Category: Architecture and Interiors

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I Could Live There

MNG Courtyard House, Bangkok,Thailand by JI+TA ARCHITECT


The plot is only 10 meters wide and is surrounded by abandoned land, so designing a layout to suit a resident was quite challenging. An inner courtyard was created to allow the house itself to have its own view, enabling every room to breathe. Therefore, the courtyard is the heart of the house, and the layout is organized around it.

On the ground floor, the double-volume living room is in the middle of the house beside the courtyard. Gigantic floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors are placed between them to allow sunlight to shine in and create a sense of a seamless boundary between indoor and outdoor space. The upper-level corridor that runs between the living area and the courtyard is designed to disturb this sense as little as possible by using the slimmest steel structure and glass railing. The open-plan dining and kitchen area, which is also attached to the courtyard, is placed at the back of the house. At the front area of the house, there are a multi-purpose room, a powder room, and a working room. Indoor space and the street outside are separated by a parking area that has a building component designed using simple geometric shapes that fit into the limited space. The storage room, in combination with the mailbox and garbage area in front of the house, is designed in a simple cylindrical shape, along with a curved walkway and a shoe room, making it easy to walk in and creating a turning circle for the driver to park the car easily.

On the upper floor, the kids’ bedrooms are placed at the back of the house. The balcony on the second floor next to the courtyard is designed with a curved shape to accommodate tree growth and blossoming.

The master bedroom area has a small living space adjacent to the courtyard, where sunlight and fresh air flow in through a large casement window. The master bedroom and walk-in closet, designed to have a flowing space, are placed along with a linear terrace that has a cast-iron shading to block excess sunlight and increase privacy for this area while allowing the wind to ventilate.

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I Could Live There

Más que Arquitectura Estudio: The guiding thread of the experience at Villa Arrebol suggests a lifestyle immersed in the natural environment; the transition between interior and exterior is responsible for generating sensations and reminding us of the qualities of the place we live in. The major inspiration was the dynamics of the hacienda, where you have beautiful spaces, but none is fixed to be only what it is. You can eat somewhere outside the dining room, read somewhere outside the living room. Spaces can be occupied depending on what you’re looking for — coolness, sun, shade, and this home provides all those options.

The house’s land is an irregular polygon, which meant adapting to its particular shape as well as the existing nature of the land. The facade faces south, so windows could not be added. You arrive at this seemingly enclosed and dark space, but you are welcomed by a double-height ceiling and an indoor garden, exchanging the warmth of the sun for a cool, green space.

A residential project that preserves the trees of the site, bringing life to a courtyard that becomes the heart of the home.

By gathering trees around a courtyard, the space turns into a sort of Yucatecan jungle, and we are also creating green views for every interior space of the home.

The house changes from morning to evening. The shadows and lighting shift, which helps to highlight different areas at different times of the day. The serene evening achieves a balance between the exterior and interior, in intimate communion with nature.

[source]

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Adorable

I could live in any of them (assuming fully modern interior finishes), but for practicality sake, I’m going to have to go with the first one only because it has three bedrooms.

Thanks, Rick!

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I Could Live There

An Austin Home Designed Without Windows Is Rethinking Privacy and Security

Introducing the Stealth House – Specht Novak’s revolutionary perspective on city dwelling and the first of its kind home in Austin. This forward-thinking abode defies standard perceptions surrounding seclusion and exposure. The outer shell boasts an eye-catching profile, completely devoid of windows and enveloped in corrugated Cor-Ten steel. The exterior not only bolsters security but also fosters an air of intrigue. Specht Novak’s Stealth House is located on an infill lot in Austin’s city core. It is also the home of the architect himself, Scott Specht.

Stealth House has garnered several prestigious design awards in 2025 already: AIA National, Texas Society of Architects, AIA Austin Design Award of Excellence, and several more

A New Home in Austin Is Rethinking Privacy, Security, and How We Live Today. 

At first glance, the Stealth House designed by homeowner and architect Scott Specht, Specht Novak, is nearly invisible. Located on a gravel alley behind a row of traditional homes in downtown Austin, this 1,100-square-foot residence reveals little—a low, rust-colored steel façade with no outside-facing windows, offering no clue to its interior world. But step inside, and the experience is nothing short of revelatory.

Sunlight streams through floor-to-ceiling glass, illuminating two lush interior courtyards—one centered around an olive tree, the other serving as an aviary with bamboo. “We wanted to completely rethink what makes a home feel open and inviting,” says Scott Specht, Specht Novak. “Most modern homes rely on glass to connect with the outside world, but what if you don’t want to be on display? What if you want light, nature, and space without sacrificing privacy?”

