2030

One of the biggest topics in architecture at the moment is sustainability. No longer a fringe topic but a shift towards headline consideration. It can be considered a valid item in the discussion points of design, no longer arbitrary or invalid in inclusion. Today there are great shifts to making it mainstream because the impact going forward can be great in making a difference, a positive difference. Sustainable Architecture is an important part of society going forward into the future.

Residential housing is one of the biggest contributors to green house gases. Going green is a consideration by designers and builders in concepts being developed and built right now, many homes now have included environmental considerations. What's more important is that consumers are now savvy and enlightened, making conscious decisions about being energy efficient and environmentally responsible.

There are many movements pushing the cause to make change and one in particular is Architecture 2030. The initiative to make all new buildings and renovations carbon neutral by 2030. An inspiring target for sustainable architecture.

Take a look at the video to find out more.

Metropolis- Urban Architecture that's moving!

Metropolis by Rob Carter - Last 3 minutes from Rob Carter on Vimeo.

Ever evolving and changing is the world we live in. As clearly demonstrated in my previous post- Nail House. Progress will push at the boundaries of our environments and change them into a new domain. External factors such as economic, social and cultural forces move simultaneously creating permutations to the hardscape that surrounds us. Building form and density push in all directions according to ever shifting parameters.

Whilst going about our lives we often don't notice the changes. If we do notice the small changes, we see them as incremental and perhaps insignificant. On the other hand if viewed over time- well that's something different altogether.

Take a look at the video by Rob Carter- it's amazing! its fantastic portrayal of Urban Design playing out as animation truly shows the effect Architecture and it's built form can have on our modern day Metropolis.

Nail House (lonely House)

It shows a lonely figure. This Nail House is truly surrounded. (love the homage to the movie UP)

A sense of attachment can happen with just about anything, so when we see the homes labeled Nail House in China, it may start to explain the reasons why these homes find themselves in these peculiar situations. What makes it more extraordinary is the context they find themselves in. The background represents progress in time whilst the homes themselves remain staunch in defiant determination. They shout "I'm not going anywhere". Its the last stand, the defiant stance against urban development.

The owners obvious attachment to their homes edges on the side of cuckoo because of the situation they find themselves in as a result of saying no to progress. I can begin to have empathy for their plights. They must love where they live, it must have a history that is personal and it may represent many things dear to them. Perhaps it represents family, or maybe it represents an achievement in their lives. They probably worked hard to be where they are and have the home that they live in. What remains intriguing about their situation is that even though the sense of place or environment has changed they still desire to live in their house.

Most houses will have a natural lifespan of usefulness, essentially this is about 30 years. A lifecycle of effective use-after that it's initial intent may no longer be appropriate. They will often be modified, remodelled, extended or even destroyed to make way for a new one. The macro environment might have diversified and changed as a result of population growth or economic shifts.

Truly an urban island being created here.

The attachment that we all can have to a home can vary and I guess in today's throwaway society the importance of home and house can have less importance to what it may of had in years gone by. Some people like to change their homes as often as they change their cars. There will however be some who will find a home that will resonate and signify a place of importance- a significance even greater than it's external pressures!

Talk about being close to the Highway.

TV House

TV House

People source inspiration from all sorts of places and sometimes inspiration happens unknowingly whilst unaware. Most of us sit down at some point in the week to watch television. A favorite TV show or movie, be it a comedy, drama or an informative documentary.

There have been many shows on TV that have the majority of their storyline take place within a home, the perfect backdrop to help us as the viewer relate.

I've watched many shows where the house or interior living area has become synonymous with the show itself. As a young child there were shows for me that stood out for their point of difference- in that they did not look like the home I lived in. An early example would the The Brady Bunch. The Brady house looked different to mine and had a room I had never heard of, a Den. Here Mike Brady, who just happened to be an architect, seemed to spend much of his time giving out discipline and words of wisdom to his children. It was a big room with a drawing table, couch and fireplace- all with a manly flavour. This would just be one of many examples where TV would form part of the informal dialogue of reference to housing and the types it can represent.

Brady Bunch House- Mike Brady's Den

The all time favourite home of TV for me would be the apartment of Frasier- that chimney, it somehow seemed to sum up Frasier himself- a perfect match of character and architecture. Sophisticated interior referenced with designer furniture, an eclectic intellectual ensemble. I wonder how many replications of that fireplace exist as a result of that show?

TV House- Frasier's Living Room

If you've ever wanted to see more of that TV house you vaguely remember take a look at the Hooked On House website, it might just be there.

The Simpsons- Homer Simpson's House

Or if you want to see some fabulous hand drawn floor plans of well known and loved TV shows check out the drawings of Inaki Aliste Lizarralde.

What's your favorite tv house? Let us know in the comments section below.

Architectural alphabet- The ABC of Architects

The ABC of Architects from fedelpeye on Vimeo.

The approach to design in architecture, in it's simplest analysis involves the arrangements of shapes to form unique patterns. Over history there been the creation of unique combinations that have become synonymous with a time, a place and an identity- a symbol to represent that and many other innumerable denotations.

See if you can spot the famous house designs!! Famous Architects and their famous buildings are beautifully animated. Be sure to share this with design professionals.

Changing room

Mr.Beam - Living Room Projection from Mr.Beam on Vimeo.

What makes a space unique or identifiable for a purpose. Can people distinguish it's occupants by age or even gender dependant on only observing the colour on the walls?

A space surrounded by four walls can be given many names that can help people identify it on a plan on paper, but it's often the personality that can be applied by the décor, colours and furnishings in that a room really establishes it's purpose.

