Benjamin Murua & Constanza Infante | Countryside House

Architects: Benjamín Murúa A. - Constanza Infante S.
Collaborator: Paula Phillips
Locaction: Lo Prado, Curacaví, Chile
Estructural Engineer: Luis Ignacio Correa P.
Construction company: Carlos Torres U.
Site Area: 3985 sqm
Constructed Area: 415 sqm
Project Year: 2006
Construction Year: 2007-2008
Photography: Cristóbal Palma

The expansion and renovation project of the countryside house is located on the road to Cuesta Lo Prado, on Curacavi city (Metropolitan Region). The building sits on a plain between the hills and the valley on a widely open space overlooking the hills on the east and the valley on the west.

Requirement was to expand the house adding 3 bedrooms and a sala but keeping the existing geometry intact. The objective of the project was to reuse and emphazise some elements of the Chilean houses of the early 20th century present in the pre-existing building like patios, galleries and open corridors.

The house had an “L” shape layout housing a sequence of bedrooms with a gallery on the east side and a open corridor on the west. This 2 circulations were use and extended to the north so as to integrate all with a second “L”where the new bedrooms and sala were included, connecting the old part with the new one with a threshold.

With this operation, the gallery took the place of the core circulation connecting all the areas but also as place to stay because of its width and orientation to the morning sun and the hills. On the other side, the corridor was extended to the garden overlooking the valley and protected from the heat during summer days. The bedrooms and the sala surround a patio that being enclosed becomes an inner court as an extension of the sala.

Once the gates that contain the space are opened, the garden blends with the geography of the hill, bringing it into the project. The configuration of the house allowed working with open corridors, galleries and patios and to give it a fresh look contemporary materials were use like glass, steel, wood and concrete.

The sofits disappeared and special constructive details use on the joints between the windows and the roof taking advantage of the lightness of the materials.

Thom Faulders Architects on "Deform House"

Deform House build by Thom Faulders Architect was brought on to consult on an efficient method for production and to then process and fabricate the individually pieced ceiling patterns.

The variegated ceiling and rear wall lining is composed of a series of milled patterns that modulates throughout the space, wrapping, bulging and aligning in continuously unique ways depending on the viewers position.

When Bay Area architect Thom Faulders was hired to renovate and enlarge a faux French house in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood in 2004, he received only one directive. “He said he needed walls, walls, walls for the artwork,” Faulders says of client Jeff Dauber, a Silicon Valley technologist with a sizable art collection. “Given that, I thought I’d take over the ceiling.”

Deform House is a third level addition and extensive renovation to an existing two level single-family residence in San Francisco. The function of the top floor is for a Private Art Gallery, with a new Master Suite considered as an integrated extension of this space. The addition is approximately 1,200 sq. ft., and is constrained by existing structural walls and neighboring structures.

With the need to maximize vertical wall surfaces for art, the design emphasizes the ceiling plane with a pattern of optically shifting grooves. Sheathing the entire top floor ceiling and rear wall, this lining unifies the spaces and is in contrast with the architectural neutrality of the smooth walls. An entry gate is perforated with a security warning written in binary code text.

The project is a third level addition and extensive renovation to an existing two level single-family residence in San Francisco. The function of the top floor is for a Private Art Gallery, with a new Master Suite considered as an integrated extension of this space.

The addition is approximately 1,200 sq. ft., and is constrained by existing structural walls and neighboring structures. With the need to maximize vertical wall surfaces for art, the design emphasizes the ceiling plane with a pattern of optically shifting grooves. Sheathing the entire top floor ceiling and rear wall, this lining unifies the spaces and is in contrast with the architectural neutrality of the smooth walls. An entry gate is perforated with a security warning written in binary code text.

Abby Suckle Architects | Boardman Residence

An interior renovation project by Abby Suckle Architects on 1957 House that was originally designed by John Nickols, this is an interior renovation. The plan was reconfigured to enlarge the public space by opening the kitchen. A new master bedroom suite was created.

Innovative for its day, the challenge of this project was to give the house a makeover, respect the original design and design intent and enhance it by bringing the house back to what it was. It was done on a budget.





















The house was published in Dwell-June, 2006 (Houses We Love). It received an Interiors Citation from the Boston Society of Architects and an Honor Award for Renovation from the Society for American Registered Architects in 2006. It was exhibited at Build Boston in November, 2006.






















The Boardmans’ house in Carlisle, Massachusetts, may have begun its life as an outcast but has since taken kindly to its wooded surroundings.

