Nearly Half of All New Cars Sold in Norway Are Electric Vehicles

If there is one material that epitomizes luxury, class and elegance cutting across eras and styles, then it is undoubtedly marble. Be it in the Oriental and Indian backdrops or in the more modern western setting, marble has been a symbol of opulence and beauty for ages. Anything covered in marble feels just that much […]

You’re reading Gorgeous Marble Top Dining Tables: Falling in Love with Polished Panache, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

If you love sustainable homes that rely on smart deign, an intuitive floor plan and solutions that rely more on simplicity rather than on modern technology, the House-K in Tateyama, Japan is the one for you. Designed by N.A.O, this innovative and modern Japanese home has an interior that is draped in wood with sliding […]

You’re reading Sustainable Japanese Home with Grass Roof and a Breezy Modern Design, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

There is something undeniably magenta about an abstract building with modern minimal design that draws you to it almost instantly. They feel like brilliant works of art; masterpieces that stand out from the crowd and light up a world dominate by simpler squares and rectangles. Nestled in the picturesque and majestic backdrop of Oppdal in […]

You’re reading Diamond in the Mountains: Minimalism Meets Nordic Simplicity in Central Norway, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Modern interiors have moved slowly and steadily away from the polished and neutral world of beige, white and cream and into a realm that is lot more exciting, varied and filled with textural contrast. A big reason for this is the way in which old buildings are being reused and renovated to suit a more […]

You’re reading A Bit of Brick for the Entryway: From Beautiful Walls to Lasting Floors!, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Discover the stunning House in Kaunas, an extraordinary example of contemporary architecture in Lithuania. Designed by…

The privileged view of nature was the core starting point for this project on the mountainous region of Nova Lima, State of Minas Gerais/Brazil. An adventurer couple chose us to create this special project in such an exclusive area. At first, the site’s high declivity seemed to be a big challenge, but it was also what inspired us to come up with the implantation’s solution. Exploring its natural landscape and the Elephant’s Hill view, it was possible to set the social floor at the height limit, above the trees. The street facade turned out to be the side elevation and the main facade now faces towards the side boundary. Due to the high declivity of the area, we were able to create a 3 level house. On the ground floor: garage, laundry, and storage. On the first floor, the office was fully integrated with the living room and a guests’ ensuite. Finally, on the second floor, there’s the hosts’ ensuite, with the most privileged view of the landscape. A slight angulation to the east gave us the opportunity to have both the ensuite and the barbecue area to take advantage of the morning sun and the region’s predominant ventilation. At the same time, it helped to protect the ground floor from the sunset light using a concrete wall that blocks the sunlight inside the house. With the major orientation E-W, the house opens to the northern landscape. Extensive eaves on the north view’s perimeter protect the openings of the summer sun, at the same time as the glasses receive the necessary natural heat to naturally warm the inside during the winter.
We requested that two trees were precisely placed by the topographer in the middle of the elevated deck that connects the house to the suspended heated pool. These also work as a natural filter to the sun’s radiation, minimizing the sun’s entry in the living room and the kitchen. The 25m pool, a client wish, is a fundamental part of the volumetric composition of the house. Sustained by two concrete columns, they elevate the pool 6m above the natural floor level, providing to whom’s inside the pool a view of the treetops and the imponent Elephant’s Hill. With the capacity to generate about 1400kW of energy per month through photovoltaic panels, the house is self-sufficiency on energy, warming the pool water and neutralizing the energy consumption from equipment and artificial lightning.
Columns and ribbed slab represent the constructive system. The use of apparent concrete in the house’s wall, swimming pool, and slabs bring the timelessness wanted to the project.