Built to Inspire

BUILT TO INSPIRE

Philip Jodidio

Contemporary Homes by the World’s Great Architects

CONTENTS 9 An Irrevocable Condition: Contemporary Houses of the World 16 House in Monsaraz

Lisbon, Portugal | Aires Mateus

28 Qishe Courtyard

Beijing, China | Archstudio

42 Triangle House

Tokyo, Japan | Shigeru Ban Architects

54 Casa Terreno

Valle de Bravo, Mexico | Fernanda Canales Arquitectura

68 House68

Selangor, Malaysia | Design Collective Architects (DCA)

82 The Black House

Isle of Skye, United Kingdom | Dualchas Architects

94 Dolunay Villa

Muğla, Turkey | Foster + Partners

108 Casa Mérida

Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico | Ludwig Godefroy

120 Wall House

Cascais, Portugal | Guedes Cruz Architects

134 Capital Hill Residence

Moscow, Russia | Zaha Hadid Architects

144 MS Residence

São Paulo, Brazil | Jacobsen Arquitetura

158 Storfjord Summer House

Storfjord, Norway | Jensen & Skodvin

170 From the Garden House

Laka, Poland | KWK Promes

CONTENTS 9 An Irrevocable Condition: Contemporary Houses of the World 16 House in Monsaraz

Lisbon, Portugal | Aires Mateus

28 Qishe Courtyard

Beijing, China | Archstudio

42 Triangle House

Tokyo, Japan | Shigeru Ban Architects

54 Casa Terreno

Valle de Bravo, Mexico | Fernanda Canales Arquitectura

68 House68

Selangor, Malaysia | Design Collective Architects (DCA)

