Renovation of a single-family house in Hod Hasharon. Before the renovation, the house was country-style, dark and old-fashioned. The entrance floor was re-designed along with the outdooor developing of the plot, while opening a new windows and creating full inside-outside connection. Changing the layout of the first floor according to the needs of the family, and Adding a second floor attic as a bedroom for the eldest daughter.
My favorite area in the house is the family lounge, originally there was closed wall, and I decided to open a huge window with a bench underneath with storage. I moved the olive tree from the entrance of the lot to the center of the new window. The window frames the tree as a picture, so we decided not to add curtains to that window.
Another space that I love is the boys’ study area on the first floor. An open space next to the staircase, where I designed a library of random cubes in three finishes white-balck-oak combined with a desk.
The colors chosen for the house are very calm, combining a great deal of wood and shades of blue and gray.
It was important for the owners to keep a very practical home with lots of storage space and still get a warm, modern, up-to-date home that matches the character of the family.
Conceived by Jorn Utzon in 1961 for his friend the structural engineer Povl Ahm, this house is recognised as one of the most important modern houses in Britain.
Povl Ahm was a partner at the Danish engineering practice Ove Arup & Partners and worked with Utzon on the Sydney Opera House. Designed by the two Danes, the house was created for Ahm and his young family on this suburban site in Hertfordshire. Coppin Dockray were asked by the new owners – a professional couple with a young family – to design the interiors for the house.
Coppin Dockray’s choice of furnishings reflects the physical and historic context of the house and its Danish roots. The furniture collection works with the architectural journey – providing punctuation with key pieces where there are natural pause-points and at other times allowing the eye to effortlessly slide around the soft curves of the Jacobsen chairs to the lush green of the mature garden beyond.
The material qualities of the interiors, like the house, are natural and crafted, deliberately chosen to be long lasting and to develop their own patina over time. Coppin Dockray’s work included careful repairs to the Grade II Listed 1961 house and the reinstatement of some of the original joinery based on Utzon’s standard details.
Coppin Dockray
All images courtesy of Coppin Dockray
Coppin Dockray
Sandra Coppin and Bev Dockray have worked closely together for almost 20 years and founded Coppin Dockray in 2012. more
The project provides a new two-storey rear extension to this Victorian terraced house in South London. The existing narrow kitchen extension on ground floor was remove and replaced with a new light filled kitchen and dining area. The ground floor is expanded sideways filling the entire width of the plot with reconfiguration of the existing internal layout to incorporate a washroom and generous arrival hall. Volumetrically, the ground and first floor extension is articulated into two distinct volumes constructed from a light coloured pigmented concrete block, which provide a subtle distinction from the main house. The windows in this new volume are made from oak, which has also been used in the interiors.
Al-Jawad Pike is an award-winning London-based architectural studio founded in 2014 by Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike. Prior to setting up the studio, Dean and Jessam spent 10 years each working at David Chipperfield Architects, gaining extensive experience on a wide range of high-profile projects.
The studio has a strong design focus, and is recognised for the quality of its built work.
An existing nondescript 1980’s hillside home on a spectacular site was transformed with critical concern for the preservation and optimization of panoramic ocean views. The vehicular approach, orientation and entry sequence are choreographed to capitalize on the site conditions and view opportunities.
Structural reinforcement of the terrain allowed for the conceptual overlay of program, including an office/exercise room level, sleeping level, and living/entertaining level are all tucked within the hillside. An elegant yet casual palette of natural materials, textures, and rich details supports a connection between the interior and exterior spaces.
A beautifully crafted extension to a Californian Bungalow for a builder and his family. A robust yet light single storey pavilion with exposed timber rafters, timber windows and brick walls forms the open plan living and meals area, whilst its stucco rendered brother houses bedroom, bathroom and two offices.
All images courtesy of Pleysier Perkins Architects
Pleysier Perkins Architects
Pleysier Perkins is a Melbourne based architecture and interior design practice established by Ramon Pleysier and Simon Perkins in 2002. They share responsibility for a diverse range of mainly residential projects with Studio Director Berit Barton and Associates Anthony Dann, Ross Berger and Julian Legg. All are supported by a talented team of architects, interior designers and graduates. more
Light was a primary issue with this renovation of an industrial loft space in Lower Manhattan. We maintained much of the open “workshop floor” character of the space, while creating a bright and comfortable kitchen, entry hall, and bedroom adjacent to the large living and dining areas. A simple palette of bone-white ash wood paneling and white plaster walls carry the light from the perimeter windows deep into the space.
