Wood is one of the oldest building materials used in architecture. Versatile, it can be used in structural solutions, coatings, partitions, fittings and, very often, in furniture. Another quality of the material is its sustainability - if well managed during planting, cutting, and treatment processes, it can be considered renewable and low carbon, adding value to the completed building.
Architectural research initiative ‘arch out loud’ has announced the winners of the HOME competition. Entrants were asked to answer the question: ‘What is the future of HOME?’ A winner was identified for each category: Overall, Innovation, Adaptability, and Pragmatism.
As changes in global circumstances give rise to new design and living trends, the traditional definition of the home as a private place of permanence and stability has altered to accommodate these transitions. The competitors were asked to consider these changes, such as the impact of population shifts, the unpredictability of our changing ecosystem, contemporary forms of community housing and community relations, and newly engineered materials.
Architects are called upon to build society’s greatest structures. We marvel at the museums, performing arts centers and spaces of worship that dot the globe and represent the peculiarities of the world’s many cultures. Yet, at the core of the roles and responsibilities of the architect lies a calling for a far more elemental human need: shelter.
This doesn’t imply that architects are always involved in the creation of all the forms that shelter takes. However, a deep understanding of how people dwell provides an appreciation of the diversity, resilience, alacrity of the human race. The Human Shelter, a documentary about what people value or “need” in their lives, ties into a fundamental quality that any architect would be foolish not to cultivate: the ability to listen and perceive what makes people feel at home.
Normally, houses are divided into common areas, rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. However, sometimes the client demands to add other programs related to their work or hobbies, making efficient design and daily spatial distribution more complex. As architects, we are faced with an interesting challenge: to merge the private life of its inhabitants with more public and open programs, generating exciting mixed-use spaces.
If you are interested in designing hybrid homes, we have selected 26 houses with additions including shops, soccer fields, barns, greenhouses, and even skateparks.
Ideasforward wants to give young creative people from around the world the opportunity to express their views on the future of societies through their innovative and visionary proposals. We are an experimental platform seeking progressive ideas that reflect on emerging themes.
Arch Out Loud is partnering with Last House on Mulholland to host the HOLLYWOOD design competition. The competition asks participants to design a house of the future which demonstrates the use of innovative technology, integrative environmental strategies and capitalizes on the iconic prominence of its site beneath the famed Hollywood sign. The competition serves as a design charette generating ideas about the potential for what the site could become and how it can inspire the future of residential design.
Home is the domain of architecture that is most intimate to all of us. Beyond its everyday function as a physical shelter for people and their activities, Home is also an embodiment of family. It is an altar of family values, traditions, rituals as well as memories.
Keynote Speakers:
Art and Architecture Collective (Turner Prize Winners), Assemble | David Waterhouse, Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment | Andy von Bradsky, Royal Institute of British | Steve Cole, National Housing Federation | Mayor of Liverpool, Liverpool City | Charlotte Harrison, Northern Housing Consortium
The role of government in ensuring social and affordable housing is complex. With budget cuts and shifts in political priorities changing the terrain constantly what the governments of our cities need are new long term ideas
DALE, short for Dynamic Augmented Living Environment, is this year's U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon entry for the SCI-Arc/Caltech team. Made of two movable, prefabricated modules that open to allow the outdoors in, DALE celebrates the active California lifestyle through its dynamic architecture.
DALE learns from two classic California precedents: the super-sized suburban tract home and the compact, sufficient bungalow; amending one and expanding on the other to become a new Southern California typology. At 600 square feet, it is a micro house with an unprecedented flexible interior that results in the program of a house three times the size.
The psychology behind what we consider or value to be our homes presents some interesting concepts. While it is easy to answer the question “Where are you from?” when someone is asked “Where is home for you?” the resulting answer may be influenced by a variety of perceptions of what home really is. A recent article entitled The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much discusses such implications. Read more after the break.
