Dream Homes
San Francisco-based architecture firm CCS Architecture has completed the Strober Residence in 2008. This gorgeous modern home is located in Los Altos Hills, California.
Projects description by the architects : CCS Architecture designed this modern home for a family of five in Los Altos Hills, California. The clients, both working parents, wanted a warm and casual, family-friendly dwelling with interiors that would merge with the outdoors. The goal of sustainability was met through the home’s building methods, materials, and energy systems.
Carefully positioned on its one-acre site, the 6,000 square foot residence is broken into three parts separated by two breezeways. The result is a contemporary compound with well-defined outdoor spaces that are comfortable during hot summer days. An L-shaped main level plan houses the primary living areas and garage. The second floor bedroom wing, clad in cedar, is a long bar that is rotated in relation to the first floor. It creates sheltered zones below as well as a pair of roof decks for the four bedrooms. The second floor meets the ground at its north end, forming the pool house. Between the pool house and the family room, a breezeway frames a view of the property and Silicon Valley.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 3 February, 2012
Craig Steely Architecture was tasked to complete the Peter’s House – a dream home that is located on a steep site just above the Dolores Park in San Francisco. This modern home utilizes a system of moveable louvers which was created from reclaimed lumber sourced from the San Francisco Presidio. The system utilized in this modern architecture was to accomplish the regulation of openness and privacy throughout the entire home.
The almost impeccable implementation of the house floor plans by the modern architects of Craig Steely Architecture made the house a subject of both praise and constructive analysis not only within the neighborhood but for everyone who has viewed the completed project. Craig Steely Architecture has approached the exterior and interior design with respect to the neighbors’ opinions and views – in this case it is the architectural design that matters.
Posted by JackieAzuela at 3 February, 2012
The new Oz Residence by Swatt Miers Architects is located in Silicon Valley, California. This beautiful modern home captures the essence of casual California living with open planning, rich natural materials, and strong visual connection to beautiful gardens designed by landscape architect Ron Herman.
The owners, a young couple with two young children, wanted their home to have a casual, barefoot feel, like a vacation destination. Their 2.8 acre site, with gentle slopes to the south and mature landscaping on all sides was the perfect setting to create a home that would fully engage the beautiful landscape. The home is organized into a ‘L’ shaped plan with 2 wings joined at a two-story great room. Sheathed in mahogany boards and fully glazed on two sides, this beautiful volume, pierced by a floating glass bridge, both connects and separates the family and sleeping wings on either side.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 1 February, 2012
With 600 square meters, the Dusseldorf Loft in Germany is the physical representation of the owners’ passion for architectural design. Bruno Epricum of AABE Architects was commissioned to design the warehouse conversion. This dream home is finished with “brick” all throughout. It has a large cavernous space that caters the furniture and art owned by the clients. The reconversion of the warehouse was closely based on the heritage of the building. The reconversion has preserved the history of the building as it was one of the few that miraculously avoided damage from the bombings of World War II.
Today, it is a modern home that provides warmth and comfort to the couple who were keen to make the most out of Dusseldorf’s rare ruins. Across from the coachman’s passageway, the garages were firmly built fronting the entrance court. This is part of the exterior living area where the court is dotted with screens flanking the entrance and secluding the day patio. The history of the city as well as that of the building is reflected through the glass panels.
Posted by JackieAzuela at 1 February, 2012
Indian architecture firm Dipen Gada & Associates has completed the contemporary home, Amin’s Residence project in 2011.
Project description from the architects: Mrs. and Mr. Amin approached us with an idea about their land which was to create a three bedroom weekend house for leisure activities. For some reason the work got delayed because of some land clearance issues and when they came forth again they had a different plan about their land. This time they wanted to build a residence for permanent living. Situated at the outskirts, this 65000 sf land is surrounded with a lot of greenery. The brief of Amin’s was to create an open plan which could communicate well with all areas and left the rest on us wherein we had good amount of freedom to design.
