Architecture and Home Design

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Sumaré House Design by Isay Weinfeild Architects, in São Paulo, Brazil Posted: 03 Jun 2013 09:43 PM PDT This Sumaré House is designed by Isay Weinfeild Architects, located in São Paulo, Brazil. The plot is not a small one (700 m2), but due to construction (height) restriction laws, the building should not exceed 2 floors, and an underground floor was necessary. There, the architects placed the caretaker’s quarters and the office – as both areas open onto small but nice lawns, one does not feel like being underground at all. On the middle floor, a few steps above street level, there are the sitting and dining rooms, the kitchen and a larger lawn. In the living room, we designed a long étagère so the owner could display her collection, ranging from works of art to design and vintage objects. On the upper floor, there are the bedrooms – hers and a guest’s – and the ‘facilities’ for physical exercising: ballet and swimming. As this is a space she meant for mainly private use, she liked the architects’ suggestion of having it by her bedroom, enclosed only by a screen of pre-cast concrete blocks, through which she would be able to see the city skyline far away. Above all, on the uppermost level, there is a wood-decked outdoors entertaining area, perfect for a get together, by day or by night. Sumaré house is located in São Paulo, and was designed for a graphic designer. The client wanted a spacious house, where she could work, exercise, entertain friends and, of course, live in.

Serpentine Pavilion Design by SANAA, in London, United Kingdom Posted: 03 Jun 2013 09:43 AM PDT This Serpentine Pavilion is designed by SANAA, located in London, United Kingdom. Past masters of the Pavilion have included familiar names in the western architecture circuit such as Frank Gehry (2008), Zaha Hadid (2000), Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond (2006) and Toyo Ito (2002). So it was with some surprise that the news of this year’s architects was received. Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa of Japanese firm SANAA, are little known in the western world, aside from their firm’s design for the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. Having never built anything in the UK, their Pavilion premier will also act as a right of passage into the British architecture community. Describing their structure the architects say: “The Pavilion is floating aluminium, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings. It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing uninterrupted view across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.” As a canopy, the structure provides a variation of coverage and enclosure and appears to be consumed by the garden’s foliage, illustrating a sound understanding of both the good old British weather and a desire to be at one with the surroundings by the designers. It’s not summer in the UK until the Serpentine Pavilion has been erected and, that said, summer should start in two days! Standing in the gardens of London’s Serpentine Gallery, the Serpentine Pavilion is each year designed by a different innovator from the top of the architectural food chain.

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