Luxurious Villa La Hilaria, Uruguay

Buenos Aires-based studio RDR Arquitectos, part of Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés, has designed the Villa La Hilaria. The stunning contemporary two-storey holiday home is located in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

According to the architects: “Villa Hilaria is a simple but contemporary holiday home. Apart from the master bedroom on the first floor, all spaces are on the ground floor. The contemporary Uruguayan property has a wing that houses two bedrooms, a bathroom and a full suite and another space that becomes a unique living-dining-kitchen that extends into a terrace covered by a large overhang.

“The L-shape property allowed to retain two existing pine trees and gives the garden some privacy by protecting it from the street. The construction is as simple as the program. The contemporary Uruguayan house was built in five months with brick bearing walls and concrete mattresses lime render.

“The architectural expression is based on the purity of the volumes (articulated by a marked contrast between full and empty), the simplicity of materials and the ubiquity of pine.”

Secret Loft In The Woods, Canada

Former IT technician and carpenter, Joel Allen, built the HemLoft, a pod sized treehouse. The contemporary structure can be found in British Columbia, Canada.

The contemporary Canadian treehouse is a secret self-funded creation. It hangs on a precipitous slope, in a towering stand of hemlocks, about a five minute walk from the nearest road.

Joel Allen said: ” I tried to retire at the age of 26 and failed. What does this have to do with the treehouse? Well, my attempt at retirement seems to be the critical link between my former career as a software developer, and my new career as a carpenter. Let me explain, in objective terms, what happened…”

Minimalist Beach House, Lima

Metropolis a Lima-based design studio has designed the House in Palabritas Beach. Completed in 2009, the contemporary property is located in the Palabritas Beach, Lima, Peru.

According to the architects: “The contemporary Peruvian property is located on the first row of lots and was designed so that the architecture acted like a frame to the view of the beach and the islands that are found in front of the house. The esthetic of the house celebrates the summer with modern curves that remind us of the Brazilian architecture of the sixties.

“The contemporary Peruvian house has a white finish with colour accents in red, in both main elements such as the swimming pool as well as furnishings. The house reminds us of competitive elements used in Stanley Kubrick films, with the white curved elements contrasted with details in red.

“The exterior was designed as a white elevated box, exposed from its front side. One of the sides has a concrete lattice based on a contemporary composition with perforations that allow the interior to have a transparency without losing its intimacy.

“Sliding the glass doors were used so the dining and living rooms could be integrated as one.

“An interior patio was developed on a lower level where the bedrooms and family room conjoin so that an intimate zone for these rooms are created. The main bedroom is located on the first level and was designed so that it had a view towards the ocean.

“As a whole the house created a contrast with red colour over white surfaces, in a way that the spaces give an appearance of amplitude.

“From the inside of the living room, the architecture offers a frame that shows the landscape of the beach, the island and the sunset.”

Setting a new standard of luxury in Courchevel, France

London-based Earlcrown a luxury project management and design house have completed the Courchevel 1850 project. The stunning luxury property can be found in the ski-resort of Courchevel, France.

Benefiting from panoramic mountain views, the chalet at Courchevel 1850 is set in landscaped gardens and is accessed via a private drive. It provides a luxurious living space set over four levels, complete with large outside terraces. Earlcrown’s vision was to create a chalet whose quality and style would set a new level of luxury for Courchevel residential property, which is already of a world-class standard.

Earlcrown extended and remodelled the large existing luxury French chalet by over 2,153 sqft (200 sqm) to transform it into a true super-prime residence, using the finest stone and timber built in traditional style. The Internal architecture was completely reconfigured to include luxury leisure facilities such as an after dinner open bar, private cinema, gymnasium and fitness suite, sauna, massage area and hammam.

The luxury French property also boasts landscaped gardens, heated outdoor terraces and a spectacular outside leisure deck with sunken Jacuzzi provides sweeping mountain views.

The master bedroom suite is on its own private floor, with four further VIP guest bedroom suites. The entire property benefits from open log fireplaces with exposed brick chimneys, feature stone walls, ceilings open to the ridge height, with large wooden beams

The large main living room with open feature log fireplace, wood beamed ceiling and French doors opening onto a spacious outside terrace.

Earlcrown also introduced a lift to connect each floor, under floor heating, new security systems and CC TV security – plus a new commercial caterer’s kitchen to facilitate grand entertaining.

The interior architecture and interior design created by EarlCrown working in conjunction with leading French interior designer Noelle Bonnemaison, who designed the interiors of the Saint Roche Hotel in Courchevel and La Tartane in St Tropez.

Contemporary House Constantia Kloof, South Africa

Johannesburg-based design studio  Nico van der Meulen Architects have completed the ‘House The’ project. Built in 2012, the contemporary home can be found in South Africa.

Following the trend of making alterations to and revamping existing houses, the owners of this contemporary South African home enlisted the expertise of Nico van der Meulen Architects for a modern upgrade.

According to the architects: “They liked the current trend in our work towards a mix of steel construction and concrete framing.

“The new design was achieved by removing most of the internal walls on the ground floor and adding a porte cochere and a new lanai with an infinity edge pool. The impressive porte cochere is suspended from a semi-circular beam supported by the bisecting wall and a huge column and transfer beam over the pool. The element of water was added into the design with a koi pond to the north side of the existing lounge, with glass stepping stones that lead to a new pivoted glass front door. A small waterfall at the front door adds the welcoming sound of water, while a huge sheet of water is visible through a cut-out in the massive rusted steel wall bisecting the contemporary South African house to create a private pool area.

“M Square Lifestyle Necessities decorated the interiors using a palette of monochromatic colours with the interior furnishings in similar and contrasting colours. Accents of green were used sparingly to add fresh splashes of colour. The modern lines of the furniture are a continuation of the interior structural lines. As the structural interior elements are simple with sharp lines, attention is brought to the furniture pieces and decorative items within the interior.  For this project, the interior designers professionally created these interior spaces with the use of its unique imported products, Molteni and C, Zeus and Ligne Pure. The designers cleverly balanced the stark simplicity of the structural elements with carefully selected and placed furniture pieces, colour schemes, soft furnishings and decorative details.

“The end result is a home with a liberated feel – as if the normal rules of a suburban home have been suspended, with light, nature and views from everywhere.”