The detailing of the space complemented the original industrial nature of the building and reflected the owner’s love of mid-century modern furniture and art. Vertical battens line the entry hall and conceal hidden doors to a powder room and a laundry room. The original vaulted concrete ceiling and a steel-clad fire door were maintained and highlighted. A new fireplace has built-in wood storage, as well as niches for art. The home feels comfortable and livable, while remaining true to its history.
Scott is the founding principal at Specht Architects with over 25 years of experience designing and managing institutional, commercial, and residential projects. Before founding Specht Architects (formerly known as Specht Harpman), he worked as a senior designer for Daniel Libeskind Architect and collaborated with that office on its winning New York World Trade Center master planning proposal. He also worked for several years with Kohn Pedersen Fox and Associates Architects in New York, and was the Designer on a number of tall building projects around the world, including the Chifley Square project in Sydney, Australia, and the Niaga Bank headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is a licensed architect in Texas and New York, is NCARB certified, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects.
Scott received his Master of Architecture degree from Yale University, where he received the George Nelson Scholarship and the Franklin W. Gregory Scholarship.
In addition to his work with Specht Architects, Scott was a featured speaker at TEDx, and his independent design work has been exhibited in two SoHo gallery shows. His design work has also been publicly featured at a Yale University exhibition, the Van Alen Institute, the Municipal Art Society of New York, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. learn more
A nineteenth-century building on several levels becomes an unusual dwelling characterized by the double height of its rooms and a small courtyard (with D. Parisio).
All images courtesy of Rosevear Stephenson Architects
PLAN
Rosevear Stephenson Architects
Rosevear Stephenson Architects
Rosevear Stephenson is a partnership of Craig Rosevear and Martin Stephenson with experience in residential, commercial, tourism and heritage projects in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. more
Bestor Architecture is based in Los Angeles and was founded by Barbara Bestor, FAIA in 1995. Bestor Architecture has designed a number of award-winning projects including headquarters for Beats by Dre and Nasty Gal, Blackbirds, a groundbreaking new typology for dense housing in Echo Park, and a variety of experimental residences and commercial establishments. The varied, creative, and aesthetically progressive body of work expands the territory of architecture into atmospheric urbanism.
CONTACT
Bestor Architecture
2030 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Klopf Architecture, Arterra Landscape Architects, and Flegels Construction updated a classic Eichler open, indoor-outdoor home. Expanding on the original walls of glass and connection to nature that is common in mid-century modern homes. The Truly Open Eichler is a remodeled single-family house in Palo Alto. This 1,712 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom is located in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
John Klopf is a licensed architect over 24 years in the field. He is the Founding Principal of Klopf Architecture, which he founded in 2001 after working for a few years at other firms. John, along with his wife and their two sons, lives in San Francisco and enjoys walking his dogs to work or biking to work whenever possible.
John was born in Cleveland Ohio, and is a graduate of both Harvard (Bachelor, 1993) and Berkeley (Master of Architecture, 2000). While at Berkeley, he won the highly competitive Branner travel fellowship for nine months of fully-paid independent architectural study in Japan, Europe, and Scandinavia. While at Harvard he studied abroad for one semester in Nanjing, China.
In addition to practicing architecture, John has taught design at USF (the University of San Francisco) as an adjunct professor, taught introductory design classes at Berkeley as a lecturer and graduate student instructor, and managed a major sustainability research project for the architecture department at Berkeley.
Today architectural practice consumes all of John’s professional time. He focuses on modernist homes, green and net-zero energy homes, and mid-century modern buildings. He is excited about the completion of Klopf Architecture’s first net-zero energy modern house and looks forward to working on more modern zero-net energy houses.
As a modern renaissance home, the St Vincents Place Residence is a new archetype developed through reinterpretation of classical references with a modern sensibility. The client, as a patron, put his belief in architecture, artists and artisans to create a nourishing environment that goes beyond surface treatments by inscribing contemplative experiences into the physical form.
