When architecture follows landscape, the result can only be excellent and unexceptionable. In Nijmegen, Netherlands there’s a house extension that respects the close relation between an ancient house and a hill. A single story addition with 49sqm establishes the missing umbilical connection involving these two distinct moments: landscape and architecture. Continue reading →

A modern approach to increasing the area and number of floors of an existing house is often related to light-frame construction. Usually, wood assumes the main role in this building technique based around vertical structural members, providing a firm frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are strongly attached. A roof made of horizontal ceiling joists and sloping rafters covers the light-frame structure guaranteeing the necessary stability for this wooden skeleton. In Beijing, China there’s a good example of such a technique: W House – a single-story building made of brick walls and tile roof was totally renovated and expanded into a three-story building concealing a studio and a residential program. Continue reading →

The meaning of transfiguration refers to the experience of momentary divine radiance. Sometimes the phenomenon of transfiguration can be permanent and very meaningful, especially in architecture. An old ruined house has become a bright white manifest of contemporary architecture. A three-story house located in Alcobaca, Portugal, was object of a profound experience of enlightenment and renovation. A large irregularly site on the edge of the river Dull was the stage for this enigmatic transformation. Continue reading →

In Nantes, France there’s a wonderful example of how to merge recycled containers with existing architecture: House extension. The request for a small extension for a suburban 1960’s house lead to a pragmatic solution that takes full advantage of the mass produced module designed for transportation worldwide: steel shipping containers. Continue reading →

Let me introduce you to a beautiful extension of an old farmhouse in south-east England: Hawthbush Extension. A distinctive detail turn this simple building into a contemporary tribute to traditional architecture by using a barrel-vaulted roof that references local agricultural buildings. As you can see, an ingenious effort was developed to embrace different times, scales and spaces. Continue reading →

Sometimes a small addition can positively transform an existing building. In Maryland there’s a little house extension that brilliantly shows how to add a new meaning to the relation between architecture and nature: Studio Addition. Continue reading →

In Nantes, France there´s a unique house extension that delicately assembles new and old pieces of architectures. I’m talking about an L-shaped house with two different bodies and structures: an old two-story volume is now enriched by a modern extension of its previous domestic program. Built along the perimeter walls that separate the site from the surrounding street, House Extension occupies a privileged position with the original garden now transformed into an interior patio. Continue reading →

The Chevron House belongs to Oliver Peyton, a collector of contemporary British Art and a renowned restaurateur and food critic. It’s an Edwardian piece of architecture, situated in the suburb of West London, which has been transformed into a multicolored living space. A new extension was developed, taking the Edwardian elegantly proportioned spaces to a modern extreme. Continue reading →

A house extension gives shelter to trees that felled in order to allow its construction – Is there something more inspirational and poetic than this? In Kagawa, Japan a two-story extension occupies the garden of a 35-year-old family house, serving as a home for the owner’s daughter. The two trees were positioned in the only available spot for the new construction, which lead to an unusual yet brilliant solution: the trees were dried up to become a living part of the interior of the house extension. That’s why the name of the building is so enigmatic: Garden Tree House. Continue reading →

Here’s a fine example of how to transform a classic English Victorian semi-detached villa into a contemporary home. Located in London, Lens House is a 19th century building that has been extended in time and space: two new volumes were added to this ancient architecture as a manifest of modern needs.

The new house extension has a total floor area of only 70sqm and is distributed in two separate levels. The first volume wraps around the brick walls at the side and rear of the house to make a small home office, while the second volume extends out at the back to increase the size of the first floor living room. Continue reading →