Containers of Hope, a $40,000 Home by Benjamin Garcia Saxe By Eric • Jun 16, 2011 • Selected Work Benjamin Garcia Saxe has recently completed the Containers of Hope project with a budget of $40,000. Located in San Jose, Costa Rica this container house is the result of a close collaboration between the architect and his clients, who went on to construct the building themselves. The 1,000 square foot home is composed of two 40-foot used shipping containers set together with a raised mid section and clerestory windows. More shipping container houses here Containers of Hope by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture: “Gabriela Calvo and Marco Peralta dreamed of living in their fantastic property 20 minutes outside of the city of San Jose, Costa Rica; where they could be with their horses and enjoy the natural landscape. It was important for me to provide them with the sunrise, the sunset, the spectacular views, and overall try and create a feeling of comfort and home. Photos by: Andres Garcia Lachner
The Armada House The Armada House was designed by Canadian studio KB Design and built in 2007 by Abstract Developments. This 5,299 square foot modern post and beam home is located in the Ten Mile Point/Wedgewood Estates neighborhood of Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. View the website pezo von ellrichshausen architects: solo houses jun 23, 2013 pezo von ellrichshausen architects for solo houses ‘solo pezo’ by pezo von ellrichshausen architects for SOLO HOUSES in catalonia, spainimage © cristobal palma, courtesy of solo houses a horizontal structure echoes the natural context‘solo pezo’ by pezo von ellrichshausen architects for SOLO HOUSESimage © cristobal palma, courtesy of solo houses the symmetrical entrance introduces the monolithic concrete structure, emphasising strong verticals and horizontals‘solo pezo’ by pezo von ellrichshausen architects for SOLO HOUSESimage © cristobal palma, courtesy of solo houses tiled walls surrounding the pool provide important shade for cooling in the mediterranean heat ‘solo pezo’ by pezo von ellrichshausen architects for SOLO HOUSESimage © cristobal palma, courtesy of solo houses the simplicity of relaxation is expressed with minimal furniture designed by the architects ‘solo pezo’ by pezo von ellrichshausen architects for SOLO HOUSESimage © cristobal palma, courtesy of solo houses
UP-Themed Birthday Party Wendy from Wendy Updegraff Photography created the SWEETEST UP-themed birthday party for her daughter’s birthday! The party was an “outdoor movie night” and she created a backyard movie theater from a sheet and some velvet fabric – how fun is that?! In addition to the homemade movie screen, check out all the other amazing stuff she made… which includes a dollhouse painted to look like the house in the movie, a balloon-themed food table with a lollipop display actually that looks like little balloons, the coolest “balloon wreath” for the front door (GENUS!) Read on for lots more inspiring images and all the clever & creative party details, as told by Wendy… (And as I side note, I can’t help but mention that the fondant work on the cake is beyond amazing, and also how fun it is that Wendy & birthday girl Bella’s last name is “UPdegraff” – perfect!” “I threw my daughter an UP-inspired outdoor movie night party for her 7th b-day.
Tangga House by Guz Architects By Eric • Mar 23, 2011 • Selected Work The Tangga House is another Singapore’s dream home designed by Guz Architects. Completed in 2009, the 7,663 square foot residence is located in Holland Village, an elite district of Singapore that is famous amongst the expatriate community. The luxury single-family home gives the owners the opportunity to live in harmony and comfort with nature, in Singapore’s hot tropical climate. Tangga House by Guz Architects: “The house is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional courtyard house, laid out around a central green courtyard with a double height stair and entry area forming the focal point of the project. The L-shaped plan creates open spaces which encourage natural ventilation and offer resident’s views over the courtyard to the veranda, roof gardens and beyond. The large roof above the courtyard creates an indoor and outdoor space leading to the gardens and swimming pool which wraps around two sides of the house. Photos by: Patrick Bingham-Hall
Earthscrapers: Is Going Down Instead Of Up A Greener Way To Build? Evolo/via Every year, TreeHugger and all the architectural websites troll through the Evolo competition entries, looking for the most imaginative work from young architects with time on their hands. Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder at the creativity and drawing skills. In 2010, I did not pay a lot of attention to Bunker Arquitectura's proposal for Earthscraper, an upside down pyramid in downtown Mexico City. Bunker Arquitectura/via It was not a new idea, and it was not the best iteration of it that I had seen. Earthscraper has become the architectural equivalent of a shot heard ’round the world. She spoke with Jeremy Faludi, who had some issues with the concept: I think it would work much better in a dry area in a northern, colder climate, where solid ground keeps you warm, and the glass top acts as a greenhouse. Evolo/via I discounted it at the time for some of the same reasons; while I admired the density, I didn't think it resolved the environmental issues. evolo/via
Less is the New More: Making the Most of Small Spaces Good Design For Living in Small ApartmentsAs people migrate to smaller spaces, good design helps a lot. This is something they figured out in Europe long ago, that if you don't have a lot of horizontal room you can go vertical. Tumidei in Italy makes some of the nicest stuff, like this unit with lots of storage under the bed. This unit just raises the floor high enough for beds to slide under. This one looks a bit clinical, but has two single beds plus a pull-out double bed in between. None of this stuff is cheap, nor, as far as I can tell is it available in North America, but there are ideas here that demonstrate how people can share a space and still get a little privacy, a good place to work and a lot of storage in a very small envelope. Like this?
franklin azzi architecture: passive house, normandy france may 25, 2009 franklin azzi architecture: passive house, normandy france ‘passive house’ image courtesy franklin azzi architecture franklin azzi architecture designed ‘passive house’, through renovating a former hunting house in normandy, france. the extension consists of wood, canvas covers a camouflage of the cuban army. above is a wooden terrace overlooking the valley. the project meets the requirements of high environmental quality as it includes rainwater collection, the use of solar energy (hybrid) and geothermal energy, and reduction of raw material by optimizing the efforts to structure. the assembly of the structure was done on site with all recyclable materials from a distance of 100km. wood and vegetable fibers are used for the walls providing insulation and windows provide natural ventilation, etc. ‘passive house’ image courtesy franklin azzi architecture the former hunting house image courtesy franklin azzi architecture ridhika naidoo I designboom