Comfortable, Relaxing And Visually Impressive: The Albizia House By Metropole Architects

The Albizia House by Metropole Architects is a family home in the providence of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, entwining simplicity and sophistication in a harmoniously way. All the rooms of the house face a beautiful and relaxing panoramic vista, including a dense forest. The natural materials such as the off-shutter concrete, decking, timber screens and stone blend with the bold architecture shape, creating an intimate and comfortable atmosphere.

Nonetheless, there are also other elements that make this house a nice and welcoming place to live. Its large and reflective pond mirrors the entire building and the “Googie” architectural style influenced by the American society’s attraction for fascination and futuristic design make the building modern and eye-catching, inviting you to come in and enjoy the peaceful environment. The design of the house is complemented by the large pool featuring a glass panel between the basement cinema room and the water, which definitely makes everything visually impressive.

















By Romi Catauta

Atypical Family Home: Navigable Houseboat in Amsterdam by BBVH Architects

Have a look at this incredible navigable houseboat transformed by BBVH Architects Rotterdam into a contemporary living space! The story of the project goes something like this: Artist Laura and restaurant owner John needed a bigger houseboat because of family expansion. Their eye fell on a 40 meters long Belgian Spitz Barge which had just retired from its long life of hauling freight over the European rivers. They wanted the ship to remain navigable so no alternation could be made to the engine, steering installation and all other aspects concerning the safety and certification of the ship.

“When we took on the assignment our primary aim was to make a light and airy houseboat. Most houseboats made in the cargo hold of a ship tend to be dark and sometimes gloomy. To avoid this gloominess we introduced a large patio and 18 over-sized bronze portholes. Although a substantial investment we had to use these watertight Pakistan cast portholes in order to keep the vessel navigable. The entrance to the house is via a smaller patio just in front of the steering hut. Besides the certified portholes we made no incisions in the hull of the ship”, explained the architects at BBVH.
















By Lavinia

Zen-Inspired Residence in Singapore Encompassed by Luxuriant Vegetation

Located in the exotic country of Singapore, the 21 Jervois Hill residence, a project completed by AR43 Architects, was designed as a retreat for the body, mind and soul. The luxuriant vegetation encompassing the house had a strong influence in its current architectural structure. The client asked for a relaxing living space, a haven that embraces nature and makes it part of it. What the architects had in mind was to to establish a strong connection with the surrounding site, therefore using natural materials to built the house seemed the most matter-of-course thing to do.
As any other zen-inspired place, the house feels breezy and it inspires peacefulness. Its structure integrates on one side a water cascade fountain  which plunges down to become one with the swimming pool. This particular scene creates a relaxing atmosphere, allowing you to enjoy the nature in all its ravishing beauty. The house consists of a main volume, a large pavilion and a supporting wing. The living room opens up to the garden terrace while the bedroom is oriented towards the tropical forest, framing it and allowing you to wake up every morning in such an inspiring and heaven-like environment.







By Raphaelle

Perfectly Balancing Modern Living Needs: Empire Display Home

The Empire display home was especially envisioned by the team at Residential Attitudes to reach a good balance of light, volume and  indoor-outdoor space optimization. Located near Perth in Western Australia, the modern villa was built on a narrow site, lifting the upper level as high as possible, in order to elevate it above the street noise and bathe it in sunlight throughout the year. Raw natural materials were employed for the construction, such as pacific teak cladding, concrete breeze blocks, timber parquetry floors and internal face brickwork.
The brief of the project requested a residence that would embrace the aesthetics and intent of mid-century design. The layout was imagined to cater for multi-generational families: “A separate living and alfresco area were situated on the ground floor to relate to the lap pool and two storey light well. Two minor bedrooms share a central bathroom with an additional powder room and separate laundry with chute. The reading room and entry hall with floating stone stairs gaze out to the lap pool and courtyard beyond”. Do your own design tastes relate to the clean simplicity of this Australian crib ?














By Lavinia