This eco construction were design as sled house to fulfill the client’s needs of having a holiday house. As they wanted to built it in a coastal erosion zone, on Coromandel Peninsula, the architect then decided to design a movable house. The form reminds us to surf shacks or beach observation towers.  This two story building actually has dining, kitchen, living and bathroom space along with two bedrooms. The unique feature is when the family is not using it, it can close itself up against the elements.

Natural materials were used for this sustainable architecture building house. Wooden materials are dominated, including its two thick wooden sleds that allows its owners to move it as required by local planning regulations. Sustainable water treatment and waste management are available. Family’s waste are treated in a worm tank system, and two grey water tanks are also available. The front shutter acts also as an awning that may protect the house from harsh sun light while still allowing winter sun to penetrate the interior. A wood fire place is available to control the indoor temperature on winter.

The interior was designed very efficient, where every available space is used, from cabinetry toe spaces to secret cubby holes within the children’s bunks.

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It may seem silly, but I like a ceiling fan that does something, and I don’t just mean move the air around. Well the Air Shadow Mechanical Ceiling Fan by Fanimation exceeded even my expectations. Having grown up in the family lighting store, I am pretty jaded. It is rare when a ceiling  fan makes me say “wow”, but that is literally the first words that came out of my mouth when I saw this cool, modern and industrial fan.

When I first saw Fanimation’s Air Shadow Ceiling Fan, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. It vaguely looked fan like but the blades looks so small that I looked all but useless for circulating air. Then I thought that it must be some other type of mechanical device which had a purpose I couldn’t quite fathom. When I asked about it the owner just gave me a knowing smile and clicked on his remote control.

The device began to turn, slowly increasing its speed until centrifugal force smoothly unfurled the curved blades and it looked just like a really cool, contemporary style ceiling fan. The maple blades looked like some sort of experimental aircraft and the crisp and shiny chrome body looked every bit as hip as most other contemporary fans on the market.

As I said above, all I could do is say “wow”, the Air Shadow quietly and efficiently created a cool breeze even though it was mounted high up on a sloped, vaulted ceiling. When I asked what it did when you turn it off, i quickly got my answer. As this amazing modern fan slowed down the blades slowly tucked themselves away into a compact little package that didn’t obstruct his view of the ocean from his upstairs loft nearly as much as a regular fan would.

You really have to see this fan in action to believe it so I have included this short video by Fanimation so you can see for yourself.

Fanimation is well known for their fan designs that do something like the tropically chic, belt-driven Palmetto with bamboo blades or the unique single bladed Enigma. True to its name, the Air Shadow Mechanical Ceiling Fan doesn’t use power to open and close, it operates mechanically with perfectly balanced springs and centrifugal force to achieve this maneuver so when not in motion, the fan remains closed.

If you are interested in this amazing wonder of fan design for your contemporary home, the Air Shadow Mechanical Ceiling Fan by Fanimation is available for a fantastic price from Lumens Light + Living. It is sure to make your friends say “wow”!

Great ideas are sometimes the most soft-spoken, and quite silent!

Silent magnetic wind turbine

Photo:  windsordi

Source: Flickr

Patios and decks are evolving fast thanks to a new generation of outdoor fire amenities. The Key West Coffee Table by Firegear, for example,  which was introduced in 2011, is actually a portable propane fire pit. The elegant contemporary table is 43 inches wide, 20.25 inches tall, and 20

inches deep,and has a 30 inch-long stainless steel burner running across the top.

According to the manufacturer the burner is covered first with a 1-inch (minimum) layer of cinders/lava rock and then you can add a layer of “fire glass,” or “fire stones” — also available from Firegear (the two units above, one with a stainless steel top and the other with a bronze powder-coated one, courtesy Firegear). Eco Smart Fire makes a wide range of outdoor fire features (some of which I have mentioned in previous posts). The Dish, shown here, is

one of their most classic designs and recalls both Frank Lloyd Wright’s urns  and an abstract campfire (image courtesy Eco Smart Fire). It’s made of steel, stands 9.2 inches high with a diameter of 23.6 inches, and burns bio-ethanol. For the old-fashioned wood burning aficionado there are legions of products based on versions of the old drum idea but one example stands out for originality and

and practicality: the Landmann Ball of Fire Outdoor Fireplace. The steel mesh sphere puts the flames on a pedestal while protecting you from the sparks; dimensions are 30.25 x 32.75 x  34.75 inches (image courtesy Best Barbecue Grills Reviews.com).

