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City of Tomorrow: 8 Stunning Icons of Singapore's Futuristic Architecture
CategoriesArchitecture

City of Tomorrow: 8 Stunning Icons of Singapore’s Futuristic Architecture

By Zarkon Group,
City of Tomorrow: 8 Stunning Icons of Singapore's Futuristic Architecture

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters.

Singapore’s architectural landscape reflects a rich fusion of diverse influences. This island city-state boasts a skyline adorned with new skyscrapers, garden homes and innovative designs that respond to cultural traditions and tropical weather. Singapore has also undertaken ambitious public and civic building initiatives to address climate change and rapid growth. By looking to the future of the city and the country, architects are imagining new building forms and spaces, architecture that feels progressive, futuristic and inventive.

Singapore gained independence from Malaysia in 1965 and has since grown into a highly prosperous country. It is not part of any larger nation but stands as an independent and sovereign state. Incorporating design elements from different cultures and regions like Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Western traditions, the city-state’s architecture is iconic and varied. It ranges from vernacular homes and local hybrid shophouses to modern concrete and glass high-rises. Taking a glimpse into the city’s design culture, the following eight projects highlight the futuristic and inspiring architectural icons found across Singapore.

The House of Remembrance

By Neri & Hu, Singapore

Jury Winner, 10th Annual A+Awards, Private House (M 2000 – 4000 sq ft)

Neri&Hu were tasked with creating a private residence that would accommodate three adult siblings while preserving the memory of their childhood home. The previous British colonial bungalow with Malay and Victorian influences inspired the new design. Retaining the pitched roof’s symbolic significance, the two-story house organizes communal spaces around a central garden, serving as a memorial for their late mother. The ground level emphasizes visual transparency, connecting living spaces to the lush perimeter gardens, while sliding glass doors provide cross ventilation and direct access to outdoor spaces.

The upper level, featuring pitched-roof forms, houses private bedrooms and establishes a visual connection between public and private realms. A carved void in the roof volume frames a small tree, symbolizing the central memorial garden. The exterior transitions from smooth to board-formed concrete, emphasizing balconies and sky wells. The circular ground floor circulation enhances the experience, reinforcing the garden’s symbolic role as the heart of the home, providing a return to the center both spiritually and physically.

Learning Hub, Nanyang Technological University

By Heatherwick Studio, Singapore

Heatherwick Studio’s Learning Hub was designed to be a new multi-use building for the NTU campus. The university specifically requested a distinctive design tailored to modern learning approaches. In response, the team crafted a structure that would foster collaboration among students and professors from diverse disciplines. The result is an architecture that blends social and learning areas, creating spaces for spontaneous interactions between students and professors. Twelve towers, each a stack of rounded tutorial rooms, taper inwards at their base around a spacious central atrium.

The Learning Hub aims to serve as a nexus where students in Singapore may encounter potential future business partners or collaborate on innovative ideas. The classrooms were conceived by NTU to support interactive small group teaching and active learning. The rooms boast a flexible layout, allowing professors to customize configurations for enhanced student engagement, and facilitating seamless collaboration among students. Opening onto the shared circulation space around the atrium, the rooms are interspersed with open areas and informal garden terraces, fostering visual connectivity among students while providing spaces for gathering together.

The Discovery Slides

By Carve, Singapore

Carve and Playpoint were the designers behind a new slide attraction inside the Jewel Changi Airport. The attraction, situated in the Canopy Park on the highest level of the new development in front of Terminal 1, is part of a comprehensive project that includes a shopping mall, attraction park and garden. The Canopy Park features over 1,400 trees and palms alongside various other attractions, aiming to enhance the overall airport experience and entice travelers to choose Singapore’s Changi airport over others.

Carve’s original concept for the playground was like a sculpture with carved-out sections revealing a colored interior. The playground serves a dual purpose, acting as both a gem balancing on the fifth ring of Jewel and a hidden slide attraction. The sinuous shell evolved into a polished steel skin. The structure’s continuous form amplifies its surroundings, offering surreal reflections for visitors. The viewing deck provides a vantage point within the complex, attracting crowds, social media enthusiasts and families seeking adventure and play in Singapore. It features four slides, including a family slide, a steep drop slide and two glass-covered spiral slides.

