høyer arkitektur builds elongated vollerup house within denmark’s coastal forest

a horizontal Gesture Beneath Vertical Trees

The Vollerup House, designed by Høyer Arkitektur, takes shape in northwestern Zealand, Denmark, about ninety minutes north of Copenhagen. Conceived as a summer retreat, the house is carefully set within a wooded site where fields meet forest, just inland from the windswept coastline. The timber building sits low against a backdrop of birch and pine, its elongated, single-story form offering a calm horizontal counterpoint to the upright trees. Høyer Arkitektur uses this orientation to create both spatial intimacy and visual clarity, shielding nearby cottages from view and framing a quiet forest clearing.

The design takes advantage of the site’s dual character. While the north facade is restrained and mostly closed to maintain privacy from the more public areas, the south facade opens generously to the woods. Floor-to-ceiling glazing along this southern elevation draws in filtered daylight and allows the interior to remain visually and atmospherically tethered to the forest beyond.

images © Hampus Berndtson

høyer arkitektur’s vollerup house Treads Lightly

The design team at Høyer Arkitektur plans the Vollerup House with a linear arrangement, with all living spaces aligned along the southern face. Movement through the house parallels the rhythm of the trees outside, reinforcing a constant connection to the changing light and seasonal shifts in the landscape. From inside, the distinction between interior and exterior softens; the forest becomes a living backdrop to daily life.

Materially and structurally, the home echoes the region’s vernacular buildings. Its construction draws on the traditional longhouse form and the presence of timber barns scattered through rural Zealand. A rhythm of glulam beams defines the primary grid, elevated on cast-point foundations to preserve the forest floor and minimize ecological disruption.

The lightness of the structural solution lends the house a kind of stillness in the landscape. By lifting the volume slightly and anchoring it with minimal intervention, Høyer Arkitektur reinforces a sense of respect for the natural setting. From certain angles, the glulam supports even suggest that the house rests lightly among the trees rather than being imposed upon them.

surrounded by birch and pine trees, the Vollerup House sits on the northwest coast of Zealand

Høyer Arkitektur designs the summer house as a horizontal structure that responds to the vertical forest

the elongated form creates a quiet visual barrier from neighboring cottages

a restrained north facade ensures privacy while the south facade opens fully to the forest

the project draws inspiration from the local longhouse typology and rural Denmark’s wooden barns

project info:

name: Vollerup House

architect: Høyer Arkitektur | @hoyerarkitektur

location: Vollerup Strand, Denmark

area: 95 square meters

photography: © Hampus Berndtson | @hampusper

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stepped terraces carry memory across generations in D.L.E.A.’s indian residence

D.L.E.A. traces ancestral memory through light in chennai, india

Tucked into the dense grain of Chennai’s Pallavaram neighborhood in India, Suvadu – Annai Sita Illam by D.L.E.A. is an architectural homage to memory, matriarchy, and migratory roots. Designed for a 70-year-old woman and her dispersed family now living abroad, the 245-square-meter residence stands on a narrow plot that was once part of a larger ancestral compound filled with mango trees and a hand-dug well. The Tamil word Suvadu, meaning ‘trace’ or ‘footprint,’ forms the concept behind this project, which uses material tactility, spatial layering, and light to imprint familial memory into built form.

Rather than re-create the lost sprawl of the old home, the architects’ team proposes a sequence of stepped terraces that reinterpret openness as intimacy. These staggered outdoor zones, shaded by preserved mango trees, allow for spontaneous encounters between grandmother and grandchild and transform the facade into a living threshold.

all images by Hosh Pictures

Suvadu – Annai Sita Illam features a triple-height spine

Set just off a busy district road and the city’s Metro Rail corridor, the house responds to its urban surroundings with a triple-height spine on the northern edge that draws in light and allows visual communication across floors.

Through red, green, and grey oxide flooring, the Chennai-based architects at D.L.E.A. evoke the handmade quality of South Indian homes, while leaf imprints in concrete walls echo the once-abundant foliage of the site. Pot filler roof slabs, a nod to vernacular thermal comfort, cool the interiors but also reinforce a low-tech ethos of place. Every surface becomes a carrier of memory, from the cool oxide underfoot to the revived ancestral well at the back, now restored as a contemplative courtyard feature.

