Guadalajara-based architect Moises Sánchez has created a stucco-clad, cube-shaped holiday home shaded by a large tree in western Mexico.

The simple, 450-square foot (42-square metre) structure, known as Tonalli House, was completed in 2023 in Jocotepec, Jalisco, minutes from Lake Chapala, the country's largest lake.

"The project arises from the pursuit of a peaceful experience, drawing inspiration from the rhythms and atmospheres of the popular architecture in Mexican villages," Sánchez told Dezeen.

From the outside, the house is a solid white cube, punctuated with strategic openings.

Using local construction systems, materials and labor, the cube is formed with brick walls plastered with a mix of sand and mortar to create two textures — a rough, stone-like base and a smooth monolithic form above.

However, Sánchez prioritised the existing landscape in his description of the project.

"The true protagonist of the project is a large tree and its relationship with the built environment," Sánchez said.

"Its roots create a natural vestibule, serving as the entrance to the volume, the trunk and leaves act as a crowning feature in the views from the interior, while its form and shade simultaneously regulate the microclimate of the surroundings."

Occupants step from the tree-formed vestibule into a double-height foyer and lounge space.

Turning to the right is a kitchen with multi-colored ceramic tiles crafted by artisans from Guadalajara "reminiscent of traditional Mexican kitchens".

Three small lights hang above the peninsula creating an offset spotlight effect in the space, which features unadorned, smooth plaster walls and grey-stone tile flooring.

The bathroom is tucked into a corner off the kitchen.

Across from the entry, lit by a square window, is a staircase that leads up to the sleeping loft, which is open to the lounge below.

"Upon reaching the upper floor, you are greeted by a beam of light penetrating the ceiling, creating a dimly lit atmosphere, at the other end of the loft, a window opens to offer a direct view of the vegetation and the large garden surrounding the villa," Sánchez said.

The limited, neutral material palette – characteristic of the nearby architecture surrounding Lake Chapa – uses light washing along the surfaces and views of the tree outside as the ornamentation.

"Perhaps the most symbolic is the relationship established by the openings in the volume," he said.

"These windows create a link between the interior and exterior, possessing a tactile quality that makes it seem as if both are touching."

In the temperate climate, the villa relies on passive systems for heating and cooling like cross-ventilation through the windows and the skylight that acts as a chimney to expel hot air.

A solar heater provides hot water for the house.

"The success lies in its simplicity; the richness of the project is not the sum of its parts but an exponential multiplication of its virtues," Sánchez said.

"From it, we learned that achieving excellence doesn't necessarily require a tremendous effort but rather finding the right solutions in the right place."

Also in Jalisco, COA Arquitectura constructed an "earth-toned" monolithic house punctuated by blocky forms and triangular cutouts and Tatiana Bilbao built a rammed earth weekend house on the shores of Lake Chapala.

The photography is by Ansatz / Fernando Sanchez.

Project credits:

Architecture: Moisés Sanchez
Ceramics: Lofa Ceramics

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US architecture studio Schaum/Shieh has embedded a Virginia house with irregularly shaped volumes into the contours of a steep site.

Located in the Allegheny Mountains, the 2,750 square foot (255 square metre) Shenandoah House conforms to the topography of its hillside site "gently", as Schaum/Shieh neither wanted to add a cantilever nor flatten the topography.

"We didn't have the inclination to make dramatic use of the steepness with a cantilever, and we didn't want to flatten any portion of the site to erase the slope, so we decided to build along the contours as much as we could," said Schaum/Shieh co-principal Rosalyne Shieh.

The one-story home unfurls in a 120-foot-long (36-metre) horizontal line that runs parallel to the topography, with its front elevated to meet wooden terraces, and portions of the back sitting flat on the slope.

Along the footprint, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a dining room, a living room, a study and a garage branch off a slim, central corridor in irregularly shaped volumes – or pods.

The spaces between each pod create room for gardens, outdoor nooks and wooden terraces along the house, while a parking area was carved out of the hillside at the back.

The grey metal roof reflects the area's rolling hills. Each individual volume is topped with a rounded gable roof that runs diagonally across its centre so that the profiles dip and rise with the surrounding environment

"We discovered that by doubling the ridgeline and rounding the peak we could create a softness that reflects the sloped surroundings," said Schaum/Shieh co-principal Troy Schaum.

"It seemed appropriate on the hillside and took what was a simple, more functional logic and grounded it in the dynamic, undulating nature of the site."

Rectangular windows on either end of the horizontal plan create an interrupted view through the centre of the house and large sliding glass doors and picture windows were installed on the facade.

Small clerestory and porthole windows were placed on the uphill side.

Rounded corners on the home's exterior are reflected on the interior, further softening a largely white interior palette.

"Lighting was also subtly integrated to create interrupted lines throughout the house," said the team.

"No lights or other features interrupt the ceilings; instead, lighting emerges through slots at the ceiling edge and on the quasi-furniture objects that provide texture across the home."

These furniture elements include bespoke wooden cabinetry, a large island, a wooden bed frame and a central wood stove unit made of concrete and soapstone.

The house is finished with bamboo wood floors and insulated stucco.

"The hillside as an old problem in house design was a major motivator. Our clients knew many hilly sites from growing up in the area and their time in Greece. We wanted to intervene gently but opportunistically into the hill," said Shieh.

"They wanted a house that fit organically but was not derived from the local vernacular materials or solutions in a straightforward way. We focused on the hill, the seasons, the distant view, and the intimate life of the site."

Other recently completed projects by Schaum/Shieh include a Houston art galley covered in white sculptural panels and a concert venue designed to endure "rough handling".

The photography is by Naho Kubota.

Project Credits: 

Architect: Schaum/Shieh
Design team: Troy Schaum, Rosalyne Shieh, Giorgio Angelini, Andrea Brennan, Tucker Douglas, Ane Gonzalez
Contractor: Blue Ridge Green - Jonathan Kuntz
Structural: Truesdell Engineering- Jordan Truesdell, PE

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US studio Anacapa Architecture has transformed an early 1900s, stucco-clad building that was formerly closed off to the public into a welcoming hotel filled with compact rooms and handcrafted decor.

Located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara in central California, the 45-key hotel is the second outpost from Drift, with the first located in San José del Cabo, Mexico.

The hotel occupies a three-storey, Italian Mediterranean-style building that totals 15,617 square feet (1,451 square metres).

Guest rooms are spread across all three levels, and a penthouse suite is found on the top floor. The ground level contains a coffee shop and a bar.

While the building's original architect is unknown, the firm Soule, Murphy & Hastings performed a renovation following a 1925 earthquake. The building has served various uses over time.

"One of the only downtown survivors of the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, the building has stood for well over 100 years and has had many lives," said local firm Anacapa Architecture.

A hotel operated in the building from 1901 to the 1980s. More recently, it served as a home for the Church of Scientology, which took over in the 1990s and kept the building closed off from the community.

Making the building more welcoming and honouring its original character were key concerns for the design team. The project was envisioned as a "modern reincarnation" of the hotel that once operated on the site.

"As part of a restoration, the challenge was to work within the historic context while creating experiences that are appealing to the modern traveler," the team said.

The exterior facades, featuring white stucco and arched windows, were kept largely intact. The building's terracotta tile roof was retained, as well.

On the ground level, the team added folding glass doors on the front wall, which faces a pedestrian promenade. Behind the doors are the coffeeshop and a bar, called Dawn and Dusk, respectively.

The large openings draw in passersby and help reconnect the building to the neighbourhood.

"Space for both locals and travelers is accommodated, returning the building to its roots as a true hospitality venue," the team said.

While the exterior has a historic look, the interior is much more modern.

The team incorporated materials such as concrete and wood. The hotel brand's Mexican property inspired much of the contemporary furnishings and decor.

"The hotel is dressed with goods from Californian and Mexican makers, paying homage to the brand's Baja roots while celebrating its coastal Californian locale," the team said.

The guest rooms, which range from 145 to 165 square feet (13 to 15 square metres), are compact in comparison to average hotel rooms in the area. Creative solutions, such as under-bed storage, help maximize space.

Overall, the project has revitalized a building that has long been a fixture in downtown Santa Barbara.

"The team brought modern life to a building inaccessible to most of the community for so long, bringing a breath of fresh air to downtown, and catering to all," the team said.

Anacapa Architecture has offices in Santa Barbara and Portland, Oregon. Additional work by the studio includes a minimalist residence for a California entrepreneur and a glamping resort in Sonoma County that features customised tents and Airstream trailers.

The photography is by Erin Feinblatt.

Project credits:

Architecture and interior Design: ANACAPA Architecture
Contractor: Parton + Edwards Construction
Civil and structural engineering: Ashley Vance
MEP engineering: Consulting West
Kitchen, bar, and coffee shop consultant: New School

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Local studio Heryco has completed a renovation of a pink apartment building with arches influenced by the form of aqueducts in the city of Querétaro, México.

The 5,920-square foot (550-square metre) building was completed in 1994 two blocks from the city's iconic Querétaro Aqueduct.

Heryco converted the previous building into a restored apartment block that holds four spacious, three-bedroom apartments and a ground-floor architecture office that serves as the street-level connection and anchor.

"Our inspiration blends history and modernity, taking the curves of the building as a starting point and using the warm colors of Querétaro's traditional local quarry to create a contemporary and youthful space," the studio told Dezeen.

In order to achieve a monotone pink, the studio clad the structure in Nanocal-pigmented lime stucco across the facade and courtyards.

The local material blends in with the surroundings, resonating with colonial architecture and reinforcing the studio's "commitment to the local identity and culture".

Previously square windows were capped by arched steel frames that were painted one shade darker than the walls to create contrast.

The arched motif continues to the interior courtyard with curved portals and exterior window frames.

Greenery climbs up the pink walls and spills over the terraces, while white globe sconces illuminate the passageways.

The renovation revealed an outdated construction system – based on steel beams and lightweight concrete slabs – that limited options and prevented the studio from demolishing partition walls.

This led the team to search for ways to reinforce the building's structure and repair the corroded roof without making too many interventions into the floorplan.

"We managed to find an aesthetic solution by leaving the exposed steel beams uncovered, enhancing the spaciousness and natural lighting in the spaces," the studio said, noting that it also added steel details like a gate.

On the interior, the studio configured three interlocking, two-story apartments around a central stair corridor. The fourth apartment stacks on top of the others and holds the north end of the building.

The apartments are set up to be used as Airbnb rentals, and each of the terraces open views out to the surrounding landscape.

As part of the renovation, the studio also installed an efficient heating system, ensured optimal water pressure at all times and selected high-quality furnishings.

"To complement the modern aesthetics of the building, we integrated artwork by various Mexican artists, creating a unique and sophisticated atmosphere," the studio said.

Contrasted to the pink exterior, the architecture office is finished in white with off-white steel details and open wooden shelving. Globe-shaped lighting is suspended in the office.