Cornwall Gardens

By CHANG Architects, Singapore


This multi-generational home by CHANG Architects is designed as an open tropical paradise, fostering an I-Thou relationship with nature. The house seamlessly integrates plants, water features and living spaces to share the same space, promoting a sustainable and wellness-oriented environment. The foyer, once plagued by a leaking retaining wall, is transformed into a green courtyard with a waterfall feature, offering a lush welcome to visitors.

Utilizing existing terrain, the house incorporates built-ups as planters for tropical fruit trees, creating a green oasis with landscape decks, cascading planters, and a bio pool. The planted verandahs and planter bridge not only enhance aesthetics but also provide sun-shade and privacy. Serving as a popular gathering spot, the house has attracted biodiversity, embodying a contemporary tropical living experience achieved through collaboration between the client and the design team. It’s neo-tropical approach is emblematic of design ideas and culture in Singapore.

Sky Habitat

By Safdie Architects, Singapore

Safdie Architects have long reimagined what contemporary living environments can be. For Sky Habitat, the team redefined urban living with a three-dimensional matrix of homes. The project features terraces, balconies, and communal gardens that infuse every level with landscape, light, and air. The stepped form mimics a hillside town, providing units with diverse orientations, natural ventilation, and expansive views. In contrast to typical high-density buildings, Sky Habitat prioritizes resident well-being by offering amenities such as swimming pools, playgrounds, gardens and communal spaces for family gatherings.

Three bridging sky gardens connect the towers, creating a network of interconnected streets and terraces in the air, fostering common recreation and congregation spaces. The porous massing allows breezes to flow through, while the stepping geometry provides multiple orientations and spacious private terraces for residents. The ground level, above a sunken parking podium, is transformed into lush gardens, encompassing outdoor event areas, swimming pools, a tennis court and walking paths, making Sky Habitat a harmonious blend of nature and urban living.

Ascent, Singapore Science Park

By S333 and Limelight atelier, Singapore

The building concept for the Ascent Science Park focuses on legibility and drawing visitors in during all hours on the campus. A key part of the conceptual strategy for the mixed-use development building was lighting: varied-height translucent glass modules in the facade spandrel encircling the central courtyard serve as a rainscreen, sheltered arcade, and lighting feature. Designed by UK Architecture firm S333, the guiding concept aimed to create a highly efficient scheme that encourages spill over activities at night.

Ascent consists of office headquarters, retail, restaurants and a pharmacy. These programs are set around courtyards, gardens and plazas; Ascent’s upper levels provide large, deep-plan space for offices and laboratories, while lower levels offer exhibition, hosting and event spaces. Overcoming structural constraints and maximizing tenancy spaces, a row of LED lights, concealed at the top of the openable spandrel capping, directs light downward to the courtyard with minimized hotspots. Ascent Science Park was awarded the Building Construction Authority of Singapore’s Greenmark Platinum award in 2015.

Gardens by the Bay

By WilkinsonEyre, Singapore

Early concept ideas for the masterplan for Gardens by the Bay in Singapore were inspired by the orchid (the national flower of Singapore). WilkinsonEyre, part of the winning team in the design competition, played a pivotal role in creating the Cooled Conservatory Complex. This iconic structure, at the heart of the Bay South Garden, features two of the world’s largest climate-controlled glasshouses.

The Flower Dome showcases a cool-dry Mediterranean Zone, while the Cloud Forest presents a cool-wet tropical montane, highlighting flora susceptible to climate change. The collaborative effort with Grant Associates, Atelier One, and Atelier Ten resulted in a unique design featuring a gridshell and arched steel ribs. The conservatories operate as carbon-positive structures, utilizing bio-mass for building services, contributing to Singapore’s vision of becoming a city-in-a-garden.

