Architecture Magazine

Architecture Magazine

Architecture Magazine featuring great design, architecture, fashion, graphics and innovation from across the globe.

 

MareNostrum

MareNostrum is an eight story residential building in Quito, Ecuador. The name refers to the Latin term for our sea, and the facade reinterprets the movement of the oars of Roman fleets. The curved facade forms large balconies that extend the interior space to the exterior. Cutout corners span two levels, give shade from the sun and create places where neighbours can meet. The building holds suites, two bedroom and three bedroom apartments and lofts, with a lounge and green areas on the terrace. Passive strategies provide natural light and ventilation.

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Morimachi

House in Morimachi is a single storey house designed in a minimal form. The house is clad in metal sheets and kept low to respect the surrounding scenery. Steel framing forms the main structure, with dimensions standardized to the module of the traditional Japanese timber house to keep a familiar sense of scale. Wood sliding doors add depth, continuity and openness to the interior. The garden combines water scenery with gently undulating ground, creating a different view from each room along the south facade. Traditional carpentry and plaster techniques were used throughout.

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House in Shiraiwa

House in Shiraiwa is a residence built on a mountain slope in Hamamatsu, Japan, surrounded by a mandarin plantation. The interior area is divided equally into indoor and semi-outdoor space. A large living room supports communication between family members, while the other rooms are kept small. A pergola covers the semi-outdoor half and forms a buffer zone between the living room and the landscape. The pergola details were set by sunlight simulation, and its slits cast changing shadows on the walls. The walls are finished in scraped mortar with crushed local white rock.

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Quad House

Quad is a bar set in a historic quadrangle building in the center of Beijing. The original structure was in unsafe condition, which made reinforcement and rebuilding difficult. The renovation adds modern functions while keeping the character of the old city area. Concrete is used for the facade and wood for the interior decoration. The design balances three pairs of opposites: new and old, low key and high end, commerce and comfort. Privacy is protected so that the bar blends quietly into the surrounding historic neighborhood.

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Phoenix Tree Garden

Phoenix Tree Garden is a tea house garden set in a hutong courtyard in Beijing. The design turns a single large space into a series of linked scenic spots. A folding cloud wall and a curved moon door shift the internal axis and divide the outside of the garden from the inside. Small bridges, waterways and a stacked red rock mountain organize the new landscape order. Materials include a steel grille bridge, gray and colored cobblestone paving and small gray tiles. Several tea rooms with different views were created within 214.99 square meters.

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Santos

Using wood as the main constructive element, the house displaces its two levels in section, generating a glazed roof to integrate with the context and allow natural light to enter. The double height space articulates that relationship between the ground floor, the upper floor and the landscape. A metal roof over the skylight flies, protecting it from the incidence of the western sun and formally rebuilding the volume, framing the vision of the natural environment. The program is articulated by locating public uses on the ground floor and private uses on the upper floor.

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