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Black house by Michael Hennessey Architecture

US studio Michael Hennessey Architecture has revitalised an ageing suburban house near San Francisco, adding black cladding and bright finishes to form a family home that bridges the past, present and future.

The residence is located in Mill Valley, a town just north of San Francisco that is known for its natural terrain and cultural offerings.

Designed for a couple with two young children, the budget-conscious project involved the renovation of a suburban-style house that was “in sore need of upgrades”.

The aim was to create a dwelling that supported the family’s current needs while being mindful of what might be needed in the future.

Courtyard House living space — The home is U-shaped in plan

“The home was thought not only as a shelter, but also as a bridge: from past to present, from one landscape condition to another, and from what a family wanted to what they could have,” said Michael Hennessey Architecture, which is based in San Francisco.

Built into a hillside, the home is U-shaped in plan, with gabled volumes organised around a central courtyard.

Vertical cedar siding that adds a sense of gravitas

The team opted to preserve certain elements while adding contemporary interventions.

The building’s beige exterior was replaced with black, vertical cedar siding that adds a sense of gravitas, the studio said. The roof is covered in standing-seam metal.

Open-plan kitchen — Inside there is a clear division between public and private zones

Inside, the 1,870-square-foot (174-square-metre) house features a clear division between public and private zones.

On the main level, one side holds an open-concept kitchen, dining area, and living room, while the other encompasses three bedrooms. The ground level contains a family room and a garage.

South-facing deck — A south-facing deck features outside

“Clearly delineated programmatic areas work in harmony with each other, the outside and the family’s needs,” the team said.

Interior finishes include ash cabinetry, large-format porcelain floor tiles, and ceramic tiles around the fireplace. Lofty ceilings and large stretches of glass provide an airy feel.

The outdoor spaces include a spacious, south-facing deck that receives bright sunlight. Softer light flows in through the courtyard on the north.

Proving a connection to the forested, hilly landscape was a guiding concern for the team.

Outdoor showers were also included in the design

“Every part of the house is oriented towards the landscape thanks to carefully framed views of the lush immediate vegetation, as well as the more distant valleys, resulting in a comprehensive, thoughtful and sensitive approach to creating an extraordinary daily life,” the team said.

Other projects by Michael Hennessey Architecture include a townhouse with modern bay windows that was designed to offer alternatives to “conventional building strategies” and the refurbishment of a 1960s house that was originally built by Joseph Eichler, known for his modernist housing subdivisions.

The photography is by Adam Rouse.

Project credits:

Architect: Michael Hennessey Architecture
Architecture team: Michael Hennessey, Claudia Merzario, Jason Laudat
Contractor: New Dimension Builders (Dirk Von Rueben)
Structural engineer: Berkeley Structural Design (Bill Lynch)
Landscape architect: George Loew
Title 24 consultant: EnergySoft, LLC (Hayley Monahan)
Sustainability consultant: Arcturus HD (Jeff Aalfs)

Reference

Plan view of cemetery in Poland by BDR Architekci

Architecture

BDR Architekci clads columbarium in Poland with pale sandstone

By Zarkon Group,22/02/2024

Pale sandstone walls bring a “warm and welcoming” feel to this columbarium in a cemetery in Radom, Poland, which has been completed by local studio BDR Architekci.

Located in the centre of Radom Municipal Cemetery – one of the largest cemeteries in Poland – the columbarium has 2,000 storage niches for funeral urns, organised across six chambers that surround a central open-air chapel.

The chambers are enclosed by sandstone-clad walls of varying heights and designed by BDR Architekci to provide space for “peaceful reflection” without religious references.

“We tried not to refer to symbolism or look for metaphors,” BDR Architekci co-founder Konrad Basan told Dezeen.

“We focused on the function, the material, the proportions. We wanted to build a place open to people, full of greenery, with its own structure and order,” Basan added.

The site is accessible from all directions in the cemetery, with paved routes weaving between each of the chambers and around curved areas of planting.