Though modest in size, Suvadu – Annai Sita Illam stands as a cultural bridge for second-generation NRIs and grandchildren raised abroad and resists nostalgia by letting light, material, and memory narrate the story of a family returning.

Annai Sita Illam by D.L.E.A. is an architectural homage to memory, matriarchy, and migratory roots

designed for a 70-year-old woman and her dispersed family now living abroad

the 245-square-meter residence stands on a narrow plot

D.L.E.A. evokes the handmade quality of South Indian homes

leaf imprints in concrete walls echo the once-abundant foliage of the site

pot filler roof slabs nod to vernacular thermal comfort

every surface becomes a carrier of memory

project info:

name: Suvadu – Annai Sita Illam
architect: D.L.E.A. | @d.l_e.a

location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

plot area: 210 square meters (2262 square feet)

built-up area: 245 square meters (2640 square feet)

design team: G.Dhayananth, Poonila Kabilan, and Karthik

plot dimensions: 7.9 x 26.5 meters (26’ x 87’)

photographer: Hosh Pictures | @hosh_pictures

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

The post stepped terraces carry memory across generations in D.L.E.A.’s indian residence appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

weiss A+U wraps tiny toronto ‘pocket laneway house’ with corrugated metal skin

compact Living Above a Carport in toronto

This Pocket Laneway House by Weiss A+U has been completed on a rear lot in Toronto, where its elevated form is carefully designed around the root system of a decades-old maple. Positioned above a carport and anchored by minimal structural supports, the compact dwelling introduces a distinct architectural presence while safeguarding the site’s existing ecology.

The design reflects a sensitivity to the conditions of its site. To maintain the health of the maple tree near the southeast corner, the building’s primary volume is lifted off the ground, supported on one side by a V-shaped steel column set on helical piers and on the other by a mechanical core that doubles as a structural anchor. A double cantilevered HSS beam spans the unit’s base, creating a floating effect that allows for air, water, and root movement beneath.

the Pocket Laneway House is located on a rear lot in Toronto | image © Birdhouse Media

weiss A+U designs for sustainability and adaptability

Below Weiss A+U’s Pocket Laneway House in Toronto, the open carport serves multiple purposes. It preserves permeability across the site while offering space for vehicle storage, including infrastructure for an electric car charger. The architects finish the underside in natural cedar, introducing a warmer material tone that contrasts with the corrugated galvalume metal cladding above.

Inside the unit, the layout supports both privacy and future adaptability. Initially conceived as a secondary suite for the client’s children as they transition into adulthood, the space is also equipped to function as an independent residence for a caregiver, aligning with the family’s long-term goals around aging in place.

In keeping with the city’s goals for densification and low-impact housing, the laneway home surpasses Ontario Building Code SB-12 energy performance standards. The restrained palette and efficient footprint contribute to its measured environmental profile, while the carefully configured massing avoids overbuilding on a narrow, rear-lot site.

it is raised above the ground to protect the roots of a maple tree | image © Birdhouse Media

the underside of the unit forms a cedar clad-carport and an EV charging station | image © Birdhouse Media

a V-shaped steel column and mechanical service core support the elevated structure | image © Birdhouse Media

corrugated galvalume panels wrap the compact treehouse-like form | image © Birdhouse Media

the project creates an independent living space for family members | image © David Whittaker

the layout supports aging in place through flexible residential use | image © David Whittaker

project info:

name: Pocket Laneway House

architect: Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited | @weiss_au

location: Toronto, Canada

principal: Kevin Weiss

exterior photography: © Birdhouse Media | @birdhousemedia

interior photography: © David Whittaker | @davidwhittakerphotographer

The post weiss A+U wraps tiny toronto ‘pocket laneway house’ with corrugated metal skin appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

‘towards a nude architecture’ is a visual journey tracing japan’s bathhouse culture

Yuval Zohar traces centuries of bathing rituals in japan

Architect and visual storyteller Yuval Zohar brings more than ten years of travel across Japan to life in his latest book, Towards a Nude Architecture, published by the Dutch imprint nai010. Using a curated mix of photographs, hand-drawn diagrams, collages, and maps, Zohar takes readers on a journey through Japan’s unique bathing culture.

