H-House #architecture Architects: Studio Nirbaadh Area: 2850 ft² Year: 2025 Lead Architects: Dhanesh Gandhi, Tanushree Oswal City: Koregaon Country: India Tucked into the dense urban fabric of Koregaon in Satara, the H-House is a 2850 sq.ft. residence crafted on a constrained 33' x 78' site. The linear proportions of the site drove the architectural response, culminating in a plan organized around three longitudinal lines that run parallel across the site. These lines not only define the spatial distribution but also lend the house its name and identity. The planning of the residence is intuitive and climatic. All habitable spaces are organized along the three axes, creating a seamless flow of movement and light across the narrow plot. The central line anchors the primary circulation, while the flanking lines define the structural and spatial zoning. A defining feature of the home is its long, linear courtyard placed along the northern edge, which acts as a breathing spine through the house. This semi-open court-intimately linked to the indoor spaces-fosters cross ventilation, natural light, and a sense of openness, effectively bringing nature deep into the heart of the home. It functions not only as a transitional buffer but also as a dynamic space for social interaction, morning light rituals, and passive cooling. Facing west, the front facade responds actively to the harsh sun and the microclimate. It features a custom-designed brick screen that performs as a double skin, filtering light, casting dynamic shadows, and significantly reducing solar gain. This intricate latticework, rooted in local materiality and craftsmanship, imparts an earthy character and visual porosity to the otherwise solid frontage. The facade vocabulary is composed of bold projections, flower beds, slit windows, and blank walls that work in unison to create a sense of privacy, insulation, and contextual sensitivity. These architectural gestures, layered across levels, are not merely aesthetic but deeply functional-integrated to modulate temperature, shield views, and enhance user comfort. The three linear planning elements rise as dominant vertical walls in elevation-intersected rhythmically by flower beds and brick punctures, echoing the 'H' form in silhouette. This creates a strong architectural identity that balances monolithic strength with articulated lightness. The exteriors and interiors maintain a minimalist and rustic language, harmonizing with the material palette of exposed brick, wood, and natural textures. The earthy tones continue inside, where open layouts and diffused lighting create a serene and grounded living environment. Spatial planning allows visual connections between all parts of the house, with the courtyard acting as a central focal point. Natural light plays a key role-filtered through jalis, reflected off walls, and dappled through planting-crafting changing ambiances throughout the day. The material palette remains honest and restrained-celebrating raw finishes, artisanal craft, and tactile warmth. The furniture and built-ins are kept minimal to allow spatial volumes to breathe and flow uninterrupted. H-House is a contemporary urban dwelling that embraces climatic intelligence, material honesty, and spatial clarity. It offers a grounded, contextual response to its dense surroundings while standing out as a poetic and sustainable statement in modern Indian residential architecture.

Hackett Gardens House #architecture Architects: Ben Walker Architects Area: 393 m² Year: 2024 Photographs: Ben Guthrie Country: Australia The project comprised the design of a new single-storey house in the northern Canberra suburb of Turner, close to the city centre and the University precinct. The building forms a "U" shaped plan with an internalised large central court. The internal planning wraps the central court with a parents' zone on the northern side, a living spine along the west, and a children's zone along the south. This layout provides the desired privacy from the public realm, but allows for open and generous views from living spaces into the central court. A second north-facing courtyard adjacent to the street is equipped with operable pivoting privacy screens to shield the courtyard from the street, but allow opening to views across the adjacent park when desired. A third court is located on the northern side of the main bedroom behind the garage pod – a deliberate planning decision to provide privacy. A separate studio forms the south-eastern corner of the  The interior spaces are defined by cream coloured brick walls rising to a consistent datum with white plastered ceilings above. The three main "wings" forming the plan are carefully defined through the use of a series of small indented solar courts at their junctions. These courts provide light and refuge between the wings, subtly demarcating the transition between zones and providing foreground views of the landscape. A series of saw-tooth roof elements contains highlight windows that provide northern sun to rooms that may otherwise be landlocked. The saw tooth assists in passive solar gain, provides views to the sky, and is positioned to relate to and define living spaces below. They provide delightful and generous internal volume. The interior finishes comprise a palette of dry pressed brick, honed concrete, white plaster, and Birch ply joinery. Wet area fixtures are natural brass. This simple palette espouses the personality and requests of the client and provides an uncluttered backdrop to their family life, furniture, and art collection. The exteriors are expressed as brick walls and recycled timber-clad parapet beams. The beams tie external spaces and solar courts to the house to bring a clarity of geometry to an otherwise articulated floor plan. Steel CHS columns at the front of the house lighten the architectural expression to the street and demarcate the main entry. The dry pressed bricks used on the project are sourced from a factory in northern NSW that is approximately 50km from the family farm that the client grew up on. This results in the bricks in the new house being manufactured from clay that has a connection to the family's farming history and a strong sense of memory of place. The house includes heavily insulated triple-layered walls. Ceilings and burnished concrete slab are heavily insulated, with both internal and external membranes providing excellent air tightness. Windows are composite frames with high-performance triple glazing. The PV system provides a substantial portion of household energy use, and a centralised HRV system balances internal temperatures, cleans air, and removes vapour.

