Tag Archives: house

Award-winning housing design uses local materials and weaving traditions to bring access to clean water

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Access to clean water is something that a lot of people in developed countries probably take for granted. But there are some places that this can be a challenge and has affected people’s quality of life and can also mean a matter of life and death. A design for a house with a water catchment feature using local materials and traditional weaving techniques has won an award and can be used to improve water sustainability in Africa and other countries with water problems.

Designer: Hong-En Lin

The main character in this house design is the roof which has a wooden structure and a weaving device to be able to collect the dew that passes through it and then turn this moisture into actual drinkable water. It is also able to harvest rainwater and as it passes through the same filtration system that the dew collection uses, it turns all the water into something that can be used for taking a bath, cooking food, and even drinking.

The materials used for this housing design is all locally available in Africa to keep it sustainable and cost-effective. It has also been able to integrate local weaving culture to add an aesthetic feel to the roof of the house but also creates a sense of community for the locals who will be involved in the creation of the materials and also the construction process. Plus, you also get a unique looking and picturesque house that can be a conversation starter.

This has of course garnered the attention of design award-giving bodies as it is able to incorporate green design into helping solve a major issue for a community. Hopefully this is a model that can be used not only in Africa but also in other parts of the world where access to clean water is a major issue.

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Minimalist home on the Hermosa Beach is the ultimate beach house to move into in summer 2023

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Designed by Los Angeles-based architecture studio XTEN, and called the Strandhouse, this Hermosa Beach house is the epitome of minimalist architecture and truly celebrates the beauty of its seaside location. The home was created by the practice founder Monika Haefelfinger and partner Scott Utterstrom as an excellent specimen of beachside living for the coastal Southern California region in a minimalist and contemporary form.

Designer: Monika Haefelfinger and Scott Utterstrom of XTEN

Nestled along the Hermosa Beach, the Strandhouse is surrounded by white sand, and located near the central pier of the beach. The home is marked by large openings, minimalist aesthetics, clean geometries, and subtle decor work, resulting in a space that feels expansive and spacious. It is blessed with stunning vistas and views, functioning as a great viewpoint to enjoy the beautiful body of the ocean. “As the white interiors showcase the client’s art collection, the west-facing glass façade acts as a blank canvas, reflecting various shades of color throughout the day,” said Haefelfinger.

The home includes three distinctive floors, with the ground floor opening up to the beach, and functioning as an extension of it. The second floor is subtly elevated from the ground, and holds all the primary living spaces, while also doubling up as the perfect viewing platform. The top floor houses all the private areas, and three storeys are connected via a white, sculptural, central stair core that also serves as a lightwell, enabling the sunlight to reach the rear of the house. The house is defined by four bedrooms and a range of terraces and balconies which bring open-air elements to the home.

The Strandhouse is the perfect culmination of minimal and clean aesthetics and a neat geometric form. These characteristics give the home a lightweight and subtle feel. The home is also an example of sustainable architecture, as it includes passively designed dual-glazed windows with low-e coating, a thermal chimney, a reflective ‘cool’ roof, stormwater retention and filtration, drought-tolerant planting, and on-site EV charging. The stunning location, sustainable features, good-looking aesthetics, and wide range of rooms make the Strandhouse quite a catch, and the ultimate beach home!

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Floating Bamboo House can become alternative housing for the Mekong Delta area

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There are several countries in Southeast Asia where one of the tourist attractions is floating markets. You’ll see some in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and if you’ve never seen one before, it’s an interesting thing to experience. But for a lot of these countries, flooding and the harsh effects of climate change are also part of their reality. Housing can be a problem when it comes to places like this so it’s interesting to see how architects and designers are coming up with structures that will be able to withstand threats to their abodes.

Designer: H&P Architects

A Vietnamese firm has come up with a flood-resistant dwelling that’s specifically targeted for those who live near the rivers and may experience occasional flooding. The Floating Bamboo House is basically what its name says it is. It is made from various materials that will let the house survive threats from extreme weather conditions that may be the result of climate change. Materials include compressed weaved bamboo sheets, bamboo stems, bamboo screens and with the addition of leaves and corrugated iron. All of these materials are tied together with latches and ties.

The floating part is through the plastic drums that are found on the underside of the house. It is around 36 square meters and is designed like a traditional house with a triangular shape. Inside you get an open layout with two levels although later on, they will be adding a bedroom, kitchen area, and other things that will make it feel like a real home. There will even be a freshwater storage tanks and septic tanks. The roof will also have a rainwater collection system and solar panels to make it more sustainable. There are open facades in some parts so natural light and air can come in.

