A Minimalist Chalet with Spectacular Views

Chalet Anzère
designed by SeARCH, Anzère, Switzerland


This spectacular "Swiss chalet” is a picture perfect retreat located in Anzère, Switzerland. Designed by SeARCH, the spectacular Swiss Alps minimalist chalet was built on a steep hillside plot and features three-levels, guest house downstairs, the main living areas in the middle and a private apartment on the top level. All floors open to a wide terrace with spectacular views over the due to wooden windows and doors with highest tecnology standard over the snowy hills. The garage, accessible from the lower road, is connected to all levels through an elevator that was carved into the mountain.

The 'traditional' chalet, originating from ‘chahtelèt’ (shepherd's hut) consists of a solid wooden house with shutters and gable roof, resting on a stone foundation.

Wooden windows and doors with highest tecnology standard: www.mestreraposa.com

Renovation of a Heritage Home

A Contemporary Addition For A Heritage Home
LSA Architects, Melbourne VIC, Australia

Sitting proudly in a row of grand Federation residences this house combines the appeal of the heritage dwelling with a bold rear contemporary addition. Created around a love of entertaining and family, the seamless link between the spaces allow for effortless flow with the strong use of texture and form.

Mindful of the heritage context, one of the underlying principles of the project was to slowly reveal the contemporary additions to the home. The formal gardens, heritage facade and bedroom zones of the stately Federation design welcome you and then the home opens up to reveal a thoroughly modern and playful rear family area.

Designed for a professional chef and his family, entertaining and lifestyle were at the core of the clients brief. The kitchen is the heart of the new interior with emphasis on the dramatic marble island bench and splashback. The dining, living, outdoor entertaining, pool and garden areas radiate off this central space.

The dining room and outdoor sitting area are enveloped in the oak lined Curve, this provides protection from the elements but offers intimacy allowing for the desired ability to entertain all year round. All rooms overlook the sapphire blue pool and lawn area. This is a home where formality, fun and family are melded into a cohesive whole.

The rejuvenated design has transformed the way the house is used and lived in. The south facing rear yard has been drawn into the house achieving a dramatic increase in light and extending habitable spaces as uses change. Whilst providing the clients wish for grand open spaces, the design team has been mindful not to create cavernous areas and jarring intersections.

The considered use of external spaces to the rear of the property has allowed the family to enjoy the substantial area to it greatest use with minimal maintenance.

More light with panoramic windows and doors: www.mestreraposa.com

Rustic Walls and Modern Windows

The Timeless Nature of Stone
Vigário House by Bruno André Architect
Paredes, Portugal

Rustic Walls and Modern Windows

The project is the outcome of the privileged context of the existing ruins, setting the conditions that unfold the new architecture narrative.

The new organism adapts itself to the old stone walls, filling the existing interstitial spaces, unifying the mass and providing a contrast backdrop against the rough stone surfaces – the main characters in the narrative – in a close dialog between the old and the new.

The stone ruins are the main element in the plot, being the new body a silent ally and a neutral stage. On the other hand, the new body translates a gesture that respects the nostalgia and history of the past, thus avoiding its loss and its fall into oblivion. At the same time, the new intervention uses the past for its own benefit, taking advantage of the geometry, textures and visual properties.

Timeless Windows and Doors with highest tecnology standard: www.mestreraposa.com

Magnificent Naturally-Cooled Residence

Terry & Terry Architecture
San Francisco Bay, USA

Terry & Terry Architecture rebuilt an existing home damaged in a 1991 Oakland fire as a beautiful residence offering staggering views of San Francisco Bay. The architects designed Skyline House for a young family who wanted an open-plan home with ample ventilation to provide natural cooling.

The house sits on a property dominated by large redwood trees, which inspired the use of timber cladding and other natural materials. The designers started off by working with the existing floor plan. They transformed the kitchen area to open out and lead to the front yard garden with an outdoor dining area.

The home is situated to take advantage of the bay breezes and the interior roofline flows to both convey the breezes through the home and to recreate the appearance of undulating fog.

