Displaying posts labeled "Concrete"

This residential development comprises two identical beach houses with centralised living areas that connect to terraced decks and a pool. Separate sleeping wings provide privacy and flexible living arrangements. Both dwellings feature distinct blade wall articulations that define entry points, enhance privacy, frame views, and create secluded courtyard spaces. The robust material palette is textured and low-maintenance, while passive solar design, double masonry walls, concrete floors, and operable openings ensure excellent thermal performance and natural ventilation. Portsea Houses by Folk Architects.

Photography by Lillie Thompson.

Set in a uniquely varied Otama Beach landscape in New Zealand, this house embraces ocean views, forested gullies and shadowed streams. Entered from the south via a winding path, the home reveals itself gradually. Arranged along the land’s natural fall, timber-framed spaces are designed to align with specific views and moments of use. Service areas sit discreetly along the southern spine. Inside, crafted timber and steel add warmth while charred cladding helps the home blend with the bush. Carefully placed apertures connect interior life with the surrounding landscape. Waimataruru by Pac Studio in collaboration with Kristina Pickford Design.

Photography by Sam Hartnett.

Relogged by Ukrainian architectural and interior design firm balbek bureau is a private home located on a riverside green zone, originally built as a log cabin and reimagined to reflect the client’s contemporary lifestyle. The redesign reinterprets classic log house aesthetics with minimalist geometry, concrete floors, and a moody yet warm palette. Inspired by Rick Owens’ Concordia apartment, the interior is grungy and utilitarian, softened by custom furniture and vintage pieces. Minimal intervention preserved the log structure, while open layouts, dark-stained wood, and metal elements give the home a bold, modern edge rooted in comfort, creativity, and deep collaboration with the client.

Photography by Andrey Bezuglov, Maryan Beresh.

Up-Down House in Sydney’s Surry Hills saw Brad Schwartz Architects transform a narrow, dark terrace into a bright, flexible home with two bedrooms, two workspaces and inviting areas to relax and entertain. A stepped floor increases volume, while skylights and voids bring in light and frame treetop views. Vaulted hallways and a front dining room reference the Victorian terrace era. Concrete floors and integrated steps connect spaces seamlessly, while rich materials and sculptural elements add creativity and warmth.

Photography by Katherine Lu.

Gully House, by Andrew Burges Architects, is situated on a steep site backing into the forested gully of Clovelly Beach in Sydney. Designed as a 3-4 bedroom residence, the project sought to establish a strong connection to its surroundings both spatially and materially. The original masonry cottage had minimal links between its north-facing front and its south-facing rear which directly accessed Clovelly Beach. The design reimagined the house as an extension of the gully, maintaining visual continuity across the site. The north/south facade, with its transparency and split-level cross-section, visually connects the northern courtyard to the southern landscape. Meanwhile, the east/west facades serve as filters for privacy, ventilation and glare, incorporating layered planting. Given the proximity of neighbouring dwellings, various screening systems—including masonry, timber, and brick—were used. Materials such as stone paving and concrete create seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, softened by refined oak finishes.

Photography by Peter Bennetts & Hamish Macintosh.