Water-Cooled House in Singapore by Wallflower Architects

Located in Bukit Timah, Singapore amongst the verdant landscape lies a two-story modern home of wood, concrete stucco, flagstone, limestone, granite, marble and lots of shallow ponds.

Modern Luxury Living - The Architecture & Interior Design of the Balance Hill House.

The Balance Hill home by Kirkpatrick Architects, with interior design by Antonia Hutt & Associates, is situated on a dramatic hillside terrace, high above the LA basin. In addition to the home's dramatic exterior design, inside it has regulation size bowling lanes, a glassed in wall wine storage, and a home gym in addition to the bedrooms, bathrooms, a formal dining room, kitchen, casual dining area and bar.

Whimsical Entrance Gates Designed For An Amsterdam School Garden by Tjep.

Two stunning entrance gates serve as portals to nature in the historical Amstel Area. Frank Tjepkema (aka Tjep), along with Leonie Janssen, crafted two colored galvanized steel gates coated with epoxy and on a concrete foundation for the Aemstel Schooltuin (school garden).






The new working-garden, where over 500 school children aged 9 to 11 will learn about nature and grow their own plants, is situated on Kalfjeslaan, Amstel – a picturesque place steeped in rich cultural history.




Tjep. had the honour of being asked to create two new sets of entrance gates to the garden, a project commissioned by Stadsdeel Zuid, the Amsterdam South City Council.



Two sets of monumental gates will guard both approaches to Aemstel Schooltuin and add a contemporary element to this historic area. Settled next to the Riekermolen, built in 1636, the area has a long history of natural beauty appreciated by none other than Rembrandt himself. His statue sits next to the new school garden, frozen in the act of painting the famous windmill. One set of gates will mark the entrance from Kalfjeslaan, and the other will sit on the route from Amsteldijk.




“This amazing area deserved a design that paid homage to the unique context, but also brought a new influence to the place.” Says Tjep. founder and lead designer, Frank Tjepkema. The design integrates references to the lush flora and fauna of the surrounding environment, classical era elements with a contemporary urban graffiti construction.

Frank Tjepkema states that “a strict functional requirement was that the gates would stop those notorious plant criminals, rabbits – which we do through tightly woven patterns at the bottom. When constructed, these gates will stand at eight meters wide and four meters tall and become a portal, ushering people from the urban Amstel to the historic landscape beyond. I hope children and others will feel some anticipation, some excitement, as they pass through the gates to discover the verdant wonders of nature.”



Tjep
Production of the gates by Smederij van Rijn 

all photos and information courtesy of Frank Tjepkema

A Tiny But Terrific Prefab Home In Brazil by Architect Alex Nogueira

House 12.20 in Campo Grande, Brazil by Alex Nogueira







Copy is courtesy of the architect:
In a 9-meter-long (29.5') and 5-meter-wide (16.4') rectangular space, totaling 45 square meters (about 148 square feet), the orthogonality and the rigidity of the architectural environment create a contrast with the light and stripped atmosphere brought by the colors, by the furniture, by some of the finishes, and by the generous opening which faces the garden.



In this space there are, almost in a symbiotic way, the room, the office, the kitchen, the bedroom, and the hall, where the furniture is the keystone in both aesthetic and functional harmony of this multiple environment. The bathroom is the most conventional setting and it divides the hydraulic wall with the kitchen, but it is turned to the room, privileging this more intimate access.



Generally speaking, the homogeneity of the internal space is an attempt of dialogue with the homogeneity of the external space, the green plane composed by the hearty garden. In this search, both the large sliding glass door and outside deck are responsible for integrating and transporting the external space to the internal one, and vice versa.



The structural system favors the natural look of its different elements. So, there are together, in a mixed system, reinforced concrete with metal profiles. In other words, a metal frame supported by concrete bases, which maintains the construction away from the ground, gives it a certain lightness and a better relationship with the hot weather of the region.



On the front facade, a large layout of horizontal metal louvers not only provides the necessary sun protection but also a uniform, closed, and hermetic aesthetic, in full contrast to the back facade, fully transparent and open. This duality can be understood as a reflection a personality: serious at first, and more open in intimacy.






