VMZINC

Nordic Museum

At the turn of the 20th century, one out of every four immigrants to Washington State came from the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Many settled in the Ballard neighborhood, where they joined the booming maritime and forestry industries and had a significant influence on Pacific Northwest development. Founded in 1980, the Nordic Museum is the only museum in the world telling the story of the five Nordic countries and the native Sami people; it is a home for the vital and lasting connections between the Nordic and Northwest regions. Originally housed in a surplus public school building with minimal infrastructure-classrooms held exhibits and the cafeteria served as a performance hall-the Nordic Museum desperately needed a new facility.

Fulham Pavilion / Silver & Co.

Silver & Co has designed and converted a derelict shed into a flexible multi-functional art studio for an artist couple and their child at the bottom of a west [London](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/london) garden. The studio has been designed to meet the sculptor and painter's needs that include work, hobby, play and storage. It also needs to be turned into a gallery or guest room when needed. With these in mind, the studio has to be as flexible, open and airy as possible. Under the timber flooring hides a sunken bed that is accessible by lifting a section of the floor mechanically. The birch plywood wall panels on both sides of the kitchenette slide open to reveal an artist's wash-up sink and a shower room. Hidden within a full height storage cupboard stands a folded table-tennis table, where another of the clients' passion has been included. Folding desk has been incorporated to allow for a bigger space when it is not being used. The light-filled space with opening skylights, windows and glazed sliding doors leads onto a heated veranda where the family gets to appreciate their garden and enjoy outdoor dining whenever possible. The location of the studio benefits from direct sunlight and timber louvered canopy and automatic roller mesh blind have been introduced to ensure that the studio and veranda get ample shading and not overheated on sunny days. Anthracite zinc and Accoya wood cladding, concealing an insulated steel and timber structure, have been chosen for their durability and stability and they compliment with the existing brick back wall.

2 En 1 Intergenerational House / TICA architecture

The program aim to accommodate a place to leave for a four generation's family. Two separated dwellings are created in the same building. They're sharing spaces in between: the cave in the basement, the atelier on the ground floor and the upper terrace on the first floor. Those spaces provide privacy and acoustics qualities and in the same time, they allow crossing from a house to another. This building is settled in a narrow property in front of the sea. The volume organisation follows bioclimatic rules to take advantage of the environment. Density, south orientations, natural ventilation, geothermal energy taken from underground waterways and high level wall insulation are brought together to create an efficient building. The cross-laminated timber wall structure brings a pleasant wood atmosphere in the spaces. Rooms are very different from each other like the boat bunk beds or double bed alcove until the bedroom suite with terrace. Bathrooms are situated along the façade with a sea view. Wood details like useful wall partition between kitchen and living room, corridor's lighting or sun shading sliding panels. Sailing cordage is used for balustrades and outside sliding sun shading.

Floating Blocks / Toth Project Architect Office

Designing one-family houses or cottages presents significant challenges for both clients and architects, as layouts and functional connections must reflect the daily habits and lifestyles of the family before considerations like façade and aesthetics. Our office won the design competition for this four-story villa in Budapest’s District II, and the clients’ complete trust allowed us full creative freedom—they simply asked to see in reality what they had admired in the visual plans. Despite working with an unfamiliar contractor, the villa was completed in just eight months on a narrow, steeply sloping plot. The building is composed of horizontally shifted volumes per floor: the ground floor, partially cantilevered over the slope, creates an intimate living space, while the white upper cube floats above a darker, road-facing base and opens fully to southern views. The top floor, a recessed black-box volume, offers panoramic vistas of Buda. The 300-square-meter interior is rational and economical, with no wasted space, yet every room maintains a warm, familiar atmosphere. The playful massing, consoles, walls, and floating lofts add elegance without extravagance. Interior spaces are clearly organized: the cellar houses a guest bedroom and service areas; the first floor contains living, dining, kitchen, and playroom; the second floor accommodates children’s and parents’ bedrooms; and the top floor provides a serene retreat with panoramic views. The villa balances variety with restraint, achieving both richness and moderation in design, massing, and interior character.

Sport Equipment & Tribune Robert Gazzi Stadium

A new Sports Equipment was arranged in an L-shape at the south-eastern corner of the stadium. It opens towards the entrance to the site and the football field and contains the forecourt and landscaped areas.

Mile End Road Apartment Refurbishment / Vine Architecture Studio

The project involved a major refurbishment and reconfiguration of a top-floor East London apartment, aiming to restore the building’s lost character and reimagine its cramped layout. Accessed via a shared stairwell above offices, the original apartment was in disrepair, and the design sought to rationalize the proportions and flow while retaining the intersecting load-bearing masonry walls, which naturally divided the space into four functional zones: washing, dining, relaxing, and sleeping. A subtle level change and roof valley animate the apartment, creating undulating heights that unify the interconnected spaces, while wall-to-wall roof lights in the double dual-pitched roof allow soft north light to wash the interiors. The roof’s incline is carefully oriented to maximize glazing while minimizing solar gain, supporting a passive approach to thermal comfort. Adopting a ‘re-use’ and ‘fabric first’ strategy, the project enhances the thermal performance of the building envelope and reduces embodied energy, reflecting a commitment to sustainability and context. Internally, white-washed timber, smoked oak flooring, and stained spruce rafters—both exposed and concealed—create a calm, cohesive aesthetic that flows through interlocking rooms, with oiled oak details unifying finishes. Concealed motorized blinds and full-height spruce sliding panels for bedrooms and kitchen cabinetry provide seamless functionality, while daylight filters through frameless picture windows and slimline sliding doors for smooth indoor-outdoor transitions. The terraces feature durable Accoya decking that silvers naturally, complementing internal oak flooring, and the new pale brick and mortar rear façade adds a soft yet textured exterior. A vivid yellow, carefully detailed spiral stair connects the terraces and introduces a sculptural element, visually animating the rooftop spaces and offering sweeping views over East London, completing a sensitive balance of form, function, and aesthetic.

The Atrium / D'Ambrosio Architecture & Urbanism

Jawl Properties, the owners of this high-density office development set in downtown [Victoria](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/victoria), challenged its architects. They asked if a speculative office building could be a catalyst for the revitalization of a moribund urban area and contribute somehow to city life. The answers emerged from a highly collaborative multi-disciplinary approach. Occupying the length of a city block, the Atrium actively engages its civic context. To complement [Victoria](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/victoria)'s historic downtown and reintegrate the block into its urban fabric, the building has two sub-levels and seven above-ground floors. It is built to the perimeter of the site and forms three street walls that define the public realm. A palette of authentic, durable materials invests the block with a sense of long-term commitment. A tall and transparent ground floor exposes the cafés, restaurants, and shops along the street and lining the internal atrium space inviting people to approach and enter. Rain gardens ring the site, a first for private development in [Victoria](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/victoria), catching and cleaning the site's stormwater and polluted street run-off. Trees and special plantings buffer the sidewalk from traffic and soften the cityscape.