LTL Architects | Ohio House a Private Residence Wooster, Ohio

The renovation and addition by LTL Architects for an academic couple began with an existing home built in the 1950s. The clients have an extensive collection of films and books, which they wanted to store and display more effectively; the original layout broke the house into many small rooms that no longer served their needs.



























The design solution was a combination of a complete renovation and the addition of three elements which logically expanded the house. Partition walls separating the kitchen and living room were removed, creating a single large living, dining and kitchen area to facilitate entertaining.





















The sculptural additions are all clad in western red cedar designed to transition from the hip-roof into a carved volume. The ample interior cabinetry utilizes multiple built-in cabinets and drawers to maximize the efficiency of storage for the clients.














Project Detail :
Ohio House a Private Residence Wooster, Ohio
Construction: 2003
2300 sq. ft.
Architects : LTL Architects, Ohio House

Modern Minimalist design by Studio MG Architects

This is another Studio MG Architects remodelling project besides Victorian House, The Architects created this modern home after difficult negotiations with the planners in this conservation area. Their client wanted a modern minimalist design, and a glass wall to their garage to showcase their car, which is the same colour as their sofa.






















The retractable glass doors and use of terrazzo inside and outside allows the garden to feel part of the living room. A basement cinema and roof garden with electronic retractable roof completes this James Bond type house.



















Client: Private
Architect: Studio MG Architects
Construction cost: £ 1.2m
Constuction time: 48 weeks

Studio MG Architects Refurbishment Project

This is a refurbishment / remodelling project on a Victorian House, London by Studio MG Architects. Studio MG Architects is london based architects specializing in high-end residential projects. Inspiring design on time and within budget. with a reputation for winning difficult planning approvals. they create bespoke houses for individual clients.The Studio MG Architects were commissioned to carry out the complete refurbishment of a terraced house in a conservation area.























All materials use to the highest specification including marble, terrazzo and made to measure steel worktops. A huge glass sliding wall in thes kitchen fully retracts to create a dramatic inside and outside space blending the architecturally designed garden into the kitchen.

























Client: Private
Architect: Studio MG Architects
Construction cost: £ 350,000
Constuction time: 35 weeks

LILYFIELD HOUSE by Nobbs Radford Architects

Lillyfield House is another great residential project from australian architect nobbs radford architects in an inner city area of Sydney, Australia. This project is an addition to an original weatherboard house which maintains it's integrity as a larger worker's cottage with narrow weatherboards and functional details. The new addition is a reinterpretation of the two storey cottage replacing the previous utilities 'lean to' with a new form which echoes the existing.
























This new space incorporates a living area with a children's loft above, study nook, kitchen and dining area. The living area and loft are connected by a void which forms the termination of the circulation spine extending from the exisiting corridor through to the new spaces.































































The addition is clad in a wide vertical steel "weatherboard" on commercial buildings but here viewed as an appropriate response to both historical and visual contexts. Design decisions were driven by references to existing fabric, orientation, axis of movement and, importantly, the intersection of new and old forms.

Niland Residence, Austin Texas by Andersson Wise

This project was an extensive renovation of an existing residence built in the late 1980's on a wooded site in West Austin. The project consisted primarily of redesigning the living and dining rooms and the master suite within the interior and a complete redesign of the swimming pool and entry deck for the exterior.


































Interior materials and surfaces were designed with an eye towards simplicity and to highlight the owner's art collection; white plaster walls and ceilings in the living and dining rooms were carefully shaped to diffuse the harsh Texas sunlight from existing skylight, which previously allowed too much uncontrolled light.






























































Finnaly the master suite was completely refurbished with a new study, master bedroom, closet and bath. The bath included a cantilever wenge wood lavatory counter. Link here.

The Slat House | Private Residence | By Turner Castle

The Flat House is a building Extension and refurbishment project that was designed by Turner in Blackheath, London. Expansion of a small semi-detached house on a large piece of land in Blackheath. The modular expansion wood wraps around the side of the semi-detached house, it peeps through the adjacent trees in the back garden and offers access to the terrace.



The first floor of the extension project has create a fourth bedroom and second bathroom.
The ground floor has been dramatically restructured with a new playroom and a library for the client extensive collection of books and fine art prints. The kitchen and dining area is back in the expansion and the benefits from unobstructed view of the garden. The interiors are made with furniture and storage space designed by Turner Castle.







Project Descri
The Slat House
Private Residential refurbishment and extension
Design and construction
Client: private
Blackheath, London, 2006.