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A Very Bauhaus German Home for an Extended Family

The Strauss Residence by Alexander Brenner Architekten is an imposing structure reminiscenmt of the Bauhaus movement.

Located in  in Stuttgart, Germany, it houses a large multigenerational family – a couple, with their two children, and their parents.

Its all-natural material palette is somber, deliberate and weighty: stone, stucco, serious hardwoods.

Delineating the scultural exterior, highly polished black marble is juxtaposed with slabs of smooth matte white stucco.

The carefully sculpted exterior includes an interesting L shape shelf over the front door.

Despite the no nonsense practicality, there’s an amusing contrast in the sweet romance of the chandelier and the deer antlers.

The kitchen is along a wide corridor that offers visual connection directly to the garden at both ends.

It also has a sightline directly out to the pool area of the garden.

The small pool is sheltered in the corner of the high walled compound.

An abstract crazy quilt of cupboards in the kitchen is well disguised as a sculptural piece.

The large home is a live work office for the couple at the below-ground level, while the two stories above are the family quarters.

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Vast Space Defines Brazilian Rainforest Home

Brazilian architecture firm Anastasia Arquitetos designed the al fresco Nova Lima House with a bold open upside-down L shape.

The house is sited next to a nature reserve and embraces the surrounding tropical rainforest.

Outside, a checkered pattern of timber decking and grass clears a piazza space in the jungle.

Here, a pool is set perfectly flush into the continous timber deck like a piece of jade glass.

From the street, the house gives no clue to the surprise awaits you inside.

One clue. It has a grand triple height entrance.

Once inside the home’s exterior walls, the interior really opens up.

Command of the gigantic interior space from this triple height canopy is magnificent, huge.

A wood slat skylight ceiling spills natural light spill deep into the vast tall space.

A soaring atrium creates a staggered multivolume space filled with overhead light.

Floor to ceiling glazing slides completely into the wall transforms the indoor area into an outdoor living room.

The exterior seems smaller, with horizontal slatted wood contrasting with the verticality of the forest surroundings.

Outside and inside, its materials – concrete, air, timber, and glass – offset the close tropical surroundings perfectly.

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Rusty Corten Steel “Clamshell” House has a Smooth White Interior

AQ Arkitekter has created an intriguing vacation retreat that completely shuts up like a clam when not in use.

The center of Studio Furellen in Sweden is open, creating a central lightwell under a green roof “frame.”

The central atrium  floods the silky interior with natural daylight even when the “clamshell” is tightly closed.

Completely unseen from outside, this sky lighting at its heart defines the interior light.

The minimalist shiny white interior is industrial, uncompromising, brisk.

A cool and crisp bedroom awaits its secretive visitors.

On each of the four corners, hydraulic and mechanical terraces can be opened out to the world.

Levelers under the deck extend down to keep the decks level on the varying terrain.

The detailing is brisk, efficient and very chic.

By contrast with the rugged and weathered exterior, the interior is like the inside of a clamshell.

This is an odd and yet very intriguing hidey hole.