Jih House Refurbishment

There was an original project, which was built up to a structural level. It was kept like that, unfinished, as many others. The pre-existence was a very powerful mass of reinforced concrete, characterized by the two facades of the first floor that, acting as beams of great edge, support a generous projection of more than 6 meters. It is also noteworthy the sunken courtyards, which allow the total occupation of the basement, so that much of the living area of the house remains hidden under the ground. On the street level, the aim was to read the completed work as an intersection or twin of two different volumes, with different finishing, on which the lighting holes of the house were punctually drilled. After ten years an opportunity to finish the work and rethink the project arises. New intentions guide the development of the proposal. Having perceived too many tensions in a plot of tight dimensions, we try to compensate for the disturbing balance of the upper volume in projection by shaping a raised transverse platform that will help, in turn, to bridge the gap between the interior of the house and the garden. This gesture suggests a more rooted settlement of the house on the ground, an idea that can be supported by treating the sunken courtyards as an extension of the facades. These strategies help to highlight the horizontal component. It is proposed, in this way, a composition of superimposed strips, configured by a coating of zinc and wood, which lighten and dissolve the perception of the original masses, provide a homogeneous, monolithic, more serene image, absorb and integrate the different gaps, include the sliding shutters of solar protection and darkening and, moreover, they almost completely dilute the original presence of the two volumes. The same pattern taken into the interior of the house abounds in the intention to perpetuate the leaks and dissolve the boundaries, providing a greater sense of spaciousness.

EERC / Todd Schliemann of Ennead Architects with Jacobs Engineering Group

The Engineering Education and Research Center (EERC), developed over seven years, redefines engineering education by integrating undergraduate project-based learning, interdisciplinary graduate research, and entrepreneurship in state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, and maker spaces. Key components include the 23,000-square-foot National Instruments Student Project Center, the James J. and Miriam B. Mulva Auditorium and Conference Center, Texas Instruments teaching and project labs, and the Center for Innovation, the school’s first space focused on rapidly moving revolutionary ideas to market. The design, emphasizing "Transparency and Unification," organizes the building into two nine-story limestone and glass towers tailored to the distinct needs of electrical and computer engineering and interdisciplinary research. These towers are linked by a three-story enclosed atrium with a folded glass and steel roof, creating a vibrant, light-filled public space to encourage interaction between faculty, students, and visitors. Bridges and staircases connect the different research environments, while floor-to-ceiling glass reveals the National Instruments Student Project Center, placing engineering education fully on display. Architectural elements throughout the building celebrate engineering principles, from the steel truss systems spanning the towers to the intricate spiral staircase, the delicate “V” column below it, and sky bridges connecting the floors, all reinforcing the integration of learning, research, and innovation.

PS House

PS House is located in a low-density urban parish on the outskirts of Braga, a city of Portugal. The land has an approximately rectangular shape and is located in an area of the accentuated slope, with unevenness and sinuous morphology. It is oriented in the North/Northwest direction and faces a small valley area, located next to a small urban agglomeration and some cultivated fields. The features of the house are developed over three different floors, facing North and descending the land, following and 'traversing' the unevenness that it offers, in a coherent functional hierarchy in height, and whose spatial progression is made in a descending direction, that is: functional area, social area, and private area. The house rests on the ground in a 'terrace' solution, following its unevenness and its morphology, in a volume that is defined in three fitted blocks. Each of these blocks corresponds to three different adapted areas of the house, which are organized in a simple and not complex program: Functional Area [above the threshold: 100.00 m] Social Area [at an elevation of 97.00m] Private Area [at an elevation of 94.00m].

Jeddo Road / Inglis Badrashi Loddo

The Jeddo Road project in South Acton, formerly known as 'Soapsuds Island,' revitalizes a historic 1870s site with a sensitive mix of restoration and contemporary intervention. Spanning 1,100 sqm and built for £2.6 million, IBLA carefully removed low-quality 20th-century additions to reveal the original house (no. 69) and part of the former Jeddo Works (no. 67). The double-height rusticated arches of Jeddo Works were stripped of paint to expose deep red bricks, while a new concrete-framed extension revived the house, harmonizing with the industrial character of the site using red brick and patinated zinc. As a mixed-use development, the ground floor accommodates an open-plan office with mezzanine, while flats above feature calm, contemporary interiors of exposed concrete, steel, and timber, all illuminated by abundant natural light. A penthouse flat offers wrap-around views across London, and a timber-lined passageway leads to a shared courtyard and garden, connecting two new three-story mews houses clad in white steel and timber with private sunken gardens, balconies, and roof terraces. Sustainable design is integral: high insulation and airtightness, passive solar heating through south-facing winter gardens, exposed concrete soffits for thermal mass, and locally sourced, reusable materials all contribute to energy efficiency exceeding Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. By carefully balancing heritage restoration with modern, light-filled living spaces, Jeddo Road embodies a sense of rootedness while offering contemporary comfort and sustainability, creating a striking contrast between past and present.

Benbow Yard / FORMstudio

FORMstudio’s recently completed Benbow Yard project in Southwark, London, responds directly to the Mayor of London’s policy promoting the reuse of small sites to help meet the city’s housing needs. Located on a tight, irregular brownfield plot formerly occupied by a metalworks, the site presented narrow access, limited outlook, and daylight constraints that shaped the design of two new-build, 2-storey, 3-bedroom courtyard houses. With barrel-vaulted profiles and semi-submerged forms to reduce visual impact, the first floor on the east side is set back to create an extensive sedum roof that enhances light and views between the buildings. Windows are oriented south to maximize natural light and preserve privacy, while living spaces at the lower level open onto private courtyards. The ground floors are clad in contemporary pale brick and the upper barrel-vaulted storeys in zinc standing-seam cladding, referencing the industrial heritage of the site with refined detailing for a sense of quality and substance. Careful orientation ensures interiors are flooded with daylight despite the compact site, while FORMstudio’s signature attention to spatial flow creates seamless connections between internal and external spaces. Imaginative landscaping further enhances the experience, providing generous and unexpected views, making the project a thoughtful, high-quality response to both local housing policy and the site’s unique challenges.

Zinc House

This 3 bedroom family house is set in 4 acres at the edge of a [Lancashire](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/lancashire) village. The brief required a house that was laid out over 2 storeys but could accommodate inclusive lifetime homes standards for ground floor living, and whilst open plan in layout could retain the function of accommodating distinct rooms. In response, a series of interconnecting living spaces link though disappearing corner sliding doors to create an open plan ground floor, that opens on three sides to outdoor garden 'rooms' that capture light at different times of the day.A second storey adds a master bedroom suite with framed views of the hills beyond. A masonry plinth of handmade brick provides support for two gabled volumes clad in contrasting standing seam zinc finishes, one elevated and the other grounded, linked by a sedum flat roof structure. The 'townside' gables are expressed in monolithic form, whereas the 'countryside' gables are punctuated with large projecting box seat windows overlooking a re-instated orchard with farmland beyond. The house achieves an extremely low carbon footprint, with a timber structure and a highly efficient envelope, supported by a PV array and ground source heat pump to provide for heating and electricity needs with almost no net running costs.

