When India and Pakistan split into two countries in 1947, the need to house roughly half a million displaced persons in both countries intensified. With communal violence at its peak and refugees with nowhere to go, the Indian government, under then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, decided to build homes for the displaced in the form of low-cost structures that would provide basic shelter for the desperate refugees.

The government turned to Otto Knigsberger, a German architect of Jewish heritage, to run the project. He had been working in India since 1939, having fled his native country following the rise of the Third Reich. After immigrating to Bangalore in India, Knigsberger became the chief architect and town planner for the princely state of Mysore.Nine years later, the Berliner was director of housing for Indias Ministry of Health, tasked with the resettlement of vast numbers of refugees displaced by Partition.

Mansoor Ali, a Bangalore-based architect who runs Bengaluru by Foot, historic walking tours of the city, explains: He went to Egypt first, but he didnt get much work there, so he came to India [and] World War II broke out. Knigsberger was hired by the maharaja and supervised the construction of 27 buildings in Bangalore, says Ali.Working in India in the 1940s, and later in other developing countries, made Knigsberger acutely aware of the futility of applying traditional thinking in the face of rapid urban growth.

After the Partition of India and Pakistan, there were at least 50,000 refugees in India who needed immediate housing. Tapped as the director of housing shortly after India gained independence in August 1947, Knigsberger began setting up a pilot project called Hindustan Housing Factory in Delhi. His idea was to use prefabricated housing, which could be produced faster in response to demand, as a solution to the refugee crisis in the country.

Knigsberger established his reputation as an expert in the concept of action planning a departure from city plans reliant on static surveys of existing conditions. The longer I did planning work in India, he wrote to a colleague in 1951, the firmer became my conviction that master plans and reports are not enough. It is necessary to create a live organization which constantly deals with planning problems and keeps the basic conception of the plan alive. He used this dynamic approach to design low-cost housing for Indian workers families, the Silver Jubilee Institute, the Bangalore city bus terminal and municipal swimming pool, the Krishna Rao Pavilion and the buildings for both the aerospace engineering department and the metallurgy department at the Indian Institute of Science. In addition, he was instrumental in planning for the towns of Jamshedpur, Gandhidham and Bhubaneswar.

His influence as a pioneering architect also stems from his insistence on the impact of climate on buildings and planning. In her book Otto Knigsberger: Architecture and Urban Visions in India, Rachel Lee quotes from a letter he wrote to his mother from a hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in April 1939: I have a large room, from the ceiling of which hangs a large fan with four 70 cm long blades. The rooms are very high to allow the hot air to rise. The fan then pumps the hot air back down onto the unlucky resident below. This sounds very impractical, which it is, but without a fan, it would be absolutely impossible to sleep in this humid heat. Lee says that by continuing to ruminate on these ideas, the architect developed his more enlightened approach to buildings in the southwestern city of Mysore.

In designing homes for the displaced refugees, explains Ali, Knigsberger took the bold, untested step of using aerated-concrete wall panels material that was effective at regulating temperatures and could be sourced locally. Because of his emphasis on innovation and affordability, he became something of the go-to architect for other similarly challenging climates. He was hired, Lee writes, to work in the colonies, the tropics, the Third World and the developing world. Eventually, he was named director of the department of development and tropical studies at the Architectural Association in London, professor of development planning at University College London and senior adviser to the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations and the World Bank.

The production of Knigsbergers housing project for refugees came to an end in December 1950. Houses were falling apart, causing a scandal, and he was fired as the director of housing the following spring. He returned to Europe, an exile again.

As an early proponent of sustainable, climate-appropriate and energy-efficient design, in Lees words, Knigsberger was ahead of his time. When the exiled architect died in London in 1999 at the age of 90, his legacy consisted of a fleet of buildings, a commitment to improving the lives of the poor and his Manual of Tropical Housing and Building Design, which remains a standard text translated into multiple languages for generations of architects to follow.

See the rest here:
Meet the Nazi Refugee Architect Who Pioneered Efficient Homes - OZY

This exhibition of works by architects and artists installed at Rudolph Schindler's house in West Hollywood, California takes the fraught relationship between the architect and his wife as its theme.

The Soft Schindler exhibit features works by 14 architecture studios and artists that intend to add softness to or contrast with the house, which the celebrated modernist architect completed in 1922.

