In 2024, designer Bouman created Casa Boratuna, located in Vall del Llémena, Spain. The house respects Catalan vernacular architecture, resembling traditional masia farmhouses. Positioned on cross terraces, it offers views of the valley. Local stone and wooden gabled roofs connect with regional history, while the compact, square floor plan includes a central living space and corner bedrooms. Highly insulated, the house uses aerothermal energy, aligning with passive house standards for low energy consumption. Casa Boratuna thus balances traditional aesthetics with modern functionality.
Itaúna House, renovated by Siqueira+Azul in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, combines an original Oscar Niemeyer house with a modern expansion. Designed in 2017, this project transforms an urban landscape, adding a garden and leisure annex.
The designers integrated three independent constructions, interconnected with pathways, and enhanced façades with large pivoting panels. The leisure annex incorporates natural materials like stone and concrete. An oculus allows viewing the upper courtyard, blending various elements seamlessly.
Located in Ayvacık, Türkiye, the Sazlı DY House was designed in 2024 by Studio OM. Surrounded by a 4-decare olive grove, this house blends local architectural texture with a contemporary interpretation. This aims to provide a direct connection with nature while ensuring a modern living experience. Expansive windows showcase splendid views, ensuring an uninterrupted bond with the external environment.
The Gardenias House, designed by Mano de Santo in 2023, is a single-family home located in Valencia, Spain. Instead of demolishing an unfinished structure, the designers conducted structural tests to preserve and revitalize it. Skylights flood the home with natural light, and it connects with the surrounding valley views. The project emphasizes minimizing waste, integrating efficient solutions, and ensuring energy self-sufficiency through a photovoltaic system.
Covering 6,500 square feet, the Slot Haus house in Park City, Utah, designed by Klima Architecture, enchants with its smooth melding into the environment. The abode features a layout organized around a central corridor that connects areas including a guest wing, public zones, and a family section, while a central courtyard offers views of the surrounding landscape and a refuge from storms.
DV House is a stone and timber-clad residence designed by MMXX architects in Bulgaria. The home’s living room features windows on two sides, opening up to nature with expansive southern views and framed backyard vistas. Ceiling heights reach up to the roof, encompassing three bedrooms, bathrooms, and a covered porch with an outdoor dining area. A lower floor houses utility spaces, a gym, and a garage, with the gym offering a sauna and bathtub overlooking a spacious courtyard.
Peter Kjær Arkitekter designed House Between the Trees in Denmark, featuring a T-shaped layout with an archetypal roof. Completed in 2022, the structure prioritizes minimal concrete usage, utilizing a wooden construction with a terrain deck and screwed pile foundation. The house includes a bedroom wing, family room, kitchen, and two terraces, surrounded by trees. Interior wooden surfaces are treated with soap, and the breathable exterior features linseed-oiled spruce facades and a spruce board roof.
The Lotus House, also known as Pedroso I House, is a single-family home in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, designed by Raulino Silva in 2022. Nestled on land once part of the Pedroso Monastery, the steep plot maintains its natural vegetation and trees. A large terrace on the upper floor provides views at tree level and serves the main living spaces, while the lower floor features a granite stone facade, a patio, and an indoor pool.