A wooden tube-like envelope hugs the open common space and visually connects the garden to the front viewing deck at the rear. This form takes advantage of the winds to facilitate natural ventilation, with the main living space acting as a connection between two contrasting outdoor spaces.

Frameless windows and doors systems for a spectular view: www.mestreraposa.com

Mediterranean Beach House with Stainless Windows

By BLANKPAGE Architects, Aamchit, Lebanon

Conceived as a layering of decks, the beach house seeks to maximize its relationship with the sea through a visual and compositional celebration of horizontality in general and the mediterranean horizon in particular.

The slabs are held by a minimal steel structure made of equally sized square columns on a regular module, as well as a discreet glass enclosure with and wooden louvers in varying horizontal and vertical rhythms allowing for a relative level of privacy and shade.

Given the inclined nature of the site, the house is approached by car on the street level just below the upper deck. At the external landing entrance, the circulation interconnects the three levels of the house. The upper platform contains the master bedroom that opens up on an elongated lap pool and expansive sun deck.

The middle platform houses two bedrooms and a family living. Finally, the lower deck serves as a reception area that extends outdoors towards the sea through an infinity pool as well as a staircase to the shore.

In addition to the inner circulation core, a smooth promenade formed by a system of external ramps and staircases connects the platforms, linking the various levels of the rocky landscape that stretches between the street all the way to the sea.

The rhythms of the steel structure, wooden decking and louver systems create a multiplicity of overlapping patterns of shadows that vary in direction and length all through that vary in direction and length all through the day rendering the simple structure at once complex and alive.

At the particular moment of the sunset, the house, oriented almost due west at the elevation that faces the sea, acts as photographic diaphragm that invites the rays of the setting sun into the depths of the house, dashing the prototypical spaces in a horizontal glow of deep red.

Stainless Steel Windows, highly resistant, particularly suitable for use in coastal areas:
www.mestreraposa.com

Natural Material, Large Windows, Wood

Open Tropical Home
HYLA Architects, Singapore

Located in the Greenbank Park neighborhood of the small city-state of Singapore, this tropical home is a truly serene space that celebrates its natural surroundings along with stunning design.

The house was concepted and built by the team at HYLA Architects. It is marked by a number of unique elements, particularly the central courtyard and the use of beautiful, natural materials particularly wood paneling and slats throughout the house.

One of the most notable features in this modern home is the interior courtyard.  It’s two story height allows it to be enjoyed from almost any space in the home. The architect points out that in addition to the natural light infusion, it “acts as a buffer against noise from a major road a distance away.” Of course, it is also just plainly beautiful with its frangipani tree and small pond.

In any tropical environs it can be a challenge to create a space that allows for plenty of airflow, celebrating the natural surroundings while still maintaining a comfortable temperature for inhabitants.  To address this, in addition to the open central courtyard, there is plenty of open air space in the home, including an outdoor bath.

Large windows slide open and the living room opens out onto a covered veranda.

On the second level, bedrooms, a private screening area, and even a home office maintain the clean lines and simple designs of the rest of the home. The space is gorgeous as well as restful, the perfect tropical retreat.

 Natural material, large windows, wood: www.mestreraposa.com

Minimal Impact on the Surrounding Environment

Casa Itzimná in Mexico
Reyes Ríos + Larraín Arquitectos, Mexico


Located on the mexican peninsula of yucatan, this single storey structure uses a hybrid construction system to ensure a lightweight dwelling that has a minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

Casa Itzimná, designed by local practice reyes ríos + larraín arquitectos, combines the use of steel elements with cellular concrete, ensuring the creation of a sustainable and hospitable abode.

The home’s layout is articulated around an elongated kitchen-diner flanked with floor-to-ceiling glazing. A sheltered external terrace surrounds the property’s primary living accommodation, culminating in a sheltered patio, which encourages communal outdoor living.

An additional area of the home acts as a service area, while a garage provides enough space for three parked vehicles.

More informationa about floor-to-ceilling glazing: www.mestreraposa.com