Good things DO come from Canada.

(for Michael Lancione & Jon Horsman)

Paul Bernier is an architect out of Montreal.  His work is elegant and simple, with a strong attention to detail.

Lesson for Today:  What I like most about this residence is the experience of its spaces.  The garden feels very much like part of the interior due to its exclusivity and the large glazing on both sides of the house.  The downstairs is spacious and public, making the most use of light as possible.  The stairs are a strong feature in the house and are designed to let light filter down into the spaces below.  As you assend to the upper floors you happen upon bedrooms and small hints of the exterior.  Finally on the top floor you reach the climax of the house both in the amount of light let in and the freedom to go outside onto a rooftop patio.  It's a wonderful experience.

Paul Bernier website:  http://bernier.v2hosting.net/
Photography by Marc Cramer:  http://www.marccramer.com/

Richard Meier and a form of music.

Richard Meier has established himself as one of the finest architects in the world, and was recognized as such when he won the Pritzker Prize (the fields' highest honor) in 1984, the same year he was awarded the commission to do the Getty Center in Los Angeles, a 1 billion dollar project.

Lesson for Today:  Minimalism doesn't have to me minimal at all.  Richard Meier is truly a sculptor of form and light.  The Southern California Beach House displayed here is a great example of stripping away texture, ornamentation, unnecessary siding, roofing, trim...  all that stuff, and building a house that is both simple and complicated at the same time.  You can rest easy in it, or get pulled into its intricate harmonies in the same way a piano piece by the famous composer Chopin extracts your attention. 

Exterior Expression

At the risk of being redundant, I'm posting the work of another Swedish design firm called WIDJEDAL RACKI BERGERHOF, or WRB.  The goal of this post is to illustrate a specific design feature often expressed in modern architecture.  This will not be the last post dedicated to this theme.

Lesson for Today: Think of a rectangular space with a roof, a floor and four walls.  Cutting holes in the walls to let in light and provide an entrance/exit is one approach, but why not let the elements be more expressive by separating them?  Detach the roof from the floor and it becomes a plane that wonderfully expresses the core of what you're building: a shelter.  By doing so you're allowing the floor to act like an extension of the earth around the house.  Think of walls as something to be added only where they are needed instead of completely enclosing the house and cutting out holes to allow for light and view.  -Now you're blurring the lines of interior and exterior and inviting the scenery into the home. 

Project:  House Gundersen

Project:  H - House

Project: Island House

The right way to furnish a space.

Claesson Koivisto Rune is not only a fabulous Swedish design firm, but their practice extends into furniture, light fixtures, kitchen appliances and even jewelry.  Instead of designing a space and giving it over to an interior designer, CKR will furnish the space with the same thoughtfulness and attention as they put into the architecture, creating a wonderful dialogue between the two.

Lesson for Today:  For a few of the concept mentioned above, see the captions above the images below.

Project:  Apartment With Sauna

The pictures on the left align with the door openings creating a line that reflects the windows to the right.  The long table and carpet help emphasize the length of the room.

The floating credenza is accentuated by a subtle reveal in the wall that turns the corner.

The large round light fixture acts as a focal point in the room and contrasts the square shapes throughout the rest of the decor.

Project: Loft Apartment With Spa

The bed frame reflects the tie beams in the ceiling and the hard lines in the space act like lines on a white page.

The glass table and wire-frame chairs are meant to reflect the glass curtain wall beyond.

In this image, the large couches to the right are having a dialogue with the large dark fireplace and the wooden chairs reflect the wood seen elsewhere in the architecture. 

Project: The Designers Home

The same wooden right angle can be seen in both the chair and the shelf beyond.