Capital House | Olson Kundig
Capital House | Olson Kundig
Capital House | Olson Kundig
Riffing on the Los Angeles phenomenon of people "murdering out" their cars—that is, removing all the trim and blacking everything out—architect Barbara Bestor and craftsman Eric Lamers covered most surfaces in this Los Angeles kitchen with matte black laminate, including the fridge and the overhead cabinets.
Completed in 2008, the rectilinear home features a roofline with a dramatic parabolic curve that creates two bulbous volumes inside the home, one of which houses a curved skylit shower.
Constructed out of structural insulated panels (SIPS), the Element House is a modular building that was designed to operate independently of public utilities by instead employing passive systems and on-site energy generation. The house functions as a guesthouse and visitor center for Star Axis, a nearby land art project by the artist Charles Ross in New Mexico.
New pine and spruce wood from the Pyrenees (both recyclable and PEFC certified) were selected for the façade of the 1,000-square-foot prefab. Smart blinds cover the windows, rigged to open and close depending on the weather forecast.
A dramatic cantilevered roof extends over the lower building volume, tying together the separate, yet connected, blocks of the home.
Gym Bath