Architecture

Subterms

    More stories

    • 75 Shares129 Views

      in Rooms

      Dezeen’s top 10 hotels of 2023

      by

      Already thinking about your next getaway post-Christmas? Here is Dezeen’s pick of 2023’s top 10 hotels, put together as part of our review of the year.

      Our selection of the most popular and noteworthy hotels featured on Dezeen this year includes what is possibly the world’s skinniest in Indonesia, the grand conversion of a 1940s bank building in Rome and a place in Tbilisi that aims to make guests feel like they’re inside a movie.
      Read on for the full list:
      Photo by David PermadiPituRooms, Indonesia, by Sahabat Selojene
      This seven-room hotel in Central Java is just 2.8 metres wide. Each compact room contains a double bed and bathroom pod with a toilet and shower.

      “Aside from the technical difficulties, the biggest challenge was the typical mindset surrounding the hospitality industry that is used to superlative words: biggest, tallest, most luxurious,” Sahabat Selojene studio founder Ary Indra told Dezeen. “Here we are skinniest.”
      PituRooms was not the only skinny hotel to capture readers attention in 2023, with 324Praxis’ Sep’on Heartfulness Centre in Vietnam similarly slender.
      Find out more about PituRooms ›
      Photo by Nikolas KoenigThe Rome Edition, Italy, by The Edition
      Dramatic seven-metre-high ceilings, full-height windows with green curtains and travertine surfaces grace the lobby of The Rome Edition.
      Created by Amercian entrepreneur Ian Schrager’s hotel group The Edition, the 91-room hotel opened this year in a 1940s bank building. Other highlights include the intimate Jade Bar, which is fully lined in deep green antique marble and furnished with emerald-coloured velvet seating.
      Find out more about The Rome Edition ›
      Photo courtesy of Blueberry NightsBlueberry Nights, Georgia, by Sandro Takaishvili
      Georgian architect Sandro Takaishvili wanted Tbilisi’s Blueberry Nights to make guests feel “like they’re inside a movie, where everything feels slightly familiar but otherworldly at the same time”.
      With a theatrical colour scheme and cinematic moody lighting, its design evokes the visual style of directors such as Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, while film projectors feature in all 16 rooms.
      Find out more about Blueberry Nights ›
      Photo by César BéjarBoca de Agua, Mexico, by Frida Escobedo
      Wooden guest quarters perched on stilts characterise Boca de Agua, a resort in the Yucatán Peninsula designed by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo
      The villas – including one with a private pool and terrace – were raised up to reduce the environmental impact of the ground plane and to raise guests into the leafy jungle landscape.
      Find out more about Boca de Agua ›
      Photo by Adrian Gaut Borgo Santandrea, Italy, by Bonaventura Gambardella and Nikita Bettoni
      Overlooking the historic fishing village of Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast, the 1960s Borgo Santandrea hotel was restored by architect Bonaventura Gambardella and interior designer Nikita Bettoni.
      The hotel incorporates the atmospheric medieval stone fortifications carved into the cliff below, with some of the guest rooms built into the old ramparts.
      Find out more about Borgo Santandrea ›
      Photo by Emily AndrewsMaison Brummell Majorelle, Morocco, by Bergendy Cooke and Amine Abouraoui
      Located next to the famous Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech, this boutique hotel was designed by New Zealand studio Bergendy Cooke in collaboration with Moroccan architect Amine Abouraoui.
      With its sculptural, monolithic aesthetic and recurring arched openings inside and out, it was intended as a playful contemporary twist on the site’s history and the city’s traditional architecture.
      Find out more about Maison Brummell Majorelle ›
      Photo by Montse GarrigaThe Lodge, Spain, by Pilar García-Nieto
      From Único Hotels, The Lodge occupies a 500-year-old farmhouse in Mallorca on a 157-hectare estate filled with almond and olive trees, lavender fields and hiking trails.
      Interior designer Pilar García-Nieto kept the interiors mostly clean and minimal but left traces of the building’s agricultural past visible – most spectacularly an old stone mill for pressing olive oil, which stands in what is now the hotel reception area.
      Find out more about The Lodge ›
      Photo by Darren SohPan Pacific Orchard, Singapore, by WOHA
      Large, elevated garden terraces are cut into the form of this tall hotel building in Singapore designed by architecture studio WOHA, including one 18 floors up.
      The studio wanted the hotel to have verdant views on all storeys despite its urban location, while the terraces also provide passive cooling in the humid climate.
      Find out more about Pan Pacific Orchard ›
      Photo by Ambroise TézenasVermelho, Portugal, by Christian Louboutin and Madalena Caiado
      Fashion designer Christian Louboutin teamed up with architect Madalena Caiado to create this 13-room hotel in the Portuguese village of Melides.
      Its traditionalist architecture meets maximalist interiors, with the rooms containing furniture from Louboutin’s personal collection as well as objects produced by local craftsmen. Louboutin talked to Dezeen about design process behind the hotel in an exclusive interview.
      Find out more about Vermelho ›
      Photo by Felix BrueggemannChâteau Royal, Germany, by Irina Kromayer and others
      Berlin’s renovated Château Royal references the German capital’s heyday at the turn of the 20th century through abundant oak panelling, art nouveau tiles, sisal carpets and hardware in brass and nickel.
      The 93-room hotel comprises two buildings dating from 1850 and 1910, in addition to a newer building and roof extension designed by David Chipperfield Architects.
      Find out more about Château Royal ›