The renovation gave new life to an existing building while preserving its historical details while adding accomodations in a reclaimed space.

The renovation also "reduces pressure on land use and prevents uncontrolled urban expansion".

Also in Querétaro, Cuartopiso and Barragán Arquitectos recently completed an apartment building with planted balconies and Reims 502 topped a basalt-clad home with a pool.

The photography is by Ariadna Polo.

Project credits:

Architect: Heryco
Lead architect: Luis Carlos Aguilar González

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New York-based studio O'Neill McVoy Architects has created a grey stucco house with a Z-shaped plan and an upward-pitched roof in Houston.

The 3,175-square-foot (300 square metres) home was completed in 2020 to replace a 1950s residence that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, a Category 4 storm that caused extensive damage and loss of life in the region.

The Z-shaped footprint makes the most of the 8,000-square foot (740-square metre) trapezoidal lot, creating a "park-like front yard, and a private garden at the rear, maximizing daylight and natural ventilation to all spaces of the house," according to O'Neill McVoy.

Designed as a "mini-manifesto against McMansions," the house works to respect the scale and affordability of the original middle-class neighbourhood, while accommodating a non-traditional co-living arrangement.

The unadorned exterior is composed of three parts: a dove grey brick base – which wraps the structural piles and porous gravel that raise the house five feet above grade for flood resilience – smooth, light grey stucco and a charcoal standing-seam metal roof. Large windows with aluminium frames punctuate the facade.

"We saw the neighborhood's 6/12 roof pitch requirement not as a restriction, but as an opportunity to play with steep roofs in new ways to shape space and volume," the team said.

The primary roof slopes down toward the street, creating a single-storey profile. It was designed to guard against the strong southern and western sun; however the corner of the roof folds up at the entry to create a welcoming effect.

Meanwhile, the roof slopes up to the north, bringing light and views of the sky into the living room through clerestory windows.

"The intersection of these two roofs creates a curious profile on the north elevation which in hindsight has an echo of John Hejduk's animated forms," the studio explained.

A protected entry garden steps up to a foyer that provides views throughout the house and a living room that is lightened by a wall of glazing.

The north arm of the "Z" serves as the social space with a 1.5-storey open living, dining and kitchen area. A central stair separates the southern arm, which holds a private study, primary suite, and service areas.

Above, two family bedrooms flank the stair hall and another suite with windows on three sides holds the back corner of the house, allowing a friend to live privately within the home.

The interiors are light and spacious with white walls, white oak floors and thin steel railings. The lightness is juxtaposed with the detail and texture of warm mahogany cabinets and stone counters.

The client, David Mazella, praised the home's solidity and integrity, or "thisness."

"By 'thisness' I meant that the house had a wholeness and inevitability to its shape that felt fully finished and functional, like a spoon or a water tower," Mazella said. "Because what would you add to it?"

O'Neill McVoy's upturned roof strategy was also used in a Connecticut art studio However, the dark-stained cedar exterior gives way to an all-white interior that serves as a backdrop for the artist's work.

Other recent projects from the studio, which was founded in 2012, include a mass-timber children's museum placed within a 1920s powerhouse in the Bronx.

The photography is by Peter Molick, Grant Gay and O'Neill McVoy Architects.

Project credits:
Architect: O'Neill McVoy Architects (Beth O'Neill, Chris McVoy, Meghan O'Shea, Antoinette Nicholas, Irmak Ciftci)
Structural engineer: The Interfield Group
General contractor: Legion Custom Home Builders LLC

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Architecture firm And And And Studio has created a stucco-clad, single-level home for a family of six that is raised up to create a "treehouse-like effect".

The Silver Lake Tree House – which takes its name from the Los Angeles neighbourhood in which it is located – sits on a sloped property in a cul-de-sac.

Local firm And And And Studio designed the house for a couple with four children on a property that formerly held a nondescript bungalow that was not in prime condition.

The building was stripped down to its foundation and replaced with a 2,400-square-foot (223-square-metre) house that is lifted above the site.

"Raising the house a storey above ground creates a treehouse-like effect," the team said.

"When you walk into the main floor, you float above the trees."

The single-storey home has a rectilinear form and facades wrapped in stucco and wood.

Along the front elevation, the team placed a long balcony lined with a wood-and-metal railing. A carport is tucked under one side of the house. Stairs lead up to the front door.

Inside, one finds three bedrooms and an open-concept space for cooking, dining and lounging. A mix of new and vintage furnishings helps create a relaxed feel.

Glazed doors provide a seamless transition to the outdoors, and large windows offer views of Silver Lake, which the studio described as a "quintessential LA neighbourhood".

An important aspect of the project was marrying the structural logic to the interior design, the team said.

"As a nod to some nearby mid-century greats, the structure of this home informs the design of both exterior and interior spaces," the team said.

"Structural beams move seamlessly from an exterior balcony to the interior living spaces, giving the feeling of connection to nearby hills and trees."

The exposed beams, along with the home's repetitive grid, were inspired by the work of 20th-century architect Craig Ellwood, who was known for designing modernist California homes.

For the interior finishes, the team used natural materials such as pine and Douglas fir, which are "reflective of the exterior and neutral enough to let the sweeping treetop views become a subject of the interior".

The kitchen is fitted with wooden cabinetry and marble countertops. In one of the bathrooms, terrazzo tile was used to cover the floor and walls.

Based in Los Angeles and Toronto, And And And Studio is led by Daniel Rabin and Annie Ritz. The studio's other projects include an office for a top entertainment law firm that feels more like a hotel lobby than a traditional office.

The photography is by Caitlin Atkinson.

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US studio Harding Huebner Architects has completed a low-lying, energy-efficient home informed by the "agrarian barns and humble structures" found in America's Appalachian Region.

Meadow House was designed for a retired couple from Texas who love the open landscapes of their former state and sought a property in North Carolina that offered a similar quality.

They found it in a 49-acre (20-hectare) farm in a mountain valley near Leicester, a town just beyond the city of Asheville. The property had been farmed for generations and still had its original homestead building and smokehouse near a natural spring.

The property needed a host of upgrades, however.

Poor land management had resulted in erosion, silt build-up and rutted land around the spring and through the whole valley.

"Compounding this issue was a dilapidated, old 1950s house that had fallen into disrepair and was no longer contributing positively to the land," the team said, noting that the property also had a barn that was beyond repair.

Asheville-based firm Harding Huebner Architects worked with the clients to create a plan for the property that honoured the farm's history and preserved as much as possible while providing an energy-efficient home suitable for modern living.

The scheme also called for "restoring and healing the land that had been severely scarred".

Rather than adapting any of the existing structures for the couple's home, the team opted to build anew. The chosen site was a grassy knoll near the forest's edge that was located along an old farm road and offered sweeping views.

The team composed a house that provides "a sense of refuge" while also protecting against strong winds that often cross the knoll.

Roughly U-shaped in plan, the 3,761-square-foot (349-square metre) house consists of rectilinear volumes surrounding a central courtyard. The open side of the courtyard looks toward the forest.

"From a distance the home can often disappear into the shadows of the trees just behind it, deferring to the landscape both for viewing and being viewed," the team said.

The single-storey home was kept low to the ground and horizontally oriented in order to minimise its visual impact on the landscape. Its form also reflects "the influence of the many agrarian barns and humble structures you would find contextually in this Appalachian region", the team added.

Facades are largely clad stucco. To build the walls – which are 14 inches (36 centimeters) thick – the team used cement-bonded, wood-fibre blocks – a type of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) for durability and increased insulation.

To further improve the home's energy performance, the team installed triple-glazed windows and doors with thermal breaks in the frames, which help prevent cold or hot air from passing through.

Other sustainable elements include a geothermal HVAC system, heated concrete floors and pre-wiring for a future photovoltaic array.

The layout features private areas on one side of the house – a primary bedroom, two bedrooms and an office – and a utility room and garage on the other. The main entrance is found on the courtyard side of the house.

The central portion encompasses an open-plan space for cooking, dining and lounging. An operable, 14-foot-long (4.2-metre) skylight over the kitchen island ushers in daylight while also providing passive ventilation.

Interior finishes include wood that is native to the region and sustainably sourced. A felled tree on the property was used to create a live-edge custom dining table.

Beyond the new house, the project entailed razing the 1950s dwelling. Salvaged materials were shared with the local crew who worked on the demolition. The old barn was also dismantled and its wood was saved for use in the new home and beyond.

The team stabilised and refurbished the homestead for use as a summer bunkhouse, and the smokehouse was overhauled and now serves as a utility/garden shed.

The landscape, including the area around the spring, was restored so that "a more robust ecology could begin to rebuild in the coming years".

Other projects by Harding Huebner Architects include the wood-clad Nova Residence, which is built into a sloped spite and features a compact layout and immersive views of mountainous terrain.

The photography is by Keith Isaacs.

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A 124-year-old Brooklyn townhouse has received an extension by local studio TBo that provides space for a multi-generational family and creates "gentle oppositions" between the old and new architecture.

The project, Monroe Street House, involved the renovation and expansion of a Federal-style brick townhome dating to 1899.

The multilevel building rises up from a slender lot – about 17 feet wide and 100 feet deep (5 by 30 metres) – on a quiet, tree-lined street in Brooklyn.

"The narrow lot, bound on both sides by deep neighbouring buildings, created a challenging set of conditions," said local studio TBo, which is led by Thom Dalmas and Bretaigne Walliser.

The home needed to accommodate three generations – a couple, their two young children and a set of grandparents – living under one roof.

The studio wanted to preserve certain aspects of the original architecture while providing more space for the family.

"Careful consideration was given to the composition of a period home that retains its historical dimensions and intimate functions in the front rooms, but allows for more generous and communal zones in the rear," the team said.

The team conceived a new three-storey, rectilinear volume for the rear that totals 500 square feet (46 square metres). The basement level is 200 square feet (18.6 square metres), while the upper two levels are 150 square feet each (14).

The design is meant to "complement, but not overwhelm, the proportions of the original building", the team said.

"The extension acts as a transitional zone between the original house and the garden, creating gentle oppositions and offering a versatile set of spaces with functional complexity."

While constructing the addition, the home's original rear facade was nearly fully removed, and the new concrete volume was structurally integrated into the existing brick and rubble walls. The new facade is clad in a mix of smooth and coarse stucco.

With its numerous openings, the extension was envisioned as a "frame" with the floor area carefully added in.

"Delivering light into the house was a paramount concern for the clients," the team said.

"The new extension navigates the need for increased floor area while maximizing daylight and the connection to the outdoors."

Within the home, there is a clear separation between public and private areas.

The central "parlor" level holds a living room, dining area and kitchen. Glass doors lead to a deck for outdoor eating.

The upper level contains the children's bedroom and an L-shaped parents' bedroom with a dedicated space for playing musical instruments.

The ground level serves as an apartment for the grandparents, one of whom is a painter. It encompasses a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen/dining area and flexible art studio.