At the heart of the publication are two key traditions: the onsen and the sento. Onsen are natural hot springs, heated by Japan’s abundant geothermal activity, often found in mountainous or rural areas. Sento, on the other hand, are public bathhouses that use heated tap water and became popular in urban neighborhoods, especially during times when most homes didn’t have private baths. While onsen are often seen as destinations for retreat, sento have served as part of daily life as a place to unwind, socialize, and connect with the local community.

As communal bathing becomes less common in modern urban life, many of these traditional places are disappearing or being transformed, with Zohar’s book reflecting on this change.

Onsen Materiality | Wood | images courtesy of Yuval Zohar and nai010

Towards a Nude Architecture reflects on collective care design

Japan’s approximately 30,000 natural hot springs spill across one of the most geothermally active regions on Earth, touching everything from Shinto purification rites to feudal health cures and contemporary wellness tourism. Towards a Nude Architecture, however, resists the pull of nostalgia and instead offers a layered exploration of how onsen architecture has evolved in response to shifting cultural, environmental, and technological forces. Organized into three chapters – past, present, and future – Yuval Zohar’s book traces the transformation of bathing culture, beginning with the tranquil wooden bathhouses of the Edo period, moving through the pragmatic and often austere municipal sento of the 20th century, and culminating in the emergence of contemporary privatized spas that mirror broader societal trends toward urban individualism, commercialized leisure, and reimagined notions of public intimacy.

Tsurunoyu’s cloudy water (nigoriyu) rotenburo

a visual archive of water and loss

Zohar, based in the onsen town of Yugawara, takes readers on an immersive, almost topographical journey, where water and steam become guiding metaphors for transformation and collective intimacy. His visual documentation, both personal and precise, includes baths nestled in mountains, forgotten rural sento slowly reclaimed by vegetation, diagrams showing how volcanic activity shapes site planning, and collages where human bodies dissolve into clouds of vapor.

Even though architecture here serves as a membrane between the social and the elemental, the story Zohar tells is also one of disappearance. As local bathhouses shutter due to aging owners, dwindling visitors, and the rise of mega-facilities or in-home baths, the future of Japanese communal spaces faces an uncertain future. The book becomes a quiet call to action, aiming to protect these fading sanctuaries of the everyday, where the unclothed body exists without hierarchy and where architecture hosts a fragile form of coexistence.

With Towards a Nude Architecture, Yuval Zohar charts the thermal pulse of a culture, and in doing so, reveals how architecture can rescue our most elemental ways of being together.

The Author Yuval Zohar in Kita Onsen’s Tengunoyu

Tsurunoyu Onsen in deep winter

ranging from Japanese woodblocks, to western etchings, manga, anime, and video games

architectural axons of onsen are featured in the book

Oimatsu onsen, also known as Dungeon Onsen, a dilapidated building housing an eerie soak

Kodakaranoyu, Takaragawa Onsen’s largest rotenburo

Takaragawa Onsen Site Plan

the emerald green waters of Iojima’s Higashi Onsen

origins of onsen

Yuval Zohar charts the thermal pulse of a culture

project info:

name: Towards a Nude Architecture

author: Yuval Zohar

publisher: nai010 publishers | @nai010_publishers

pages: 208

The post ‘towards a nude architecture’ is a visual journey tracing japan’s bathhouse culture appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

‘towards a nude architecture’ is a visual journey tracing japan’s bathhouse culture

Yuval Zohar traces centuries of bathing rituals in japan

Architect and visual storyteller Yuval Zohar brings more than ten years of travel across Japan to life in his latest book, Towards a Nude Architecture, published by the Dutch imprint nai010. Using a curated mix of photographs, hand-drawn diagrams, collages, and maps, Zohar takes readers on a journey through Japan’s unique bathing culture.

At the heart of the publication are two key traditions: the onsen and the sento. Onsen are natural hot springs, heated by Japan’s abundant geothermal activity, often found in mountainous or rural areas. Sento, on the other hand, are public bathhouses that use heated tap water and became popular in urban neighborhoods, especially during times when most homes didn’t have private baths. While onsen are often seen as destinations for retreat, sento have served as part of daily life as a place to unwind, socialize, and connect with the local community.

