From Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to Nathan Bateman’s ultra-modern abode in Ex Machina, big-screen villains tend to live in architectural splendor. The villain’s lair, as popularized in many of our favorite movies, is much more than where the megalomaniac goes to get some rest.
Instead, the homes of the villains are places where evil is plotted and where, often, the hero is tested and must prove him/herself. Like evil itself, the abodes of movie villains are frequently compelling and seductive. From a design standpoint, they tend to be stunning, sophisticated, envy-inducing expressions of the warped drives and desires of their occupants.
Lair, the first title in Tra Publishing’s Design + Film series, celebrates and considers several iconic villain’s lairs from recent film history. The book, strikingly designed in silver ink on black paper, explores the architectural design of these structures through architectural illustrations and renderings, photographs, essays, film analyses, interviews, and more.
To read more and purchase: https://trapublishing.com/products/lair
Most notable is Toogood’s sensitive approach to materials. She offers two different, equally alluring solutions to the exterior cladding and the internal finishes. Both external cladding options, raw galvanised steel and dark charred timber, are suggestive of industrial or agricultural structures, making it something of a thrill to see them in a domestic setting. The building clad in raw galvanised steel will have a refined, cream-coloured interior, whilst the structure clad in dark charred timber will have an exposed plywood interior finish.
This model is going to be completely off-grid in its seaside location. On the roof are 6 x Trina 270w Honey Poly Module panels. A storage box over the tow bar stores the inverter and 4 x C&D 12V 192Ah c20 FT Lead Carbon Cyclic Batteries that will power the home. A new feature in this home (requested by the client) was a folding shelf in the bathroom above the toilet. 
“If one imagines a list of the greatest, most influential houses of the twentieth century, it seems highly likely that the mid-century period will dominate,” writes Bradbury in the book’s introduction, going on to name such famous edifices as the three famous glass houses by Philip Johnson, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Lino Bo Bardi, respectively; Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House; and Luis Barragán’s Cuadra San Cristóbal. “One could, of course, go on.…” he writes.
Designed to universally retrofit onto most curtain rods, the SwitchBot comes with two hooks that hold it in place and a wheel that moves the bot left or right. Place the SwitchBot between the first and second loops of your curtain or blind, and the bot can now, on command, run up and down the curtain rod, maneuvering your curtains open or closed. SwitchBot runs on an app, but even supports voice commands via your phone or smart speaker, effectively allowing you to have your own “Let there be light” moment by commanding the curtains to open at will. IFTTT and shortcuts support even lets you sync SwitchBot with your alarm, or with the time of the day, thanks to the bot’s in-built light sensor. 
The Home Upgrade looks beyond big budget projects and explores homes where the seemingly impossible has been achieved. For architects striking out on their own, such projects offer the opportunity to flex their muscles and lead a project for the first time. A home in Brooklyn, featured in the book, was refurbished after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Eastern Seaboard in 2012. The living space was raised above the high-water line, an answer to the grim fact that once-in-a-generation occurrences are a new reality.
The idea for this ADU was conceived in the wake of the 2018 Woolsey Fire, as a way to help families reinhabit their properties while rebuilding their primary residence. All “BUD” designs provide beautiful living spaces that can be delivered quickly and enjoyed for generations as a valuable addition to almost any property.
First published in 1897, Country Life is itself a late-Victorian institution. What could be more appropriate, therefore, than to celebrate this anniversary with a collector’s issue of articles and photographs from the magazine’s archives?
Boomers Daily 