OLD STONE HIGHWAY HOUSE: Modern future forward design

by Mike Chino

Founded in 2001, Berg Design offers gorgeous sustainable solutions to residential projects. Their Old Stone Highway house was designed by John Berg as a “Single Family Residence with Environmentally Low Impact Building Technology”. We totally dig their uncompromising approach to housing that is luxurious, super green, and chock full of mid-century charm.

Surprisingly, this sleek sustainable haven draws its inspiration from a Long Island barn built in the 1800’s. Completed in July 2007, the Highway House was conceived as a “modern interpretation of the Long Island agricultural vernacular”. It’s an elegant marriage of glass, western cedar siding, and concrete block interspersed with large windows that bring the outside in, suffusing the interior spaces with a lovely use of natural light.

The innovations are in the details: the house makes use of high performance Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) that are airtight, well insulated, and quick to assemble. These panels are complemented by a 98% efficient boiler, radiant concrete floors and a geo-thermal HVAC system. The ubiquitous windows fold open during warm weather, and are composed of dual-pane low-e glass filled with argon gas, while the roof is constructed with tough, UV-resistant Kynar. Energy Star appliances and a saline pool (no chemicals!) round out a house that mixes classic lines with the latest in eco-tech.

+ Berg Design Architects

Source: Inhabitat

Architect Aalto remains timeless

Source:Viet Nam News

The unique work of world-famous Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is taking the spotlight at a new exhibition which opens today in Hanoi and later in HCM City.

The show, titled Alvar Aalto Houses - Timeless Expressions presents a slice of the Finnish designer's life work, including 17 of the total 100 residential houses he designed, with examples from different stylistic periods between 1924-1972. The buildings are presented through a selection of photographs, architectural drawings and scale models. Some of Aalto's furniture and other forms of art are also on display.

Aalto's pieces derive their special aesthetic character from dynamic relationship with their natural surroundings as well as their scale, immaculate details, treatment of materials and use of lighting.

The architect was well-known for his desire to improve the world with better living spaces, summed up in one of his most famous quotes: "Architecture cannot save the world, but it can set a good example."

After graduating from Helsinki University of Technology with a degree in architecture in 1921, Aalto dabbled in the latest trends in international furniture design before finding his own voice expressing the organic relationship between man, nature and buildings.

As early as 1930 his architecture and design showed an exceptional modern approach, which remain a source of inspiration to modern architects all over the world.

The exhibition is on at the VietArt Centre, 42 Yet Kieu, Hanoi until May 1 and will open at the City Hall for Exhibitions, 92 Le Thanh Ton, District 1 in HCM City from May 12-16. It is co-organised by the Embassy of Finland, the Viet Nam Association of Architects and the Alvar Aalto Museum.


Image by Kalevi A. Makinen, courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery (inhabitat.com)


Image by Judith Turner, 2006, courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery (inhabitat.com)


Image by Hiroyuki Hirai, courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery (inhabitat.com)


Image by Hiroyuki Hirai, courtesy of the Barbican Art Gallery (inhabitat.com)

VH R-10 gHouse

The late architect John Hejduk.
Compact and spare, the VH R-10 gHouse, created by the architect for himself and his wife, is full of personal touches.

Restrictive zoning, rather than necessity, is often the mother of architectural invention. Made to withstand the harsh winters of Martha’s Vineyard while treading lightly on the island, the VH R-10 gHouse, designed by architect Darren Petrucci, AIA, was so profoundly shaped by local restrictions that it adopted the zoning district—R-10—as part of its name.

Even though Martha’s Vineyard was originally (and still is) home to the Wampanoag Indians, it put itself on the map in the 19th century during the rise of the whaling industry. Today, the island is best known for its pristine beaches and quaint New England villages, and has firmly established itself as a summer colony and magnet for the rich and famous. Petrucci and his wife, Renata Hejduk, an assistant professor of architectural history and theory at Arizona State University, in Tempe (and daughter of the late John Hejduk), were drawn to the Vineyard for the same reasons that have attracted other vacationers. The couple, who spend most of their time in the Phoenix area, were not interested in a beach house or isolated retreat, however. Petrucci, the director of Arizona State University’s School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture, where he also runs a research and design lab that focuses on urban amenities and infrastructures, hoped to build a high-performance prototype house incorporating contemporary building techniques within walking distance of one of the island’s towns. When he and his wife learned of a lot for sale on the outskirts of Vineyard Haven, a community of traditional 19th- to mid-20th-century wood-shingled buildings, they jumped on the rare find.

The gently sloping corner property was appealing on a number of counts. At 12,518 square feet, it just met the zoning requirement to legally accommodate both a main house and a guesthouse. With economy and the future value of the lot in mind, the couple opted to build a guesthouse first, reserving the right to build a larger main house later. However, local zoning restrictions are rigid: Guesthouses in the district, for example, may encompass no more than 600 square feet, their height may not exceed 24 feet, and a particularly ornery clause stipulates that the basement may not be accessed from the building’s interior.

To maximize the allowable envelope, Petrucci drew a 16-by-40-by-24-foot box based on a 4-foot construction module. Structurally insulated panels (SIPs) enclose three staggered, rectilinear volumes for cooking, living, and sleeping. Though the center volume is shifted out 4 feet to accommodate an exterior stair, a mahogany rain screen unifies the volumes, enveloping the stair and blurring the line between outside and in. The program called for a kitchen, living area, and master bedroom on the main level. The small loft and spacious lower-level guest suite do not count toward the square footage allotted by zoning so, cleverly, 600 technical square feet become 1,000 square feet of livable space. A raised deck, accessed by the exterior stair, creates a secluded aerie in the tree canopy.

(By Beth Broome - This is an excerpt of an article from the April 2008 edition of Architectural Record.)

Number One

We belong to the world we belong to the wind

We are the spirit of competitions end

Turning hours into days burning muscles feel the pain

The heart and soul of discipline my friends

We are sending you a challenge its very clear

We came to win that is why we are here

Demanding to be tested by the best

Not to be forgotten like all the rest

The time has come all training done

The muscle and the blood will come to pay

Let the game begin hear the starting gun

Play from the heart today we will overcome

When the game is over all the countings done

We were born to win number 1

Today is the day all the training through

We have come for the number one not the number two

Let the contest begin play hard fight to win

Immortality victory and fame

The time has come all training done

The muscle and the blood will come to pay

Let the game begin hear the starting gun

Play from the heart today we will overcome

When the game is over all the countings done

We were born to win number 1

Today is the day all the training through

We have come for the number one not the number two

Let the contest begin play hard fight to win

Immortality victory and fame

Let the game begin hear the starting gun

Play from the heart today we will overcome

When the game is over all the countings done

We were born to win number 1