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
Sky Garden House I think one of the reasons that many are skeptical about environmental design is because they think its terribly complex and costly. It does take a bit more effort on the front end, but it's definitely not rocket science. This architecture by Guz Architects is a wonderfully developed minimalistic design with a curvilinear flare that really brings out the organic coverings. I'm most impressed with how design facilitates the needs of the plants and shrubs located throughout the house. See more at Guz Architects The Coolest Elevator in New York Last week, I was scouting office space in a building in Queens. My guide brought me to this totally unassuming elevator: Really, I have to show you this as I encountered it: WOW. It’s like Willy Wonka built an elevator to the land of Oz! Here’s a full panorama looking toward the rear of the elevator (that’s a railing beneath the mirror)… …and a reverse pan showing the front: Lining the ceiling are these great monster heads made out of mechanical bits… Each is poking through its own hole: More characters, including a king: Another character: The elevator is a last remnant from when the former Macy’s warehouse building catered to a more artsy clientele. Best of all, there’s a cool fish-eye mirror at one end, which makes it look like you’re leaning out of some parallel dimension: I’m a big fan of anything that makes my day a little more surreal, and this is the last thing I was expecting on the other side of those bland white elevator doors.
Kona Residence I can't speak for all architects, but I find myself drawn to the more impractical architecture in the world. Buildings designed less to fill a utilitarian need and more for the sake of self-actualization. I would almost say that this project by Belzberg Architects is more of a resort than a residence, yet the design elements and spatial order of the project are quite compelling. Despite its extravagance it remains elegant and inviting. See more at Belzberg Architects
$7 Million Residence in San Francisco by John Maniscalco Architecture By Eric • Apr 9, 2011 • Selected Work The Russian Hill Residence was designed by John Maniscalco Architecture and is located in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. This 5,800 square foot LEED Platinum home features three bedrooms, 5 full baths, three gas fireplace, two gas fire pits, one on the roof deck and one in the garden and an elevator to all floors. According to Sotheby’s, it’s “central, open-plan living area adapts easily to casual evenings or formal entertaining. Downstairs, an entertainment room opens onto a secluded garden with fountain and fire pit. On the roof, a deck with panoramic bay views adjoins a room with full bath that might welcome guests, house an au pair or serve as an in-home office.” Russian Hill Residence by John Maniscalco Architecture: “This new four-story home establishes an understated but dignified urban presence on an atypically wide San Francisco site. A transitional two-story glass-walled entry hall draws users to an airy and open living level.
13 Repurposed Dwellings | Herald Daily Nov 11, 2009 Posted on Nov 11, 2009 | 11 comments 13 Repurposed Dwellings This article is courtesy of Castelblanco.com, Los Angeles Housing Attorneys . There is no denying the movement toward living green and the increased popularity of re-purposed goods. Shipping Containers ( source ) One well-known, largest wastes of space are massive shipping containers. Train Cars ( source ) One of the most widely-adopted practices in re-purposed housing is the transformation of old rail cars into modern living spaces. Abandoned Warehouses If you’ve ever taken a walk through a major city’s industrial area, you’re sure to have found an abandoned warehouse – a lot of open space gone to waste. Fire Towers Part of a dying breed, fire towers are slowly being replaced by modern technologies and satellite monitoring. Water Towers Several designers across the world have managed to turn the shells of a water tower into the walls of modern homes. Yachts on Land The Barn Grain Silos Airplanes Cave Dwelling Bomb Shelters
Top 5 Friday: Upcycling Ideas (Start As One Thing, End As Another!) - Style Sheet Whether you call it upcycling, reusing, refurbishing or reimagining, today's Top 5 Friday is all about finding decor inspiration and doing it yourself. Headboard From Wooden Skids (aka Pallets) This idea came courtesy of Julia Black from Pure Design, who hosted a video series for us called The Green Geek. Chair Turned Bathroom Caddy Image: Pink to Green blog (via French Charming, originally from Country Living) This is one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" Large Wooden Spool Turned Art Table/Coffee Table Image: Design*Sponge I was actually inspired last night at the bus stop (in front of a condo construction project) by four large wooden spools just sitting around, just the perfect size and shape for my current coffee table conundrum. Vintage Crates Turned Storage Images: Apartment Therapy This isn't a new idea, but it's a good one! Suitcase Turned Chair (Love!) Image: Sutkutusu.com Seriously, isn't this amazing?
