This house, situated in Lithuania’s Pavilniai Regional Park, must have been a contradictory project. First, because it is located in a regional park, which already sounds a bit out of place considering a 3,520 sq. ft. modern home in relevance to its surroundings , and secondly, because it has to do with historic substance – moreover, with the newly discovered valuable historic substance. Yet, the project has been carried out and, owing to the architects’ talent, became an outstanding landmark of the park. Continue reading →

Do you believe in miracles? Let me introduce you to one in particular. In Fujisawa, Japan there´s a very small site where Japanese architects, ON design, definitely transformed less into more. ‘The house with empty lot’ is a private residence for a musician and a surfer couple, featuring only 62, 98 sq. m. of building area.

Situated on a tight space with barely no open facades, the volume is conceived as a hybrid living space with an individual ‘tiny house’ on each side. This spatial separation provides the privacy required for the coexistence of two different hobbies and lifestyles. Continue reading →

This project is an apartment extension in Munchengladbach, Germany. A rather dull row of apartment houses has been freshened up by an addition of a concrete-glass structure on the roof (I guess not more than 210 sq. ft.).
The apartment itself is situated in the higher, two-story building, on the first floor. So there was a great opportunity to utilize such a location and enclose the area on the roof of the next, lower building. So the project of the extension and roof reconstruction was developed. It was decided to build a new structure on the adjacent roof and to convert the rest of the space into a terrace. Continue reading →

It’s hard to say how the concept of the 47% House’s shape appeared in the heads of the architects, but it seems to me that the original point was to design a roof as a shell. The idea of looking at a roof as something bigger than just the cover of the upper part of a structure; instead, looking at it as an independent structure by itself; a shelter for all spaces of a home – whether outdoors or indoors. Continue reading →

Sometimes restrictions lead to outstanding results! The Belly House, by Japanese architect Tomohiro Hata, brilliantly testifies to that. In Kyoto, Japan, there are several laws which restrict external volume, shape, materials and color. So actually when you think of it the exterior appearance of this house was already decided. A pre-defined ‘package’ works as a starting point to a marvelous architectural solution. Continue reading →

A cute summer house (689 sq. ft.) or rather summer barn stands happily in a lavishly green scenery on Gotland Island, Sweden. Indeed, the house looks literally happy and I can’t help thinking of the sweet summer holidays a child could spend there (although washing facilities are outside the house…). Continue reading →

The Castlewood extensions are located in Dublin. These are two modern annexes built up to two 19th century semi-detached buildings. The area of the project is approx. 1,743 sq. ft.

Let me omit the long and complicated past (which I can’t pretend to know well, anyway) of historic annexes and decisions to replace them with new ones, for I think I should focus on what I see (not what I could possibly know) – based on the fact that the old historic 19th century substance is extended with absolutely new, outstandingly bold structures. Continue reading →

Summerhouses always reflect joy and pure amusement. On the coast of Hoganas, Sweden, Stockholm-based practice dinnelljohansson has achieved this goal by designing a minimal space for a lucky family! Let me guide you through this contemporary reinterpretation of Palladio’s world renowned villas in the Veneto region… but in a more limited budget scenario. Continue reading →

In my opinion, the surrounding that we create for ourselves has to excite, to stimulate one’s mind and to raise emotions. The surrounding must not be dull, it must be alive and mustn’t leave one careless. It has to feed our hunger for impressions or even for being impressed. Besides, since we live in the 21st. century, it has to interact with people, to be in touch with them and make them an active part of itself. Continue reading →

When I look at the pictures of this house I forget everything. Something happens: I’m feeling inspired. This is the magic of architecture, the magic of design. As it can also be read on the architects’ original description of the house, it is iconic. It is called the Barn House I. First of all, the proportions are iconic. It is a regular cube, with a square lay-out. The roof has an incline of 45 degrees.

The outer appearance of the house is very laconic. However, it doesn’t look like the house was meant to be small or minimalistic. On the contrary, the house feels generous in volume. I’m not sure of the exact size, but I suppose the construction area is no bigger than 530 sq. ft. Continue reading →