Renovations to the structure of this underground house including; new external windows, new cladding, new bathroom and joinery to internal living areas.

Inspiration for a small contemporary grey exterior in San Francisco with metal siding, a gable roof, a metal roof and a grey roof.

Commercial building façade with metal panels.
Large contemporary three-storey grey apartment exterior in Vancouver with metal siding and a flat roof.

This is an example of a modern house exterior in Chicago with metal siding.

Inspiration for a mid-sized modern three-storey white exterior in Seattle with metal siding and a shed roof.

This is an example of a mid-sized scandinavian one-storey black exterior in Adelaide with metal siding.

Design ideas for a mid-sized modern two-storey black house exterior in Other with metal siding, a gable roof and a metal roof.

Herbert stolz, regensburg
Inspiration for a mid-sized industrial two-storey brown house exterior in Munich with metal siding and a gable roof.

Designs Solution
This is an example of a mid-sized modern one-storey grey exterior in Hawaii with metal siding and a shed roof.

Nestled in an undeveloped thicket between two homes on Monmouth road, the Eastern corner of this client’s lot plunges ten feet downward into a city-designated stormwater collection ravine. Our client challenged us to design a home, referencing the Scandinavian modern style, that would account for this lot’s unique terrain and vegetation. Through iterative design, we produced four house forms angled to allow rainwater to naturally flow off of the roof and into a gravel-lined runoff area that drains into the ravine. Completely foregoing downspouts and gutters, the chosen design reflects the site’s topography, its mass changing in concert with the slope of the land. This two-story home is oriented around a central stacked staircase that descends into the basement and ascends to a second floor master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet. The main entrance—a triangular form subtracted from this home’s rectangular plan—opens to a kitchen and living space anchored with an oversized kitchen island. On the far side of the living space, a solid void form projects towards the backyard, referencing the entryway without mirroring it. Ground floor amenities include a bedroom, full bathroom, laundry area, office and attached garage. Among Architecture Office’s most conceptually rigorous projects, exterior windows are isolated to opportunities where natural light and a connection to the outdoors is desired. The Monmouth home is clad in black corrugated metal, its exposed foundations extending from the earth to highlight its form.

A simple iconic design that both meets Passive House requirements and provides a visually striking home for a young family. This house is an example of design and sustainability on a smaller scale. The connection with the outdoor space is central to the design and integrated into the substantial wraparound structure that extends from the front to the back. The extensions provide shelter and invites flow into the backyard. Emphasis is on the family spaces within the home. The combined kitchen, living and dining area is a welcoming space featuring cathedral ceilings and an abundance of light.

This is an example of a large contemporary three-storey beige house exterior in Turin with metal siding, a gable roof and a tile roof.

Catherine Matthys
Inspiration for a small contemporary two-storey grey exterior in Perth with metal siding and a flat roof.

The Guesthouse Nýp at Skarðsströnd is situated on a former sheep farm overlooking the Breiðafjörður Nature Reserve in western Iceland. Originally constructed as a farmhouse in 1936, the building was deserted in the 1970s, slowly falling into disrepair before the new owners eventually began rebuilding in 2001. Since 2006, it has come to be known as a cultural hub of sorts, playing host to various exhibitions, lectures, courses and workshops. The brief was to conceive a design that would make better use of the existing facilities, allowing for more multifunctional spaces for various cultural activities. This not only involved renovating the main house, but also rebuilding and enlarging the adjoining sheep-shed. Nýp’s first guests arrived in 2013 and where accommodated in two of the four bedrooms in the remodelled farmhouse. The reimagined sheep shed added a further three ensuite guestrooms with a separate entrance. This offers the owners greater flexibility, with the possibility of hosting larger events in the main house without disturbing guests. The new entrance hall and connection to the farmhouse has been given generous dimensions allowing it to double as an exhibition space. The main house is divided vertically in two volumes with the original living quarters to the south and a barn for hay storage to the North. Bua inserted an additional floor into the barn to create a raised event space with a series of new openings capturing views to the mountains and the fjord. Driftwood, salvaged from a neighbouring beach, has been used as columns to support the new floor. Steel handrails, timber doors and beams have been salvaged from building sites in Reykjavik old town. The ruins of concrete foundations have been repurposed to form a structured kitchen garden. A steel and polycarbonate structure has been bolted to the top of one concrete bay to create a tall greenhouse, also used by the client as an extra sitting room in the warmer months. Staying true to Nýp’s ethos of sustainability and slow tourism, Studio Bua took a vernacular approach with a form based on local turf homes and a gradual renovation that focused on restoring and reinterpreting historical features while making full use of local labour, techniques and materials such as stone-turf retaining walls and tiles handmade from local clay. Since the end of the 19th century, the combination of timber frame and corrugated metal cladding has been widespread throughout Iceland, replacing the traditional turf house. The prevailing wind comes down the valley from the north and east, and so it was decided to overclad the rear of the building and the new extension in corrugated aluzinc - one of the few materials proven to withstand the extreme weather. In the 1930's concrete was the wonder material, even used as window frames in the case of Nýp farmhouse! The aggregate for the house is rather course with pebbles sourced from the beach below, giving it a special character. Where possible the original concrete walls have been retained and exposed, both internally and externally. The 'front' facades towards the access road and fjord have been repaired and given a thin silicate render (in the original colours) which allows the texture of the concrete to show through. The project was developed and built in phases and on a modest budget. The site team was made up of local builders and craftsmen including the neighbouring farmer – who happened to own a cement truck. A specialist local mason restored the fragile concrete walls, none of which were reinforced.

Photo of a contemporary two-storey house exterior in New York with metal siding.

Architecture Lead: Graham Smith Architecture: Steve Choe Engineering: CUCCO engineering + design Photography: Greg Van Riel
Inspiration for a large contemporary two-storey grey exterior in Toronto with metal siding.

ガルバリウム鋼板の外壁に、レッドシダーとモルタルグレーの塗り壁が映える個性的な外観。間口の狭い、所謂「うなぎの寝床」とよばれる狭小地のなかで最大限、開放感ある空間とするために2階リビングとしました。２階向かって左手の突出している部分はお子様のためのスタディスペースとなっており、隣家と向き合わない方角へ向いています。バルコニー手摺や物干し金物をオリジナルの製作物とし、細くシャープに仕上げることで個性的な建物の形状が一層際立ちます。

This is an example of a country exterior in Austin with metal siding.

Small contemporary two-storey black house exterior in Other with metal siding, a gable roof and a metal roof.