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THE GOAL IS TO BRING A COMFORTABLE, BEAUTIFUL SPACE TO THE OWNERS’ LIFE
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aRA Architects’ designs fuse honest materials with spatial harmony for unforgettable living environments
PHOTO BY PANTEA ATELIER
smells,” says Roy. “Sometimes, some materials have a distinct smell, like cedar wood, and maybe that sparks your imagination or brings back a good memory from your childhood or from ten years ago. It’s all about how you create a better space and a safer space.” Although he has designed high-profile projects all over the world, it is often home design that proves to be the most challenging because of the many elements that must work just perfectly together. Besides responding to a client’s needs, another important aspect is responding to the context. Where is the house going to be? Designing a home for the centre of a city will require an entirely different approach than one for a country or suburban property. The aRA goal is to bring everything into harmony. “The most difficult projects I design are houses, because you have a combination of all spaces in one entity,” says Roy. “You have to create a space for sleep — is it calm? Is it quiet? Is it comfortable? A place to work or study, a place to cook, a place for socializing. All this combination has to work perfectly together. Functionality? Yes. Form? Yes. Space? Yes. But in the end, it is how you feel comfortable in all of those spaces. The goal is to bring a comfortable, beautiful space to the owners’ life.” The aRA approach to materials is to be as genuine as possible, an idea the firm expresses as “honest materials.” An aluminum panel might be made to look like wood or stone, but there is nothing like the feel of the real thing. Recycled wood or stone, examples of such honest materials, can be kinder to nature, and through various
40 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
2025 VOL. 29, ISSUE 2
