Architect's house on Cyprus

Greek architect George Papadopoulos from Skinotechniki Architects has designed his own residence house in Lemesos, Cyprus. The house is located in the old town, squeezed in narrow streets only 50 meters away from one of the most popular beaches on the island and features a very nice design. In the past an old mill was standing at this very spot. After the fire in 1989, only remains of walls were left. The goal of the project was to build a house for a family with four children, where every member of the family can have comfort, calm and won`t be limited. The building had to go together with the surroundings; area of stone houses with two floors and some industrial buildings. A mixture of natural materials - wood and stone with glass excites a calming effect. Harmony of this combination has been accentuated by a beautiful garden which enclose the building. Important elements of the house are colours, soft and natural colours, as well as the lighting. Architect has used eco-friendly heating, cooling and lighting systems.

Church from Future

London studio DOS Architects has designed a catholic church as one would expect in a movie from future. The church should be build in the city of Lagos in Nigeria, Africa and be able to host up to 2000 people. The interior is covered by an aerodynamic skin divided into two parts - two waves, first one is smaller than the other one. The main entrance is situated in the bottom and the narrowest part and leads into a spectacular foyer, where a direct access to both two floors is located. Space assigned for prayers has been designed to fulfil needs of the congregation; not to be disturbed, to feel comfortable and relaxed, to have a view at the altar. Spectacular glass facades provide enough of natural lighting and accentuate the height of the building. Construction of the church should start in 2011.

Shade Club

Shade Club is an interesting experiment of a group of architects called SquareONE. They have constructed an unusual interior of a night club in the basement of a residential house in the city center of Bucarest, Romania. For 90 past years, there were only night clubs on this very spot. Some of them were successful, the others scandalous, so there was a good chance that the club can become a popular place if it has a good reputation. Two young people have got the idea to rent the place and start to build the good reputation by hiring a team of great architects. The project was a challenge, the plan is very small and segmented. New owners have chosen elegant and stylish interior with a little bit of humourous details. Furniture is displayed on walls in 2D and their shapes are printed in an open space. The existing structure was a space divided into three parts that is why architects have decided to create several patterns and graphic designs and change the dispositions of this space. Whole design is accentuated by a colour lighting.

The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angels

When the Staples Center opened in downtown Los Angeles in 1999, the visitors of the venue’s sporting and entertainment facilities had to venture far afield for a good meal. Just over a decade later, the area near the arena is full of eateries, cinemas, a massive entertainment complex that was finally opened this May with the opening of the Ritz-Carlton. The Ritz-Carlton occupies floors 22 to 26 of a translucent-blue 54-storey skyscraper. The hotel offers a lot of interesting space, including the famous restaurant Wolfgang Puck. The 24th floor venue serves Chinese delicacies, while appetizers and sushi are available in the adjacent lounge. Set on the 23rd floor, Club Lounge looks out toward the beaches of Santa Monica located 15 miles west. Telescopes which were placed near the windows allow for up-close exploration of the ocean and the Hollywood sign.

Modern House in Sydney

Chenchow Little Architects from Australia have designed a spectacular modern house in Sydney. It overlooks the beach. The house is both open to the beautiful surroundings as well as sheltered and protecting thanks to the wooden vertical shields that can be closed to give the house more privacy and prevent overheating but also allow the daylight to brighten up the interior. In the main living space it is almost impossible to distinguish the interior and the exterior. The sliding walls wipe off the borders between the spaces which means that for example bedroom can merge with the terrace. The interior is very much puristic, clean, bright. The brown colour gives the space a spark.

California White Beach House

The house designed by the studio Richard Meier & Partners Architects is situated in Southern California next to a beautiful beach. This house can boast with its location - the Pacific Ocean to the south, a gorgeous courtyard to the west, and the Pacific Coast Highway to the north. There is a perfect harmony between the straight ‘boxed’ and organic designs of this modern house. The architecture is very interesting with great emphasis on detail. The bright white interior offers a grand space for dining and entertaining, where residents and guests are surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. It might remind the visitor of a place of their dreams.

The house for collectors

Studio B Architects has designed a modern house for collectors of photographs and video-clips. The house is located on a steep uphill in the city of Aspen, Colorado, USA. Topography of the area had posed a problem of dewatering, but architects have resolved it very well. The exterior is composed of zinc panels and concrete. In the interior space dominate a dark oak flooring, freestanding oak stairs, marble, porcelain and tiles. The lower level of the house, where a gallery and wine cellars are located, is entirely underground. A massage room is attached to this space. The entry level houses an office, a guest bedroom, dining room, kitchen and a bedroom with an entrance on a terrace integrated to a private garden and a roof terrace accessible by a freestanding steel stairs.

Smart house

This innovative intelligent house is located in the capital of Poland, Warsaw. The shape and entire exterior have been designed to resemble to a castle and to be able to transform in a modern and luxurious house opening to nature. When the owner of the house is not present, the house is closed and looks like a bunker or a secrete building without doors or windows. When the owner enters by the front gate, the house transforms into controllable panels that reveal its real form. Rooms are completely open, airy spaces, separated from the exterior by glass panels which bring nature into the interior space. The other attractive parts of the smart house are a ground-floor and upper levels of terraces. The inside pool is visible through big toned glass windows. The interior has modern but at the same time minimalist furnishing.

Terrace house

Residents of so called “white house” have a fabulous view at a lake and beautiful nature of the northern uphills of the Swiss community of Ermatingen, where it is located. Landscape of the area is quite complicated, so the architect, who is constructor as well, decided to create the yard successively. On the upper level, a family house with two floors was constructed, on the lower level a self-standing house housing an office of the architect. Every terrace has big windows, which open the space towards a lake. The ground-floor has been constructed entirely from glass windows. Overall, the house has an open ground-plan in order to fulfill needs of a family. The interior is furnished with a quality furniture, a minimum of colours has been used: white, green and pink. The colour scheme has been influenced by Le Corbusier.

New affiliate of the Credit Bank

A new affiliate branch of Credit Bank located in Fossane, Switzerland is a unique building thanks to a cascade of chains on the facade. The chains are 11km long and create a very dynamic, mobile and floating space, what is very unusual for a building of a bank, all the more it is situated at the foothill of the Maritime Alps. The building of the branch has an airiness and lightness that is more common in a different type of buildings, an exhibition centre for example. A traditional image of a bank has been quit. The building represents a new unedited image of an institution of this type: surprising and innovatory from the outside, intimate and cosy from the inside. Studio Kuadra architects, creator of this design, is a group of young people, who knows how to utilize the very best of each material they use. Glass, metal, stainless steel are materials characterized by consistency, form, quality and singularity, while accentuating composition, which remains precise and clean.