At the entrance of the house, we have a hall access via a lift in which highlights the glass railing offering a sober and clean aesthetic appearance. Thanks to this distribution and the use of these elements the natural light penetrates through the yard.

LIVING ROOM

Spacious room in which has been designed a large window that brings freshness and breadth to the room. The decorative elements are distributed from the reddish-brown to beige to complement the paintings of the artist Mercedes Rodriguez, helping to make a distinctive note, creating a hybrid between the tones.

It can be seen as light in limelight at the center of the room provides some privacy for its indirect character.

DINING-ROOM

We move toward the most public area of the house where the dining room is located, surrounded by paintings by Mercedes Rodriguez, and supplemented below by the Capri console. These establish a division of the room into two parts and also provide strength and dynamism to the environment.

The table, with clear glass on CAPRI model with steel high brightness from A-cero In, brings serenity to the room. The carpet, that combines with sand and red tones of the painting, achieves the balance of the room.

KITCHEN

Designed by A-cero to MOBALCO, it is important to highligh  theuse of straight lines and its interesting conjugation made of sand tones with white. The ceiling lit with halogen contributes to a clean and clear enviroment.

Arranged over two levels, the ground floor is completely open-plan with a double height space at the front and side, a large dining area and through to an open-plan kitchen. At the front are double height casement windows dragging in masses of natural light and to the rear by the kitchen area are window skylights providing further light. Also on the ground floor is a bathroom and cloakroom, separated by a sliding wall (also accessed from the upper level) and a good size storage area.

On the mezzanine level, accessed by the feature concrete staircase, is a further reception area overlooking the lower reception and kitchen area and then leads to the bedroom. From the bedroom, there is another small staircase at the back, leading down to the bathroom.

Many original features retained including exposed brickwork and steel beams and the addition of underfloor heating, stunning woodwork and concrete worktops in the kitchen.

The factory consists of a newly renovated apartment of 300 m2 on the first floor. Towards the lake is a large balcony and a 25 feet long, westward facing facade. The rest of the 1st floor is one big, raw, open space, with windows on 3 sides. Space can be divided as needed.

On the ground floor there is one large room of approx. 500 m2 which can be divided as needed. The rest of the ground floor is divided into smaller rooms. Floor appears very raw and edgy.

The developer’s plan is to create loft apartments from this space – who wouldn’t want to live here?

From the first moment the house clearly shows its intentions, and bold, stylized forms, thanks to a subtle handling of curves that match harmoniously with their natural context without sacrificing a distinctly modern look. Horizontal lines dominate volumes, which are superimposed in layers, from a partially visible basement, forming layers that appear to emerge naturally from the ground.

The lines outside and inside of the house are trying to produce sculptural volumes, in fact A-Cero architecture is largely inspired by the great sculptures of contemporary artists like Richard Serra and David Nash and land art. Art and Architecture have gone hand in hand in this and all our projects.

We try to make architecture and sculpture spectacular, always within the rules, and in turn, requires a plan taht respects the customer, seeking to achieve maximum convenience to live in the house every day with comfort. To this end, the placement and uses are distributed as follows.

The Garden

In the treatment of the garden, A-Cero wanted to achieve a connectivity between the inside and outside of the home in spite of the slope that exists between the street access and lake. They solved the problem using descending lateral landings of slate gravel leading from the enormous terrace of teh first floor to the garden.

The ground floor or basement of the house has direct access from each room of that floor.
Both the ground floor terrace and the pool deck are of the same material as the floor inside the house, (techlam) in white, very good material for both interior and exterior use. This will ensure continuity between indoors and outdoors.

The landscaping, designed by A-Cero, is clearly Japanese-inspired, as shown by the abundance of large bonsais and different species of flowering trees and bojs.
Also, large ornamental rocks bought from Galicia were carefully placed.

The Pool and Sculpture

The large curved swimming pool (400 sq m/ 4,300 sq ft), is covered with a dark gray liner (PVC laminate slip). The pool features the “disappearing edge” and this effect achieves a continuity between the pool and lake.

In the middle of the pool is placed a sculpture of orthogonal forms that seems to float on the waterâ€s surface. This is a sculpture by Austrian sculptor Ernesto Knorr and is made of cut steel.”

On the ground floor, the main lobby is highlighted, situated beneath a curved canopy that adds a great deal of space, from where the rest of the house spreads out; the living room, dining room, master bedroom suite including a closet and bathroom, gymnasium, indoor pool, kitchen and office.

On the second floor lies a painting studio in a long and curved deck, enjoying excellent natural light and views over the surroundings. The basement floor is dedicated to leisure and health, and welcomes the following areas: Txoko, game room, locker rooms for the outdoor pool, massage room, theater, wine cellar, gym, storage area and the service and facilities for the entire dwelling.