Six chambers of the columbarium complex in Radom, Poland — The chambers provide 2,000 niches for the storage of funeral urns

In each of the open-topped chambers, four walls filled with niches surround a central space with trees and a bench. There is also an opening leading to the central chapel.

“Creating such a large columbarium required space organised in a clear and welcoming way,” said Basan. “That’s why we divided such a large burial area into six smaller chambers, giving it a sense of intimacy.”

Open-air chapel in Radom, Poland, by BDR Architekci — Openings in each chamber lead to the central chapel

Built with a concrete structure, the pale sandstone cladding of the complex was selected due to its locality to Radom and its use on the facades of many important buildings in the city.

Alongside the new chambers, BDR Architekci also clad an existing 1980s pre-burial house with matching sandstone to unify it with the rest of the complex.

“We wanted it to be warm and welcoming, but also for the stonemasons’ craftsmanship to be evident in the way it was cut and laid,” explained Basan.

“As a result, the columbarium clearly contrasts with polished black marble tombstones [in the surrounding cemetery],” he continued.

Enclosed chamber at columbarium complex in Poland — Each chamber is also finished with trees and a bench

In the open-air chapel, a wall features a verse from The Laments by the Renaissance author Jan Kochanowski who lived nearby.

“The only element that was consciously designed to carry any specific message was the use of a quote from lament number eight,” explains Basan.

“It seems that the columbarium is a suitable background not only for it but particularly for the course of a funeral,” he said.

Niches found at columbarium by BDR Architekci — Sandstone was chosen for the cladding due to its locality to the site

BDR Architekci was founded in 2015 by Basan, Paweł Dadok and Maria Roj and is based in Warsaw.

Other cemetery projects featured on Dezeen include a visitor centre for the Netherlands American Cemetery by Kaan Architecten and a ceremonial hall at Longshan Cemetery in China.

The photography is by Jakub Certowicz.

Project credits:

Architect: BDR Architekci
Team: Konrad Basan, Paweł Dadok, Maria Roj, Michał Rogowski
Investor: Municipality of Radom
Structural engineer: TMJ Projekt
Services engineer: Joanna Szczudlik
Electrical engineer: Jarosław Maleńczyk
Landscape architect: La.Wa Architektura Krajobrazu, Łukasz Kowalski

Reference

Interior Design

Perron-Roettinger clads Kim Kardashian SKKN pop-up store in cement

By Zarkon Group,18/11/2022

Design studio Perron-Roettinger has created a pop-up shop for Kim Kardashian’s skincare and homeware brand SKKN in Los Angeles that showcases its products in a physical space for the first time.

The minimalist pop-up store, which is located inside Los Angeles shopping mall Westfield Century City, was designed using a limited material palette in a nod to the brand’s pared-back design.

“The SKKN [store] is about raw materials – bold, big blocks of stacked raw material – which is inspired from an inactive quarry that I visited once,” Perron-Roettinger cofounder Willo Perron told Dezeen.

“All different plaster and cement finishes echo the emphasis on the raw natural materials.”

Neutral coloured concrete walls inside a shop — The walls and counters are made from concrete and plaster

In the 1,330-square-foot (123 square-metre) space, homeware and skincare products are presented within curved wall alcoves or on top of sculptural counters made from grey concrete and plaster. The room is framed by two large portrait photos of reality television star Kardashian.

“Just in time for the holiday season, the pop-up will offer customers a luxurious in-person shopping experience with the entire SKKN By Kim collection – from skincare to home decor,” said the brand.

Skincare products on cream coloured shelves — Skincare items are displayed in alcoves

The use of raw materials references Perron’s partner Brian Roettinger’s packaging for SKKN products, as well as Kardashian’s recently launched concrete homeware collection called Home Accessories Collection.

All the materials come in varying shades of Kardashian’s signature beige and grey colour palette, which she has used in her home and her shapewear collections.

