'One+' by Add-A-Room

Lars Frank Nielsen architect and founder of the Danish practice ONEN Design has designed this modular architectural system for the Swedish company Add-A-Room. The houses can be ordered in different modules with specific functions and be composed according to the user’s requirements. They are prefabricated in Sweden in collaboration with mainly Scandinavian companies and with the use of local materials.

'One+' by Add-A-Room

'ONE+' by Add-A-Room

The smallest unit with 15 sqm, 'ONE+' by Add-A-Room

Two units with an outdoor cooking module

Two units, arranged long ways, connected through the outdoor cooking module

to the Add-A-Room website

seen @ Dagens Design

'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager

North of the island Zealand is traditionally the area where people from Copenhagen have a small and lo-fi summerhouse. The Copenhagen based practice Primus Arkitekter recently realised this modest 75m2 example which is characterised by the typical wooden cladding, large openings and several skylights.

'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager

But let’s see what the architects have to say:


Layout
With 2 bedrooms it offers a total of 75 m2 of living space. The plot is a partitioning of a larger plot belonging to an old thatched house and is partly enclosed by trees. The two buildings in each end of the plot, is inhabited by two generations, share the garden, and in the layout of the site plan attention has been given to providing both separate and common spaces.


Architectural focus
The main focus has been to add spatiality and experience of light to the relatively small program. The plan sets the bedrooms apart from the large living space and introduces an open hallway. Diagonal views stretch out through the whole building. In working with the section ceiling height is minimized to give contrast to the “sky-boxes” that add spatiality and air.
The large glazed openings incorporate the sky as a 5th façade. Large sliding doors merges the in- and outside

'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager

Construction
The balloon frame construction sits on the exposed concrete base. 30 x 30 mm oak lists wrap the building. The lists are treated with iron sulfate which darkens and enhances the structure of the wood.
Floor boards are oak as well. Insulation is mineral wool, roof 300 mm, walls 150 mm.


Heating is provided by a heat pump integrated in the wall, reducing heating costs and CO2 emission. The “sky-boxes” ventilate the space trough natural chimney effect. A cast iron stove is for additional heating.

'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager

'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager

'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager

Design team:

Architect: Primus architects, atelier + production
Per Appel (architect maa, partner), David Bülow-Jacobsen (architect maa, partner), Caspar Wissing (student of architecture)
All construction: Primus architects, atelier + production


to the Primus Arkitekter profile @ Architonic

'Les Aventuriers' by Shun Hirayama Architecture, photo by Daici Ano

This single family villa in in Kanagawa Prefecture on a mountainside that overviews a sea and a city was designed by the Tokyo based practice Shun Hirayama Architecture. It is composed of individual volumes which are connected through tight and angled accesses, bridges and corridors. 

'Les Aventuriers' by Shun Hirayama Architecture, photo by Daici Ano

“We forwarded the design, piling up stories little by little, as if animals create their nest steadily. The traces of the thoughts and processes appear remarkably. In the interior of the building that was shaped to fit the landform, walls set in diverse angles, various ceiling heights and ten different floor levels exist and in the each space dissimilar shades live. The wind that enters inside the one-room interior space feels like they came between trees, and it feels like sitting on a natural stump, when sitting on a slight level difference. 

Les aventuriers” is a title of a story that tours a creation of the house on this particular site”, explains Shun Hirayama.

'Les Aventuriers' by Shun Hirayama Architecture, photo by Daici Ano

'Les Aventuriers' by Shun Hirayama Architecture, photo by Daici Ano

'Les Aventuriers' by Shun Hirayama Architecture, photo by Katsuhisa Kida / FOTOTECA

to the Shun Hirayama Architecture profile @ Architonic

Tetris Haus by Plasma Studio Architects, photo by Cristobal Palma

This multi-family complex in San Candido / Italy was realised by the London based Plasma Studio Architects.

Tetris Haus by Plasma Studio Architects, photo by Cristobal Palma

“Tetris House is derived from turning very pragmatic parameters into a spatially engaging concept: multiple programmatic demands (five self-contained units, parking space and other covered exterior areas) have initiated two volumes. L-shaped in plan and section they are spatially interwoven as to produce a range of dynamic in-between spaces.”

Tetris Haus by Plasma Studio Architects, photo by Cristobal Palma

“The building volumes cantilever about five meters out to provide covered parking. The structural forces are legible in the development of the wall and ceiling planes. 

The local larch is used with a white tint throughout the interior. The sloped elevation continues as a built-in sideboard that turns into a series of steps and a plinth beneath the internal stairs.”

Tetris Haus by Plasma Studio Architects, photo by Cristobal Palma

Tetris Haus by Plasma Studio Architects, photo by Cristobal Palma

Tetris Haus by Plasma Studio Architects, photo by Cristobal Palma

to the Plasma Studio Architects profile @ Architonic

Photos by vladstudio

When Jules Vernes travelled through the southern fringes of the taiga and arrived in Irkutsk he found there a “giant storehouse of goods of all kinds that are traded in China, Central Asia and Europe”. His words are true – in Irkutsk, a city which politically lies within Asia but is culturally much more influenced by Europe, you come to realise what the word “Eurasian” means. As a Russian colonial settlement the city is an outpost of Europe within Asia.

Photos by vladstudio

Architecturally this is documented by those picturesque, elaborately decorated wooden houses from the nineteenth century which survived the great fire of 1879. Originally these two-storey buildings were proud urban villas, but today these crumbling dwellings are home mainly to the poor. Here are some impressions of Irkutsk, the “pearl of Siberia”.

Photos by vladstudio

Seen at materialicious

Photos by vladstudio