      2023 review
      This article is part of Dezeen’s roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Bentley curates Scandinavian architecture and design travel experience

      by

      Promotion: in 2023 Bentley Motors launched an architecture and design-centred travel experience around Scandinavia, with highlights that included a stay at Wingårdhs’ forest hotel in Sweden and a tour of BIG’s studio in Copenhagen.

      The Extraordinary Journey Scandinavia tour was one of a series of curated travel experiences presented by Bentley in 2023, offering the opportunity to explore attractive destinations from behind the wheel of its luxury cars.
      The five-day, four-night tour started in Stockholm, where guests were collected from the airport in a chauffeured Bentley and taken to their first night’s stay in the world-renowned Ett Hem hotel.
      The first night’s stay was at Stockholm’s Ett Hem hotelWith interiors created by designer Ilse Crawford, the hotel is known for merging luxury with a feeling of home, with spaces that encourage guests to relax and mingle as if at a manor house.
      The hotel hosted a welcome reception, dinner in the library and a nightcap for the small party of guests on day one to get to know each other.

      On day two, attendees took the wheel of one of several Bentley models on offer and began the journey south through Sweden’s forests, with Scandinavia’s finest architecture and design destinations guiding the way forward.
      For lunch on day two, attendees stopped at NaturehouseFor lunch, the tour stopped at Naturehouse, a sustainability-focused lakeside spa by Tailor Made Arkitekter that merges the forms of a barn and a greenhouse, before continuing to reach the Trakt Forest Hotel in Småland in the afternoon.
      Designed by Wingårdh architecture studio, the hotel features just five suites that are raised high into the treetops on stilts, giving guests the chance to feel immersed in nature.
      The suites are “a true representation of Bentley’s design values of sustainability, materiality, and innovation” said the brand, and guests had the opportunity to relax in the sauna or hot tub before joining the hotel owners Sandra and Mattias Sälleteg at a drinks reception.
      The evening also included dinner in a forest near the hotel, which was made by Michelin star chef Niklas Ekstedt and celebrated natural ingredients coming together “to create something greater than the sum of its parts”.
      Lunch on day three took place at Wanås Hotel and Sculpture ParkDay three saw the group continue the drive south through Sweden’s forests and stop for lunch at Wanås Hotel and Sculpture Park, built around two converted stone barns with interiors by Kristina Wachtmeister.
      They then drove on through Malmö and across the Öresund Bridge, the longest bridge in Europe, connecting Sweden and Denmark, before switching to chauffeured transport once again for the final stretch of the journey to Copenhagen.
      With accommodation at the Nimb Hotel in Tivoli Gardens, guests had ample opportunity to explore Copenhagen, including dinner at a world-renowned Nordic restaurant and then a city tour hosted by the Danish Architecture Centre.
      Day four included a tour and lunch at Bjarke Ingels Group’s studioThere was also a tour of Bjarke Ingels Group’s studio, hosted by a member of the team who gave insights into their creative practice. Lunch was also held within “the beating heart” of the office.
      Bentley’s Extraordinary Journey continues in the UK in 2024 with a programme where attendees will experience a scenic route starting at Crewe, the home of Bentley Motors, to The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland. The UK programme runs from 19 to 22 August and 2 to 5 September.
      For more information and to register interest, visit the Bentley website.
      Partnership content
      This article was written by Dezeen for Bentley as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares119 Views

      in Rooms

      Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide for Stockholm Design Week 2024

      by

      If you’re hosting an event during Stockholm Design Week, you can get listed in Dezeen Events Guide’s digital guide, which highlights the key events taking place during the week.