Dune vibes! ZhongWei Desert Diamond Hotel #architecture Location: Zhong Wei Shi, China Architects: SHUISHI
 Area: 6866 m²
 Year: 2024
 Photographs: Zhi Xia, Yuan Xie
 Lead Architect: Xie Yuan

 The project is located at Shapotou, Zhongwei, Ningxia, a national nature reserve as well as a national AAAAA-rated scenic area on the southeast brink of Tengger Desert. This is the place to discover the desert, the Yellow River, high mountains and oases, the scenery full of the grand northwestern miracles and the delicate southern elegance. Here you can traverse Tengger Desert on camels or surf the sand dunes in an all-terrain, and immerse in the poetic sight of "a lonely column of smoke rising upright in the vast desert, and the sun setting round towards where the long river flows".  The desert is a unique component of nature, where the enormous temperature difference day and night, the vehement ultraviolet radiation, the bitterly savage sandstorms and the extremely dry weather make it a not very livable place. Without modern technologies, human beings can hardly survive there. Naturally, to build a hotel in the desert is a highly challenging attempt, and we all show our ultimate respect from the very beginning. The desert landscape, however, serves also as a source of infinite inspiration to me, for it exhibits a series of seemingly contradictory but fusing aspects: vast and mysterious, romantic and cruel, desolate and passionate, quiet and capricious. We hope our architectural works will be of a serene quality, full of respect instead of humility, and firm instead of pertinacious in attitude. It simply stands there in peace, but you feel the power in it. It's is this power that brings you away from the hubbubs of daily life and brings you back into your inner cosmos, where you draw new energy and liberate your soul. Such architecture should bear a tinge of surrealism, with a bit of science fiction and a bit of romance. The inspiration. What we want to build is a pure, sturdy and eternal residence, like a diamond that shines with brilliance, stays robust and is crystal clear. In front of its purity, like in front of the boundless desert, people feel the "void", the nonexistence of constancy of everything, and the nonexistence of ego. The power of "void" has a gigantic potential; its sturdiness, like its Greek name "adamas", means invincible or unconquerable. Diamond is worked adamas, which is the hardest substance in the world, and represents firm belief and strong will; diamond can confront fire and iron and has a supernatural power. It symbolizes eternity.  After being cut, polished and placed in the light, the clear, pure diamond radiates splendid colors like a brilliant star in the night sky. Ningxia is the "home of stars", and Shapotou, particularly quiet at night, is the place to contemplate stars, a romantic event that has been there for thousands of years. When night falls, stars shine brightly in heaven. The Desert Star Hotel, the first phase of the project (Zones A, B & C), is China's first desert and star-themed resort hotel, and enjoys now super popularity on the internet. What we are talking about now is the second phase of the project, which will be a luxurious outdoor boutique resort hotel offering more vivid themes and original experiences for guests requiring more high-quality amenities and spiritual satisfaction. And through the concept of "diamond", a connection is established between the desert and the starry sky, and between man and nature. That's the starting point of our design work. 3 Architecture, the media between man and nature. The vast emptiness and tranquility of the desert are a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city. When we cast our eyes on a city and its buildings and spaces, our thoughts and judgment are more rational and humanistic, our attention is more on interpersonal relations, and we tend to discuss their public aspects. With the desert, this specific landscape of nature, however, we must respect it, because architecture here is more like a medium, which stresses the man-nature relationship and creates an experience to convert primitive nature into a place to connect human beings, establishing a deeper liaison between man and nature by manmade structures. This is a process that depends on intuition and sensibility. The farther away from the city, the nearer to the true ego, and the easier to release the deep energy in our hearts. Here, people are more liable to be satisfied on the spiritual plane, and they come here more often than not, not to seek leisure, but to experience the most primitive nature and the