Tag Archives: Video Tours

Art Tours: Michelangelo’s ‘Secret Room’ In Florence

The Florentine (November 2, 2023) – For the first time since its discovery in 1975, Michelangelo’s secret room in Florence, Italy, will be regularly open to the public starting from November 15.

The tiny space accessible via the New Sacristy in the Museum of the Medici Chapels contains charcoal drawings attributed to Buonarroti and will be open on an experimental basis to small groups of visitors until March 30, 2024.

New Zealand Design: A South Island ‘Eco-Cabin’

The Local Project (October 31, 2023) – The Cabin by Johnstone Callaghan Architects is a tiny eco home located in Abel Tasman National Park, on the South Island of New Zealand.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Tiny Eco Home 00:34 – The Remote South Island Location 01:38 – The Layout of the Tiny Eco Home 02:41 – The Cabin Structure and Features 03:17 – A Unique Outdoor Shower 03:37 – Bespoke Design Elements 04:48 – A Sensory Experience

Connected to nature and surrounded by wildlife, the tiny eco home is one of four privately held properties that is reachable only by boat or a walking track. As The Cabin is positioned among the trees, the architects limited tree cutting as much as possible so the owners could help regenerate the land. Additionally, due to the remote nature of the property, the owners have been given the rare opportunity to live amid nature itself. When arriving at the site of the tiny eco home, the house tour begins at the bottom of the property.

The house tour then takes you up a winding staircase that bypasses nature, so one is continuously connected to the natural surrounds. In the main living space of the tiny eco home, there is a kitchen with warm timber tones that complements the interior design, which is then contrasted by the dark timber tones found in the main bedroom. The remainder of the home leads out to the deck area, where a concrete bunker houses a sunken outdoor toilet.

Tours: Italianate ‘Maison Bodega’ In Minneapolis

The Local Project (October 27, 2023) – Liz Gardner of creative studio Bodega Ltd. buys and renovates this heritage house as she had aspired to, having admired it from afar for many years.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Dream House 00:27 – A Hybrid Building In A Historic Location 01:08 – A Walkthrough of the Space 02:03 – The Process of Obtaining the Space 02:35 – The Original Live Work Space Brief 03:40 – Specific Requirements and Constraints 05:22 – An Interesting Material Palette 06:39 – A Focus on Lighting 07:34 – Creating an Accomodation Space

Perched on a hill in a leafy neighbourhood near downtown Minneapolis, the home illustrated a unique style of architecture and boundless potential to renovate. Liz had always felt a long-term draw to the property after witnessing it having been on the market and taken off years prior to her and her partner acquiring it. She describes the building as being dreamlike and perfectly contrasting the hustle and bustle of the city. To her, the dwelling is an anomaly – its style cannot be easily identified.

Exuding notes of Italian-style architecture and a twist of contemporary features, this physical state of the building mirrors the way in which her and her team inhabit it. Amid a location known for its historical heritage homes, Maison Bodega reflects both the past and the present. Looking to the future she, and partner Josef Harris, buys and renovates the house, transforming it into a home and creative space known as Maison Bodega. Taking various design cues from the existing architecture, the hybrid live-work space is a thoughtful blend of heritage and modern interior design sensibilities that caters to parties, workshops, family life for Liz, Josef and their dogs and, most recently, a house tour with The Local Project. Downstairs, the kitchen is undoubtedly a social space.

California Architecture: Modern ‘Moon Retreat’

The Local Project (October 24, 2023) – Believing that architecture is about creating something permanent, Butler Armsden Architects built Valley of the Moon Retreat as a beautiful modern home that is everlasting.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Beautiful Modern Home 00:48 – A Countryside Location 01:35 – Belonging to the Landscape 02:32 – The Layout of the Beautiful Modern Home 04:39 – The Exterior Material Palette 05:22 – Preserving The Surrounding Landscape 05:36 – Designing For Climate Changes

After remodelling the client’s city dwelling, the architect was tasked with creating a family holiday residence in Glen Ellen, a place the clients could retreat to and escape city living. As one turns onto the narrow driveway, the house tour begins with a picturesque trip to the modern abode. The architecture and interior design enables the family to create lasting memories whilst being connected to nature, which completely surrounds the beautiful modern home.

Nestled between the trees, the residence blends seamlessly into the landscape. However, as the house tour reveals, the façade of the beautiful modern home is relatively closed off until the breezeway is opened up to expose the valley beyond. As one walks through the breezeway, the large courtyard opens up to expansive vistas of the valley beyond, with a pool that offers an additional reflection of the natural surrounds. The architect ensures the family can either entertain and find moments of respite by introducing separate cabin-like pavilions that can be opened up or closed.