House G16 / Markus Mucha Architekt

Albany Entertainment Centre

Parekura Bay House

The site is a relatively constrained valley that runs north towards the sea, with prominent headlands to the east and west. It is planted with regenerating natives, with an open lawn area between the house and the sea. Although the overall site is 5.3ha, the Buildable Area is relatively small, constrained by the road to the south, the sloping land to east and west, and the 30m Foreshore Setback. An archaeological site has a 10m setback from the western side boundary, and the Geotechnical Engineers identified a 'building Limit Line" which restricted buildings to the west of the valley floor. A 5m rolling maximum height provided another tight restriction. The house is another iteration of our "encampment" houses, whereby three separate wings sit almost parallel to each other, following the slope of the land and gently rotating in plan as the drop down the hill. Levels were set up to ensure views from each wing over the one in front. This ensures they fit well in the landscape and minimizes the impact of a single large building when viewed from the sea. Planting between the wings provides additional concealment of the true size of the building.

Glen Ellen Aerie House / Aidlin Darling Design

Sited in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma, California, this single-family residence floats above the hillside, offering sweeping views of Sonoma Valley. Designed to be restrained in scale and cost, the home intimately engages the surrounding landscape while linking indoor and outdoor experiences. Its tripartite plan features two solid masses clad in black standing-seam zinc that emerge from the earth and support a central floating glass pavilion, which bridges the volumes. The first two masses house guest bedrooms, a kitchen, and entry, while the master suite, library, living, and dining rooms are oriented toward panoramic valley views. A central circulation spine efficiently connects all three wings, and both ends of the glass pavilion open fully to exterior decks that hover over the descending terrain, shaded from the summer sun. A pool and outdoor cooking area stretch along the contours to the south, enhancing the seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Materiality distinguishes the volumes: the pavilion features lighter wood cladding, rough-sawn oak ceilings, and distressed oak floors, while the grounded masses use concrete floors and neutral white ceilings, reinforcing their connection to the earth. The resulting home is a quiet, elegant framework that frames the dramatic natural setting while embracing biophilic design principles, blurring the boundary between interior and exterior at an accessible cost.

Regent Park Aquatic Centre

Located in downtown Toronto, Regent Park is Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project, originally built in the late 1940s. Historically a transitional community for new immigrants, it became characterized by concentrated social and economic marginalization, with 41% of residents under 18 and over 70% living below the Low-Income Cut-Off Rate. The 12-year Regent Park Revitalization, launched in 2005, aims to transform the 69-acre neighborhood into a vibrant mixed-use, mixed-income community. At the heart of this renewal is the Regent Park Aquatic Centre, completed in 2012, conceived as a “Pavilion in the Park” that is open at its base and bisected lengthwise by a skylit “dorsal fin” over the aquatic hall. The facility includes a 25m, 6-lane pool, leisure and tot pools, hot tub, slide, Tarzan rope, and diving board, replacing an outdoor pool while emphasizing transparency and connection to the outdoors. It is Canada’s first aquatic facility to adopt universal changerooms with private cubicles, addressing gender, cultural, and privacy considerations, while also offering a sunlit terrace and a green roof that responds to views from surrounding high-rise towers. The design accommodates cultural preferences with screened swimming areas and integrates fitness, leisure, and therapeutic aquatic uses in a clean, open, and inviting interior. Serving as both a sculptural park pavilion and a civic amenity, the Aquatic Centre exemplifies the Regent Park revitalization’s commitment to social inclusion, community engagement, and contemporary urban design.

Hotel Neya Porto / pk Arquitetos + Colectivo ODD

The building is located partly at the old Convent of Madre Deus of Monchique, and the old industrial warehouses. The whole building is a couple steps away from Alfandega, in Oporto historic centre, classified as UNESCO World Heritage since 1996. Sustainability and innovation were some of the main features of this project, pushing this project's development to always take into account the principles of sustainable architecture. Therefore, a reutilization of existing materials such as wood, stone and metal and their readaptation to a new purpose, was a constant feature throughout the whole process. " We recovered roof tiles from the old roofs, wooden flooring from the old warehouse, some pillars and metal beams of the old factory "Fabrica de Massarelos" and we reutilized the granit stone from walls which were demolished" When considering innovation linked to sustainability, a glass roof with photovoltaic capacity was projected and built, that covers the space occupied by the convent's old church. The glass maintains a slight transparency, thereby partly filtering sunlight while producing energy for the hotel in a clean and non-polluting fashion. On the other hand, the permanence of natural light delivers to the space its dignity and the mysticism associated to a romantic ruin. The innovation and sustainability were also found in other parts of this project, most prominently in the reusage of sanitary waters to water the gardens, as well as in using the water of the existing springs for the refrigeration of the hotel AC system. Created by PK Architect´s studio, it had the collaboration from Coletivo ODD, and is signed by the Arquitects Francisca Magalhães Ramalho, Sérgio Bernardo, André Almeida and Gonçalo Moreira. The decoration is a continuum of the architectural project, in partnership with the decorator, Inês Albuquerque Lima. The integrated nature in which all aspects of the project were worked on, has led to an overall cohesive and coherent result.

Magdalene College Library / Niall McLaughlin Architects

Magdalene College’s New College Library, designed following a 2014 competition, replaces the cramped and outdated facilities of the adjacent Grade 1 Listed Pepys Building with a larger library that includes an archive and picture gallery. Situated along the boundary between the enclosed Master’s Garden and the more open Fellows’ Garden, the building extends the quadrangular layout established from the college’s monastic origins. Approached from Second Court through a small doorway beneath an old Yew tree, the design creates a journey that gradually rises toward light, with rooms, galleries, and niches offering varied reading experiences, culminating in views over the lawn toward the river. The library is organized on a logical lattice of interrelated elements: a regular grid of brick chimneys supports floors and book stacks while ventilating the building, and roof lanterns between groups of chimneys bring daylight into the interiors. This arrangement produces a natural hierarchy with narrow circulation zones and wider reading areas, reinforced by the distinction between load-bearing brick verticals and spanning engineered timber horizontals, forming an intuitive warp-and-weft pattern. Materiality and form draw from the context and college brief for durability and sustainability, reflecting older buildings’ load-bearing brick, timber floors, and gabled roofs, with brick chimneys and timber window tracery that will weather like stone. The design balances historic reference with modernity, incorporating passive ventilation strategies to reduce energy use and engineered timber to minimize embodied carbon.

Torvehallen

'Torvehallen' - a covered market in Ry, A small charming railway town of [Ry](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/ry), surrounded by large forests, hills and lakes, has a new wooden building - a construction designed by DANØ Arkitektur, to effectively define and activate the central urban square. The building provides a covered space, a flexible shelter from the sun and rain for almost any activities - market, concerts, children's play or just a place to relax, but - equally important - to give the urban space character and identity - even when the structure and the square is left empty. Archetypal longhouse - The building is a charming addition to the townscape. It comprises a simple longhouse with open gables and a front with transverse strips made from black-painted wood. It is discreet and simple, yet has a certain presence due to its height, restrained lines and its archetypal design. From a distance 'Torvehallen' belongs to the surrounding more traditional building typology, but a surprise awaits visitors when stepping inside. The load-bearing construction itself is elegantly built from sawn timber of reddish Douglas Pine. The structure is complex at first sight but is in fact based on a repetitive concept with simple joints - providing the structural stability - an honest all-visible construction.