"The grandparents desired a light-filled studio that would double as an art-making space and a play space to care for their grandchildren," the team said.

Special details in the basement apartment include a brick arcade between the kitchen and studio, which forms "a porous passageway highlighting the transition between the old and new structures".

In the studio, the team created concrete flooring with visible aggregate and low sheen to help the space blend with an adjoining terrace.

"The gravel texture that is revealed in the floor is echoed by the pea-gravel garden patio just outside, binding the spaces together," the team said.

The home features a mix of earthy and industrial materials that are meant to age gracefully over time. Finishes include lime-plastered walls, Douglas fir ceiling beams and exposed concrete columns.

In the kitchen, the team installed Caesarstone countertops and a diamond-veneer plaster backsplash. All cabinetry is custom-made and painted blue-grey.

Other Brooklyn townhouses include an extra-skinny home by Only If that is meant to demonstrate possibilities for housing in residual urban spaces and a wood-framed dwelling belonging to architects Fanny and Matthew Mueller that they spent 17 years renovating.

The photography is by Matthew Williams.

Project credits:

Architecture and interiors: TBo
Styling: Brittany Albert

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American firm Gensler and an in-house team at the Swiss company EF Education First have updated a historic school campus in Pasadena by renovating buildings and adding new dormitories with roofs that allude to a nearby mountain range.

The campus is operated by EF Academy – which is part of the Zurich-based company EF Education First – and is described by the team as the "first new private boarding school to open in SoCal in decades".

The site has 11 buildings, plus a soccer field, basketball and volleyball courts, and park-like green space. It is located just north of Los Angeles in the city of Pasadena.

In 2019, the Swiss education company bought the 15-acre (six-hectare) property, which features century-old, Spanish revival-style structures. The site was formerly the home of a faith-based university.

The company's design and architecture department – working with Gensler's LA office –  set out to update the site to make it suitable for a new EF Academy.

The Pasadena school is designed to accommodate 1,200 students and 150 faculty and staff members.

Students can commute to the school or live on campus, either full-time or on weekdays.

Among the team's design goals were integrating the campus with the landscape and creating a welcoming atmosphere for a diverse mix of users.

"Our overarching design mandate was to make EF Academy, and the city of Pasadena, feel like home to people from so many places," the team said.

The team decided to demolish certain structures in poor condition and renovate six buildings, including the century-old McGavran Hall (now called Strong Hall). Five buildings were newly constructed, four of which are student dormitories.

"Every building on the site was renovated with sensitivity to their respective period and architecture, taking care to retain the original character," the team said.

"Newly constructed buildings, such as the student residences, were then designed to complement these existing buildings."

"We wanted to make the space feel like a collection of buildings rather than something that had been made all at once," the team added.

The circulation on campus was improved, and building entrances were oriented toward a central quad rather than streets. Providing opportunities for social interaction was a paramount concern.

"We wanted to adapt the campus – originally catering towards cars and commuters – to a true community hub," the team said.

"In addition to the expected – classrooms, science labs, maker spaces and art studios – it was important that the whole campus function as a place for casual conversations and inspired learning."

The four dormitories were placed on the western edge of campus.

Either U-shaped and L-shaped in plan, the buildings have intimate courtyards that "contrast the public nature of the main quad", but still provide views of the larger campus. Their rooflines take cues from the nearby San Gabriel mountains.

The dormitory buildings are designed to be flexible, with layouts that can be modified as needed. Materials were chosen for their ability to stand the test of time.

"We chose timeless materials – steel, concrete and stucco – that fit with the local vernacular and can easily be maintained and repainted as tastes change," the team said.

The school also acquired 16 residential properties around campus and converted them into housing for faculty and staff members. Having employees live close to campus helps reduce automobile usage and parking needs, the team said.

The campus has a number of sustainable features, including reflective roofs and ample use of daylight. The team incorporated drought-tolerant landscaping and added trees to reduce the heat-island effect.

EF Education First is among the world's largest private international education organizations. Founded in 1965, it now operates in 116 countries and offers a range of services, including degree programmes, cultural exchanges, language learning and educational tours.

The Pasadena site is one of three EF Academies. The others are in Westchester, New York, and Oxford, UK.

Other EF facilities include an office in Denver that aligns with the city's "outdoorsy culture" through elements such as log cabin-inspired seating, a reception desk made of rammed earth and a brownish-red canopy that evokes sandstone outcroppings.

The photography is by Ryan Gobuty of Gensler.

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A vaulted ceiling punctured with skylights features in a 1940s auto dealership that architectural studio Johnston Marklee has converted into a bright home for the Roberts Projects art gallery.

Roberts Projects chose the local studio to transform the brick and cinder-block building into its new home as it moved from Culver City to the mid-Wilshire district, which has seen an influx of art galleries in recent years.

The architects conceived a total overhaul of the 10,000-square-foot (929-square-metre) former auto dealership, which was built in 1948 and features an arched, 30-foot-high (nine-metre) ceiling.

For many years, the building housed a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership known as the "Auto Dealer to the Stars", as it drew celebrity clients such as actors Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball and Bob Hope.

"We searched for a space for over four years and felt this building was ideal due to the raw talent of the structure, incredible ceiling height and great location," said Roberts Projects co-owner Julie Roberts.

The exterior of the building – which once featured large stretches of glass for the display of cars – was replaced with solid walls in grey stucco, which suits the "gallery's minimalist aesthetic", the gallery said.

Marking the entrance are a glazed garage door and an existing ficus tree.

"The elemental facade and building mass will integrate the new gallery into the cultural landscape of the arts and architecture across the city," Johnston Marklee founding partner Sharon Johnston said.

Inside, the building houses four exhibition spaces, offices, study areas and a reception with a bookshop.

Throughout the building, "cavities of light" reveal architectural elements and enhance the viewing experience, the architects said.

The main exhibition space sits under the vaulted ceiling, which was given a fresh layer of paint.

Here, skylights usher in daylight. In other areas, illumination is provided by "clearstories" made of panels uplit by LEDs.

Concrete flooring and bright white walls lend to the gallery's austere character. Furnishings include pieces by Alvar Aalto, Gijs Bakker and Jean Prouvé. Shelving is made of birch plywood.

In the office area, the flooring consists of red-tinted concrete with exposed aggregate, which is original to the space. The concrete was polished and given a terrazzo-like appearance.

The gallery's new home was inaugurated with an exhibition of colourful portraits by renowned US painter Kehinde Wiley, whom Roberts Projects has represented for over two decades.

"This new space is the next chapter in our long history of being at the forefront of the Los Angeles art scene," said gallery co-owner Bennett Roberts, who said that LA is in the midst of a "creative renaissance".

"With access to outstanding exhibitions year-round, dedicated collectors, and creative energy from those who call this city home, Los Angeles is poised to be one of the most important creative hubs for years to come," he added.

The opening of Roberts Projects's new home follows a period of continual growth for the city's arts scene.

Galleries such as Hauser & Wirth and The Future Perfect have recently opened venues in Los Angeles, and an annual edition of the Frieze Art Fair was introduced here in 2019.

Other art-related buildings in Los Angeles include a new home for auction house Phillips that was designed by local studio Formation Association, and the recent completion of a 20-year renovation and expansion of the Hammer Museum that was overseen by Michael Maltzan Architecture.

The photography is by Eric Staudenmaier.

Project credits:

Architecture: Johnston Marklee
Lighting design: Buro Happold
Furnishings consultant: Ellen Brill

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US architecture studio Mary English and Xavier Vendrell Architects have lined up three courtyards on a linear suburban plot for a white stucco house in San Antonio, Texas.

Located in the neighborhood of Lavaca, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the design had to adhere to Historic Design Guidelines that required a front porch, specific roof profiles, window proportions and materials.

Officially based in Chicago, Mary English and Xavier Vendrell are both professors at Auburn University in Alabama and designed the three-bedroom home – Susan's House – for English's sister and her family.

The 1,970-square foot (183-square metre) house, centred on a quarter-acre lot, was completed in July 2022.

The house is composed of five gabled forms. A primary gable runs perpendicular to the street and contains a bedroom on either end with the kitchen and dining room in the center.

Four smaller gabled volumes run parallel to the street, and each other, and comprise a front porch, living room, screened porch and master suite. Three open-air courtyards separate these spaces.

Inspired by Walter Gropius' 1938 home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, the courtyards and porches are all "rooms," only some have ceilings and some don't, Vendrell told Dezeen.

The flexible screened porch, which can be used as a living, dining or sleeping room, is the heart of the house and was designed to be a centre of activity for the family.

The courtyards provide the residents with exterior space that is protected, shaded and private in the compact neighbourhood where the houses have only 10 feet between the houses.

From the exterior, the house is modest – white stucco with low-profile aluminium details and a standing seam, metal roof – but the form has inherent surprises, English explained.

Rather than entering directly into an enclosed space, the solid wood door opens of the front porch volumes opens directly into the first courtyard that contains bike storage, creating a layered threshold.

A second Douglas Fir door, custom built by Long House Builders, opens to the interior, where light pours in through floor-to-ceiling, sliding glass doors by Fleetwood Doors and washes the polished concrete floors.

The arrangement of the courtyards and glazing affords views across the public core of the house in every direction, making the compact interior feel large and airy.

"We wanted the materials to be neutral and quiet because we were interested in the spatial qualities and sequence of spaces," English said.

The design dissolves the transition to the exterior and focuses on light and natural ventilation.

In addition to the cross ventilation created by having two windows in each space, the southeast side courtyards create small microclimates, cooling hot Texas air with shade before it enters the house.

The spatial concept of Susan's House is similar to HW Studio Arquitectos' white block residence in Morelia, Mexico with a series of linear interior courtyards. However, the profile and form fit within the context of the neighborhood, rather than departing from it.

The photography is by Timothy Hursley.

Project credits:

Architect: Mary English, Xavier Vendrell
Project team: Andreas Förnemark
Structural Engineer: GE Reaves Engineering
Landscape: Hillworks, David Hill
General contractor: Long House Builders

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The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features an all-white stucco home in Mexico by HW Studio Arquitectos. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

HW Studio Arquitectos has designed an all-white stucco home in Morelia, Mexico. The clients, a couple that have previously been burgled, wanted a minimalist design that would give them a sense of security.

Commenters were in love, one thought the home was a "beautiful response to the needs of the owner and to the social environment", while another described the project as "austere but chic".

Other stories in this week's newsletter that fired up the comments section included the unveiling of this year's Serpentine Pavilion designed by Lina Ghotmeh, an opinion piece by Dezeen editor Tom Ravenscroft on Neom's Zero Gravity Urbanism exhibition at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale and a limited-edition glass decanter by American artist James Turrell.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

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Local firm HW Studio Arquitectos has completed an all-white stucco home in Morelia, Mexico, whose hermetic design serves as a haven for the residents.

Morelia-based HW Studio completed the 375-square metre (4,036-square foot) house in 2023, taking up an entire corner plot in the city in the state of Michoacán.

