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Floating House by MOS Architects

MOS Architects designed the Floating House on Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada:
The Floating House is the intersection of a vernacular house typology with the shifting site-specific conditions of this unique place: an island on Lake Huron. The location on the Great Lakes imposed complexities to the house’s fabrication and construction, as well as its relationship to site. Annual cyclical change related to the change of seasons, compounded with escalating global environmental trends, cause Lake Huron’s water levels to vary drastically from month-to-month, year-to-year. To adapt to this constant, dynamic change, the house floats atop a structure of steel pontoons, allowing it to fluctuate along with the lake. Locating the house on a remote island posed another set of constraints. Using traditional construction processes would have been prohibitively expensive; the majority of costs would have been applied toward transporting building materials to the remote island. Instead, we worked with the contractor to devise a prefabrication and construction process that maximized the use of the unique character of the site: Lake Huron as a waterway. Construction materials were instead delivered to the contractor’s fabrication shop, located on the lake shore. The steel platform structure with incorporated pontoons was built first and towed to the lake outside the workshop. On the frozen lake, near the shore, the fabricators constructed the house. The structure was then towed to the site and anchored. In total, between the various construction stages, the house traveled a total distance of approximately 80 km on the lake. The formal envelope of the house experiments with the cedar siding of the vernacular home. This familiar form not only encloses the interior living space, but also enclosed exterior space as well as open voids for direct engagement with the lake. A “rainscreen” envelope of cedar strips condense to shelter interior space and expand to either filter light entering interior spaces or screen and enclose exterior spaces giving a modulated yet singular character to the house, while performing pragmatically in reducing wind load and heat gain. (more…)

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Crab Creek House by Robert Gurney Architect

This house is designed by Robert Gurney Architect in Annapolis by kept the existing foundation, near the Crab Creek. The house is organized around a linear bar, clad in white stucco. From this central spine, additional spaces are articulated as independent volumes, projecting vertically and clad in either wood or metal siding. The spaces are also organized around a swimming pool and views toward Crab Creek. A continuous wall of glass and covered porch heightens the interaction between inside and outside. The primary spaces in the house are oriented toward the water views, have high ceilings and are light filled. (more…)

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Casa Del Cabo by Andres Remy Arquitectos

The Project is located on a closed community on the north of Buenos Aires, on a lot with north orientation and surrounded by a lake on two if its side, giving us amazing views.

The clients, an elder couple that no longer lives with its children, needed a cozy, compact and overall functional home.
The house opens towards the back, matching the northern sun and the best views. On the east side, the house meets the lake through a semi covered space that functions as a garage and outdoor living area. This space allows the integration between the front garden with the back garden. (more…)

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Elenko Residence by CEI Architecture

Elenko Residence by CEI Architecture:
Located on the shores of Osoyoos Lake in British Columbia, Canada, this single-family residence was designed to suit the owner’s recreational lifestyle amid the natural setting of the Okanagan region. The house is set on a narrow lot limited by setbacks to a 30’ by 50’ area. The building incorporates minimal openings on the west side and is mostly transparent on the east, taking full advantage of the light bouncing off the lake. A flat roof provides opportunities to sit outside on an upper deck, which opens off a recreation room, with a full view of the water. (more…)

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Naramata Residence by Frits de Vries Architect

Situated on the shores of Lake Okanagan, this contemporary residence takes full advantage of western lake and eastern mountain views. The open floor plan allows for maximum circulation between the main living spaces. A wall of sliding windows faces the lake, and a 12 foot opening in front of the dining room offers ideal summer indoor-outdoor living. Exterior sliding slatted screens can be moved in front of windows to offer sun shading, privacy and insect control. (more…)

Cortes Island Residence by Balance Associates

Located on Cortes Island, British Columbia, the Cortes Residence is sited on a granite cliff face that serves as a wind break for Cortes Bay and the Seattle and Vancouver yacht clubs. To the south, the house is exposed to the Straight of Georgia which delivers 100mph plus winds and salt spray during winter storms. To withstand the winds, the house structure is embedded into the bedrock with cross braced steel columns and exposed floor beams allowing the house to cantilever gracefully off the hillside. (more…)

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