Boa Nova Church / Roseta Vaz Monteiro Arquitectos

The site's name was the "End of the World". It was one of the city's last slums. The project brief was determined through a participative process involving everyone in the local community in order to guarantee the project's social and economical sustainability. The final brief included a church, a community centre (providing jobs and childcare to some of the slum's former residents), a primary school and an auditorium. The local community set as one of the main goals the creation a new identity in order to rescue the site from its decade long negative stigma. To the East and South, anonymous suburban surroundings offered no interesting references; hence, we decided to design the church's tower as an iconic reference. To the West, we designed a courtyard connecting to the city's existing public spaces and opening to a steep valley offering distant seaside views. Today, the "End of the World" is known as Senhora da Boa Nova (or Our Lady of the "Good News"). We believe designing sacred space should revolve around the ability to state the supremacy of the Void. Throughout the project's development, the key conceptual elements were two empty spaces: the courtyard, a place where the community could meet; and the nave, a sacred space presenting that which could not be presented. We wished the nave to be an introspective, infinite, and irrepresentable space. In order to achieve this, we followed creative paths suggested by the works of Bernini, Piranesi and Rachel Whiteread. Today, the church stands within an elliptical plan, providing a dynamic sense of scale, and covered by an interior dome, eliminating the wall/ceiling division and spatial references within. The windows are deep, bringing indirect natural lighting into the nave and distancing the suburban surroundings, and the exterior walls curve to present an anthropomorphic object holding within the ilimited, infinite, and irrepresentable Void.

Lower Mountjoy Teaching and Learning Centre / FaulknerBro...

In 2017, Durham University launched a ten-year strategy to guide its growth, with FaulknerBrowns commissioned to support the development of a new University Masterplan. Central to this strategy was the creation of enhanced teaching and learning facilities that could accommodate rising student numbers, support innovative pedagogies, and provide spaces shared across faculties. The Lower Mountjoy Teaching and Learning Centre was the first major project from this plan, informed by research on how spatial design can enhance learning. A top-lit central courtyard acts as the social and circulation hub, connecting the café, 250- and 500-seat lecture theatres, seminar rooms, and project spaces, while a variety of teaching areas surround the lecture theatres to support both traditional and experimental learning methods. The vaulted top floor contains a learning commons offering a broad mix of spaces for focused, collaborative, and active study. Located near a conservation area and visible from a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the building’s volume is broken into smaller repeated modules to respond to the city’s historic fabric. Twelve three-storey modules with asymmetric pyramidal roofs and roof lights form the layout, with one central module removed to create the courtyard. Full-height windows provide views of the surrounding landscape and cathedral. The exterior uses a durable palette of handmade buff and grey bricks, with zinc-clad pyramidal roofs that complement the conservation context. An integrated sustainability and technology strategy ensures the building achieves BREEAM 'Excellent' and EPC 'A' ratings. Since opening, the centre has become a popular and well-used facility, embraced by students and faculty alike.

FETIS Apartment / AUXAU - Atelier darchitecture

The project transforms a small house in central Brussels through a rear extension that connects living spaces to the garden while respecting neighboring terraces and minimizing densification. Constrained by the narrow façade, complex volumetry, limited construction time, and challenging access, the design employs a prefabricated steel shell. Using ancestral boilermaking techniques combined with modern welding, the shell is formed from a single 5mm-thick steel sheet stiffened by five 20mm-thick, 100mm-deep gantries, optimizing space and reducing material use. The envelope itself integrates interior elements such as the staircase, streamlining construction and defining the project’s visual identity through a simple painted steel finish. Its physical properties also provide a natural vapor barrier for the surrounding insulation. Prefabrication significantly reduced construction time, with three weeks of workshop fabrication, one week of painting, and just three hours of on-site installation using a mobile crane. Steel’s recyclability allows the module to be fully removed and repurposed in the future. This prototype demonstrates a responsive approach to transforming and expanding urban dwellings, offering a replicable model for future projects.

Macdonald Public Facility Complex / Kengo Kuma & Associates

The transformation of the Macdonald warehouse into a public equipment complex bridges the existing industrial architecture with new contemporary interventions, reflecting the evolving needs of society. Marcel Forest’s original warehouse serves as a sturdy base, while a light metallic structure supports a large linear roof that shelters a sequence of public functions, unifying the new extension with the historic fabric. Strategically located at the start of the 600-meter-long warehouse between the railroad viaduct and the Maréchaux boulevards, the project anchors a redeveloping urban zone connected to the city via new tramway lines. Horizontality defines the architectural language, with sequenced metallic vertical elements reinforcing rhythm and unity across programmatic functions, in line with OMA’s overarching masterplan. The roof’s overhang creates interstitial spaces and a distinct profile, its rising edge signaling the start of the larger complex, while folded floor plans link public and private spaces, inner courtyards, and exterior squares. Materiality responds to both context and function: the exterior employs traditional Parisian zinc, while the interior alternates glass panels and perforated zinc to maximize daylight and visual connection. Façades are composed through horizontal strata of crystal and mineral elements, with metallic louvers outside emphasizing the industrial heritage, and a double-glass skin inside filtering light to amplify space. Courtyards arranged in terraces separate junior and high school yards, with planted strips acting as subtle boundaries. The project harmonizes historical structure, contemporary form, and programmatic flexibility, creating a coherent, light-filled civic complex that mediates between city and community.

Pays d'en Haut

Climbing the ridge of ancient ledge rock and gazing across Lake Superior, one's heart is filled with fierce joy. It is the irresistible pleasure of the wild and far horizons that gives an expansiveness to the soul and a sense of uncounted centuries. Pays d'en Haut is the French explorer's name for this land and that feeling. The great joy of being without boundaries...of exploration...of equilibrium with nature. This renovated home in Northern Minnesota acts as a vessel for those feelings. Boundaries removed, vistas cleanly framed, surrounding development screened, doors opened to new exterior rooms, and a smooth cascading flow between spaces, floors, and terraces. The passage of time, seasons and weather is visible in the light, shadow, and reflection cast over neutral and mirrored surfaces. Nature's warm hues and delicate patterns are referenced in the wood, marble, and metal fixtures. The flow of similar materials and details between the exterior and interior encourages the eye and the spirit to move freely.

Duplex villa / debert architects

Set on the western edge of Budaörs in Central Hungary, between two nature reserves, this house occupies a serene, sloping plot overlooking the Danube Valley and surrounding hills. The 100-metre-deep site descends gently to the east, offering abundant sunlight and sweeping views that shaped the home’s orientation and design. The architects preserved the street’s tranquil atmosphere, integrating the building with the landscape through low retaining walls and gently contoured gardens that respect the original terrain. Once an orchard, the site’s character is reinterpreted as a green blanket of lawns, fruit trees, and shrubs that blend naturally into the slope, while taller trees behind the house frame the vistas and provide shade. The building itself is composed of modular prisms embedded in the hillside, housing two apartments of equal value. Its geometry, both functional and sculptural, responds to the terrain’s gradient: bedrooms are placed on the cooler lower level, while the upper level contains the living spaces and master suites that open through large glass walls to the view. Expansive roof gardens replace traditional terraces, merging interior and exterior and extending the living areas into the landscape. The raw light-grey façade, accented by darker grey structural elements, balances solidity and transparency. Ground-floor openings are set behind wide timber reveals, while floor-to-ceiling glazing above aligns with interior walls, giving the façade a precise, rhythmic expression. Through its material palette, measured proportions, and sensitive siting, the project reimagines the hillside’s orchard heritage—creating a restrained, contemporary dwelling that harmonizes sunlight, landscape, and architectural form.