extreme extraordinaries. Such unique experiences are the opposite to their city life, but remain part of their pursuit of a complete life. We hope the architecture in the desert will bring out the potential energy of nature, and turn it into something that people can experience in person. We want to emphasize a special contrast and an in-depth experience to extend and complement city life. To show our respect to nature, we hide the architecture among sand dunes to avoid the howling gusts. When the rhythmic soft curves of the sand dunes meet the sharp geometric motifs of the sculptural architecture, a subtly dramatic effect is created as if an angular life nestles in the tender embrace of mother nature. Due to the converging irregular sections, the space loses its ordinary three-dimensional feature, and people in it feel a kind of hugging protection in the center of energy, listening to the voice of the heart.  Life is but a moment in the miraculous cosmos, only the cosmos of the soul is the eternity. The cold and the warm collide here, and so do the bright and the dark, the illusive and the real, in line with the seemingly contradictory but fusing charm of the desert: vast and mysterious, romantic and cruel, desolate and passionate, quiet and capricious. The architecture amplifies nature and gives the invisible light and wind a tangible form.

What a beautiful place with an insane view! Antiparos Village #architecture Architects: Studio Seilern Architects
 Area: 780 m²
 Year: 2024
 Photographs: Louisa Nikolaidou Location: Greece

Would you live in this concrete box? #asknostr 
I mean… where are the windows? Begging for Myopia. House in Nishizaki #architecture Architects: Studio Cochi Architects Area: 91 m² Year: 2023 Photographs: Ooki Jingu Lead Architect: Toshiyuki Igarashi City: Okinawa Country: Japan The Nishizaki House is a residence for a family of three. The home is located on reclaimed land in a newly developed residential area south of Okinawa's main island. The surrounding area consists of a mix of residential areas, commercial facilities, industrial parks, schools, sports parks, fishing ports, and other structures of various uses and scales. North of the home, a residential area is zoned, while a commercial area stretches south across a large highway. As a result, the north side of the home is relatively quiet throughout the day, but the south can be noisy at times due to heavy traffic. East and west of the home are neighboring homes that are close in proximity. Developed areas in Okinawa are frequently densely built, and the number of vacant houses is increasing. While Okinawa has a unique and majestic natural environment, urban areas have this chaotic, lively landscape. In addition, typhoons occur throughout the year, and disasters must be prepared for. In such an environment, the challenge was to maintain distance from the city's chaos and to ensure a comfortable indoor environment. The client's primary request was for their own urban oasis. They wanted to live without a line of sight from the surrounding area and allow as much natural light and air flow as possible. The building has a rectangular design to match the site. Public rooms are situated on the first floor, where they are more connected to the surrounding area, and private rooms, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, are on the second floor. The courtyard and skylight are aligned with north-south to increase natural light and airflow. The northern courtyard, which faces into the residential area, functions as a buffer zone. It provides the residents with relief from the dense neighborhood while still allowing a gradual window to the outside. The connected living area and tatami room, which serves as a parlor, create a sense of spaciousness within the home (maximizes line of sight in the interior). In contrast, the southern courtyard provides a solid buffer zone between the town and the staircase room. The increased buffer enhances the peace of the courtyard and living room. The staircase is also intended to be a dimly lit room, so it is slightly roomier than a normal staircase to accommodate chairs and other items. By creating a strong and a weak buffer zone with the city and allowing space for natural light and airflow, we believe we have used multiple dimensions to accommodate the activities of daily life in relative peace while living in a densely populated residential area. In addition, most of the furniture and fittings were made in my own workshop—a proof of concept for expanding the possibilities of local craftsmanship and reducing dependency on imported materials.