The showcase was curated by architecture critic Mimi Zeiger, who intends the project to explore the outdated idea of binary concepts.

"Soft Schindler participants, through their respective practices and presented works, show the incompleteness of binary ideas in architecture, sculpture, and design," said a project description.

"Femininity versus masculinity, inside versus outside, heavy versus light, rational versus emotional framing such notions as outmoded."

Zeiger came up with the idea after learning about the relationship between Schindler and his wife Pauline, who lived together in the house.

The Austrian-born American architect had designed the property in West Hollywood as a home and office for two couples, with a shared kitchen. When tensions rose between Pauline and Rudolph, they chose to live in the separate wings.

Pauline started to decorate her side, painting the walls pink and adding a 1970s-style shag rug, much to Schindler's frustration, according to Zeiger.

"To RM Schindler, Pauline's intolerable act violated a sanctum of modernism and his desire for honest expression of natural materials," the project description continued. "But the exhibition aims to highlight that the home 'has never been a binary'."

Pauline Schindler's alterations were not preserved when the house was restored to Rudolph's specifications, something that the exhibition highlights.

"Archival photographs suggest material legacies in dialogue with Schindler's rigorous geometries: tablecloths, pillows, curtains, flower pots ephemeral elements that like the pink paint were not preserved when the residence was restored in the 1990s in approximation of the original intentions of the architect," the team explained.

To showcase this, the exhibit presents work by 14 international artists and designers.

These include locally based Tanya Aguiniga, Laurel Consuelo Broughton, Sonja Gerdes, Bettina Hubby, Alice Lang and Design, Bitches, as well as Leong Leong, Jorge Otero-Pailos and Bryony Roberts from New York.

Medellin's Agenda Agencia de Arquitectura, Santiago's Pedro Ignacio Alonso and Hugo Palmarola, and Barcelona's Anna Puigjaner are also among the exhibitors.

Zeiger chose the existing work of some of the artists and architects that responded to the theme of contrast.

"Alice Lang, whose ceramics use this kind of molten glaze on a series of male torso, really changes your understanding of what the body is, and surfaces," she said.

Also includedis the humorous work of artist Bettina Hubby: "I've seen some of the work that she's done with pillows," Zeiger added. "I was interested in what happens if we insert these kinds of projects in the house."

Other works on show were designed for the exhibit to respond to the house itself.

Design, Bitches, for example, has installed a series of plexiglass panels with bold text onto expanses of glazing in the property.

They have phrases such as "Don't" and "I will", which reference the letters exchanged between Rudolph and Pauline during their period of separation.

The Kitchenless collages by Anna Puigjaner meanwhile form a continuation of the Spanish architecture's work into kitchen-less cities.

Her research aims to promote the creation of communal cooking space in cities as opposed to private ones in homes a particularly relevant notion in the design of The Schindler House, which has a shared kitchen.

"For her, this is a really a political move based on her ongoing research about collective kitchens becoming a way for people to come together to reverberate the kind of domestic duties of the kitchen," said Zeiger. "Puigjaner really touches on a projection into the future."

"When we look at it in the context of The Schindler House which had a shared kitchen, as the one point that connects the two sides that is an early start about appropriating the kitchen for different uses and new ways of using the space," she continued.

Born in 1877, Schindler first started his career in Vienna, Austria, before moving to the US to work with 20th-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright, completing projects like Hollyhock House.

The Schindler House was originally designed to host the Schindlers and Clyde and Marian Chace, and is often referred to as The Schindler Chase.

Pauline left the property in 1927 and returned to live in the second apartment in the 1930s until her death in 1977.

In the interim, it was used by a number of different occupants including Schindler's lifelong friend and architect Richard Neutra and art dealer and collector Galka Schey.

Today, the property is open to the publicand managed by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture.

Soft Schindler is on show until 16 February 2020.

Photography is by Taiyo Watanabe.

View post:
Soft Schindler installation of works by architects and artists contrasts modernist The Schindler House - Dezeen

Greek studio Kapsimalis Architects has turned a cluster of former homes, barns and cellars on the island of Santorini into ahotel with rooms in caves.

Located among a strip of buildings that form the edge of the village of Odi, the Saint Hotel steps down on a cliff by the sea.