Tours: 575 Wandsworth Road – Home Of Kenyan Poet Khadami Asalache

National Trust (October 18, 2023) – 575 Wandsworth Road, London, was the home of Khadami Asalache – a Kenyan-born poet, novelist and British civil servant. Asalache spent 19 years transforming its interiors with hand-carved fretwork patterns and painted motifs inspired by traditional African houses and Moorish and Ottoman architecture.

Following his death in 2006, Asalache left 575 Wandsworth Road to the National Trust, which was first opened to the public in 2013. Today, his home has become a source of inspiration for collaborators, creatives and artists of all ages, forging social connections within its community and beyond. Watch this video to discover the inspirational qualities of Khadambi Asalache’s creations at 575 Wandsworth Road.

Hear from three creative artists who recently returned to the house to reflect on their own connections to this place. They also discuss the impact it has on their own work and their thoughts around home and legacy.

Learn more about 575 Wandsworth Road and Khadambi Asalache

Architecture: Art-Filled New Zealand Home Tour

The Local Project (October 17, 2023) – As we venture Inside an art-filled home grounded in ideals of permanence and resilience, it is evident that Zed House signifies the prospect of rebuilding through an examination of the past and planning ahead for the future.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Art-Filled Home 00:48 – Designing A Legacy Project 01:37 – The Z-Shaped Layout of the Home 02:03 – A Nostalgic and Personal Brief 02:40 – A Walkthrough of the Home 04:38 – Building for Changes in Climate 04:57 – The Material Palette 05:32 – Incorporating Aspects from the Previous Homestead 06:12 – An Enduring Family Home

The expansive, single-storey, red-brick home references the original residence that was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is injected with art, nostalgia and childhood memories. Originally owned by the client’s parents, there was not much remaining of the original architecture, except for the gardens, which have been tendered to and reintegrated into the landscape.

As such, the client wanted a family home that would retain as much of the original house as possible, such as arched windows. Zed House receives its name from a distinct floor plan, which snakes around the site and forms the letter ‘Z’. Although the house is single storey, it boasts generous spaces, as seen in the house tour. Inside the art-filled home, one will find a deeply considered floor plan where a low-entrance front door contrasts with the vaulted ceiling within, which is close to four metres high, creating a sense of compression and release.

A juxtaposition between the casual arrangement of the kitchen, family and living rooms with the more formal dining and living area at the edge of the northern wing offers a dynamic balance inside an art-filled home. The sunken family room is relaxed and comfortable, whilst the other living area is more sophisticated, with green accents that echo the greenery of the natural surrounds. A gallery-like hallway with concrete walls houses the bedrooms and other smaller rooms.

Architecture: A Modern Garden Home In Sydney

The Local Project (October 10, 2023) – Inspired by the nearby waterways and bushland, Downie North creates a garden home that not only exists in conversation with the surrounding landscape but also provides a sense of retreat.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Garden Home 01:15 – The Layout and Walkthrough of the Home 03:02 – Landscaping Features 03:28 – Utilising Concrete Throughout 03:54 – Raw and Primal Materials 04:56 – Control of The Light 05:24 – Rewarding Aspects of the Design

Defined by a gradual reveal of interior spaces, Castlecrag Courtyard eloquently encapsulates slow living. Located on the ridge of Castlecrag, a harbourside suburb just north of Sydney’s CBD, Castlecrag Courtyard features a northerly aspect and a sloping site to the south. As such, the challenge of this project was about maximising sunlight and privacy whilst opening up to the 180-degree city and harbour views.

The garden home features a north-facing courtyard, which allows natural light to enter the interior living spaces whilst creating private external areas. The house tour reveals an architectural layout that encourages circular movement, meaning one is always met with changing views. The home is made up of three levels, and, upon arrival, one is met with a bush path before entering the ground floor, which contains the main living and kitchen areas.

#GardenHome #Nature #TheLocalProject

Sustainability: ‘Immersion House’ Tour In Melbourne

The Local Project (October 8, 2023) – Venturing inside a breathtaking sustainable home obscured behind cascading garden walls, Immersion House is a hidden oasis in the middle of Melbourne’s inner-west suburbia. Creating a family home that offers a sense of refuge,

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Breathtaking Sustainable Home 00:52 – An Inner-City Location 01:07 – Taking Inspiration from A Family Sanctuary 01:32 – The Seamless Indoor Outdoor Connection 01:54 – A Rich and Natural Material Palette 02:18 – Utilising the Versatile Tongue & Groove Boards 03:47 – Satisfying Aspects of the Design 04:18 – Proud Moments

Matsouri Architects defy the conditions of the corner block location through a series of unique and enveloping experiences. Located on a corner site that slopes gradually towards the back and in a quiet residential area in the inner-western suburb of Melbourne, Australia, Immersion House is a direct response to the client’s very strong brief to have a private sanctuary while retaining aspects of the original heritage home.

