This project involved the sub-division and renovation of a semi-detached Victorian bluestone cottage with an individual heritage listing. The client purchased this property with pre-existing Planning & Building permits to sub-divide the site and construct two 2 storey precast- concrete dwellings over 2 property Titles.
The existing site contained a 19th century derelict bluestone fronted Victorian Cottage residence that was severely run down. A Special Heritage Overlay was placed over the front bluestone bedroom that fronts Highett Street. The brief meant dealing with from one end – the notion of a 2-storey utilitarian pre-cast concrete box normally common place in multi-res / high rise construction, versus at the other end a now Heritage Listed single storey bluestone cottage front. A decision was made to restore the interior of the existing construct in a clean but typically Victorian detailing, whilst the interior of the new pre-cast construct contains a newly inscribed contemporary architecture – open, light filled, flexible.
The junctions between the two spaces are played off against each other quite directly and literally accentuating and heightening the sense of transition and indeed telling a tale of the site’s history. These elements combined to encourage an interior architecture concerned with both ‘continuity’ and ‘newness’.
Themaster planning and design for this world-class, high-tech terminal for India's second-busiest airport is built on a 2.7 million sq. ft. / 250,000 sq. m. This international terminal will add more than double the airport's current passenger capacity. Passengers will experience a terminal that maximizes the use of natural light, giving a feeling of openness.
The arrivals experience, especially, has been designed to provide a memorable welcome to India. The new terminal will open in time to accommodate the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India. The team designed 1.3 million sq. ft. of renovation projects to refurbish and extend existing terminals. The concept design also includes a multi-story car park and an airport village commercial center.
Howard J. Backen cautions against believing the stereotype. “It’s a misconception,” he says, “that an architect’s ego should overwhelm the work. In actual practice, a vital part of any successful project is the collaborative architect-client relationship.”
Northern California-based Backen Gillam Architects (a 40-person firm he leads with his partner, James Gillam) adheres to a design philosophy based on siting a building in harmony with nature and in accordance with the client’s goals.
“I’m interested only in making happen what a particular project wants to happen. I take all the factors involved—the clients’ thoughts and living patterns, site, location, budget—and they tell me what to do. There are no preconceived notions.”
A new floating home on LakeUnion, Seattle, Washington, designed by Vandeventer + Carlander Architects .
Its one of the eight proposed new floating homes in the home dock located on LakeUnion. To maximize the interior volume & outdoor entertaining space it has the public spaces on the second level & the private spaces on the floating level.
So the floating level accommodates the entry, master bedroom & bathroom, & guest room & bathroom. The translucent staircase connects the two levels.
On Nantucket, Massachusetts, a couple commissioned Botticelli & Pohl Architects and interior designer Elissa Cullman to create their seaside retreat. “The dining room,” says Cullman, “with its hand-painted scenic canvas by Chuck Fischer, is the most vibrant room in the house.”
“The space itself was inspirational,” designer Charles Allem says of a penthouse he remade for a Manhattan couple. Walnut doors, fitted with bronze hardware, open to the dining room. Hanging over the expansive walnut table is an 18-foot-long bespoke fixture. Fabricated using 105 sandblasted-glass cylinders of varying heights, it gives off “incredible shades that reflect all over the room,” Allem remarks.
Art, books and light fill author and historian Barbara Goldsmith’s Manhattan apartment, designed by Mica Ertegun, of MAC II. “Instead of jewelry,” says Goldsmith, “books have become my Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” For the dining room/library, Ertegun bought an Art Déco table at a Paris flea market; the chairs were designed by MAC II. At rear is Three Weeks, 1957, by Larry Rivers.
Combining raw, native materials with a modern sensibility, interior designer Mariette Himes Gomez and architect Jim Morter created a singular retreat in Wyoming for Anne and Allen Dick and their children. An English Arts and Crafts leather screen adds texture to the dining area. The chairs, with a Larsen tweed, were designed by Gomez.