The Stealth House breaks from the contemporary trend of open-plan, glass-walled homes by turning inward—drawing inspiration from the Roman domus, Moroccan riad, Chinese siheyuan, and Japanese machiya, where daily life revolves around interior courtyards.  Located In a dense, walkable neighborhood where views often mean staring into someone else’s home, this design offers a clear separation between public and private spaces. “This house feels connected, but only on our own terms,” Specht adds.

Powered by a rooftop photovoltaic array with battery backup and featuring a low-power-use air-conditioning system and super-insulated envelope, the house is extremely energy-efficient.  The Cor-Ten rusting steel exterior is maintenance-free, and the landscape, largely of gravel and cactus requires little attention. Everything about the Stealth House is built to be easy. “There’s no waste, no unnecessary spaces—just the essentials, done really well.

While the Stealth House is highly personal, its ideas could have larger implications for urban housing. Its compact footprint, acoustical and visual separation, and energy independence make it a model for accessory dwelling units, infill housing, and even “unbuildable” sites near highways and industrial zones.

“It’s a prototype,” Specht says. “It shows how you can live well in a small space, even in a dense area, without sacrificing privacy or sustainability.”  More than anything, though, the house is an answer to the evolving way we live now— in an environment of increasing social unease where the comfort of security, peace, and control over one’s environment are more valuable than an unobstructed view of the street.”

[source]

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A Rant. (Hey, It’s Something Other Than The Felon!)

This townhouse development started going up at some point after we left the neighborhood after the fire. At the time we left, this was a vacant lot that had once (long before we moved back to Phoenix) been occupied by a rambling single-family house that was bulldozed at some point. For years it sat vacant and overgrown with weeds.

I was heading to lunch after visiting one of our west-side offices about three years ago and was surprised to see this going up. It looked interesting in a stark, brutal modernist sort of way and I was looking forward to seeing it completed.

Sadly, even after we moved back it seemed construction had stalled, and I cursed the developer every time I rolled over the huge steel plates covering underground sewer work that had literally been in place for over a year after our return.

Then, one day the plates were removed, holes filled, and paving was replaced. Construction stalled again a couple months later and the property was broken into. Work finally resumed (I guess the City lit a fire under the developer to get it finished) and a year later they’re finally finished, but apparently unsellable. They were originally on the market for around $300K, but folks weren’t exactly beating the doors down to buy at that price point because they’re now up for rent—and even now no one seems to want to live there.

It’s not surprising. While they have a nice view of the golf course across the street, they’re at the corner of a noisy, very well-traveled intersection, and the only vehicular entrance to the property—and the units’ garages in the back—is a single entrance that’s accessed either by a right turn going east or an impossible left turn going west (necessitating pulling into the left turn lane of the intersection on the street immediately to the north of the property.  There’s a paved alley out back that could be used for access but they’d have to drive a block down 19th Avenue and then double back.

From a couple years ago, but still illustrates the ridiculously designed entrance these units were given.

There’s no private space (which from the looks of it could’ve easily been accomplished out front with some fenced patios), no protection from the elements above the front doors, and absolutely no guest parking. And oh, did I mention…there’s no street parking on either of the roads bordering the property? Even if the chained and padlocked gates in the fence that surrounds the property are one day opened, there’s no place for trucks to deliver without pulling into the bus stop immediately out front. It’s no wonder they can’t give them away…

*I stand corrected…apparently are still for sale…at an absolutely ridiculous price for this neighborhood. And at least one is for rent…at an equally ridiculous rate.

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I Grew Up in a House Very Similar to This

[h/t Rick]

The bedrooms were flipped back to front from the plan above, but otherwise the layout was very similar…

This is the only plan of that house I could ever find, and this was squirreled away in my Dad’s effects. And even this isn’t totally the same as ours. (There was a normal fireplace on the back wall—not a room divider—between the Living Room and Dining Room,  and the Dining Room itself was actually a separate room with a large opening to the Living Room.) It amazes me that in our current era of McMansions how tiny these rooms were—and it was the norm for the time and seemed perfectly normal.

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Okay, I Know It Was The 60s…

…but still, so many odd design choices.

When I was a young thing, whose father was an architect, I used to pour over these magazines that always seemed to be in abundance in our home. Aspiring to become an architect myself and dreaming of the wonderful home I’d someday build, these plans and renderings fired my imagination.