The Farmer's House

The Farmer's House acts as the UK base for AR Design Studio's clients, who return to the English countryside from their travels to tend to their farmsteads. Set on a private estate in the most western part of the South Downs National Park, the house's rural location is its raison d'etre. AR Design Studio was approached by the clients who were looking to add a completely self-contained yet joined annex, that would be a space for their children and grandchildren to 'take over' when they were staying. The existing house had been subject to a number of previous alterations and extensions throughout the years which had led to it feeling mismatched and sitting uncomfortably on the plot. The team at AR Design Studio proposed an extension and makeover that would wrap everything together in a unified and elegant form. The old and new are joined by a glazed link that sits between the existing house and the new annex. The annex, which sits to the east, is surrounded by a large covered alfresco dining and relaxing area. The terrace and pool sat centrally in front of the house are tied in with a large sweeping canopy above. This reaches around the existing house, and continues to the west of the plot, providing an additional sheltered seating space. This canopy incorporates openings for the existing trees and partial shading elements, providing protection to the southern facing façade with delicate timber louvers.

Glebe House - Studio & Residence / U+I Building Studio

This shop-top-housing project sits on a small back lane in a Heritage Conservation Area in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of Glebe, making full use of its compact 92sqm site by building to the boundaries and placing private open space on the roof. Drawing inspiration from European architecture of past centuries interpreted through modern detailing, the house uses split levels to break up the facade and maintain a suitable small-scale presence. Zinc roofing wraps down as standing-seam cladding on the upper floors, while dark painted brick grounds the building at street level, where a self-contained studio with its own kitchen and bathroom can function as a rental or workspace. A minimal palette of brick and off-form concrete defines the studio, and an all-concrete stair leads to the residence above, anchored by a continuous concrete wall that rises through the bedroom level to the top-floor living space. Inside, a restrained mix of concrete, timber, steel, and glass creates a clean, modern aesthetic. The middle level holds the bedroom, robe, and bathroom, where boundary constraints led to the use of operable skylights for daylight and ventilation, and wire-glazed steel doors to bring light into deeper areas. Black polished plaster forms feature walls in the bathroom, while light timber floors extend through the upper living, dining, and kitchen areas, which feature high ceilings, exposed steel beams, and full-height steel-framed windows. A floating TV shelf transitions into stairs that cross a glass landing, drawing daylight to lower levels and leading to the roof terrace, where high balustrades offer privacy while allowing treetop and partial city views. Though compact from the street, the house reveals generous light and space within, expressing its character through a disciplined and coherent use of materials.

Holiday Home

Luz Saude Vila Real Hospital / OPENBOOK Architecture

The Hospital da Luz - Vila Real project aimed at the rehabilitation and adaptation of an existing building in the Historic Centre of Vila Real to a Hospital Unit. The building is the Vila Real Cathedral and Alto Douro Vinhateiro protection area and is part of the intervention area governed by the Detailed Plan of Vila Real's Historical Center. As a starting point, the image of the main building (located in the main avenue) was respected, having been proposed the rehabilitation and improvement of all planned elements to be maintained. The existing building had a very simple design in terms of volumetry and elements characterizing the facade. Elements such as openings or balconies, presented a very simplistic design without any rein-forcement or valuation of the main elements, characteristics that can be observed in other more noble buildings of the mentioned context. In addition, the demolition of the entire building's interior as well as the existing volumes at the back was proposed, keeping only the main facade and the two adjacent side facades of the main building, facing the Cathedral and the Conde d'Amarante square. For the side area of the building, all the pre-existing elements were demolished and the construction of a new volume was proposed, carefully crafting the elevations and volumes that translate into an interpretation and stylization of the existing building. The set of these volumes minimizes the impact of the proposed extension. The new volumes are covered with stone identical to the existing one (yellow granite), with a stereotomy that relates to the metrics of the openings and other elements that characterize the facades. The metrics of the stereotomy attribute a human scale to the building allowing for greater proximity in terms of the the user's experience and relation with the urban space.

School la ruche Perthes-en-Gatinais

The project is placed in an arboreous and pedestrian area, in the heart of the historic town of Perthes-en-Gâtinais, located in the south of region Seine and Marne (77), With conscious efforts of reducing disturbance, construction was still completed in a rapid 10 months. The city in which the project took place is a part of the regional natural park (PNRGF) which leads the project to be completed with highs environmental ambitions. The project is built in both wood framing and cladding, and its linear layout creates a spacious area that encouraging the ongoing pedestrian nature of the mall and kindergarten location. This new space is visually more generous and reinforces the bucolic and intimate nature of the undergrowth into which the new equipment is inserted. Coming to "life" this park provides the opportunity to continue its inscription in the history of the city and offers a generous space appropriable for all [Perthes](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/perthes) residents and their children. ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT = The form of the project borrows its archetypal and typical geometry from the historic town center. Form reinterprets their iconic profile to draw an appropriable symbol. The new school is set up on the same level, and in linear, which allows to create, volumetric identities distinct by space, with variable widths and heights by program. Inside these volumes able offer a particular spatiality and generous to the premises teaching. These volumes are very widely opened on the playgrounds and in the backdrop of the wooded "promenade". All indoor spaces, designed with the ladder of early childhood as a major reference, are cradled in natural light, in bright and warm spaces. The scale-pitched roof to 45 °, draws a house like a child could do, simple, iconic, graphic. The bugs symbols applied in classroom gable are used indoors for signage.

PNC Legacy Pavilion

Envisioned as a meeting space and gallery for exhibits featuring Pittsburgh stories throughout history, the PNC Legacy Pavilion is a landmark in Pittsburgh's downtown Cultural District. Using just a few materials, including zinc panel, channel glass, and LED lighting, a tiny building (just 1,300 sf) transitions to a big role as a highly detailed, glowing beacon seen throughout the city. The green roof incorporates PNC's dedication to sustainability. Light from LED fixtures on the interior side of the channel glass façade is diffused by insulating material within the glass, which helps the building achieve high thermal performance and its soft lantern-like glow.

House in Uxes / terceroderecha arquitectos

The house is located on a rural plot conditioned by existing guidelines, The house opens in its common areas to the south from where you will enjoy the best views. On the other hand, the presence of a road, elevated compared to the natural level of the plot, with a high traffic, reinforces that intention to turn to the landscape and turn its back on neighbors and road, demonstrating a duality of scales in the exterior appearance of the house. The areas of the day use program on the ground floor of the house is resolved, with the clear intention of enabling direct contact with the land, with the bedrooms on the upper floor. The need to build a compact house given the size and shape of the plot doesn't prevent to generates a volume that disintegrates its different rooms into different spaces, all of which are connected by a central hall as a connector of the house. This allows a compact scheme with the absence of corridors. The areas of greatest contact with the plot are located in the lower part of the ends of the arms, this being reflected with the combination of different materials. The studio and the kitchen shows the clear relation with the outer space, nuanced by folding or unfolding the wooden lattices, while the living room, through the terrace that finishes it, also has that mutation capacity, adapting itself to the needs of the user, thanks again to the movement of the external lattices. Finally, the garage, following the Galician tradition, can be used to carry out domestic work, being possible its total or partial opening by means of the fold of the external wood cladding.

