Dacha! by Peter Kostelov

This dacha was designed by Peter Kostelov for a television show. In the show the client and architect meet only once. Then the architect goes on to design the project and build it for the end of the program. (Or that's how I understood it.) Before reading further on this project, see if you can determine the desires/requests of the client.

By the way, a dacha is a Russian summer house. It is usually in a rural setting away from the city. People use them on the weekends and for longer stays. To learn more about them read this National Geographic article: "Russian Summer"

CASA DJ by (i)da Arquitectos

CASA DJ
(i)da Arquitectos

Another house from Portugal. Look at this one for the incorporation of courtyard rooms into the floor plan, the use of outdoor space below grade, and sectional organization.

more images also here at Dezeen

SUBTRACTION

No too long ago we discussed the possibility of subtractive space strategies for some of your projects. Here is a post from Patrick Weber at The Bartlett about subtractive spaces "walls as rooms" in the castles in Britain, Scotland, and Ireland - the same spaces that were of interest to Louis Kahn. Check it out!

STORIES OF HOUSES

I found this great (somewhat older) blog that documented "stories of houses."

In their words:

"STORIES OF HOUSES feature examples of dwellings from which we can all learn - both the clients during their contemplation about building a house, and the architects to understand and evaluate the life of the clients... This series of articles tries to give answers to questions concerning intimacies and origins of important international houses. They try to fill the gap left by so many History of Architecture books which, when neglecting these extreme personal sources, forget the multidisciplinary character of architecture. The houses analysed have been selected for their good architecture and for having been designed by a famous architect. But more than that, there is also an indispensable ingredient of having clients tell a passionate story that generates the project. Stories of Houses include information about the clients, their requests and needs, without which one cannot begin to understand the final result."

Here are the houses they write stories about:

• Small House for a Kolonihaven, by Enric Miralles
• 'Maison à Bordeaux', by Rem Koolhaas
• 5 Ways to Up-style your Bedroom on a Budget
• Miranda Santos House, by Álvaro Siza
• Villa Anbar in Dammam, by Peter Barber
• Can Lis and Can Feliz in Mallorca, by Jørn Utzon
• The U-House in Tokyo, by Toyo Ito
• House in Lège, by Anne Lacaton and Jean Philippe V...
• House in Baião, by Eduardo Souto de Moura
• Blas House in Sevilla la Nueva (Madrid), by Albert...
• The House Aktion Poliphile, by Studio Granda
• Villa Saint-Cast in Brittany, by Dominique Perraul...
• A Family House at Riva San Vitale, by Mario Botta
• Closed for the Holidays
• Rogers’ House in Wimbledon, by Richard Rogers
• The Unique Qualities of Solid Wood Flooring
• The Gugalun House, by Peter Zumthor
• The Naked House in Kawagoe, by Shigeru Ban
• Vanna Venturi House in Philadelphia, by Robert Ven...
• Ernest Mourmans' House in Belgium, by Ettore Sotts...
• Houses in the San Matías Neighbourhood (Granada), ...
• House in Corrubedo (Galicia), by David Chipperfiel...
• Frank Gehry's House in California
• Closed for the Holidays
• The House of the Rain (Santander), by Juan Navarro...
• The Icon House (Montreuil), by Périphériques
• Villa Eila in Guinea, by Heikkinen + Komonen
• Villa Bollen in Holland, by One Architecture
• House in La Moraleja (Madrid), by Miguel Fisac
• The Stretto House in Dallas, by Steven Holl
• Dick's House in Troyes (France), by Jean Nouvel
• Möbius House in Amsterdam, by Ben van Berkel
• Closed for the Holidays
• House in Pembrokeshire (Wales), by Future Systems
• House in a Plum Grove (Tokyo), by Kazuyo Sejima

 

Zumthor's gaps

We spoke a bit about two Peter Zumthor buildings in one of the pin up sessions on Friday. We were talking about the details of thresholds as both symbolic and experiential. Here are the two buildings:


Protective Housing for archeological ruins, Chur, Switzerland, 1985
and
St. Benedict Chapel, Sumvitg, Switzerland, 1985

KYOTO HOUSE by Alphaville

Townhouse in Kyoto
By: Alphaville

This new townhouse sits in a row of adjoined houses in Kyoto. The simple use of two primary interior materials divides the house into conatiner and contained.

more after the jump...

houses by William O'Brien, Jr.

 Check out the sensitive work on houses by William O'Brien, Jr. 

more after the jump...

SUZUKI HOUSE by Bolles + Wilson

SUZUKI HOUSE
By: Bolles + Wilson

Here is a tiny house on a two-sided site in Tokyo, Japan from 1993. This house has an inventive form and expression without being out of character with the rest of the neighborhood.

more after the jump...

justK House by AMUNT

just K House
by: AMUNT

Stacked duplex family house located in Tubingen, Germany. Check out the thick space of the stair which is both divider and occupiable.

more here.

more after the jump...

BUSHY HOUSE by Luís and Tiago Rebelo de Andrade and Manuel Cachão Tojal inShare

BUSHY HOUSE in Lisbon, Portugal

By: Luis and Tiago Rebelo de Andrade and Manuel Cachao Tojal

This house sits on a small three-sided site. Pay attention to the circulation strategy with a pool on top.

more here

inShare

drawings and interiors after the jump...

KERET HOUSE by Centrala

KERET HOUSE
By: Centrala

World's skinniest house. Located in Warsaw, Poland.

more here

HOUSE S by Suga Atelier

HOUSE S
Suga Atelier
2012


Faceted concrete house on a very tight and noisy site in Osaka, Japan. Check out especially the deep open void moving through the house that let's natural light and rain(!) in...

more here

interiors and drawings after the jump...