Bernardes + Jacobsen - CF Residence

Bernardes + Jacobsen

CF Residence

Steeling the show - Blessed with a great plot and open brief, a lightweight, transparent, horizontal building, was what the architects Thiago Bernardes and Paulo Jacobsen designed.

Overview & Plot
Located on a plot in the picturesque condominium Portogalo in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Jacobsen and Thiago Bernardes wanted to accommodate a large family retreat taking full advantage of the plot and its location. The challenge was how to minimise the buildings impact from roadside - difficult with such a large house.

Departing from traditional Brazilian wood or brick structures the house employs steel to span the vast openings that connect all rooms to the views below.



The svelte steel corner pillars provide minimal interruption to the open plan dining and living area of the ground floor. In summertime (almost constant in Angra dos Reis) the glass panels dividing this area up slide away to provide an enormous expanse of shade.

Half way up the façade, and providing elevated viewing to the bedrooms are two outdoor balconies of Peroba wood, these break up the stark white of the lower level and the surrounding steel structure. The wood is also used throughout the second level interior, and as a lining the the vast roof span.



Continuing to the roof level, tropical storms and heavy rain, common in the early part of the year in Rio de Janeiro are caught by large glass overhangs, which still let light through to the bedrooms. The glass also blurs the connection between the roof’s reflecting pool, paved with green ceramic tiles, imitating the colour of the inlet and sea beyond. The same applies to the pool on the terrace, which seems to fall into the sea. This camouflage, and the fact that the house is set into the hillside at the rear, reduces its size, as to the thin steel structures, elongating its horizontal structure. It’s only from below, backstroking in the pool that the house’s true size is revealed.

Layout
With the entire ground floor dedicated to the pool, dining and entertaining, the upper level provides the entrance and 4 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. Originally two giant bedrooms, the sets of two our housed either side of the atrium over the pool. As you enter the residence through its large dark wood doors, the bedrooms act as blinkers, focusing the view out to the water beyond.

A small seating area between allows you to contemplate, and perhaps acts as a formal arrival area. From here, “grand” staircases head both inside (left) to the living room, and outside (right) to the pool area (Bernardes + Jacobsen are renowned for impressive staircases).

The Result
Now complete in a 4 bedroom layout, this family retreat seems to have all one needs for a relaxing weekend. The thin steel structure and stretched horizontal roofline give it the appearance of a lightweight marque or stretched canvas roof. A seaside camp that mirrors the water beyond. Yet, from within, there is no doubt that this house is: permanent; modern and luxurious; and will provide a great weekend spot for years to come.



Plans

Architect/Designer:
Bernardes + Jacobsen
Client: Carlos Firme
Construction: February, 2001 – December, 2003
Materials: Steel structure, stone, wood, glass and Ceramic tiles
Built area: 1024m²
Plot: 2000m²

Information courtesy of: Bernardes + Jacobsen

Drew Mandel Design - 83A Marlborough Ave

Drew Mandel Design

83A Marlborough Ave

Infill house on a 13ft wide plot, becomes feature residence of the street - Drew Mandel has used every inch of this brownfield (ex 1 car garage & garden) site to create his ideal residence. Influences of Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler eminent in the residence's façade lead to elegant use of wood detailing for the interior.

Overview
Drew, an up and coming Canadian architect snapped up an “interesting” plot, that his colleague at MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, David Miller had on offer. Setting out to create his debut "big time" design, Drew won a number of awards in Toronto and Canada. The house is an impressive example of modern infill, coming in at a modest $182 per ft².

The Lot
Miller and his architect wife, Amy Falkner, had obtained a minor variance allowing them to build to the very edges of the property line without the usual margin of grass or ground cover. (It's only because the houses on each side are set back from the lot line that there is any space at all between the Mandel-Cooper house and its neighbours.) To support development, the municipality had allowed a substantial increase in the floor space, from 908 to more than 1,280 square feet above ground.
Their relatives labelled the plot a bowling lane, Mandel and his wife like to think of it as a lane each.