      Stockholm Design Week runs from 5 to 11 February 2024 and includes exhibitions, installations, talks, fairs and open showrooms.
      One of the largest events taking place during the week is Stockholm Furniture Fair, which takes place from 6 to 10 February 2024, showcasing furniture, lighting, technology and textiles from over 150 brands.
      The event welcomes designers, architects, journalists and purchasers, as well as design enthusiasts.
      This year, Dezeen published digital guides to Stockholm Design Week, Milan design week, Salone del Mobile, NYCxDesign, 3 Days of Design, London Design Festival and Miami art week, contributing to Dezeen Events Guide’s success in generating 800,000 page views for the section.

      Get listed in Dezeen’s digital Stockholm guide
      Dezeen offers standard and enhanced listings in its Stockholm guide.
      Standard listings cost £100 and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event.
      Enhanced listings cost £175 and include all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and an image in the listing preview on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.
      For more information about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].
      About Dezeen Events Guide
      Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.
      The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
      For more details on inclusion in the Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to Stockholm Design Week, email [email protected].
      The illustration is by Rima Sabina Aouf.

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Neuhäusl Hunal divides Sculptor’s Apartment in Prague using curved glass partitions

      by

      Czech architecture studio Neuhäusl Hunal has renovated a prefabricated apartment in Prague, turning it into an open-plan home and workspace for sculptor and glassworker Vladimír Bachorík.

      Neuhäusl Hunal opted for curved translucent glass partitions in place of doors to divide the interior spaces and create a sense of openness and fluidity.
      U-profiled glass partitions divide the interior spacesIn order to maximise floor space, the studio removed all non-load-bearing elements, leaving just a single load-bearing concrete wall that cuts through the living and workspaces.
      Three U-profiled glass partitions were then used to enclose a cloakroom, storage space and kitchen, while the remaining floor space can be used flexibly.
      An existing load-bearing concrete wall separates the living and work spacesA centralised, curved bathroom, raised by a small platform for waste management, is similarly enclosed by translucent glass panels and protrudes into the main space.

      The bathroom interior was lined extensively with white ceramic tiles and features a walk-in shower.
      Meanwhile, matching ceramic tiles were also used in the kitchen, which doubles as a work area for the artist.
      White mosaic tiles line the kitchen and bathroom”To design the maximally open and flowing space without doors, infrastructure, besides statics, was a key constraint, which defines the location of the single-almost-enclosed space: the bathroom,” studio architect and founder David Neuhäusl told Dezeen.
      “Therefore we emphasized [the bathroom] as the most prominent element in the apartment to create a strong spatial experience,” Neuhäusl continued.

      Akin Atelier houses Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern in “translucent bubble”

      The interior material palette was defined by the stripped concrete wall as well as the translucent panels and ceramic tiles, set on a background of white plaster walls and grey-toned rubber flooring.
      Metal furniture and shelving was used throughout the minimalist interior, with cubic plinths used to display Bachorík’s glasswork around the space.
      Existing windows draw daylight into the interior spacesDaylight shines through the existing windows at either end of the apartment and penetrates the glass partitions to create a brightly lit interior, while carefully positioned strip lights and spotlights provide artificial lighting.
      “These translucent glass blocks of high order ensure the penetration of light and create identity of the apartment,” Neuhäusl explained.
      “Their materiality and character naturally refer to the client’s lifelong work. They can be naturally composed in curves to formulate the softly shaped partitions.”
      Metal furniture is used throughout the spaceNeuhäusl Hunal is an architecture studio founded by David Neuhäusl and Matěj Hunal in the Czech Republic.
      Other projects recently completed in the Czech Republic include a winery topped with a sweeping concrete roof and an angular black extension to a neo-gothic church.
      The photography is by Radek Úlehla.

      Read more: More

    • 75 Shares149 Views

      in Rooms

      Dezeen’s top 10 staircases of 2023

      by

      Continuing our 2023 review, we have selected 10 striking staircases published on Dezeen this year, from prefabricated plywood steps at a Cornish home to a colourful set for an opera in a Swiss theatre.