Architects and designers have always been interested in using outdoor fireplaces to shape a place, not to mention a patio or terrace. Julia Morgan — architect of Hearst Castle — designed one of the most evocative outdoor fireplaces ever, in the late 1920s — actually four-in-one — as a monument to commemorate the saving of an old-growth redwood forest. It’s called the California Federation of

Women’s Clubs Hearthstone, built as part of a picnic site near the South Fork of the Eel River in Northern California, and is made of stone and redwood (photo by Andy Bird courtesy 101 Things.com). There’s a bit of an irony here, since the fireplaces would presumably consume the occasional redwood log, but it is nonetheless a marvelously poetic expression of a partnership between man and nature. It’s a small, gabled, cruciform-shaped temple to the gods — as if the entire forest were one giant house and this was its hearth. For a more recent residential example, consider the outdoor fireplace at a house in Washington’s

San Juan Islands by Olson Kundig Architects. The house and the fireplace are set into a stone outcropping. The hearth is “carved out of existing stone; leveled on top…otherwise left raw” according to the architect, so the fireplace is in one sense hewn right out of the site (photo courtesy Olson Kundig Architects).

Outdoor fireplaces are even designed into some of our ready-made plans, like

this one in Plan 120-162, which is part of a lanai overlooking the backyard. So you can see, there many ways — from temporary to permanent — to add a little summer sizzle to your outdoor space.

The New York Times reports that Beverly Hills is slowly coming around to the idea of preserving its historical and cultural assets instead of tearing them down. The city enacted the first historical preservation ordinance in its 98-year history and the hope is that the action will inspire more of the cities in Los Angeles to follow suit. Sadly, Los Angeles still has a long way to go. Case in point is the all-to recent tear down of the Lloyd Wright-designed Moore House. Read the article here.

Image via the NYT

For too many years, potable water was taken for granted, and considered too plentiful to even meter. Low utility rates did nothing to discourage wasteful water practices until about 15 years ago. That’s when water prices began rising, and they haven’t stopped.

Given those rising costs, more people today are interested in cutting their household water consumption. If you are one of those homeowners who are looking to reduce water consumption, here are five easy to implement steps that you can take. 

Here's a link to an article in the New York Times that proves Modernism appeals to all ages: 84-year-old Patricia Marks had long dreamed of living in a Modernist home and she finally got her wish granted--she lives in the the Allyn Morris Studio in the Silver Lake neighborhood of LA. Read more and see more here.

Image via NYT website

You’d think with the amount of time we architects spend in school, all the esoteric titles on our book-shelves, and the cryptic language we use amongst one another at dinner parties that the keys to understanding modernism would be complicated, scholarly and difficult to comprehend. You’d be led to believe that the fruits of modern design are only achieved after years of study and monastic-like internships; the culmination of having actually read all of those books on our shelves. It’s what many of us architects would like you to believe. These diversions do a good job of justifying why we write “manifestos” that nobody understands and they validate why we need to take out a second mortgage to afford all of those linen hardcover books.

But the fact of the matter is that good modern design can be boiled down to a handful of basic principles; principles that you don’t need a Ph.D. in architecture to understand. Today’s post is an explanation of five simple codes of modernism. Over the years, we’ve found that these 5 are present in almost every good example of modernism and they matter more than all of the obscure styles, trends and fashions put together. Granted, good modern design requires more than just these principles, but these 5 will get you most of the way there.

1. Line things up. Seriously, just line things up. As simple and obvious as this sounds, we’re constantly blown-away at the variety of architecture out there with features that should line up, but don’t. And as soon as you notice, you can’t stop noticing. One of our favorite examples of lining things up gets built into every home and commercial space that we do. We have a simple diagram on our cover sheet indicating that all door handles, light switches, shower controls and towel bars are to vertically align (basically anything that you reach out to touch or operate occurs in the same plane). You may not cognitively recognize what’s going on in a home where everything aligns, there’s just a visual harmony that works. But once you do notice, well…

2. Eighty-six the gratuitous. If it doesn’t need to be there, get rid of it. Good modern architecture is rarely about itself; it’s more often about the people and activities that go on inside and around the architecture. The breakfast nook below is everything it needs to be and nothing more. The space is about a family sharing meals together, kids doing their homework, dogs lying underneath waiting for table scraps and the daily celebration of life.

3. Use paint judiciously. Materials like wood, steel and stone have already worked hard to produce their inherent, beautiful qualities. Good modernism is true to itself, so don’t cover up all of nature’s labor with a thick coat of your favorite color. We have a tongue-in-cheek rule of thumb that the only thing you should paint is gypsum wall board and other paint.

4. Be authentic. Express the elements that need to be there and be deliberate about it. The drop beam designed into the simple shed below becomes one of the primary design features of the composition. Because it needs to be there structurally, there is an intuitive response that it belongs there visually.

5. Know when to stop. There’s a certain point at which simplifying is no longer sensible and it’s important to recognize–and yield to– this threshold. Good modernism is cost-effective. Minimalism, on the other hand, is complicated, expensive and (typically) inauthentic. Removing the column in the application below may lend to a cleaner, more minimal aesthetic. But the fact of the matter is that there are significant structural loads being resolved at that particular point in the house. Resolving these loads by some other means would be difficult and ridiculously costly – it would lack sensibility. An attenuated steel column is used here to deal with the increased point-load and the subsequent slenderness ratio. The column is differentiated from the other structural components of the house; in addition to being cost effective and sensible, it’s also a celebrated component of the interior.

Let us know what’s on your list of design principles.

Cheers, from TeamBUILD