Marina One, Singapore

By ingenhoven associates, Singapore

“Marina One” stands as a groundbreaking model for urban living and working, particularly in tropical mega-cities grappling with population growth and climate change. The 400,000-square-meter high-density complex, comprising four high-rise buildings, establishes the “Green Heart” — a multi-story public space showcasing a three-dimensional green oasis inspired by tropical flora diversity. The strategic collaboration between ingenhoven architects and landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman resulted in natural ventilation and an innovative climate strategy, as well as a landscaped area surpassing the original site surface.

Marina One integrates office, residential and retail functions, offering a total of 1,042 city apartments and penthouses. With iconic louvres and lush planting, the building complex enhances the microclimate, fosters biodiversity, and mirrors a rainforest’s vertical climate changes. The “Green Heart” features over 350 plant varieties and 700 trees on a 37,000-square-meter landscaped area, providing a habitat for various animal species. This vibrant hub includes retail spaces, fitness facilities, and dining options, promoting social interaction within a harmonious atmosphere. The design prioritizes energy efficiency and sustainable transportation, with direct connections to mass transit and eco-friendly commuting options.

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters.

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Architectural Gems: Explore the Stunning Winners of the 6th "Best of LaCantina" Competition!
CategoriesArchitecture

Architectural Gems: Explore the Stunning Winners of the 6th “Best of LaCantina” Competition!

By Zarkon Group,
Architectural Gems: Explore the Stunning Winners of the 6th "Best of LaCantina" Competition!

Architizer is excited to reveal the champions of one of the year’s most inspiring architectural design contests!

Returning for its sixth year, the renowned Best of LaCantina Design Competition attracted submissions from innovative architecture and design firms across the United States. Each participant seamlessly incorporated LaCantina’s exquisite doors and windows into their projects in inventive ways. Although the entries varied in location, building type and scale, they all shared a commonality: The ingenious integration of LaCantina products, fostering a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, accentuated by using beautiful and durable materials.

Taking the coveted Best in Show title this year is the Society Hotel in Bingen, Washington, designed by Waechter Architecture. As part of their winnings, the firm will enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the 2024 AIA Conference, covering both travel and accommodation. Be sure to stay tuned for an in-depth exploration of their award-winning project, which will soon be featured on Architizer!

Without further ado, delve into each winning design from this year’s competition — projects that truly embody “The Best of LaCantina.”

Best in Show and Best Commercial Project: Society Hotel by Waechter Architecture, Bingen, Washington

Photos by Lara Swimmer

Located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, The Society Hotel offers stunning views of the river, surrounding hills and basalt outcroppings. The program includes the adaptive reuse and conversion of a former schoolhouse and gymnasium, twenty new cabins and terraces linked by a covered pathway, and an iconic, freestanding spa.

The spa employs a similar material palette of striated cedar as the surrounding cabins, yet has a distinctly volumetric form. Avoiding a singular front entrance, the building opens onto each side of the ring with dynamic apertures and floor-to-ceiling folding doors by LaCantina. Within, the structure expands upward to a large skylight, which washes light over a series of pools below. Four “hollow” piers shape this collective space while containing more private areas, including changing rooms, a sauna, a kitchen and two massage rooms.

Through its composition and pairing of historic and new architecture, the Society serves as a model for how buildings can reconcile the needs of a sensitive site, visitors and the local community, and maximize connection to the surrounding landscape.

Best Urban Residential Project: Wilson Lane Residence by Michael Belisle Design, Bethesda, Maryland
Consulting Architect: Will Cawood; Interior Design: Renato Parisotto; Lighting Design: Quinn Murph

Photos by Anice Hoachlander, Hoachlander Davis Photography

Wilson Lane Residence sits on a small urban lot within walking distance to downtown Bethesda, Maryland. The client desired to be close to the city center and wanted something drastically different form the more conventional housing styles in the area. The house was designed for entertainment, with open interior spaces, well-conceived exterior spaces and an abundance of natural light.

LaCantina’s Aluminum Outswing 3 and 6 Panel doors allowed for the interior to merge with the exterior, literally and figuratively: in the open position, the family room, deck and patio merge seamlessly; in the closed position they frame a view of the exterior with minimal obstruction.