Exploring a predictable, rigid, and formal geometric body, there was a search for lightness, surprise, and certain enchantment, whether with the yellow sculpture that rests in the garden (made with leftovers of the type "I" metal profiles), whether with the contrasts between the solid wall of exposed concrete and the floating metal wall, whether in the mixture of very different materials such as the simple apparent clay brick (external floors), the transparent glass, corrugated metal closure, unpolished marble, yellow wall, or even crude and poorly finished concrete... Even though it is a small construction, the search was for an architectural experience capable of harboring the infinity of feelings.

Principal Architect: Alex Nogueira
Project Details:
• Year 2009
• Work started in 2010
• Work finished in 2013
• Plot (m²) 720
• Total area (m²) 45
• Status Completed works
• Type: Modular/Prefabricated housing /

Photos © André Barbosa

A Modern Oasis In the Middle Of Yucca Valley: The Black Desert House Is Stylish Inside and Out.

The “Black Desert House” is a modern architectural home available to rent for professional Fashion, Editorial, Film and Advertising photo shoots, movies and commercials. Sadly, it cannot be rented as a vacation home. The 1,570 square foot home is fully furnished with designer decor and lighting and located about 2 hours outside of Los Angeles in Yucca Valley.







The secluded site offers ample parking with nearby lodging for staff and crew. Nestled in spectacular surroundings the Black Desert Home has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a laundry room, carport, kitchen, living and dining rooms, and is fully air conditioned. The home also has a 30-ft long, 8-ft deep black bottom swimming pool with an outdoor hot and cold shower.






Conceived by Creative Director Marc Atlan — in collaboration with Oller & Pejic and Moderne Builders — the “Black Desert House” was spatially designed to capture every facet of the surrounding beauty, at all moments of the day. Majestic yet minimal, sophisticated yet primally simple, the “Black Desert House” offers an unforgettable and timeless experience of sensory inspiration.




Soaring panes of glass frame 70 miles of unspoiled Mojave Desert landscape; an ever-changing panorama of shade, color and light as the sun shifts westward. Articulated around a central courtyard, the 3-bedroom sleeping area opens onto the skewed rectangle of the deep, black-tiled pool.






The surrounding terraced patio is sheltered between the house and the towering boulder formation which, after dark, is strikingly illuminated from below.









The architecture spirals down to the level of the kitchen and dining room, for all intents and purposes the central cockpit of the house, and then descends via deeply tiered steps into the vast sunken living room. Black walls, midnight quartz, high-gloss anthracite and darkened steel form the backdrop for sporadic bursts of color.












Site Plan:


Floor Plan:


East and West elevations:


Specifications:

ROOMS:
Living Room
Dining Room
Kitchen
1 Master Bedroom with en-suite Bathroom
2 Guest Bedrooms
1 Guest Bathroom
Laundry Room
Carport

SQUARE FOOTAGE:
2.5 Acre Lot
1,570 Sq. ft. Residence
4,850 Sq. ft. Total Usable Space including:
- 1,380 Sq. ft. Pool & Lounging Area
- 740 Sq. ft. Dining Patio
- 630 Sq. ft. Inner Patio
- 530 Sq. ft. Carport

FURNISHINGS:
Ingo Maurer “Zettel’z 5” chandelier.
Andrée Putman “Morgans” polished aluminum chair.
Philippe Starck “Miss Sissi” white table lamps.
Marc Sadler “Giunco” white floor lamp.
Warren Platner “Knoll” dining table.
Konstantin Grcic "Stool One” red bar stools.
Philippe Starck “Masters” black dining chairs.
Elizabeth Paige-Smith “Blow” orange side table.
Antique Louis XV silk & gilt armchairs.

POOL & OTHER:
30-ft long & 8-ft deep pool w. outdoor H/C shower.
Terraced patio with multiple sunning platforms.
Air Conditioning throughout the entire house.

LANDSCAPING & OUTDOOR LIGHTING:
Spectacular landscape lighting & architectural hardscaping.
Plants are primarily High Desert native species i.e.: Joshua tree, juniper, pinyon pine, incense cedar, desert willow, etc.
Sculptural olive trees in entrance patio.

LOCATION:
2-hr. drive from Los Angeles.
30-min. drive from Palm Springs Intl. Airport.
20-min. drive from Desert Hot Springs.
10-min drive to Joshua Tree National Park.

More information about Marc Atlan Design, Inc. here
structural engineering: castillo engineering
energy analysis: alternative energy systems
general contractor: moderne builder

All information and images courtesy of The Black Desert House website. Photos © Marc Angeles and Nikolas Keonig, 2013