Positioned behind a significant heritage façade, the new extension is a cultural bridge between historical significance and modern progress. Embracing the consideration of time, the design response examines pinnacles of architecture and design throughout history. It recreates original elements that extract and expand upon qualities of substance, inspired by those that are proven to span the test of time. Although the majority of the home is a new building, it is not immediately recognisable as such.
The reworking of older-style details in the front section of the original building, include curved cornices, arched doors and custom steel fireplaces, which are not typical modern construction methodologies, but feel at ease within the Victorian frontage. Integral to the details is an authentic demonstration of unusual level of craftsmanship, an appreciation of the capacity of man-kind. Even the smallest of details, like the hand-stained dovetail joints along the timber skirting, are deserving of a moment’s reflection.
The modern counterpart in the rear extension uses insitu concrete, terrazzo style stone floors, painted timber ceilings and bluestone walling to create a point of difference from the front. Rejecting stark minimalism, the classical details are exchanged for rich textures continuing the hand-hewn character throughout the house.
Leading the way to intellectual discourse, the substantial art collection explores topics of philosophy, literature, religion and even science. At moments these are literally written into the walls, such as the three storey light-well built around the lightwork Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens by artist Nathan Coley and the niche installation of the wax sculpture Romeu ‘my deer’ by artist Berlinde De Bruyckere.
As carefully curated as the art collection, the interiors for the house is an eclectic mix covering diverse cultural references across many eras. Many of the rooms are positioned around knowledge, encasing collections of books on expansive shelves and using them as a centrepiece within the custom coffee table in the living room.
A refined, casual aesthetic is created, incorporating unique vintage pieces sourced from Europe and Asia as a direct historic reference. Each piece adds to the dialogue of the space with exotic and interesting stories of when or where they are from or how they were created. Many of the pieces are one-of-a-kind designs by B.E Architecture, commissioned expressly for this project, pushing the artisanal character of the architectural detailing into the furniture.
Combining history, art and culture, the St Vincents Place Residence is ultimately a place of rebirth, simultaneously reviving an exceptional period home and cultivating a place of renewal that elevates quality of life for the client.
Led by directors Broderick Ely, Jonathon Boucher And Andrew Piva, the B.E architecture team is young, dynamic and multicultural, with a range of personal interests and specialities.
Members of the firm work closely with their clients, builders and individual contractors to ensure that the building expresses the client it was built for and everything needed is in its place. The designs are quiet, yet strong creating a response that is appropriate to its surroundings with attention to materiality that ensures projects will continue to improve over the passage of time.
With more than 20 years of practice, B.E architecture has built a body of work in various locations around Australia, with international commissions currently under development.
‘Old Be-al’ is the loving nick-name given to the beautifully old, gnarled Mallee river redgum at the rear of this classic, single story brick veneer home from the inter-war period in Melbourne’s inner-east.
Underpinning our design notions and considerations for this home were two instinctual ideas: that of our client’s fondness for ‘Old Be-al’ and associated desire for an enhanced connection between the house and the old-growth eucalypt landscape; and our own determined appreciation for the house’s original brickwork, something we hoped to celebrate and re-cast within the existing dwelling.
Fiona Dunin established FMD Architects in 2005 with a focus on design intensive projects of varying scales and types.
Fiona merges the two disciplines of interior design and architecture. Her experience is diverse, with a range of projects including residential, major retail and institutional projects over the last 20 years. The detailed nature of her work, coupled with her extensive research into materials and product development is reflected in the rich interiors and architecture produced. more
Bestor Architecture renovated a modern ranch house from the 1960’s into a contemporary, open plan house for a busy producer and her son. The original roof was uncovered and the flow was reorganized to take advantage of the view and access to the outdoors.
Barbara Bestor, FAIA is founding principal of Bestor Architecture. Since 1995, Bestor Architecture has actively redefined Los Angeles architecture with a practice that rigorously engages the city through design, art, and urbanism. Increasingly, the firm applies L.A.’s lessons to national undertakings. She explores the architectural form through experiments in spatial arrangements, graphics, and color, which is evident in her projects from custom residences to headquarters for international companies. Her varied and progressive body of work connects with people on many levels, often outside the boundaries traditionally delineated for architecture. She believes that good design creates an engaged urban life and embraces the ‘strange beauty’ that enhances everyday life experience.
