A slick European retreat with a stunning lake view, this Swiss villa is a concrete and glass-encased wonder designed by acclaimed architect Attilio Panzeri. Built in 2008, the 1,800 square-foot home is situated in Lugano, a southern Swiss lake town that borders Italy. The two-story house is for sale and has both a wine cellar and media room and is outfitted with modern appliances and fixtures throughout. An azure lap pool centers a large outdoor patio and the straight lines of the boxy 6-bed/5-bath home are broken by large glass windows and nooks carved out for decks and terraces. [via design-milk] Continue Reading

A tasteful and stylish refresh of a home originally designed by famed architect and sculptor Tony Smith, this mid-century modern in Guilford, Conn. has been updated by fernlund + logan, an architect team who masterfully added modern function while preserving rare retro form. The 1950s home was designed with a main building and a guesthouse on stilts, which is accessible by ramp. The architects built a new studio and utility building from reinforced concrete cast on-site, which follows the topography of the hill and nearly hides the addition behind the existing structure. The team left the exterior finish alone and planted a “green roof” that visually connects the home to the garden, refurbished and improved the pool and renovated the kitchen with materials and shapes inspired by Smith’s designs. [via designmilk and materialicious]

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When designers finished with this La Cañada Flintridge remodel, the results were immediate and impressive. But the Form Environment Research Studio team’s work is even more spectacular when you take a took at the 1980s shell they were given as a starting point. More than 800 square-feet was added to the three-bedroom home, giving it a total floor plan of 3,500 square-feet. The master bedroom was completely rehabed, as was the front wall and entry area. The kitchen was reoriented and opened to the living room, and freshly furnished with a stainless steel counters, raised ceilings and new skylights, which were also added in the bedrooms. The new master suite was tacked on to the back of the home, designed to accommodate an existing pool and a new courtyard. [via contemporist]

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Because Venice is one of the few remaining “walkable” neighborhoods in Los Angeles, the owners of the Brooks Avenue House were hesitant to leave their 2,000 square-foot home to accommodate a growing family. Instead, the owners tapped a team at Vancouver’s Bricault Design, which came up with a remodel and 1,700 square-foot addition that created a courtyard space, a new master bedroom and a covered carport. Green tech means the new addition is heated and cooled without the need for air-conditioning. A central staircase links the bottom and second story, providing an open chimney space for an air exchange fed by ground floor breezes that ass through an array of  pivoting doors installed on the ground floor. A new living roof was also installed, split between a vegetable garden and low-maintenance herbs and grasses, which along with all the home’s landscaping are now irrigated with captured rainwater and recycled greywater. [via archdaily]

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A reinforced concrete cube built in Ichinomiya City, architects at Japan’s TSC have designed a single-family home that’s both substantial and stylish. A series of stacked cubes comprise the volume of the two-story residence, which has an exposed industrial backbone that’s echoed outside and throughout the home’s interior. The rectangular motif is repeated through long horizontal and vertical window slits, which bring light inside and emanate an interior glow to the curb. Dark wood used on floors, counters and fixtures combines with well-placed lighting to offset the cool concrete with a warm, lived-in glow. [via archdaily]

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Atop a ridge overlooking Poverty Bay and Tatapouri Point, the single-story Okitu House was designed to accommodate its owners’ extended family while still serving as a cozy ocean retreat. Pete Bossley’s concept for the New Zealand home was based around a T-shaped floor plan, which divides the home into separate wings, which can be closed off from one another for privacy. The shape of the house also provides wind protection for a courtyard and outdoor pool, spaces that still connect with the ocean through site lines preserved by the home’s glass-walled living wing. [via homedesignfind]

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A relatively new addition to the New York skyline, André Balazs’ boutique hotel offering is anything but “Standard,” though the modern marvel easily sets a new one. Designed by Todd Schliemann of Polshek Partnerships Architects, the 265-foot-tall, 20-story wonder straddles the elevated tracks of Manhattan’s High Line amid the area’s swanky Meatpacking District. The 317-room Standard Hotel hosts several bars and restaurants, including the well-reviewed Standard Grill, and interior spaces created and outfitted by Roman and Williams and West Coast phenom Shawn Hausman [via luxuryissues]

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They may not hold a candle Chicago’s acrylic-based miniature skyline, but some of Manhattan’s most famed buildings are now available in paper form. The grandiose Empire State Building, the oppressive Times Square Tourist trap and even an MTA subway car are rendered in loving detail. Because the models are designed in “the spirit, if not the complexity” of Geoffrey Heighway’s 1950s “Micromodels,” the World Trade Center is included as well. Some assembly is required, as each building comes as a 4-5/8-inch by 6-3/4-inch postcard. You do the cutting and sticking. Each building costs $1.50, and there are eight buildings in all. Not bad for a slice of the Big Apple. [Build Your Own New York via Wired]

Tasked with designing an inspiring office space for a Turkish ad agency, Erginoglu & Calislar Architects retrofit a historic salt barn, carefully updating the space for contemporary use while preserving elements that add character. Architects left the stone walls of Medina Turgil DDB’s new office space exposed and matched the industrial aesthetic with copious use of structural metal, which marks railings and doorways throughout the 11,100 square-foot building. The ceiling is exposed and a/c ducting and roof structures are painted white, reflecting light throughout the open office. Individual workspaces are enclosed in glass, adding to the open feel of the Instanbul office. [via contemporist]

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