Residential projects from forward-looking architects from Vietnam to Brazil feature in this roundup based on the third volume of Philip Jodidio’s book Homes for Our Time.
Published by Taschen, the book focuses on innovative houses from around the world, leaning into the assumption that small-scale residential projects often allow architects to experiment and express themselves.
“This means that inventiveness can have a freer rein – developing ideally between an open-minded client and an architect who is interested in breaking new ground,” Jodidio told Dezeen.
The book showcases 60 houses that exemplify the cutting edge of contemporary architecture from around the world, showcasing materials such as mass timber and technologies such as 3D printing.
Timber architecture and the heavy use of high-quality glass were given special focus, as were the ongoing changes in form and context being hashed out in the residential world.
Jodidio told Dezeen that though computer-driven design continues to be an important factor, he has noticed a return to grids in the designing of houses.
“After a euphoric jump into ‘blob’ architecture when computers first entered the fray, it does seem to me that one encounters many grid-based plans,” he said.
“It might seem that Corbusier’s Dom-Ino came to represent a model not only of efficiency but of human(e) scale and design, somehow remaining when the industrial models behind construction were swept away by new paradigms.”
However, the concept of tabula rosa or newness common to modernism has been eschewed in places, and Jodidio said that architects today also look back on older practices that can instruct us on passive building practices and styles.
“The orientation of a house, its exposure to the sun, its natural materials, these were all essential factors in the past,” he said. “It may be that they were ‘rediscovered’ not just as a matter of PR spin, but quite simply because they were the result of centuries of experience that remains valid even today.”
Read on for Jodidio’s picks from volume three of Homes for Our Time:
Casa Q’anil, by Juan Pablo Barrios, Guatemala
“The name Q’anil is related to a Mayan astrological sign representing ‘the seed, life and creation, beginning and growth.’
“The architect likens the design of this house to the planting of seed, which gives rise to ‘a structure born out of the earth. Rather than imposing a form he seeks ‘integration and sustainability’.”
Yuputira, by Mariko Mori, Japan
“Mariko Mori is a multidisciplinary Japanese artist born in Tokyo in 1967.
“She states, ‘inspired by the organic form of coral cobblestones on the seashore and a cave, a primal home where one would be protected from the power of nature, I envisioned Yuputira to reflect and harmonize with the surrounding landscape’.”
Peninsula, by Atelier Bow-Wow, Greece
“Part of an ongoing scheme to build luxury homes on former military training grounds on the island of Antiparos, this generous reinforced concrete house has a self-supporting natural stone facade.
“One unusual aspect of the project was that Covid restrictions did not allow for any site visits by the Japanese architecture studio. It was nonetheless completed within a 13-month schedule through close collaboration with the local architect.”
Suspension House, by Anne Fougeron, USA
“Making use of an existing structure and taking into account California laws that no longer allow for homes to be suspended over creeks, Anne Fougeron was obliged to follow the exact outline of an existing two-story 1970s house and its decks.
“A new structural system was anchored in the hillside.”
Find out more about Suspension House ›
Casa Neptuna, by Edgardo Giménez, Uruguay
“The client for this house, the Fundación Ama Amoedo is a non-profit organization founded in 2021 in Uruguay, whose goal ‘is to create a lasting impact on the Latin American contemporary art ecosystem’.
“The architect explains that the ‘playful’ structure with a minimalist interior functions s a living and working space, ‘as a laboratory of ideas and experimentation’.”
Read more about Casa Neptuna ›
Ashraya, by Kirkland Fraser Moor, UK
“It was intended as a ‘low-carbon home of the highest quality’. Precast insulated concrete panels were used in the construction, and the house has a green roof planted with wildflower meadow species.
“Circular retaining walls clad in flint form courtyards. Compressed chalk blocks made with material excavated from the site were locally prepared. The chalk from the site was also used to prepare unique clay plasters. Ground source water was used to provide an ‘ultra-low carbon cooling system’.”
Find out more about Ashraya ›
Labri, by Nguyen Khai, Vietnam
“This small house is made up of four square blocks of different heights, covered in glass, vines and concrete with trees on top.
“Only 55 square metres of the 100-square-metre site were used for construction. The blocks are rotated and placed randomly and connected by pathways and accessible through fixed ladders.”
Find out more about Labri ›
Waimataruru, by Pac Studio, New Zealand
“Built on a 10 hectare coastal site on the North Island for clients ‘actively committed to protecting and restoring ecological values’, Waimataruru follows the natural slope, with large windows and spaces that open to the water located on the northern facade.
“The building follows the topography of the site and weathering timber used for facades helps it to blend in with the existing trees.”
House of Concrete Experiments, by Samira Rathod, India
“The House of Concrete Experiments is a residential project located in the coastal town of Alibaug, in the Metropolitan Region of Mumbai. It was built in a mango orchard in a ‘meandering fragmented form’ to preserve the trees.
“The house was planned as a large column-free studio space with a concrete ceiling and one bedroom.”
Find out more about House of Concrete Experiments ›
Açucena House, by Tetro, Brazil
“The architects state, ‘the understanding that architecture should mold to the terrain, and not the other way around, was the starting point. The house rises above the ground and the animal and plant life develops underneath.
“‘The program shapes itself by occupying the empty spaces between the trees. No trees are removed. The topography is not changed,’ they continue.”
Find out more about Açucena House ›
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