      Architects and designers have continued to find clever solutions to travelling on foot from one storey to another in 2023 by creating staircases that are both beautiful and functional.
      Ranging from the spectacular to the space-saving, here are Dezeen’s top 10 staircases of 2023:
      Photo by Purnesh Dev NikhanjRibbon House, India, by Studio Ardete
      An angular balustrade with tilting black rails twists around sweeping concrete steps to form the staircase at Ribbon House, a home in Punjab with an equally sculptural exterior.

      Architecture office Studio Ardete placed open living spaces next to the staircase on each floor to create lobby-like communal areas on the house’s different levels.
      Find out more about Ribbon House ›
      Photo by Lorenzo ZandriHouse by the Sea, UK, by Of Architecture
      House by the Sea is the home of a surfer-and-artist couple in Newquay, Cornwall, that was designed to be “simple, robust and utilitarian”.
      For the interior, London studio Of Architecture inserted prefabricated plywood steps leading to a cosy mezzanine level tucked beneath the dwelling’s sloping roof.
      Find out more about House by the Sea ›
      Photo by Schnepp RenouHaus 1, Germany, by MVRDV and Hirschmüller Schindele Architekten
      A bright yellow, zigzagging staircase juts out from the facade of the Haus 1 building in Berlin, creating the appearance of a striking crane and providing a beacon for approaching visitors.
      Dutch studio MVRDV worked with local studio Hirschmüller Schindele Architekten to design Haus 1, which forms part of the city’s Atelier Gardens redevelopment.
      Find out more about Haus 1 ›
      Photo by Pezo von EllrichshausenLuna House, Chile, by Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen
      Brutalist-style spiral staircases connect the storeys of Luna House, an expansive geometric complex in Chile comprised of 12 individual buildings.
      Chilean studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen designed the stairs and the majority of the structure in reinforced concrete, which is highly textured thanks to imprints left behind by wooden formwork.
      Find out more about Luna House ›
      Photo by Paolo Abate.Rigoletto set design, Switzerland, by Pierre Yovanovitch
      French interior designer Pierre Yovanovitch embedded moving, curved walls within an undulating staircase that stretched the full width of the stage for a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto at Theatre Basel.
      Bathed in coloured light, the flexible walls created a neutral set for the performers to balance the play’s complex plot, according to the designer.
      Find out more about this staircase ›
      Photo by James Leng (also top)Hairpin House, USA, by Studio J Jih and Figure
      This Boston house was renovated to revolve around a sculptural “hairpin” staircase informed by the twists and turns of mountain roads.
      Designed by American firms Studio J Jih and Figure, the white oak stairs were created to increase the home’s useable floor area by 20 per cent.
      Find out more about Hairpin House ›
      Photo by Alex Shoots BuildingsHouse in Pernek, Slovakia, by Ksa Studený
      This home in the village of Pernek, Slovakia, was designed in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, mirroring its longitudinal profile.
      Architecture studio Ksa Studený positioned a chunky white staircase over a slanted slab of concrete to divide the interior space.
      Find out more about this house ›
      Photo by Jim StephensonThe Arbor House, Scotland, by Brown & Brown
      A spiral staircase made from birch plywood winds into the dining area at The Arbor House by Brown & Brown, located in a conservation area in Aberdeen.
      The studio assembled the stairs over three weeks, with timber treads individually cut and hand-layered to form a smooth curve.
      Find out more about The Arbor House ›
      Photo by Gokul Rao KadamSNN Clermont residential tower, India, by FADD Studio
      Indian practice FADD Studio renovated two apartments within the SNN Clermont residential tower in Bangalore to create a fused multi-generational home.
      The studio took cues from the curves of caterpillars when creating a swooping staircase, which connects the two flats and features deep red marble risers.
      Find out more about these apartments ›
      Photo courtesy of The Conran ShopThe Conran Shop, Japan, by Keiji Ashizawa 
      Japanese designer Keiji Ashizawa created interiors for The Conran Shop in Tokyo to reflect the inside of someone’s home.
      The store’s mezzanine floor is accessible by a minimalist geometric staircase featuring a handrail made from black paper cords.
      Find out more about The Conran Shop ›

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares149 Views

      in Rooms

      Christian Louboutin and Madalena Caiado create “most extravagant and most traditional” hotel in Portugal

      by

      Fashion designer Christian Louboutin and architect Madalena Caiado’s 13-room boutique hotel in the village of Melides, south of Lisbon, celebrates craftsmanship and has been “designed at the scale of the hand”.