SG Kindergarten and Nursery #architecture Architects: HIBINOSEKKEI, Kids Design Labo, Youji no Shiro Area: 1125 m² Year: 2023 Photographs: Toshinari Soga ( studio BAUHAUS ) City: Katori Country: Japan The new SG Kindergarten and Nursery was constructed by the consolidation and privatization of four dilapidated public preschools in Katori City, Chiba Prefecture. The area has been known as a hub of cultural exchange that prospered due to the waterway transportation across the Tone River during the Edo period. The distinct building type, Machiya (traditional townhouse), and townscapes from that specific period have been carefully preserved and designated as a Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings. The SG Kindergarten and Nursery strives to be a place where children can learn about and appreciate the unique history from the past to the present day. Thanks to the uniqueness of their culture, which has been gradually formed by the interaction of different cultures and people, children can develop an attachment to the local community. The design of the kindergarten was inspired by their local architecture, Machiya. By reinterpreting traditional elements such as the wooden walls and latticework, one can sense history while enjoying a new understanding of the details. The goal is for children to spend their days in this environment, naturally becoming aware of and familiar with the local characteristics. Children gradually develop a sense of belonging to their hometown. The kindergarten also addresses various issues surrounding children's diet, such as unbalanced nutrient intake, inadequate breakfasts, and solitary dining. In this kindergarten, children can develop both mentally and physically through multifaceted nutritional education. Architecture supports such education. For instance, the dining room, adjacent to the main entrance, a kitchen, and a vegetable garden with a view incorporate food-related experiences in one's daily life. Children naturally learn the joy and importance of eating by observing the vegetables they grow and immersing themselves in the smells of food being prepared. This kindergarten equips children with a strong foundation for healthy dietary habits through which they grow up healthy both physically and mentally.

Hourré House #architecture Architects: Collectif Encore Area: 220 m² Year: 2015 Photographs: Charlotte Gastaut, Michel Bonvin Lead Architect: Anna Chavepayre City: Labastide-Villefranche Country: France We fell in love in Labastide Villefranche, on the outskirts of the french Basque country. With an old farm, a collapsing vernacular agricultural building.  From outside, the house looked like any farmhouse in the Basque Country, a massive yet unpretentious architecture. When we first opened its main door, we were expecting to come across the usual dark and damp central space called ”Ezkatz”. The roof had collapsed and pulled the upper floor with it, turning the house into a forest whose main room had become a clearing. ”Let’s not change a thing,” we thought. Manifesto for a living house. In many ways, Hourré epitomises our approach to space, landscape, ways of living, and sense of freedom. Moreover, it stresses the priority that we give to what is already there, what is free, and what is yet to come. Also, unlike a lot of ”one-trick poney” buildings that we see, it's a project that is generous with ideas! Changing one thing changes everything.  And so we kept the roof’s opening intact and turned the doors into sliding windows mounted on the facades so they disappear when opened. Unlike many architects who intend to recreate sunsets at each project they do, we believe that integrating it into our building is enough (and much cheaper). Doing so, the house changes constantly, through the hours, days, and seasons. Building for birds, flowers, and plants. There is this picture of a swallow inside the house that we always show when we do conferences. It is a pretty lousy picture. Birds are not easy to shoot. Maybe that’s the unfortunate reason why we talk much more about how windows look like instead of making a place for the birds so they can be part of the house. And the same goes for flowers as well as any other plants. What we want is free: Eco-Services.  In winter, the sun directly heats the 70 cm thick stone walls and an air/water heat pump heats up the floor. The walls then turn the house into a stove. The inertia of the uninsulated walls allows the house to fully breathe, silently since there’s no CMV system (some of us have forgotten that air flows naturally without any engine nor electricity). And in summer ? Well last June, as France recorded a 40° heatwave, the house visitors were asking whether there was any AC to get such a cool room temperature. That’s the magic of these thick stone walls that have not been insulated. Keeping the inertia intact and freshness all summer long.

