Half buried house in Mexico profits from soil’s thermal mass
In desertlike regions temperatures often go to extremes, with differences between daytime and nighttime of about 20-30 degrees Celsius. This is the case with this golf club community house in Chihuahua, northern Mexico. To take advantage of the soil’s thermal mass and reduce temperature variations, the architects of PRODUCTORA partially buried its 375 sq.m. into the ground. Thus, the soil absorbs heat during the day, and gives it off at night. Besides, buried into the mountain slope, with its patios and slanted roof, the house looks marvelous, just like a natural extension of ground itself.
TV + bookcase + bed = Poppi Theatre by Clei
Have an unexpected guest? Or maybe there is a lack of space in your home? Whichever the case, Clei has a solution – just slide the TV and unfold the bed! Designed by Pierluigi Colombo and Giulio Manzoni, Poppi Theatre is a transformable unit that combines a bed with a LCD/Plasma TV stand and a boiserie bookcase. Practical, besides multifunctional, often means small as well, so Poppi Theatre makes no exception – with its humble dimensions (336×140x77,5cm), it easily fits into any room. Beautiful, smart and useful, this charming Clei’s creation will gain many fans for sure.
Lyrical Home for a Music Lover Evokes Forest Songs
Here’s, literally, a treehugger’s house.
It is built on a steep sloping grade which made it possible to set the main level of the house up into the tree canopy, to evoke the feeling of being in a tree house.
Extending out into the forest canopy, the recently completed Wilkinson Residence seems to disappear into its surroundings.
The musician client wanted a house that not only became part of the natural landscape but also suggested the flow of music…
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Design Dilemma: Finding Modern Outdoor Furniture
Homeowners with rigorously modern interiors sometimes find it hard to carry on the modern look when they turn their attention to the outdoors. Yes, it’s easy to find the traditional styles of wicker, plastic, teak, or wrought iron furnishings for patios, verandas and terraces. But what about the cool modern stuff? Well, we’ve got some ideas for those tired of plastic fold-up chairs. Take a look:
A Steel Prefab Treads Lightly on a Desert Floor
Steel is just about the most recyclable building material on earth. You could be well reading this in an office building built with steel originally smelted from iron in Julius Caesars day.
So it makes good green sense to build eco prefab houses with steel…
India’s new face: modern home by DADA Partners
DADA Partners show the new face of Indian architecture through this luxury mansion in the suburbs of Gurgaon. According to the architects, the house should as well serve as an example for fusion between modern and traditional style in India’s home building practice. And it really is – on the one hand we have a building organized around a central courtyard, suggesting the Indian home’s connection to nature, and on the other – the sleek modern design with lots of mechanical louvers and aluminum sunshades. Knowing that every modern home should be eco-conscious, DADA designed the house pretty sustainable with natural ventilation, solar collectors and minimum use of artificial lighting.
Nature loves it: modern glass house near Krakow, Poland
PCKO Architects in co-operation with MOFO Architects show us how to build beautiful homes with a minimum footprint and a maximum enjoyment on nature. The Jodlowa House near Krakow shines with its fully glazed facade, floating above the ground thanks to its steel frame. The modern glass house tempts with an indoor swimming pool, 2 bedrooms and 140 sq.m. living area. However, the most tempting part is the five-storey tower, consisting of guest rooms on the lower levels and a study on the top that offers extensive views on the surrounding nature. And talking about nature – a mature tree on the plot is preserved by integrating it into the house thanks to openings in the ceiling and the floor. Wonderful idea, isn’t it?
White Roofs Are Green
Come July, California law will require new residential sloping roofs to be light-colored cool roofs. Georgia and Florida already offer incentives to home owners who install white or light-colored roofs.
Why? White roofs are green.
White roofs keep things cooler naturally, so they save on air conditioning costs and cut carbon emissions. Painting your roof white could save as much as 20 percent of your air conditioning costs – that’s a savings of $1 billion per year in the US alone, considering that 90 percent of US roofs are black.
Even without incentives and mandates, white roofs make sense for California and Florida:
Buffalo House to Weather Rainstorms in Kansas
U of Kansas grad students have just completed their chic Buffalo House in Kansas City, Kansas, designed with a very elegant approach to sustainability.
We are seeing more climate conscious design in architecture: In this case; the rain screen.
A skin over the house is designed to manage and harvest occasional heavy precipitation, to provide protection from premature decay from moisture intrusion.
I like the way the rain-screen is carried up over the roof and mounted flush with the photovoltaic solar panels on the roof for a sleek look while also protecting the building.
Artistic tiles by Ann Sacks make your backsplash astounding
If you find traditional flat tiles for your backsplash too boring, Ann Sacks has something that will totally charm you. Her sculptural tiles are made using sgraffito – an Italian Old World technique which means “to scratch”. The sgraffito technique consists of laying the clay over a surface to get the bumpy look and then, while still wet, the clay is carved in the desired relief. The results are stunning, as you will see below. The green Nautilus design is perfect if you’re looking to add to your bathroom the artistic feel, while the red Dahlia tiles, when put in order, form a beautiful eye-catching floral mural.
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Home Design Find (HDF) is your daily guide to products, trends, and ideas for your home. Our team finds the best furniture, kitchens, bathrooms, interiors, and design online. Send us your tips
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