The space in the upper part can also be used as a classroom or library when the floor panels are removed. This is a pretty interesting concept even if it’s still in just the prototype stage. It was designed specifically for those living in and around in the Mekong Delta area as an alternative housing solution to adapt to the worsening conditions caused by climate change.

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Rain Harvest Home in Mexico was designed to capture and reuse rainwater

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Designed by Robert Hutchison Architecture and Javier Sanchez Arquitectos, the Rain Harvest Home, or Casa Cosecha de Lluvia is nestled in the rural town of Temascaltepec, which lies about 140 kilometers west of Mexico City. The family nature retreat features an extensive system for capturing and reusing rainwater!

Designer: Robert Hutchison Architecture and Javier Sanchez Arquitectos

Located in the mountains of Mexico, the Rain Harvest Home was designed for the founder of Javier Sanchez Arquitectos and his family, who plan to make this their permanent residence in the near future. It includes the main house, an art studio, and a bathhouse. Bio-agriculture gardens, an orchard, and a network of pathways were the various landscaping elements included in the home. The team said that permaculture principles were used to “establish a holistic, integrated relationship between people and place”. Now what is permaculture? It is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture and permanent culture and is an approach to design and land management that is inspired by natural ecosystems.

All of the structures in the properties were designed to capture and reuse rainwater and ensure that they are mindful of natural resources, especially water. “Here, as in the surrounding region of Central Mexico, water has become an increasingly precious resource as temperatures rise and populations increase,” the team said. “Rain Harvest Home takes a different tack, proposing an integrated approach to designing regeneratively with water,” they continued. It occupies 1200 square feet and can be used all year round. It has a generous amount of covered outdoor space and stunning views of the surrounding landscape on all sides.

The three structures were designed specifically to capture rainwater. Bioswales in the landscape ensure that water is directed to the property above, and below-ground reservoirs have been installed where water is captured and purified. “The on-site water treatment system is completely self-contained and primarily gravity-fed, containing five cisterns that provide potable and treated water,” the team said. “A chemical-free, blackwater treatment system treats all wastewater on-site, returning it to the site’s water cycle as greywater for use in toilets, and to irrigate the on-site orchard,” the team concluded.

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Wooden hut on wheels is the ultimate dog house to help doggos live a nomadic life on the go

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As much as I love spending time with my own cats, I’m honestly running out of ways to keep them entertained and prevent them from knocking down an item or two in my home, out of sheer boredom. If you’re pretty much in the same precarious situation as me and are always looking for new ways to keep your pet entertained, productive, and happy – then say hello to the Bowowhaus! Although, this one is for the doggos. The Bowowhaus is a wooden hut on wheels, designed for dogs, and inspired by the modernist Bauhaus movement.

Designer: Conran and Partners

Designed by Conran and Partners, the Bowowhaus is a mobile hut doghouse meant to help dogs live a nomadic lifestyle. It features pencil-thin slabs of light wood and dark gray-hued panels and shades, providing doggos with a cushy and comfy traveler ambiance. Bowowhaus is intended to invite and encourage dog owners to build their own version of wooden huts on wheels, with the help of basic tools and recycled materials – such as old wooden pallets, discarded wheels, and pre-used slats.

A flight of stairs welcomes the dogs into the hut, while a space for food containers and bowls is propped up behind the house, to ensure that no food and water is spilled within the little home. It features a triangular shape, which provides a generous amount of space, for dogs of all sizes and shapes to enter and lounge about in the hut comfortably. Both ends have been chiseled open, to lend the space an air of openness and spaciousness, and to allow for continuous ventilation.

The roof of the dog house has been topped with solar panels, and the wheels are battery-operated, allowing the home to be easily transported and moved from one place to another. “We felt it had to have wheels and the idea was that a dog would be able to take their family home with them by using battery, PV-powered electric assist wheels similar to those found in e-bikes. Admittedly, this was perhaps a pipe dream and out of budget and I am not sure how the RSPC would view Victorian-era dogcarts these days,” said the design team.

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The Pavilion House is a geometrically fascinating home with a strong bond to nature in a small Greek village

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Nestled in the little village of Kalogeriko is a permeable residential project called the Pavilion House. Designed by the Hive architects, the Pavilion House was designed while creating and maintaining a strong connection with nature. Since it has been built like a platform, the structure was given the name Pavilion House. It stretches horizontally and is marked by clean simple lines and clear forms. It has been designed for a modern family, in an attempt to help the residents of the home connect better with nature.

