Primitive Hut 5

Source: Mikael Olsson archdaily.com

Summer House, Nannberga, Sweden, 2011 designed by General Architecture

The house was taken apart and moved to an old pasture along the shores of Lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers from Arboga. Concrete plinths were cast as a new foundation before the timber structure was put back up again. -- ArchDaily

Forest Refuge, Wolfurt, Austria, 2011 designed by Bernd Riegger Architektur

This forest shelter, known as the ‘Waldsetzkasten’ [lit: forest display case] has been designed so as to appear from the outside as an open shelving unit. The surrounding display areas are used by the children for example as a place to store and exhibit all the wonderful things they have found, as an insect hotel or even as a place to leave food for the forest inhabitants. -- ArchDaily

Source: Adrien Williams archdaily.com

Les Marais, Wentworth-Nord, QC J0T, Canada, 2012 designed by Alain Carle Architecte

....This reduction of architectural expression to a single profile serves to reveal the void orchestrating around the “limits” of the whole. The specificity of the place therefore plays a central role in determining the arrangement of the three “icons” in the space. -- ArchDaily

Source: Rafael Dubreu archdaily.com

House In Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, UK, 2012 designed by Peter Feeny Architects

....a new build in order to maximize the relationship between the architecture and surrounding landscapes. Oak was selected to provide a universal and sustainable cladding material. Glazed perforations respond accordingly to each elevation providing a storyline between the interior function and the gardens or fields. -- ArchDaily

Source: Andrew Lee archdaily.com

Private Residence on Isle of Skye, Waternish, Isle of Skye, Highland IV55, UK, 2012 designed by Dualchas Architects

The design is directly inspired by a black shed on the adjacent croft, simple in form and clearly rooted to its landscape. The form developed out of a desire to lose the bulk of the relatively large building into the shadow of the cliff behind so that the 1 ½ storey element containing all the bedrooms sits behind the main simple communal living space in front. -- ArchDaily

Source: Gaudenz Danuser archdaily.com

Refugi Lieptgas, Flims, Lieptgas, 7018 Flims, Switzerland, 2012 designed by Architektin AAM

The new hut now stands as a petrification of the abandoned structure in exactly the same place. The timber log constuction of the old cabin was used as the formwork, the walls were cast massively in insulating concrete. The surface is rough, nature will soon reconquer the artefact. -- ArchDaily

Source: Marion Lafogler archdaily.com

Atelier Kitchen Haidacher, 39030 Perca Bolzano, Italy, 2013 designed by Lukas Mayr Architekt

From a design point of view, restraint was the rule: all of the walls, wall-building elements, the floor and the underside of the roof were burnished using black epoxy resin. The light is absorbed by these elements. So what remains is an atmosphere that becomes almost sacred in this context, with the focus strongly trained on the essential elements of the questions posed. -- ArchDaily

Source: Thomas Jantscher archdaily.com

Savioz House Conversion, Les Savioz, Marlens, France, 2013 designed by Savioz Fabrizzi Architectes

Our new intervention reveals the history of this building by showing all the materials used for the façade over the years. The original stones, the bricks added in the eighties and the contemporary concrete modifications are disclosed and a dark painting makes all these raw textures uniform. -- ArchDaily

Source: Peter Jurkovič archdaily.com

IST-Family House, 851 10 Čunovo, Slovakia, 2013 designed by JRKVC

....a fusion of old and contemporary architecture. The icon–shaped house has a small footprint, tiny picturesque windows and a porch. -- ArchDaily

Source: Levente Sirokai archdaily.com

The Long Brick House, Pilisborosjenő, Hungary, 2013 designed by Foldes Architects

....we discovered the great potential of the corridor concept. We turned this horizontal axis into a highly beneficial and unique element of the house, a 17 meter long wall of library. The house has a 50 cm thick brick wall, meeting the heating technological standards and giving sufficient thermal inertia. The ceiling slab is made of wood and the empty, well ventilated attic behaves as a „buffer zone” optimising the inner climate. -- ArchDaily