As communal bathing becomes less common in modern urban life, many of these traditional places are disappearing or being transformed, with Zohar’s book reflecting on this change.

Onsen Materiality | Wood | images courtesy of Yuval Zohar and nai010

Towards a Nude Architecture reflects on collective care design

Japan’s approximately 30,000 natural hot springs spill across one of the most geothermally active regions on Earth, touching everything from Shinto purification rites to feudal health cures and contemporary wellness tourism. Towards a Nude Architecture, however, resists the pull of nostalgia and instead offers a layered exploration of how onsen architecture has evolved in response to shifting cultural, environmental, and technological forces. Organized into three chapters – past, present, and future – Yuval Zohar’s book traces the transformation of bathing culture, beginning with the tranquil wooden bathhouses of the Edo period, moving through the pragmatic and often austere municipal sento of the 20th century, and culminating in the emergence of contemporary privatized spas that mirror broader societal trends toward urban individualism, commercialized leisure, and reimagined notions of public intimacy.

Tsurunoyu’s cloudy water (nigoriyu) rotenburo

a visual archive of water and loss

Zohar, based in the onsen town of Yugawara, takes readers on an immersive, almost topographical journey, where water and steam become guiding metaphors for transformation and collective intimacy. His visual documentation, both personal and precise, includes baths nestled in mountains, forgotten rural sento slowly reclaimed by vegetation, diagrams showing how volcanic activity shapes site planning, and collages where human bodies dissolve into clouds of vapor.

Even though architecture here serves as a membrane between the social and the elemental, the story Zohar tells is also one of disappearance. As local bathhouses shutter due to aging owners, dwindling visitors, and the rise of mega-facilities or in-home baths, the future of Japanese communal spaces faces an uncertain future. The book becomes a quiet call to action, aiming to protect these fading sanctuaries of the everyday, where the unclothed body exists without hierarchy and where architecture hosts a fragile form of coexistence.

With Towards a Nude Architecture, Yuval Zohar charts the thermal pulse of a culture, and in doing so, reveals how architecture can rescue our most elemental ways of being together.

The Author Yuval Zohar in Kita Onsen’s Tengunoyu

Tsurunoyu Onsen in deep winter

ranging from Japanese woodblocks, to western etchings, manga, anime, and video games

architectural axons of onsen are featured in the book

Oimatsu onsen, also known as Dungeon Onsen, a dilapidated building housing an eerie soak

Kodakaranoyu, Takaragawa Onsen’s largest rotenburo

Takaragawa Onsen Site Plan

the emerald green waters of Iojima’s Higashi Onsen

origins of onsen

Yuval Zohar charts the thermal pulse of a culture

project info:

name: Towards a Nude Architecture

author: Yuval Zohar

publisher: nai010 publishers | @nai010_publishers

pages: 208

The post ‘towards a nude architecture’ is a visual journey tracing japan’s bathhouse culture appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

red floor runs over minimal 1970s athens apartment revamped by threshold

threshold introduces a glowing glass box in 1970s apartment

Troias Apartment sits quietly on the first floor of a 1970s polykatoikia (apartment building) in the dense fabric of Kypseli, Athens, nestled between two narrow streets. The original layout, defined by a long, dark corridor, fragmented the apartment into a sequence of disconnected rooms. The intervention by Greek studio threshold is simple and legible. All non-structural walls are removed, and a second, almost hidden WC is introduced. The main bathroom proudly sits at the heart of the plan. Where privacy is required, translucent or transparent partitions allow light to pass through freely. By evening, the bathroom becomes a glowing glass box, a quiet shadow play. Floors and ceilings are given equal care.

all images by Vasso Paraschi

A minimal set of gestures restores Troias Apartment in Kypseli

The design team at threshold restores the wooden floors and arranges the kitchen as a floating element between two distinct surfaces. Below, a tomato-red floor marks the center of the intervention, receding at the entrance to reveal the original terrazzo. Above, the ceiling bears the imprint of the removed walls, a quiet trace of the apartment’s former layout. A light metal structure, floating lights, a giant house for a small extractor, and a full-height silver curtain are placed with intent, inviting shifting reflections throughout the day. Troias Apartment is composed of a sequence of elements, shaped through a minimal set of gestures, some essential, others simply possible. A precise palette of materials binds everything together. In the end, the apartment becomes a modest framework for everyday life, carefully unfolded, quietly rearranged.