      Named after the French designer’s signature colour, Vermelho, which is Portuguese for red, is Louboutin’s first hospitality project.
      Each room is furnished from Louboutin’s collectionThe hotel features 13 rooms – all of them filled with the work of local craftsmen and a selection of materials and furniture from Louboutin’s personal collection.
      “This project has allowed me to empty my storage full of antiques and objects I have purchased over many years!” Louboutin told Dezeen.
      Floor tiles are in Louboutin’s signature shade of redAt one point in the development of the project it looked like it might not be approved to operate as a hotel and so Louboutin decided “if it’s not going to be a hotel, I’m going to do it as my house”. As a result, each of the hotel’s rooms have been individually designed and have their own identity.

      “If you build a house, you’re never going to design the same room,” the designer said. “I don’t know a house where you have the same room three times – it only exist in hotels.”
      “Houses have feelings – they have different rules to hotels,” he continued. “You can’t have your house looking like a hotel”.
      The hotel has been designed in the local architectural styleVermelho was designed to be “well-integrated into the village” and it was important to Louboutin “that it really respects the area and environment”.
      Working with Portuguese architect Caiado, the resulting hotel meets the street as a series of traditional buildings in the local architectural language: white render with blue plinth and window detailing, terracotta-tiled roofs and a scattering of chimneys punctuating the skyline.
      There was nothing on the site before work began”We have tried to imagine a building that could have existed in that place, and that was part of the landscape,” Caiado told Dezeen.
      “To achieve that, we made a project adapted to the topography, relating to the surrounding buildings, and re-discovering traditional construction systems and materials.”
      The hotel looks onto a private garden and poolThe site, which curves round a private garden and swimming pool that looks out to reed marshes, culminates in a tower, punctuated with playful window openings that hint at the internal character of the project.
      Discreet from the street, the interior design and garden-facing facade is full of detail, colour and craftmanship.
      The tower features unusual diamond punctuationThe hotel’s maximalist and eclectic style was intended as a reflection of Louboutin’s personal taste, while also celebrating Portuguese savoir-faire and the traditions of local craftspeople.
      Having already worked with Caiado on his Lisbon house, Louboutin’s brief for Vermelho was to show Caiado an Indian bracelet from his collection, which from the outside looks like a simple gold bangle, but on its inside face was engraved with busy animal designs and set with diamonds.
      The interiors are highly detailed”I said to Madalena, the hotel should be like the bangle; from the outside, you don’t see anything,” Louboutin explained. “It’s to be a very simple, well-designed building that doesn’t give away much information about the inside,”
      “But when you go inside, it should be this animal and diamond thing,” he continued.
      Bedrooms feature murals by Konstantin KakaniasTo achieve the highly decorative and detailed interior Louboutin collaborated with designer Carolina Irving, who acted as an advisor on textile creation and decoration, and ceramic tile designer and interiors consultant Patricia Medina.
      Hand-painted frescoes by Greek artist Konstantin Kakanias cover the walls, while bedrooms features wardrobes with Maison Gatti French latticework.
      Playful murals adorn walls throughout the hotelBespoke woodwork and carpentry was completed by Spanish master craftsmen company Los Tres Juanes. Throughout the project Louboutin used Alentjo tiles, as well as giving the Italian artist Giuseppe Ducrot a blank slate to design sculptural ceramic details for the facade.
      The hotel restaurant, called Xtian, features a Klove Studio mural chandelier and a bespoke bar covered in hammered silver leaf, which was made by Seville-based liturgical goldsmiths Orfebrería Villarreal.
      The bar is made from silver by Spanish goldsmithsSpeaking to Dezeen, Caiado described the project as “at the same time, the most extravagant and most traditional project I’ve ever done”.
      “The biggest challenge was balancing the different constellations of ideas for each space, so that it results in a harmonious way,” she explained.
      “Especially during construction, Christian was present and brought his own creative universe, but also a more tactile way of thinking and with an artistic component of searching for novelty, even when it came to traditional materials and techniques – almost as if the hotel was designed at the scale of the hand of those who built it.”
      Local Atlentjo tiles are used throughout the projectOther recent boutique hotels featured on Dezeen include Dorothée Meilichzon’s revamp of Cowley Manor Experimental and Beata Heuman’s interiors for Hôtel de la Boétie in Paris.
      Photography is by Ambroise Tézenas.