Each level has unobstructed views out to the island's volcanic bay, with rooms dug into the steep hillside.

Sixteen rooms open onto private terraces with pools and loungers, separated by bright white walls.

The rooms, along with pools, a restaurant, spa and gym, are all connected via central a concrete stairway that winds its way through site.

Six of these hotel rooms occupy original and restored structures, while the remaining spaces have all been newly designed.

As the buildings occupy a significant portion of the village's urban fabric, Kapsimalis Architects wanted to make the project sympathetic to the area's traditional streets and architectural forms, but used new materials.

"The techniques used are synthetic, in terms of the integration of the new hotel complex in the old urban fabric and the volcanic landscape," founder Alexandros Kapsimalis told Dezeen.

"This included the building's structures, the geometric shapes, the human scale, the selection of materials, textures, colour and the contemporary hotel functionality."

The original shape of the cave spaces has been retained, along with distinctive white colour of the buildings.

New angled walls follow the natural contours of the Saint Hotel site, focusing views towards the sea.

Connecting directly to the village via the reception, the degrees of privacy for guests are subtly mediated by the angled walls.

Alleyway-like spaces add privacy and connect the terraces and bedrooms.

"Due to the fact that the borders between the hotel space and the old urban fabric are not so definite, the interaction of the hotel guests, the village visitors and residents is certain," said Kapsimalis.

"[However], the design and the function of the hotel can offer privacy to its guests, in case calm and isolation are needed."

The interiors of Saint Hotel's room match the all-white exteriors, with the smooth walls of the caves finished in white plaster for rooms decorated with austere and minimal fittings.

Pieces of amorphous furniture inhabit the spaces, such as seating pods with hinged lids and circular sunshades that can be angled and rotated.

Kapsimalis Architects, founded by Alexandros Kapsimalis and Marianna Kapsimali, has previously completed many projects which respond to and renovate existing structures on the island of Santorini.

Working again with the cellars and caves featured in many traditional homes on the island, the practice transformed two vaulted structures into a holiday home arranged around external yards.

Photography is by Giorgos Sfakianakis.

Project credits:

Architecture: Kapsimalis ArchitectsInterior design: Kapsimalis ArchitectsStyling: Ioli Tripodaki

Originally posted here:
Hotel on the Santorini coast has rooms in white-painted caves - Dezeen

Its a studio environment where we all bring something to our projects, and thats for the better, Elizabeth Roberts tells me over the phone. Personalities are really important and all my strong, creative clients dont just have a point of view; they are down to earth, problemsolving people. Roberts, whose tenor is equal parts modest and warm nwhen she speaks about her eponymous architecture firm, belies the impact she has had on contemporary living ideals. Indeed, the Brooklyn based architect has been behind countless respectful transformations of outdated and run-down early New York brownstones, which she spins into bright aeries that boast both beautifully preserved crown mouldings from yesteryear as well as Instagramworthy modern kitchens.

Robertss devotees include a cadre of prominent female powerhouses in creative industries such as Rachel Comey, Athena Calderone and Ulla Johnson, whose home spaces have been widely covered by the likes of Architectural Digest and are sure to be aspirational lifestyle fodder for years to come. While each of these residences feel distinctive to their inhabitants, there is a tie that binds. Robertss skill is in navigating and mediating juxtaposition to elegant and fresh effect, leaving the homes she touches both contemporary and historically soulful.

Her education and experience reflect the duality she is recognized for; after earning her first architecture degree from UC Berkeleys School of Architecture, where she learned modernist start from scratch principles, the Marin County native went on to Columbia, receiving her second degree in historical preservation. Adaptive reuse was an important ideait made all sorts of sense to me at a young age: using existing buildings and finding a way not to tear them down. Roberts found beauty in the historical and industrial. I love the elements we dont often create anymore as architectsheavy timber, true brick walls and creating features out of historic details. But she is quick to point out that she is no anachronist. We build to the timesI love contrast: the glossy new with the old.

Roberts had formative periods interning and working for famed California modernist William Turnbull, preservationist Alice Carey and the award-winning firm Beyer Blinder Belle. In 2003, after being offered a partnership at a firm in San Francisco, she decided instead to strike out on her own, turning her West Village apartment bedroom into an office. I managed to afford it by splitting my bedroom diagonally in half with a blackout curtain, she recalls. Roberts initially took on mostly residential projects, including a number of Brooklyn townhouses, presaging the boom that was about to occur in the residential market. For many years I intentionally didnt do commercial. I realized the pressure and the values were not in line with what I wanted to spend my time and energy on; I wanted to work with families to create lifetime houses, she says.

