Titled the DHAN series, it consists of base modules that include a fully fitted bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and living space as well as smaller expansion modules such as additional bedrooms or living areas. With over ten different modules to choose from, multiple configurations can be created to suit any family, lifestyle or site. This allows owners to extend or add freestanding modules when needed as well as having the flexibility to downsize over time.

The DHAN series is characterised by finishes and details developed in Donovan Hill’s domestic architecture. Off-white interiors with timber window and door frames allow the personalisation of interiors by owners. The timber pelmet incorporates general room lighting as well as provision for art and curtain hanging. Plywood exteriors suit Australian environmental conditions and are offered with a colour choice to suit individual settings. Distinctive roof forms and coloured ventilation flaps characterise the exterior form.

Completed entirely off site in controlled factory conditions the modules take between 4-12 weeks to complete and can be installed on site within days. This is great for the environment as only one trip to the site is needed instead of builders and deliveries having to travel to the site each day over a number of months.

Due to their quick construction and flexibility this type of housing can also make a difference in emergency relief. Donovan Hill’s Happy Haus model was amongst nineteen designs selected for the Bushfire Homes Service for rebuilding homes that were destroyed in the 2009 Victorian bushfires.

• www.happyhaus.com.au
• www.donovanhill.com.au
• www.wewillrebuild.vic.gov.au

Photography: Jon Linkins

Images via archdaily

The Osler House by Marcio Kogan is located in Brasilia, Brazil.

The house is composed of two rectangular volumes, stacked one on top of the other and arranged perpendicularly to create a sheltered entertaining terrace at ground level. Concrete, timber and glass form the simple palette of materials and add to the house’s minimalist nature.

Rotating wooden panels allow the ground floor rooms to open up to the yard and pool, while also enabling cross-ventilation.

The upper floor is organised as one open space with walls of glass on either side and is only interrupted by one long bench that solely forms the kitchen. With all appliances and storage contained in this bench and no overhead cupboards, a sense of visual transparency is maintained.

There is also a garden terrace on the roof of the ground floor that can be accessed via the living room and set of sculptural external stairs.

Check out the website of Marcio Kogan here.

Also visit archdaily for more images.  

The Suurupi House Extension, located in Estonia is designed by Arhitektid Muru & Pere.

Initially designed and built in 1998/99, the one-storey house was a simple wooden ‘”matchbox” to cater for the needs of a young family with children. As the family grew and the children got older various additions were made culminating in the latest addition of a second floor in 2008/09.

‘The modest “matchbox” has been made bigger in time, the drawer was stretched out further and further until it came out of the box and could be placed, crosswise, on top as a first floor and could be covered with tangled matches.

That is how the first floor looks: a box covered with crisscrossed sticks which resembles an angular bird’s nest, a ball of hay that is pressed together, a tangle of boards, all of which glows in the dark.’ – Arhitektid Muru & Pere

I personally wonder how this timber skin will age. Will it age gracefully as the timber weathers? Or will it require a lot of maintenance and need to be replaced after a number of years? Either way it looks really cool.

via archdaily

Photography: Tarvo Varres

The external timber skin has an amazing night time quality: (above and below)

To combat a narrow and difficult site with cliffs on two sides, the house is arranged in a long pavilion containing the bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms with the living area protruding to the north east. There is also a guest house that has been strategically separated from the main building to create a terrace space and car parking court between the two buildings. This space also doubles as an outdoor theatre. Movies can be projected onto the southern wall of the guest house and viewed from the terrace above the garage.The form of each of the two buildings is derived from a single, solid, folded plane with glazing infill on the remaining sides. These folded forms act to shelter the interiors from the sun while still allowing views to be maximised. Timber slat screens on the western facades of both buildings also protect them from the afternoon sun while the corridor in the main building is situated to the west to act as a heat buffer. Large opening doors take advantage of cross ventilation and openings at either end of hallway encourage breezes to flow through the house and through the bedrooms.Other aspects of the house that aid in reducing its carbon footprint include sourcing recycled and local materials as much as possible, keeping granite excavated from the site for gravel paving and using products like reconstituted timber instead of hardwood for the slats on the western facade.

Aside from this house having the most awesome home theatre ever, I particularly like the suspended fireplace in the living area and the wet edge infinity pool overlooking the amazing view. But something like this doesn’t come cheap – According to la.curbed.com it was sold for $5.6 million US just last December!

To view more photos of the Skyline Residence along with other work from Belzberg Architects visit their website here.

Photos: Benny Chan of Fotoworks

Designed by Chenchow Little Architects, the house is situated in the coastal Sydney suburb of Harbord, overlooking Queenscliffe Bay and an adjacent reserve.

From the street the house appears as a modernist black box floating above a wall of weathered timber slats. Made from recylcled spotted gum, the timber slats conceal the garage while also forming a podium for the garden terrace and main living area above.

The use of full height glazing and sliding doors creates a strong connection between the internal living areas and the lawned terrace. (How cool is the lone tree and the little lawn mound?)