Steel House #architecture Architects: NOMO STUDIO Area: 250 m² Year: 2024 Photographs: Adrià Goula Lead Architects: Alicia Casals City: Menorca Country: Spain

Xanadu Chongchongshan #architecture Location: Chongqing, China Architects: Wilburban Architects
Area: 3800 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Guowei Liu, Hanfeng Zou
Lead Architects: Jacky Chan Type: Hotel The site is on a steep mountain peak with a large gradient, and only a gentle path at the top. Walking through, visitors are constantly surrounded by tall, slender fir trees, disorienting the sense of direction. The main building's front elevation is a spherical concave shape, echoing the circular plaza in front, transforming the building into the stage backdrop for the square and creating a three-dimensional space for activities. The main building is a space that connects the interior and exterior. Visitors can enter through a dimly lit cave, leading into the tall dining hall, wrapped by the surrounding trees. Then, by traversing an external suspended staircase, they reach the rooftop space, elevated above the treetops, offering a panoramic view of the mountains. Alternatively, visitors can ascend via a spiral tower to the highest point and cross a skybridge to reach the rooftop. These two intertwined paths allow movement between the building and the forest, offering a layered, immersive experience. Four white buildings are arranged along the mountaintop contour, while six treehouses are hidden among the pine trees, resembling an ancient matrix that encircles the central plaza, creating a surreal spatial relationship. The architecture, with its primitive geometric forms, window openings, and large blank wall surfaces reflecting the swaying shadows of the trees, becomes a part of the environment. The pavilion are located in the valley, hidden on the opposite side of the mountaintop. The pavilion retreats behind cedar trees, appearing like a fleeting white structure in the forest, with its geometric roof floating among the trees.   Architecture is more than simple construction. Through the organization of spatial forms and order, controlling the tension and release of emotions, it transcends materiality and creates poetry. We never overlook nature, allowing light and air to permeate the building.

Heirlooms in Concrete #architecture Area: 5000 sq. Ft Year: 2024 Photographs: Anand Jaiu Location: India, Bengaluru Located in a longstanding residential layout of Bangalore, the site held a home that had been witness to family histories for over two decades. With generational change came shifting needs. Children had grown up, spaces had grown outdated, and lifestyles had outgrown the architecture that once supported them. The family, rather than opting for a piecemeal renovation, decided to rebuild entirely—a bold yet sentimental decision that acknowledged the limitations of the old while honouring its spirit. The brief to the architects was clear yet complex: design a home that was current, functional, and aesthetically aligned with contemporary sensibilities, but do not erase the emotional memory of the place. It had to support the comfort and routines of the older generation while embracing the pace and recluse that the younger members desired. The design response came in the form of a twin house: the older generation occupying the lower floors and the younger family living above. This vertical separation allowed both autonomy and proximity, enabling the two generations to maintain their lifestyles while staying connected. On the lower floors, proximity to the street and garden offers easy access, sociability, and rootedness—ideal for the elderly parents. The upper floors, in contrast, are introverted and sky-facing, shaped around openness, privacy, and spatial flow. Yet, these vertical divisions do not result in isolated units. One of the most memorable aspects of the project is the striking enclosing wall to the courtyard. More than a peripheral enclosure, the wall is a sculptural, kinetic surface—both a threshold and a muse in concrete. Conceived from the outset to be both secure and expressive, the client imagined a feature that could function as a fringe while also embodying the design ethos of the home—a wall that speaks as much as it shelters. Initially conceptualized as a series of sloped precast concrete panels, the early iterations felt too static. Through design evolution, the team introduced alternating slopes that create a rhythmic, dynamic illusion. The wall now feels alive—its geometry and shadows constantly shifting with the movement of the sun and the viewer. Constructed using raw, unfinished concrete panels held in a steel framework, the wall celebrates material honesty. Its imperfections are not masked; they are embraced. Dark matte-finished steel frames provide a crisp outline, while corten steel fins on the upper floor add a layer of warmth and tactile contrast. Practicality is not sacrificed for form. The wall, exposed to rain and weather, includes carefully sealed joints and an internal gutter system to channel water away and preserve visual clarity. The result is a visually commanding wall that transcends its functional role, asserting the home's evolved identity. At the heart of the house lies a two-storey-high courtyard, the anchor and pulse of the residence. Courtyards are an age-old typology in Indian domestic architecture, often serving as spatial mediators between inside and outside, private and public, communal and individual. In Heirlooms in Concrete, this central volume reinvents the traditional courtyard as a multi-sensory, cross-generational common space. A skylight above ensures the space is always filled with diffused natural light. The courtyard connects the living room, dining area, and the upper-level commons, creating seamless spatial integration across floors. It becomes the family's gathering