Design
Focusing on commercial design at work, Drew’s evening efforts on his own house pulled from his designs of multiplexes, community centres, libraries and banks. The main Achilles heel of the plot, the extended walls down either side of the property, led Drew to (as he sometimes reflects) to overcompensate with house glass panels at either end and a large light well at the centre of the build. I disagree; the house is fantastically bright and airy.



Breaking the house away from other designs out there and I believe linking it to his favoured FLW and Rudolf, is the use of patchwork glass rather than a large expanse of industrial like uniform façade. A cute modernist take on the Juliet balcony protrudes from the master bedroom, breaking the rear wall further and allows great views down to the meticulously landscaped garden, that complements the house so well. Adding to the functionality of the glass façade, a large central panel pivots to allow bigger pieces of furniture to be hoisted in.



Bringing in that industrial design know-how resolved the issue of construction methods too. Such a narrow tall design refused traditional frame design used in residential projects, meaning an industrial to balloon framing technique was adopted. Steel supports for the entire 38-foot length of the walls were put up first, and then the floors were locked in afterwards.

Further industrial features of the house include the two ramps from the entrance of the house to the living room and from the master bedroom to the second bedroom, a comfortable alternative to stairs.

Layout
From the semi-subterranean guest room at the front of the house you head south up the ramp to the living room, then north up five stairs to the dining room-kitchen floor, then south again up the house's only full flight of stairs to the master bedroom and bathroom. Finally, completing the layout you head north, up the second ramp to the second bedroom.

The Result
Drew and Denise have blown their relatives away. Despite the restricting plot they've created a house that through it's high ceilings, skylights and maximum glazing at both ends is a bright, spacious and airy home.


Plans

Architect/Designer: Drew Mandel Design
Client: Denise Cooper & Drew Mandel
Completed: 2007
Structural: Blackwell Engineering Ltd. (David Bowick)
Builder: T. Fijalkowski & Associates
Site Plan Approval: David Miller & Amy Falkner
Lot:13' x 115' or 1560 ft²
Costs: $182 per ft²

Information courtesy of: Drew Mandel Design

Frederico Zanelato - Casa Martins Siquiera

Frederico Zanelato

Casa Martins Siquiera

A True Weekend Retreat - Ferederico Zanelato's own house no doubt paved the way for the design of this marvellous family home near São Paulo. Maximising the slope of the plot, this house spreads living over three levels in three distinct zones.

Overview
The embracing the views of the Serra do Japi was the "be all" and "end all" of this build.
Frederico wanted a house that stimulates discussion, where spaces are integrated and connected to each other, as well as the surrounding plot. Conveniently the plot is well orientated to minimise the suns impact on the residence, and thus the requirements of air conditioning. Frederico's skills at minimising materials and specifying kept this build in economical proportions as well. Total construction cost $510US/m².

Lot
Located in a condominium between Jundiaí and Itupeva, 60km from São Paulo, 1000m², with a mild slope and a fantastic views of the Serra do Japi.

The client
A happy young couple with two children, a child and an adolescent and many friends. They wanted a home for the weekends, a place for unforgettable moments, for parties, to receive guests, relax and create. As an advertising director and businesswoman, respectively, the husband and wife team are usually based in São Paulo, and required a "retreat" from the hustle and bustle.

Following the topography of land and its geographical position, the house was designed in three blocks; intimate, social, and service, linked by an elongated circulation area of three distinct levels.

A single open plan wing for the living room, dining and kitchen is connected by a hallway to the rear block of two levels.
To the left of the hallway: two storeys and 4 bedrooms. To the right: the services/utility area and above, private office.

Access to the home is through a wooded avenue. The façade clearly indicates two blocks separated by a large panel of wood, the main door, which when opened, mimics the tree lined avenue. Up lighting is used to create sensations and justify the texture of materials in the entrance way.
Just inside the entrance are doors leading to two of the four bedrooms and stairs to the second level. Both levels overlooking the central courtyard or "birds square" as the owners refer to it. Wooden shutters afford shade and further privacy to these rooms, breaking the white façade nicely and distinguishing the two areas.
This courtyard receives morning sun and cross ventilation through strategic openings, making it a year round pleasant breakfast spot.
Passing the courtyard on your left as you head away from the entrance, you arrive at the social wing. Pleasantly shaded, overlooking the pool, a leisure area and further behind, views to the Sierra Japi.



