The Club House in Valle San Nicolàs in Mexico is a perfectly round building that reveals the landscape all around. It is constructed of wood and other natural materials, blending into the surrounding environment. Its circular floor plan is on an artificial lake, created for water-skiing and fed by rainwater and water flowing from the … Read more
Pam and Dave bought an old disassembled grain silo and converted it into a round tiny house in Canada. They live off-grid in the home using solar power for electricity, a well for water, a composting toilet, and propane for heat and hot water. The home has a small mud room for coats, boots, and … Read more
Simon Baker sold his one-bed flat in London to buy a derelict cow shed in North Wales. He put all his savings into buying the land, which was a huge gamble as the shed didn’t have any planning permissions. Simon said, “When I saw the shed I fell in love with it – it was … Read more
Sim Van der Ryn, a Dutch-born architect sometimes called “the father of green architecture,” died. He was 89. Mr. Van der Ryn taught architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1961 to 1995, a span interrupted by a four-year stint in the 1970s as Gov. Jerry Brown’s state architect. Early on Sim was swept … Read more
Invisible Studio designed a rammed earth and stone yoga studio for a hotel in Somerset, UK, that features a 36-foot-long skylight made from a single insulated double-glazed unit. The studio is lined entirely in beech slats which provide a “warm and immersive sanctuary-like space.” The external skin uses the same rammed earth and stone as … Read more
Several years ago Kirsten Dirksen’s family embarked on a project where they found a derelict (and affordable) country home located in a tiny, well-maintained castle hamlet 1 hour outside Barcelona, Spain. They began renovation with the help of a young architecture studio. Can a home remodel celebrate the layers of past, present, and future? Do … Read more