I Love Modern Architecture
One of two Michael Ferguson-designed homes on our tours, the Wilson Residence in Venice is a testament to the evolution of the neighborhood: a traditional bungalow site transformed into the setting for a sleek two-story abode. Photo by Steve King Architectural Photography.
When he returned to Santa Monica after sailing for nine years, including through islands in the South Pacific, architect Thane Roberts began developing a philosophy called "evo-tecture." The design process emphasizes connection over privacy, and elements are seen throughout his family home, Meridian House. Photo by Sara Jane Boyers and Martin Cox.
AIA architect David Hertz, known for 747 Wing House, looked to the structure of a butterfly wing when designing this Venice home. The inverted roof of Silver Triangle House (or Butterfly House) captures water that collects in a sump and is used for subsurface irrigation. The roof is just one of the home's sustainable features, which, Hertz says, "are not compromises to the design; they're part of the design." Photo by Laura Doss.
This three-bedroom home in Lille, France, is made up of eight stacked containers.
In the Catalan town of Santpedor, architect David Closes intervened on the remnants of a derelict Franciscan convent to create a modern auditorium.
New interior finishes, furniture, and a guesthouse were part of the restoration/renovation of John Lautner's Chemosphere, a 1960s house that makes frequent cameos in film and television.
A glazed exterior stairwell scales the 18th-century stone facade.
The building wraps around a red core—the auditorium—covered in glass fiber.
"From the southern approach, you head toward a tunnel; every step tells you that you know what you are going to experience and then suddenly upon arrival, there is an enormous wall of red glass—it seems incomprehensible that you did not know it was there all along," Bailey says.
The viewing platform catilevers over Elwick Bay.
Robust yet cost-effective wood, concrete, glass, and stainless steel comprise Tasmania’s Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park. "Everything used is extremely efficient at producing its outcome," architect Thomas Bailey says.
Modernist principles inform the 2008 Zeidler residence, which explores integration with site and nature, negative space, and rich materials. Yanai and Rhee will explore this in the context of the firm's recent work.
Emre Arolat’s 2012 design for the Sancaklar Mosque outside Istanbul challenges the Turkish capital’s ubiquitous soaring domes and patterned minarets. Instead, the firm built the 13,000-square-foot mosque into the side of a hill and clad it in natural stacked slate.
This cantilevered home by Escher GuneWardena Architecture in the Silver Lake neighborhood hovers above the sloping site, supported by five piers covered in vines. The architects sharply angled the street facade, offering views of the nearby lake. Photo by EGP Imaging.
The bedroom pavilion is mostly hidden, thanks to a massive native California oak—part of a grove. "That’s the good thing about oaks—they keep their leaves in the winter, so you don’t have one view in the summer and another in the winter," Suzanne says.
"I simply was drawn to the notion of concrete. So much great modern architecture has made use of it," Blauvelt says.
In 2003, Resolution: 4 Architecture was one of 16 firms who participated in the Dwell Home Design Invitational, a competition to design a modern prefab home for $200,000.
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