Here, kitchen, dining and living room intertwine. It’s position between the "birds square" and the swimming pool area is strategic, for coexistence and as a buffer between the two zones: repose and action. The "birds square" works as a further filter between the social and private wings and creates an open intimate space.

The outdoor rooms, or BBQ area, is located in the largest free area of the plot. It too is open to those views that inspired the choice of the land: the Serra do Japi.



Half way to the second level bedrooms, the circulation area opens to a roof deck over the living area. Used as a mini-golf course, the deck is also the only access to the owners workshop and hidden office, which is above the service wing.

The choice of materials was defined according to the function of each area obeying the basic rules of environmental comfort and wishes of this family.


The Result
A house zoned into three distinct areas, each buffered from the other by the outdoors that allows for private retreat or very social entertaining.



Plans






Architect: Frederico Zanelato
Co-authors: Marcelo Miua and Fernanda Kano
Student: Regina Sesoko
Structures: Vagner Garcia de Oliveira
Photos: Bebete Viégas
Completed: 2007
Costs: $510 US/m²

Information courtesy of: Frederico Zanelato

Frederico Zanelato - Architect's Residence

Frederico Zanelato

Architect's Residence

Structured Strata - Layered up for optimum views, ventilation and privacy, Ferederico Zanelato's house in São Paulo is a quality residence at an economical price.

Overview
This architect’s house is what it should be, driven out of pure needs and the situation at hand, with clear intention. Frederico, with a Masters focus in economical design, is conscious about using materials wisely. Serving him well in the design of his own house, which apart from quality hard wearing flooring, uses well finished local materials to create a high class residence. Completed in 2005 and setting aside the cost of the plot, the house came in at under $400 US per square metre for construction! Far more impressive, considering that similar executions in São Paulo are quoted as $1200 US.



The plot is located in the Sierra Itapety, 54km from São Paulo, surrounded by a pool of Atlantic Forest, which drives the houses windows and openings, catching your eye from every corner.
The geographical position provided the strategic entry of light and ventilation. Large overhands and shading battens provide shelter from peak summer heat, and allow the air to cool in the shade before entering, traditional solutions within new design. The slope of the land also imposes on the distribution of the volumes, the zoning, the entrance and landscaping, thus completing the desired dialogue with the house’s surroundings.

Layout
The ground floor is occupied by the social area: living room, kitchen, guest bedroom and bathroom. With access to the front garden and full sun, this level is laid out by relative use of sunlight, with a bright and airy living area, and the guest bedroom snug at the rear.

The middle level: houses a covered car park and service area - come laundry and bathroom.
On top of the social area is a patio / garden, solarium with reflecting pond, and a wooden deck.
The intimate master bedroom and bath are housed in the final volume suspended above. Cloaked in shade providing battens, yet still with views out across the valley.

The materials chosen for the construction, simple and local to the region, establish a connection between the area and the owner’s way of life. The exterior, cleanly rendered in stucco, is livened up with a fantastic entrance way mural. The floor of white granite is broken by a carpet of pink sandstone that calls attention and directs to the main entry. Wet zones are covered with white granite chips and the ground floor exterior with large grade loose gravel. Useful for tropical storms and the winter floods common in São Paulo.

The views to the surrounding Atlantic forest, framed by white walls, form calming green curtains. Outside the master Bedroom, water, vital for life, reflects and intensified the surrounding green and the sky above. Features which embrace and justify Frederico’s choices of white, black, wood, stone and iron.

Plans




Architect: Frederico Zanelato
Completed: 2005
Costs: $400 US Per square metre

Images and information courtesy of: Frederico Zanelato

Shubin + Donaldson Architects - Santa Barbara Riviera Residence

Shubin + Donaldson Architects

Santa Barbara Riviera Residence

Sun Filled in the Hills - Shubin + Donaldson Architects have created an ideal place to soak up sun and views in the Santa Barbara hills.

