This modern urban house was designed by Bassam el Okeily and Karl Menten in Biltzen, Belgium. Architects have done an excellent job by creating a transparent puzzle building with an outstanding facade made from glass. Behind the glazed facade one can see rising walls and ledges in different angles forming interesting shades while illuminated by artificial or even natural light. This idea can be explained as an abstract picture of shattered glass. The result is excellent, a sculptural piece. As for the privacy of the owners, it is hard to say if the house provides some, but living in it got to be great either-way. The overall look of the exterior as well as interior proves that a simple and good idea can create an unusual affect.

Modern Indian Palace

Adhra Pradesh has recently announced the finalization of a unique project with a long name LEED Gold Certified Hotel Park Hotel in Hydrabad, India. It is a unique complex, also called the Modern Indian palace. This new hotel has been designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merill studio (SOM). They combined ultra modern elements with traditional popular Indian architecture. Impressive facade is made from perforated metal that serves as window protection as well. Architects took into account local conditions: daylight, orientation, solar gains and climate. The aim was to maximize the amount of the natural sunlight and protect the building from reheating. The inner atrium is taken in by a hotel swimming pool. Around the pool guests can visit a number of restaurants, bars, stores in total privacy. All rooms are viewing the lakes and surrounding country. SOM have cooperated with Stevens Institute of Technology`s Product Architecture Lap in Honoken, New Jersey to find the best way to minimize the energy consumption which was cut down by 20%. Also the sewerage plant was constructed in cooperation with scientists. The hotel is first in India to be awarded Leed Gold certificate and marked as the best new project of the year 2010 in India.

Momentary city

Vector Architecs is an architecture studio based in Beijing, China that designed the project “Momentary city in Hefei, China. Hafei, as well as other Chinese cities, is coming through big changes. The existing urban build-up area was divided and replaced by giant blocks of anonymous structures and forms. Today`s appearance of the city is just a momentary look to the future city that should be build here that is why the project got the name “Momentary city”. Architects aimed to construct a city that brings to their citizens peace of mind. They filtered off noise and dust coming from the outside while preserving the real life moments as natural light and shade, look at water with waves, sound of the wind or flowers with their perfume.By situating these moments between the outside urban environment and indoor area, every guest can live these moments. The disposition of courtyards forms the foundation of a logic that informs the transitional spaces. Natural sunlight enters the interior directly or indirectly through a number of clerestories. Thanks to the changing light throughout the day and the seasons, the interior spaces take on always distinctive expressions.

Taiwan Tower

DSBA upgrade.studio was awarded 1st prize in international conceptual competition for a new skyscraper design in Taiwan. They won because of their original concept of floating observation decks. Architects got inspired by the shape of the Taiwan island resembling to a leaf that is why they used this element in their extended concept. Skyscraper or tower is actually a technology tree with 8 spatial leaves looking like Zeppelin ships sliding up and down the centric tree, serving the guests as lifts. Tower has not only ground levels but the underground levels as well. It houses all needed functions: information center, museum, office spaces, conference rooms, restaurants or observation decks. Their design is unique because of the minimal parcel requirements and offers enough of green spaces. Besides that vertical communications are integrated and it takes advantage of natural ventilation. Offices are viewing at all four world directions what creates a generous interior space. The building is powered by electric energy produced by a series of axial turbines situated along the vertical center. The lighting of underground spaces and museum is created thanks to a fiber optic system. The heating system of the floating observation decks is powered by an electromagnetic field while the electricity is created by a new membrane technology. Challenging was the problem with the rain water that is collected by an underground tank where the water is purified, so it can be reused.

Triangulo House

In the midst of wild nature in Costa Rica an architecture group Ecostudio Architects has designed a unique housing. “Triangulo” means triangle in Spanish, the house is based on geometry of three points linked by three lines. Each of these three lines has its length, the longest two are delimiting the parcel. The projects is a group of volumes that are either filled or void, horizontal or vertical. These groups are surrounded by dominating solid element that fades away and merges with the wild. Some of the volumes are covered by dark wood. The limits between the exterior and interior are at some points unnoticeable. Architect`s aim to reconnect them was achieved by glazed walls, ledges and juts and covered terraces. The dining-room is taking advantage of an excellent idea to construct a double skylight that provides direct sunlight into the house. The strongest element of the interior is a staircase looking more like a sculpture than a functional vertical communication.

