Black & White House by AGi architects

Photographer Nelson Garrido has sent us his photographs of this building by AGi architects of Spain and Kuwait, comprising three homes clad in white stucco and three homes in black stone. 

Called Black & White House, the project in Kuwait uses the two tones to differentiate between the six properties on three plots.

Residences are separated by terraces in between and pools on the ground floor.

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The information that follows is from the architects:

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These six houses on three adjacent plots should be noticed for their bold black and white facade with far from being a decorative element reveals the very nature of this project.

Not a solid block but a labyrinth of outer spaces communicated with the dark stone cladding ribbon flowing from one to the other in 3 directions and provide natural light and cross ventilation in the houses at different levels.

Located on a main highway in Kuwait, the houses differentiate themselves from their surroundings by their stark façade design.

With two contrasting colours, the façade is designed to define the individual houses, while achieving unity amongst all six.

White stucco material is used as the base for all the houses, while dark grey bands of stone turn corners, go indoors, and climb up and down, creating flow and continuity throughout the project.

Each of the three adjacent plots divides to accommodate two houses: the front, facing the inner neighbourhood street and the back, facing the 5th Ring Road highway. Services shafts and exterior light wells separate the 2 houses on each plot.

The front villas are introverted courtyard houses. Large windows of the main spaces overlook this courtyard that create dramatic light and shadow contrasts, while smaller strip windows face the street. Various outdoor spaces are located at different levels to provide ample light into the adjacent spaces, in addition to creating outdoor terraces and a pool area on the first floor.

The back villas overlook a garden facing the highway. Volumetric spaces and dramatic light wells drive the visitors into the main entrance of the house, and lead them onto the garden, which not only extends the space to the landscape through large windows, but also acts as a buffer between the houses and the busy road.

Click above for larger image
The landscape separates the houses from each other through different levels that ultimately create privacy and independence from each other.

Click above for larger image
Natural light and ventilation are an important aspect of the design. Each house has a certain level of complexity in terms of spatial organization and relationship between indoor and outdoor. With every visit to the houses, one discovers new spatial and visual experiences.

Click above for larger image
Different levels and careful program layout were studied to achieve maximum privacy from each other.

Click above for larger image
Project Name: Black & White House
Type: Residential / 3,415 sqm
Location: Yarmouk, Kuwait
Design Team: Dr. Nasser B. Abulhasan, Joaquin Perez-Goicochea, Georg Thesing, Sharifa Alshalfan, Robert A. Varghese, Naseeba Shaji, Germana De Donno Lucia, Sanchez Salmon

Hillside House / SB Architects

 

© Mariko Reed

Architects: SB Architects
Location: Mill Valley, California, USA
Builder: McDonald Construction
Project Area: 2,116 sq ft (interior spaces), 1,567 sq ft (decks & balconies)
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Mariko Reed


Nestled in the hills of Mill Valley, California, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, Hillside House has just received certification as the first LEED for Homes Platinum custom home in Marin County, and one of only a handful in Northern California.

section

Designed by San Francisco-based SB Architects, an international firm well-known for the design of site-sensitive resort and mixed-use projects around the world, and built by well-known green builder McDonald Construction & Development, this home is a statement of what is possible combining “high design with high sustainability.”

© Mariko Reed

The four-story home – clad with beautiful, sustainable Western Red Cedar siding – is set on a steep hillside site that provides for a very vertical design with living and private zones situated on multiple separate floors. Numerous outdoor and covered terraces and balconies capitalize on stunning views of the bay and the San Francisco skyline beyond. The home’s many green aspects include:

• Western Red Cedar siding
• Energy Star-Rated Whirlpool appliances
• Kohler low-flow plumbing fixtures
• Mythic zero-VOC paints
• High-recycled content interior concrete from Concreteworks
• Sustainably produced stone veneers from Eldorado Stone
• Sustainably harvested floors and cabinetry from Plantation Hardwoods
• New World Millworks, reclaimed timber and recycled metal roofing

© Mariko Reed

Every inch of this LEED Platinum custom home has been designed to maximize its sustainability, in direct response to the site, trees and views. Consequently, this home lives far larger than its actual footprint, but with an impact that is far less.