But looking at them now, sixty years later, they certainly seem dated  in comparison to today’s design aesthetic. The tiny, closed, cramped galley-style kitchens and equally utilitarian bathrooms, the all-but-useless formal dining areas and the separate living and family rooms. And just the way everything was closed off from everything else. They still fire my imagination, but now I look at these plans and ponder what I’d do if I were buy one and remodel it to bring it into the 21st century.

[Thanks, Rick!]

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I Could Live There

Originally built in 1961 with a design by local architect Robert Ainsworth, this neighborhood fire station was decommissioned and converted into this unique live/work space in 2007. A one-of-a-kind home in a serene Sierra Madre setting.

744 Alta Vista Drive, Sierra Madre CA
1,399sf • 2,201sf lot • $1,095,000

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I Could Live There

…with full-time housekeeping and landscape maintenance, of course.

Ruben Muedra Estudio De Arquitectura: The house is located in a private residential area with low population density and characterized by its large open spaces, gardens, and extensive woodlands. In this setting, we are met by a house from the 1970´s, whose poor construction has left only part of its base structure, and whose peculiar positioning has created a diamond-shaped plot.

The initial response consists of fully completing the preexisting prism via sculptural methods by modeling a complete structure from travertine marble and, subsequently, sculpting horizontally (the floors) as well as vertically (the heights) to form each empty cube. Using this method, we move from the entrance of the house to each of its terraces.

In this manner, a pure, solitary and geometrically vibrant structure is created and also takes advantage of the wide open spaces as a response to the functional necessities of each element. The first space corresponds to the entrance to the house (and is the only finished square floor at semi-basement level). Following the same style, every zenithal hollow gives rise to a private terrace that acts as a filter for each of the main bedrooms.  Likewise, in height, each room is provided with a square space whose position, size and opening system responds to its specific functional needs.

The house is at a 45º rotation angle to the plot, which allows for an extension from interior to exterior on all four sides of the structure.  Similarly, the functional program is distributed by sections according to the different uses that each space will have.  The semi-basement is the parking and leisure area; the ground floor is the day area and is characterized by progressive, free-flowing spaces that open up to the exterior; and the first floor is for the night areas with their exclusive terraces.

The powerful travertine that wraps around the building in a continuous line, contrasts with the wealth of materials used on the inside whose functions have been adapted according to the necessities.  Continuous pavement in the parking area, textiles in the film room, synthetic materials in the gym, ceramics in the day area and wood in the night area.  Also used are vertical coverings comprised predominantly of walnut and marble effects in black and white.

The house´s sculpted shape gives rise to its use of natural illumination as an additional construction material.  It controls, filters, and sifts the incoming light according to its use and orientation.  It distributes artificial light in the same manner by making use of concealed lighting, combining linear, circular and punctual effect sequences depending on the needs of the interior and exterior spaces.  The house also has sophisticated installation and automatic systems that allow users to control every one of the devices in the home (IoT). This house is designed by and for its inhabitants, and it puts many of the Well Building principles into practice.

In the exterior, the garden areas stand out and progress in intensity and density. Beginning with the white gravel garden in the entrance and continuing to the grassy area with trees near the pool, the gardens belonging to the house intertwine and fuse with the wooded areas in the surrounding landscapes.

In summary, this is a progressively adaptive and sensitive project. Beginning with the pure travertine block characterized by large hollowed-out spaces, it reaches a vast richness and variety from its versatility of programs and materials, both interior and exterior.

[Source]

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I Could Live There

This speaks my language.

Located in San Miguel Allende, Mexico, Casa Dom by @tmasm.arquitectos, blends design, architecture, and nature, with double-height windows framing the serene surroundings. Its loft-style layout fosters simplicity and tranquility, while a well-equipped kitchen and comfortable living spaces offer relaxation. Upstairs, a king bedroom with an attached bathroom awaits. Outside, enjoy a wood and charcoal grill, fire pit, and hammock under mesquite and cactus trees. Unwind in the outdoor soaking tub, surrounded by a Buddhist Stupa promoting peace. At night, transform the front windows into a cinematic space with remote-controlled blinds.

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Do You Remember?

The 70s were wild. I remember the fixtures (Kohler) and the color, but I’d completely forgotten the fad of sunken tubs…

I remember back when I was a young thing designing dream houses that I always used the Kohler fixture template—vs. American Standard (manual drafting y’know)—because it seemed their designs were so avant garde in comparison…and available in colors American Standard could only dream of.

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