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Maximizing a Bright Black Box in Echo Park
Built from the ground up in the neighborhood of Echo Park, in Los Angeles, the 1,560-square-foot home of consultant Melanie Ryan and architect Todd Sussman, cofounders of design studio Open for Humans, is a work of love and dedication. Though it felt like a big challenge, building a house from a design to its full form, the final product has become both their personal refuge and workspace. “Once we began our search for land, we decided on two must-haves,” Todd says: anti-isolation and views. “As the home is situated on an active corner lot, the goal from there was to privatize the street-facing sides of the living spaces and open up…
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Shou Sugi Ban Atelier in an Orchard
The architects of Dutch studio XVW architectuur designed the Atelier in an Orchard, a small building combining contemporary form with the Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique to create a simple, cosy volume that fits perfectly into the orchard where it stands. Xander Vermeulen Windsant, founder of the Dutch studio XVW architectuur and winner of the 2017 Mies van der Rohe award, loves the element of craftsmanship in his work. This love of craftsmanship in the process of architecture is evident in the Atelier in an Orchard, set among the apple trees of an old orchard. The little building built in 2018 is located behind the Waaldijk, the dam on the Waal River, in…
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Luminous Shou Sugi Ban Facade opens upon the Forest
In Mohican Hills, Maryland, Robert Gurney Architect realizes a dwelling along a steeply sloping, wooded site. distant views of the Potomac River are afforded in the late fall, winter and early spring. A simple rectangular volume, the house is revealed as a two-story structure seen from the street. This extends an additional two stories on the opposite elevation to take advantage of the steep grade, resulting in a four-story volume facing the Potomac River. The house is anchored into the earth with two concrete end walls, extending all four stories. wood framed walls clad in shou sugi ban with minimal fenestration connect the two concrete walls at the front of the house. On the…
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Take the Plunge with Shou Sugi Ban
For centuries, athletes struggled with post-workout muscle swelling and joint inflammations which held them back from performing their best. Injuries and conditions like arthritis have also kept many individuals wide awake at night with pain. The latest health trend that’s proven to work and is gaining huge traction in the health and wellness community is Cold Water Immersion (CWI). CWI is the practice of immersing the body in cold water to gain health benefits such as improving muscle recovery, easing pain, and minimizing inflammation. What is a Cold Plunge Tub? A cold plunge tub is a tub specially designed for cold water therapy. Although there are plenty of ways to…
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Radical Barcelona Cabin Is Designed for Quarantine
The Voxel, or ‘the quarantine cabin’, is a prototype designed and built by 17 international students studying a master’s degree in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities at Valldaura Labs, the rural annex of the Barcelona-based school IAAC (Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.) The school and the cabin are situated on the campus’ grounds in Collserola, a densely forested natural park that surrounds the city. “Every year we propose a radical prototype,” says Vicente Guallart, director of Valldaura Labs. “What happened in March 2020 is that ideas came together just when the country went into quarantine.” Suddenly under order not to leave the confines of the campus, the student body decided to…