place, a zone for conversation, play, rest, and celebration. A pastel green swing with brass detailing, suspended delicately within this space, becomes a visual and physical bridge between the courtyard and the adjacent seating areas. It is both nostalgic and modern, a symbolic reminder of how the old and the new coexist in this home. From a design standpoint, Heirlooms in Concrete emphasizes restraint, clarity, and craftsmanship. The language is contemporary and minimal, allowing the architecture to act as a backdrop for life rather than overwhelm it. Passive thermal comfort was also a key consideration—cavity walls were incorporated into the envelope to provide insulation against Bangalore's fluctuating temperatures. Skylights, fitted with discreet mesh ventilators, allow warm air to escape from double-height volumes, promoting cross-ventilation and passive cooling throughout the day. Every material, finish, and detail is chosen with a dual intent: comfort and expression. The interiors are defined by soft neutrals, exposed materials, and subtle textures. Stone and oxide flooring grounds the spaces, while timber and metal accents provide contrast and warmth. The living room opens into the courtyard, allowing filtered light to wash over its surfaces through the day. The sculptural staircase that rises from the dining area is a striking element—oxide-finished, curved and quiet in its elegance. As it ascends, it guides movement to the upper level and further to the terrace. The terrace is imagined not as a residual space, but as an active programmatic zone with a gym, home theatre, pantry, and terrace garden. This topmost floor functions as a recreational and contemplative retreat. Designed for leisure and family interaction, it offers expansive views and is wrapped in greenery. Here, architecture provides the opportunity for pause, reflection, and delight. The terrace also houses a solar installation, enabling the home to partially power itself with renewable energy, reducing its environmental footprint and marking a step toward self-sufficiency. Indian families are in a state of flux. As societal roles evolve and urban lifestyles diversify, the joint family is no longer the norm, yet the nuclear family often finds itself incomplete. Heirlooms in Concrete reflects this ambiguity. It does not impose a fixed model of family living, but instead allows for interdependence within independence. This spatial negotiation—offering connection and privacy simultaneously—is the key to the project's success. Whether it is the shared courtyard, the layered access, or the autonomous upper terrace, each design choice responds to emotional and functional needs. At its core, Heirlooms in Concrete is a story about belonging. It is about how families adapt to time while holding onto the threads of familiarity. The architecture captures this with grace—using light, volume, and material to choreograph everyday life. The project resists the temptation to be overdesigned. It does not chase architectural spectacle, but creates spaces that are warm, intentional, and adaptable. It is a reminder that homes are not static; they are repositories of time, memory, and future possibilities. In documenting the evolution of family and form, Heirlooms in Concrete offers a compelling architectural typology for Indian cities. It answers pressing questions: How do we build for the present without forgetting the past? How do we design for individuality without eroding community? How can architecture speak softly, yet profoundly? This residence does all of that. It grows with its users. It holds stories within its walls. It offers introspection and celebration, routine and surprise. It is a model of contemporary Indian domestic architecture that honors complexity, embraces change, and reimagines continuity. In the everyday lives that unfold here, in the shadows cast by the feature wall, in the laughter in the courtyard, and the solitude of the nooks—Heirlooms in Concrete stands as a built testament to the evolving spirit of home.

MIRIN House / Ayutt and Associates design Architects: Ayutt and Associates design Area: 600 m² Year: 2024 Photographs: Chalermwat Wongchompoo (Sofography) The house is named after the homeowner's daughter, a dedicated medical specialist whose life in the bustling city rarely offers him moments of pause. To create a private sanctuary of calm, he acquired the land adjacent to his existing home, envisioning a new dwelling where time slows down. With a swimming pool and layers of greenery, this was meant to be a retreat. But for A A D design, it became something more: an opportunity to design an immersive experience of living. Rather than designing a standard pool villa, A A D design approached the house as a narrative told through landscape, pathways, light, wind, sound, and nature, woven into a seamless whole. MIRIN House unfolds from the very first step onto the land. A gradually ascending curved pathway guides visitors inward, serving as a gentle psychological transition from the chaos of the outside world to a peaceful internal realm. Every design element, the terrain, garden, lighting, water sounds, airflow, and shadows, plays a part in shaping the mood of this arrival journey. The sloped landscape increases the surface area, allowing for more trees to be planted on the compact plot. The compressed-rammed earth walls double as planters and informal seating, inviting touch and interaction without stooping. This carefully choreographed promenade uses form, ventilation, light modulation, and sound to stimulate the senses. Even in rain, the sound of droplets hitting leaves and stone surfaces becomes part of the intended experience. The pathway doubles as a discreet water channel, reminiscent of a natural stream. Interestingly, the entrance to the house itself is hidden. Visitors instinctively understand the direction without being