Pouaka Waikura House / Patterson Associates

The 1.8-hectare site is a naturally formed terrace snuggled into the gentle north-sloping base of Queenstown Hill, overlooking the untamed Shotover River which disappears around the bend. The clients are staunch locals, having spent most of their life in a modest cottage on the same road. They have owned the site for twenty years; planting and tending to the now mature grapes on the terraces above the site. They sought a permanent home here, a home for a lifestyle of mature years in the country, making wine, and tinkering with old cars.

Kincang Modern Pre-School / LYCS Architecture

The KINCANG Modern Pre-school in Shaoxing City, designed by LYCS Architecture on both exterior and interior, was officially completed and opened a few days ago. With a building area of 16,512 sqm, the architects designed the kindergarten according to the highest standards of Chinese kindergartens, including 18 classes. The project is located in a high-density old city, surrounded by residential areas of various ages. The Xiaoshao Canal flows quietly from the southeast of the site, reflecting the indifferent and peaceful life of the old city. The plot ratio of the project is as high as 1.3, making it a rare "high-density" kindergarten. The biggest challenge of this project is how to make a four-story kindergarten friendly and carry the vision of letting children get in touch with nature and release their imagination.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."——Plutarch

Triangle House / React Architects

The ysterni traɪæŋɡəl is in the area of Ysterni on Paros, Cyclades, nearby are the remains of the Vigla phryktoria of Ysterni. It was one of the 11 phryktorias that made up the Tinos- Asia Minor communication network during the Mycenaean era. Following the planning of the phryktories, the residence is placed on the hill of Ysterni. It has a southeast orientation for maximum use of light and protection from the strong northerly winds that characterize the Cycladic Island.

San Martín House / Toru Arquitectos

This house is an investment project. At the request of the client, a single-family house was built for sale on a lot with a very attractive location within the city of Querétaro. It had to be functional for the general public since it had no final user at the time of its design and construction, but with finishes and details that would stand out from the rest of the properties in the area. The upper floor houses the private area that consists of three bedrooms, each with a bathroom and a dressing room in the main one. On the ground floor, they have space for three cars, a study, a half bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a laundry room, and a terrace.

House in the Rodeo / Pablo Senmartin

This single-family home is located in the closed neighborhood of El Rodeo, La Calera, which is part of a succession of suburban closed neighborhoods located to the west of the city of Córdoba, with the idea of living with greater security and contact with nature, just a few minutes from the city.

Guest House / HEIMA architects

A private guest house designed by Heima Architects is situated in northern Lithuania, on a hill near a group of trees overlooking the valley and the existing water basin. Part of a larger complex of recreational buildings, the 150-square-meter guest house is designed to blend in with the natural surroundings and has a unique layout, with four volumes organized among the trees to avoid deforestation. This creates a close connection with the surrounding nature and a sense of privacy for guests.

Falésia D'El Rey House / [i]da arquitectos

On the Silver Coast, near the cliffs of Praia D'El Rey, the place is characterized by the presence of the Atlantic Ocean, with the Berlengas archipelago in the background, as well as by the strong winds common to this coast.

Poplar Grove / BLDUS

Formerly an unnamed lot with illegally parked and broken down cars, litter, and weeds, Adelaide Alley is now home to one of DC’s healthiest houses. Looking for a chance to build anew in DC, the architect-owner and their family decided to begin an adventure navigating DC’s brand new alley zoning and building regulations. The resulting house is a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom house totaling 2,500 square feet. Showcasing innovative natural materials while providing privacy and air to its inhabitants, Poplar Grove tries to be as considerate to its neighbors as it is to its residents.

Truss House / Terra Capobianco + Galeria Arquitetos

The architectural firms Terra Capobianco and Galeria Arquitetos are responsible for the Casa Treliça (Truss House) project, a 464 m² building in the Alto de Pinheiros district, São Paulo. Through the rationality of the construction systems, the architecture sought to produce a large space totally integrated into the landscape around the 533.35 m² lot.

BD Houses / Esquissos - Arquitectura e Consultoria

In a different approach to the typical set of twin dwellings, the proposal presents three isolated houses that favor the connection with the private exterior spaces, with the intention of privacy that allows enjoying the outdoors comfortably.