House DSA / MarS Architecten

In the Belgian municipality of Grimbergen, a vacant agricultural building was transformed into a contemporary, energy-efficient home that preserves the essence of its past while meeting modern living needs. The original brick stables and barn, admired for their massiveness and double gables, were stripped to their solid carcass, forming a protective acoustic buffer, while a prefabricated, fully insulated interior was inserted to create a thermally and acoustically efficient living cocoon. Zinc profile plate cladding references traditional farm materials, while the internal structure combines a thick concrete slab, steel skeleton, and industrial insulation panels, finished with plasterboard and polished concrete floors on the ground level. Underfloor heating and low-temperature radiators are powered by a heat pump connected to depth drilling pipes, with future solar energy integration planned. The building orientation maximizes daylight, with north-west façades facing the street and east-south exposures at the back. Simple, honest, and uniform materials define the interiors: honed black granite worktops, tropical FSC veneer cabinets, glass mosaic in bathrooms, and wood flooring on the upper level, connecting harmoniously with the surrounding terraces and landscape. The project emphasizes a dialogue between the existing brick mass and the lightweight infill structure, maintaining views of the agricultural surroundings while creating a comfortable, modern home. Through careful design, material choices, and client collaboration, the transformation balances preservation, sustainability, and contemporary aesthetics, giving the family a permanent sense of retreat and holiday-like serenity within a historic shell.

Eclipse house / I/O architects

Utterly introvert, this house is located on the last plot of a desired neighbourhood in the outskirts of [Sofia](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/sofia), Bulgaria. The complexity of the program confronts the size of the site thus determining the tree structure of the house. Each of the three stories differs in both size and concealment strategy. The vastest first story is underground yet naturally lit and directly connected to the street and the garden. The compressed and mostly open ground floor together with the small garden is hidden behind the hedge. The privacy and sunlight of the large upper floor are meticulously controlled by big scale sliding panels. Only the simple hovering pigmented zinc volume and the blind entrance are exposed to the street while the rest of the complex structure remains unrevealed. The spaces inside are integrated around the light of the central atrium and pierced by unexpected space connections. The reflective roof of the deep veranda brings back garden view to the interior. The linear underground space of the swimming pool has visual and physical contact with the garden while the bright garage is connected to the rest of the house through an under-stair periscope space.

ZincHouse

A constrained property, a complex history and a one-story requirement defined this 2500 square foot residence draped in a zinc cloak perched on a board-formed plinth. The steep angular site is bound on three sides with immediate neighbors and positioned on a busy street resulting in an elevated solution for privacy and view. Sectional differences and an open plan capture natural light throughout with a hidden rear terrace embraced by the architecture. Walking distance to downtown, this residence sits quietly in its transitional neighborhood enjoying ample sunshine and great views to [Aspen](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/aspen) Mountain. The interiors reflect the clients desire for abundant natural light utilizing floor to ceiling windows and doors, light textured porcelain floors, level 5 drywall, wire-brushed cypress interior doors and ceilings adding warmth. The art and objects reflect the clients love of travel with overtones of gray's and charcoals in the fabrics, furniture and accessories complimenting with the exterior material palette.

Loyola Houses / Ramos Bilbao Arquitectos

This project emerged from volumetric experimentation to address challenges posed by the narrow, elongated plots typical of this urbanized yet scenic area. These plots often lacked usable garden space and limited natural light, especially for centrally located homes between party walls. The design solution involved a series of volumetric shifts and rotations, reconfiguring the layout to free the houses from the constraints of traditional linear gardens. By reshaping each property into an L-shaped plan on the ground floor, the project created generous private green spaces with consistent sunlight throughout the day. This reorganization also introduced privacy issues between adjacent properties, which were resolved through a strategic arrangement of exposed concrete planes that guide residents to their gardens while blocking direct views between neighbors. The choice of exposed concrete, robust and weather-resistant, draws inspiration from the natural Flysch formations along the Basque coast, ensuring durability and low maintenance in an environment affected by sea salt and humidity. The design of the homes, including their enclosures and systems, prioritizes maximum energy efficiency, achieving near-zero consumption and emissions through geothermal heat pumps. The result is a set of residences with minimal environmental impact, combining thoughtful spatial organization, material resilience, and sustainable technology to create enduring, private, and light-filled living spaces that harmonize with their coastal context.

House in South Carolina

Nestled in South Carolina’s low country between Savannah and Charleston, this modern rural house harmonizes with its moss-draped live oaks, mature trees, and distant estuary views. Designed to balance abstraction with openness, the entry employs solid planes for privacy, while the interior opens to the sloping lawn and water beyond. Public areas run south to north along the slope, with private spaces—bedrooms, baths, and study—arrayed east to west and raised on wood floors, contrasting the concrete of the public areas. A central concrete fireplace and chimney serves as the symbolic heart, around which the rectangular volumes are organized. The master bedroom and study cantilever over the gently descending terrain, emphasizing a dialogue with the landscape. Materials are limited to concrete, wood, and zinc, expressed honestly and durably, with concrete and wood planes flowing seamlessly between interior and exterior. Zinc-edged roof eaves form a horizontal datum that intersects and caps the vertical walls, at times extending independently to echo the umbrella-like canopies of surrounding trees and cast dynamic shadow lines across the house and landscape. The design emphasizes exacting minimalism, celebrating the inherent beauty of materials and the sculptural simplicity of the forms, while framing light, views, and the surrounding natural context.

Trumpf Day-Care Center

The machine-tool manufacturer, Trumpf, has completed its first company daycare center in the north-west edge of its Campus in [Ditzingen](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/ditzingen). The one-story building was built using mass-timber elements prefabricated in a South Tyrolean factory and then assembled on site. The daycare center offers a place for 75 children of the employees and is also open to other children from the municipality. The building is set back within the industrial context and, thanks to its low height, blends almost seamlessly into the topography. The building is also linked to the architecture of neighboring farms, by way of its flat pitched saddle roof-an open and visible rafter roof construction. Regarding the effects of the weather, the green roof has an overhang on all four sides of the building, and which varies in depth to protect the rooms and terraces from direct sunlight or rain. Generous skylights are also arranged at the side of the ridgeline for natural lighting, ventilation, and smoke extraction. The building structure is made from prefabricated, unglued solid wood elements. The base layer consists of two 6 cm thick layers of solid structural timber (fir) and is joined by dovetail connectors. The outer cladding consists of a 2.7 cm thick top layer of white fir, which is used everywhere in the visible area-insulated in between panels with wood fiber. The wood comes from PEFC-certified forests and the fabrication is glue-free in nature. The purlin roof is screwed on as well. In this way, the building could potentially be recycled and reused without any problems. Thanks to the collaboration with a regional manufactory in South Tirol, and short delivery distances, the ecological footprint of the building is quite low. Furthermore, Pellet heating ensures environmentally friendly heat production.