In their previous home, located on the same site, the clients had amassed a collection of religious objects and imagery, creating a sacred environment within their residence. However, rising crime rates and a burglary shook the clients' sense of security.

Rather than reconstructing the decorative house they previously had, the clients were looking for a minimalist design that could evoke a religious spirit and make them feel safe.

"For this reason, they were looking for a very discreet, austere project without ostentatious ornaments, with high walls and without windows to the outside," explained lead architect Rogelio Vallejo Bores.

"We understood that this would be the way in which architecture could give them back the loss of their sense of security."

From the outside, the house is a solid block with a recessed doorway. On the interior, rounded geometry softens the spaces. White stucco serves both the exterior and interior material, and white and grey marble slabs cover the floor.

The neighbourhood has long been home to shifting styles and eclectic designs, Bores explained, so "in this sense the austere white box absent of color opens the door to the possibility of being modified and thus maintain the changing face of the neighborhood."

The L-shaped single-level house comprises the entire site, walling off a series of courtyards.

The main bar of the home contains a kitchen, dining and living space, a central primary suite, and two secondary suites at the end of a long corridor.

Each of the three linear courtyards – that illuminate and ventilate the interior spaces through floor-to-ceiling folding glass walls – are arranged next to a barrel vault that disperses light and references nearby baroque churches.

"The house reminds us of the arcades around the courtyard of San Agustin convent under which pilgrims and travelers sheltered, drank, and fed from the many orange trees planted," said Bores.

Around the corner from the home's public spaces sits a garage, service suite and another small courtyard.

The furniture is all low-profile and neutral in colour, while flat, wall-to-wall storage creates a panelized texture in the bedrooms.

The patios and high ceilings allow the home to maintain stable microclimates, drawing on the vernacular building standards of the local Tarascan population. The house also uses solar panels, negating the need to be connected to the electrical grid.

This house isn't the only monotone design HW Studio has completed in the area. Nearby, the studio replaced an abandoned warehouse with all-white forms to create a food market that infills historic stone walls. Also in Morelia, the studio designed a house sunken into a hillside.

The photography is by César Béjar.

Project credits:
Lead architect: Rogelio Vallejo Bores
Architects: Oscar Didier Ascencio Castro, Nik Zaret Cervantes Ordaz
Clients: Cesar Cortes and Sonia Patricia Serrato

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Miami-based Brillhart Architecture consulted on the design of a pavilion-like island home in the Bahamas with local architects Garth and Darren Sawyer.

Composed of six pavilions overlooking Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island, the house was completed in 2022 with Brillhart acting as the design consultant and Darren Sawyer serving as the project architect and Garth Sawyer as the architect of record.

The 6,700-square foot (620-square metre) home combines vernacular references with elements of tropical modernism on a sloping site featuring more than 70 mature palm trees.

Arranged on the site's highest point, each room is held within its own structure, each responding in its own way to the island's varied climate.

"Each space offers distinct experiential qualities shaped by the immediate environment surrounding it," said princiap Melissa Brillhart, citing orientations, views, landscapes, micro-climates, light and the breeze.

All circulation takes place on outside walkways or bridges, providing ample views of the ocean.

"The inseverable architectural experience of living both inside and out at all times is truly the focal point of and central design idea behind this project," the team told Dezeen.

The vernacular gabled pavilions are clad in western red cedar shingles and have exposed rafters and pavilions like nearby cottages, but use structurally insulated panels and tongue-and-groove cypress decking for climate control and hurricane-rated strength.

The stucco pavilions with copper detailing are arranged around a courtyard – a tropical brush garden with a pool and lounge area – to protect it from the strong offshore winds.

Known as the Ocean Room, the beach-facing pavilion offers panoramic views of the sea through 16 sand-colored operable shutters that capture the breeze and provide shelter from the rain.

The kitchen and dining area are in a covered open-air pavilion, while separate structures comprise en suite bedrooms, a living room, media room and indoor kitchen and dining room.

The rooms feature vaulted ceilings ranging from 15 feet to 26 feet (4.5 metres to 4.9 metres) in height and sliding doors and operable windows, bringing natural light into each space and displaying the surrounding landscape.

The interiors are defined by natural materials and an earth-toned palette with white walls, light wood floors, cherry millwork and locally made, white concrete countertops.

"The entire project is a testament to the craft and resourcefulness of the local builder," Brillhart said.

On the eastern side, a wooden walkway leads down the hill to the beach, and on the western side, the jungle landscape is more prevalent.

"Given the long and narrow nature of the lot, a separate two-bedroom guest cottage was located on the lower part of the site, designed to take in the surrounding lush and tropical vegetation," the team said.

Founded in Florida in 2007, Brillhart Architecture is run by Jacob and Melissa Brillhart whose work ranges from residential and commercial projects to design-build projects, exhibitions, and research.

Also on Harbor Island, Chad Oppenheim built himself a secluded beach getaway on a sandy dune in 2017.

The photography is by Brillhart Architecture and Stephen Goettlicher.

Project credits:

Builder: Higgs Construction
Design consultant: Brillhart Architecture
Local architect of record: Garth Sawyer, Darren Sawyer (Project architect)
Landscape consultant: Nielsen Landscape Architects, Tyler Nielsen

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Local studio Hsu McCullough has completed a stucco and ash home with an accessory dwelling unit in Los Angeles' that wraps around an elm tree.

Hsu McCullough created the chevron-shaped home, called Psomas, on a wedge-shaped lot in the city's Mar Vista district. The irregularly shaped lot provided the primary inspiration for the design.

"This 'pizza slice' lot galvanized a layout containing a slow reveal of gardens, courtyards, patios and tranquil interior spaces as one traverses the residence," said the studio.

The six-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home is shut off from the narrow front street, with a wood-clad garage, Tesselle breezeblock cement walls and an entry courtyard that conceals the size.

Trimming and cleaning an unkempt and overgrown site, the team discovered a 50-foot-tall (15 metres) legacy elm tree that became the organising feature and focal point of the 5,320-square-foot (490-square-metre) house.

From the rear, the home's two level's are made clear from different material programs. The base is clad in vertical, walnut-stained Thermory Ash siding, while the upper level becomes a solid mass with soil-coloured stucco.

The heavy exterior materials are juxtaposed by light interiors with white oak hardwood flooring and cabinetry. Sleek black details – like slot fireplaces in Nero Marquina marble walls and clean window frames – add visual interest.

The house is split into two wings: with the shared spaces and private areas separated at the junction, which wraps around the elm tree.

On the northern half, the living room and kitchen are lightened on either side by glazing from the back patio and the central atrium.

"An atrium with set stones influenced by Japanese zen gardens illuminates the space with a soft glow and a therapeutic landscape," the studio said, commenting on the courtyard's passive cooling properties, which help reduce energy consumption.

A white oak, mono-stringer staircase sits in the junction of the wings and affords a full-height view of the elm tree.

Upstairs, one wing of the plan includes three ensuite bedrooms along a hallway with a "barkitecture" detail – a low window for the family dog.

The primary suite comprises the other half of the second floor, featuring a fireplace wall and a Juliet balcony that connects to the legacy tree and yard below.

A planted roof garden sits above the three-car garage and an exterior Thermory Ash staircase leads up to an oval-shaped roof deck with a kitchenette.

The studio utilised a rooftop terrace to capitalize on views across the surrounding properties, which the studio described as a "suburban canyon" of low-lying buildings, while maintaining privacy in the busy context.

In the yard, a barbecue area and deck sit alongside a rectangular pool and 300-square-foot (28-square-metre) cube-shaped pool house and accessory dwelling unit (ADU), which is also topped by a meadow grass garden roof. A large Brazilian Pepper tree with a circular bench holds the far edge of the site.

Utilizing a similar organizing strategy, Woods + Dangaran designed a nearby Santa Monica home around an olive tree. Similarly, Quebec studio ACDF wrapped a glass home around an apple tree.

The photography is by Dan Arnold.

Project credits:

Architecture and design: Hsu McCullough
Builder: ZGB Homes

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Binational studio Montalba Architects used ample glazing and a clever siting strategy to provide the best vistas at Canyon Terrace House in southern California.

Designed for a family of four, the multi-storey home sits on a sloped site in Santa Monica.

Providing a connection to the outdoors – including views of a nearby canyon – was a guiding concern for Montalba Architects. The main intent was "to create a dialogue between indoor and outdoor spaces", the studio said.

In turn, the team conceived an L-shaped, rectilinear dwelling that opens up toward the road – an orientation that captures the best views of the canyon, which lies to the west.

Along the main street-facing elevation, the team placed a patio and slender pool. Trees and a fence block views from passers-by.

The front door is found on the east, tucked back from the road.

Exterior walls consist of light-toned stucco and vast stretches of glass. Several areas are lined with patios and balconies shaded by anodized-aluminium louvres.

"Nature and natural light are the piece de resistance," the studio said.

"The home coexists with sweeping canyon views, allowing full sun exposure to radiate through two intersecting volumes that orient each of the living areas toward landscapes beyond the pool terrace," it continued.

The house encompasses 5,400 square feet (502 square metres).

The entry-level holds the public spaces, along with an office. Full-height, glazed pocket doors open up the interior to the patio and pool, enabling a smooth transition between gathering areas.

The upper level contains the primary bedroom suite and two additional bedrooms.

On the lowest level, one finds a game room, media room, gym, laundry facilities and storage space, along with a two-car garage.

Oak flooring, walnut millwork and quartz kitchen countertops are among the interior finishes. Limestone features in several areas, including the entryway, pool and central fireplace.

Montalba Architects was founded in 2004 by Swiss-American architect David Montalba and has offices in Santa Monica and Lausanne, Switzerland.

Additional projects by the studio include a clothing boutique owned by celebrity twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and the bright-and-airy headquarters for meditation company Headspace.

The photography is by Kevin Scott.

Project credits:

Architect: Montalba Architects
Builder: Sarlan Builders
Structural engineer: John Labib & Associates
Geotechnical engineering: Grover Hollingsworth & Associates, Inc
Others: Roofing & Waterproofing Forensics, Inc; Oculus Light Studio; Newton Energy;
Bent Grass Landscape Design

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California studio Bittoni Architects has completed Common Melrose, a communal living complex with 23 bedrooms that is meant to be an "affordable alternative to traditional living arrangements".

Built on a formerly vacant lot, Common Melrose stretches along a commercial avenue in an area between Central LA and Hollywood. Designed by LA's Bittoni Architects, it contains 23 furnished, rentable bedrooms and is meant to offer a pleasant and economical co-living environment for people new to Los Angeles.

"Common Melrose introduces thoughtful communal living considerations for the ever-growing population of Los Angeles newcomers without sacrificing tactful, modern design," the team said.

"It offers a more affordable alternative to traditional living arrangements that not only places residents in the heart of Los Angeles, but also fosters the community building that city transplants crave."

