YOSSAWAT » urban

The Blue House by Pieter Weijnen

Yossawat — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:00:34 +0000

Architect Pieter Weijnen’s tall, skinny blue house stands on Steigereiland, one of seven artificial islands dredged from Amsterdam’s IJ Lake in IJburg, the city’s most recent urban expansion plan. The house is not much older than the ground it’s built upon and is surrounded by deep-blue waters and a dizzying range of forms, finishes, and hues—just minutes away from the historic city center.

The “fairytale boat,” so visible from the outside, is also the first thing you see upon entering the house. Suspended above the ground floor, the enigmatic, scaly, blue-green mass hovers, just as likely the belly of a sea dragon as the hull of some fantasy ship. From below, the color and texture of the copper plates, with their beautiful verdigris, form a sculptural centerpiece for the house, articulating and enhancing the vertical thrust of the space rather than interrupting it.

“We always intended to have the kitchen at street level and the living room above it,” says Weijnen, explaining how “the ship” evolved. “So I decided to suspend the living room on a platform 13 feet from the floor. As it’s so visible, the platform needed to have an interesting shape. A friend of mine who builds yachts designed a hull-like structure for it, and we finished it off with recycled copper from a church roof, cut into plates.”

“The beams weigh a ton each,” says Weijnen. “They’re so hard that cutting them destroyed several chainsaw blades.” The giant weathered braces are mounted on concrete blocks set with shells, the idea of the project builder, Jasper Kerkhofs. “He was a great person to work with,” says Weijnen. “He interpreted my drawings brilliantly and was constantly thinking along with us.” The team used recycled materials throughout the house, which the architect intended as “an experiment in sustainability.”

“As an architect, you can have a big influence,” Weijnen says. “In the Netherlands, builders, architects, and developers are all waiting for each other, happy to stick to the legal minimum requirements for new buildings. So I think we just have to get on and do it.” Accordingly, Faro Architecten, the firm Weijnen cofounded and which currently employs a staff of 38 on a range of large-scale projects, “now tends to build in sustainability,” he explains. “But with developers, I don’t talk about things like climate change. I talk about added value and better sales instead.”

The Blue House, which Weijnen describes as “a learning process” in sustainable building, uses half of the energy normally used by a new house of the same size. On the roof terrace, where several apple trees (a gift from a local farmer) are growing, a double-pipe solar water heater uses hot wastewater to help heat clean water. Under the recycled-wood garden terrace, a large tank collects rainwater that is used to operate toilets. An air-cooling system inspired by traditional Arabian wind towers conveys the air outside in underground pipes, which cool it before pumping it back in.

Source : dwell

Confident Color : Interior design ideas by Jeffrey Bilhuber

Yossawat — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:00:08 +0000

Jeffrey Bilhuber’s design style reflects how we live our lives today. His uniquely American perspective breathes new live into traditionalism with a confirmed understanding of modern sensibilities. He mixes periods and design ideas with a confidence and instinctive style whose rules are self-evident: practicality and sheer beauty. Bilhuber is recognized for his contemporary spin on classic design and universally acknowledged as major style force in this millennium.

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Nowhere is this more evident than in his widely successful first large format book JEFFREY BILHUBER’S DESIGN BASICS, forward by Anna Wintour, which has already had multiple printings and ranks as the number one title in its market segment. Second and third titles are “new American living rooms” and “east coast rooms”. This is some interior design ideas by Jeffrey Bilhuber.

Of course the curtains and walls should be same strong color!

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A luxurious use of stained paneling enhances the espresso horsehair upholstery and compliments the cool blues of the curtain fabric.

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The urban Living Room counteracts a grey cityscape with its bold and assured use of brilliant color on all the upholstered pieces.

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An indigo blue painted floor connects this beach house with the ocean outside.

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The spring green curtains unite the outdoor landscape at this beach house.

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This children’s reading room is alive with possibilities and optimism!

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Strong, clear colors neutralize each other and contribute to a sense of calm and restfulness.

Source : Bihuber & Associates

PENTHOUSE, OLD CITY, PHILADELPHIA by August Interiors

Yossawat — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:10:33 +0000

An urban dwelling for a young entrepreneurial couple in a new high-rise in Old City Philadelphia becomes a soothing retreat for living and working.

The uninterrupted sprawling views of Center City were taken into consideration while planning the finish and color palette of this space. The reflective hues of city buildings at dusk were used to create the smooth palette you see.

Source : August Interiors