Tag Archives: Design Tours

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Tours: Waiheke House In Auckland, New Zealand

Video Leave a comment

The Local Project – Through natural material selections, Cheshire Architects has unveiled Waiheke House, a home that embraces its surrounds to become the best modern house in the world. Operating under the rule that grandeur does not need to be shown through scale but rather quality, Waiheke House is a place of respite for its owners with only one and a half bedrooms and a focus on entertaining areas.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Best Modern House in the World 00:45 – An Island Location 01:05 – The Aspect of the House 01:35 – Tasked with Entertaining 02:01 – The House Plan and its Materials 03:39 – Hidden Openings and Passages 04:22 – Bathing Rituals 05:27 – The Goal Behind the Home 05:43 – Creating a Centred Feeling 06:09 – Becoming One with the Environment 06:33 – A Vessel for Experience 06:53 – A Home Made with Real Materials 07:20 – A Love for the Layered Experience

While the views of Waiheke House are only part of what establishes it as the best modern house in the world, it is how the structure inserts itself into the landscape that is awe-inspiring. Focused on evoking the numerous meanings of ‘shelter,’ Waiheke House acts as a platform that can open or close for the watching of the weather as it changes. Comprised of two pavilions, which are slightly offset from one another,

Cheshire Architects have separated the living spaces to designate a place of reprieve and a place to entertain. The larger of the two pavilions, known as the seaward pavilion, is framed by landscaping. Shaped by the stone wall that curves around and holds the home, the idea of anchoring the seaward pavilion is seen through the home’s distinct architectural theme. To make the best modern house in the world feel warm and comfortable, the use of stone, wood and brass help the house insert itself into the surrounding nature. Created for entertaining, the seaward pavilion is intentionally designed to be small, with only a kitchen, large dining section and lounge.

Framed by glass on three sides, doors butterfly open so that the living areas can connect seamlessly with the lawn. Conceptually thought of as a canopy atop a mouth of a cave, Cheshire Architects has formed the best modern house in the world to navigate a spatial dialect that speaks to both broad ocean views and small, contained spaces. Throughout the house tour, it is evident that the selected surfaces and materials are chosen to act as a vessel for experience – an idea that Cheshire Architects hopes will still be embodied in 100 years as the home ages in place.

Seen in the stacked stone of the wall to the layered floor, Cheshire Architects avoids using crisp whites or laminates and instead imbues the home with richness from natural materials. Throughout the second pavilion, the adaption of narrower halls, lower ceilings and darker tones have been employed to create a dynamic internal contrast. Intended as a retreat for the owners, Waiheke House is a place to align and connect with the natural surroundings. By focusing on simple, high-quality design choices over scale, Cheshire Architects has created the best modern house in the world so that it may amplify what already exists.

Architecture, Gardens, Home Design, Homes, Videos

Design Tour: Cove House – Coomera Island, Australia

Video Leave a comment

The Local Project (December 20, 2022) – By creating a sub-tropical modern architecture garden home, Justin Humphrey Architects employs concrete, timber, dark tones and green life to respond to the client’s brief.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Extraordinary Garden Home 00:11 – The Architect’s Favourite Aspects 00:40 – A Queensland Location 01:08 – The Well-Travelled Clients and their Desire for Sub-Tropical Modern Architecture 01:26 – A Strong Form and Sense of Materiality 01:48 – A Walkthrough of the Home and its Materials 02:29 – The Spine of the Home 03:00 – The Owners 03:20 – A Response to Natural Light 03:39 – Accommodating for Entertaining 03:56 – Implementing Passive Design Principles 04:50 – Seeing the Clients Grow into the Home

Desiring a family home that was equal parts building and garden, the clients needed a home that could provide privacy and areas for entertaining. Handling the combination of public and private spaces with ease, the architect has also challenged the traditional entrance sequence of the home. From its exterior, Cove House strikes a formidable presence, yet with its singular floating plane roof and plant life,

Cove House establishes itself as a modern architecture garden home. To create a modern architecture garden home, the architect has offset the concrete and dark tones of the exterior with warm timber battens to soften the entrance. Starting the house tour, the green landscape spine runs down the centre of the home, separating the public entry and the private living spaces. Additionally, the green spine guides guests towards the rear of the home, where the living and entertainment spaces are situated.

