Category Architecture

January 21, 2015Andrew Maynard Architects were given a challenging task when a family in Australia wanted an extension built on to their home. The team rose up to it and designed an inside out extension which was very unusual, one which blurred the fine line between the indoors and outside. Image Source: Andrew Maynard Architects The extension was designed in different parts with the first of it was beside the main body of the house which has room for the lounge, kitchen and a dining area.

January 20, 2015This year the Ice Hotel in Sweden has been built again and this is the 25th incarnation of the hotel made from ice. The hotel started life as part art project and part place to stay and it has become a major attraction that is visited by people from around the world. Image Source: Ice Hotel The Ice Hotel is 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi and the hotel spreads out over 5,500 square meters.

February 04, 2015The first building in Australia designed by architect Frank Gehry has been opened at a cost of US$138 million. Part of the University of Technology in Australia, the Dr Chau Chak Wing will be home to around 1,600 staff and students. The Governor of Australia called it “the most beautiful squashed brown paper bag” that he had seen.

February 08, 2015China could soon be home to the worlds biggest airport terminal if Zaha Hadid Architects see fruition of their project. The architects have recently unveiled plans for their new Beijing Airport Terminal and it& 39;s a whopper! Image Source: Zaha Hadid Architects Zaha Hadid Architects designed the project for France& 39;s ADP Ingenierie who will oversee the construction of the airport.

February 17, 2015Construction of around 50 triangular luxury copper huts has been proposed for a development in Lake of Bays in Canada by architects MU Architecture. The huts will form a collection of private retreats for guest at the Bigwin Golf Club. Each of the huts is between 1,200 and 1,500 square feet and they will blend into their surroundings.

February 11, 2015Amy Andrews and Ethan Van Kooten took a used storehouse and chose to convert it into a tiny house which they filled with salvaged scrap for just under $500. They did this as part of their senior project at the Central College in Iowa in the US. Image Source: Amy Andrews/Ethan Van Kooten Originally the pair had a budget of $3,350 and they hoped that this would be enough for them to build a small house from scratch with the help of a grant.

February 18, 2015Christian Grande is an Italian yacht designer who may be better known for the Picchio Boat. One of his latest designs is a floating village concept which he calls the Abifloat. The project consists of a collection of homes that float and are made up of a sustainable modular design. Image Source: Christian Grande The Abifloat is made up of clusters of ten homes measuring 3.

March 19, 2015Architect Vincent Callebaut has designed a concept of the City Of Science which is his vision for the future of Rome. He would like to transform a large section of land in the Flaminio quarter of Rome into an eco-district at a cost of around US$286 million. Image Source: Vincent Callebaut Architects The City Of Science concept is a series of renders that show an urban centre that would be sustainable, but the designer has not given much away regarding how he proposes to build the city.

March 17, 2015Giancarlo Zema, an Italian architect, has come up with a floating eco-friendly solar powered home by the name of the WaterNest 100. The floating home offers 100 square meters of space in a circular structure resembling a pod. 98 of the home is designed in recycled materials and the roof of the home is a solar panel array.

May 08, 2015They say that size matters but when it comes to property you have to make the most of what you have. In this case the architects and designers of an apartment in Germany, Spamroom+ johnpaulcoss, had to make the most of the 21 square meters they had and they did it by making good use of the amount of vertical space in the property along with adding in a multi-purpose central unit.

May 13, 2015The final design for the Garden Bridge in London has been revealed and the bridge will be a green public space that crosses over the River Thames, providing it reaches the building stage. Image Source: Garden Bridge Trust The concept for the Garden Bridge came from the actress Joanna Lumley back in 1988 but it wasn’t classed as being a feasible project until 2013.

June 08, 2015There are plenty of luxury homes in the South Tyrolean Dolomites in Italy and anyone looking for a superb vacation home to rent in the beautiful area may be interested in the Mirror Houses from Peter Pichler Architecture. Image Source: Mirror Houses Both of the homes are one-bedroom rentals offering some of the most outstanding views out over mountains and vineyards.

June 15, 2015We have featured small houses that are made from many things, including traditional bricks and mortar, wood grain silos, warehouses and now we have one in the form of a shipping container house. Image Source: Little things Shipping containers do make a great home if you don’t need plenty of room.

June 02, 2015A home in New York has been transformed out of a cold war era missile silo. Many of the hundreds of silos built in the US have been long forgotten and remain in disrepair. However, Gregory Gibbons and Bruce Francisco saw a lot of potential in one in Adirondack State Park and decided to make it their SiloHome.

June 17, 2015Tinywood Homes in the UK is a relatively small company who offer tiny homes both for rental and for sale. They have property on which they have located four of the small homes to those who are looking for a very unique place to stay on holiday. Image Source: Tinywood Homes Each of the small Tinywood Homes offers a bathroom, a compact kitchen, living spaces and enough room for between 2 and 5 people to sleep in, they also have their own hot tub that works by a wood fire.

June 29, 2015Adam Kalkin has designed a home with the name of the Old Lady House but it is far from being a cosy cottage for a granny. Instead it is a modern masterpiece designed from three shipping containers in Califon, NJ. The home is spread out over three containers wide and two tall and it has sides that are made almost entirely out of glass.

July 04, 2015Dubai is known to be home to many firsts, including the tallest building in the world, and now they have another first by way of the first 3D printed office. The office is set to be printed in layers and the printer undertaking the task stands at 20 feet tall. The layers are to be assembled on site and in total the office building will cover around 2,0000 square feet.

July 22, 2015We have seen some weird and wonderful airports been built around the world but none is stranger than this recent concept airport from Alex Sutton. The plan is to put an airport and its runways above the streets. The concept was designed at part of the final year project of Sutton at the London architectural school.

By Robin WhitlockDecember 30, 2015Net Zero Energy Home Image Source: Ryan McKibbin, Flickr Reid’s Heritage Homes is a Canadian company that is helping to build zero carbon homes (officially called Net Zero Homes) in the country, along with four other housebuilders (Minto, Mattamy Homes, Provident and Construction Voyer) selected by Ministry of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

By Robin WhitlockSeptember 29, 2015 Image Source: Pod-Idadla Pod Idladla is a modular, prefabricated nano-home designed and manufactured in South Africa by architect Clara da Cruz Almeida (concept and architectural design) and product design company Dokter and Misses (interior and product design).The homes are prefabricated to client specifications.