Fresh Builds: The 25 Coolest Houses of June 2013

Residential architecture just seems to get better every month. Architects keep creating mind-blowing houses around the world that meet both the demands of their clients and the local environmental conditions. Making use of sustainable methods and materials, these residences do not compromise luxury or aesthetics. While some structures are added onto existing ones to take on a completely new character, others are built from the ground up to fit the surrounding terrain. From swimming pools, to terraces, to spas, check out Fresh Builds: The 25 Coolest Houses of June 2013.

RELATED: Fresh Builds: The Coolest Houses of May 2013
RELATED: 30 Cool Swimming Pools From Around the World

Location: Osaka, Japan

Architect: Takeshi Hamada

Featuring a minimalist exterior design, Takeshi Hamada designed this house to make it look "like a block of tofu." The rectangular box design yields maximum interior space. The three stories are linked by a high-ceiling living room, and the bedrooms feature their own staircases and ramps that lead up to upper levels. A central atrium area stands between the indoor and outdoor spaces, merging private and public within the residence.

via

Location: Beijing, China

Architect: Studio Liu Lubin

Like a tiny portable studio apartment, this unit offers all the necessities of a living space. With glass fiber reinforced plastic as its main material, the structure is light yet strong and can easily be moved, assembled, or replaced. The design allows for multiple micro-houses to be put together to create a larger home (or even a cluster of residences) without violating Chinese land laws.

via

Location: Feldis/Veulden (GR), Switzerland

Architect: OOS AG

This seemingly simple holiday home features a traditional timber-clad design with an innovative shape that maximizes interior space and blends the structure's volume into its environment. While glazing and windows create a feeling of openness between the home and its surrounding landscape, wooden blinds can be closed to conceal any visible openings and to create a private space of bliss.

via

Location: Sydney, Australia

Architect: Fox Johnston

To meet the demands of a growing family, a new section was added to this residence. This addition on the upper-level provides private space for parents which can also be converted in the future to a playroom or bedroom. The renovations also include a living room that opens up to the backyard on the lower-level. Brick, concrete, and timber form the exterior facade while walls of wood and glass allows for sunny views from inside.

via

Location: Tokyo

Architect: anotherAPARTMENT

Like many modern Japanese homes built today, this house makes use of its narrow site to create spacious interiors that are not limited by its size. Located across the street from a park, the residence includes floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor balcony.

via

Location: Nagahama, Japan

Architect: Comma Design Office

Comma Design Office used the slanting design of this house to create a private rooftop terrace and living area that allows space for a distinguished driveway. Its facade is mostly concrete with gold aluminum highlights that add a sense of vitality against a stark gray color. All windows face inwards, towards a central courtyard space and away from the neighboring public.

via

Location: Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal

Architect: José Carlos Nunes de Oliveira of NOARQ

A remodeling project expanded this home's interior space by twice its previous size, adding additional rooms and a garage to the structure. By expanding the existing roof onto the neighboring sloping landscape, NOARQ included three bedrooms and an outdoor courtyard between the two volumes as a point of mediation.

via

Location: Het Holtien, Dwingeloo, Netherlands

Architect: Pieter Brink

While the curvilinear accents on this house's facade make the structure interesting in its appearance, its uniqueness comes from its nearly self-sufficient design and focused sustainability. With its own water plant and disposal system, this house aims to soon be disconnected from the main power grid, completely independent from existing networks. Using mostly recycled materials, thick walls provide insulation while solar panels, a heat pump, and a fireplace allow for further eco-friendly heating methods.

via

Location: Hawkesbury, Australia

Architect: Rory Brooks Architects

Located outside of Sydney, this house provides an escape into nature with amazing views of the surrounding valley. Built using local materials, two pavilions make up the residence. Incorporating passive solar design, the home is energy efficient and well-ventilated yet remains noninvasive to the existing terrain.

via

Location: Wijgmaal, Belgium

Architect: OYO.IS/Open Y Office

With huge windows in a steel frame construction, this house opens up to the outdoors. A large pond in the yard creates a miniature landscape. All the interior rooms are connected, facilitating interaction and accessibility.

via

Location: Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain

Architect: Cobaleda & García Arquitectos

Inspired by origami, this house features "folds" in its design that overlap and intersect but are part of a single volume. The zigzag design accommodates the site's irregular plot of land. Reinforced concrete slabs carefully angled toward each other create triangular and hexagonal shapes visible on both exterior and interior surfaces.

via

Location: Singapore

Architect: K2LD Architects

This home's greenish facade is clad in copper, which reflects heat to control interior temperatures and improve energy efficiency. Offering views of a neighboring park, the house embraces nature. Two cube-like structures overlap to create an interior fluidity within rectilinear volumes.