As artful residential renovations started to become her calling card, addressing the interiors was a logical next step. Theres no reason that when we are building a building we should stop at the walls. Why not talk about color on the walls, and the furniture? she asks. Im really interested in blurring those lines. Roberts now has six full-time interior designers on her team. She has also returned to taking on select commercial projects, starting with Rachel Comeys flagship store in 2014. It was such a personal expression of hers. That exploration for a beautiful, concise and lasting backdrop for her creations was a great re-entry into commercial [work] for me, says Roberts, who most recently designed the NoMad restaurant Il Fiorista, for which she tapped artist Leanne Shapton to create bold, watercolor-like murals.

Her firm is now working on several ground-up projects and, as ever, Roberts is keen on finding the tension that will keep it interesting. Its easy with old buildings. New construction is more complicated. But its a blast finding contrast in the landscape, how it sits in nature, and bringing organic forms into a clean box, she says. Her cach among influential women hasnt waned, either. A roster of current clients includes chef Melia Marden, Atlantic Records executive Julie Greenwald, supermodel Daria Werbowy, jewelry designer Mary MacGill and former HBO president Sue Naegle.

Asked about her sustained influences, Roberts offers a paean to her chosen city. I dont know if I would have found a place as an architect if I hadnt been so inspired by New York and its history. I love the grit, the grime and the glorious architecture, she says. And things evolve [here]. One thing about New York City is that nothingor very littleis too precious to change.

Read the original:
Architect Elizabeth Roberts Builds the Rooms Powerful Women Want and Need Mieke Ten Have 12.25.2019 - Cultured Magazine

If anyone can offer us some motivational words of wisdom in a year that has pretty much gone to shit, its Architects frontman SamCarter.

From his admirable campaigning ahead of the UKs general election in December, to his powerful, political lyrical statements throughout the Brighton metallers discography, the vocalist is constantly standing up for whats right and hes got plenty to say in the way of hope going into2020.

It really can feel like that when were smashed with how shit things are from every angle, every day, but I think you have to look at the youth and be hopeful for the future, Sam tells Kerrang! in the latest issue of the magazine. I look at [teenage climate change activist] Greta Thunberg, who is so great and has done so much. Shes inspired so many people to stand up and make a change in their lives. I see so many brands and companies now moving more towards an ethical direction. And, okay, you can easily be cynical about that and assume that is just their way of trying to make money, but you have to take the small victories where they are and try to build on them. There has been a definite shift in attitudes, so we have to run with that to achieve even more and to keep trying to be better people, generally.

Read this next: 10 artists helping to save the planet through environmental activism

Away from these world issues, 2019 has actually been a pretty special one for Sam and Architects and the biggest lesson that hes learned this year is that dreams can cometrue.

I always wanted to record at Abbey Road, and we did that this year [for a Spotify session], he smiles. I cant explain how much that meant to me so many of my favourite records were made there. But then also I think this year has really reminded me that its important to help other people whenever you can. The past couple of years have been really hard, with everything this band has been through, and when youre kind of broken like that, you dont want to put yourself out there so much anymore. But this year has really reminded me how important doing thatis.

Sams full interview is available to read in the new issue of Kerrang!, which you can get anywhere in the world through Kerrang.Newsstand.co.uk. Or, if you live in the UK, you can grab it now from all goodnewsagents.

Link:
Architects' Sam Carter: "You Have To Look At The Youth And Be Hopeful For The Future" - Kerrang!

The Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre, which is wrapped in a steel structure designed to look like a bamboo forest, has opened in China.

The theatre in Wuxi,a city near Shanghai in eastern China, was designed by Steven Chilton Architectsas the permanent home for a watershow designed by Belgian theatre director Franco Dragone.

The round theatre takes its appearance directly from the nearby Sea of Bamboo Park the largest bamboo forest in China, where West-Line Studio created a bamboo-clad gateway earlier this year.