Client
Owners Geoffrey Moore and Genie Gable searched more than a year to find a site that met their exacting and almost-contradictory requirements.
- Moore (international businessman and writer who, when not travelling, splits his work time between a home office in Santa Barbara and a corporate office 85 miles south in Santa Monica) wanted a shaded, quiet office space filled with cutting-edge technology for global communication where he could write without distraction.
- Genie, his wife (principal of Genie Gable Interior Design, and a graduate of the Professional Design Program at UCLA, studied in the masters classes of Rose Tarlow) sought sun-filled spaces with unimpeded views of the nearby Pacific Ocean and, at night, the city lights of Santa Barbara.
The public rooms reflect her specialisation of modern design in modern homes.

Although by Santa Barbara standards the home is relatively compact (Moore and Gable are empty-nesters) no space is wasted. "We use every room every day," she says, "and never tire of the constantly changing light from the ocean to the south, the canyon to the east and the mountains to the north."



Program
This relatively small house (when compared to its neighbours) has all of the elements of a 5,000- or 6,000-square-foot house in a tidy, 3,200-square-foot package. The three-level home and two-car garage include open living/dining area, kitchen, master bedroom and bath, guest bedroom and bath, home gym, powder room, two home offices with office bath, outdoor dining area, outdoor lounge areas, lap pool, and 1,400 square feet of lower-level storage.

Design
Hidden environmentally sustainable design - Though not immediately obvious, this house embraces several green design characteristics.

• The house layout is based on solar orientation, resulting in passive solar gains throughout the year.
• Photovoltaic power generates household electricity through a 2.8kw system (when power is not needed, it feeds back into the grid).
• A passive roof-top solar heating system provides for domestic hot water and a passive solar ground-level hot-water system is used to heat the pool.
• The natural flow of hot and cool air is fortified by the use of radiant hot-water floor heating and separate central air conditioning in the ceilings. - Although these systems are in place, they are rarely used because of the solar orientation of the home and the natural ventilation.
• The architects re-used the existing foundation and caissons. During construction, the existing house was taken apart piece-by-piece, with all usable elements donated to Habitat for Humanity.
• Other energy-saving systems include double-pane windows, UV-resistant glass, ample insulation, and energy-efficient appliances.
• Deep exterior overhangs are designed to provide shade in the summer, and let in sun during the winter.
  

Style
A dramatic glass canopy ceremoniously marks the entrance to the home, bisecting the ground-to-roof planes of glass that form sidelights and clerestories. Throughout the house, walls intersect with glass in a play of solidity and transparency. There is a certain efficiency of design in the layout, yet it provides all of the amenities so that the house looks and feels like a five-star private residential club. By taking up minimal space (what's absolutely necessary and no more) the house also takes up minimal resources.

A monumental feeling is emphasised by designing the house to constantly open up to the outdoors. A neutral colour scheme complements the colours of nature that comprise the predominant palette. An infinity pool just outside the living room leads the eye to the ocean and the Channel Islands beyond. Four separate terraces surround the house, continuing the indoor/outdoor feeling and accessibility.

Each room affords great vistas as well as stunning natural light throughout the day. Large windows create frames for nature. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves complement the mahogany living room wall that houses an entertainment centre. Set into the wall, and surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, it acts as an extension of the outdoors. Doorways in general (even in the limestone-clad bathrooms) are taller than usual and lead the eye upward to be rewarded by either natural light or a beautiful vista. Dark walnut floors and softly minimalist furniture are sophisticated and inviting. Bedrooms and master bath look out to the ocean. The kitchen faces the hillside, emphasising how the house maintains a connection with nature.


Plans




Firm: Shubin + Donaldson Architects is a high-design architecture firm that specialises in developing livable environments. Headed by partners Russell Shubin, AIA, and Robin Donaldson, AIA, the firm tailors its projects (custom residential, office buildings and interiors, retail, hospitality, planning, and multi-family housing) with a refined sensitivity toward the land and context.


