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Collection by Clifford Nies

Just Plain Fun

What did you want in your house when you were grown up?

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Spirit of Place/Spirit of Design, a program conceived by The Catholic University of America architecture professor Travis Price, takes students to out-of-the way settings to craft monuments that reflect local folklore.
Spirit of Place/Spirit of Design, a program conceived by The Catholic University of America architecture professor Travis Price, takes students to out-of-the way settings to craft monuments that reflect local folklore.
Kex is the Icelandic word for biscuit, and the 132-guest hostel was built in an old biscuit factory on the Reykjavik shore overlooking Mt. Esja in the distance.
Kex is the Icelandic word for biscuit, and the 132-guest hostel was built in an old biscuit factory on the Reykjavik shore overlooking Mt. Esja in the distance.
Sheets of hot-rolled steel were used as exterior cladding—as well as for parts of walls and countertops indoors—to heighten the industrial effect. “When hot-rolled steel comes out of the factory, it’s a very even-toned, blue-gray color,” Han says. “But we wanted to have a pattern. So we stacked the sheets of siding outside in the rain, and let it sit there so that the water would create texture.” Putting up the siding was messy, since each sheet had to be carefully dried before installation and then covered with a water-based clear coat to prevent surface oxidation. The result, though, is a quietly mottled surface that Mihalyo says “looks like slate” and will change color over time as dark brown tones begin to appear beneath the basic steel gray. Like the circular windows that seem stolen from the airplanes flying over the house, the steel siding is an architectural element made possible on a small budget only by Han and Mihalyo doing it themselves. As Han exclaims, “Can you imagine specing this out for a contractor?”
Sheets of hot-rolled steel were used as exterior cladding—as well as for parts of walls and countertops indoors—to heighten the industrial effect. “When hot-rolled steel comes out of the factory, it’s a very even-toned, blue-gray color,” Han says. “But we wanted to have a pattern. So we stacked the sheets of siding outside in the rain, and let it sit there so that the water would create texture.” Putting up the siding was messy, since each sheet had to be carefully dried before installation and then covered with a water-based clear coat to prevent surface oxidation. The result, though, is a quietly mottled surface that Mihalyo says “looks like slate” and will change color over time as dark brown tones begin to appear beneath the basic steel gray. Like the circular windows that seem stolen from the airplanes flying over the house, the steel siding is an architectural element made possible on a small budget only by Han and Mihalyo doing it themselves. As Han exclaims, “Can you imagine specing this out for a contractor?”
The focus of this competition-winning design for Nanyang Technological University’s Learning Hub, completed in 2014 in Singapore, is 56 tutorial rooms in which cluster-based learning replaces traditional classrooms. The building’s distinctive shape encourages connections among users with rounded rooms, stacked into clustered towers, opening onto shared circulation space. The central atrium provides a focus for student activities and fosters a spirit of openness. Community and recreational activities take place on the upper levels and rooftops, which feature gardens, shaded terraces, and pergolas. This generous planting underscores the university's national status as a garden campus.
The focus of this competition-winning design for Nanyang Technological University’s Learning Hub, completed in 2014 in Singapore, is 56 tutorial rooms in which cluster-based learning replaces traditional classrooms. The building’s distinctive shape encourages connections among users with rounded rooms, stacked into clustered towers, opening onto shared circulation space. The central atrium provides a focus for student activities and fosters a spirit of openness. Community and recreational activities take place on the upper levels and rooftops, which feature gardens, shaded terraces, and pergolas. This generous planting underscores the university's national status as a garden campus.
Wenes asked artists from Studio Simple to devise an imaginative storage solution for the bathroom. Starting at one end of the room and working their way across, the team assembled chests and cabinets found at a thrift shop and painted them all white. “It’s like a mosaic,” says Wenes. “It’s a very personalized concept—I feel like it’s my bathroom.”
Wenes asked artists from Studio Simple to devise an imaginative storage solution for the bathroom. Starting at one end of the room and working their way across, the team assembled chests and cabinets found at a thrift shop and painted them all white. “It’s like a mosaic,” says Wenes. “It’s a very personalized concept—I feel like it’s my bathroom.”
Connected to the main house by a narrow bridge, a three-story cedar tower with a sauna at its base recalls a tree house. The screened-in second level includes a table and chairs for enjoying an outdoor meal, while a swing on the tower’s top level provides a perch to take in the surrounding birch trees.
Connected to the main house by a narrow bridge, a three-story cedar tower with a sauna at its base recalls a tree house. The screened-in second level includes a table and chairs for enjoying an outdoor meal, while a swing on the tower’s top level provides a perch to take in the surrounding birch trees.
The "Tippy Cup Rain Chain" teaches the children about water conservation.
The "Tippy Cup Rain Chain" teaches the children about water conservation.
More anomalous than imperfect, Miller’s terra-cotta “Whatever Pots” are cast from objects one would use if one didn’t have a planter, like his “Lots of 2 Litres” planter.
More anomalous than imperfect, Miller’s terra-cotta “Whatever Pots” are cast from objects one would use if one didn’t have a planter, like his “Lots of 2 Litres” planter.
Board-formed concrete retaining walls double as ramps from the deck to the garden’s highest point.
Board-formed concrete retaining walls double as ramps from the deck to the garden’s highest point.
The owner had been fixing up cars and trucks since high school, and wanted a place where he could work on his collection of old step-vans and 70s electric cars. #garage #interiorarchitecture #interior #sanfrancisco #workshop #interstice #intersticearchitects #cesarrubio #cesarrubiophotography
The owner had been fixing up cars and trucks since high school, and wanted a place where he could work on his collection of old step-vans and 70s electric cars. #garage #interiorarchitecture #interior #sanfrancisco #workshop #interstice #intersticearchitects #cesarrubio #cesarrubiophotography
The client collects '70s Vanguard-Sebring electric CitiCars, and wanted a place where he could work on them and tinker. #garage #interiorarchitecture #interior #sanfrancisco #workshop #interstice #intersticearchitects #cesarrubio #cesarrubiophotography
The client collects '70s Vanguard-Sebring electric CitiCars, and wanted a place where he could work on them and tinker. #garage #interiorarchitecture #interior #sanfrancisco #workshop #interstice #intersticearchitects #cesarrubio #cesarrubiophotography
Rather than resist the natural slope of the Buena Vista Heights backyard, landscape architect Eric Blasen composed a well-considered, minimal, multiterraced space. Accent details, like the flat handrail and stone stairs, mirror those repeated both inside the home and out front, respectively; Blasen worked directly with architect Tim Gemmill to ensure a cohesive feel between the spaces. Photo by Marion Brenner.
Rather than resist the natural slope of the Buena Vista Heights backyard, landscape architect Eric Blasen composed a well-considered, minimal, multiterraced space. Accent details, like the flat handrail and stone stairs, mirror those repeated both inside the home and out front, respectively; Blasen worked directly with architect Tim Gemmill to ensure a cohesive feel between the spaces. Photo by Marion Brenner.