Fresh Builds: The Coolest Houses of July 2013

While for some people, home is a humble place by the hearth, for others, their houses are awe-inspiring structures filled with wonders. This month's houses present clever spatial planning and extensions that give new life to old spaces. We continue to be impressed by the creativity of architects and engineers, month after month. From narrow houses wedged between existing buildings to single-story homes that span endlessly across wide plots of land, check out Fresh Builds: The Coolest Houses of July 2013.

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Location: Buenos Aires

Architect: Adamo-Faiden

Architects Sebastian Adamo and Marcelo Faiden used a process of "extraction, redescription, and addition" to redefine an old townhouse for the Venturini family. By first removing any unnecessary structures, the architects were able to conjure a new plan for the home's layout and figure out where additional spaces could fit. A roof was installed over an old courtyard, creating space for a new patio that leads into the living room, and also a basement yoga room underneath the structure. Additionally, a guest floor was created within the volume, along with a separate terrace area for rooftop guests.

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Location: Tokyo

Architect: Apollo Architects & Associates

The two-story house features a roof shaped like an arrow, hence its name. As the lower level serves as a photographer's studio, a staircase leads visitors directly to the main entrance on the upper level. A series of angles and slopes compose the shape of the house, while the house's interior and exterior are defined by simple colors of white and black.

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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Architect: BE Architecture

The residence includes a number of courtyards throughout its planning that creates a mix of indoor and outdoor within the living areas. All parts of the home remain connected as glazed glass walls maintain a visibility between the interior and exterior, while areas near the bedrooms are concealed by steel shutters. The home remains in privacy protected from its neighbors, but fully exposed within itself.

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Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Architect: Siebold Nijenhuis Architect

A house built in 1962 was given an underground addition and remodeling. The project involved building a library underneath an existing patio space, lit by skylights that have been incorporated into the garden's design above. While retaining the original structure and form of the house, the extension is able to add new character and function to the residence.

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Location: New York City

Architect: Fabrica718

Fabrica718 has built the first certified Passive House in New York City. The Tighthouse is the transformation of a house originally built in 1899 to a highly energy efficient home of the 21st century, using 90% less heating energy and 75% less energy overall than the average home. While additions include a rooftop terrace and an art studio, the house was also given a new attractive design on its rear facade.

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Location: Shiga, Japan

Architect: FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects

This two-story home is amazingly narrow, but makes up for it by also being incredibly long. The rooms and living areas are organized along a hallway, lit through skylights and small windows near the floor. While most of the interior and exterior is defined by a neutral color palette of white, gray, and some wooden surfaces, a blue-ish green covers the entire wall of the hallway and a balcony area, adding a point of emphasis and life to the interior space.

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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Architect: Andrew Maynard Architects

HOUSE House is an extension that connects the backyard spaces of two neighboring houses inhabited by two generations of a family. The vertical, three-story unit is divided in its interior, but connected on ground level where the backyard space is shared. Each section contains a kitchen, study, and spiraling staircase, while their planning was able to maximize outdoor yard space. As an attempt to protect the cedar-clad volume from any graffiti tagging, or rather to challenge it, a house-shaped graphic was added to the side of the extension.

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Location: Estacion del Espinar, Segovia, Spain

Architect: Miguel de Guzmán + Veidimanna Protum

The Espinar House features a unique facade that seems transluscent, which extends to insulate a semi-outdoor greenhouse space on one side. Located within park and mountain views, the residence incorporates vegetation into its build by installing steel cables on three sides of the volume designed for plants to grow on. A green rooftop garden expands the surrounding greenery to the terrace, allowing for residents to fully embrace the omnipresence of nature.

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Location: Madrid, Spain

Architect: Hollegha Arquitectos

The Bikini 32 may be one of the best narrow houses so far, with a swimming pool, office and studio spaces, bedrooms, living areas, and a garden. The long volume makes clever use of windows to allow for bright interiors while remaining in privacy, as separate entrances for the work and living spaces distinguish the lower level from the three residential stories above. Although the building is only around 15 feet wide, floor-to-ceiling windows and efficient planning create a feeling of open spaciousness.

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Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Architect: FC Studio

While the main living quarters are located in the upper volume, a second lower structure acts as support and space for social and service areas. Sliding glass doors open up the interior to the outside garden areas, while a large patio area on the second floor provides additional outdoor space. The two prisms are connected in multiple areas, such as in the double-height living room and glass walls that allow for visibility between the spaces.

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Location: Hiroshima, Japan

Architect: UID Architects

UID Architects designed the house to resemble a picture frame, consisting of a black border against a white background. Between the two layers is an entrance courtyard area, which contains a tree appropriately framed by the outer shell. Indoor and outdoor areas are connected as a unified pebbled flooring extends throughout various spaces, and large windows and skylight allow for sunlight to enter the home at all angles.

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Location: Küsnacht, Switzerland

Architect: Rossetti + Wyss Architekten

The house is a modern take on the traditional pitched roof house, as the recognizable shape is comprised of a monolithic structure studded with windows and skylights against a black facade. As most of the outdoor areas are accessible by the public, a dark exterior protects the privacy of the indoors. However, the facade is completely contrasted by a bright white finish of the interior, along with light flowing in through multiple windows.