Barbara’s career is punctuated with inventive projects in a wide breadth of typologies. She has designed new ways of creating accessible urbanism in her “stealthy density” Blackbirds housing, groundbreaking retail and restaurant flagships, dynamic workspaces for Beats By Dre and Snap, award-winning experimental residences and pioneering arts projects that are deeply rooted in their communities and cultural context.
While maintaining a practice, Barbara has continuously taught at Southern California’s leading design schools from SCI-Arc to Woodbury University, where she is currently the executive director of the Julius Shulman Institute. She received her undergraduate degree at Harvard University, studied at the Architecture Association in London and received a MARCH at SCI-Arc. She is the author of Bohemian Modern, Living in Silver Lake.
CONTACT
Bestor Architecture
2030 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
The concept for this modern home was to translate an existing 1990s office fit-out into a contemporary residence while honouring the historic charm of the building and giving the owners a comfortable home with bold design modifications.
Introducing the impressive engineered double height brick vault ceiling to the restructured rear wing seemed an appropriate element for the Italianate style of the house. This brings to modern design such elements of historical grandeur that gave rise to the great architecture of early civilisations bestowing the notion ‘the arch never sleeps’.
Born in Italy, moved to Australia with his family in the 1960’s, studied architecture at the University of Technology, Sydney.
In 1984 Renato lived in Sardinia investigating many architectural sites around the mediterranean islands. He later worked for Pier Luigi Nervi and Paolo Portoghesi in Roma and Harry Seidler and Romaldo Giurgola in Sydney.
Renato started his sole practice in 1990 after a commission for a house in South Coogee. The house, with a magnificent site by the sea, inspired Renato to take the opportunity to forge a personal path within the plurality of the modern architectural milieu.
The personal path chosen has manifested itself not only in his design values, but also in the practice of his architecture; an intuitive way of working in which projects are allowed to develop in their own good time through continual revision and modification, working through the endless design possibilities in architecture.
Renato’s architecture draws inspiration from past masters and civilizations, attempting to represent the present with a desire to leave enduring buildings for the future.
CONTACT
Renato D’Ettorre Architects
Suite 203, 19a boundary street, rushcutters bay, nsw, 2011, australia
This project re-invigorates the life of an existing Queenslander cottage in inner city Paddington. A new extension is carefully considered to mitigate the issues of a steep site and overlooking neighbours, creating platforms and private courtyards that extend the functioning ground plane. Internal and external volumes interlock, expand and compress in a delightful sense of play, with geometric barrel vaults defining the significance of rooms. Views are edited while portions of the sky, trees and mountains are carefully framed through a series of openings, peepholes and voids. The crisp aesthetic of the new exterior amplifies the character of Brisbane’s subtropical setting; – sharp light and shadow, bright blue skies and lush green landscapes, in deference to vernacular exemplars. Interior surfaces subtly reflect and play with natural light, while the restrained palette of materials and finishes highlight the essential qualities of what remains in a serene heightened atmosphere of calm.
Hogg and Lamb is an architectural design practice based in Brisbane, with experience in award winning residential & commercial projects.
The studio combines the energy and enthusiasm of a new firm, with decades of experience designing and delivering high end residential & boutique interior projects.
Hogg and Lamb was established in 2016 by good friends and colleagues, Michael Hogg and Greg Lamb.
Michael spent more than 15 years at the renowned architecture firm Donovan Hill where he was involved in over 60 residential projects including the internationally published C House. He was Project Architect for the Robin Boyd awarded D House and numerous other published and awarded residential projects.
He has significant experience in the conceptual, schematic and design development phases of projects of varying scales from residential projects through to large commercial and public buildings.
Prior to establishing Hogg and Lamb Greg had worked at several firms in Australia and the UK. Over 25 years of experience has led to a knowledge base across a broad range of projects including; restaurants and bars, office fit-outs, hotels, health clubs and residential work.
A particular interest in human cognition and perception, combined with an expertise in the design of the custom fixtures, furniture and graphic design result in a total user experience which characterise Greg’s approach to the design environment.
Both Michael and Greg have been working in the architecture industry since the early 1990’s and have a back catalogue featuring hundreds of projects in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Together Michael and Greg provide a high level of service to create unique buildings for discerning clients.