explicitly shown, experiencing a worm's eye perspective that makes the house feel grander and more dimensional than its modest size, one-bedroom, one-living-room function. At MIRIN House, materials are not just for building - they're mediums for sensory expression. Light and shadow shape what we see. Water and wind orchestrate what we hear. Natural textures convey temperature, dampness, and roughness. Earthy smells and edible herbs in the garden evoke scent and taste. The living quarters are lifted to the second floor, where the pool and treetop canopies define the view. Below, a shaded space echoes the underfloor openness of traditional Thai homes. From this raised vantage point, residents experience a bird's eye perspective of the landscape, contrasting with the grounded perspective of arrival. The house thus offers three distinct perceptual layers - worm's eye view, normal eye view, and bird's eye view perspective - transforming a small home into a richly spatial experience. Light is meticulously choreographed like stage lighting, manipulating contrast and rhythm. From the carport to the house, light intensity gradually changes, dilating the pupils and heightening emotional anticipation. Inside, the mood shifts: darker, quieter, cooler. Natural light is modulated with deep shadows; indirect and mood lighting inside further softens the space. The result is a gentle contrast between the stimulating exterior and the meditative interior. For the interior of the house, using dark tones absorbs light and muffles sounds, offering a cool, quiet ambiance - an antidote to Bangkok's heat and noise. Full-height glass openings invite in the trees and sky, transforming the natural landscape into a dynamic artwork that changes with the seasons. A A D design's vision extended beyond the house and into the community, and didn't create MIRIN House solely for its owner; it was designed with the surrounding community in mind. The roof was intentionally angled to avoid obstructing the neighboring houses' view of the sky, preserving their visual connection with nature. Portions of the home's greenery were also made visible from the street, allowing passersby and nearby residents to share in the serenity of the landscape. In doing so, MIRIN House becomes a link between private space and public nature, not a secluded enclosure but a gentle offering to the community. The garden doesn't stop at the boundary wall. Given the limited size of the plot in a dense suburban development, the design borrows views of mature trees from neighboring properties, weaving them into the home's visual tapestry. In return, MIRIN House gives back through rooftop gardens, a poolscape, and vertical greenery that soften the building's mass and contribute to the local ecosystem. This house does more than offer privacy to its owner; it fosters relationships between home and community, between architecture and nature, and between individual and city. It's a design that encourages a new urban mindset - one where we not only coexist with nature but actively share it. Because in the end, a house is not just architecture, but community, life, a living bond. It's not just a place to stay, but it's a relationship with everything around it.

Klåva House Location: Sweden Architects: what! arkitektur Area: 188 m² Year: 2022 Photographs: Viktor Nilsson Manufacturers: Troldtekt, Almedalsgolv, Schüco, Sioox, Westcoast Windows "Klåva" is a local word from Bohuslän, used to describe something that has been split or cleaved. It also refers to the specific topographical feature on the site, a narrow ravine nestled between two ridgelines. The property lies within a nature conservation area, characterized by granite outcrops, sparse vegetation, and a more lush, protected microclimate within the ravine itself, sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds. The architecture is guided by three main intentions: to allow the buildings to humbly defer to the landscape, to enhance the unique qualities of the green and sheltered klåva, and to capture and frame views of the sea. These principles shaped every decision throughout the design process. What was initially envisioned as a single building was eventually divided into two volumes. This allowed the architecture to follow the natural topography more closely. The buildings are gently angled to trace the site's existing contours. A concrete retaining wall creates a level plateau for the main house and its outdoor terraces. The guesthouse is a semi-subterranean structure, accessed from the lower garden area of the ravine. Together, the buildings and walls form a linking element between the upper and lower parts of the site, connecting wind-exposed and wind-sheltered zones, barren and fertile landscapes, and large and small spatial experiences. The volumes establish a subtle boundary between wind and lee, rough and lush, the vast seascape and the intimate garden. In the central spaces of the main house, these contrasting conditions are allowed to meet. Large glazed openings frame both the openness of the sea and the enclosed green heart of the site, inviting the landscape into the interior. Durable and honest materials such as wood, concrete, and limestone were selected to age naturally over time. Built-in furniture is crafted in oak. The kitchen units are made of stained oak, with a custom-mixed tone that enhances the wood grain while distinguishing it from other interior elements. A close and continuous dialogue with the clients throughout the project ensured a high level of integration between architecture and everyday life, even extending to details like a custom sleeping alcove for the family dog, seamlessly built into the bedroom wardrobe system. Rather than making a bold statement, the house quietly adapts to the site, shaped by its specific conditions and intended to coexist gently with the surrounding landscape.