This brief was the inspiration behind Matsouri Architects’s architectural approach – creating experiences and spaces so the occupants could have a sanctuary to raise their family and live in the house they always envisaged. Inside the breathtaking sustainable home, the integration of interiors with the surrounding nature is key to the home’s immersive effect. On the first floor, one feels a sense of being perched above the street, implanting an almost subterranean feel. The connection between the indoors and the outdoors feels seamless and natural; there is a view towards nature from every part of the house and a strong sense of a singular indoor and outdoor space in the way that one almost doesn’t detect what is inside and what is outside when all the doors are folded back.

Similarly, a rich and natural materiality inside the breathtaking sustainable home becomes fundamental to creating this sense of sanctuary and immersion. The use of natural and textural materials such as concrete, timber and steel feel elementally connected to the surroundings. This minimal decor and palette have a quality that ties it all together and imbues the home with a sense of harmony and creates a space that feels all-enveloping. A key aspect of this raw materiality is the use of rich timber as a key material inside the breathtaking sustainable home.

Mid-Century Modern: Merricks House Tour

The Local Project (October 6, 2023) – Merricks House is a mid-century modern home that presents a bold response to a rural site in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula – a coastal, countryside oasis.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Mid-Century Modern House 00:45 – The Perks of Building Your Own Home 01:29 – A Rural Area 01:53 – A Simple Family Focused Brief 02:30 – A Walkthrough of the Home and the Elements 03:32 – Bringing the Outside In 04:04 – Compromising on Light 05:04 – Simple and Well-Thought Out Details 05:47 – Caring for the Landscape 06:39 – A Successful Outcome

Sitting on the edge of a forest, Aktis Architects works alongside the challenges presented by the site and a linear arrangement of spaces, creating an equally robust yet elegant farm home that connects and contrasts the quintessential Australian landscape it sits within. Built for the Director of Lexicon Constructions, the brief called for a mid-century modern family house that was linear in form and worked to encapsulate a strong sense of togetherness.

Approaching the mid-century modern home, one is met with a modest elevation composed of two raking roofs, each perched above a masonry box. A gravel driveway meanders through dense planting to arrive at a porte cochère lined with vertical timber cladding. The house tour reveals a linear arrangement of spaces inside, so the need for circulation areas and corridors is redundant. The concrete frame structure is defined by a geometric architecture, whilst circular windows contrast the geometry of the home and add a sense of playfulness.

Home Design: An Enclosed Courtyard In Australia

The Local Project (October 3, 2023) – Tapping into Western Australian sensitivities, Enclosed House II is a hidden Italian-Inspired family home that evokes a purity and sense of harmony reminiscent of the desert.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Hidden Italian-Inspired Family Home 01:12 – A Very Desirable and Hidden Location 01:48 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:47 – Enabling The Space To Function As One 03:18 – The Customisation of The Vitrocsa Products 04:08 – A Reduced and Harmonised Material Palette 04:26 – Relating to Country Through Materials 05:40 – The Misconception of Minimalism 06:20 – Providing A Sense of Security and Privacy

Seemingly impenetrable, the raw, textural retreat the home provides is achieved through an innovative approach to materiality, light and space. Tucked away behind a river, the location of the hidden Italian-Inspired family home is one that is immediately desirable, set on a busy street with a strong suburban feel. The design responds directly to the bustling streetscape in the way that the architecture of the home draws on privacy – there is a visceral sense of security and solitude established from arrival.

Upon entering, one is met with a stark walkway with robust textural walls that frame the process of entering. This sets the scene for the earthiness one can expect from the rest of the home. At the end of the entrance is the main living space, which, in a moment of surprise, appears as a large empty void. The space extends to the kitchen and the courtyard and is transformable, eloquently merging the indoor and outdoor due to the intelligent Vitrocsa window systems.

The raw earthiness and connection to land that is felt throughout the hidden Italian-Inspired family home derives from a considered materiality and minimal furniture. There is a reduced spectrum of materials used, seeing a harmonised palette and muted tonality connect seamlessly. Timber and natural materials dominate the interior design, and there is a strong connection to the colours and textures of the Western Australian landscape, specifically the red sand of the outback.