The project was backed by local firm Proper Development and the New York company Common, which operates co-living developments in multiple US cities.

Bittoni is working with Common on seven additional co-living projects in Los Angeles.

Rectangular in plan, the development consists of two duplex-style buildings with white stucco walls and ipe wood accents.

The timber-framed buildings have various cutouts, helping break up their boxy form.

Recessed openings "temper the fishbowl feeling typically associated with city dwellings," the team said.

The 8,400-square-foot (780-square-metre) development is broken up into four units, each with ground-floor communal space and a series of bedrooms on an upper level.

Amongst the units, interior layouts vary slightly but the programmatic elements are the same.

On the ground level, one finds a living room, kitchen, dining area and laundry room. The public area is designed to "cultivate day-to-day social interactions for the building’s tenants", the team said.

Sliding doors lead to a front patio that is set behind a low fence. The fence blocks street views while still allowing tenants to feel connected to the neighbourhood.

The upper floor holds several bathrooms and either five or six bedrooms, along with cove-like balconies. The bedrooms range from 130 to 175 square feet (12 to 16 square metres).

Finishes include wooden flooring, plaster walls and lacquered kitchen cabinets. Rooms are fitted with comfy furnishings, potted plants and contemporary artwork. The interior design was overseen by Common's in-house team.

Atop each building is a furnished rooftop terrace.

"The shared roof decks provide a supplemental gathering space that allows residents to fully embrace the southern California weather and scenery," the team said.

Each bedroom at Common Melrose can be occupied by up to two people. The rent is around $1,400 to $1,600 (£1131 to £1293).

The team said the housing complex is meant to draw tenants of varying ages.

"While the appeal of co-living first drew young adults who were just starting out, an older generation has recently been drawn to this living alternative by the prospect of more social interaction — likely a result of the isolating pandemic," the team said.

High housing prices, combined with increased density and changing demographics, have spurred a growing interest in co-living arrangements in America and elsewhere.

Other examples include a micro-apartment concept in Seoul that is meant to be a "blank canvas" for residents and a small Denver complex by Productora that offers eight units and shared amenities within striking blue buildings.

The exterior photography is by Bittoni Architects. The interior photography is by Seth Caplan.

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Architecture studio Design, Bitches has completed a southern California home that takes cues from the traditional beach cottage and is meant to be "not too precious".

The B+B House is located in Venice Beach, a coastal town known for its mix of century-old bungalows and experimental contemporary architecture.

"This specific site is nestled on the edge of the famous 'walk streets' of Venice, where small lots are tightly woven together as the city stretches to the Pacific Ocean," said Catherine Johnson, cofounder of LA studio Design, Bitches.

Built for creative clients, the house replaces a 1914 dwelling that had fallen into disrepair. A key design goal was to ensure the new home aligned with the character of the original house and the area's bungalows.

For a slender lot sandwiched between houses, the architects conceived a main dwelling and detached guesthouse in the rear.

A small yard serves as a "dynamic connection" between the two buildings, while also providing views of the sky and surrounding palm trees.

Rising two levels, the main dwelling is roughly rectangular in plan and is topped with a gabled, standing-seam-metal roof. Inserted into the upper portion is a shoebox-shaped bar that reaches toward the guest house.

The two-storey guest house has a square plan. The upper level is carved away to form an outdoor terrace.

"By maintaining the integrity and proportion of the traditional Venice Beach bungalow and adding a bar slid through it, the B+B house makes an argument for the resilience of archetypes – playing out juxtaposition in a small house that speaks to both modernist volumes and ways of life," the studio said.

Both buildings are clad in raked stucco and non-oiled, thermally modified ash that will turn grey over time. The guest house also features board-formed concrete.

Interior layouts are meant to be flexible per the family's lifestyle.

"The house was built for a small, creative family that works in various ways and has a constant flux of extended family and friends that flows in and out of town on a regular basis," the studio said.

In the main house, the ground level encompasses a living room, dining area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

The upper level holds the primary bedroom and bathroom, along with a loft-style room that has openings to both the bedroom and living room below. The loft can be used as a music or sleeping area.

"The flexible loft bridges the boundaries between gathering and retreat," the team said.

"Interior windows were punched through upstairs volumes so both cross breezes and conversations continue and flow from upstairs down to the main living areas," it added.

The guest house contains a flexible, ground-level space that serves as a studio, recreation space and garage. Upstairs is a bedroom and studio as well as a small bathroom.

Finishes and decor are meant to feel livable.

"The house feels instantly comfortable, welcoming to all and not too precious to use," the studio said.

To add warmth, the team used vertical-grain hemlock for walls and ceilings.

For the floors in the communal area, Johnson and her team specified a thin, glazed brick in a turquoise shade that evokes the tiles found in the São Paulo home of Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi.

The same tile, but in matte black, was used for the fireplace cladding. Hanging lighting fixtures in both the kitchen and living area are by the Spanish company Marset.

The kitchen cabinetry is made of black oak and dark blue laminate. Countertops are made of a composite product called PaperStone.

To help minimise energy consumption, the team installed skylights, solar hot water and radiant floors.

Elements at all levels – from massing to interior details – were carefully thought out while designing the home.

"Proportion and scale were carefully considered, from larger formal intersections down to the varying details and directionality of material texture, pattern and rhythms," said Johnson.

Other projects by Design, Bitches include a Nashville restaurant that evokes "old-school Miami" and an eclectic eatery and video arcade in Los Angeles that takes cues from Postmodernism and film noir.

The photography is by Yoshihiro Makino.

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Off-white stucco walls and a round staircase characterise the Chiripa housing complex in Mexico, which architecture studio Palma designed as a "hybrid" experiment merging residential and hotel-style living.

Located on a steep site in the Mexican town of Sayulita along the Riviera Nayarit, Chiripa consists of two geometric volumes that are connected by stacked bridges and have been divided into six separate living units.

Mexico City-based Palma arranged the four-storey parallel volumes so that they are facing each other, but positioned in opposite directions.

This formation was designed to create unobstructed views of the Sayulita bay and grant privacy to residents, as well as enhance the complex's cross ventilation and exposure to natural lighting.

Clad in stucco, Chiripa's neutral facade is offset by a bright blue hue that colours the units' doors, flooring and window frames, adding bold accents to the building.

"The implementation of stucco on the walls, in an off-white tone, serves as a backdrop for the shadows cast by the vegetation growing in the different green areas of the complex," said Palma.

The studio also added perforated brick walls that create dramatic shadows on the exterior walls of each volume.

Visitors enter Chiripa from the top of the lot through a walkway above the central garden, which creates a communal entrance to the complex.

At the end of the walkway, an open-air staircase shaped like a half circle serves both blocks, which each feature squat, rounded swimming pools on their rooftops.

Although only two levels are visible from the front facade, two additional levels feature below street level thanks to the site's steep slope.

Individual rooms have been arranged across both the upper and lower levels of the volumes, including living spaces and bedrooms characterised by simple and utilitarian interior details.

At the south end of each level, Palma designed covered terraces with curved inbuilt seating and enough space to suspend a hammock. The studio chose floor-to-ceiling glazing to illuminate the units.

The architecture studio intended for Chiripa to serve as a flexible building that caters to a range of living needs – either permanent or temporary.

"Chiripa is a project that seeks to experiment with the way users relate to each other in an undefined typology, a hybrid between house[s], apartments [and] hotel[s]," explained Palma.

"Depending on the needs of the visitors [the units] can be used in different configurations, constantly modifying the way in which they are inhabited," added the studio.

Palma's portfolio of architecture projects also features a coastal home with a custom yoga patio and another Nayarit residence with a statement circular swimming pool.

Elsewhere in Mexico, local studio Zeller & Moye has completed an earthquake-resistant housing block arranged around a central courtyard in the country's capital city and architects including Tatiana Bilbao and Frida Escobedo designed low-cost social housing for a community development in Hidalgo.

The photography is by Luis Young. 

Project credits:

Team: Joana Andrade, Nia Jorquera, Adrián Ramírez, Luisa Verenguer
Location: Sayulita, Nayarit
Construction: Joel Peréz

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Los Angeles studio Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects has completed a sleek stucco home in Venice Beach, California.

Completed in June 2022, the 3,400-square foot (315-square metre) home – known as Navy House – contains a two-storey primary unit and a flexible two-bedroom unit on the ground floor that could eventually be annexed into the main residence.

Located in an area between Santa Monica and Venice Beach, the home is near the ocean but surrounded by apartment buildings along a dead-end commercial street and well-trafficked alley.

The home's white stucco stands out from its bricked neighbours but fits into the eclectic neighbourhood, relying on the adjacent houses to provide a layer of colour and texture.

The home has a tall weathering steel fence and upward-oriented terraces that prioritize privacy for the client who was searching for sanctuary in a busy area.

"We wanted to create clean well-lit spaces from which one could experience the sensations of being near to the ocean breeze and the sound of waves and provide a peaceful respite from the urban context outside," the Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC) team said.

"Inspiration was also drawn from modest house precedents in Japan using simple materials and maximizing natural light and air in different ways."

The house steps back from the street on the upper level, creating a large "sky garden" and cuts in from the alley on the lower level for a cantilevered garage. Otherwise, the simple rectangular infill form seems unbroken from the exterior.

A private garden holds the street edge, while a wooden exterior entry stair with a boxy metal railing opens to a light-filled box with floor-to-ceiling glass, low-maintenance concrete flooring and white oak details.

The main floor features a continuous double-height living and dining space, overlooked by a mezzanine-level study that connects to the primary suite.

The airy interior is marked by clean lines and square edges like the flat-front kitchen cabinetry and waterfall inland.

Light travels through the narrow house courtesy of large wall-to-wall windows on either end and clerestory and vertical windows tucked along the party line walls.

On the top level, a private elevated sky garden — an EYRC signature — "opens to the heavens, allowing for fresh ocean air and a respite from the dense urbanity surrounding the house," the studio said.

"You can hear the sounds of the city but you're not necessarily staring at the alley."

Designed with flexibility in mind, the large primary bedroom can be partitioned off for a future guest room and Murphy beds allow the home to adapt to its resident's needs with a Northern European style efficiency.

The Navy House shares stucco and wood characteristics with the nearby curved residence by Pentagon and Part Office's renovated live-work condos for clean white, monolithic structures with natural touches.

The photography is by Nico Marquez.

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Thickset stucco walls hide unsightly structural panels inside this branch of restaurant chain Jin Sheng Long, which Studio Nor has designed in Qinhuangdao, China.

Jin Sheng Long is a historic eatery known for serving hotpots and baodu – a traditional tripe dish. Since opening its first outpost in Beijing in the late 19th century, the restaurant has expanded into a chain with a number of outlets nationwide.

Its latest outpost in the port city of Qinhuangdao occupies a trio of former retail units on the ground floor of a residential tower.

