Casa Serpiente, named for it’s coiled layout, preserves a Melia tree in the center with a mirrored facade to amplify the effect. Photo by Cristóbal Palma.
A house and gallery in Seoul is divided into three modules, with water in between. Architect Steven Holl derived this layout from a never performed musical score by István Anhalt. Photo by Iwan Baan.
Basel-based architect Silvia Gmür’s concrete villa on Lake Maggiore is a remarkable platform from which to marvel at sublime, peaked vistas. Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Farnsworth House is clearly in the DNA of her weekend getaway, but she disrupts the purity of the glass-box formula even as she preserves its sense of mathematical precision. Gmür’s version has two floors, each a separate home, each slashed in half creating a large terrace, and each punctuated by an unlikely pair of pyramids, one of which is made to stand on its head. It’s a gravity-defying joke on the cantilevered engineering holding all that concrete aloft, with a sly, topsy-turvy reference to the surrounding mountain peaks. Photo by Hélène Binet.
Curving up 44 levels, the Coil house by Tokyo architect Akihisa Hirata redefines flexible living. Each room has a loosely defined purpose that changes according to the whims of the family. Devoid of heavy furniture, each landing accommodates a multitude of activities on a daily basis. “[This] fits our ‘futon lifestyle,’” says the resident, explaining that the family freely spreads out their mattresses on any of the large landings at night. Photo by Koichi Torimura.
Echoing the site’s topography, an apartment building by design firm Plasma Studio in Sesto, Italy, has abstract folding planes that provide practical balconies as well as add aesthetic value. Photos by Hertha Hurnaus.
Architects Carrie and Kevin Burke designed their home to be a time-telling observatory. Sunlight is corseted through a 24-inch glass eye suspended just beneath a skylight, making the living room double as a sundial. Photo by Prakash Patel.
Docomomo US announces the winners of this year's Modernism in America Awards. Each project showcases exemplary modern restoration techniques, practices, and ideas.
Today, we kicked off this year’s annual Dwell on Design at the LA Convention Center, which will continue through Sunday, June 26th. Though we’ve been hosting this extensive event for years, this time around is particularly special.
By straightening angles, installing windows, and adding vertical accents, architect Aaron Ritenour brought light and order to an irregularly shaped apartment in the heart of Athens, Greece.
From the bones of a neglected farmstead in rural Scotland emerges a low-impact, solar-powered home that’s all about working with what was already there.
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