82 The Black House

Isle of Skye, United Kingdom | Dualchas Architects

94 Dolunay Villa

Muğla, Turkey | Foster + Partners

108 Casa Mérida

Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico | Ludwig Godefroy

120 Wall House

Cascais, Portugal | Guedes Cruz Architects

134 Capital Hill Residence

Moscow, Russia | Zaha Hadid Architects

144 MS Residence

São Paulo, Brazil | Jacobsen Arquitetura

158 Storfjord Summer House

Storfjord, Norway | Jensen & Skodvin

170 From the Garden House

Laka, Poland | KWK Promes

CONTENTS 184 Cut Fold Bend Play

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India | Matharoo Associates

196 Seabreeze

Dana Point, California, United States | McClean Design

208 Montagnola Residence

Lugano, Switzerland | Richard Meier & Partners Architects

220 Canal House

Miami, Florida, United States | Studio MK27

232 Planar House

Porto Feliz, São Paulo, Brazil | Studio MK27

246 House in Los Vilos

Los Vilos, Chile | Office of Ryue Nishizawa

260 Villa Fauvette

Chailly, Lausanne, Switzerland | Archilab Gabriele M. Rossi

272 Villa Austevoll

Kalvaneset, Austevoll, Norway | Saunders Architecture

284 Residence in Sagaponack

Sagaponack, New York, United States | Selldorf Architects

294 Hofmann House

Valencia, Spain | Fran Silvestre Arquitectos

306 Island Rest

Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom | Ström Architects

320 Waterfront Retreat

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | Koichi Takada Architects

334 Meadow Lane House

Southampton, New York, United States | Tod Williams Billie Tsien

346 Project Credits

CONTENTS 184 Cut Fold Bend Play

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India | Matharoo Associates

196 Seabreeze

Dana Point, California, United States | McClean Design

208 Montagnola Residence

Lugano, Switzerland | Richard Meier & Partners Architects

220 Canal House

Miami, Florida, United States | Studio MK27

232 Planar House

Porto Feliz, São Paulo, Brazil | Studio MK27

246 House in Los Vilos

Los Vilos, Chile | Office of Ryue Nishizawa

260 Villa Fauvette

Chailly, Lausanne, Switzerland | Archilab Gabriele M. Rossi

272 Villa Austevoll

Kalvaneset, Austevoll, Norway | Saunders Architecture

284 Residence in Sagaponack

Sagaponack, New York, United States | Selldorf Architects

294 Hofmann House

Valencia, Spain | Fran Silvestre Arquitectos

306 Island Rest

Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom | Ström Architects

320 Waterfront Retreat

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | Koichi Takada Architects

334 Meadow Lane House

Southampton, New York, United States | Tod Williams Billie Tsien

346 Project Credits

AN IRREVOCABLE CONDITION: CONTEMPORARY HOUSES OF THE WORLD The house contains within its very definition the idea of protection—like a cave carved out of a mountain, or a mother’s womb. I like that idea of the house. When we are tired, we return to our home. As long as men and women need a house, architecture will continue to exist.1

—Mario Botta

The Swiss architect Mario Botta expresses an idea of the house that returns to fundamentals in a readily comprehensible way. The home is essential to human existence and architecture originates, at least in part, in this deep instinctual need. Home design is also an obvious place to develop innovation in architecture. A single client (or two) puts his or her hopes and dreams in the hands of an architect. New ideas can emerge much more freely from this process than is the case for corporate or public buildings, which require the intervention of large numbers of persons or institutions. A house, even a large one, poses few of the problems that limit the creativity of architects when they deal with bigger, more expensive projects. House design allows younger architects to emerge, free of the prejudice that dictates that more “important” buildings must be designed by architects who have already proven their ability to confront the bureaucratic and public complexities inherent in bigger projects.

The houses selected for this volume may be relatively large (and expensive) on the whole, but not only. New architecture and its innovations are clearly not limited to costly houses. There are also occasions where a lack of resources can encourage creativity and problem solving.

1

Mario Botta in conversation with the author, Lugano, Switzerland, August 16, 1998.

AN IRREVOCABLE CONDITION: CONTEMPORARY HOUSES OF THE WORLD The house contains within its very definition the idea of protection—like a cave carved out of a mountain, or a mother’s womb. I like that idea of the house. When we are tired, we return to our home. As long as men and women need a house, architecture will continue to exist.1

—Mario Botta

The Swiss architect Mario Botta expresses an idea of the house that returns to fundamentals in a readily comprehensible way. The home is essential to human existence and architecture originates, at least in part, in this deep instinctual need. Home design is also an obvious place to develop innovation in architecture. A single client (or two) puts his or her hopes and dreams in the hands of an architect. New ideas can emerge much more freely from this process than is the case for corporate or public buildings, which require the intervention of large numbers of persons or institutions. A house, even a large one, poses few of the problems that limit the creativity of architects when they deal with bigger, more expensive projects. House design allows younger architects to emerge, free of the prejudice that dictates that more “important” buildings must be designed by architects who have already proven their ability to confront the bureaucratic and public complexities inherent in bigger projects.

The houses selected for this volume may be relatively large (and expensive) on the whole, but not only. New architecture and its innovations are clearly not limited to costly houses. There are also occasions where a lack of resources can encourage creativity and problem solving.

1

Mario Botta in conversation with the author, Lugano, Switzerland, August 16, 1998.

Design Collective Architects (DCA)

HOUSE 68 Tropical architecture is not to shield and protect the users away from the elements but to enhance and bridge the experience and the relationship between them.

Selangor, Malaysia | 2019

Design Collective Architects (DCA)

HOUSE 68 Tropical architecture is not to shield and protect the users away from the elements but to enhance and bridge the experience and the relationship between them.

Selangor, Malaysia | 2019

This large house was designed as a series of pavilions connected by open terraces and water gardens. The pavilions are devoted to functions such as entertainment, living, service, and a guest area, and can be individually closed off when not in use. Built on a 37,545-square-foot (3,488-square-meter) site, the house has a gross floor area of 23,099 square feet (2,146 square meters) and is intended to be able to evolve over time as the family configuration changes.