Contributing to the interior design of the Cove House, concrete and timber are combined to establish a flowing effect from outside in, honouring the client’s appreciation of climate-responsive materials and architecture. Answering the client’s love of boating and water, Cove House embraces open plan living and joins with the natural reserve, Coomera Island, which sits opposite the home. By opening the rear glass doors, the owners can increase the entertaining size onto the back deck and the passion pit – a curved lounging area that embraces outside living.

Providing the clients with a space to grow into, the modern architecture garden home also offers privacy from its neighbours on either side. Following critical passive design principles for the modern architecture garden home, the large roof-span provides wide-set eaves that protect from rain, provide deep shade during summer and curate cool breezes through the home. Additionally, the natural stone floor and concrete were employed as a thermal mass element to help regulate the home’s temperature all year round. As the house ages, Justin Humphrey Architects has specifically chosen the material palette to influence an alternative approach to address the natural climate setting.

Design, Home Design, Homes, Profiles, Tours, Videos, Views

Christmas 2022 Views: A Design Tour Of A 17th Century Palazzo In Venice

Video Leave a comment

House & Garden (December 16, 2022) – Cook and author Skye McAlpine welcomes us into her 4,000 square-foot Italian apartment — part of the 17th-century Palazzo Gradenigo — just off the Grand Canal in Venice. Layered in history,

Video timeline: 00:00 – Inspiration: “It’s imperfect perfection” 02:00 – Living Room: “It’s where the real Christmas moment happens!” 05:20 – Kitchen: “I love the way that food brings people together” 07:50 – Breakfast Room: “It feels like a chocolate box…” 08:53 – Dining Room: “It feels very ramshackle”

Skye McAlpine’s Venetian sanctuary maintains plenty of the palazzo’s original details, such as the 18th-century fresco in the living room and the decorative flowering of rocaille in the breakfast room. As we’re guided into the light and airy kitchen that is set apart by its high-beamed ceilings, Skye McAlpine reveals a staple festive treat… a snowy panettone cake from her cookbook ‘A Table For Friends’. In the grand dining room, Skye’s dinner table is layered with a mixture of small plates over larger plates from her ‘Tavola’ tableware collection, which is inspired by ‘la dolce vita’ or ‘the sweet life’. The snowy panettone takes centre stage as it is served on a cake stand which towers above the rest of the festive treats, to complete her “over-the-top” Christmas table.

“Life is slower here. It’s unchanged, it’s like a time capsule,” McAlpine explains as she contrasts between her life in London and the Venetian way of living. “I think that’s part of the charm, it really is like stepping back into a different era”. Watch the full episode of Design Notes with Skye McAlpine, as we tour her slice of an Italian palace that is expertly decorated for the Christmas holidays.

READ MORE

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Design Tour: Queens Park House In Sydney, Australia

Video Leave a comment

Queens Park House is an architect’s own minimalist oasis. Designed by Kyra Thomas Architects, the calming suburban home strongly contrasts its previous iteration as a storage warehouse.

Video timeline: 00:00 – The Local Project’s Print Publication 00:10 – Introduction to the Architect’s Own Home 00:49 – Warehouse Conversion 01:23 – The Brief 02:41 – Green Spaces 03:05 – Lighting 03:31 – Materiality 04:15 – The Architect’s Favourite Room 04:43 – The Finished Project 05:06 – Subscribe to The Local Project’s Print Publication

Located in Sydney, Queens Park House was originally a storage warehouse with brick walls built to the boundary of its site. Converting the commercial property into an architect’s own minimalist oasis required opening up the building and rewriting its internal character.

Structurally, turning the warehouse into an architect’s own minimalist oasis involved removing the pre-existing roof and inserting walls into the interior of the building. The brick boundary walls are retained, enabling a sense of privacy within the suburban setting and paying homage to the history of the building. As an architect’s own minimalist oasis, Queens Park House embraces natural light and fresh air.

Four courtyards punctate the spatial plan, creating green space for different aspects of the house to relate to, as well as facilitating internal lighting and ventilation. Responding to the residential needs of the client, Queens Park House stands as an architect’s own minimalist oasis. Custom and considered, the home testifies to the skill of Kyra Thomas Architects in transforming a commercial space.