Jura House / Scott Donald Architecture

Jura House is a contemporary 5,000 sqft new-build set within a conservation area in Lancashire, UK, replacing a 1970s dwelling on a large plot of open countryside. Designed with full architectural, interior, lighting, and landscape services, the house features open-plan living and four bedrooms. Despite its contemporary style and proximity to a Grade II listed building, the design was praised by the conservation officer as “a breath of fresh air.” Constructed with a steel frame to accommodate expansive glazing and a cantilevered feature, the exterior combines white render, grey limestone, and black zinc, forming a crisp aesthetic softened by the landscape. Internally, limestone flows throughout floors, walls, and bathrooms, creating material continuity. Sustainable technologies include PV cells, solar thermal panels, 250mm EPS wall insulation, and an MVHR system capturing excess heat. The project was delivered over 20 months, closely coordinated with contractors and suppliers, incorporating high-quality specifications such as Sky-Frame, Dinesen, Lutron, Deltalight, and Vola. The integrated approach to architecture, interiors, and landscape has created a coherent, functional, and visually compelling home, supporting the clients’ modern lifestyle while providing spaces for relaxation, entertainment, and enjoyment.

Bouwman House / Sam Crawford Architects

This house is an alterations and additions to a 1914 Federation style house in the historic suburb of Haberfield, just five kilometres west of [Sydney](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/sydney)'s central business district. Parts of a problematic 1990s addition have been removed and spacious and contemporary living spaces added: open plan kitchen, living & dining room, entertainment room and attic conversion. This house is an alterations and additions to a 1914 Federation style house in the historic suburb of Haberfield, just five kilometres west of [Sydney](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/sydney)'s central business district. Parts of a problematic 1990s addition have been removed and spacious and contemporary living spaces added: open plan kitchen, living & dining room, entertainment room and attic conversion. The plan and use of the house can be read through two distinct geometries; the original four-bedroom house, extended to eight rooms in the 1980's, has the rational rectilinear form you would expect of a brick cottage from the turn of 20th century. The plan and use of the house can be read through two distinct geometries; the original four-bedroom house, extended to eight rooms in the 1980's, has the rational rectilinear form you would expect of a brick cottage from the turn of 20th century. This second entry anticipates the daily comings and goings of the family of six, with nooks to conceal school bags and sports gear. A monolithic curved concrete wall defines the passageway into the expansive light-filled kitchen, dining and living space.

Bushey Cemetery / Waugh Thistleton Architects

Bushey Cemetery is a 16-acre site of outstanding natural beauty situated within the meadows in London's green belt and is one of the most significant Jewish burial sites in the UK. Our extension of the cemetery was designed around the existing landscape. The buildings are very much part of their setting and, in 60 years when it is anticipated that the cemetery is fully occupied, the buildings will be returned to the earth, and the site to the green belt. Laid out along a north-south axis the buildings facilitate the movement of mourners. A timber colonnade forms the processional route to the prayer halls, which are entered from the west and exited to the east, before mourners are led towards the graveside. Two monolithic prayer halls, discretely embedded into a corner of the sloping site, are at the heart of the development. Built of rammed earth, this organic, locally sourced material defines the overall design and was chosen for its symbolic and practical sensitivity to the Jewish faith, echoing the traditional sentiment of the deceased being laid to rest in plain wooden caskets, 'returning to the earth'. This is an ancient building method that is natural, sustainable, durable and strong. Left exposed within the ceremonial spaces, the rammed earth creates a sombre, peaceful atmosphere. Oak panelling, larch glulam beams, earthen tiles and Corten steel doors complete the natural, tactile material palette. A linear reed bed and series of ponds and swathes define the edges of the cemetery, facilitating rainwater attenuation and encouraging the biodiversity of Bushey Cemetery's pastoral setting. On site for less than two years, the project has been a 10-year journey taken alongside the organisation's trustees, Jewish community and planners, requiring us to develop an understanding of the processional nature of the Jewish faiths' practice of burial.

Gables House / CDC Studio

'Gables' is a thoughtfully designed low-impact home built for retired clients, embodying contemporary, sustainable, and accessible living while blending seamlessly into its village setting. The house balances modern comforts with the character of the local village, drawing inspiration from the traditional thatched barns found in the area. The design incorporates local materials such as flint, red brick, timber shutters, and estate fencing, with zinc elements to reflect the agricultural heritage of the land. The larger part of the home is set back to preserve views of the neighboring thatched barn and is intentionally low in height to respect the surrounding landscape and neighbors' sightlines. The layout features low-lying, folding glazed volumes that provide 200m² of flexible living space, ideal for the couple's daily needs and accommodating larger gatherings and family visits. The home is arranged around an inviting curved hallway leading to an open-plan kitchen, dining, and living space, with a steel rod-hung mezzanine offering acoustic comfort and a sense of enclosure in the kitchen. The use of silver fir timber and acoustic felt on the roofline creates a warm, inviting atmosphere in the high-volume spaces. The design also includes a master suite with a private patio, a separate guest suite, and a mezzanine sitting area with a rooflight that opens to the outdoors. Sustainable features include air source heat pumps, photovoltaics, wood wool insulation, and solar shading to manage heat. The property incorporates water rills and a salvaged water trough for sustainable gardening. The clients are proud of their new home, appreciating the perfect combination of imagination and persistence from the design team at CDC studio.

Rehabilitation of a Single-Family Home in Miraflores

The house is located in Miraflores, Muros, a small rural area characterized by traditional stone houses and granaries once used for drying and processing corn. Originally, the house consisted of two attached volumes, following the traditional Galician housing layout, where the main areas were the stables and kitchen, complete with an oven and stone cooler. Over time, a third volume was added and various modifications were made, which diluted its original character. The house sits on a steep plot, with three volumes adapting to the slope, protecting against the winds, and offering near-imposing views of the Muros estuary. However, the interior became compartmentalized, with small, dark spaces. The project’s proposal focuses on respecting the context: the scale of the rural village, the existing stone structures, the panoramic 180º estuary views, and the natural sunlight. The aim is to highlight the house's identity by preserving the original stone volumes, while replacing the third, less significant volume with a new concrete structure to complete the ensemble. The stone facades remain intact, while large windows in the new concrete volume open up to the estuary, aligning with the interior spaces and enhancing the connection with the surroundings. The design prioritizes honest material use, maintaining the stone, introducing exposed concrete, and unifying the roofs with zinc. Additionally, three skylights of varying sizes are incorporated to flood the interior with light, illuminating the stone walls and creating a more open, fluid living space that embraces the views and sunlight.

Herois de Africa House

The house in Rua Heróis de África integrates a lot within the urban rehabilitation area of Leça da Palmeira, Oporto district, and was originally built during the 30´s, therefore reflecting with sobriety the constructive and formal options of that time. The project covered not only its rehabilitation but also an extension of the pre- existing building, by means of a zinc lined volume emerging from its back façade, widely opened to the back garden, with a contemporary formal and constructive design.

Winkley Workshop

Winkley Workshop is a new three storey 2-bedroom residence on the site of a former upholsterer's workshop measuring 12m long by 3.7m. Upon this small plot, a 2-bedroom open plan home with strong interconnectivity between internal and external spaces has been achieved. In order to accommodate the required internal and external areas the original footprint was increased by digging a new basement and extending the roof, which had to be cranked according to daylight angles to protect neighbouring properties. To the street the building is a modest addition, yet upon entry the open-ness and scale of the property is revealed. To each floor the plan was arranged to prioritise space according to what is used and enjoyed. The layout was conceived as a vertical sequence from public to private. At basement level an open plan kitchen, dining and living space is designed as an extension of the outdoor area. A brick herringbone floor flows out into the rear private courtyard with a double height void and oversized glazing to blur the delineation between inside, allowing ample daylight and views to this lower level. The middle mezzanine level is interconnected with the basement level via a library bookcase that faces into the double height void. A curtain partition allows this room to flex its function as a study extension of the living area or a private sleeping area.