House in Menorca / Dom Arquitectura

© Dom Arquitectura

Architects: Dom Arquitectura
Location: Menorca, Spain
Project Manager: Pablo Serrano Elorduy
Interior Design: Blanca Elorduy
Rigger: Joan Camps
Structure: Osmotec
Construction: Construccions Rotger Piris, S.L.
Project Area: 443 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2009
Photographs: Courtesy of Dom Arquitectura


Being a summer house, the main idea is not only creating the interior spaces of the house, but distribute all outer space. The interior spaces seek good relations with the outside world, colonizing their surroundings and their views.

ground floor plan

second floor plan

Inspired by the typical Menorca “tanca”, stone walls divisions of the realm. The plot is organized from a space frame, fully passable, based on a trace orthogonal, combining floors, platforms, water, trees, plants, tanca, pergolas, walls and the house itself. By combining these elements we are encountering this approach in which each piece is delimited and acquires its own identity and use within a harmonious whole. The diversity of outdoor stays provides the site a space balanced richness.

© Dom Arquitectura

The house is situated in the center of the outer solar stays divided in two, front and rear. The hall of the house with two large openings on each side operates as a mixed external-internal transition. Falls outside the pavement causing a passage that connects the back yard with the front porch.

© Dom Arquitectura

Based on typical lattices “menorquinas” designed a sliding wooden slats fixed set a filter to the outside, they act as sunscreens, giving privacy and multiplying the usability. They combine the vertical slats of the east and west facades with horizontal south facade. Most of these openings are floor to ceiling, allowing for greater continuity to the outside and making the most magnificent views of the site.

Doublesingle Storey House / formodesign

Courtesy of formodesign

Polish architects formodesign shared with us their project Doublesingle Storey House, located in Grabowa, Poland. The house is to be completed in 2011. More images and architect’s description after the break.

Courtesy of formodesign

Doublesingle Storey House is located in Grabowa in a beautiful area on the slope above the stream.
The goal was to design a building that meets the expectations of clients while preserving the unique naturalness of the surrounding. The idea of creating the doublesingle storey layout came of our willing to enable the residents freely enter and exit the building no matter where they are. It was also a very natural way of slope dedicated floor plan development.

Courtesy of formodesign

Shape and form of the house follow the sun path and site’s panorama in order to deliver clear interior view openings on the forest, meadow and the stream. We proposed aged and fawn wooden planks for the façades – the most often seen type of façade in rural architecture typical for this region. These would be obtained from disassembled local sheds. The simplicity of form resulting from smooth slope-house-slope transition, use of the raw building envelope and minimized environment interference are the major features of the Doublesingle Storey House.

Housing Complex / medusagroup

© Miłosz Jaksik

Architects: medusagroup
Location: Katowice, Poland
Principals: Przemo Lukasik, Lukasz Zagała
Project Team: Dawid Beil, Rafał Dziedzic, Kuba Pudo, Tomasz Majewski, Dominik Jaksik, Maria Jaksik, Justyna Siwińska, Agnieszka Szewera, Dominika Marek
Structural Engineering: Statyk
Investor: Millenium Inwestycje sp. z o.o.
Site Area: 8,914 sqm
Project Year: 2006-2009
Photographs: Miłosz Jaksik


Two buildings of the complex were designed as gallery-type buildings placed parallelly to each other with wide boulevard between them. The third one is an apartment building. The authors’ ambition was to break pejorative reception of buildings of this type in Poland: infamous legacy of realizations in 70′. The humanized space of mini park between the buildings and galleries protected with glass against weather conditions are to create an attractive neighborhood space which usually does not exist in typical block of flats with staircase.

site plan

Northern building

Northern building is a five storey one with underground parking (shared with the apartment building). Communication with 3 galleries – a solid with staircase and elevator adheres on the east side. Building form is simple with galleries on the north side and a series of balconies on the south. The whole building was plastered in graphite colour while only the last storey has wooden siding. Additionally balconies are separated from each other with wooden openwork screens. Windows were designed in woodwork as porte fenetres. On the outside each window is closed by glass barrier. The galleries are screened by glass plates and their walls are covered with fibre-plasterboards in intensive yellow colour. Services functions are located on the ground level – these were glazed on the level’s circumference with big shop windows.