As a result, the interior is plagued by a number of awkwardly placed structural panels, which Chinese practice Studio Nor chose to retain and turn into key design features by encasing them within chunkier stucco-coated walls.

These walls now form a labyrinth of cosy dining nooks that diners can explore, mimicking what Studio Nor describes as the "intricate and meandering" arrangement of stalls in a Chinese food market.

Even the restaurant's wooden tables and benches were chosen to resemble the furniture found in these markets.

"We got inspiration from Jin Sheng Long's history," the studio said.

"Back in the late Qing Dynasty, the founder of the restaurant started his business by setting up street stalls in Beijing's famous old Dong'an Market – a then-popular destination full of dazzling attractions and bustling with life and activities."

The structural panels located in the centre of the room also serve a decorative function, with their enclosing walls set at unexpected angles and finished with curved niches for displaying bonsai trees, vases and other ornaments.

A bar is located towards the rear of Jin Sheng Long's Qinhuangdao restaurant, in the only part of the room that is uninterrupted by structural panels.

This area is anchored by an eight-metre-long counter, which is raised up on a stage-like brick plinth to highlight the theatricality of the drinks preparation process.

Studio Nor expanded the restaurant's windows to bring in more natural light and lined their inner frames with copper in a nod to the traditional cookware used to serve hotpot.

Artificial lighting, on the other hand, was kept to a minimum in a bid to draw attention to the few illuminated areas that pop up throughout the interior.

Elsewhere in Qinhuangdao, BLUE Architecture Studio found another clever way of concealing unattractive structural elements when designing the Zolaism cafe.

Here, the studio disguised the building's support columns as huge craggy boulders.

The photography is by Songkai Liu.

Project credits:

Architecture firm: Studio NOR
Lead architects: Boyuan Jiang, Jingwen Wang
Design team: Zhongyuan Liu, Wenxuan Xu, Yiming Lu, Shuo Yang
Lighting consultant: Chloe Zhang
Construction team: QX Group
Construction documents consultant: Shanghai C-Yuspace Design

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American firm Frederick Fisher and Partners has completed a trio of hilltop buildings for a California school that was partly destroyed by a wildfire.

The Ojai Valley School Upper Campus project sits on a 195-acre (79-hectare) site overlooking the Ojai Valley in Ventura County, about two hours north of Los Angeles.

The project was designed in the wake of the December 2017 Thomas Fire, which devastated the region and wiped out two buildings on the upper campus of the school.

Founded in 1911, the Ojai Valley School (OVS) is an independent boarding school that serves kindergarteners through 12th graders. In addition to its upper campus for high school students, it has a lower campus near downtown Ojai for younger pupils.

Frederick Fisher and Partners, which has offices in LA and New York, began working with the school in 2015 to devise a master plan for future growth. When the fire struck, the project shifted in scope.

"We reset from our previous planning with the OVS community and seized this rare 'blank canvas' opportunity to create a functionally and aesthetically unified, state-of-the-art learning, living and gathering village," said Frederick Fisher, founding partner and design principal.

The studio conceived three, rectilinear buildings that total 37,000 square feet (3,437 square metres) – the Aramont Science and Technology Center, the Littlefield Student Commns, and the Grace Hobson Smith House dormitory.

Set on a hilltop, the buildings are interspersed with walkways and gardens. Views of the surrounding terrain are ever-present.

The school has a focus on outdoor education, which led the team to ensure a strong connection between inside and out.

"In this aspect, all structures are organised around an identity that emphasises the scenic surroundings as the primary active element," the studio said.

The buildings' structural systems are made mostly of wood, with some steel columns and beams. Exterior walls are sheathed in light grey stucco – a finish that is part of the fireproofing strategy, which was formulated in accordance with the county’s strictest guidelines.

Flat roofs, enhanced sprinklers and improved site access for emergency vehicles are also part of the strategy.

"The project embraces the scenic landscape while reflecting the kids of resiliency practices necessary to responsibly inhabit the area," the team said.

The science building is one level and offers classrooms, laboratories and maker spaces. The two-storey student commons building holds a dining hall, student centre and library.

The third building, the dormitory, contains living spaces for both students and faculty and is arranged around a courtyard.

Interior finishes include wood-trimmed windows, concrete flooring and carpet in select areas.

The project has a number of sustainable elements, including passive cooling, photovoltaic power generation and a lithium-ion battery system for storing energy. The campus can operate off-grid when needed.

The project is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council, according to Frederick Fisher and Partners.

Founded in 1980, the firm has completed a wide range of buildings in the US and beyond, including a residence in California’s Santa Ynez Valley that is organised around a central courtyard and clad in weathering steel.

The photography is by Alex Nye Art, Tim Street-Porter, Logan Hall and Breadtruck Films.

Project credits:

Architect: Frederick Fisher and Partners
Design team: Fred Fisher (design principal), Takashige Ikawa (design lead)
Landscape designer: Pamela Burton & Company
Civil engineer: Encompass Consultant Group
Structural engineer: Parker-Resnick
Mechanical engineer: Nibecker & Associates
Electrical engineer: Nikolakopulos & Associates
Food service designer: Webb
LEED consulting: Zinner Consultants
General contractor: McGillivray Construction

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American firm Salmela Architect has created a Minnesota home for a physicist and an eye doctor that is meant to resemble a "scientific instrument with multiple viewing apertures".

The Feldmann Residence is located in Woodland, a suburban community near Minneapolis. The dwelling stands out in its neighbourhood, which is dotted with expansive homes, many of them traditional in style.

"It sits in stark contrast to the neighbouring architecture of the semi-wooded, suburban location – in its purist abstraction, its abnormally narrow profile, and its relatively modest size," said local firm Salmela Architect.

Built for a physicist, an eye surgeon and their two children, the home is infused with references to the owners' professions and personalities.

Rectangular in plan, the two-storey residence lies on an east-west axis and consists of a long, slender bar and a detached garage. A paved area runs between the two structures.

Facades are covered in black stucco that looks velvety during the day. By night, the dark cladding helps the building disappear into its setting.

Several protrusions add to the home's distinctive appearance.

"From a distance, the house appears as a black mass with suspended appendages – or a scientific instrument with multiple viewing apertures," the team said.

Emerging from the roof are two pyramid-shaped volumes with skylights.

On the north elevation, a small glazed box – which holds an office – juts out from the upper level and projects toward a lake.

On the south, a large box wrapped in cedar slats extends from the upper level and appears as "a telescoping volume of horizontal lines". This protrusion serves as a screened porch and also helps shade the lower level.

Inside, the home features wooden finishes, contemporary decor and bright rooms. A key component of the interior are the skylights, which bring daylight down into the core of the home.

"In the morning, the east-facing skylight draws in red-hued sunlight, while the west-facing skylight brings in cold, blueish light from the receding night sky," the team said.

"This relationship is slowly inverted throughout the day, with a uniform equilibrium achieved at noon."

In terms of programme, there is a clear delineation between public and private spaces.

On the ground floor, the east end holds the kitchen and dining room, while utility spaces are found on the west.

In the centre is a double-height living room with a masonry fireplace. A chimney rises 35 feet (11 metres) through an opening in the floor above. Similar chimneys were created for two outdoor terraces.

Located on the upper story are the sleeping areas. To one side is the parents' suite, and to the other is a pair of children's bedrooms.

In the central area is a family room and openings to the floor below, along with access to the screened porch and office.

"The long, screen porch connects the two halves and functions as an extension of the indoor family room," the team said.

"A small, private office provides a place of quiet work, study, or contemplation, with tranquil views of a tree and the lake beyond."

Salmela Architect was founded in 1994 and is well known for buildings designed in a regional modernist style. Other projects by the studio include a retreat in a Wisconsin forest and a solar-powered house that was created for an architecture professor.

The photography is by Corey Gaffer.

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White surfaces, both inside and out, offer the ideal backdrop for artwork in this light-filled home created by LA firm Abramson Architects for a creative client.

The Getty View Residence is nestled into a sloped site on a quiet cul-de-sac in West Los Angeles. As the name suggests, the 8,000-square-foot (743-square-metre) home is afforded vistas of the Getty Center museum, known for its architecture and gardens.

The home's owner is both a photographer and interior designer, and local firm Abramson Architects designed the residence to reflect her deep connection to art and the built environment.

The building consists of rectilinear volumes arranged in an L-shape and stacked three levels high. Each level has a different facade treatment.

"The various textures add architectural interest by breaking up the massing and highlighting the layered forms," the architects said.

The base, which contains a garage, has board-formed concrete walls that ground the structure into the hillside.

The middle level features large stretches of glass covered with aluminium louvres. The metal shades are intended to balance transparency, privacy and energy efficiency.

Up above, the team used white stucco.

"The monolithic upper floor is wrapped in white stucco and appears to levitate atop the white, metal slats below," the architects said.

The home is entered on the base level, where steps cross over a reflecting pool and arrive at the front door. A staircase made of wood and terrazzo leads up to the middle floor.

"Initially devised to navigate a steep grade change between the street and the ground floor, the stairwell evolved into a site-specific exhibition," the team said.

The middle floor encompasses the public zone, an office, a small gym and the maid's quarters. Retractable glass walls offer a smooth connection to a covered patio and swimming pool.

Rooms feature ample daylight, high ceilings and contemporary decor. White surfaces provide the ideal backdrop for displaying artwork.

Pockets of greenery were incorporated throughout the main level.

Near the stairs, an abstract, metal sculpture by artist Guy Dill is on view within a lush courtyard. In the living room, glazed walls surround a melaleuca tree that grows upward through an opening in the roof.

"These seemingly scattered view gardens are choreographed to soften the transitions from the common areas into the intimate spaces on the south and the utilitarian zone to the west," the team said.

On the home's top floor, bedroom suites are arrayed along an L-shaped corridor. Cool grey finishes help establish a calm atmosphere.

In the main bedroom, the team incorporated wooden flooring, a marble-clad fireplace, a floating credenza and a lighting fixture by Tom Dixon.

"The main suite culminates in a jewel-box reading nook cantilevered above an intimate, poolside patio," the team said.

Other homes in Los Angeles include a residence by Standard Architecture composed of three gabled forms and a swimming pool that cantilevers over a cliff, and a spacious home by Olson Kundig that was designed to "feel like an adventure".

The photography is by Manolo Langis and Paul Vu.

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Designers Giorgio Gasco and Gianmaria Della Ratta have created a range of decorative stucco mouldings based on the interior decor of rented chat rooms used by cam girls.

The Digital Muses collection consists of eight plaster wall pieces featuring elements such as cherubs, dolphins and vibrators, which the designers spotted in chat rooms used by cam girls who put on live sex shows via video streaming in exchange for money.

The collection, which is based on research and interviews with cam girls, was presented at Rotterdam's Galerie Lecq and as part of this year's virtual edition of Dutch Design Week (DDW).

The designers, who both graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven, spoke about the collection during a Dezeen panel discussion exploring how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted intimacy.

