Bohemian Forest Retreat
Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic – Uhlik Architekti Built area: 16 sqm Year built: 2013 Photography: Jan Kudej Have you got a favourite camping spot? Somewhere you can really escape from the day-to-day pressures of your life? Imagine having a permanent tent on that spot. A tent that you can lock […]
Windows
West Virginia, USA – Nick Olson & Lilah Horwitz Photography: Half Cut Tea Click on any image to start lightbox display. Use your Esc key to close the lightbox.
Step Island Bach
Bay of Islands, New Zealand – Crosson, Clarke, Carnachan Architects Year: 2005 Photography: Patrick Reynolds This renovation and addition is on Motukawaiti, a privately owned island in the Cavalli group, just to the north of the New Zealand’s beautiful Bay of Islands. The project included the restoration of an existing turn-of-the-century cottage and the addition of […]
Casa Kike – 16,000 books and a grand piano
Beachfront Cahuita Costa Rica – Gianni Botsford Architects Year Built: 2007 Surely, one of the toughest gigs an architect must face would be designing a home for his father. But in this instance, Keith Botsford, a writer, gave free rein when he decided to retire from Boston, USA to Costa Rica. The over-riding requirement […]
COTH… Cottage on the Hill
Michigan USA – Zinta Aistars Lot size: 10 acres (2 hectares) Built area: 200 sq. ft. (18.5 m2) Year built: Unknown Renovated: 2012/13 Standing on a hill in the woods of south-west Michigan is a whimsical cottage named COTH by its writer owner, Zinta Aistars. Although the 10 acre property has […]
The Many Faces of a Polyhedron
Habitable Polyhedron Bogota Columbia – Manuel Villa Built Area: 7.5 m2 (81 sq. ft.) Year Built: 2009 Photography: Sergio Gómez Originally designed for the backyard of a couple with a young child who wanted a “shelter” while enjoying the outdoors, the Habitable Polyhedron obviously has many possible uses. Guest accommodation, a home office or a […]
The Water Temple
Ljubljana, Slovenia – Kieran Donnellan Year built: 2012 Photography: Courtesy of Water Temple Workshop MEDS – Meeting of design students – was founded in 2010 by students from different countries and different departments of design. It was created with the intention of integrating architecture, interior architecture, industrial design, graphic design into a cohesive group. The […]
Takasugi-an, “A Tea House Built Too High”
Nagano Prefecture, Japan – Terunobu Fujimori Photography: Edmund Sumner Teahouses are an essential component of Japanese culture. They are very quiet. restful places typically designed and built by the owners to increase intimacy with the space. Takasugi was designed and constructed by architect Terunobu Fujimori on a family plot in Chino, Nagano Prefecture. The tree-bound tea house sits atop […]
Green Oak Writer’s Studio
Los Angeles, USA – Bertram Architects Built Area: 18.5m2 (200 sq ft) Designed as a quiet space with minimum distraction for a writer. Furniture is plain and built in to both maximise the available space and avoid distraction. Here are the architect’s notes: “Inspiration for the home office came from the “Russian word пустынь or poustinia (which literally means […]
Black Tea House
Česká Lípa, Czech Republic – Lenka Křemenová, David Maštálka / A1Architects Built: 2011 Area: Veranda – 10m2 (108 sq. ft.) Interior – 3.5m2 (38 sq. ft.) Traditional Japanese teahouses are as much a refuge from the chaos of life as they are a ceremonial focal point. But the concept and meaning has spread to […]