Best Suburban Residential Project: Two Gables by Wheeler Kearns Architects, Glencoe, Illinois

Photos by Kendall McCaugherty

Located on a one-acre wooded ravine site north of Chicago, the house is strategically positioned within existing trees on the site to take advantage of the picturesque views. Twin gabled volumes — one for sleeping and one for living — are connected by a glazed breezeway that fuses house and landscape. The home, situated upward and slightly angled away from the street, creates an eccentric approach that delays frontal views and enhances privacy.

The frontal procession presents the flanking gabled volumes as solids, composed of warm gray Accoya siding, zinc colored standing seam roofing, punctuated by deeply inset windows. LaCantina Doors were utilized to address unique challenges within the project by incorporating thermally broken construction and optimizing the scale of units. They also enhance visibility and create spacious open areas when the units are opened.

Best Rural Residential Project: Ranch Poolside Retreat by Cabana Concepts / Imagine Beyond, Murrieta, California
Designed by Imagine Beyond; Installed by Cabana Concepts

Photos by Cabana Concepts

Cabana Concepts and Imagine Beyond completed a new poolside retreat for a ranch house, in Murrieta California, featuring a rooftop sunset deck designed for entertaining over 100 guests. The retreat can sleep up to 12 and includes a full kitchen, bar, office, garage, laundry and craft room. The property features a range of sliding, folding and swing doors by LaCantina, all unified by a beautiful finish: Bronze anodized aluminum equipped with flush bottom tracks and black hardware.

Most Innovative Project: Topanga Canyon Hunting Cabin by MSP Design Inc., Topanga, California

Photos by Mason St. Peter

The Topanga hunting cabin features indoor-outdoor living, featuring two open corners aided by LaCantina double pocket doors, an open plan and a large wraparound deck. What was once literally a room, added onto a room, added onto a room, added onto a room with a stairway to another room above is now a very simple and elegant 2-bedroom-2-bath, open living home, that welcomes the outside in and embraces it.

Best Compact Project: Swift Cabin by Ment Architecture LLC, Cougar, Washington

Photos by Luke and Mallory Leasure

This linear cabin stretches out along the length of a site that overlooks a reservoir in southwest Washington, with spectacular views of Mt. St. Helens beyond. A shed roof allows for a vast array of solar panels for this off-grid cabin, which power the main cabin, a custom-designed sauna building and a garage for the family boat.

A warm interior palette is defined by exposed Douglas fir glulam beams and tongue and groove decking at the ceiling, along with warm wood floors and exterior charred wood cladding wrapping through to the interior. The large deck can be enjoyed by walking directly from the living room through a 12-foot-wide opening featuring LaCantina sliding doors.

Best Renovation Project: Waverly Residence by Sasquatch Architecture, Portland, Oregon
Interior Design by Kami Gray Interiors

Photos by Crosby Dove

Located in the Waverly neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, the existing midcentury modern home went through an entire remodel on both the interior and exterior. The interior was transformed with updated floor plans and new finishes by Kami Gray. On the exterior, Sasquatch Architecture designed all of the windows and doors to be replaced and resized, while new paint, cedar soffits and siding were added to warm up the exterior of the home.

The standout feature is a new 16′ wide La Cantina bifold door, seamlessly connecting the interior and exterior. With careful attention to detail, the architects blended the old with the new, creating a timeless and elegant space bringing the beauty of nature inside and enhancing the home’s overall charm.

Best Unbuilt/Planned Project: Contemporary Respite by Sutton Suzuki Architects, Mill Valley, California

Renderings by Sunny Render Studio, photos by Sutton Suzuki Architects

Perched above a sleepy inlet of the San Francisco Bay, this now contemporary home was originally built in 1966. Over the years a number of insensitive additions were built, resulting in a maze-like home disconnected from the surrounding natural beauty. After an extensive remodel and addition of square footage, the home now offers floor to ceiling glazing and a number of water-facing decks where the owners can watch pelicans fish and nature unfold. The flow between rooms is ideal for entertaining, providing a mix of open spaces and cozy corners. Neutral finishes with hints of blue evoke the nearby water and offer a calm respite from the world beyond.