The bedrooms on the the upper level are enclosed by a series of dark metal slatted screens. These operable screens allow the house to take advantage of the amazing view through extensive glazing while still allowing for sun control and privacy.

Photos: John Gollings

For more work by Chenchow Little Architects visit their website here.

Related Post:

• 2008 Robin Boyd Award winner: Klein Bottle House – McBride Charles Ryan

The Vader House, design by Andrew Maynard Architects is an extension to a two storey Victorian terrace house located in inner city Melbourne. The form, dictated by planning restrictions and the tight site, is a clever solution that creates open, flexible spaces and blurs the boundaries between inside and out.

Some of my favourite details in this thoroughly considered house include; the folded steel stair, the expressed hanging beam over the walkway to the existing building that  appears as if it’s floating over the lounge space and, the sliding deck that reveals a hidden spa beneath. I also really like the warmth and grittiness that is created by leaving the existing brick walls exposed in contrast to the clean, hard edges of the new joinery.

I’m pretty sure the name “Vader House” refers to the black, machine-like steel structure and louvres having a slight resemblance to the helmet of the Star Wars character Darth Vader (see video below).

For more information and photos visit the Andrew Maynard Architects website here.

Photos: Peter Bennetts

The Highgate Hill Residence, by Richard Kirk Architects is a beautifully detailed house located in the inner Brisbane suburb of Highgate Hill.

Screened from the street by fine hardwood timber battens, the living area opens up to built-up platforms of timber decking and lawn, which in turn overlook the lush gully beyond.

‘In response to the dominance of the landscape, the house is entirely clad in timber and uses timber glazed façade systems where each species is selected to age in response to its orientation and weathering.’ – Richard Kirk Architects

The living and kitchen areas open up completely to the north and east through the use of sliding, stacking hardwood doors.

Spatially, the internal void over the living area plays quite an important role in the house. It creates a vertical connection with the existing trees outside to the north, allows daylight to flood the space from the south and separates the children’s bedrooms from the master bedroom on the upper floor.

‘The stair is an important organizational reference between the levels and is treated as a sculptural element that twists slightly within the void to allow its form to visually link all levels.’ – Richard Kirk Architects

Photos: Patrick Bingham Hall, Scott Burrows 

For further reading visit the Richard Kirk Architects website here.

The Binimelis House designed by Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos is located in Colina, Chile and is situated on a triangular shaped block with a slope of 40%. The living spaces are located upstairs with the bedrooms cut into the hillside downstairs.

The house has been orientated parallel with the terrain to create a direct relationship with the landscape on both levels while also taking advantage of the northern sun and views (an ideal arrangement with street access to the upper living areas from the south). A kink in the upper volume also directs the occupant’s view toward the valley and away from a nearby quarry.

Concrete, timber and stone form the simple, yet beautiful palette of materials but it is how they are used that is most appealing to me. The lower level’s organic dry stone walls create a nice contrast with the crisp and sharp nature of the upper level’s gloss stone tiles, reinforcing the appearance that the upper level is just sitting or floating there.

The stone tile cladding on the upper floor is also interestingly detailed. Check out the section detail showing this cladding extending onto the roof and how there is no hidden box gutter – the water would just run off the edge and down the walls. The other section showing the window/door opening has a 50×50 steel angle near the roof edge. I assume this would divert the rain to either side of the opening. It would be interesting to see how this works in a heavy downpour.

  Photos: Aryeh Kornfeld

 Visit the Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos website here.

For more photographs and drawings visit Archdaily here.

Via Archdaily

This has been one of my favourite Australian houses for quite a while now. Designed by Casey Brown Architecture, the house is located on a steep 45 degree slope at Mackeral Beach in NSW. It consists of three pavilions; the upper housing the main bedroom, the lower two housing the living and kitchen and beneath those are the guest bedroom and bathroom. I really like the use of materials (stone, steel, timber, glass and copper) allowing the building to blend nicely into the surrounding environment. The slender black steel structure and extensive use of glass creates a beautiful glowing ‘lantern like’ structure at night and I particularly like the frameless glass of the upper windows at the corners each pavilion.

For further reading visit The Cool Hunter

www.caseybrown.com.au

The Klein Bottle House, designed by McBride Charles Ryan, was recently awarded the 2008 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – the highest award for residential architecture in Australia.

"This holiday house is situated on the Mornington Peninsula 1.5 hrs drive from Melbourne. It is located within the tee-tree on the sand dunes, a short distance from the wild 16 beach. From the outset MCR wanted a building that nestled within the tree line. That talked about journey and the playfulness of holiday time."

"What began as a spiral or shell like building developed into a more complex spiral, the Klein bottle. MCR were keen to be topologically true to the Klein bottle but it had to function as a home. We thought an origami version of the bottle would be achievable and hold some ironic fascination. (The resulting Fibre Cement version also has a comforting relationship to the tradition of the Aussie cement sheet beach house). The house revolves around a central courtyard, a grand regal stair connecting all the levels. There is a sense of both being near and far to all occupants."

Photos: John Gollings

www.mcbridecharlesryan.com.au