10 Innovative Cabins That Experiment With Their Materials

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While the traditional image of the cabin is one of a rustic wooden home located far away from any trace of society, architects have been experimenting with these conventions alongside newer material and technological considerations to push the boundaries of the ‘cabin’ today. Whether it is by reimagining the aesthetics of the cabin, utilizing advanced fabrication techniques to modernize the rustic, or even reconfiguring the log cabin for the city setting, architects and designers have utterly transformed traditional cabin architecture for a more contemporary existence. Below, we consider 10 innovative cabins that achieve this transformation through experiments with different materials and construction technologies. While each explore different strategies and functions, many share similarities in their use of prefabrication systems, their dedication to sustainability, and their close attention to and optimization of specific material properties.

Paqui's House / Mentrestant Arquitectura Cooperativa

Paqui´s House is located in La Pobla de Vallbona, a municipality in the Camp del Turía region, a territory closely linked to the countryside and agricultural work. The house is located in the historic medieval quarter of the town and it is estimated that the building may have belonged to the part of an old convent. In the 20th century, we find the current construction, a typical Valencian country house with the rooms of the house located on the ground floor and an attic on the upper floor used to store the harvest.

Renovation of the Jinping Lower Primary School / Atelier cnS

Longjiang Central Primary School (Jinping Campus) is located at the foot of Jinping Mountain, Longjiang, Foshan. It was rebuilt from the existing Jinping Middle School in order to meet the growing demands for high-quality education in the central urban area. After the renovation, the lower grade campus can accommodate 20 classes of grades one and two. The renovation takes the advantage of the site, extracting a series of natural elements from Liyugang Park in Jinping Mountain and bringing them back to the campus design. By integrating and interacting with the natural environment, a campus that learns in nature is formed. This "campus in the park" or the "park in the campus" builds a bridge for first and second-year students to transition from kindergarten to primary school.

Sauna Sazae / Kengo Kuma & Associates

The organic wooden sauna “SAZAE” is built at the center of the glamping facility “SANA MANE” near the small inlet of Naoshima.

Upper Cloister in Aranya Golden Mountain / Atelier Deshaus

At the break of dawn I wandered in the ruins of an ancient temple,
On lofty trees of the woods the morning sun cast its rays.
Following a path amongst bamboos I came to a secluded place,
Hidden deep amidst lush flowery vegetation, it used to be a chamber for meditation.
Birds by nature took delight in mountain scenes,
In the pond, a mind cleansed by the waters a lucid reflection made.
Everything gave way to silence right there and then,
Save for the tolling of bells that resonates.
An Inscription for the Rear Meditation Chamber of a Mountain Temple in Ruins, by CHANG Jian [Tang Dynasty],

100JOA New Construction of a House Between Dividing Walls/ Vallribera Arquitectes

We are hired by a family from Mataró. We easily agree on a layout with the day-use area on the ground floor: parking for one car, bathroom, living room, and kitchen-dining room. Then the bedrooms are located on the first floor: the parents’ room with a bathroom and dressing room, the children’s rooms with access to a terrace, plus a multi-use area for study or play. The working area (or home office) and study are on the second floor, for the whole family, opening onto another large terrace. The factors that drove the design were the size of the plot and its surroundings. The typology is a row house with an ample width (5.25 m, specifically) but the plot is not very deep. This means that the backyard, normally one of the highest quality spaces in a house of this kind, is quite small. Plus, it opens onto the interior of the block, which is densely built. 

NANA Coffee Roasters Bangna / IDIN Architects

The concept of NANA Coffee Roasters, Bangna Branch is to create spaces that enhance the coffee-drinking experience where the coffee becomes the main center of attention. The architectural expression of the project was simplified, while the design is shifted to combine architectural spaces harmoniously with the landscape to create a lush atmosphere that draws the visitors away from the buzzing Bangna-Trad motorway, redirecting their focus onto the coffee.

Albert Park Office and Depot / Harrison and White + Archier

This is a project for the park – a true ‘Parks’ building. It fuses together office and depot functions for Parks Victoria in Albert Park, providing the best casework environment for staff and a welcoming experience for visitors. The building is a high amenity, low energy. The building presents excellence in sustainability, integrating building and landscape – greenery is used to shade, cool, and activate the building.