LaCantina’s Zero Post Corner System increases the sense of spaciousness from the kitchen into the slender side yard. When the project is complete, it will be hard to tell whether one is inside or outside, and each respective space will feel doubly as large.

These eight award-winning projects show just a glimpse of the incredible architecture and interiors made possible with the help of LaCantina’s versatile range of contemporary doors and windows. See more amazing case studies like these and learn more about the systems behind them over at LaCantinaDoors.com.

Reference

Architectural Details: How to Create a Stunning Minimalist Residence That Brings the Outside In
CategoriesArchitecture

Architectural Details: How to Create a Stunning Minimalist Residence That Brings the Outside In

By Zarkon Group,
Architectural Details: How to Create a Stunning Minimalist Residence That Brings the Outside In

Brevity is one of the most powerful tools in the architect’s apparatus. This astonishing glass house, perched on the banks of Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka, is proof of precisely that. Clean, crisp lines define its striking structure, which emerges from the trees like a modernist specter.

The brief for the project called for a design that maximized light and forged an intimate relationship with the external world. Thanks to magnificent expanses of glass, the residence is a conduit for the surrounding landscape — an elegant, architectural “picture frame”. Yet creating a home that is visually defined by its glazed skin is not a straightforward endeavor, and its successful resolution hinges on the integration of resilient, high-performing materials.

Photo courtesy of Spacecrafting.

Making a Glass House Structurally Sound

Less is more, or so the mantra of modernism goes. Somewhat ironically though, achieving minimalism is no simple task. Subtracting as much as possible from a building’s fabric is an act of bravery, a challenge that Charlie & Co. Design and John Kraemer & Sons Custom Builders admirably rose to.

Charlie Simmons, the founding principal of Charlie & Co. Design, shared the formative questions they asked themselves at the start of the project: “You strip out all the unnecessary things. What’s the limited amount of structure you need? Could you really go floor-to-ceiling with glass? How high can you make it? And then you start whittling away and whittling away and what’s left?”

The team turned to Marvin to help them deliver the seamless, streamlined esthetic their client wanted. The Marvin Modern product line, comprising a modular series of durable, fiberglass products with narrow sightlines, was the ideal fit for the ambitious design. The doors and windows feature an integrated structural cavity that adds up to half an inch of mull reinforcement to aid structural performance.

But there was still a fundamental obstacle at the heart of the scheme: glass is not typically made to hold significant weight. The project architect and the Marvin engineering department crunched the numbers and came up with an innovative solution: unobtrusive, load-bearing components were integrated into the design without compromising its sleek finish.

“There are very few actual walls in this place, particularly on the first floor … so we have these structural elements that we need to keep the house up and prevent it from twisting,” Simmons explained. A stone fireplace at one end of the home anchors the building, bookended by what Simmons calls “a box within a box” at the opposite end – a wood structure that houses the kitchen, laundry room and powder room.

Photo courtesy of Spacecrafting.

Ensuring Impressive Thermal Efficiency

Minnesota is a land of climatic extremes, from frigid, frosty winters to humid summer months. For a form dominated by glass, extreme fluctuations in temperature posed another major challenge. Unsurprisingly, the home’s thermal envelope was of paramount concern for the architects, and it was vital that the material structure could stand up to snowstorms and heatwaves alike.

Marvin Modern doors and windows proved strong enough to endure the site’s environmental demands. Made from solid pieces of high-density fiberglass, they provide powerful insulation and an impressive U-factor of 0.28. Shielded from the elements, the residence’s interior is comfortable and inviting all year round, while maintaining a palpable connection with the natural topography. Remarkably, no additional insulating materials were required to aid the glazing’s thermal efficiency.

Photo courtesy of Spacecrafting.

Blurring the Boundary Between Inside and Out

The result of this innovative project is a stunning, living glass box that shifts organically with the light levels, weather conditions and seasons. The stretches of glazing are punctuated with Accoya wood cladding, while interior millwork in the same warm grain establishes a sense of continuity between indoors and out.