"Physical spaces have been affected a lot by the coronavirus crisis but on the contrary, the virtual space has been amplified and strengthened," Della Ratta said in the talk.

"So digital media is now part of our daily lives and especially in this situation, we cannot live or work without it. So as designers, we felt the need to investigate this universe, to understand it and to use it for design purposes."

The number of people turning to cam girls has risen during the pandemic, with one performer reporting a 30 per cent increase in business and streaming site CamSoda doubling its viewers.

Through Digital Muses, Gasco and Della Ratta discovered that set design is a key component of cam girls' work.

"This one girl, in particular, told me that she tries to dress according to the room [she is in]," Gasco said during the panel talk. She went on to describe matching her outfit to her backdrop as an "essential part of the job" because it has a noticeable effect on the spectator.

As a result, an entire industry has sprung up to help cam girls set the right mood, with YouTube channels dedicated to tutorials on how to achieve the right lighting and scenography. There are also so-called cam studios available to rent, which come equipped with a range of different backdrops and professional streaming technology.

Gasco and Della Ratta identified a distinct visual language in these backdrops, consolidating elements of technology such as bright, electroluminescent (EL) wires and keyboards with the tactility of cushions and blankets and soft, feminine colours like baby blue, pink and purple.

"It's very interesting how they create their own identity," said Gasco.

"Our goal is to elevate this aesthetic universe of digital content because we see a big artistic value in these scenarios. We then try to extrapolate some symbols, we extrapolate the language, even the dress code that they are using and try to adapt it into a design piece."

In a playful inversion of how our real lives have become mediated by webcams during the pandemic, the duo took this design aesthetic that was developed for the virtual world and transplanted it into real, tangible objects.

To do this they relied on traditional plaster reliefs, which have been used since antiquity to immortalise symbols and entire scenes within architecture.

"Stucco is very decorative but also a narrative element and we wanted to use this powerful aesthetic and narrative in combination with the cam girl world, which questions the concept of intimacy and sexuality," said Della Ratta.

"So our stucco pieces are not only decorative or furnishing pieces but also pieces of storytelling, of this digital movement that [has its own] symbols, messages and stories."

Traditionally cast in plaster and marble powder, the stucco is shaped to suggest different sex toys such as a ball gag, which is integrated into a circular mandala.

Another piece features an abstract swirling pattern, created by replicating and multiplying the sinuous shape of the Lovesense – a vibrator that has become increasingly popular in the camming scene because it can be remotely controlled by viewers via an app.

Yet other pieces in the collection draw on more cutesy, girlish iconography from cheeky cherubs to rainbows and dolphins, in a bid to move away from overly stereotyped, singular representations of sex workers.

Similarly, cam girls' use of tactile fabrics is picked up in a piece called Furry20, which mirrors the fur blankets and pillow they often rely on to soften a space and nods to the wigs they use for cosplay sessions.

Each of the all-white reliefs is also adorned with a wire that is coated in an electroluminescent phosphor coating, which, as the name suggests, emits a soft glow when it is connected to power.

These EL wires are widely used by gaming streamers who use them to pimp their computers, but they have also become popular among cam girls as an extremely online way to add ambient lighting to their backdrops.

The live panel discussion was part of a series of talks streamed as part of this year's Dezeen x DDW collaboration.

In their talk, Gasco and Ratta discussed the intimacy of workplaces with Sabine Marcelis and Li Edelkoort while other talks focused on privacy and data as well as our relationship with nature and the products we use day to day.

Dutch Design Week 2020 took place online from 17 to 25 October, with Dezeen as media partner. For details of more architecture and design events, visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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Los Angeles design firm Working Holiday Studio has transformed a property in the California desert into a shoppable holiday home that "stands out" against its desolate landscape.

Casa Mami is located in Pioneertown, California, an unincorporated community outside of Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.

After visiting the area Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown of Working Holiday Studio wanted to purchase a house of their own to spend holidays in and to rent out to overnight guests.

The 92-square-metre stucco house has an adobe-style construction and is situated on five acres (1.6 hectares) overlooking the barren desert landscape.

To make the tiny building "stand out" against its surroundings a black portico contrasts the updated white exterior and light-coloured gravel around the property juxtaposes the sandy ground.

"Most houses around the desert in that area try to blend in with the environment through earthy and brown tones, we wanted the opposite, we wanted our house to stand out which is why we chose to surround the house with white gravel to create a separation between the desert ground and house and painted it white and black, which not only made it really stand out but also brought a Mediterranean feel to it which is a good contrast to the dry hot desert," Naude told Dezeen.

For the interiors, the designers took cues from Scandinavian and Japanese design styles. This was coupled with bright colours found in work by Mexican architect Luis Barragán and a mix of pattern and shape used by French interior designer Jacques Granges and British designer Terence Conran.

"I would say that we borrowed Luis Barragán's use of colour – like the monochromatic yellow hallway, Jacques Grange's ability to mix styles – between Scandinavian and Japanese, and Terence Conran's incorporation of playful shapes and silhouettes," he added.

Beige walls are paired with white moulding and painted grey floors throughout the house. In the kitchen the cabinets and drawers are punctured with a tiny hole to form a handle instead of with a traditional metal knob.

A set of translucent glass doors with black trim is situated between the open-plan kitchen and living space frames the desert landscape, which is speckled with vegetation. Another pair is located in the master bedroom furnished with two semicircular nightstands and black light fixtures.

In the living there is blue couch with rounded cushions and a circular coffee table topped with a terrazzo surface. The furnishings face a white, sphere-shaped fireplace installed to heat the tiny home.

The studio worked with over 30 brands to decorate the space with furniture, appliances and houseware items that guests can purchase online, forming part a new trend to design "shoppable stays".

Others include a holiday house in Maine designed by An Aesthetic Pursuit to showcase its new furniture collection and a rental property in Long Island Studio Robert McKinley has decorated to double as a showroom.

Other details of Casa Mami are a hallway with bright yellow walls, decorative potted plants and an outdoor patio nestled into a corner of the structure.

It is also powered by solar panels and a hauled water system, so the homeowners and guests are more conscious about their energy and water usage.

Casa Mami has been longlisted in the hotel and short stay interior project category of Dezeen Awards 2020, with shortlists set to be announced at the start of September.

Working Holiday Studio is a Los Angeles design studio led by husband and wife duo Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown. It worked with Francesca de la Fuente on the renovation of The Ruby Street co-working space in Los Angeles.

Photography is by Carlos Naude, unless noted otherwise.

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Wick Architecture & Design chose materials "that could be found on a construction site" to decorate this Mexican restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles.

Located in the Art District neighbourhood, Loqui occupies part of the ground floor inside a four-storey concrete building that is being converted into office, restaurant and retail space.

Local studio Wick Architecture & Design worked with LAND Design Studio to complete the 1,346 square foot (125 square metres) taqueria, which is the Loqui eatery's second location in LA.

The project provided an opportunity for the business to elevate its brand, according to the design studio.

"The first location in Culver City has always been a very 'mom and pop' style space, so the owners approached us about designing a second location that would be more forward in terms of executing a concept," said Wick Architecture & Design principal David Wick.

"The original location has earned a lot of street credit, but the new location captures the essence of the business and provides Loqui with an aesthetic branding."

Some original features and mechanics, including the concrete floors and ceilings and exposed plumbing, were left during the renovation. Others such as exhaust ductwork and electrical conduit were removed or rerouted and hidden behind newly constructed walls.

After the team stripped back the space, it added in simple materials that pay homage to Mexican design aesthetics.

"With an outer shell carefully carved out, the design team embarked on a plan to replicate some of the materials and visual elements of typical handcrafted Mexican structures," it said.

"The focus was on building something rustic that wasn't 'overthought or overwrought', resulting in material selections that could be found on a construction site, including terracotta brick, stained oak, olive stucco, and patinated steel."

An outdoor seating patio located at the restaurant's rear serves as its main entrance. Oak panels and patinated metal front the building's facade and the terracotta bricks used throughout the design are introduced here.

The pale red bricks front the entry gates, seating area walls and kitchen counter. They are arranged in alternating vertically and horizontally laid sections.

Olive-green stucco covers the walls of the restroom hallway to further add to the rustic look, while white tiles detailed with blue trim cover the kitchen walls.

Furnishings include stools, shelves, countertops and booth seating made of wood, potted plants and semi-recessed cone shaped light fixtures by FOLK Abigail.

Other restaurants in Los Angeles include a restaurant influenced by Moroccan and Turkish interiors designed by Studio Unltd and a rustic eatery outfitted with wood frames by local designers Jon and Maša Kleinhample.

Photography is by Nicole La Motte.

Project credits:

Design: Wick Architect and Design, Land Design Studio General Contractor: Analog
Structural engineers: Plump Engineering
Mechanical and plumbing engineers: Engineered Solutions
Electrical engineer: A+F Engineering
Tile: Wink Design Source
Terracotta brick: Arto

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American firm In Situ Studio has paired dark cladding with white stucco for the facades of a modern family residence that overlooks a pond in North Carolina.

Located in Matthews, a suburb of Charlotte, the Taylor Residence is situated on a flat site with trees and a small body of water at the back. Set back from the road, the home is approached on the north via a driveway that passes through the woods.

Rectangular in plan, the two-storey dwelling sits atop a concrete foundation. For the facades, the team used a mix of metal, cedar, white stucco and large expanses of glass. A covered walkway connects the home to a garage.

Low-lying concrete walls define a small courtyard that fronts the residence. Wide wooden steps ascend to a glazed front door, which in turn leads to an airy foyer and stairwell.

"A soaring entry and stair volume connects the two levels, floods the centre of the plan with light, and scripts views of the exterior," said In Situ Studio, a Raleigh-based firm founded in 2010.

Encompassing 4,006 square feet (372 square metres), the home features a fluid layout and rooms bathed in natural light.

On the ground level, one side contains a kitchen and an open-plan dining and living room anchored by a large concrete fireplace. The other end encompasses a generous master suite, with glass walls that offer unobstructed views of the landscape.

"The ground level of the house is completely open to the landscape on both the north and south sides," the studio said.

Upstairs, the team placed three additional bedrooms. A covered porch provides a place to relax and connect with the natural surroundings.

Throughout the home, the team used a cool colour palette and modern decor. Dark oak floors and flush doors and cabinets help create a "quiet interior". The residence features a large front lawn that serves as a play area.

"Exterior areas are wood, concrete and gravel, and spill directly from the interior," said the team.

In Situ Studio has completed a number of distinctive residential projects in North Carolina, including a rural cabin wrapped in blackened wood and the restoration of a midcentury modern home in Raleigh.

Photography is by Keith Isaacs.

Project credits:

Architect: In Situ Studio
Contractor: The Ullman Group
Structural engineer: Intelligent Design Engineering

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Richly toned wood is paired with stucco-covered concrete to form the walls of this contemporary country house in Missouri, designed by American firm Kem Studio. 

