Mound, hearth, enclosure, roof, and column. The way we see it, Gottfried Semper and scholars already figured out what makes honest tectonic form. We're looking for the element that satisfies our primitive urge to value architecture that's good.

January 7th 2012

74 notes

W.R. Healy Guest House
by: Paul Rudolph + Ralph Twitchell
in: Sarasota, Florida, USA

Check out this small residential structure from 1950… it’s so Semper!  The roof gets its form from flexible insulation boards affixed to steel insulation straps that are connected to the enclosure.  It’s protected from rain by an applied vinyl compound that was originally developed and used by the military to weatherproof ship parts.  The whole house is elevated on a platform, so not to touch the site or neighboring waterway.   We checked google earth and it’s still standing (at least it was in 2011).   With a new coat of paint, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it in a contemporary design publication.  

Posted at 9:18pm and tagged with: roof, mound, florida, paul rudolph, residence, architecture, design,.

October 31st 2010

casa fez
by: Álvaro Leite Siza Vieira
in: Porto, Portugal 

Posted at 3:45pm and tagged with: roof, residence, portugal,.

casa fezby: Álvaro Leite Siza Vieirain: Porto, Portugal 

October 24th 2010

3 notes

cradle to cradle home design
by: matthew coates + tim meldrum
in: seattle, washington

Designed as a home that “ends the paradigm of consumption and beings the paradigm of giving”, this C2C competition winner utilizes passive technologies and a state of the art system infrastructure.   Unlike typical single family units, this project reaches out to the community by distributing excess energy, treating shared waste, and linking outdoor space with neighbors

Posted at 8:49pm and tagged with: sustainable, residence, systems, mound, roof, enclosure,.

cradle to cradle home designby: matthew coates + tim meldrumin: seattle, washington Designed as a home that “ends the paradigm of consumption and beings the paradigm of giving”, this C2C competition winner utilizes passive technologies and a state of the art system infrastructure.   Unlike typical single family units, this project reaches out to the community by distributing excess energy, treating shared waste, and linking outdoor space with neighbors

October 24th 2010

2 notes

Tye River Cabin
by: Olson Kundig Architects
in: Skykomish, Washington

Here’s a slick looking cabin described by the designer as a “wooden tent on a platform that opens to the forest and the river.”  Located east of Seattle, Washington, the small  building has a cast in place concrete core with a wood/glass panel wall system .  It emphasizes all four of Semper’s elements.  The building responds to the context, ultimately blurring the threshold between indoors and outdoors, which is an elegant way to create a large space while maintaining a small footprint.   Though we wonder how often the cabin is experienced that way, especially given the frequently rainy and cold months in the northwest. 

Posted at 9:22am and tagged with: mound, hearth, enclosure, roof, residence, united states,.

Tye River Cabinby: Olson Kundig Architectsin: Skykomish, Washington Here’s a slick looking cabin described by the designer as a “wooden tent on a platform that opens to the forest and the river.”  Located east of Seattle, Washington, the small  building has a cast in place concrete core with a wood/glass panel wall system .  It emphasizes all four of Semper’s elements.  The building responds to the context, ultimately blurring the threshold between indoors and outdoors, which is an elegant way to create a large space while maintaining a small footprint.   Though we wonder how often the cabin is experienced that way, especially given the frequently rainy and cold months in the northwest.