Yet however you look at this modern masterpiece, glass is the star of the show. Imbued with the Marvin Modern product line, the structure is a skillful and poetic negotiation of transparency. A trellis and purlins frame the skylight above the main living area, while latticework fragments the full-height windows that flank the stairwell. “It becomes a very subtractive and additive design process but in the end, it’s all about transparency and keeping things as simple and clean and minimalist as possible,” Simmons says.

 

The most staggering feats of engineering are the two 60-foot-long glass walls, which line opposing aspects of the residence. Each wall is made up of three sets of 20-foot sliding doors with only 4 inches of steel structure in between them, allowing for uncompromised views throughout. Like the other Marvin Modern products, the profile of each door is slim and inconspicuous. Recessed channels in the frames conceal motorized insect screens and blackout shades, while still providing consistent, narrow sightlines of less than three inches.

The swaths of glass are a portal to the organic terrain, rather than an obstruction. To that end, internal covers across the frames disguise fasteners and rubber gaskets, while low-gloss aluminum interior finishes and black spacer bars ensure an unimpeded outlook. This seamless finish allows inner and outer worlds to collide. In the warmer months when the doors are retracted, the covered deck becomes a natural extension of the interior floor plan.

Photo courtesy of Spacecrafting.

An interplay of modernist finesse and material resilience, this incredible waterfront home is a masterclass in building with glass. Negotiating challenging contextual and structural obstacles, the residence epitomizes the virtues of architectural minimalism. Simmons succinctly summarizes the scheme’s dual nature: “When you have this much glass, you feel like you’re a part of something out here, but you’re also being protected as well … Marvin gives us the tools to create environments such as this.”

To explore more case studies featuring Marvin Modern and learn how to harness windows and doors like these for your next project, click here.

All architectural drawings courtesy of Charlie and Co. Design; photography courtesy of Spacecrafting.

Reference

8 Stunning Structures Shaped By Their Sloping Sites
CategoriesArchitecture

8 Stunning Structures Shaped By Their Sloping Sites

By Zarkon Group,
8 Stunning Structures Shaped By Their Sloping Sites

 Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.    

Despite technical complications involved in construction, inclined sites can invoke inspiring new architectural possibilities that just aren’t possible on flat sites. Better views, unique spatial design, creation of privacy using a variety of levels, and much more. Floating buildings can be constructed on slopes either by using a taller foundation or supports. On the other hand, architects have also created buildings that follow the incline or are even partially or fully buried into the slope. Below are a few ways in which architects have made the most of sloped sites to create unique homes and public buildings.

Villa Vals by SeARCH, Vals, Switzerland

SeARCH took the idea of a mountain house one step further by building a home that is concealed within the slope rather than on top of it. Given its proximity to the bath of Vals, the team wanted to create a home without disrupting the snowy inclines. A circular cavity into the mountain becomes the entrance as well as a patio. The rooms are placed around this central opening, ensuring that all the windows reach the surface. And while it may look small, appearances can be deceiving, and the inside of the home feels spacious, bright and airy. Meanwhile, the use of materials like stone, wood and concrete helps unify the design with the terrain around.

Khyber Ridge by Studio NMinusOne, Whistler, Canada

This home is broken up into five levels that adapt to the changing slope. The arrangement of the volumes is based on the unique function and views that each space requires. The topmost level contains the bedrooms as well as a large balcony for residents to take in the nature around. Part of it is embedded into the rock to create a sense of intimacy and privacy. The level below cantilevers out of the rock and houses the common areas, making it seem like it is floating within the trees. Below the mid-level entrance lies the guest room, which is completely sunken into the mountain slope for privacy. Some of the natural rock surfaces were in the interior spaces remains exposed, amplifying the alpine atmosphere.

Images by Benedikt Markel

Krkonose Mountains Centre for Environmental Education by Petr Hajek Architekti, Vrchlabí, Czech Republic

Inspired by the geometry of the Krkonose Mountains, this new building blends into the landscape (almost completely!) when seen from certain angles. The roof is covered with vegetation to reinforce this illusion. While mostly underground, a part of the structure rises above the terrain and features a glass wall that invites passersby to peek into the building and observe the activity taking place inside. Concrete is used to create the interior volumes that are then divided using plywood partitions. The furniture within is made using the leftover plywood from the bigger partitions to reduce waste.