MUWA NISEKO Architects: Nikken Sekkei Area: 20817 m² Year: 2023 Photographs: Forward Stroke inc. This condominium hotel is located in a prime location directly connected to the Niseko Hirafu ski slopes in Hokkaido, Japan. The architecture expresses the characteristics of Niseko and its landscape dotted with small-scale buildings, and the gabled roofs characteristic of Hokkaido's and the greater region's traditional landscape context, while also incorporating the features of "condominium-style development," where each unit has its own owner. By expressing these elements as a collection of gabled roofs, the design achieves both economic efficiency and rationality while preserving the landscape of Niseko. The hotel offers a variety of unique experiences, including guest rooms that blend seamlessly with the landscape, a lobby that frames the natural beauty of Niseko, and an open-air bath with views of Mt. Yōtei. This is an architecture that can only be found in this location. Japanese houses feature an engawa (buffer space) which gently connects exteriors and interiors. This know-how is passed down from our ancestors in order to facilitate harmonization with the harsh natural environment. It also serves as a device to delicately separate public and private spaces. Here, we have modernized the engawa by arranging it as a cylindrical balcony in each guest room, thereby balancing privacy and openness. This design also expresses the "condominium with individual owners" program as a collective of individual units, as reflected in the exterior. On the top floor, the engawa is designed in a gable roof shape -- the basic form of Japanese architecture. The exterior, which features gable roofs with varying slopes in accordance with the internal plan, resonates with the surrounding beautiful mountain range and landscape, creating a new landscape in Niseko that evokes Japanese aesthetic sensibilities. A "non-everyday" space that echoes the scenery of Niseko – The building was designed to maximize floor space within the site conditions restricted by the setback line, as stipulated by the Natural Parks Law and the nearby cliff. On the ground floor, guest rooms and an open-air bath with a view of Mt. Yotei are arranged in a square form around a courtyard at the center, designed to bring natural light to the common areas on the basement floor. The entrance is located on the basement floor, and common areas such as the reception, restaurant, spa, hot springs are arranged around the "Four Seasons Garden" (shiki-no-niwa), a courtyard in the center of the building. The Garden has a grove of Japanese maple trees native to the town, while the ground is paved with rocks excavated from the site. The courtyard captures the natural beauty of Niseko and welcomes guests with different expressions throughout the seasons. By creating a floor plan that offsets the irregular shape of the site, 34 unique guest units were created. Each unit features a three-color scheme that harmonizes with the exterior, while the penthouse units offer a variety of experiences by incorporating the recurring shape of the roof into the interior space, creating guest rooms that open up to the exterior. This architecture is unique to this location: guest units that blend seamlessly with the landscape, a lobby that showcases the changing seasons of Niseko, interiors adorned with Japanese elements such as latticework and earthen walls, and an open-air bath that offers a panoramic view of Mount Yōtei. A structural design tailored to the harsh environment of heavy snowfall, enabling an extraordinary experience – To ensure seismic performance while randomly arranging a variety of guest units, load-bearing walls were strategically balanced across the floor plan. With a basic span configuration of 3.6m, the height of perimeter beams was minimized to maximize opening height within the limited floor height of 3.1m. Additionally, by eliminating beams that cross guest rooms in the structural design, constraints on guest room layouts were removed, enabling the creation of open guest rooms with maximum ceiling heights. Furthermore, by adopting an SRC Vierendeel frame structure for the inner perimeter, seismic performance was ensured while achieving a 10.8m span on the B1 floor, creating an attractive lobby space. The sixth-floor open-air bath facing Mt. Yōtei was realized using an approximately 6m long cantilevered structure supported by wall beams on the 6th and 7th floors. While these wall beams create a different planar rigidity balance compared to the lower floors, the layout of the bearing walls was adjusted in plan to take the eccentricity into consideration. The top floor features a concrete folded-plate roof structure, eliminating some columns to create an open living space. Since the folded roof primarily supports vertical loads, load-bearing walls were arranged along doorways and corridors to ensure sufficient seismic resistance.