Carbon

Modern Exterior by Seattle Architects & Designers Fivedot Design Build

There is a lot of talk at the moment about Carbon. What does it all mean? It's impact is broad and considerable with it's repercussions, yet some people would not even be aware of it. I had a conversation today with a person involved in a non-for profit organisation that is involved in providing carbon offsets. Interesting conversation on many levels. From the entire conversation the most poignant moment was when I was told how many trees it takes to offset 1 tonne of carbon.

6 TREES OVER AN AVERAGE LIFESPAN OF 100 YEARS TO OFFSET 1 TONNE.

This really drives home the significance of the impact we have on our environment- to know it takes that many trees over their life cycle to counteract the effects of only 1 tonne of carbon. Lets put that in perspective. For each and every person in the world the average figure is approximately 4.5 tonne per person/ per year. Multiple that by the number of people in the world today, approximately 7,165,000,000 and the figure is astronomical. How many trees would we need to plant every year to keep up?

Contemporary Exterior by Belfast Architects & Designers GO LOGIC

Building a home carries with it a significant impact in relation to it's contribution to the carbon footprint globally. Firstly by the carbon footprint it makes in the process of construction (including the embodied energy in materials used) and secondly the carbon footprint it makes during it's operational cycle- this accumulates into a total life cycle footprint.

There are measures we can take to reduce this impact, and in some instances we can even calculate and then nullify our output to be carbon neutral. There are many homes out there purporting to be "green" and to have credentials of sustainability. Some include token gestures, where others calculate and measure. In my opinion its great that people have taken the time to consider their impact and have applied the initiative to be "green" in any aspect where feasible or possible. It can be done on a personal level and then expanded to a community and beyond. Taking action is being responsible, and to whatever extent the action takes place it will be a path in the right direction.

RMIT - Carbon Neutral Communities from dan murphy on Vimeo.

TREE house

I was intrigued when I came across this modern day tree house. Not sure if it has the charm of the childhood equivalent. One thing it does come close to in my opinion, a forest folly executed with precision and simplified panache. I wonder if it was intentional symbolising the letter T. Fantastic house from Gluck+



Up in the Trees from GLUCK+ on Vimeo.

Style House

Simple Style: Modern Exterior by Boston Architects & Designers ZeroEnergy Design

A house is essentially shelter to protect us from our local environments. Yet the way they often look are not directly related as a response to the environment- often they are representations of what we find familiar or what we aspire to have. On rare occasions pragmatics of shelter derive the form and aesthetic outcome, but more often then not, the formation of it's components in building an image are a result of what cultural or social position we hold or value, mixed together with a value in monetary form. The end result? an amazing array of looks and STYLES that can do many things. They can show status, reflect our personalities and demonstrate our cultural beliefs and historical past- and even fast forward us into an imagined future- with a conscious reflection on sustainable responsibility. Sometimes the styles are superficial and skin-deep and other times they run deep through a house spiralling and reaching into the details of it's interiors and functions.

Regional Style: Modern Exterior by New Orleans Architects & Designers Chad Chenier Photography/Make It Right

Sometimes non of the above are even considered. We end up living where we do for simple and banal reasons- maybe it's just where we were born and raised. The place we call home because we just happened to be there. How does that shape where we will live and desire to reside.

As children we find ourselves in a home of some sort- it can shape our lifestyle in many ways and provide an outlook on the world and the way the world looks back upon them. It can reflect upon our decisions to what we will want or desire in our future.

Creative style: Kids by Austin Architects & Designers Baldridge Architects

It's style can celebrate an era and tell an elaborate story of lives and times gone by. Did it represent glory and status or was it social and one of many repeated and replicated, as if stamped out of a tired and lifeless cookie cutter, used one too many times. What outcome did these have on the lives that viewed them externally and from the interior looking out.

In rare outcomes the homes beckoned a future and could represent a lifestyle we could desire- with thoughts our lives could be altered by degrees of happiness and satisfaction. 

Styles can also evoke emotions, which in my opinion is where they have true strength. They can say much about the personality's of the people with whom reside within. They can say that we respect the past and the lifestyles that accompany it. Or they can say that we look to the future- one that can reflect the lifestyles of today. They can describe where we live, local, geographical, national- or they can tell to others we desire to be international or foreign in our sentimentality in our abode.

Emotive style: Contemporary Exterior by Richmond Architects & Designers Birdseye Design

In the worst of cases none of the above will have the chance to be an option or even be considered- it just happened for reasons as to just be functional and provide an outcome of shelter. It's a shame in these circumstances as I believe a house and it's STYLE can represents the many facets of people, communities and nations- all without people really knowing that it does and can.

How important is STYLE in a house? If you've taken the time to read the post please contribute to the conversation in the comments section below.

House

House is often a word spoken in many constructs with meanings as wide and varied as the colors in the spectrum. It's significance also holds weight of varying strengths in peoples lives and it's importance valued differently depending on your location on the globe.

A house, surely it's as simple as where someone resides. For others it's something they hope one day to have and for others it's something that helps identify us within a slot of social demography.

The reasons for establishing a House are obviously to provide shelter using the simplest of terms to explain it's formation. However the reasons for why they take the shape and forms, accented with colors and textures that wonderfully vary, is what makes it personal and inventive- and at sometimes even inspiring.

What is your meaning of the word House? If you've taken the time to read the post please contribute to the conversation.

Modern Exterior by Menlo Park Architects & Designers Ana Williamson Architect