the double-sided kitchen furniture becomes a display object for the living and dining space

threshold reimagines the space by removing all non-structural walls

translucent partitions allow privacy without compromising natural light

bespoke entrance furniture incorporates a seating space and multi-purpose storage

the shower takes a prominent position behind the curved glass brick wall

the existing old marble sink was re-integrated in the bathroom, built in a soft green enclosure

project info:

name: Troias Apartment
architects: threshold | @__threshold

ceramics: chryssavgie ceramics | @chryssavgie.ceramics

location: Kypseli, Athens, Greece

photographer: Vasso Paraschi | @vassoparaschi

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post red floor runs over minimal 1970s athens apartment revamped by threshold appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

red floor runs over minimal 1970s athens apartment revamped by threshold

threshold introduces a glowing glass box in 1970s apartment

Troias Apartment sits quietly on the first floor of a 1970s polykatoikia (apartment building) in the dense fabric of Kypseli, Athens, nestled between two narrow streets. The original layout, defined by a long, dark corridor, fragmented the apartment into a sequence of disconnected rooms. The intervention by Greek studio threshold is simple and legible. All non-structural walls are removed, and a second, almost hidden WC is introduced. The main bathroom proudly sits at the heart of the plan. Where privacy is required, translucent or transparent partitions allow light to pass through freely. By evening, the bathroom becomes a glowing glass box, a quiet shadow play. Floors and ceilings are given equal care.

all images by Vasso Paraschi

A minimal set of gestures restores Troias Apartment in Kypseli

The design team at threshold restores the wooden floors and arranges the kitchen as a floating element between two distinct surfaces. Below, a tomato-red floor marks the center of the intervention, receding at the entrance to reveal the original terrazzo. Above, the ceiling bears the imprint of the removed walls, a quiet trace of the apartment’s former layout. A light metal structure, floating lights, a giant house for a small extractor, and a full-height silver curtain are placed with intent, inviting shifting reflections throughout the day. Troias Apartment is composed of a sequence of elements, shaped through a minimal set of gestures, some essential, others simply possible. A precise palette of materials binds everything together. In the end, the apartment becomes a modest framework for everyday life, carefully unfolded, quietly rearranged.

the double-sided kitchen furniture becomes a display object for the living and dining space

threshold reimagines the space by removing all non-structural walls

translucent partitions allow privacy without compromising natural light

bespoke entrance furniture incorporates a seating space and multi-purpose storage

the shower takes a prominent position behind the curved glass brick wall

the existing old marble sink was re-integrated in the bathroom, built in a soft green enclosure

project info:

name: Troias Apartment
architects: threshold | @__threshold

ceramics: chryssavgie ceramics | @chryssavgie.ceramics

location: Kypseli, Athens, Greece

photographer: Vasso Paraschi | @vassoparaschi

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post red floor runs over minimal 1970s athens apartment revamped by threshold appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

crab-shell dwelling by espacio 18 steps down the oaxacan cliffs in mexico

Casa Tobi embraces primitive architectural gestures in oaxaca

Mexican architecture studio Espacio 18 unveils Casa Tobi, a residential project nestled on a steep coastal slope near Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. The house descends westward in staggered levels, framing expansive views of the Pacific Ocean and capturing the region’s sunsets. Drawing inspiration from Sou Fujimoto’s writings on the evolution of architecture through primitive spatial principles, the project reimagines traditional forms through a contemporary lens. Its structure and materials — earth-toned concrete and stone — evoke the shell of a crab emerging from the rocks, at once blending into the arid landscape and expressing a tactile presence.

all images by César Bejar

Espacio 18 crafts sensory sequence of space and form

Espacio 18 organizes the home around a rhythmic play of compression and expansion. Upon entering at the upper level, visitors are greeted by a terrace and reflecting pool that mirrors the surrounding jungle and sky. From here, a narrow, shaded walkway guides the descent — its proportions intentionally tight, echoing the feeling of a cave — until it opens into a double-height living space. In this central zone, the architects have arranged a study, kitchen, dining area, lounge, pool, and fire pit, all oriented to maximize views and natural ventilation. The Oaxaca-based architecture studio’s  design favors both communal living and adaptability, allowing the home to respond to shifting uses over time.

