Wiel Arets

Maiden Tower Marte.Marte Architekten

From the architect:

What could match the massive presence of Marte‘s concrete home, this raw, stony material, this self-contained unit? Oxidizing steel: just as raw, just as authentic in its expression and its properties. The interior impression remains the same – wood surfaces, warm colors, fine pores. The new exterior structure, on the other hand, is masculine, striving skywards, rising up from the surrounding landscape like the neighboring pear tree. That behind the massive exterior lies a building of lightweight materials may be inspired by the tale of the Trojan horse. A new space opens up between the two buildings, complemented by an in-ground pool – uncompromising, hard, less sensible, but therefore all the more magical, idiosyncratic, and sensuous. 

Oxidizing steel on the walls and bottom, encased like in a suit of armor. The tower also appears this way with its steel ventilation flaps to the north and south and fixed glazing to the east. Rapunzel, Rapunzel…. Through the library, down a few steps into the separate kitchen, and then through the dining room, facing the pool, the little princesses can climb the newel stairs to their bedrooms. There, they are presented with a view, on the one hand, of their parents’ protective house and, on the other, the nearby scenic forest. The spatial perspective mirrors this interplay of freedom and guidance, becoming a symbol of their possibilities for development within the family.

Images and text via Marte.Marte Architekten

corner house ~ dsdha | photos hélène binet, christopher rudquist, dsdha

Perhaps I’ll never understand how two delicate tiny hands could ever hold my heart safely within and yet they do and yet you do

And Yet (via mikefrawley)

by zuhal kanar                

Lower Manhattan

“The southernmost part of Manhattan, Seen from 1 World Trade Center”. Photo by Artem.

This picture was taken in Battery Park City, a neighborhood of New York, United States (Google Maps).

Ruinas en Uso Diego Frías

Bolton Residence naturehumaine

Having bought a beautiful plot of wooded land in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, the client dreamt of building a country house that would be in perfect symbiosis with its natural environment. This rugged, sloped site came to a natural plateau just below its highest point, becoming the perfect location to erect the house. The house is characterized by two stacked volumes; a wooden clad volume anchored into the mountain supports a cantilevering ground floor volume above. This gable roofed volume raised into the air gives the sensation that the house is floating amongst the trees. Vast views of Mount Orford and the valley below are framed by a long horizontal strip window. The kitchen and master bathroom are carved out of a black volume at the center of the house dividing living spaces from the master bedroom.

Images and text via naturehumaine

Chat-botte by Yvon Lacaille on Flickr.

@kendrasmiles4u