"If you grow up in the region the Sea of Bamboo Park will be a familiar back drop to family days out and school trips and is a favoured spot for romantics," said Steven Chilton, principal of London-based Steven Chilton Architects.

"I became aware of it years before as the location of the famous tree-top fight scene from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and was struck then by the incredible spatial qualities of the bamboo forest," he told Dezeen.

The building contains a 2,000-seat theatre at its centre, wrapped in a painted masonry and full-height glazing wall.

Surrounding this core is ascreen of angled steel columns that are arranged to visually break up the mass of the theatre.

"The budget allowed us to have 365 columns to play with whilst our goal was to visually break up the view of the inner drum of the theatre building as frequently as possible," said Chilton.

"I've always admired the work of Andy Goldsworthy and sought to emulate his approach of combining multiple self-similar objects in a manner that results in unexpected visual richness," he continued.

"We looked at a number of techniques to maximise the visual 'interference' of the columns from multiple points of view around the building and settled on an approach that combined the coding of an emergent multi-agent system and good old fashioned manual manipulation."

The columns support a canopy of gold anodised aluminium louvres, which were designed to represent the canopy in a bamboo forest.These louvres of the canopy and the columns provide shade for the building to help cool it.

"The perimeter canopy and columns provide an abundance of shade all year round over the facade, substantially lowering the load on the heating and ventilation systems over the life of the building," explained Chilton.

The theatre forms part of a new cultural development in Wuxi, and has been designed to be its centrepiece.

"I wouldn't say the building was designed to be iconic, but the client was keen for the building to embody a visual narrative that would be familiar to people from the region and accessible for visitors," he said.

"The visual distinction of the theatre will hopefully create an identity that contributes to the developer's goal of creating a destination that celebrates regional culture whilst avoiding the pastiche approach employed by others."

Steven Chilton establishedSteven Chilton Architects in 2015 after leaving architecture studio Stufish. The studio is currently designing a domed theatre in Guangzhouthat will resemble a puzzle ball.

Photography is by Kris Provoost.

Project credits:

Architect: Steven Chilton ArchitectsClient: Sunac GroupArchitecture and design management: Sunac GroupConcept engineer: Buro Happold EngineeringTheatre consultant: Auerbach Pollock FriedlanderShow design: DragoneLDI: Tongji Architectural Design

View post:
Steven Chilton Architects completes "bamboo forest" theatre in Wuxi - Dezeen

overlooking a coastal pond and the ocean beyond in the long island village of sagaponack, new york, the kihthan residence by bates masi + architects is designed to celebrate the periodically rising water levels of the area. instead of hiding the flood damage prevention measures, the design takes advantage of them and embraces the duality of the wetland landscape by elevating and breaking apart the houses different volumes in order to let flood waters flow around and between them. glass-enclosed bridges connect the different volumes and allow residents to appreciate the dramatic spaces between them, whether flooded in wet periods, or interconnected by flows of native plantings in the typical drier periods.all images courtesy of bates masi + architects

bates masi + architects has elevated and broken apart the house, pool, decks, and sanitary field to let water flow freely, thereby reducing the potentially damaging hydrodynamic pressure of coastal flooding. comprising a series of vertical volumes from which to observe the surrounding landscape, the residence remains perched safely above, while glass-enclosed bridges that connect the different spaces offer views of the dramatic spaces between them. the orientation of each volume is influenced by the desire for ocean views or sights of the rural landscape and responds to the program housed within.

programmatically, pulling apart the spaces allowed for maximum privacy as four guest bedrooms are separated from the living areas and master suite, explain the architects. communal spaces have flexibility to flow to the outdoors and extend onto elevated decks by means of full height sliding glass doors.

the residence is wrapped in board and batten wood siding, which is reminiscent of nearby vernacular structures, while its two-layer composition allows for selective control over its opacity. at grade level the boards are omitted and the battens form an open screen to let floodwater flow through it per fema regulations, while, above, overlapping boards and battens are opaque to mask neighboring houses from view. at the roof line, the battens are omitted to let light filter between the boards.

the exterior language translates to the design of the interior spaces as well, where the horizontal datum lines are visually transcribed onto the interior walls by means of material transitions for interior finishes and wall claddings. wood clad walls at the first level transition into wainscoting and light painted walls at the upper floors. this visual link expresses the seamless connection between interior and exterior as one travels throughout the house.