Source: Yoon, Joonhwan archdaily.com

Inbo Catholic Church, Ulsan, South Korea, 2013 designed by Archigroup MA

The segmented volumes of the church, separated by functions, are in harmony with the small scale of the rural town. The steep roof of the church harmonizes with surrounded mountains to become the symbolic center of the village. -- ArchDaily

Source: Klaus Dieter Weiss archdaily.com

House B in B, Drosselweg 8, 31675 Bückeburg, Germany, 2013 designed by Matti Schmalohr

The larch façade and on the roof underscores the monolithic character of the archetypal house. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jérémie Souteyrat archdaily.com

Transustainable House, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan, 2014 designed by SUGAWARADAISUKE

....this house expands the dwelling space both inside and outside, and converts the entire site into a group of spaces with different qualities.
Private rooms are placed diagonally in the site, while common areas are created between them, transforming the rest of the site into ‘semi-indoor’ residential area. The ‘semi-indoor’ areas extend the resident’s spatial perception beyond the site boundary over the enclosed semi-transparent walls.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Timothy Hursley archdaily.com

Lions Park Scouts, Lions Park, Greensboro, Alabama, USA, 2014 designed by Rural Studio

The Scout Hut structure consists of ten wooden trusses, or bents, supported on slender steel footing and resting on a concrete slab. The bents are made of true dimension, rough-cut pine 2x6s and 2x8s. Stacked horizontally within the sides of the bents are logs, 2” – 8” in diameter, which function as exterior cladding and provide ballast for the structure. -- ArchDaily

Source: Finckh Architekten archdaily.com

House F, Germany, 2014 designed by Finckh Architekten

....the long gable sides are covered with 6cm slim, highly insulating, translucent polycarbonate panels. in this way the maximum allowed internal space of 4,58m is obtained. this translucent thermal insulation facade heats and exposes the interior a natural way and ensures the privacy against the neighbors. This interplay between design and envelope, open and close, transparent and translucent surfaces dominate the interior and creates space for the unexpected. It forms a cosmos from different light and shadow provisions, flowing soft and widening to infinity -- ArchDaily

Source: Adolf Bereuter archdaily.com

Haus Kaltschmieden, 6951, Austria, 2014 designed by Bernardo Bader Architects

The longish, seemingly composed building with a classic ridged roof already anticipates a farming building. It is no surprise in such an area where agriculture defines the landscape. Sheds and barns are widely scattered. The few, but precisely placed and well-proportioned openings in extraordinary formats are only noticed on a second glance. -- ArchDaily

Source: BoysPlayNice archdaily.com

The Dox House, Pyšely, Czech Republic, 2014 designed by Mjölk architekti

Main view is open to the south in front of near forest. House efforts to embrace the inner central staircase. It´s doing not only because to divide interior´s spaces or create   recesses of kitchen and study but let them interconnected as well. -- ArchDaily

Source: Hammer Architects archdaily.com

North Pamet Ridge House, Truro, MA, USA, 2014 designed by Hammer Architects

The design evolved to become an upside-down house with guest rooms on the lower level and the living spaces and master bedroom above. The simple shape with its nine and twelve gable roof can be viewed as an extruded Cape Cod cottage while the exposed wood structure recalls rustic cabins. -- ArchDaily

Source: Maarten Laupman archdaily.com

Blackbird, 5831 Boxmeer, Netherlands, 2014 designed by Onix Architects

The house has a barn like image which closely relates to the local farm architecture. -- ArchDaily

Source: Pixelmoreno archdaily.com

Sda, Tarragona, Tarragona, Spain, 2014 designed by NUA Arquitectures

The building was conceived with a double industrial-artisanal logic. The structural system and the lateral facades where built up with prefabricated metallic elements in order to shorten the construction time. The frontal facades were constructed by a fabric skin which contextualise the new equipment with its surroundings. The compact and hermetic nature of the building responds to climatic and security requirements, nevertheless when thecenter is on service, it opens to the users allowing natural light inside. -- ArchDaily