Designer: Hive Architects

The Pavilion House has been located on an 11-acre field, is a ground-level home defined by geometrically intriguing cut-outs that create little visual treats. The cut-outs further accentuate the surrounding nature, as well as the sky. Skylights, floor-to-ceiling openings, and circle-shaped apertures are spread out throughout the entire structure. This provides an open and consistent dialogue with nature, while also allowing daylight to generously stream into the interiors.

The home was designed to have an air of openness, while also striking a balance with a sense of privacy. The space is great for hosting both indoor and outdoor events. The main volume has been divided into various sections with the help of an axis. This helps to separate the common areas, as well as the sleeping quarters. The south zone of the home holds the living room, open-plan kitchen, and dining room. Natural light constantly streams into these areas. The skylights on the roof aid in this.  A large monolithic volume functions as an auxiliary structure. This is placed in juxtaposition with the main residence. This volume functions as an independent quarter. It includes a workplace and a guesthouse, and they are amped with separate restrooms and entrances.

Natural materials were used in the construction of the Pavilion House. Stone cladding, earthy shades, tones of white, and tiled roofs were used throughout the home. White plaster, exposed stonework, and concrete shadow the exterior of the home, while the interiors are dominated by wooden accents. The interiors and exteriors contrast one another, with the interiors following a more delicate design language. An outdoor pool and BBQ are also added to the residence.

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This house in a Portuguese national park features five volumes and a swimming pool resembling a pond

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Atelier Data built the Praia Grande house in Portugal’s Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. The home is constructed using five volumes that have been clad in metal-sheet facades and provided with a finishing of projected cork. The house also features a swimming pool that has been made to resemble a pond. The five volumes have been placed to cover up the empty space between the protected trees in the national park. Some of the trees have been lifted to allow vegetation to grow underneath them.

Designer: Atelier Data

“There was a big effort to contain the built mass of the house between the existing trees”,  said Atelier Data architect Rafael Gomes. “Naturally, this pushed us for an early forecast of the house because we needed to understand the full impact of shading areas, constraints in visual relations, and limitations of space that all this would generate. This involved understanding exactly which trees were healthy enough to be sustainable, and after that study, how should construction work to preserve them – from start to finish,” he continued.  All the five volumes that make up the Praia Grande have been imparted with a particular use. One rectangular volume holds the entrance and the kitchen, while another volume next to it includes the home’s main living room.

A smaller volume near the entrance houses an office, while two other square volumes include ensuite bedrooms that are placed opposite one another. The volumes holding the bedroom have been amped with their own patios, which provide convenient access to the swimming pool. All five volumes have been placed in a semi-circle, with a space in the center that accommodates the swimming pool. The pool, as mentioned earlier, was designed to mimic a pond.

Natural raw materials were used to construct the home. The walls and floors were built using non-toxic materials, which is a boost to the environment. “As we say informally, we ‘could drink or eat every single part and component that the house has. The walls were painted with 100 percent natural paints; the floor was finished without using any chemical varnish, and the wooden elements are from sustainable harvest processes and have been protected with products totally free of formaldehyde,” concluded Gomes. The unique form and structure of the home were inspired by the interesting dialogue between the surroundings and the volumes of the house. The national park was a major source of inspiration and influenced a lot of the architecture of the home. Gomes said that it impacted the development of the home “physically and visually”.

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House prototype in Spain combines 3D printing and clay techniques

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The latest trend in architecture and product development is 3D printing. On its own, you still probably cannot create something like an entire house but if you combine it with other techniques, like the age-old material of clay, then you can come up with something that’s both sustainable and beautiful. Some postgraduates from Spain have combined these two practices and come up with their country’s first prototype that uses 3D printing and is made from clay.

Designer: Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

Clay is actually one of the oldest building materials that archaeologists have uncovered. Whether it uses the sun as its hardener or it’s fired in kilns, it’s one of the most sustainable and sturdiest materials available. So these students were able to combine it with the more modern technique of 3D printing materials to come up with TOVA, the first prototype of a habitat in Spain that uses these two techniques. We get a habitat with a simple yet elegant design and a sustainable one at that.

It also has a functional design with a sloping roof meant to let rainwater slide off of it while the gravel drainage is able to be the basin for the excess water. If the weather is too hot or too cold, the framed, insulated ceiling is able to give you better temperature control either way. The window allows natural light to brighten the space while the walls have ventilation holes for fresh air. It’s not a mansion of course but there’s room for a foldaway bed inside the house.

