Paris XX by Manuel Sequeira Architecture

Paris XX is a sleek private residence by Manuel Sequeira Architecture.
The home is perched atop a building in Paris, France, with stunning views over the surrounding cityscape.

Beautiful Natural Architecture by Tim Davies Landscaping

Natural Architecture is a project completed by Tim Davies Landscaping.
It is located in City Beach, a suburb of Perth, Australia.

Natural Architecture by Tim Davies Landscaping:

“A mature yet architectural backyard was required to soften the ultra-mod lines of this brand new City Beach abode; one that the team from Tim Davies Landscaping (TDL) mastered by sourcing mature plantings, manipulating walkways and highlighting sculptural elements.

“The client wanted a mature garden which provided instant impact and softened the minimal, modern architecture of the house and the large outdoor spaces that it created,” TDL landscape designer Tim Davies said.

Natural plantings were just as important as the hardscaping in creating form and function for the architectural design.

“The sourcing of mature tree and plant species was a major factor in creating the feel of an established garden overnight and clear and constant communication with the client regarding plant species ensured the right selection for each space was made,” Mr Davies said.

“The mature olives out the front tying the front elevation into its coastal setting, the established star jasmine creeper alongside the pool and the spectacular mature transplant Poinciana tree in the house’s central courtyard are just a few of the planting elements that ensure the brief was met.”

Chindarsi Architects designed the home and chose Bateig Azul Spanish Sandstone from Forezzi Pty Ltd for the exterior flooring.

The stone has been manipulated in platform steps leading up to the front entrance, flanked by abstract rendered garden beds for dimension.

On the left of the home, a private walkway leads toward the central feature courtyard. It has tiered garden beds and stone slabs enhanced with garden lighting, notably feature light spheres designed and installed by TDL. These are repeated around the entire design for a unique take on illumination.

Custom graphite granite bowls and planters are also spotted throughout including one filled with succulents under a sprawling Frangipani and another in the courtyard filled with water and riverstones.

“Ornamentation was used to tie in with the materials used by the architect and provide points of interest throughout the garden,” Mr Davies said.

The pool was also designed by the architect, bordered by swathes of sandstone and a grassed area, which is topped with a contemporary sculpture designed and built by artist Tim McFarlane Reid.

Mr Davies described the landscape as minimal and contemporary; combining high quality finishes with lush, mature planting.

“The sourcing of mature tree and plant specimens combined with the use of custom ornamentation and elegant materials creates spaces that are unique for a residential job of its size,” he said.’”

Modern K house by AworkDesign.studio

K house is a private residence designed by AworkDesign.studio in 2015.
The home is located in Taipei City, Taiwan.

K house by AworkDesign.studio:

“The base tones of brown, grey and white consolidate the spaces into a streamlined and balanced contemporary loft style. The moment you walk into the entrance, you will be embraced by the welcoming panels built from wood wool cement boards. They make a strong statement without overwhelming intimidation. The elongated corridor leads to a source of soft natural light, unfolding an exploration of the intricate interactivity between human and space.

Moving forward, warm well-lit dining room is hosted by a solid rectangular oak dining table set against a canvass of cement wall sedated by solid brown and streamline grey. The living room is set next to the dining room. The newly-wed couple wishes to have more flexibility with the spaces. Therefore, the wall between the living room and study is removed. Tracks for lighting extend from the living room to the dining room to create a unified warm feeling in the spaces of domestic activities. The boundaries are blurred, but the functions are clearly defined.

Privacy is essential in between the master bedroom and living room, but open space provides integrated visual layout. Therefore, a semi-opened TV wall is designed as a partition in between the two spaces. The fixed wall at the center pronounces the inviolable boundary and the retractable doors by the two sides extend the space of the living room into the bedroom and invite the eyesight to travel through an integrated depth. This variability creates an intriguing spatial relationship of high versatility. The dressing room, kitchen storages and dining room cupboards are built back-to-back in the same section to achieve high-efficiency storage.

Three luxurious French windows bring flooding natural sunlight into the living spaces for optimum illumination. Imagine an afternoon with a cup of coffee and a magazine in hand. This is a perfect nestling spot for a moment of relaxation.”

Beautiful Casa Chinkara by SOLISCOLOMER

Casa Chinkara is a residential project completed by SOLISCOLOMER.
Completed in 2014, it is located in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Casa Chinkara by SOLISCOLOMER:

“Located in a privileged area surrounded by forests but still close to Guatemala city, the Casa Chinkara presents itself as a dual residence exploring the contrast between the natural and the man made; between the primitive and the contemporary.

The house was imagined as a rock embedded in the landscape, an ethereal element that follows the order of the contour lines of the terrain. Inside it houses an art gallery, an intimate space for contemplation, a container of experiences materialized in the various works of art that conform it. This rocky volume has been sculpted in such a way that it allows for light to come in through a skylight and for the different spaces in the inside to flow right out into the natural landscape.

This stone volume acts as the heart of the building, different rooms adhere, penetrate or are superimposed around it each one contained inside different white volumes wrapped in ACM, an artificial material, that as it counterpoised to the rock symbolizes the intervention of man in the natural landscape of the project. As a result, the residence reads as a harmonious composition between terrain, rock and man.

Even though the house could be read as a massive composition of volumes, from the inside each one of the room maintains a residential scale, intimate and human. The warmth of the wooden floors, the unpolished stone, the height of the spaces and the ornamentation of these reinforces the idea of a good life, constantly inviting the residents to enjoy a sense of contemplation and intimacy.

The experience of the house towards the landscape creates a contrast to this introverted notion of the project. Except for the art gallery each one of the rooms in the house is contained in a defined volume that opens towards the exterior integrating the richness of the natural life with the experiences contained inside the house. Huge glass windows with bright red frames are embedded into the volumes that make up the building denoting the intention of framing the landscape from the inside.

From the outside the house reads as a group of window displays that expose the interior spaces that compose it along with the day to day experiences of it’s inhabitants; from the inside all of the activities of the residents are adorned by an exterior natural background conformed by different species of trees, animals and sounds.

In conclusion Casa Chinkara is more than a residence, it is an intermediary between the natural and the artificial; between the intimate and the external; between the massive and impressive and the residential and familiar.”

Unique Casa Kopche by Grupo Arquidecture

Casa Kopche is a private residence designed by Grupo Arquidecture.
It is located in Mérida, Yucatán, México.

Casa Kopche by Grupo Arquidecture:

“This residence is a contemporary home with pure lines, in whose design the outside-inside integration has been the priority achievement, getting wide spaces with several views, full of light and natural ventilation.

The project stands a clear zonification by separating social area from private area to generate courtyards and gardens that are enjoyed by all spaces of the house.

A stone wall marks the entrance leading into the house providing a protective screen to the inner courtyards as well.

The use and management of apertures is essential: wide open to the hall and narrow to the bedrooms, allowing both spaces to have outside participation without exposing the privacy of the family.”