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Location: Bayswater, London, England, UK

Architect: Pitman Tozer

The street-side facade of the home is unbelievably narrow, and measures only 8 feet wide. The residence widens toward the back, organizing smaller bedrooms toward the narrowest parts of the structure and incorporating larger living areas and a courtyard in the rear. Built by combining a street alley space with a neighboring backyard space, the Gap House is a green home that is efficient in both its use of energy and space.

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Location: Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Architect: Keisuke Kawaguchi + K2-Design

The house was built on a hill in a seaside city, where residents can enjoy views of the sky, sea, and mountains. The building was designed to feature interesting angles to be viewed by those from afar, as architects modified a standard rectangular box to slice away unnecessary spaces. A rustic stone material covers the entire exterior of the home, as the roof and walls are unified under a single facade. Skylights allow for natural light to shine throughout the home, while horizontal views can be enjoyed through tall windows and an outdoor deck.

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Location: Taipei, Taiwan

Architect: DL Design/TL Architects & Associates

DL Design/TL Architects & Associates have created the Re-born House from a 40-year-old residence located in the Yang-Ming Mountain near the urban center of Taipei. Only preserving the original structure of the building, the remodeled house features a completely new and modern design including a stone facade with red accents, and floor-to-ceiling windows that connect the indoor areas with the outside surroundings. A central staircase lit by a skylight unites the three stories of the home, while sunlight illuminates various parts of the living quarters.

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Location: Denver, CO

Architect: Studio H:T

A curvilinear "shield" leads into a pitched roof over the rectangular house. Its backyard includes a curved pathway alongside grassy areas, as vegetation lines the outdoor space. While wooden finishes define the interior design, the facade combines concrete and metal with the material. A rooftop deck tops the home with comfortable couches and cushions.

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Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Architect: Jacobsen Arquitetura

This single-story weekend house features a simple rectangular shape divided into three functional volumes: social, intimate, leisure. While bedrooms are located in the intimate block, wooden panels can be opened to connect with the outdoors. The leisure area includes a home theater, children's playroom, and saunas, which can be enjoyed after a dip in the outdoor swimming pool. The residence uses an appropriate mix of wooden and stone materials to blend in with its surroundings and context.

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Location: Oostende, Belgium

Architect: BURO II & ARCHI+I

The entire ground level of the house is surrounded by blinds that can be opened for more sunlight, or closed for increased privacy. While most of the exterior facade consists of concrete and wooden surfaces, a sloping red-tiled roof adds a contrasting design element. A large patio is accessible from the second floor, as an outdoor space is created underneath the roof within the same volume that contains the interior areas.

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Location: Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Architect: Echorost Architekti

This passive house was built on an oddly shaped plot of land, hence its irregular shape. The clever planning of the residence allowed it to qualify for a government subsidy, while leaving options open for purchasing additional surrouding plots. Incorporating low energy consumption, the structure features a system of brightly painted exterior blinds that keeps out extreme heat from the sun.

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Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland

Architect: Dualchas Architects

This single-story holiday house features a wooden facade clad with horizontal larch panels. The rectangular volumes include large windows that allow for ocean views to be enjoyed, along with patio spaces on three sides of the house. With panoramic views and an indoor fireplace, the simple but elegant structure provides the ultimate relaxation on a vacation.

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Location: Seoul, Korea

Architect: Moohoi Architecture Studio

Located near a military base where the architect recognized the presence of all-around surveillance, the house is encased in walls that provide privacy while creating an open, communcal space for its residents. The garden combines stone and wooden facades, while trees and vegetation throughout create a small landscape within the protected area.

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Location: Maardu, Estonia

Architect: Vilen Künnapu

Inspired by an image of a house from a computer game, the Elephant House features a bright orange exterior facade, along with a small elephant sculpture in the corner. The interior also draws from a vibrant color palette, while paintings and artworks throughout the home add on to a fantastical feeling. The volume caters to the client's professional and residential needs, with office spaces, a gym, and three bedrooms for a family of four.

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Location: Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Architect: UID Architects

Architect Keisuke Maeda recognized the site of the house as "the node point of nature and human-made places," and wished to create a structure to cater to humans, plants, and animals. Two cedar-clad volumes make up the home, as one end of the top prism extends over to the woods, and the second box acts as a supporting base and an additional story. To accomodate its surrounding trees and to remain respectful in its intrusion, the suspended section of the upper structure includes a hole for trees to grow up and through. Residents can enjoy the surrounding forest atmosphere from both the outdoor rooftop terrace and the indoors, where floor-to-ceiling windows allow for humans to connect with nature.

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Location: Collado Villalba, Madrid, Spain

Architect: Otto Medem de la Torriente

The architect sought inspiration for the house from the surrounding terrain of the plot, with natural marble and lots of vegetation in a sloping area with views of the Madrid mountaints. Strange geometric volumes make up the residence, creating surfaces for rooftop decks and an interesting array of angles and spaces. Even with its bright white facade, the home fits in perfectly with its environment by including wooden accents and stone materials throughout its design.

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Location: Victoria, Australia

Architect: James Stockwell

This house features an aerodynamic design that faces away from the prevailing wind of the area. The shape of the structure blocks strong winds from the patios on the other side of the volume, while creating a semicircular garden space in the front. A warm, timber-clad interior contrasts with the zinc-clad exterior, which requires low maintenance but comes with high damage protection.

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