If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): concrete architecture

Showing posts with label concrete architecture. Show all posts

The Eco-Friendly Cresta Residence by Architect Jonathan Segal

The 5,300 square foot Cresta Residence by architect Jonathan Segal FAIA was built entirely out of cast-in-place concrete with an open floor plan, lots of glass, fabulous mid-century modern style furnishings, a reflecting pool, a swimming pool and a roof covered with photovoltaic panels to provide almost all of the power.

The following text has been provided by the architect:
The Cresta is a 5,300 sq foot single-family residence designed and constructed entirely out of cast in place concrete on a 5,000 sq ft lot in the Lower Hermosa region of La Jolla, CA . The house’s three stories, one below and two above grade, are accented by floor to ceiling glass and large open expanses to the outdoors.

Beginning as solid form the final product still maintains that form instead through roof planes and vertical walls that create both interior and exterior volumes. Due to the unordinary (sic) small property in an area with typical properties three to four times the size every square foot was important. The exterior room was a key element in creating a home that otherwise would have felt small feel larger and more private that it is. While this space creates a void the buildings overall form is kept intact. All four corners remain with walls and roof planes to define the original box of the residence.

Adjacent to the front of the structure a reflecting and swimming pool has been integrated into the overall design of the project for thermal cooling and create the perception of floating.

Due to the large expanses of operable glass, the thermal mass of the concrete, sun shading and the insulating effect of the pool the 6.5kw solar array on the roof accomplishes supplying nearly 100% of the homes required power.

some details:

images are courtesy of Jonathan Segal and Matthew Segal

30 Photos of The Spectacular Solis Home on Hamilton Island by Renato D'Ettorre Architects

This Hamilton Island house, known as Solis, was designed by Renato D’Ettorre Architects. Solis was created from concrete imprinted with a timber grain and the floors are a cool limestone to suit tropical living. The pool stretches almost to the living area for a relaxed holiday feel.

The Lavaflow 7 - Mayer/Penland House on the Big Island of Hawaii by San Francisco- based architect Craig Steely.

The Tepoztlan Lounge designed by Barcelona-based Cadaval & Solà-Morales is a new communal residential development which will consist of 15 bungalows in total when the project is complete. This is the first to be finished and has already won the 2012 BIAU (Ibero-American Architecture Bienal) Prize.

The concrete lounge is sculpted into the landscape - housing an open bar and kitchenette, living areas and dressing rooms - with its layout even incorporating two trees. Each of the bungalows will be different. 'We will work almost as artisans, finding the spots for every bungalow and doing a unique design for each of them,' says Eduardo Solà-Morales.

Tepoztlan, is a small town nestled between rocky cliffs located to the south of Mexico City, 50 kilometers away from the vibrant metropolis. With its well preserved historic center and wild countryside, Tepoztlan is a town of legends and deep cultural roots that has been appreciated by writers, poets, artists and musicians over many decades, turning it into their hometown or weekend retreat. Located in this incredible context and surrounded by an astonishing landscape, the Tepoztlan Lounge is the first building completed of a larger project that also includes a series of bungalows of different sizes and designs, which can be rented by years, months or days. The lounge is set to be a central communal space for leisure in nature, and is located in the perimeter of an incredible lawn; the idiosyncrasy of the project relies on enabling the experience of the carefully manicured lawn while promoting the experience of the wild nature existing in the boundaries of this central space. The project is a negotiation between interior and exterior, a construction of an in between condition, an inhabitable threshold, which becomes the main space of the project; the limits between the open and the content space merge to produce a single architectural entity.

The design establishes three separate living quarters designed in accordance to the 3 activities planned; each of them is a set space defined by its use, but also by a very clear and simple architectural container: the first holds an open bar with a kitchenette, together with a couple of restrooms and dressing rooms; the second is a play area for children that can also be used as a reading room when temperatures drop at night; and finally the largest container is the living area, an enclosed, tempered and comfortable space for conversation, TV, etcetera. But it is the desire to give continuity between these three separate areas where the project is empowered and becomes meaningful; a continuous space, in full contact with the nature but protected from its inclemency is set up not only to expand the enclosed uses, but also to allow new activities to arise.

And it is through the definition of this central space, through the definition of its shape, that the contiguous courtyards are defined; those are as essential to the project as it is the built architecture, and allows constructing as a whole, single spatial experience. At the same time that the three built containers give continuity to the central space by mans of their use and space, the adjacent patios qualify it, while providing diversity and idiosyncrasy to open space. The design of the swimming pool is part of this same intervention, and responds to the desire to characterize the spaces; its formalization necessarily resonates the layout of the lounge, while incorporating to its nature the possibility of a multiplicity of ways of using water, and plunging on it.

The building is located as a plinth valuing the views of the mountains. The building wants to be respectful to the existing context, and understands that the vegetation and life at open air are the real protagonist. Two impressive trees that are in place are incorporated within the layout of the lounge, as if they were part of the program itself. The Tepoztlan Lounge is constructed in concrete not just for being a inexpensive and labor intensive material in Mexico and to minimize its maintenance, but also to expose its structural simplicity and neutrality towards the astonishing nature.

Project Data:
Name of the project: Tepoztlán Lounge.
Name of the Office: Cadaval & Solà-Morales.
Project: Eduardo Cadaval & Clara Solà-Morales.
Collaborators: Eugenio Eraña Lagos, Tomas Clara, Manuel Tojal.
Structural Engineering: Ricardo Camacho de la fuente.
Location: Tepoztlán, Morelos, México.
Área: 250sqm.
Photos: © Diego Berruecos, © Sandra Pereznieto, © Cadaval & Solà-Morales

From The Garage To The Wine Cellar, 35 Photos Of A New Gorgeous Modern Concrete & Glass Home In Italy.

House M is a residential home designed by Bolzano-based Architects monovolume architecture + design that is located in the center of Merano, in the quiet area of Obermais near the Northernmost part of Italy. Construction on the private concrete home began in 2011 and was completed in 2012.

With a design seemingly inspired by MC Escher's drawing above, this cubistic freestanding home in Frohnleiten, Austria is literally covered in Astroturf.

With concrete staircases that seemingly go nowhere, but actually serve as supports, the home is embellished with right angles and large framed windows.