Following the site’s natural contours, Casa Tobi steps gradually down the slope, integrating into the terrain while providing layered views at every level. The lower floor houses the bedrooms, where treetop canopies offer privacy and a close relationship with the surrounding vegetation. Materials are chosen to reinforce this connection: the reddish tones of the walls recall the colors of the setting sun, while water features—positioned throughout the property—cool the air and echo the geological formations of Hierve el Agua. The design prioritizes environmental responsiveness, grounding the home in its coastal setting.

Casa Tobi is nestled on a steep coastal slope near Puerto Escondido

the house descends westward in staggered levels

the shape and materiality evoke the shell of a crab

visitors are greeted by a terrace and reflecting pool

panoramic ocean views are reflected in the still surface of the upper-level pool

the dwelling blends into the arid landscape

Casa Tobi steps gradually down the slope, integrating into the terrain

the dwelling follows the site’s natural contours

water features throughout the house reference the petrified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua

the structure’s textured surfaces evoke the shell of a crab

interior materials in earth tones evoke the coastal landscape

the interior layout promotes both social gathering and quiet reflection

furniture and finishes reflect a restrained palette, complementing the architectural language

project info: 

name: Casa Tobi | @casatobi
architects: Espacio 18 | @espacio18
architect in charge: Espacio 18 Arquitectura, Karina Flores, Jesús Piña
team: Mario Ávila, Carla Osorio, Jesús Pïña, Karina Flores, Noemie Coquil, Leslie Tamayo, Paola Alavez, Sonia Morales
location: Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
area: 255 sqm
photography: César Bejar | @cesarbejarstudio

The post crab-shell dwelling by espacio 18 steps down the oaxacan cliffs in mexico appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

crab-shell dwelling by espacio 18 steps down the oaxacan cliffs in mexico

Casa Tobi embraces primitive architectural gestures in oaxaca

Mexican architecture studio Espacio 18 unveils Casa Tobi, a residential project nestled on a steep coastal slope near Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. The house descends westward in staggered levels, framing expansive views of the Pacific Ocean and capturing the region’s sunsets. Drawing inspiration from Sou Fujimoto’s writings on the evolution of architecture through primitive spatial principles, the project reimagines traditional forms through a contemporary lens. Its structure and materials — earth-toned concrete and stone — evoke the shell of a crab emerging from the rocks, at once blending into the arid landscape and expressing a tactile presence.

all images by César Bejar

Espacio 18 crafts sensory sequence of space and form

Espacio 18 organizes the home around a rhythmic play of compression and expansion. Upon entering at the upper level, visitors are greeted by a terrace and reflecting pool that mirrors the surrounding jungle and sky. From here, a narrow, shaded walkway guides the descent — its proportions intentionally tight, echoing the feeling of a cave — until it opens into a double-height living space. In this central zone, the architects have arranged a study, kitchen, dining area, lounge, pool, and fire pit, all oriented to maximize views and natural ventilation. The Oaxaca-based architecture studio’s  design favors both communal living and adaptability, allowing the home to respond to shifting uses over time.

Following the site’s natural contours, Casa Tobi steps gradually down the slope, integrating into the terrain while providing layered views at every level. The lower floor houses the bedrooms, where treetop canopies offer privacy and a close relationship with the surrounding vegetation. Materials are chosen to reinforce this connection: the reddish tones of the walls recall the colors of the setting sun, while water features—positioned throughout the property—cool the air and echo the geological formations of Hierve el Agua. The design prioritizes environmental responsiveness, grounding the home in its coastal setting.