The Modern Lodge is situated on a sloped site overlooking Weatherby Lake, near Kansas City. The owners – a married couple with children – work in the city but wanted a country-style home where they could wind down and entertain friends.

The building is composed of two platonic forms that are arranged perpendicularly and sit atop a concrete base. One volume houses public functions, while the other encompasses private spaces.

According to Kem Studio, this arrangement was created in response to the husband's job as a commercial photographer, in particular, "the process of capturing an experience with a still photo".

"The two are pulled apart, creating an aperture to the lake and transition between public and private functions of the house," said the Kansas City-based firm. "The view is revealed once you enter the house, leaving the city behind and immersing yourself in lake living."

The public volume – the larger of the two – is wrapped in cypress shiplap, a type of wooden board panelling. On the west-facing side, which looks toward the lake, a screen hangs down and helps shade glass walls.

The smaller form is sheathed in crisp, white stucco and has only a few windows, which allow for "visual separation" and privacy.

The property's natural vegetation was left in place in some areas, helping connect the house to the landscape. A stone pathway in the rear yard leads down to an outdoor patio and the water.

"As one descends toward the lake, the house becomes a backdrop to the natural experience of lake living," the studio said.

Encompassing 3,052 square feet (284 square metres), the dwelling contains fluid, light-filled spaces. On the entrance level, the public volume encompasses an open-plan cooking, dining and living area, which opens onto a deck.

Wooden floors and a built-in fireplace help create a cosy atmosphere, while sliding glass doors provide a strong connection to the outdoors.

"The floor-to-ceiling glass occurs within the overall volume of the main living space, allowing for the perspective lines to bleed to the exterior of the home and be captured by the solar screen," the team said. "This makes the volume feel much larger than it actually is."

In a loft space, the team placed two bedrooms for children and a play space, which "borrow light and views" from the main living zone below. A secondary living zone is located in the home's bottom level, and is defined by concrete walls and eclectic decor.

The private volume houses a master suite, laundry room and a two-car garage. The master bedroom features white shelving and a honey-coloured wooden wall.

Other recently completed homes in Missouri include a low-slung residence by El Dorado that is organised around a central courtyard.

Photography is by Bob Greenspan.

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To satisfy the conflicting tastes of a husband and wife, New York-based architect Marica McKeel merged contemporary and traditional styles in this spacious South Carolina residence.

The Lake Wylie House is located in Lake Wylie, a small town in South Carolina. Designed for a family with an active lifestyle, the dwelling is situated on a triangular property with views of a lake across the street.

"The clients' two energetic young children and a pair of large dogs necessitate that the house provide the open spaces and play areas they need, while also affording private moments for work and study," said architect Marica McKeel, who founded her New York-based practice Studio MM in 2010.

While conceiving the home, the architect faced various challenges. Not only did the design have to pass muster with a local architectural review committee, but it also had to accommodate the clients' divergent tastes. The wife wanted a traditional-style home, while her husband preferred a more modern aesthetic.

"Rather than choosing one over the other, we were determined to combine traditional forms with contemporary methods and lines and kept this in mind as we worked through design," the architect explained.

Encompassing 7,380 square feet (685 square metres), the home consists of two intersecting bars topped with pitched roofs. The architect broke up the massing to create more intimate spaces.

"In order to maintain a cosy and family-sized scale to this expansive house, it is separated into a number of smaller volumes that emphasise different living spaces," the firm described.

To take advantage of the site's width, the low-slung front portion of the home is laid out in a horizontal fashion. In the rear, the residence is L-shaped in plan and wraps a courtyard and swimming pool.

Exterior walls are made of grey masonry, stucco and wood. Windows of varying sizes, including long clerestories, bring ample natural light into the dwelling.

The front door is marked by a large canopy and is lined with windows that provide clear views to the backyard. "Delineated by two stone walls and a cantilevered roof, the see-through nature of this entryway also serves to bring a modern element to the traditional horizontal form," the studio said.

A central axis divides public and private spaces in the horizontal bar. One side contains a master suite and guest bedrooms, while the other side encompasses the kitchen, dining area and living room.

"The open-plan living space to the left of the entry is designed to maximise family time," the architect said. "Games of chase, Thanksgiving gatherings and dinner time for the family's great dane and mastiff have all been accounted for."

The two-storey volume that sits perpendicular to the low bar contains sleeping quarters and a play area for the clients' two sons.

The architect used a restrained palette for the interior spaces, including grey brick, polished concrete floors and contemporary decor.

The family was afforded plenty of outdoor space for recreation and relaxation. The home features a sizeable lawn in the front and rear, in addition to the courtyard, which has an outdoor shower, grilling bar, dining area and fire pit.

"While the clients wanted to maximise views of the lake, they also wanted to pull the house back from the street to maintain privacy in their busy neighbourhood and to give the boys plenty of yard space," the architect said.

Other projects by Studio MM include Tinkerbox, a modern holiday dwelling embedded in a hillside in New York's Hudson Valley.

Photography is by Brad Feinknopf.

Project credits:

Architect: Marica McKeel
General contractor: Jones & Hedges Inc
Civil engineering consultant: Land Surveyors CSI
Landscape architect: John Ogburn, Enterra Design Group
Landscaping: Jesus Roman, Roca Scapes
Fencing: Jason Ashcroft, Southlands Fence
Turf: Matt McGee, East Coast Synthetic Turf LLC
Pool and patio design: Bobby Suarez, Bella Custom Pools
Audio, visual consultant: Rene Robaina, Home Technology Solutions
Window consultant: Mike Layne, Window and Door Showplace

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American studio Hazelbaker Rush has created a mountainside residence where the lower levels blend into the rocky site, while the bright white upper volume stands out in contrast.

The Franklin Mountain House is located on the fringe of El Paso, Texas. Perched 800 feet (244 metres) above the city, the desert dwelling is situated in the foothills of a mountain range and is afforded views of the urban landscape below.

Encompassing 5,200 square feet (483 square metres), the home was built on a rugged, terraced site dotted with native cacti, colourful grasses and aromatic herbs. The property has become a "sanctuary on the hillside", said Hazelbaker Rush, a studio based in Tucson, Arizona, that was founded by Darci Hazelbaker and Dale Rush.

The three-storey home consists of stacked boxes nestled into the slope. The team covered the lower portion of the dwelling in local grey basalt, a type of volcanic rock.

Applied using a "rubble wall style" that is found throughout the city, the stone cladding enables the home to visually merge with the raw landscape. "From a distance, the lower floors nearly disappear," the architects said.

In contrast, the top volume is faced with white lime stucco and was placed at a perpendicular angle. The volume is punctuated with elongated windows framed in black.

A large portion of the box extends beyond the lower levels and is supported by two thick columns.

The home's composition was influenced by an abandoned quartz mine located nearby. "The angular quartz crystals that scatter the eastern part of the site – beautiful, foreign objects among the weathered grey stones and lechuguilla – became an inspiration for the massing of the home," the architects described.

Due to the severity of the slope, the home has a direct connection to the exterior at each level.

The lowest floor contains utilitarian spaces, while the middle storey houses the kitchen, living room and dining area. The top volume contains the bedrooms and a family play area.

The residence features a series of external zones that embrace the terrain, including a pool terrace and an outdoor living room.

"Each night, as the sun begins to dip below the horizon, the sky catches fire and the outdoor living room becomes the best place to watch the sky fade from red to orange to deep indigo," the firm said.

It's not uncommon for the homeowners to spot wildlife. A deep arroyo is situated below the property, and in the early mornings and late afternoons, golden eagles and red-tailed hawks ride thermal currents into the canyons above.

Animals are also drawn to the home's landscaping. "Often the kids wake up to see deer and rabbits grazing at the newly planted flora along the south patio, sometimes finding evidence of the local ring-tailed cat," the architects said.

For both the interior and exterior, the team chose materials influenced by local traditions – including leather and steel, which draw from the area's cowboy and railroad heritage.

"At the moments where one directly engages the building, the door handles and cabinet pulls are fashioned in black steel with a small offering of leather to soften and warm the cold edges," the studio said.

"Natural, honest, somewhat conventional materials are used in slightly unconventional ways to clearly convey a refinement of the vernacular craft."

Other desert homes in the US include a family dwelling in Utah by Sparano + Mooney Architecture that is sheathed in hundreds of weathering steel plates and a residence by DUST that has rammed-earth walls made of volcanic residue.

Photography is by Casey Dunn.

Project credits:

Architect: Hazelbaker Rush
Builder: Cullers & Caldwell Builders
Structural engineer: Harris Engineering Services

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US studio The Ranch Mine has completed a residential development in central Phoenix that consists of a pair of matching buildings, each containing five spacious townhouses.

Called Uptown Row, the development comprises 10 units that were built on a 0.71-acre (2,873-square-metre) site that formerly was a dilapidated parking lot.

The project is designed to straddle the line "between a single-family home and a multi-family complex", said The Ranch Mine, a young local studio. Collectively, the units total 17,332 square feet (1,610 square metres).

Designed to be pedestrian-friendly, the development sits between a commercial thoroughfare and a historic residential district. "It finds harmony in a diverse neighbourhood, stitching together disparate elements in a refined, modern complex," the team said.

The development is just 500 feet (152 metres) away from a light rail station.

Phoenix, a car-centric city known for its suburban sprawl, opened a light rail system in December 2008. The city "relies on the automobile, but is actively shifting towards public transportation", the firm noted.

The development consists of two identical buildings that mimic the scale of nearby commercial structures. Each building contains five townhomes that are roughly the same size as the historic dwellings in the neighbourhood.

"Each of these units are accessed via pedestrian walkways amid desert plantings and a spaced block wall that provides casual opportunities for socialising with neighbours," the studio said.

In two of the units, the architects incorporated ground-floor office space with separate entrances. The offices are intended to accommodate the increasing number of people operating home-based businesses, the team said.

The team used three primary materials for the exterior cladding.

Pre-rusted steel references the industrial character of nearby properties, while a brick veneer is a nod to a 90-year-old adobe house located along the same street. Light-coloured stucco, a popular material in Phoenix, adds visual contrast.

To provide constant "eyes on the street", the architects paid special attention the placement of windows. It also added protruding boxes that shade glazed apertures.

Inside, the three-storey residential units offer 10-foot-high (three-metre) ceilings, and large sliding glass doors that open onto private courtyards encircled by white concrete block walls.

The team placed living spaces on the first floor, bedrooms on the second level and a flexible space on the top storey.

"This flex space features a wet bar and opens out onto a roof deck with a built-in grill, creating an ideal indoor-outdoor entertaining space that takes in amazing views of the city, mountains, and desert sky beyond," the firm said.

The project is similar in spirit to Blackbirds by Bestor Architecture, a "stealth density" development in Los Angeles that features a cluster of small-lot houses.

Photography is by Jason Roehner.

Project Credits:

Design: The Ranch Mine
Architect of record: E Project
General contractor: Boxwell Southwest

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