Source: Florian Holzherr archdaily.com

Holzhaus am Auerbach, Bavaria, Germany, 2015 designed by Arnhard & Eck

The wooden house its only four meters wide, the area kitchen / dining, living and sleeping is open-plan and connected by stairs, each half a level above the other. -- ArchDaily

Urban Elements: Train Stop

Source: Domyjinak archdaily.com

Train Stop Varnsdorf – Pivovar Kocour, Liberec, Czech Republic, 2013 designed by Domyjinak

The first private train stop in the public space and private administration in the Czech Republic.... The concept of the simple volume, two intersected open cubes, found the inspiration in wooden brewery boxes – beer basses. From the interior of these boxes a massive wooden bench with names of train stops on, protrudes into the space. The bench is carried by the logo of the brewery – steel „statue“ of the tomcat (“kocour” in Czech). -- ArchDaily

Buildings for boat

Source: construction.com

Community Rowing Boathouse, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 2008 designed by Anmahian Winton Architects

For inspiration for the wood Community Rowing Boathouse, the architects looked to regional vernacular linear buildings, such as covered bridges and tobacco sheds. Tobacco sheds provided a particularly compelling model because sculls and shells, like tobacco leaves, need proper ventilation. This observation led the architects to the idea of a kinetic building. -- Architectural Record

Source: Jorge Allende archdaily.com

Sports Technification Centre For Rowing And Canoeing, Orio, Basque Country, Spain, 2012 designed by U.T.E. Atristain Begiristain

The new steel columns hold the light plane corresponding to the cover. Thanks to these supports the cover can be a thin sheet giving a light character to the cover. The ceiling lights created from different glass folds on the cover sheet, add natural lighting to the building. -- ArchDaily

Source: Steve Hall Hedrich Blessing archdaily.com

WMS Boathouse at Clark Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2013 designed by Studio Gang Architects

The boathouse’s design translates the time-lapse motion of rowing into an architectural roof form, providing visual interest while also offering spatial and environmental advantages that allow the boathouse to adapt to Chicago’s distinctive seasonal changes. With structural truss shapes alternating between an inverted “V” and an “M,” the roof achieves a rhythmic modulation that lets in southern light through the building’s upper clerestory. -- ArchDaily

Source: James Ewing archdaily.com

Hudson River Education Center And Pavilion, Beacon, New York, USA designed by Architecture Research Office

While the Education Center is an iconic destination, the boat pavilion is conceived as a threshold in deference to the expansive Hudson River. The roof is a horizontal plane of corrugated steel that parallels a large wood deck from which boats launch. The painted steel structure is economical and sturdy. Secure storage for up to sixty-four kayaks or canoes, a changing room and storage area are enclosed by aluminum bar grating panels. The textures, patterns, orientation and details of the corrugated steel, wood deck and bar grating bring these ordinary elements into an elegant composition.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Montse Zamorano archdaily.com

Sotogrande’s Sailing School, Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain, 2013 designed by Héctor Fernández Elorza/HFE Arch + Carlos García Fernández

The pergola, constructed in front of the school, unifies all the project elements while also creating a shaded threshold, covering the exterior from direct sun exposure, stretching towards the southern end of the building. Seen from a distance, the school becomes a landmark near the port entrance. -- ArchDaily

Source: Nigel Young | Foster + Partners, archdaily.com

Yacht Club de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco, 2014 designed by Foster + Partners

The yacht club is the symbolic centrepiece of the Monaco’s remodelled harbour front. It celebrates the principality’s spectacular coastline and its nautical heritage, creating a series of deck-like terraces that step up along the harbour to offer unrivalled views out to races at sea or inland over the course of the renowned Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit. --  ArchDaily

Source: Arnaud Marthouret archdaily.com

A Modern Boathouse in a Canadian Landscape, Parry Sound District, ON, Canada, 2014 designed by Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited

Through careful form-making and the use of rustic materials, the project responds gently both to the natural and cultural context of the area, where historically built-form yields to the power of the landscape with its exposed and glacially carved granite and wind swept jack pines. -- ArchDaily

Source: Nigel Rigden archdaily.com

Portsoy Boatshed, Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, UK, 2015 designed by Brown + Brown Architects