Casa Tobi is nestled on a steep coastal slope near Puerto Escondido

the house descends westward in staggered levels

the shape and materiality evoke the shell of a crab

visitors are greeted by a terrace and reflecting pool

panoramic ocean views are reflected in the still surface of the upper-level pool

the dwelling blends into the arid landscape

Casa Tobi steps gradually down the slope, integrating into the terrain

the dwelling follows the site’s natural contours

water features throughout the house reference the petrified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua

the structure’s textured surfaces evoke the shell of a crab

interior materials in earth tones evoke the coastal landscape

the interior layout promotes both social gathering and quiet reflection

furniture and finishes reflect a restrained palette, complementing the architectural language

project info: 

name: Casa Tobi | @casatobi
architects: Espacio 18 | @espacio18
architect in charge: Espacio 18 Arquitectura, Karina Flores, Jesús Piña
team: Mario Ávila, Carla Osorio, Jesús Pïña, Karina Flores, Noemie Coquil, Leslie Tamayo, Paola Alavez, Sonia Morales
location: Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
area: 255 sqm
photography: César Bejar | @cesarbejarstudio

The post crab-shell dwelling by espacio 18 steps down the oaxacan cliffs in mexico appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

tea pavilion by kong xiangwei studio floats like a silver feather in chinese rainforest

Kong Xiangwei Studio reclaims forest ruin in china

Tucked within the ancient mist-cloaked ridges of Yunnan’s Wuliang Mountains in China, the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion by Kong Xiangwei Studio emerges like a silver plume resting gently in the trees. Located on Phoenix Mountain at an elevation of 2,380 meters, the structure perches within a 1,300-acre tea-tourism sanctuary in Bixi Township, Dali Prefecture, a region famed not only for its tea but also as one of China’s vital migratory bird corridors. Every autumn, tens of thousands of birds descend along this ancient route, echoing the mythical image of ‘a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix.’

With a design language they describe as a ‘light touch on the earth,’ Kong Xiangwei Studio translates the delicate form of the feather into a forest pavilion for birdwatching and reflection. Using slender 14-millimeter galvanized steel rods, the architects trace linear paths through the landscape, their placement mimicking the silver pheasant’s legs as they rise into a sweeping hyperbolic arc, mirroring the gentle curve of a feather midair.

all images by Archi-translator Photography, Kong Xiangwei Studio

a feather touching the earth

It was in a forgotten valley west of a tea homestay – where remnants of earthen dwellings quietly erode into the forest – that inspiration struck the team of Kong Xiangwei Studio. A white silver pheasant’s feather, delicately patterned and edged in silver, landed on the mossy ground like a natural design sketch. This moment sparked the concept of a structure that could echo the lightness, grace, and poetic presence of the bird itself.

The southern end of the pavilion grounds itself with a tea bar and platform, while the eastern tip is supported by only a handful of rods. This subtle shift in structural density creates a sense of suspension, as though the entire frame is caught hovering between sky and forest floor. Clad in silver metallic paint, the steel rods become reactive surfaces for the constantly changing Yunnan sky. Mist tints them in soft blues, sunsets wash them in pinks and purples, and nighttime warmth floods the frame with golden tones, resulting in a feather that never quite looks the same.

the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion emerges like a silver plume resting gently in the trees

Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion mirrors mist and light

Carefully positioned among ancient trees, Kong Xiangwei Studio’s Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion avoids disturbing its surroundings. The presence of the structure is restrained, composed of a curved steel canopy that slices the sky into a grid of linear apertures, intensifying the experience of looking up, while an end table on the west opens toward dense rainforest, framing the wilderness.

Inside the open-air structure, birdwatchers sit in contemplative silence, gazing outward while also becoming part of the forest’s ongoing rhythms. The architecture itself becomes both frame and participant – intertwined with mist, birdsong, dappled light, and rustling branches. In this shared act of seeing, boundaries dissolve between observer and observed.

More than a scenic rest stop, the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion becomes a spiritual threshold, one that honors a millennia-old bird sanctuary. Hovering like a feather caught mid-fall, it invites quiet communion with nature through lightness.

the structure perches within a 1,300-acre tea-tourism sanctuary in Bixi Township

echoing the lightness, grace, and poetic presence

Kong Xiangwei Studio translates the delicate form of the feather into a forest pavilion for birdwatching and reflection

the eastern tip is supported by only a handful of rods

the shift in structural density creates a sense of suspension

the entire frame is caught hovering between sky and forest floor 

nighttime warmth floods the frame with golden tones

the project avoids disturbing its surroundings

project info:

name: Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion

architect: Kong Xiangwei Studio
location: Fenghuang Mountain Tea Estate, Bixi Township, Nanjian County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China

design team: Kong Xiangwei, Cui Jun, Gao Zhuojian
photographers: Archi-translator Photography, Kong Xiangwei Studio

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