© Miłosz Jaksik

Southern building

Southern building is of gallery typology created as a result of superposition of terraced housing. Building form is simple and designed in contemporary stylistics. Elevations are finished with graphite coloured plaster and partially with wooden siding.

southern building section

The building has two level dwellings. The lower part with independent entrances on the passage side and garden on the south side is covered by two-level apartments accessible from the gallery located on the last storey (on the north side). Daytime part was designed on the entrance level whereas bedrooms are one level lower.

© Miłosz Jaksik

On both sides of the gallery there are external staircases of which the east one has elevator. Staircases were made of architectural concrete.

Apartment building

Because of its location (the central part of the housing estate) and high standard this building is to be the main dominant of the estate. It was designed as six-storey building with underground parking in “cage” arrangement. There are 10 luxury apartments – 2 on each floor. The residential part of the building lies on the socle withdrawn to the inside. The socle holds entrance hall with elevator and staircase and room meant for services. The elevations: northern, eastern and western are designed as a facade with porte fenetres. On the southern elevation there are terraces covered with openwork screens made of wooden planks. All elevations are finished with graphite coloured plaster.

© Miłosz Jaksik

Boulevard

Between the buildings there is internal and wide public boulevard. Recreational space is located in the central part of the boulevard and is surrounded by hardened pavement on both sides. Children’s playground is situated on the south-western part and is surrounded by urbanized green.

Black & White House / AGi Architects

 

© Nelson Garrido

Architects: AGi Architects
Location: Yarmouk, Kuwait
Project Team: Dr. Nasser B. Abulhasan, Joaquin Perez-Goicochea, Georg Thesing, Sharifa Alshalfan, Robert A. Varghese, Naseeba Shaji, Germana De Donno, Lucia Sanchez Salmon
Project Area: 3,415 sqm
Project Year: 2006-2009
Photographs: Nelson Garrido

site plan

These six houses on three adjacent plots should be noticed for their bold black and white facade with far from being a decorative element reveals the very nature of this project. Not a solid block but a labyrinth of outer spaces communicated with the dark stone cladding ribbon flowing from one to the other in 3 directions and provide natural light and cross ventilation in the houses at different levels.
Located on a main highway in Kuwait, the houses differentiate themselves from their surroundings by their stark façade design. With two contrasting colours, the façade is designed to define the individual houses, while achieving unity amongst all six. White stucco material is used as the base for all the houses, while dark grey bands of stone turn corners, go indoors, and climb up and down, creating flow and continuity throughout the project.

© Nelson Garrido

Each of the three adjacent plots divides to accommodate two houses: the front, facing the inner neighbourhood street and the back, facing the 5th Ring Road highway. Services shafts and exterior light wells separate the 2 houses on each plot.
The front villas are introverted courtyard houses. Large windows of the main spaces overlook this courtyard that create dramatic light and shadow contrasts, while smaller strip windows face the street. Various outdoor spaces are located at different levels to provide ample light into the adjacent spaces, in addition to creating outdoor terraces and a pool area on the first floor.

Use of Space

ground floor plan

second floor plan

The back villas overlook a garden facing the highway. Volumetric spaces and dramatic light wells drive the visitors into the main entrance of the house, and lead them onto the garden, which not only extends the space to the landscape through large windows, but also acts as a buffer between the houses and the busy road. The landscape separates the houses from each other through different levels that ultimately create privacy and independence from each other.
Natural light and ventilation are an important aspect of the design. Each house has a certain level of complexity in terms of spatial organization and relationship between indoor and outdoor. With every visit to the houses, one discovers new spatial and visual experiences.

© Nelson Garrido

Different levels and careful program layout were studied to achieve maximum privacy from each other.

Sustainability, Innovation and Security

The front villas are introverted courtyard houses. Large windows of the main spaces overlook the courtyards allowing natural ventilation from a shaded outdoor space with private pool, while smaller strip windows face the street exposed to the sun.

© Nelson Garrido

Narrow courtyards, soil-greenery on different levels, and pools are the keys for an environmental friendly approach on this project. These issues, ensure thermal collecting differences between spaces, and give a non monolithic response to sun exposure, humidity and ventilation.