project:

name: kihthan

architect: bates masi + architects

lot size: 0.92 acres

building size: 5,000 sq. ft.

location: sagaponack, NY, US

contractor: k. romeo inc.

interior designer: select furniture from wyeth

sofia lekka angelopoulou I designboom

dec 20, 2019

See original here:
bates masi + architects breaks apart and elevates house in the US to embrace flooding - Designboom

To Work at Different Scales is the Architect's Wisdom: Ricardo Bofill Interviewed for the Time Space Existence Video Series

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In their recent interview for the Time Space Existence video series, Plane-Site, through the support from the European Cultural Centre, interviewed Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. The series will be exhibited in the biennial exhibition in Venice, opening May 21-22, 2020.

Bofill was born in 1939 and is known as one of the worlds most renowned and controversial architects. He began his studies at the University of Barcelona and later continued his studies at Universit de Beaux-Arts Genve in Switzerland in 1958. After completing his studies he started his own studio referred to as Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, where he explored Catalan Modernism through poetry, history and vernacular Catalan design.

The interview was filmed at one of Bofills most significant projects named La Fbrica, which acts as both his home and studio. The project which was refurbished from an old cement factory, has remained Bofills studio and home for almost four decades. The project forms the basis to Bofills sense of diversity and extensiveness throughout his architecture.

The interview is shaped around three main categories referred to as the practice of scale, the pleasure of space and confronting time. Bofill states that the important part about architecture is the capacity for generosity (Bofill). As you develop as an architect and become stronger with your ability to design one has more capacity to give to others. During the interview, Bofill also discusses the importance of understanding scale whether it is small or large. He believes it is important to be able to jump from different project scales without it becoming a reproduction and or duplication. We strive as architects for creativity and Bofill states that everyone knows creativity runs out (Bofill) and for him the challenge is to try and always continue creating.

The advice Bofill gives all young architects is to work at different scales is the architects wisdom (Bofill) and by understanding scale we begin to understand how to design, which ultimately allows us to make these spaces dominate and make it human (Bofill). When we begin to understand scale and movement within our designs we start to have a better understanding of space.

Credits

Ricardo Bofill:Interview content and photographs credited toRicardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura.

PLANE-SITE: Interview series Time Space Existence. plane-site.com/projects/time-space-existence/

European Cultural Centre: This interview series is made possible with the support of the European Cultural Centre. europeanculturalcentre.eu

View original post here:
To Work at Different Scales is the Architect's Wisdom: Ricardo Bofill Interviewed for the Time Space Existence Video Series - ArchDaily

Sandy Rendel elegantly converts a barn into a simple house in the British countryside

A derelictbarn with acorrugated iron roofin West Sussex, UK, has been converted into acomfortable, yet notover domesticatedhouse bySandy Rendel Architects and is surrounded by gardens designed by Piet Oudolf

This elegant re-imagining of a former working barn finds new freedoms within a simple industrial framework. The architect Sandy Rendel has garnered plenty of experience of working within the planning constraints and social eccentricities that shape the modern English landscape, following up lengthy stints at the studios of both James Gorst and Tony Fretton before setting up his own office in 2010.In 2016, the studios South Street house in Lewes, perched on the edge of the South Downs, won anRIBA award and was shortlisted for the Manser Medal for best completed house in the UK.

This new project sits amidst existing gardens in West Sussex, a well-loved and much visited horticultural destination.The original structure was a derelict Dutch barn, a familiar rural form with open sides and a corrugated iron roof that no longer served a functional purpose on the site. Rendel and his team had to play a canny game with the planning authorities, invoking a clause that allowed the conversion of disused agricultural buildings into dwellings.

It was an exercise in trying to ensure the raw form and character of the original barn was maintained and not over domesticated, Rendel explains, with the key challenge being to preserve these qualities whilst also making a well-insulated, comfortable and spacious place in which to live.

The surrounding gardens have been developed over the past decade by the clients in close collaboration with the Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf.The converted barn adjoins them and certainly retains an agricultural form, with a ribbed zinc clad facade and the characteristic curved roof. Whether its rising above the planting or looming over the approach road at the edge of the site it appears for all the world like part of a farmyard. From inside the house, the emphasis is very different with glazing arranged to make the most of the very seasonally planted garden. In the summer, the landscape changes considerably and full height frameless windows frame verdant views from every angle.

