Luxurious Elysium 176, Australia

Brisbane-based design studio Richard Kirk Architect completed the Elysium 176 project in 2008, a two-storey contemporary property located in Noosa, Queensland, Australia.

According to the architects: “Richard Kirk Architect was one of several architects invited in 2005 to participate in the Elysium development which is an ambitious 189 lot boutique housing sub-division on a site to the west of the centre of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. The contemporary Australian property initially adopted architecture as the key driver for the amenity and quality of the environment for the entire development.

“Lot 176 is the first of the series and is in effect a prototype using the same materials, construction, and spatial ideas as a shared palette.

“The carved interior volume provides an internal focus visually and functionally. The inside and outside are united by seamless transitions and the consistent use of a restrained palette of materials. Materials are generally timbers left to weather naturally, zinc, and self- finished oxide renders which will improve their appearance with time, allowing the houses to merge with the landscape with an overall desire for applied finishes to be kept to a minimum.

“The organisational strategy was delivered by the topography which allowed the garaging of cars to occur below grade with the living spaces on the ground and sleeping spaces placed above. The removal of the garage spaces from the main living level allowed the main living spaces to link visually and physical along the long axis of the rectangular site and allowed the living spaces to be treated as a field of connected spaces and rooms whilst the bedrooms on the next level are conceived as nests floating above. The careful screening allows the opening of the contemporary Australian building without compromising security or privacy from the adjacent dwellings.

Ultra-Chic Casa d’Agua, Brazil

Isay Weinfeld a São Paulo-based design studio has designed the Casa d’Água House. Completed in 2003, this two-storey contemporary home is located in São Paulo, Brazil.

According to the architects: “A narrow pool runs alongside the contemporary Brazilian house, for the whole length of the lot: in the first half, large granite stones anchored to the bottom slab skip across the water surface forming a pathway to the central patio; further, it becomes a swimming lane that stretches to the back wall of the plot.

“The shape of the plot, long and narrow, led us to create a central patio dividing the building in two blocks, so as to allow good insulation in all rooms: they all face either north, east or west. Outdoors, thick natural-twine ropes make up a curtain that shadows the patio and filters the sunlight.

“Over four levels, all spaces are arranged according, mainly, to their functions: garage and mechanical rooms are placed on the basement floor; dining and living rooms, kitchen and laundry areas, on the ground floor; a private sitting room and bedrooms, on the first floor; and finally, a small office and terrace on the top floor.

“It was the clients’ wish that the house should not look, nor feel, ‘new’ to them. So we proposed that it be built with some elements taken from their farm, and they agreed. Thus, for instance, raw stones were brought in to cover the external walls; and old wood pieces to lay the bedroom flooring. They are all reference to the family’s living, history and special relation with nature and truly make this a luxury Brazilian home.”

Contemporary House In Melides, Portugal

Pedro Reis a Lisbon-based design studio has completed this rectangular shaped home. The  contemporary property can be found in Melides, Grândola, Portugal.

According to the architects: “Inhabiting this site means founding a place by means of a strong geometric imprint, achieved by two volumes overlapping in the shape of a cross. The aim of this dialectic strategy is not just to reduce the scale and presence of the construction, but also to split the programme into two areas, one more exuberant and exposed and the other more intimate and contained. If the light upper volume recalls the synthetic image of the modern house, with large glass areas open to the scenic countryside, the anchored lower volume, clad with sheets of earth-coloured concrete, pre-fabricated in situ, sit on the ground, giving support and stability to this contemporary Portuguese house.

“In terms of programmatic organisation, the suspended upper volume concentrates the main spaces, defining the minimum housing unit, while the lower volume acts as an expansion zone, hosting more intimate areas or service areas, allowing increased occupation. The kitchen, as the centre of the home, takes on paramount importance here, acting as the crossing-point for all movements: entering, going through the inside and moving out into the garden, with the long pergola providing shade and a water tank reflecting the pine trees, set under the house into the main bedroom.

The experience of this contemporary Portuguese house aims to concentrate on its essence, on being inside and out, on contemplating and lingering, highlighting a enjoyable sense of living, close to the amenities of urban life.”

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Eco-chic Hillside House, California

SB Architects a San Francisco-based design studio has completed Hillside House. The contemporary four-storey property can be found on the hills of the Nestle Valley, California.

According to the architects: “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.

“This contemporary Californian property is a statement of what is possible combining luxury design while keeping sustainability a key focus.

“The contemporary Californian property – 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 capitalise on stunning views of the bay and the San Francisco skyline beyond. Some of the Eco-credntials of the property include, energy star-rated Whirlpool appliances, Kohler low-flow plumbing fixtures and New World Millworks, reclaimed timber and recycled metal roofing.”