The Asu Houses

Located in a privileged place within a privileged enclave, the Asu houses are designed to be interpreted as a clear scheme of single-family homes that dance to the same rhythm, a composition of moving volumes caused by adaptation to the slight and subtle but noticeable unevenness, who maintain their independence from each other as part of the same family. This slight movement confers kindness to the volume, dynamism, and visual richness, avoiding becoming a rough and cold volume. On the one hand, each of the houses is adapted to the needs of each tenant; however, at the same time, all the houses maintain a common pattern: soft and pleasant finishes that evoke the natural elements that characterize this coastal area (sand, beach, sea). The light that feeds them is used to the maximum, materializing through gaps strategically practiced to maintain that intimate relationship with the Cantabrian Sea so valued in this place. The volumetric game seems essential for the palpable achievement of these concepts. Its slight vertical and horizontal movement is sufficient to, in addition to facilitating the adaptability to the slope of the terrain, enable the entry of light while contributing, at the same time, to removing weight and coarseness from the whole making the units independent and being able to understand them as a whole. of single-family homes. The base rises from the ground as a pedestal, protecting the living spaces from contact with the ground. The choice of limestone, natural, cut, and blocks of this same solid limestone for the access details to the houses guarantees this protection.

Kunst in Weidingen / AXT Architekten

The Stiftung zur Förderung zeitgenössischer Kunst in [Weidingen](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/weidingen) (Foundation for the Promotion of Contemporary Art in Weidingen) was founded in 2012 by gallery owners Max-Ulrich Hetzler and Samia Saouma. The Foundation's aim is to promote contemporary art and culture, especially through annual summer exhibitions in Weidingen. Artists are invited to live and work on the premises. In this film & photos, we explore the design of Kunst in [Weidingen](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/weidingen) with Anja Axt of Axt Architekten. We explore it's rationalistic style, intended use, and thought process behind it's design. The 3 structures created by Axt Architekten all have similar yet different features that make them special in their relationship. New to Kunst in [Weidingen](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/weidingen) is the Bibliothek Günther Förg. This building is dedicated to this artist and holds a collection from one of Förg's libraries as well as a few of his most prolific pieces. After spending a week on location for this film, we can honestly say it is one of the most stand out projects we have come across. Come take a musical journey through Kunst in [Weidingen](https://www.archdaily.com/tag/weidingen) with Anja Axt and feel the energy of this harmonious place.

Art House / Buttrick Projects Architecture+Design

This residential project added three distinct structures to an existing house, creating extra interior space and a private courtyard while preserving the original home. The largest, the Art House, accommodates an art collection and occasional guests. When an adjacent lot became available, the owners saw an opportunity to expand beyond the modest house where they had raised four children. The trapezoidal site required careful planning to respect neighborhood scale while providing ample open space. Placing the art storage and studio at the rear, low and discreet, creates a false perspective that increases perceived depth. The Art House living room features 11-foot glass doors that disappear into pockets, blurring indoor and outdoor boundaries, while a small pool and lawn form a central courtyard. The plan inverts typical layouts, with bedrooms facing the street and living spaces opening to the rear courtyard. Daylight filters through perforated zinc wrapping the second level, reducing heat gain, while cementitious panels over metal channels minimize thermal transfer. Green-grey limestone floors unify indoor and outdoor spaces, and white gallery-quality interiors provide a neutral backdrop for art, offset by soft green stone, white oak, and warm furnishings. A central loft creates vertical space, veiled by the scrim that softens light and abstracts views of the landscape. The new house echoes the blocky vocabulary of the original, with split street-facing bedrooms and a recessed upper box completing the composition. Attention to lighting, acoustic comfort, and rain-screen construction ensures a thermally efficient, quiet, and flexible home where details recede in service to art and daily life.

Frog Castle / Scott Donald Architecture

_ _Frog Castle is a grand period property, built in 1860 in Alderley Edge, Cheshire. The clients' brief was to create additional living space in the form of a contemporary extension, including remodelling parts of the existing house and a basement conversion. The new extension and interior remodelling had to be considered in such a way so as not to detract from the main body of the house and it's period detailing. Therefore, the design outcome was to offer up to the existing house with the new extension - a predominantly glass structure, with solid roof and zinc cladding. The lightweight aesthetic of the extension contrasts with the heavy mass of the existing house. The connection of house to garden was a key consideration in the design. 3.2m tall Sky-Frame glazing was specified for it's thin sight-lines and sliding sections of glass pocket into the wall to create a dramatic corner opening. The lightness is further enhanced from glazing over. The structure to achieve this detail was complicated, though the end design is aesthetically very simple. The same stone was used both internally and externally to further dilute the transition between house and garden. Scott Donald Architecture were responsible for delivery of architecture, interiors, lighting and landscape design.

73 Brook Street, London

Voxman Music Building

Celebrating musical performance at every turn; embracing collaboration and exploratory student-driven education. The Voxman Music Building celebrates musical performance at every turn, embracing a collaborative and exploratory student-driven model of education that treats every space as a performance space. The building shares this sense of musical discovery with the community through a transparent expression. Conceptually, the pattern of streets and open spaces in the mixed-use district of Iowa City extends directly into the multi-level interior spaces, cultivating a sense of vertical urban vitality and embracing its downtown civic presence. The six-story, 184,000-square-foot building is situated between the campus and the downtown core of Iowa City, embracing both academic and urban experiences. The program comprises a 700-seat concert hall, a 200-seat recital hall, an organ performance hall, a music library, rehearsal rooms, practice rooms, classrooms, and faculty studios and offices. A multi-story glass corner entry at a major downtown intersection connects the internal spaces to the campus and city, with the two major performance venues marking their presence on each of the main facades. Between the performance spaces, porous, day-lit circulation volumes interlink to form the student commons, performance and rehearsal lobby, and the three-story atrium. A fourth-floor exterior terrace, nestled behind and between the wings of the rear facade, serves as an elegant gathering space that frames views of the city's historic courthouse and countryside beyond.

Living Room for Farmer / SSA

The ginseng farmer’s house is situated amidst rice fields, where abundant natural light is a key asset. The owner desired a warm, protective home that maintains a connection to nature in every space, inspired by the comfort of a loft. To achieve this, the design features a cross-shaped chamber oriented to capture sunlight and views from all directions, its brick exterior providing resilience against harsh winter conditions. The chamber’s structure, inspired by ginseng cultivation frameworks, integrates indoor and outdoor spaces while maximizing daylight and natural ventilation. Light tubes are strategically placed on the east side to allow morning sunlight while naturally blocking evening glare. Rainwater management is carefully considered: roofs are sloped at 1/20 or 1/50 to facilitate drainage without additional façade materials, while zinc cladding and waterproof layers ensure protection. The roof’s materials are detailed to integrate seamlessly into the brickwork, maintaining both function and aesthetics. This approach creates a home that is simultaneously a shelter, a luminous living space, and a deep connection to its natural surroundings, balancing structural ingenuity, comfort, and environmental sensitivity.