House D by PAUHOF Architekten, Austria

Connected volumes, natural finishes, spacious interiors and stunning views make up this home. One the one hand, this is a four-story structure with stacked volumes that follow the contours of the site. On the other hand, the structure’s rounded corners are governed by the property line. The windows are placed in a way that the residents can overlook the mountains while also preventing their neighbors from being able to peek in. It follows a spiral circulation with a floating roof on the upper level. The home comprises a studio gallery, library, multiple bedrooms, baths, a family room as well as other utilities.

Sheltered Villas by A&M Architects, Karpathos, Greece

This multi-level structure creates a strong relationship between the exterior and the interior. The different volumes that make up the three villas are partially nestled into the slope of the site. The retaining walls holding up the structure extrude from the ground and are painted in white to help them stand out in the landscape. The inner volumes feature clean lines, simple geometry and black accents for the minimal aesthetic and help the view of the Aegean Sea become the hero of the experience.

Ebenezer Chapel by Vilalta Studio, Raleigh, North Carolina

Building on the increase of architecture that challenges the perception of what religious buildings should look like, Vilalta Studio presents a conceptual underground chapel. Dug into the sloped terrain near Richland Creek, the granite structure is imagined to stretch about 50 feet deep into the ground. Visitors would enter the chapel through a downward ramp that leads to an underground chamber and creates a contemplative space before entering the main gathering area. A large tower, the only element that visibly extends out of the site, brings light and air into the building. The chapel, which can accommodate 250 people, also has a skylight above for light and ventilation.

House in Chihuahua by Productora, Chihuahua, Mexico

In addition to adapting to the site, this home’s form is designed with the area’s extreme climatic conditions in mind. The temperature in the northern region of Mexico can go below freezing point in the winter and turn to scorching heat in the summer. And there are drastic temperature differences between day and night as well. Having part of the house underground helps regulate the temperature within by using the soil’s thermal mass. There are multiple roof openings and patios that not only bring in light but also create breakout spaces for the residents.

Åre Solbringen by Waldemarson Berglund, Åre, Sweden

The project includes three inclined homes on the Åreskutan mountain in Sweden. Most houses in this region are built in a way that results in one habitable floor. The architects cultivated a diagonal typology that allows them to create five usable levels that all get abundant light. The unit lies entirely along the slope. The different levels within are connected by a long flight of stairs on one side. Starting with the living room and the kitchen at the bottom, the stairs lead to the bedrooms, hall, bathroom and sauna on the upper floors. It is constructed using brick slabs, timber structural elements, a metal sheet roof and white plasterboard. Unlike the bright interiors, the wooden panels used on the exterior surfaces will age with and time and turn grey.

 Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.    

Reference

What's Yellow, Blue and Red All Over? Showcasing Sweden's Stunning Scarlet Architecture
CategoriesArchitecture

What’s Yellow, Blue and Red All Over? Showcasing Sweden’s Stunning Scarlet Architecture

By Zarkon Group,
What's Yellow, Blue and Red All Over? Showcasing Sweden's Stunning Scarlet Architecture

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.   

The color red has been a part of residential architecture in Sweden since the 16th century when Falu red paint was first created from the residue found in copper mines in the country’s Falun region. Locals realized that this reddish sludge, when treated correctly, formed a paint that was very affordable, durable, weather-resistant and also helped mimic the appearance of brick houses that were owned by wealthier families.

Now, that particular shade of red is iconic and is knowingly used to help houses stand out in the verdant landscape. Today, the tradition continues evolving. Shades of Falu red now coats a variety of Swedish structures ranging from small homes and barns to large-scale university and apartment buildings. Here are a few buildings that illustrate the timelessness and exuberance of the color.

