We borrow the descriptions from Arch daily: “The main entrance, garage, toilet for guests and a corridor are located to the north whereas bedroom, children room, living, dining and kitchen are to the south. Because of that all rooms enjoy a direct connection with the terrain separated by covered terrace.

Outside, the horizontal shutters from the south are echoed by the vertical rhythm of the wooden planks (Siberian larch). The interior is tougher: exposed concrete floors and ceilings, partition walls made of light concrete blocks painted in white, polycarbonate doors for the built-in furniture. Air-conditioning and the trays for the electric installation are also visible.” Read post in Arch daily.

While not the typical sustainable modern house, this renovated terrace house is another take on merging the contained interior and exterior spaces. The goal was to introduce more light into the living areas.

Ong and Ong describe the project this way, “To create a light open plan living space, whilst promoting Inside/outside space. The contrasting relationship between the metallic elements and subtle tones within the house create an exciting spatial relationship throughout.” Read post in Dezeen.

In recent stories Green Sage and Neal Creek we showed you two examples of modern homes built for the specific local setting and climate. Yet another example today is from PIQUE Architects.

The Whitten House sits on 10 acres in the mostly dry climate of Eastern Oregon. Two volumes make up the house, the bottom for sleeping, and the top volume is living space.

The house will capture rainwater and uses solar for heating. A low profile, tree shading, and house design allow the house to take advantage of passive cooling. While initially still tied to the grid, the house could expand solar capacity to cut the cord and go off grid. Read post in Arch Daily.

That pretty well describes their new minimalist house with a view over the serene Elliot Bay west of Seattle, and also the ever expanding “Emerald City skyline.”

EB1 we learn from G Living includes: Bosch and Bertazoni kitchen, custom VG Fir cabinetry, dynamic steel, glass, ebonized oak stair system, and floor to ceiling commercial grade windows. If this steal sounds good to you even at $895,000 you’re in luck because the house in currently on the market. Read post in G Living.

Working with a narrow sloping plot Tank developed three volumes on three different levels and linked them by a shared terrace.

The architects describe their project in Dezeen: “This project is located on a narrow and sloping plot, on the edge of a village. The way the house had to be laid out wasn’t an easy staff since the regulations and neighbourhood limits were restricting… to avoid a very long and narrow house, the project is splited in three parts, on semi levels using the natural slope.

The first part is on the same level as the road and includes the main hall, the laundry, the play-room, the garage, the cellar and the geothermal energy local.

The second one is 80cm above the slot with large views on the outstanding landscape all around, in north, east and west directions. It comprises the living spaces: living room, kitchen and dining room.

The third one is on top of the first part and offers rooms and bathrooms. This process answers to the very initial demand of the clients who wished a one-level-house.

The 3 parts of the house meet in a suspended patio which distributes the different spaces, creates multiple relations between them and articulates one to another. The patio is the central knot between the living spaces, the main hall and the rooms.”

Read post in Dezeen.

The almost entirely wood clad house leaves only space for protruding windows strategically placed to provide optimal views of the landscape and not the neighboring houses. Projected to be up and coming architects we look forward to more from Rocha Tombal.

Rocha Tombal describe their design this way,”From a basic form, defined by the municipal urban plan, sculptural “eyes” emerge with direct views to the varied countryside landscape. The form and orientation of the building avoid visual contact with the adjacent houses: at the ground floor the angled ceiling of the kitchen accentuates the intensive contact with the garden.”

View post and copyright photos at Dezeen.

This two bedroom house serves as a weekend retreat for the owners who are big windsurfing (the area is one of the best in the world) and snowboarding types that want to reduce their eco-footprint. We think this is a good way of doing just that.

A number of design decisions that help not to disturb the two acre parcel more than was necessary also serve other practical purposes. Elevating the house protects it from brush fire, creates storage below, and improves the view from the interior.

The house was built with mostly local, renewable, recyclable, and FSC certified wood. A rain screen protects the house from rain (did we say this was in Oregon), duel flush toilets reduce water usage, and a dual stage septic system saves the creek as waste water quality is monitored. Read post in GLiving.

Using the Victorian houses that surround their project as inspiration TAKA has built a very clean modern house that is customized for the family who will live in it – and a renovated Victorian house for the parents who share a garden next door.

The architects explain their inspiration like this, “The memories of the family are used as a conscious architectural driver throughout both houses. Their social rituals are given tangible form within the design of the new houses. Typical domestic objects are distorted in material and scale to form a psychological landscape specific to the occupants.” Read post in Dezeen.

Now German architects Anne Menke and Winkens Architekten have completed Haus+, an extension to an existing Siedlunghaus in Hameln, Germany that features a courtyard typology.

Architect Anne Menke described the house’s concept by saying, “We saw potential in the small rundown “Siedlungshaus”, decided to renovate it and take it as an opportunity to create an innovative contrasting addition. The new 110m2 extension is conceived as a simple volume that embraces the old.”

She goes on to describe the design goals, “The materiality of the extension is crucial for the contrast of the old and new to be expressed. The white simple look of the existing house forms a strong contrast to the striking copper cladding of the extension. Horizontal panels in several different widths enclose the new addition with its white plastered courtyard like a protective coil. The copper glows in warm lively colours, which change continuously with the weather and the years.”

The finished house is an example of borrowing from an older typology to create a new more functioning modern house while meeting the divergent wishes of both clients. Read post in Dezeen.

Borrowing from what mother nature gave Venice, a key design goal was to create a feeling of being outdoors even while being inside. This eliminated the needed for air conditioning.

Perhaps the greatest visual appeal comes from the new master bedroom extending out from the second story while creating a carport below. Clad with a living wall system, the volume is tied to the landscaped courtyard.

Green features include solar panels on the roof’s softscape, a high-efficiency combination boiler that supplies both radiant floor heating and hot water, low flush toilets, low VOC finishes throughout the house, and indigenous landscaping watered via captured rainwater. Read post in ArchDaily.