The Best of Architecture: 10 Stunning Homes
A quick look at ten of my favourite architecural works that double as magnificent residencies
January 18th 2010
Inspiration
A house generally has four walls and a roof. However, architects are now designing homes with unconstrained visions and producing the following beautiful works
TheCoolHunter is one of the most inspiring websites I know. Their selection of design, architecture and technology articles never cease to amaze me.
Archinect also provided a main inspiration for this post, with so many articles about perfectly formed structures like the ones you will see below.
Paraty, Brazil
Paraty house sites embedded in a hilltop near Rio de Janeiro. The 57-year-old Brazilian-born and educated Marcio Kogan designed this magnificent residence. At night, the home is spectacularly lit and looks like an elegant spacecraft / Paraty House on TheCoolHunter
Noyack Creek, US
The house is described as “A study in an architectural theatre”. The design is wonderfully modern, clean cut and simplistic. The same can be said for the interior, incorperating gorgeous wood panelling and dark slatted floorboards / Noyack Creek House on archinect
Melbourne, Australia
The Trojan House is goliath wooden structure that is yet pleasing to the eye. The exterior design is fascinating as the windows seamlessly bleed into the wooden slats with the addition of shutters that match the ventilation intake. Ventiliation intake? Yes, the house has a thermal chimney and a breezeway corridor for cooling. Remarkable / Trojan House on TheCoolHunter
Adelaide, Australia
It’s not surprising that this project is called the Bridge House. What’s fascinating is not just the fact that the home spans a 25 metre gap, but that it blends into the environment around it and incorperates simple, environmentally friendly heating and cooling technologies. In Winter, the low winter sun heats the black concrete floor on the north side of the house. They also have a sustainable fuel source on site, trees, which are continually replanted / The Bridge House on archinect
Heilbronn, Germany
Treehouses aren’t just for kids, Baumraum craft these fantastic wooden homes that sit high in the treetops of a pear tree. The interior is spacious and bright with windows looking into the leafy branches above and out over magnificent forest views / Baumraum on Inhabitat
Santiago, Chile
The clean cut, dark peaks of Casadetodos are unconventional, yet distinguished and wonderful at the same time. The complex, angular structure hides rooms exposed to mountain views and there are sunbeds on the second level, which are bathed in sun from the north / Casadetodos on archiDE
Madrid, Spain
The Hemeroscopium House is a mass of stacked, structural objects resembling steel beams. The spaces that result between the stacks make up the house. In fact, it could be said that the house exists between the structure where usually a house is the structure. The interior is airy and flowing, with a “floating pool” that extends from the second floor / Hemeroscopium House on archinect
Marbach, Germany
Dupli Casa reminds me very much of Gaudi and his works in Barcelona. The fluid shape of the building looks like it is in the process of melting and the ice-white colour contrasts perfectly with the jet black window frames. The bedroom balconies look like caverns in a glacier and the inside flows as beautifully as the exterior, with curved ceilings and staircases / Dupli Casa on TheCoolHunter
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This gigantic 3000sqm residence is home to the YTL power-family. The house is wonderful in every detail, of which there is not enough time to describe them all. The exterior slats look stunning from outside and allow light to spread into the lofty interior rooms. The elegant cream-coloured spiral staircases resemble a shell when viewed from above and the dark, curved wood panelling is fantasically finished. Not to mention, the ballroom chandelier which is crafted from 13,000 thin petals of porcelain / YTL Residence on TheCoolHunter
Stockholm, Sweden
Sommarnöjen in Sweden have designed these Summer Cabins as second-homes, although some are suitable for all year use. The designs of the 5 homes are simple, yet elegantly executed. Not only is the design fantastic, but you can purchase one ready-built on site in Stockholm. The cabins could be used as workshops or offices at an existing dwelling, but the minimalist cabins would be most suited overlooking the glistening waters of a Scandinavian Fjord / Summer Cabins on TheCoolHunter
There you are, my top 10 architectural wonders. What are yours? Please leave a comment or share if you liked it. Permalink