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Rooms

      Ductus coats blocky apartment complex with red plaster in Switzerland

      by

      Architecture studio Ductus has designed an apartment complex coated with a monochrome red plaster facade into a sloping site in Schwarzenburg, Switzerland.

      Located on the outskirts of the village of Schwarzenburg in eastern Switzerland, the complex was designed by Ductus to have the appearance of a series of intersecting blocks of various heights that protrude and recede throughout the design.
      The red plaster-covered block was has a blocky appearanceAccommodating 16 apartments, the complex comprises two buildings sat perpendicular to one another that are connected by a shared garden.
      Balconies constructed from pressure-impregnated white fir and green columns contrast with the red plaster facade and overlook the garden and neighbouring buildings.
      Adjoining balconies are constructed from pressure-impregnated white fir, which contrast with the red facadeFlat roofs lined with untreated copper top the apartment complex, which distinguishing it from the surrounding more traditional pitched-roof buildings.

      On the exterior, untreated copper was also used for downpipes, while red-toned window frames and mechanical shutters match the plaster’s colour.

      PSLA Architekten tops urban townhouse with cascading roof terraces

      Within the apartments, textured white walls were set off by wooden flooring, while stylish bathrooms were characterised by red-toned fittings and decorative tiles to match the facade.
      Bright living spaces are lit by floor-to-ceiling doors that also provide access to the adjacent balconies.
      The complex contains 16 apartments split across two buildings”All 17 apartments were designed as condominiums,” Ductus partner Marcel Hauert told Dezeen.
      “The client’s desire was for all buyers to determine the interior finishes themselves. We provided a basic concept that could be adapted virtually without restrictions.”
      Red-toned fittings and tiles feature in the bathroomDuctus is an architecture studio operating between Sweden and Switzerland.
      Elsewhere in Switzerland, BE Architektur recently used intersecting sculptural blocks to form a barn-like house and Enrico Sassi has transformed a wood store into a micro home.
      The photography is by Rasmus Norlander.

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares109 Views

      in Rooms

      La Balsanera house aims to revive “tradition of living on the river” in Ecuador

      by

      Architecture studio Natura Futura Arquitectura and architect Juan Carlos Bamba have created a floating house along the Babahoyo River in Ecuador.

      Situated within a centuries-old floating village at risk of disappearing, La Balsanera is designed as a model for the preservation and sustainable redevelopment of the river’s depleting community.
      La Balsanera is a floating house along the Babahoyo RiverFollowing the river’s current closure as a commercial fluvial route, the community saw the number of floating structures decrease from 200 to 25.
      La Balsanera is hoped to help revive “the tradition of living on the river”, according to Natura Futura Arquitectura and Bamba.
      It has a terrace with a colourful hammockBuilt for a family of three, whose livelihoods include selling food to the local community and repairing wooden boats, the 70-square-metre design highlights the river as a vital socio-economic resource.

      A two-metre-wide extension to an existing platform provides terraces for them to use as “productive environments”, such as a cafe seating area or anchor point for tourist boats.
      Slatted openings provide ventilation”La Balsanera explores possible floating solutions that recover local artisan techniques while promoting the active and productive participation of the occupants in vulnerable communities,” Bamba told Dezeen.
      The home is built from wooden porticos constructed every two metres to form a gabled truss structure. This is topped by a corrugated roof that shelters the outdoor terraces and a colourful hammock.

      Floating Bamboo House offers model for “stable and safe accommodation”

      A central space hosts a shared living room, dining area and kitchen along with two bedrooms, while two external strips at either end provide a toilet, shower, laundry space and boat workshop.
      Slatted openings, known locally as “chazas”, have been made from recycled wood and help naturally ventilate and cool the interior.
      A bridge made from bamboo and wood connect the home to the mainlandA bridge made from bamboo and planks of wood provides a walkway between the floating home and the mainland.
      Meanwhile, shutter doors used throughout the design link the living spaces to the surrounding terraces.
      A seating area is provided on the river-facing terraceNatura Futura Arquitectura and Bamba are based in Ecuador and Spain respectively.
      Other projects completed by Natura Futura Arquitectura include a fitness centre featuring giant shutters and a mirrored viewing platform in the Ecuadorean countryside.
      The photography is by Francesco Russo.

      Read more: More