Looking at the house from the street, the ground level is hidden to the eyes. The ground falls abruptly to reveal another platform, 6 m below. This is where the main living spaces are situated. Because of the inhabitantâ€s need to incorporate spaces for an office, the residence was divided into living spaces and business accommodations.

The street level incorporates two different areas, connected by a steel bridge: one that lays on the ground and one that lays on top of the lower levels of the building, acting like a roof terrace. Architects explain how the lower part of the house was created to suit the inhabitantâ€s needs:

The house is divided into two levels, both below the street level. Its spaces are integrated with the woods, valley, gardens, and pool located at the ground level. The house incorporates the outside nature indoors: a sliding glass door opens the living room into the terrace, creating one large space. The bedroom and the patios can also be integrated at the lower level.

The concrete and glass construction was designed based on the siteâ€s geography and landscape, so take a look at the pictures to understand the residenceâ€s beauty and modern equlibrium.

In the first loft, the staircase is the dominating presence- deep black with hollow risers which almost creates an optical illusion from the ground floor. Alternatively, the other half of these Twin Lofts flaunts an elegant yet understated companion to the staircase in the first apartment, this one with crystal treads for a light and dematerialized look.

Everything from artwork to interior design ideas mimic and mirror each other from each side of the split home- including a set of paintings by Giovanni Manfredini that nearly act as negatives of one another. Each washroom, featuring a mega-sized round bathtub, creates a relaxing and welcoming environment: one being light and open, while the other is dark and almost mysterious with just one surprising sky light shining down from high above.

Both studios share the common ground of contemporary design while standing directly opposed to one another in terms of emotional expression.

Even a bedroom can double as a studio,

said Ms. Sander, 53.

I wanted each area to be able to be a work space as well as something else.

Her new space had a long story. In 2000, Ms. Sander was part of a group of 15 artists and architects who chipped in to buy a complex of buildings, where the Prussian army had once manufactured its uniforms, in the Moabit neighborhood of this city.

Ms. Sanderâ€s share was two levels of a three-story building — one on the ground floor and the other on the third floor — with a combined space of about 5,800 square feet, which she bought for 486,000 euros.

Initially she lived and worked on the ground floor and left the top floor empty while she decided what to do with them. After couple of years she came up with the notion of adding two stories above the top floor. However due to mot only lack of money but lack of time, the construction was postponed in a time: her career had taken off, and her work was being shown at galleries around the world, including the Dâ€Amelio Terras gallery in Manhattan and the Museum of Modern Art.

In 2008, Ms. Sander was ready to expand. She hired Sauerbruch Hutton, an architecture firm with offices in the adjoining building, to design her space, as the architects were planning an upward expansion of their own. They created a design that added two stories to the interconnected buildings, bringing them back to their pre-World War II height (the top two floors of both buildings had been severely damaged during the war and subsequently removed).

The color palette of the new space is muted, with materials like sanded concrete, terrazzo and Douglas fir; the only bright color comes from the modern furniture by Konstantin Grcic in the living area. Off the dining area, a door swivels open to reveal a pair of identical spaces that are guest rooms, meditation rooms or offices — or all three, she said.

Upstairs, the master bedroom opens onto a terrace with an outdoor shower. In the bathroom are two more showers; Ms. Sander has six scattered throughout the apartment. “You never know where you might need one,” she said.

The studio itself is divided into two spaces with 18-foot ceilings. In the smaller one, a ladder leads up to a tiny windowed perch; in the larger, another ladder goes to a library loft. The space feels more like a gallery than a studio, it was pointed out to Ms. Sander.

“My way of living and working changes constantly,” she said, noting that she has already used the studio to show her work and that of other artists. It has also been a performance space for an artist whose medium is yoga and a site for a conference on climate change.

via DESIGNSIGH

They call it a castle on the park but actually ait was a church. Today’s home is a Gothic Revival building overlooking Dolores Park in San Francisco. It started off as a church back in 1909 and is now renovated into a three-bedroom home with plenty of stained glass and open spaces including the main hall on the ground floor.

The home includes a new kitchen, a luxury master bath with a marble Roman tub, a master changing room, mahogany cabinets in the living room set against massive expanses of exposed brick. The church tower has 360 degree views from arched stained mahogany windows and roof-top deck and features a custom steel and transparent plexiglass spiral staircase. It’s gorgeous space although it seems like a bit of a decorating challenge and will need of plenty of furniture to turn it into a warmer personal home. This home is listed at around $7 million.

The renovated church includes the original sanctuary with hand-painted ceilings, original stained glass windows and four fireplaces. The old church tower now serves as a “meditation room,” offering 360 degrees views of San Francisco.

The most dramatic feature may be the main hall on the ground floor, which is big enough to fit a thriving congregation. The listing suggests it can be used as “exhibition space, a recording studio, gym and/or home office.”

via http://www.601dolores.com/