The Self-Sufficient Energy Neutral Villa Kogelhof by Paul de Ruiter

Taking six years to create and construct, the design of Villa Kogelhof is based on complete autarky: the house is energy neutral. By utilizing several techniques, the villa maintains a comfortable climate all year long, while being extremely energy efficient. The goal for the villa was to be self-sufficient; to generate its own energy, to heat its own water and to recycle its own garbage.

Louis Vuitton Brings Charlotte Perriand's 1934 Modern Beachside Home To Reality.

This is not the first time an old design concept of pioneer Charlotte Perriand's has been realized.  I have already shared with you her 1938 Mountain Refuge concept which was constructed by Cassina in 2012.



Originally conceived in 1934, Charlotte Perriand's chic beach front holiday home was a second prize winning project at a design contest held by “L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui” magazine.


above: Charlotte Perriand in 1934

The concept was meant to encourage affordable holiday homes, made of natural resources, for a wide-range audience. A pioneer in interior architecture, Charlotte Perriand would later rework the idea with several versions for wealthier vacationers but the project would only remain at an early conceptual stage.




Now, 80 years later, Louis Vuitton sponsored a project to build 'La Maison au bord de l'eau' (the original name of the structure) for Design Miami. The team at Louis Vuitton constructed the structure using archival drawings and sketches from the Perriand architectural firm:








Today, although these studies needed an adaptation to translate the original sketches and notes into a tangible structure, the spirit of the visionary woman has been respected to the fullest with the genuine savoir-faire and help of Charlotte Perriand‘s architecture team.










Three vintage Charlotte Perriand tabouret stools, along with three chairs designed by Cassina based on existing models, have also been added to the original furnishings in this model home.














La Maison au bord de l’eau was on view through December 8, 2013 at The Raleigh Hotel. Now the home will presumably be sold to an art collector or architecture enthusiast with an equivalent passion for design.



Cassina and Louis Vuitton have also teamed up to present "Charlotte Perriand une icône de la modernité” in which Cassina showcases a unique and colourful installation at its Paris showroom during Maison & Objet as an homage to the pioneering architect Charlotte Perriand: an encounter which combines furniture re-editions by Cassina and fashion by Louis Vuitton to honour this magnificent contemporary legend.

information courtesy of Louis Vuitton, images courtesy of Design Miami, The Art Daily News, and The Telegraph

Two Unusual Partially Submerged Modern Homes Create A Green Paradise In Paraguay.

Partially underground with arching green roofs, a sharp triangular swimming pool and unusual architecture, these two homes (named Green Haven) are located in Luque and designed by Paraguay-based architects Bauen.






The below article courtesy of Bauen Architects (taken from their own translation so the content and punctuation may seem wonky):
We design in an exposed and desolate plane, no limits shown. For this reason we fold the base plane and we generate the “refuge”. We understand that the main feature of dwellings is care, and the essence of building is letting dwell*. Keeping the space from the popping of any foreign object but for the folding of the base plane, so the dwelling is prepared in is wrinkles, respecting the environment and making that the green constant, allowing the preservation of the inhabitant’s intimacy with its corrugations. Where these folds are broken, openings are generated. And they joined together with bridges wrapped in transparencies at double height, and topped by a fragment of sphere like a roof. Thus, the “Culata Yovai” is ready and disposed in his “tekoha”.








Inside: 








The interesting front door from both the exterior and interior:



In this project the search for a protected human space that suits to the topography, the vegetation, the tropical climate, and where people find comfort in the broadest sense of the word; takes us to propose a vindication of the knowledge contributed, and often forgotten, by our vernacular architecture. The “Culata Jovai” or “House of Confronted Rooms” is a real bioclimatic solution belonging to one of our traditional ways of living in harmony with the environment in Paraguay, and constitutes our base typology for a new reinterpretation according to new functional programs, needs of symbolic representation and new technologies, framed in a sustainable project.




With the inclusion of green roof, we recovers the original space of vegetation displaced by the construction, also reduces the gained heat due to the thermal inertia of the underground spaces, therefore reducing greatly the conventional energy consumption of homes.

Plans and drawings:







Architects: BAUEN Architects
Project: Green Haven – Two houses
Location: Luque, Paraguay
Design: Architect Aldo Cristaldo
Type: Single Family
Year: 2011 (Start) – 2012 (completion)
Size: 660 m2 (together)
Contributors: Jorge Ortiz, Olga Villagra, architect René Sosa, Constance Olmedo, Nathaly Cáceres, Alice Peralta, architect Marcelo Jimenez.
Construction: Mr. Peter Cataldo, architect Beatriz Heyn

all images courtesy of Bauen Architects and AEC Cafe
photos © Mónica Matiauda and © Marcelo Jiménez