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Inaba Williams creates mirrored stucco-clad residences in California
CategoriesSustainable News

Inaba Williams creates mirrored stucco-clad residences in California

By Zarkon Group,

US studio Inaba Williams Architects has created two mirrored houses with courtyards in Santa Monica, California that are clad in white stucco and have net-zero energy use, according to the studio.

Completed in 2023, the twin five-bedroom houses measure 3,900 square feet (362 square metres) each and are divided by a privacy wall and rectangular lap pools.

Woman running in front of white stucco house rising out of hedgesWoman running in front of white stucco house rising out of hedges
Inaba Williams Architects has completed two white-stucco-clad houses in Santa Monica

Brooklyn-based practice Inaba Williams Architects followed strategies laid out in Title 24 – California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards – to create net-zero emissions houses “better suited to our future climate conditions”.

“Having far fewer windows, the buildings reduce heat gain and energy use, while allowing residents to enjoy indoor outdoor living,” the studio told Dezeen. “With less need for air conditioning and generous access to landscaped areas, they offer a more natural, less tempered experience with the environment.”

White stucco home with small tree and soaking pool in courtyardWhite stucco home with small tree and soaking pool in courtyard
The two structures are mirrors of each other and are divided by a courtyard with a privacy wall in the middle

Set on 40-foot (12-metre) wide lots, the linear homes measure only 20 feet (6 metres) at their widest, leaving plenty of space for outdoor areas on either side of the house for residents to enjoy.

Residents enter from a small courtyard on the outside street-edge corner of the lot into a rounded entryway that passes directly into the main exterior courtyard.

White stucco home with open doorWhite stucco home with open door
The studio said the home has achieved net-zero emissions

At the northern end of the site lies a small two-storey volume that holds a media room and a private suite.

Moving deeper into the house, the living, dining and kitchen areas are collected into an open-plan space with windows and sliding doors that look onto the outdoor areas – including a dining patio – which bring daylight in from three sides.

Living room with pool seen through courtyard doorsLiving room with pool seen through courtyard doors
The white of the exterior continues inside

A bedroom suite, garage, and a secluded zen garden hold the southern edge of the site.

Above, a family room and terrace sit at the top of the staircase in the centre of the plan. Two suites are located on the rear of the site, while the primary suite takes up the rest of the level with a private embedded balcony.

Bedroom with white walls and minimalist furnitureBedroom with white walls and minimalist furniture
Wood flooring was used for the top floor

“The courtyards are the focal point of the side-by-side homes,” the team said. “Following the Energy Standards’ option to use glass on just 20 per cent of the exterior surface area, the limited amount of glazing is concentrated around these central outdoor areas. “

Positioned to maximize daylight, the courtyards and auxiliary areas capitalise on the coastal location’s mild climate and can be used every day.

Curved white windowsCurved white windows
Windows were strategically placed to maximise light and limit heat gains and losses

“Similarly, taking into account the solar path, the building massings let ample sunshine into the courtyards over the day and year,” the team said.

The all-white houses have simple materials to accentuate their forms, with stucco on the exterior. White walls and terrazzo and hardwood floors feature on the interiors. The coving along the ceiling is made of glass fibre-reinforced concrete from a local vendor.

Skylight over oak staircase in white Santa Monica homeSkylight over oak staircase in white Santa Monica home
The houses were constructed under California’s Title 24 guidlines

Outside, brick pavers are set in a herringbone pattern that provides a soft geometrical detail to the smooth forms and green planted beds add color and texture.

Combined with the low glass-to-surface area building envelope, root-mounted solar panels help the homes meet California’s Zero Net Energy criteria, however hitting performance metrics wasn’t the team’s driving force.

“We think the more approaches there are to creating a sustainable future the better, and the Standards could have a cumulative climate benefit,” the studio said. “Just as the New York 1916 Zoning Resolution shaped the highrise tower type, California’s Energy Code can help shape the house type by being a framework for experimenting with its form and layout.”

“Its requirements can be guidelines to think inventively about climate-oriented design – to evolve our collective thinking about the type in a positive way.”

White walls along street of Santa Monica houseWhite walls along street of Santa Monica house
Exterior walls provide privacy for extensive outdoor space

Other recently built courtyard houses in Santa Monica include a brick house centred around a decades-old olive tree by Woods + Dangaran and a cedar- and zinc-clad L-shaped home by Walker Warner Architects.

The photography is by Brandon Shigeta.

Project credits:

Design architect: Jeffrey Inaba, Darien Williams, Sharon Leung, Nabila Morales Perez, Yasamin Mayyas, James Brillon, Andre Macias-Yanez
Executive architect and general contractor: Modative
Civil engineer: Obando and Associates
Structural engineer: Gouvis
Title 24 consultant: Title 24 Guys
Landscape architect: Studio H2O

Reference

Note Design Studio enriches Cloudy Outlines aparmtent with curvy stucco
CategoriesInterior Design

Note Design Studio enriches Cloudy Outlines aparmtent with curvy stucco

By Zarkon Group,

Note Design Studio has updated this formerly characterless apartment in Stockholm to feature bespoke Douglas fir joinery and curvy stucco ceilings designed to suggest cloud formations.