The living areas have walls that open to allow cross ventilation, a frequent feature in Malaysia’s warm climate. Verandas and a cantilevered roof provide shade while façades with pine louvers give a degree of transparency combined with air flow. As the architects state, “The concept of pavilions is a very common approach to tropical architecture.

The fragmented planning allows for permeability and effective air flow through and around the building cooling and refreshing the interior of the house. The planning naturally creates outdoor spaces and courtyards that binds the programs of the pavilion with the outside and activates the in-between spaces more effectively.” The semi-enclosed, naturally ventilated space expands the available areas for use by the family and brings the dense Malaysian vegetation into the residence.

The architects conclude, “This project explores the idea of a modern tropical home where the architecture is exposed to the natural elements that surrounds it. Light, air, water, and garden can permeate and pass through the house through its courtyards, air wells, ventilated walls, windows, and timber screens. The degree of permeability is controlled to an extent: the interior spaces retain their comfort levels and do not suffer from excessive heat gain or moisture levels.

Tropical architecture is not to shield and protect the users away from the elements but to enhance and bridge the experience and the relationship between them.”

Section

0

10 M

73

This large house was designed as a series of pavilions connected by open terraces and water gardens. The pavilions are devoted to functions such as entertainment, living, service, and a guest area, and can be individually closed off when not in use. Built on a 37,545-square-foot (3,488-square-meter) site, the house has a gross floor area of 23,099 square feet (2,146 square meters) and is intended to be able to evolve over time as the family configuration changes.

The living areas have walls that open to allow cross ventilation, a frequent feature in Malaysia’s warm climate. Verandas and a cantilevered roof provide shade while façades with pine louvers give a degree of transparency combined with air flow. As the architects state, “The concept of pavilions is a very common approach to tropical architecture.

The fragmented planning allows for permeability and effective air flow through and around the building cooling and refreshing the interior of the house. The planning naturally creates outdoor spaces and courtyards that binds the programs of the pavilion with the outside and activates the in-between spaces more effectively.” The semi-enclosed, naturally ventilated space expands the available areas for use by the family and brings the dense Malaysian vegetation into the residence.

The architects conclude, “This project explores the idea of a modern tropical home where the architecture is exposed to the natural elements that surrounds it. Light, air, water, and garden can permeate and pass through the house through its courtyards, air wells, ventilated walls, windows, and timber screens. The degree of permeability is controlled to an extent: the interior spaces retain their comfort levels and do not suffer from excessive heat gain or moisture levels.

Tropical architecture is not to shield and protect the users away from the elements but to enhance and bridge the experience and the relationship between them.”

Section

0

10 M

73

A large open terrace binds the main living/dining area with the outdoors, where the large permeable space is flanked by water gardens.

A large open terrace binds the main living/dining area with the outdoors, where the large permeable space is flanked by water gardens.

Robert Koniezcny | KWK Promes

FROM THE GARDEN HOUSE The garden is allowed to flow into an internal courtyard creating a link between the surroundings and the architecture.

Laka, Poland | 2020

Robert Koniezcny | KWK Promes

FROM THE GARDEN HOUSE The garden is allowed to flow into an internal courtyard creating a link between the surroundings and the architecture.

Laka, Poland | 2020

The affirmed straight lines of the house are willfully contrasted with the irregularity of the pre-existing Japanese-style garden.

The affirmed straight lines of the house are willfully contrasted with the irregularity of the pre-existing Japanese-style garden.

The home is essential to human existence and architecture originates, at least in part, in this deep instinctual need. Home design is also an obvious place to develop innovation in architecture. The American author James Baldwin speculated in his 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room that “Perhaps home is not a place, but simply an irrevocable condition.” From one end of the world to the other these houses may vary in size and cost, but they share the conditions of shelter, comfort, and return to essentials.

—Philip Jodidio

Photography Nelson Garrido (Aires Mateus, House in Monsaraz)

$75.00 [USA] £55.00 [GB]