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Charred Timber Sauna Emerges on French Lakeside
Located in the countryside of Aveyron, in the south of France, ‘lakeside sauna’ by Atelier AJO takes shape as a small wooden cabin formed by a group of friends using mainly timber from the neighboring sawmill. Between cows and meadows, the project is strategically placed on the pond shore of a lake, facing the beech forest and the sunset. Built on light foundations (micro piles), it does not impact the fragile structure of the dike and can be easily removed. The sauna by Atelier AJO emerges from the ground as an exogenous object, standing on a light structure. Two different levels of benches for different heat tolerances model the outer shape of the sauna. The outside facade is…
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Noir Sculptural Objects Create a Lyrical Effect
Call it the new noir. Black finishes are bringing sculptural furniture into focus as never before. In porcelain, bronze, walnut and other natural materials, well-designed objects are coming out of the shadows to shine in every room of the house. “There is something powerful about the serenity and mystery of these essential shapes,” says Belgian-born designer Pieter Maes, who works with a bronze foundry in Ghent, Belgium, on his organic, softly curving tables and stools. “I became obsessed with making simple, unfussy work that triggers something very old and dormant in people, no matter where or when someone comes from.” Blackening a surface is as old as fire itself, points…
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Contemporary Lakeside Getaway becomes Refuge
On the surface, the house doesn’t look terribly different than the many century-old farmsteads dotting the surrounding fields. The overall shape, conceived by Montreal architecture office RHA Works in collaboration with Toronto-and-Maine-based AAMP Studio, borrows from local barns, with pitched roofs over long, simple boxes. To the well-honed eye, the exterior siding provides the first clue that the house is unique. It’s clad in shou sugi ban – planks of cedar, charred using a Japanese technique that brings out the wood’s natural insect-and-rot resistance. The boards, sourced from a company called Blackwood Siding Co, are not only more durable than typical, unfinished cedar, they have a rich, distinct aesthetic. “From…
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Recycling Tragedy into Durability
People around the world remember the devastating Japanese tsunami of 2011. The Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building was built in remembrance of that event through its design and function. In addition to its designation as a place of study, the structure serves as a shelter against earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters. It can support up to 920 people at once. Located in Newport, Oregon, where some of the debris from the tsunami washed up, the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building is one of the first vertical evacuation tsunami sites in the U.S. Its unique look and resilient design is achieved through advanced architectural and engineering techniques. The building is covered in 30,000…
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Shou Sugi Ban Industrial Chic Bathroom
Susie Davis calls the style of her powder room “Charles Dickens Meets Jack the Ripper.” It exudes an Industrial Revolution era vibe with a factory chic aesthetic. Lamenting that “vanities are stupid expensive,” she convinced her husband to help her build one. She found the plans online and they went to work. Davis, who claims that she used to be far more extroverted but now desires nothing more than to retreat to her garage — her girl cave — and watch DIY videos, found exactly the treatment she wanted in one such screening: Shou Sugi Ban. This Japanese technique of charring wood essentially encases the wood in a layer of carbon…