Using polymers as its substructure, wood for its roof, and T and L joints for its walls, you get a house with a wavy exterior so that it is able to match the natural water currents and other natural shapes that you associate with its surroundings. We of course love habitats that fit in with its environment, not just in terms of materials but even more so with the structure and overall design. It’s surrounded by tall trees and other natural things so you have somewhere you can breathe inside and out. The TOVA prototype looks like it came out of ancient times but is built using more modern techniques.

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This seaside silver home mimics a seagull’s wing & is named after an iconic novella

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Architect Conor Dolman’s favorite book while growing up was Jonathan Livingston Seagull, so it’s no surprise that his latest architectural project was named after it, and was even inspired by a seagull! Quite literally called Jonathan Livingston Seagull House, Dolman designed this open-plan studio on a hilly site in Eastbourne, Wellington. It’s surrounded by scattered huts that are quite difficult to reach, as well as dense vegetation. It seems to hover over the hilly landscape, and the mass of greenery, giving it a rather mysterious feel!

Designer: Conor Dolman

An interesting element of the studio is its exterior constructed from silvered Abodo timber! The eye-catching silver shade of the structure instantly catches your attention, and this is owing to the color of the resin coating, as well as the rough finish of the cladding. The rustic and unpolished quality of the timber helps in giving the studio the appearance of a ‘backcountry hut’. Another interesting feature would be the fact that the roof is folded! The roof was folded to create the impression of a bird in flight. So, if you look carefully, the folded silver roof mimics a seagull’s wing! Since the studio is positioned above the ocean, you can catch a glimpse of the seagulls and boats in the harbor.

When you enter the structure, you notice that this folded roof creates a fold in the ceiling, that crosses the space from one corner to another. The sleeping and living area are partitioned off with the help of a raised plinth on the west side. The use of the plinth instead of an actual physical partitioning ensures that the stunning views of the surroundings aren’t obstructed or blocked off.

The interiors have been lined with plywood to provide an atmosphere that is warm, minimal, and cozy. This creates an amusing contrast to the rough and harsh exterior of the home. The exterior perfectly complements its rough and harsh surroundings, but rest assured once you enter the studio, you are welcomed by a comforting and homely space. The Jonathan Livingston Seagull House truly does justice to its name, and to the environment it was placed in.

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This gold inflatable Martian house could be our future home on the Red Planet

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Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to live on Mars? Or how living on the Red Planet could actually feel like? Well, to answer your questions, a team led by Hugh Broughton Architects is exploring what our extraterrestrial homes on Mars could look like! Called, ‘Building a Martian House’, the concept was initially spearheaded by artists Ella Good and Nicki Kent, and over the years they pulled in various artists, architects, scientists, and even the public to envision what life on Mars could be like. The concept was then brought to life by Hugh Broughton Architects in partnership with Pearce+ and the artists.

“This project is a place for research and experiments about the future. Using Mars as a lens because of its resource-limited nature helps focus our conversations around what we need and how we want to live,” said Ella and Nicki.

Designer: Hugh Broughton Architects, Pearce+, Ella Good, and Nicki Kent

The concept is currently on display at M Shed Square in Bristol, UK. It’s essentially a two-story home that is solar-powered and can withstand the extreme temperatures of outer space. It can provide protection against temperatures averaging -63°C and even cosmic radiations! It’s designed to be a “real-life house”, that you can actually step into and experience. It imagines what living on another planet could actually feel like. It’s a test of what is possible with the technology available today, and how it can be stretched.

The most eye-catching element of the home is its striking gold upper level, which is crafted from pressurized inflatable gold-coated foil. It was designed by specialists from Inflate. Currently, the structure has been inflated with air, (allowing it to be reused) although, on Mars, the walls would be filled with regolith or soil. A hydroponic system will be integrated into the living room of the home, enabling the residents to live and relax in a space surrounded by plants as well as allowing them to follow a healthy green diet.

The lower level of the home will technically be underground, fixed within the planet’s lava tubes, providing complete protection to the residents from the high levels of radiation present on the planet. The basement will include an environmental control room that will feature all the power systems of the structure. It will also host two bedroom pods with a shower, as well as a ‘Martian’ loo, amped with a low-water waste treatment system.

“It is a prototype, intended to challenge people’s perceptions of what life on Mars might be like and to provide a canvas for them to suggest their own ideas to make the house as comfortable and welcoming as possible,” says Hugh Broughton.

The structure is an intriguing glimpse into what life in the future could be like. We could be living atop a sandy Martian landscape, or most probably our grandkids could. But I guess an important question would be – does such a future excite you or terrify you?!

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