The job essentially comprises a modern timber building, which has been slipped inside a reconstructed stone skin. Due to the setting of an historic harbour, no new openings were permitted in the stone walls, resulting in most of the natural light coming via a ridge rooflight, which runs the length of the building. -- ArchDaily

Cylindrical 13

Source: Akitema archdaily.com

Plan, Source: archdaily.com

Culture Center, Akureyri, Iceland, 2010 designed by Arkitema Architects

Its significance as a social linchpin is reflected partly in the building’s circular form, and partly in the public pedestrian street which cuts through the building. The arts centre is anchored in Icelandic nature: externally, the building is clad with rods and bars of a special variety of Icelandic granite called Studlaberg. The robust facade presents an organic rhythm, with high narrow windows positioned according to the daylight needs of the various functions. -- ArchDaily

Source: Margarita Yawein archdaily.com

Palace of Schoolchildren, Bauyrzhan Momyshuly Avenue, Astana, Kazakhstan, 2011 designed by Studio 44 Architects

The Shangyrak is a wooden crown doming a Kasakh yurt with a central opening over the fireplace. In our project, this sacral element of a Kazakh traditional dwelling is reinterpreted as a cylinder 8 m in height and 156 m in diameter. The giant disc has openings and skylights providing natural light inside the building, into a central atrium space. It covers stepped compositions of rectangular “boxes” each containing a functional element – skating rink, museum, shooting gallery, theater, etc. -- ArchDaily

Source: Adam Mørk archdaily.com

Plan, Source: archdaily.com

Ecco’s Hotel, Ecco Alleen 4, Tonder, Denmark, 2013 designed by Studio DISSING+WEITLING Architecture

The design of the building is optimised in every way, not only through the use of geothermal heating/cooling and solar energy but also the circular shape of the floor plan itself which makes for the best utilisation of the available space, short distances within the building and minimum heat loss on account of the reduced surface area. -- ArchDaily

Source: Raymond Chow archdaily.com

Plan, Source: archdaily.com

Borden Park Pavilion, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 2014 designed by gh3

The building recalls the iconic geometry of classical parks and pavilions, given the surrounding curving paths and loose axial relationships, typical of traditional English school of landscaping. -- ArchDaily

Climbing Up 7

Source: wikipedia.org

Hysan Place, Hong Kong designed by KPF

Shoppers can also take skip-stop elevators, or express, skip-stop escalators superimposed on the front façade of the building, à la the Pompidou Center in Paris. -- ARCHITECT Magazine

Source: Klaas Verdru archdaily.com

ARhus Knowledge Center, Roeselare, Belgium, 2014 designed by BURO II & ARCHI+I

The site will become a new multifunctional inner-city area with private and public functions including everything from housing, homes for senior citizens, shops, offices and exhibition areas to a knowledge centre with a library. The knowledge centre is going to be an open house, a public information forum and meeting place for people of all ages. -- ArchDaily

Mathieu Gafsou archdaily.com

Rovereaz Housing, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2014 designed by LOCALARCHITECTURE

On the street side, facing north, the building reveals a relatively closed facade, with a verticality enhanced by the undulations of the facade material. A slight fold interrupts the facade’s rhythm and underlines the bending towards Rovereaz Road. The glazed staircase leading to the apartments partitions freely the volume of the building. -- ArchDaily

Source: James Ewing archdaily.com

The New School University Center, 65 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, USA, 2014 designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Connections between classrooms, studios, library, cafés, auditorium, and student residences take the form of stacked staircases and “sky quads” that facilitate the chance encounters vital to the cultivation of discussion and debate at The New School. -- ArchDaily

Source: Julien Lanoo archdaily.com

INTECS SPA Headquarters, Rome, Italy, 2014 designed by Modostudio + Studio Cattinari

The building is composed of a series of floors, linked through connections clearly readable on the exterior facade. These connections create stairs, terraces or slopes, hosting conference rooms or outdoor auditorium, providing a functional layout extremely varied and flexible. -- ArchDaily

Source: Simon Kennedy archdaily.com

Believe in Better Building, Osterley, Isleworth, Isleworth, Greater London TW7, UK, 2014 designed by Arup Associates

The first multi-storey timber commercial office in the UK, it demonstrates the use of offsite prefabrication and timber construction to achieve a unique workplace in half the normal time-frame. 

