May 10, 2013
Photo: Scott Frances/Esto
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and if you’re (un)lucky enough to have a child working as an architect, you may be in for a big surprise come Sunday. Along with designing an iconic chair, building a house for one’s mother is a longstanding architectural tradition. So in honor of this holiday, we’ve rounded up five of the most important of houses designed by famous architects for their parents, ranging from Le Corbusier to Richard Meier. Think of it as a long-overdue thank you for the years of emotional and financial support in the arduous process of becoming an architect!
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April 2, 2013
We’re getting back to basics, and no, we aren’t talking about the Christina Aguilera album. We’re talking about the rudimentary symbols that allow us to write addictive roundups like this one—letters! For today’s roundup, we spotlight 14 single-family homes—the most popular typology in our project database—that honor the building blocks (pun intended) of the Latin alphabet in their titles. Who knew that so many architects prefer to name their clients’ houses by a single letter? Click through to see the abbreviated ”Architizer Alphabet of Stunning Single-Family Homes,” in alphabetical order, of course! (And watch out for Part 2 soon…)
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December 3, 2012
If you’re the sort who’s been squeezing your life into tiny-house-level accommodations, the New York–based architect Maziar Behrooz‘s shipping-container house is the perfect upgrade (and, for the rest of us spacehogs, a respectable downgrade). For just under $100,000, you’ll get a 960-square-foot high-ceilinged modernist dollhouse, complete with interior finishes, electrical fixtures, and sliding windows—shipping included! Read more.
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November 22, 2012
City living can be tough, but not when you reside here! The Woven Nest, built for an actress in the UK and designed by Atmos Studio, is a beautiful light-filled penthouse with tons of luxurious lounge space tucked under its butterfly roof. With a sprawling sunroom and discreet, built-in storage at every turn, this abode could definitely make our Top 10 Greatest Places to Nap After Thanksgiving list. Read more!
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November 13, 2012
The holidays are just around the corner, and what better way to show your love than by giving your favorite architecture nerd her very own Frank Lloyd Wright-designed, heart-shaped private island! AHALife, an online directory of some of the most amazing products in the world, is offering the amazing Petra Island as part of its AHA100 Series of the season’s most coveted gifts. (The price: a cool $20 million.) Only 50 miles away from Manhattan — or a mere 15 minute luxury helicopter ride — the island highlights Wright’s signature melding of modern design with nature. Read more!
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November 12, 2012
People keep all sorts of crazy things in storage garages, but what about an entire, fully functioning home? British design firm Levitt Bernstein has won the Building Trust International competition for repurposing a number of lock-up garages in London’s Hackney neighborhood into tiny houses for low-income or homeless individuals.
The competition challenged designers to create urban, single-occupancy homes for less than $30,000. Each of Levitt Bernstein’s lock-up homes, complete with a sleeping area, kitchen, bathroom, and even laundry, costs only a tad over $20,000. The design is so popular, the city is even considering transforming the garages into pop-up offices, studios, workshops, and cafes. Sounds like a perfect contender for an A+ award in the Living Small category! Read more.
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November 7, 2012
Usually it’s not polite to laugh in church. But just try not to stifle a chuckle at God’s Loftstory, a 1928 chapel-turned family loft by Dutch firm Leijh Kappelhoff Seckel van den Doppelsteen Architecten (seriously, how do you fit that on a card?). Located in Haarlo, Netherlands, the structure and may look like a traditional chapel on the outside–stained glass and all–but inside it’s an open, minimalist home with lots of cheek and humor. Read more!
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November 5, 2012
To accommodate the lack of land and space, Japanese architects often find ways to modify structures using simplistic measures. Take the Overlapped House, designed by O.F.D.A + Chika Kijima, in Chiba, Japan. Commissioned by two musicians, who needed both a home and a practice hub that would disturb the neighbors, the architects have transformed three houses into one unit, equipped with a kitchen, music studio, and even soundproof bedrooms – perfect for those late-night practice sessions. Read more!
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October 25, 2012
Ever heard of a stylish RV? No? Well, Greg Lynn has just made one. Unlike the rolling mini-homes that have inspired many bad comedies, and even more dreadful family vacations, Lynn’s RV, which stands for “Room Vehicle,” isn’t designed for the road. Instead, its walls and indoor spaces shift while the house stands in place. (Sounds like a great contender for an A+ Living Small Award!) Design Boom saw his one-fifth scale model at the Future Primitives Exhibition at the Biennale Interieur 2012 in Belgium, and brought back some awesome pics. Click to read more!
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September 28, 2012
Do Ho Suh‘s floating fabric structures explore the concept of “home” and the relationship between the nomadic artist and his temporary living quarters. The South Korean sculptor recreates his former residences — crammed studios, traditional family units, Manhattan pre-war apartment buildings — in diaphanous silk or polyester, which he suspends over a metal framework, giving these solid structures a tenuous, transitory quality. Read more!
By Raquel Laneri
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