via

Location: Portugal

Architect: Duarte Pape

This extension added to a traditional home includes a stone wall and timber structure. The blue limestone surface of the wall creates a visual unity between the exterior and interior. Wooden slats allow sunlight to enter the home and can be opened to fully connect with the outdoors.

via

Location: Greece

Architect: Tense Architecture Network

Located on a rural hillside, this concrete home is encased by a sloping outer shell that gives the house an overall pyramid-like silhouette. All three stories include balconies offering sweeping views, while the street-facing side of the home is protected in privacy. The structure widens towards its base at a similar slope as its surroundings, creating space on the lowest, widest level to include a swimming pool.

via

Location: Jeju Island, South Korea

Architect: Kengo Kuma

Jeju Island is a volcanic island, and this series of houses seeks inspiration from the terrain's characteristic volcanic rocks. While the roofs are covered with locally collected rocks, creating a jagged surface, the houses' rounded shapes also reference the material. They appear as large stones that seem like extensions of the natural land. Skylights and wooden lattice ceilings allow for light to naturally flow into the interior spaces, which embrace a contrastingly softer feeling than the buildings' exteriors.

via

Location: Sollentuna, Sweden

Architect: Claesson Koivisto Rune

Along with its curving shape, a gradient of yellow to red spans across timber slats in this house built around an oak tree. A sloping roof makes space for two stories on one side of the structure while the lower end contains a living room with a high seeling and an indoor balcony.

via

Location: Thuận An, Vietnam

Architect: a21 studio

The Vietnamese architects a21 studio created this low-cost home with steel and metal sheets for the exterior facade. A simple steel frame allows for nature to grow through and within the structure. Abandoned furniture in good condition was recycled to furnish the home. The living room is semi-outdoors without any doors or walls.

via

Location: Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region, Chile

Architect: LAND Arquitectos

With views of Punta de Lobos, a surfing point, this house was built for a surfer and his family. Protected against the year-round cold southern wind of the area, the home strategically positions bedrooms and living rooms to create comfortable terrace areas. LAND used locally significant "plinth" flagstones for the base and roof along with timber and glazing to make up the rest of the facade.

via

Location: Platres, Cyprus

Architect: VARDAstudio

This wood and stone house includes wooden shutters where one might expect glazed windows that still serve a similar function in opening to the outdoors and nature. From the side, the wooden roof design on the deck gives the home a traditional pitched house look, but overall it breaks conventions to fuse materials and spaces within its volumes.

via

Location: Broughshane, Northern Ireland, UK

Architect: McGarry-Moon Architects

Constructed from an old stone barn, this residence preserves the original structure while adding contemporary touches to build a home that is appropriate for its rural yet modern setting. With a metal frame and extensive floor-to-ceiling windows, the indoors receive plenty of sunlight while bringing its residents closer to nature. McGarry-Moon added Sustainable features to the home and installed a modern fireplace in the living room.

via

Location: Ottawa, Canada

Architect: Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects Inc.

As part of a project to accommodate more outdoor activity, the architecture firm added terraces, a spa, and a hot tub to a former structure. The new addition, connected to the main house through the transparent walkway, includes fitness equipment and a massage and steam room. The second floor hosts a guest house, and all areas of the residence join with each other and the outdoors.

via

Location: Singapore

Architect: FARM

The two distinguished but complementary volumes are unified in the courtyard space and both include green roofs. FARM created a small landscape with lots of trees and two pools for a family to enjoy nature while living in proximity to urban architecture.

via

Location: Sagaponack, New York

Architect: Bates Masi Architects

Located between the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and a wetland, this house opens up on both ends to enjoy surrounding views. Sliding doors can be concealed within the structure to allow light and air to flow through different rooms. Large windows provide further views of the sea and surrounding land. Bates Masi Architects finished the exterior surfaces with materials treated with vinegar and iron fillings in order to withstand the salty ocean wind without chemicals or special maintenance. A green roof provides geothermal insulation for sustainability.

via

Location: Maringá, Brazil

Architect: Guilherme Torres

A large rectangular concrete volume rests on top of two brick walls in this house. The ground level below is dedicated to social spaces including a pool, a courtyard, living rooms, and dining rooms. The upper level makes space for the bedrooms. Wooden lattices cover the sides of the top volume, which provides privacy while allowing outdoor sunlight to shine through.

via

Location: Western England

Architect: Paul Archer Design

This house boasts a mirrored facade, made up of polished aluminum surfaces. The panels can slide closed to cover windows, and the house literally reflects its surroundings, creating a camouflage effect. Designed for the architect's mother, an outer shell thermally insulates the residence.

via