An open staircase rises through the triple height atrium to the rooftop terrace and restaurant. At first and second floors the stair width is increased to incorporate breakout spaces, providing not only circulation, and visual communication across the floors and out to the plaza, but creates a social and interactive focus to the building. -- ArchDaily

Urban Design in City Governments

Urban Design Department, Boston Redevelopment Authority, City of Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Urban design is the art and science of shaping a city's public realm. That realm is collectively comprised of public spaces, the activities that occur within them, and the buildings that frame them.  The role of the BRA's Urban Design (UD) Department is to ensure that the urban design principles that define Boston’s unique character are widely promoted and embedded in the planning and redevelopment projects in the city. Every day, UD's multidisciplined staff faces the challenge of honoring the City's historic character while promoting contemporary development. -- City of Boston , Massachusetts

Urban Design, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

What is urban design? This term means different things to different people. To some, it is a decorative art, concerned with making a city more attractive with landscaping, special street lights, banners, dramatic artwork, and the like. To others, it is nothing short of every aspect of how a city is put together, including the design of streets, parks and open space, and how buildings look and feel. In Cambridge, the urban design effort has built on the latter proposition, that urban design is part city and transportation planning, part architecture, and part landscape design. -- City of Cambridge, Massachusetts 

Urban Design Studio, City of Portland, Oregon, USA

The Urban Design Studio works with the community and agency partners to address citywide spatial design issues and opportunities. UDS develops concepts using illustrations, maps and diagrams; facilitates design workshops; and implements objectives through design policy and regulatory framework changes. -- The City of Portland, Oregon

City Design Group, City and County of San Francisco, California, USA

Combining the disciplines of city planning, architecture, and landscape architecture, the department’s team of urban designers works to improve San Francisco’s livability through concern for the physical qualities of the city. In 2005 this important role within the department’s long-range Citywide Planning Division was formalized via the establishment of the City Design Group (CDG).

The City Design Group’s goal is to recognize the positive qualities of San Francisco’s built environment and its relationship with the natural setting, and to create and foster initiatives that build upon these qualities in ways that strengthen the city’s sense of place. -- City and County of San Francisco, California

Urban Design Studio, City of Los Angeles, California, USA

Founded in 2006, the Studio practices an integrated approach that brings together principles of good urban design with innovative policy. The Studio aims to make it easier to build spaces that provide functionality, variety, delight, and a sense of belonging: a better Los Angeles. The Studio is a part of the City of Los Angeles Planning Department. It is supported by student interns from across a range of disciplines. -- The City of Los Angeles, California

CityDesign Studio, City of Dallas, Texas, USA

The Dallas CityDesign Studio was formed in October of 2009 through a grant to the City from the Trinity Trust Foundation, funded by a generous gift from Deedie and Rusty Rose, to focus on neighborhoods and development along the Trinity. Housed within City Hall, the CityDesign Studio blends together the broader design community and the City of Dallas. The purpose of the Dallas CityDesign Studio is to elevate the design consciousness and culture of Dallas, while working to balance social, economic, environmental, and design sustainability towards enhancing livability for all Dallas residents. -- City of Dallas, Texas

Urban Design Department, City of St. Louis, Missouri, USA

The Urban Design Department is part of the City of St. Louis’ Planning and Urban Design Agency. Staff designers work with Aldermen, development professionals, neighborhood residents, and other City departments to guide and support livable, appropriate development based on each project’s needs and goals. -- City of St. Louis, Missouri

Urban Design, City of Toronto, Canada

High-quality urban design is an essential ingredient for building a great city. From the largest-scale plans down to the smallest site and building details, urban designers strive at every level to create beautiful, vibrant, safe and inclusive places. -- City of Toronto, Canada