We brainstormed on a few ideas for the house and finalized the one in which the plan was most interactive and the formation was skewed. With the result we came up with a structure which consisted of only the ground level. Later on the requirement of the client increased and they wanted to go for a five bedroom place, therefore we added on one room on the first floor.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 31 January, 2012
What makes the Alice in Wonderland Apartment stand out? It is not the striking features of the modern architecture or the sense of a dream home coming true. True, it is captivating but what makes it stand out is the fact that it evokes a sense of going beyond the seams of reality and reliving childhood fantasies that we are all familiar with. Such is the major characteristic of Alice in Wonderland created and designed by UdA or Ufficio di Architettura.
This modern home is located in Turin, Italy which has captivated the child-like hearts of many through its unique interior design. The implementation of the house floor plans was impeccable allowing fantasy-like furnishings to fit right in. The interiors of the apartment imitated what we have watched in movie theatres “Alice in Wonderland.”
Posted by JackieAzuela at 30 January, 2012
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 25 January, 2012
The recently completed Harrison Street multi-unit residence by Dawson + Clinton architecture firm is a the definition of urban family living. The property contains two innovative residences filled with upscale materials and finishes which elevates the space beyond mere function and creates a seamless integration of indoor/outdoor living space.
This is perfect for its newest residents, Paul Dawson and his young growing family. This is Paul and his wife Rebecca’s pet project for their family. Paul is one of the owners of Dawson+Clinton, a boutique design/build firm located in San Francisco. The Harrison Street project has taken them 3 years to complete, with many hurtles including, during the digging for the underground garage they found an underground stream. Through all the struggles they have completed a masterpiece in urban family living. The design of the residences was based off of Paul & Rebecca’s family needs for their two young children (3 years & 5 years) who need exercise, outdoor space and the ability to have fun. Always the active parents, their needs are not unique in this day and age where an urban setting offers different take on child rearing. Urban living with a family doesn’t led itself to bike riding or skateboarding on the street out front, so making sure there was enough outdoor safe space for the kids to grow and play was of the utmost importance. In addition, the roof deck provides an adult area to entertain friends and enjoy the warmer weather in this part of the city. The interior of the space is open, airy and bright showcasing the modern design but not sacrificing function.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 24 January, 2012
Despite being located in an expansive golf community, the Brown residence by Lake | Flato Architects celebrates stunning desert views from almost every space. Its careful design makes this possible as views to neighboring houses are edited out focused instead on distant mountains. While the residence presents an unassuming, modest scale to the street, it steps down with the slope of the site allowing the spaces inside to become quite generous. Oversize pivot doors and large expanses of glass allow abundant light and air into these spaces while broad overhangs and shading devices protect them from the harsh desert sun.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 23 January, 2012
Project description from Macy Architecture : Located on an infill lot in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego, the client desired a home that would make the most of its site, be low-maintenance and incorporate a variety of energy and resource-conserving features.
The house has been conceived according to passive solar and natural ventilation design principles. Horizontal sunshades shield glass from summer heat gain, while the interior is naturally ventilated via the central atrium and clerestory windows. The house’s simple form is compact (48’ L x 40’ W x 23’ H), minimizing the exterior surface area, maximizing thermal performance, and reducing electrical and plumbing runs. The living, dining, kitchen and master bedroom are located on the upper level and oriented to capture views of the Pacific Ocean, Mission Bay and La Jolla.
Due to the client’s concern with durability and maintenance, the house is constructed entirely of steel and integrally colored concrete masonry. The exposed steel seismic-resisting frame is filled in with a super-durable pre-finished panel façade system consisting of real wood veneer over a bakelite core. The walls are entirely non-bearing and are constructed of light-gage steel framing. The roof and floors are framed with light-gage steel, pre-punch for easy routing of services. Steel typically contains at least 25% recycled content.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 20 January, 2012
