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Great man, architect and Ikea designer Olle Lundberg shows us his lovely cabin in Cazadero, California. The vertical wood siding of the house fits right into the surrounding forest. Not only does it feel environmentally friendly but Lundberg also built the house from materials salvaged from previous houses or offices that his firm had worked on.
Via Apartment Therapy / Read more about his work and second home
Resting on the hillside of San Francisco’s Cole Valley, this residence is a revitalization of a 1930’s home into a more relaxing, modern masterpiece. It sits at the end of a cul-de-sac where the first thing you see while approaching is an exceptional use of planked wood siding and black steel.
Architects: John Maniscalco Architecture
The Sugar Bowl Residence by John Maniscalco Architecture is an exquisite design balanced between modern and the comfort of a warm mountain home. Surprisingly this home is located in Norden, California where it sees up to 8-9 feet of snow during the winter. To help keep the snow from piling up aside the house, the whole structure is perched on a concrete slab.
Materials used in this house include walnut (fir also but not mentioned), concrete and steel.
Via Contemporist
The house was created by Prentiss Architects and is situated on a ridge near Chuckanut Mountain in Washington—strange name isn’t it? The reason for building in this location is that the narrow ridge reveals great views of the San Juan Islands and the Skagit Valley.
I’ve had the opportunity to check out photovoltaic solar panels in the past and in my opinion they are an amazing opportunity to provide a somewhat sustainable energy solution. This house utilizes a number of the same photovoltaic panels. Since well water is in short supply, water is collected from roof runoff, purified and then stored in tanks under the house.
Via Arch Daily
Alberto Campo Baeza Architects designed the Olnick Spanu House in Garrison, New York. The house is built on top of a large 122 x 54 foot concrete and stone box. Inside the box is where the bedrooms and baths are located. I’m starting to look at this house as a day cabin and a cave for slumber.
Via Contemporist
A modern igloo is what came to mind after seeing this. This cluster of white pods forms a ski resort. Each pod is appropriately furnished and although only 5,577 feet above seal level, the pods offer great views of the Swiss valley below.
VIa Freshhome
The Kaufmann residence was designed for Edgar J. Kaufmann in 1946 by architect Richard Neutra. Kaufmann was a prominent businessman and the owner of two of the most recognized American architectural masterpieces; the Fallingwater house and this house (Kaufmann Desert house).
Via Design for Men
This 800 square foot guess cabin was designed by Charles Rose Architects in Massachusetts. The house has two bedrooms each accompanied by a bathroom and a common kitchen/dining area. Stone, copper, cedar and fir were used on the exterior of the home while cork, mahogany and teak were used for the interior. This combination executes a color palette reflective of the surrounding area as well as adding a mid-century flavor.
The Whistler Cay Residence is a 5000 square foot home in one of Whistler’s oldest residential neighborhood. From the interior, the large floor to ceiling windows open up the home to the surrounding nature and sweeping views of Whistler, Blackcomb.
Built by Aka Architects
Hiding any house in a city like Los Angeles is difficult; it takes a sum of money and a prime location amongst the hills to achieve it. The family that owns this house had purchased the property with an existing structure but salvaged it. The new structure re-used seventy-five percent of the previous structures materials.
The Hidden House occupies 3,500 square-feet and is located on a 7-acre plot in Glassell Park, Los Angeles. The architecture firm behind this efficient wood masterpiece was Standard.
Via Arch Daily
Jensen & Skodvin Architects designed this hotel located in Gudbrandsjuvet, Norway. It would be interesting to know how much it costs to stay in this hotel. The surrounding landscape alone would be worth seeing.
Via Below the Clouds
Pixar’s animated movie UP has inspired the makings of this balloon house. It may be slightly out of the typical range of architecture on the blog, but its safe to say this is truly unique; never has it been done before.
On the morning of March 5th, National Geographic Channel and a team of scientists, engineers and balloon pilots launched the 16 x 16 foot house with 300 8 foot balloons. The house floated around for about an hour and reached an altitude of over 10,000 feet. Look for more coverage of this in the fall of 2011 in a series called How Hard Can it Be.
