Process 08:01 – A Personal Art Gallery 08:36 – A Rewarding Resolution
As the clients desired a modern renovation to improve Wurrungwuri’s original from, Carter Williamson added a new addition that would respond to the heritage structure and rear harbour views as well as allow the owners to showcase their artwork.
Both architect and interior designer, Carter Williamson performed the perfect collaboration between the client, architect, designer and builder, which resulted in the delivery of the best modern home. From the front door, one experiences a warm welcome as they step into the original home, with living spaces to one side and bedrooms to the other.
Moving further into the best modern home, a threshold between the old and new acts as a gallery. With a double-height void allowing for a connection to the dining room below, the void becomes an important part of the home’s interior design. In the below new additions, Carter Williamson has placed darker rooms to the left that sit under the original home, whilst light-filled spaces sit to the right. The home then leads into the main entertaining rooms and kitchen as well as the dining room that sits directly under the void that features a Tom Dixon chandelier.
The Local Project (July 18, 2023) – Nestled in a serene waterfront location just north of the Sydney CBD, Northbridge is a modern house that seamlessly integrates with the surrounding landscape and topography of its site.
Video timeline:00:00 – Intro to the Waterfront Modern House 00:33 – The Serene Location 00:58 – A Walkthrough of the Home 01:29 – Separation by Stairs 02:08 – Key Interior Features 02:48 – The Intimacy of the Lower Level 03:31 – A Focus on the Exterior Landscape Architecture 04:13 – Considerations of Designing Waterfront Houses 05:05 – The Rewarding Aspects
Working with the challenge of a sloped, narrow block and existing elements, including a natural watercourse, rocky outcrops and mature tree ferns, became crucial to the design of the home. To work around the decline of the terrain, the modern house is made of varying levels that cascade towards the water.
Accessed via an external bridge that looks down over a courtyard, the top floor of the residence features a central staircase with a lounge room to one side and a dining and kitchen area to the other – both spaces open to an expansive balcony with breathtaking north-eastern views. The level below the entry houses the bedrooms, which dial around the central staircase – two of which face towards the views with an outlook that engages the tops of the tree ferns.
The lowest living area of the house links directly to the garden, enabling a beautiful intimacy with the landscape to enter into the modern house. In this sense, the garden and surrounding views are central to the home’s design. Structurally, the central staircase provides a sense of circulation and symmetry. From this vertical atrium, there are sweeping horizontal and vertical views through to the garden and down to the water beyond.
Behind the living room is a tranquil courtyard that offers shelter from the wind, as well as a pool that leads to another garden continuing down to the harbour. Down there the cube-shaped house can be seen from a different perspective – glimpsed through a curtilage of an enchanted garden of tree ferns, palms and curved sandstone walls.
The Local Project (July 14, 2023) – Floating above the landscape is the best modernist home. Desert Palisades by Woods + Dangaran is a family home that was built from a goal to introduce a more international style of modernism to the desert.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Best Modernist Home 01:06 – Creating A Family Refuge and Paying Homage to the Mountains 01:39 – The Approach of the Home 02:04 – Ensuring the Home is Timeless and Fitting 02:34 – A Climate Focused Material Palette 03:50 – The Tonal Nature of the Home 04:33 – A Fine Curation of the Details 05:28 – Taking A Backseat to the Surroundings
Though focused on creating a desert oasis home in which the family could escape to and decompress, the architects have also paid homage to the mountain and enabled the owners to experience its form completely. In line with the basin of the San Jacinto Mountain, the home encompasses views across Palm Springs and the surrounding rocky landscape that further encourages the owners to not only appreciate it but to connect with it.
Approaching the desert oasis home as if it is a beacon on the hillside, the house tour unfolds in a natural procession, guiding viewers past the pool area and then into the pavilions that showcase the home’s sweeping views. Recognising the presence that the structure holds, Woods + Dangaran worked with a responsibility to make sure the best modernist home feels timeless and fits into the desert landscape. From its base, the architecture of the house is made up of a concrete masonry unit, while the support walls and ends of the pavilion are created with burnished CMU blocks that appear to come from the soil.
The Local Project (July 11, 2023) – A beautiful house grounded within an extraordinary landscape setting, Matagouri House provides an immediate visual impact without taking away from the natural beauty of the surrounding environment.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction 00:18 – The Location of Matagouri 00:38 – The Design Process 01:23 – Defining Themes 01:56 – Inspiration Behind the Rooftop Garden 02:32 – The Client and The Brief 03:14 – The Composition of the Home 03:55 – Reflecting The Landscape 04:47 – Aspirations For The Future
Removed from the urban centre of Queenstown, New Zealand, the home sits between two natural mounds in the surrounding tussock at the foot of The Remarkables mountain range and the edge of Lake Wakatipu. Sitting upon a plateau that lies within a broader curtilage of land, interior spaces are laid out around a sheltered courtyard under an engineered timber roof plane. The main living area of the beautiful house is considered a peninsula, a singular wide space that wraps around a protected courtyard.