Images by Johan Fowelin

The Pavilion by Marge Arkitekter, Stockholm, Sweden

Unlike traditional pavilions, this Stockholm structure is stacked like a building. It is conceived to become the focal point of the redesign of the city block around it. The different levels help accommodate the slope of the site and provide access to visitors from both sides. The rouge tone helps it stand out among the beige and brown hues of the buildings around and also acts as a beacon for the citizens. The patterned exterior, created in collaboration with artist Gunilla Klingberg, is made of red-dyed concrete. The language is kept consistent by painting the awnings and window frames as well.

Späckhuggaren / House for a drummer by Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter, Kärna, Sweden

Coated in the traditional Falu red color, this house was designed for a single father of two. At one point, the site housed an old farm stall and a warehouse that was destroyed in a fire. The form of that warehouse is what inspired the design of this house. While the home appears heavy and solid from the outside, the interiors are open and airy. The spaces inside vary in height and there are mesh-covered gaps between levels to allow light to penetrate diagonally across floors.

Images by Ulf Celander

Uppgrenna Naturehouse by Tailor made arkitekter, Uppgränna, Sweden

This café and event space is a remodel of a red barn that was extant on the site. The red base, reminiscent of the previous structure, is given a modern facelift with the addition of a large greenhouse on top. The addition of panels to the base and doors not only helps maintain the barn aesthetic but also helps reduce heat radiation. On top, the greenhouse is equipped with a sewage and waste recycling system that also aids the growth of plants within. This eliminates the need to be connected to the municipal sewage system.

Images by Åke Eson Lindman

Passive Townhouses in Vallastaden by Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture AB, Linköping, Sweden

The townhouse is broken up into four different apartments, with each one showcasing a slightly different personality. The continuous volume is broken up into four parts using separate roofs and façade patterns. These patterns are created using a mix of black, bright red and brick-toned tiles. The individuality of the apartments is also reflected in the kitchens and bathrooms inside. Additionally, this building features a courtyard, garden and storage space.

Tower on the Ting by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden

Niklas Nyberg, a local builder, bought a courthouse that was built in 1967 after discovering it was rarely used and hoped to construct an apartment building on top of it. Taking inspiration from one of his favorite artists, Bengt Lindström, the architect set out to design a multidimensional apartment block. The square plan of the building is broken up into nine parts like a hashtag. Each level of the structure is made up of five apartments placed around a central block. The exterior is covered in glazed ceramic tiles in colors found in Lindström’s artwork.

Images by Tord-Rikard Soderstrom and Åke Eson Lindman

Kuggen by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB, Gothenburg, Sweden

The colorful glazed terracotta panels on this university building almost make it appear as if it is in motion. The red tones are a nod to the wharves and the harbors in the region and the other tones help add dimension and contrast. The structure is shaped like a tapered cylinder to shade the lower floors and increase floor space. The upper levels of the southern portion of the building project a bit further than the others to provide more shade throughout the day. Similarly, the triangular windows emerged from lighting considerations; they are designed to draw in sunlight from the ceiling and ensure that it reaches the building’s core. Meanwhile, motion-activated lights and ventilation systems help to conserve energy.

Moderna Museet Malmö by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, Malmö, Sweden

The new branch of the Swedish Museum of Modern Art stands is a remodel of an old electricity station. The remodel is marked with the addition of a bright vermillion cubical extension with a perforated façade placed right next to a traditional entrance. The larger perforations on the lower level help the museum’s sign stand out as well. The floor is glazed to filter the sunlight coming in and the same vibrant hue is painted across every surface as well as the furniture inside the café. The other exhibition spaces are painted white or other neutral tones, intentionally creating a contrast.

Fire House by Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA), Stockholm, Sweden

After the previous outhouse burned down, the architect decided to rewrite the story of its demise in the replacement design. The client’s requirement for a red shed was taken up a notch by adding recycled beads, arranged to mimic a burning blaze, on the walls. This was paired with lights to bring this composition to life. In addition to being a point of conversation, the faux fire also helps keep the deer and rabbits away. The effect produced was so realistic that the owners had to inform their neighbors that it was art and not actual fire when they called the fire brigade.

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