According to Perron, the brand’s packaging and the store interior are united in their reliance on simple shapes and raw materials.

“The throughline idea is materials untouched, most primary and elemental state,” he explained. “Simple geometry is important to add a recognizable component to both the space and the packaging.”

Perron–Roettinger was also responsible for SKKN’s creative direction, brand identity and art direction.

A portrait photo of Kim Kardashian in a store — The store mirrors the brand’s minimalist packaging

The SKKN pop-up shop is open until the end of the year in Westfield Century City, Los Angeles.

The longtime collaboration between designer Willo Perron and Kim Kardashian has seen Perron design other pop-up stores for the American reality star’s brands.

For Kardashian’s shapewear company Skims, Perron created a beige coloured pop-up shop in Paris with chunky display units and partitions.

Los-Angeles based Perron-Roettinger has also completed other pop-up shops for brands including Stüssy.

The photography is by Gray Hamner.

Reference

Black two-storey timber house with brown door by HAPA Architects

Architecture

HAPA Architects clads South Downs eco-home in charred timber

By Zarkon Group,09/09/2022

Local practice HAPA Architects has used charred timber planks to clad this eco-home in Sussex, England, which features large picture windows framing views of the South Downs National Park.

Located at the end of a country lane in a conservation area, Black Timber House has been designed using materials that will cause the building to weather over time.

“The material palette has been carefully curated to patinate and weather into its surroundings, using deep-grain charred English larch, complimented with natural copper guttering and dark slate roofs to create a particularly impressive aesthetic,” said the practice.

The form of the home comprises a rectilinear base topped with a gabled upper storey, with the two intersecting and slightly offset to create a projecting overhang that shelters the entrance.

Black timber-clad exterior of house by HAPA Architects — The two-storey charred timber home has a gabled roof

The ground floor contains a large living, kitchen and dining area around a wood-burning stove, with sliding doors that open onto a covered terrace, alongside a study and utility space.

A wooden staircase leads up to the first floor, illuminated by a long, wrap-over window cut out of the gabled roof that frames the landscape and sky.

Bedroom with hanging light shade and folding internal blinds — One bedroom features folding internal shutters

Above, the en-suite main bedroom occupies the northern end of the home, with a smaller bedroom tucked alongside.

Two further bedrooms can be found at the southern end, one of which features a thin, full-height window with bespoke internal shutters.

“At ground floor, the plan is a simple box containing the heart of the home…accessed from a generous entrance hallway providing a grand opening to the rear landscape,” said the practice.

“The vaulted ceilings in the bedrooms create impressive double-height spaces, and a wrap-over window over the staircase adds some fantastic natural light and drama as the occupants climb up towards the canopy space,” it continued.

Black Timber House by HAPA Architects — Windows overlook the South Downs National Park

The black, charred timber of the exterior was achieved using the traditional Yakisugi charring method to improve its resistance to moisture and pests, and the thin planks have been laid horizontally on the ground floor form and vertically above.

The dark exterior is contrasted by pale wooden window reveals and open, light interiors, with the first floor benefitting from high ceilings beneath its gabled roof, finished in pale plaster.

Bright kitchen in South Downs with green table and blue sofa — The open kitchen, living, and dining area on the ground floor opens onto a covered terrace

Where possible, natural and surplus products have been used for fittings and carpentry, with surplus oak flooring used to create kitchen cupboards and drawers around a central zinc-topped counter.

The home was designed to achieve a high thermal and energy efficiency standard, generating its own power using photovoltaic panels and using an air source heat pump.

Elsewhere in the South Downs, UK studio Sandy Rendel Architects recently converted a barrel-vaulted steel barn into a home, with finishes that celebrate its agricultural character and aesthetic.

The photography is by Jim Stephenson.

Reference

clads

Michael Hennessey Architecture clads renovated California house in cedar

BDR Architekci clads columbarium in Poland with pale sandstone

HAPA Architects clads South Downs eco-home in charred timber

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