This courtyard has a strong sense of gravity for the overall composition of the land as it accesses the public wings of the building, including the kitchen and dining area. Bedrooms are upstairs – the elevated position and the interior design of the rooms nurture the aspect beyond the roof. As such, the powerful landscape setting is integral to the form and overall design of the beautiful house. Fearon Hay Architects draws on this in an interesting way to develop an occupation at a scale that feels comfortable for the residents.
To do this they moderate the way the house captures the view, with areas removing the view entirely – the outlook is taken away and then re-presented for its impact to be fully understood. The beautiful house remains exquisitely immersed in the landscape. For example, the engineered timber roof plane carries a planted tussock green rooftop garden and is shaped to marry into the natural landforms.
The way the home and the landscape blend into one also enables a strong sense of historic occupation. The architecture of the building isn’t read as a new structure but is instead embedded in the landscape as if it has been developed over time.
The Local Project (July 7, 2023) – An exclusive house tour and a thoughtful marrying of architecture and landscape, Flockhill Homestead is a beautiful yet practical farm residence that offers a novel experience of the New Zealand landscape.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Luxurious AirBnB 00:47 – The Project Architect 01:17 – A Family and an Environmental Centred Brief 02:13 – Democratising the Bedrooms 02:40 – Protection From the Harsh Environment 03:15 – The Heritage and History of The Flockhill Region 03:32 – The Materials Used Throughout 04:47 – Utilisation Throughout the Seasons 05:18 – The Calmness of Shadow 05:53 – A Collaborative Effort
This exclusive house tour goes inside a high country sheep station that doubles as an Airbnb where Warren and Mahoney take a symbiotic approach to create an elegant refuge, where interior design harmonises with the heavy masonry elements embedded in the landscape that can also withstand the harsh conditions. The exclusive house tour shows a dwelling that responds to its incredible locale – in the way of outlooks, heritage and practicality.
Located halfway between Christchurch and Arthur’s Pass, the homestead and Airbnb is perched on a plateau above the working farm, which offers an equal viewpoint of the mountains, limestone rock formations and Lake Pearson. A pool sits on the edge of the property at the top of a cliff, allowing one to feel as if they are floating above the dramatic landscape.
The exclusive house tour reveals The fluid approach taken by the team in the architecture and interior design of the homestead. Spaces are arranged in a single linear strip to access constant views towards the lake and mountains in the distance, fostering a continuous connection between internal and external spaces. The large home is designed for four individual owners so there are shared zones, including a communal kitchen and large fireplace, and private spaces pushed to the corners of the home.
The Local Project (July 4, 2023) – Imbued with a genuine warmth, Clifftops House is a family home that has soul and spirit. Through thoughtful consideration of materiality and texture,
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Unique Clifftop Home 00:58 – The Location 01:37 – The Site and its Aspect 02:00 – The Architecture Brief 02:39 – The Interiors Brief 03:15 – Working with the Materiality 03:41 – Crafting the Textures and the Touch 04:18 – Drawing Light Deep Into the house 05:01 – The Element of Surprise
Bossley Architects has built a visually striking and welcoming home defined by strong geometric architecture on the exterior and a soft, sinuous feel on the inside. Built on the picturesque clifftops overlooking Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, the home is comfortable yet capable of accommodating a growing family.
The site posed two main challenges – exposure to the elements of the nearby ocean and a long, narrow allotment. The house takes advantage of this shape with a series of walls and fins built angled towards the sea. Walls located at the east and west ends of the site also create a partially enclosed courtyard that both welcomes sun and provides shelter from the weather.
A modest palette features in-situ concrete as the main material, which is durable and allows the concrete to resemble fluid, free forms, resulting in a number of sculptural walls and curves in the interior of the home. This is offset against panels of marble cladding, glass-reinforced concrete fascias, walnut flooring, cedar ceilings and aluminium joinery. There are also a number of windows and openings built into the architecture of the home, which serve an important role in scoping and drawing light deep inside.
Additionally, a ‘slow stair’ has been incorporated to provide a sense of circulation into the linear structure. The staircase has a very long tread, so as one moves from the ground floor to the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs they experience vertical movement in a more rounded way. The home holds most of its spirit in the interior design. Sonya Cotter Design crafted an interior experience that layers furniture and finishes in a way that works to create personality and warmth. However, most of the selections, whilst varied, all are designed to patina, invoking a constant sense of movement across surfaces throughout the home.
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