Architect: Shubin + Donaldson Architects - Robin Donaldson, AIA, Principal and Russell Shubin, AIA, Principal
Project Team: Nils Hammerbeck, Daniel Webber, Kelly Kish, Allison White, Josh Blumer, Alan McLeod, and David Van Hoy
Interiors: Genie Gable Interior Design
Contractor: Quillin Construction
Landscape: Lane Goodkind
Photos: Ciro Coelho
Article & Imagery: Courtesy - Taylor & Company (many thanks)

via: Taylor & Company

Nicholas Burns - Johanna Beach House

Nicholas Burns

Johanna Beach House

Thinking Globally | Acting Locally - Nicholas Burns has taken this "green" addage and designed a modern residential retreat that: incorporates international ideas, templates low impact construction, has relatively minimal impact on the environment and embraces this spectacular plot.

The Johanna residence sits a few kilometres off the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, up a bush track leading to a gravel turnaround. This porous parking area is the first step into Nicholas's realm of environmentally concious design, allowing the water to soak through in a semi un-constructed area, combats erosion far better than a concrete slab.

Constructed of rammed earth taken in part from the surrounding area the house self regulates in temperature for all but the coldest of days. A super insulated wood burning fire in the centre of the living area tops up on the few days that it is required, whilst for most of the year the 300mm walls and thick floor store daytime heat for night time release. Carefully judged overhangs and windows, shade the rooms from peak summer heat, and allow cooling air to pass.

Arriving at the house you play out a mini script that depicts the notion of a holiday home. A getaway, a release from the constrictive day-to-day life we lead in the city.

Leaving your car you head towards a strong rear wall. From this angle the house appears a small bank or cliff, solid and permanent, with stripes of layers in the rammed earth walls creating cliff like strata. Nearing the house, a courtyard leads you in to a "Burns" play on space and dimensions.



As if entering a cinema through the back corridor, the short courtyard, with its imposing 300mm thick rammed earth walls, contracts to a single passageway and heads to the front door.



The constricting nature of the entrance has you prepared to duck your head and don a helmet and caving lamp. Yet as you pass the front door and round the partitioning wall, you're released into a panorama of views out across Johanna beach and along the coastline. About ten minutes later, you'll realise you're in a wonderful open plan living / dining room.





Nicholas Burns has an affinity for the architecture of Tadao Ando, which he studied for years, admiring as I do, his self taught designs.

Hidden in full view throughout the design of this residence are homages to Ando. Tadao's designs, based of the Tatami mat, 900mm x 1800mm, are all divisible by this measure, leading to a hidden, calming simplicity. Nicholas's dimension is 600mm "so everything has an inherent logic in the space, making it unobtrusive.” Simply furnished, the house allows you to focus on it's surrounds.



Layout
A slight twist on a single plane design, the two bedroom wings are set back from the living area to allow 180 degree views. This also allows a raised courtyard to be placed behind the living area. A sheltered area from winds heading up hillside, it also provides an area for BBQs and outdoor dining.
All but one of the four bedrooms soak in the views and sunsets, the fourth, a more reserved room, is windowed to the rear and surrounding bush, an ideal room for private contemplation.

Plan



About Nicholas Burns

In the 1990s, Burns left his architecture studies in South Australia to pursue a self-education in philosophy and building crafts, a la Tadao Ando. In 2000, he moved to Singapore, where he is still based, travelling from there through Europe, India, China, South-East Asia and Japan. I think Nicholas's practice really focuses on balancing the three way split, design, clients desires and the environment in which the build sits.

As part of all initial concepts and drafts, Nicholas's practice now encourages all of their clients to offset the carbon footprint of the build with United Nations-Certified carbon credits.
The environment is a strong stakeholder. But as you can see, in no way at the expense of fantastic design.

via: Nicholas Burns
Related Articles: http://materialicio.us/2008/01/15/johana-beach-house-nicholas-burns/
http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums//showthread.php?t=5990

Busy Weeks

Apologies for the slow posts

Hello all,

Apologies for the recent slow in articles. I've had a few revelations in my day job and have had to work a little on this after hours. New articles are on their way though...


Nick