The apparently effortless simplicity of the exterior was hard-won, not least the planning requirement of retaining the character of the original barn. The architects and the fabricators agonised over every aspect of the detail design to give the joints and corners a flawless yet still industrial quality. We studied the ad-hoc compositions of un-designed and regularly repaired agricultural structures, Rendel says, we also looked closely at the industrial photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher. The end result is asymmetrical and honest, responding to its site and the brief with characteristic restraint.

The barns internal plans are inverted, with bedrooms on the ground floor and an open plan first floor to make the most of far-reaching views across the garden to the Souths Downs. Dark joinery, wooden floors and red and turquoise shelving units are paired with the dark red steel of the industrial-sized roof joists. The studio is planning to add a cylindrical viewing tower on the site, in a style that evokes a typical grain silo, to create a viewing platform for the garden and continue building in the pared back agricultural tradition.

Read the original post:
Sandy Rendel elegantly converts a barn into a simple house in the British countryside - Wallpaper*

Listing of the Day

Location: Spitalfields, London

Price: 4.75 million (US$6.24 million)

This Georgian-era house in East London has been transformed into a live/work home by its owner, the architect Chris Dyson, who has lived in it with his family since 2006.

Mr. Dyson has restored and extended the 18th-century home, creating a multi-layered, old-meets-new home, with office space on the ground floor and accommodation on the top three floors. A contemporary gallery space built for Mr. Dysons architecture practice sits to its rear, and a new top floor comprising two terraces and a kitchen has been added to it, according to the listing agency handling the sale, The Modern House.

When Mr. Dyson and his wife bought the townhouse more than 20 years ago, it needed restoration. It had elegant, well-proportioned rooms with high ceilings and large sash windows, but its facade had been altered considerably from its original design and much of its original wooden paneling had been lost, Mr. Dyson said in an interview with The Modern House estate agency

More: A Malibu-Style Modern Home Lists in Englands Buckinghamshire

The Grade II-listed former clergymans house was built in 1719 by a group of French silk-weavers known as the Huguenots, according to the property listing details, and is part of a terrace of houses in the Brick Lane and Fournier Street conservation area that are characterized by their tall brick facades and sash windows.

Mr. Dyson had worked 30 odd houses on Princelet Street and built up an "encyclopaedic knowledge" of the buildings, which helped him create a successful renovation project in his own home. "You cant bring in the big machines to bish-bash-bosh something together You have to take your time and really listen to what the building has to offer," he said in the same Modern House interview.

The traditional shop-style front was rebuilt and given new windows, which restored its original Georgian look. A new floor could be added because, although most Huguenot houses feature high-ceilinged lofts to allow for their looms, this property didnt require one because it was built for a clergyman. Heritage paint colors and new paneling were added, emphasizing its period feel inside, Mr. Dyson said.

"It is an excellent example of great restorative work alongside contemporary flare. Georgian proportions translate beautifully for modern living, and the live-work element, the scale and the volume of the gallery space, raise it an echelon in both versatility and aesthetic," said listing agent Corey Hemingway.

More: A Modern Home in Cambridgeshire Asks 1.4 Million

Stats

The 4,000-square-foot home features a ground floor with two office rooms, which lead out to a glass-covered raised walkway above a lower-ground floor terrace, and beyond it, a double-story studio/gallery space.

The lower ground-floor is formed of a self-contained one-bedroom flat.

The first, second and third floors include three bedrooms, a bathroom, a water closet, a drawing room and a kitchen opening onto a terrace, which is covered in a glass roof.

Amenities

The studio/gallery building is a huge space, with a vaulted ceiling, kitchen and bathroom.

From Penta: Worlds Largest Private Collection of Whisky Could Fetch 8 Million at Auction

Neighborhood Notes

Princelet Street is in the neighborhood of Spitalfields, a historic and arty neighborhood in the East End of London. It includes Old Spitalfields Market, a covered market established in the 17th century.

It sits just off Brick Lane, a street is known for its youthful feel, hip boutique shops, bars and restaurants.

Agent: Corey Hemingway, The Modern House

View the original listing. Write toListing of the Day

Continued here:
A Live-Work Space Designed by an Architect in East London - Mansion Global