Archives for March 2012

Concrete Cubist Home: Modern Monolith in the City

 

Among the traditional houses and run-of-the-mill apartment towers in Abiko, Japan sits a concrete monolith. Its angular facade is reminiscent of a massive sculpture, but this unusual object is actually a single-family home.

Designed by Fuse-Atelier, the Abiko House is a mere 80 square meters. The home sits on soft ground that necessitated the use of stakes to support its weight.

The residents of the impressive home wanted a distinctive building that was bathed in natural light on the inside. This is achieved partially with the massive window on the front protrusion.

This protrusion houses the living and dining rooms which are accessible via a floating staircase. Although this is the type of staircase you wouldn’t want small children to use, it reinforces the airy, open feeling of the home’s interior.

Soaring above the streets, the home somewhat resembles a gigantic concrete periscope. The large front window is at such a height and position that neighbors and passers-by are prevented from seeing in.

The heaviness of the concrete that comprises the home is perfectly offset by the home’s airy minimalist interior. But we have to imagine the echoes and dampness that would plague a cavernous concrete house might drive the residents to distraction.

Curved Cliff House: Metal & Glass Bend in Waterfront Breeze

Its exterior shape is more than just an affection, though at first glance it almost looks to have been formed by natural elements – waterfront wind and waves.

However, these contortions translate into a series of spaces where convex and concave moments of glass inform remarkable views back out of this Lake Tahoe retreat by Mark Dziewulski Architect.

A stunning tapered oval glass staircase wraps up a central tower, dynamically depositing residence on different floors facing different ways back out onto the natural landscape.

Strategic overhangs in individual spaces provide daunting experiences in places like the bedroom, but a corresponding feeling of connection with the outdoors (as well as shade from the high and hot summer sun).

Housing Market Reaches Turning Point, Economists Say

housingrecoverychartEconomists say the housing market is starting to heal, but too many people aren’t aware of it because they’re judging a housing recovery on the wrong sign: What’s happening with home prices.

Paul Dales at Capital Economics says higher prices won’t be the sign that the housing market is on the mend — that can be a lagging indicator — but rather an increase in overall home sales. And that’s showing signs of improvement: Existing home sales in 2011 rose to 4.26 million compared to 4.19 million in 2010. In the last six months alone, home sales have increased 13 percent.

As a recent article at Fortune points out, “The evidence reminds us that perhaps we should change our expectations of what a housing recovery might look like, particularly following a crisis marked by record foreclosures and a financial crisis that sent the economy into one of the deepest recessions. The recovery we have been anticipating is defined more on the rate at which the glut of vacant properties comes off the market as opposed to any steady rise in prices, which some think won’t happen for another few years.”

Source: “The One Number to Watch for a Housing Recovery,” Fortune (March 20, 2012)

Mountain Home’s Infinity Pool is a Nature Lover’s Paradise

 

 

 

This home in Stockholm, designed and built by DAPstockholm, is a study in the enjoyment of nature from a man-made structure. Called the Villa Midgard, the lovely three-story house has been set into the surrounding inclining landscape.

 

 

The stand-out feature is an infinity pool reminiscent of a serene forest lake. Clad in dark concrete and sheltered by the stable mass of the home itself, the pool offers residents a quiet, protected place to be at one with the water.

A huge window in one side of the pool offers swimmers a view of the home’s entrance when they are underwater. From here, they can greet visitors or put on a dazzling underwater show.

The rest of the home’s features are equally stunning and equally in tune with nature. The owners specified that their new home must have a master bedroom that bathes in morning light and a space from which they can sit and listen to the pouring rain, as well as an easy-care exterior.

To comply with these requests, the architects created a concrete home clad in Corten steel. Other natural materials such as beech, walnut and marble are used throughout the home. The bulk of the home is split into two offset segments, maximizing the access to natural light and emphasizing the idea that the home is part of the natural landscape.

A carport has been blasted into the slope of the mountain on which the home sits. Its top is covered in vegetation, making it almost disappear into the land. The home’s tallest elevation and rooftop terrace also feature local grass, again visually reinforcing the home’s unity with its surroundings.

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Bank Owned Home Discounts to Grow Even Bigger?

bank-owned-homesForeclosures are expected to pick-up as soon as banks begin to clear their backlog of troubled loans. RealtyTrac is projecting a 25 percent increase in foreclosures in 2012.

If an increase does occur, some housing experts wonder how it will impact overall home prices and whether the discounts for REOs will be even larger this time around.

For example, in metro areas like Las Vegas, the average foreclosure sells at 6.1 percent less than a non-foreclosure home. In Miami, the foreclosure discount is 7.1 percent, according to data by LPS Applied Analytics. In some places, it’s even more.

“A spike in sales of bank-owned homes can be bad news for other sellers,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “And foreclosure sales make it hard for prices to rise overall since they boost sales activity at the lower end of the market.”

This time around, however, housing experts don’t expect the discounts in distressed properties to grow.

“More often than not, prices are determined more by demand than supply,” Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, told The Wall Street Journal. Areas with a high number of REOs may have greater demand for REOs in good condition and less supply for other properties. Plus, Capital Economics predicts that demand will improve nationwide this year as the housing markets starts to recover.

Source: “Will the ‘Foreclosure Discount’ Grow This Year?” The Wall Street Journal (March 14, 2012)

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Beautiful Technology – Turntables

RedpointModelA_610x355With all the talk of iPad this, and iPhone that, the venerable turntable is all but forgotten. While the iPhone and iPad are truly elegant designs, but they are the rare exceptions in the rather drab world of consumer electronics. Most cameras, printers, computers, home theater receivers, and speakers are pretty sedate, but there is one product category that stands out: turntables. I’ve picked a choice selection that represents remarkable achievements in industrial design, and they’re highly functional, exquisitely engineered products

 

 

 

More here at CNET.

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