Although the Cloudy Outlines apartment sits within a building dating back to 1842, Note Design Studio says the interior had been stripped of any historic charm and “traces of craftsmanship” during previous renovations.

Kitchen interior of Cloudy Outlines apartment by Note Design Studio
Douglas fir joinery appears throughout the Cloudy Outlines apartment

It also had a poor layout, with a living area that could only be accessed via a dark, lengthy corridor snaking around the back of the apartment while the remaining rooms were awkwardly shaped and difficult to furnish.

The studio decided to redesign the home from scratch, knocking down all of its internal walls to form a more cohesive floor plan.

Interior of Cloudy Outlines apartment by Note Design Studio
The apartment’s corridor was repositioned to allow for more natural light

The corridor was repositioned to run parallel to the building’s window-lined facade and, as a result, is now flooded with natural light.

Rooms were classically finished with white-painted walls and Douglas fir flooring.

Dining room interior of Cloudy Outlines apartment by Note Design Studio
Curved stucco gives the ceilings a soft, cloud-like quality

Billowy stucco moulding was added throughout to give a soft “cloudy” quality to the ceilings and provide a contrast with the “rationality and material robustness” of the apartment, the studio explained.

“With the previous interior and finishes removed, a new holistic design was developed with a limited amount of design principles, all with a timeless ambition,” Note Design Studio said.

In the kitchen, Douglas fir was used again to create simple cupboards and a striking circular cover for the extractor fan.

The countertop, on the other hand, is overlaid with a sleek metallic finish.

Hallway of Stockholm apartment by Note Design Studio with wooden door
Furnishings in pastel hues disrupt the otherwise neutral colour scheme

All of the apartment’s doors, as well as its window sills, are also made from Douglas fir.

The material palette only deviates slightly in the bathroom, which features grey-tile surfaces and flecked terrazzo-like flooring.

Bedroom interior of Cloudy Outlines apartment by Note Design Studio
The stucco effect can also be seen in the bedroom

The Cloudy Outlines apartment is one of several residential renovations that Note Design Studio has completed in the Swedish capital, where the firm is based.

Among them is Habitat 100 – an apartment littered with references to the Swedish Grace movement – and the Mantelpiece Loft, which is distinguished by its colour-block bedrooms.

The photography is courtesy of the studio.

Reference

Masquespacio designs restaurant with stucco walls and terracotta pathway
CategoriesInterior Design

Masquespacio designs restaurant with stucco walls and terracotta pathway

By Zarkon Group,

The beauty of Spain’s Aragon province informed the earthy colour palette, natural materials and curved forms used in this fine-dining restaurant interior by Valencia studio Masquespacio.


Located in the city of Huesca, Pukkel serves up a menu of healthy food and, according to the owners, aims to offer “a sensorial experience beyond the gastronomy.”

Valencia studio Masquespacio designed the project
Pukkel is a fine dining restaurant

The interior uses a palette of natural materials and colours and undulating, textured forms that are intended to reflect the beauty of the nearby Pyrenees mountains and surrounding countryside.

“After doing a workshop with [Pukkel’s owners], Jorge and Mikel, we immediately proposed to work with 100 per cent natural materials and integrate nature into the space,” said Christophe Penasse, co-founder of Masquespacio.

Pukkel is in Huesca
Textured surfaces reference the nearby Pyrenees mountains

As well as the natural landscape, the designers wanted the interiors to reflect the restaurant’s healthy cuisine.

“We investigated the province of Huesca and started to discover the beauty of the mountains and parks in its surroundings,” added Masquespacio creative director Ana Hernández.

“We definitely found the reference we were looking for and that fitted perfectly with the healthy lifestyle concept from Pukkel.”

The design studio selected different tones of brown, white and green that are used alongside gold accents, which it said add a “little bit of sophistication” to the space.

The restaurant’s layout follows the curved lines and circular forms of the booth seating to create a winding pathway through the space. According to the designers, this is intended to create the feeling of walking through the forest or mountains.

Masquespacio designed a winding path from terracotta tiles
Dark green is combined with lighter tones

This curved path is further highlighted by the colour of the floor tiles, which change from natural terracotta to glazed green or white in the different seating areas.

Uneven surface finishes such as rough stucco, ceramic and terracotta tiles are used to reflect the textures and forms found in nature. The terracotta tiles on the floors, bars and the undulating tiles on the walls were designed specially by Masquespacio for Pukkel.

Masquespacio injected green accents into the restaurant
Terracotta tiles wind through the space

The stucco seating booths feature integrated planters filled with plants and flowers that will change depending on the season.

Other restaurants designed by the studio include the Milan outpost of Italian fast-food chain Bun, where it selected a lilac and avocado-green colour scheme to create a youthful yet “sophisticated” interior, and a tropical sushi restaurant in Valencia, Spain, that mixes Japanese and Brazilian-inspired design elements.

Reference