Moshe Safdie: Singapore The Lover's Chair (by @baekdal) #design Design Art Cartoons Cars About Follow RSS Advertise Search The Lover's Chair - /by @42concepts . Written by Thomas Baekdal | Tuesday, December 16, 2008 The talented Victor M. He is previously known for making the Loopita, which is a striking piece of furniture all but itself. (via Victor's portfolie) Follow: 42Concepts Brilliant Censorship Towel » The Eatable Cookbook » The Secret Forest Cabin, HemLoft » Indy Bag for iPad » A Heffalump Ate My Laundry » Roaarrrr!! The Real Power Nap » Iron, White panelling, Bookcase Wallpaper? Victorian Steampunk Wedding » Your Morning Mug of Coffee » WWII Navy Mines Furniture » A Cradle For Relaxation » Fioriness, Lamps in a Bottle » Bonjour Poupette » Turn Your Drawings into Stuffed Animals » Beautiful Richards' Trunks » MegaPhone for the iPhone » The Breakfast Express » Apple Campus 2 High-res Renderings » Paradise and The Floating Island » BookBook for iPhone - Wallet and iPhone in one » Android Heroes and Villains » Tribeca 1930s Styled Lamps »
That's one boy who will never be short of first mates: Designer creates ultimate pirate bedroom for lucky six-year-old By Daily Mail Reporter Created: 15:29 GMT, 4 March 2011 Boy's bedroom features rope ladder to timber pirate shipBadly behaved shipmates can be locked away in wrought-iron jailCrew can escape through two-storey spiral slide, or down rope ladder into closet It looks like every little boy's dream idea of their perfect bedroom. But this is in fact one extremely lucky six-year-old's very own pirate ship room, complete with rope bridge, crow's nest and a two-storey hidden slide. This ultimate in cool sleeping quarters was created by designer Steve Kuhl, and also features a wrought-iron jail cell and hidden rope ladder access to the closet. Ship-shape: The ultimate pirate bedroom was created by Steve Kuhl for a lucky six-year-old in Minnesota On the lookout: The amazing creation also features a crow's nest, rope bridge and two-storey slide Dream bedroom: Intrepid explorers, or even little sisters, have to enter the ship over a wooden rope ladder after climbing on top of a wrought-iron jail cell
X-Ray Kitchen: Custom Cabinets with Built-In Back-Lighting New to a kitchen and not sure where to locate which dishes? No worries: this clever custom kitchen cabinet system will light your way to the right serving bowls, plates, utensils and gadgets, showing their forms as shadows directly on the doors of these cabinets. Ever the hybrid architect, artist and minimalist designer, Jean Nouvel has accomplished a great deal with this design idea – the find-anything functionality of see-through cabinetry, the animated and ever-changing artistry of light and dark shapes and the naturally and of course the built-in lighting itself that can illuminate the kitchen background while you cook. The components are surprisingly simple, cheap and low-tech considering the complex effects: standard translucent white panels and aluminum hinges on the cabinets combined with conventional lamps along the back wall behind the objects they store.
Tutorial: How to make a Fabric Headboard In my master bedroom, I wanted an extra large headboard that would make a statement.Here are my instructions on how to make a fabric headboard…not just any fabric headboard...you’ll see. Step 1: Find fabric that you love! I found this fabric at my favorite fabric store called Home Fabrics and Rugs. Step 2: Measure your space. Go big or go home right!?!? Step 3: Divide your space into squares. Step 4: Buy 2 sheets of thin backer board and cut them PRECISELY the right size. Step 5: Buy some foam and cut it into precisely the right size. Step 6: Cut the fabric. Step 7: Upholster every square. I’m not going to lie, this part was very frustrating. We had to HOT GLUE to fabric onto the boards and then the staples would go through. We also made pencil marks on the back sides of the boards to use as guides of how far to pull the fabric. Step 8. Step 9: Lay out your squares and decide on their position. Step 10. UPDATE (May 19) I wanted to answer some of your questions about the mounting process.
TetraBox Light by Ed Chew Liquid to Light Designer Ed Chew takes a green step in the right direction with the TetraBox lamp, a light object made from discarded drink packets that would have otherwise ended up in landfills already packed to the brim. The design is achieved by unfolding the packets and refolding them into hexagonal and pentagonal sections that are then pieced together to form a geodesic sphere or any other desired shape. Here, the Epcot-like ball makes an attractive overhead light and casts an impressive web of shadows and shapes on the surrounding space. Designer: Ed Chew Lofted Space-Saving Furniture for Bedroom Interiors Tumidei is more than just a furniture company – they construct modern and relatively inexpensive (no, not cheap) pieces of furniture that they also create compositions from – interior design photos that you can use to shape your own space. These lofted bedroom interiors are brilliantly varied and are great space-saving solutions for cramped bedrooms. A lot of these lofted interiors are clearly designed for children and teens in terms of sizes, colors and material quality. There is nothing to say that adults could not use this furniture as well and there are certainly more ways to put these sets together than are suggested by these photographs, but they do provide some ways in which you could coordinate colors, materials and forms to create a composite design that looks planned and organized ahead of time.