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Another Serene Central Courtyard House in Japan

With all these glimpses of filtered daylight in this home, you’d ever guess no light comes from outside its walls.

But there are no windows at all on the outside of this family’s live/work home in Tokyo.

Satoshi Kurosaki/APOLLO Architects & Associates created this solution for an insurance manager and a patternmaker and their two children.

The wife also likes to teach yoga, and an upstairs space is allocated for her classes.

The solution is one we’ve seen several examples of in Japanese architecture: a central courtyard brings all the daylight needed in to the heart of the home. Read the rest of this entry »

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Razzmatazz! A Bioscience Building

The La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science is covered in a riot of hexagonal windows.

The tessellation is based on the hexagonal geometry of molecular structures.

The extruded windows create unique spaces within.

So often, a really groundbreaking exterior like this results in interiors that suffer, but this is all good on both sides – in its nutty way.

Bright primary red, orange, turquoise and white is softened by the use of warm natural wood both around the windows and at the base.

The manmade wonder of the structure is wittily contrasted with the simplest possible landscaping of “a lawn.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Design Dilemma: Cool Pools, Third Edition

It’s time to drool over a few cool pools again. If you haven’t noticed, we do it every year about this time, when the weather heats up and we get envious of all those out there who can take a cold dip in their own backyard. So here we go:

Thanks to underwater LED lights, the pool above glows in the dark. And below, a pool uses dashing red tiles to cut quite the figure. The pool is called “The Matador” and includes a lap pool and a retaining wall. It’s one of the few infinity pools we’ve seen that have provided the illusion of swimming into the trees!

We had to throw in the indoor pool below because the reflections of the glass and doors on the water reminds us of a Mondrian painting.

Do you wish you were at the beach instead of at poolside? Check this out:

Could you ever have imagined a tree floating in the middle of a pool? Neither could we.

We’re liking this pool which includes a cocktail table. The table is practical when you need a margarita while swimming, yet totally unobstrusive.

Do you have any cool pools to share? Send us a link to it!