Articles by Bianca Valentina Roșescu

A vacation home is a perfect place for relaxing that the family belongs to during the holiday or a place to live in retired life. For this reason, the design based on an understanding of the surrounding environment is important to enhance an incredible retreat for this place. This house is located along Nakhon Nayok River and many questions arise about this place like “How to put the river view into every room in this house and how to enhance the enjoyment of family members who live in this house?”

Subtly referencing the history of the area and surrounding urban fabric, we approached the small inner-city site with intention of maximizing living spaces within the tight perimeter and creating the illusion of a renovated heritage factory despite it being a new build. The home is constructed from red bricks that were sourced from character homes in the neighborhood that had been demolished. The reuse and celebration of this locally sourced material was a cornerstone of the design approach.

Early BKK started with a strong intention and passion of Kaytita Chaisuksiri, to create a community café with truly green and sustainable concepts in her neighborhood. She found a site location in her village which is a strong living community in Bangkok. In this community, mostly big families with all generations including pets, therefore Early BKK aimed to be a tangible space that can be accessible to all. Unlike most of the café and retail businesses which always think about making profits. Early BKK, on the other hand, thinks about how to introduce recycling and green concept and lifestyle to the visitors and neighbors. Seeing many problems arising with regard to waste management these days, upcycling materials that have been overlooked are taken to important parts of the design.

The ‘360° House’ is a freestanding house located in the outskirt hills of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. The residence is designed around a circular courtyard with timber construction radiating outward into the interior of the building. The interior spaces are oriented towards the courtyard and follow the radial lines set out by the visible timber beams. The layout of the rooms is determined by a circular path of access wrapping around the courtyard, giving the dweller an ever-changing perspective of the courtyard and the interiors surrounding it. Hence, the dweller might see the courtyard function as an architectural clock; dynamically lighting up different parts of the building during the day and continually changing during the seasons.

Renovating the Haratian House was a challenging project, with challenges such as the small size of the building, the variety of required spaces, privacy, and creating a sense of security for the employer.