Kindergarten in El Porvenir

The building of the Social kindergarten in El Porvenir, in Bogota, the capital of Colombia was finished in 2009. The name of the architect who designed the building is Giancarlo Mazzanti. He created a very fresh design for children living in a very poor area situated within uptown of the Colombian capital. The new building is mostly white, the white color should represent hope. At the beginning, the initial idea was to transform into design the children game with blocks. The project is planned to be able to adapt to different situations, topographic as well as urban. The entire complex is protected by an exterior structure of two walls. Behind the first one are playgrounds with public areas, behind the other one a complex of kindergarten buildings. Buildings are more or less simple in order to be multifunctional. At the same time a cosy space for children of different age was created.

Rufo House

Spanish architect Campo Baeza is well-known for his minimalistic and abrupt architecture that has shown recently by hist design of the Rufo House. The house was constructed on a hilltop near by the Spanish city of Toledo. The parcel lays on the southwest side of the hill provides interesting views on the distant horizon. The shape is formed by two long concrete blocks with perforations and voids that can accommodate different functions. Each floor is divided into separate sections. The upper floor has two sections, one housing living-room and dining-room that opens to the garden, while the other one is the bedroom with an access on the court providing maximum of privacy. The ground-floor is embedded in the slope, houses all the other needed rooms. This floor is more massive contrasting with the upper floor with glazed walls and reinforced concrete skeleton. Overall, the project aims to create series of private spaces protected from the outside views by a dense out-planting of poplar trees.

Unique Gym

Unique Gym has been constructed in the French city of Sait Gilles. Architect Jean Marc Rivet has created an outstanding green design. This eco-friendly building is energy-saving, reducing impact on its surroundings. The gym is inclined at one side that has a large glazed window providing optimal sunlight for the interior. Since the building is eco-friendly, it has photovoltaic panels as energy source. Pleasing roof gardens are accessible from the training grounds what provides enough of fresh air for athletes. As for the exterior of the building, it is formed by simple stripe design, a pattern of two bricks laid in both directions creates an interesting contrast. Natural colors predominate the interior complemented by small details as red entrance door. Facades have a stainless covering emphasizing the horizontal line of the building.

Massive house in a Jungle

Costa Rica is one of the world`s most eco-friendly countries. This luxurious holiday house is situated right in the fringe area of the Costa Rica`s jungle meant to serve not only rich and famous people but ready to host families with children as well. The entire residence has a surface of 6500 square meters and was constructed on a steep hill-slope. The building provides an excellent view on a forest and Pacific ocean. Looking from the outside, the exterior of the five stars residence looks like a skeleton of an unfinished house but it was the purpose. It has created extra hidden spaces or terraces providing extraordinary views and experience. In some cases it is hard to say if a space is interior or exterior. Besides terraces with beautiful views on surrounding wild where one can meditate, guests can relax in a hot-tub or swimming pool. The interior is furnished in various tones of brown colour. The majority of the furniture is made from wood or rattan. Very special is a bathroom with glazed floor to ceiling windows where one having a bath can enjoy the view at the ocean.

A well-known architecture studio from England Foster&Partners has recently finished their project of wine-cellars Faustino in the city of Castilla y Leon, Spain. The city that is located about 159km north from Madrid, in the Ribere del Duero region, is one of the best wine regions in Spain. They started to work on the project in 2007, since then a long period of designing and constructing have been in progress. The final design reflects the natural topography of the parcel and energy-saving construction, as well as its visual appearance matching with surrounding nature. The entire concrete construction is covered by Corten. The triangle layout is obvious at first sight, it connects three long parts, while in each of them a different production process takes place: fermentation in steel barrels, mellow process in oak barrels and maturing in bottles. The form conforms to the function, which in this case means that the complex processes were rationalized and optimal conditions for the wine production have been created. The building has been designed to take advantage of the steep parcel and its gravity force that helps the raisins to move, to achieve maximal effectiveness and minimal amount of damages. The production capacity of Faustino Wine-cellars is up to 1 million bottles per year produced on a surface of 12 500 square meters.

Against this competitive backdrop, differentiation through design plays an important part in positioning these properties. A measured approach towards interior design is taken at the Hotel Louis in Munich and the boutique restaurant-with-rooms of Ketschauer Hof in the heart of the Riesling vineyards of south west Germany. Hild und K and Bost Berlin, respectively, have taken a curated tack in developing subtle stories of world travel and oenological analogies at these two hotels to give their designs a narrative thread.

At the other end of the spectrum, both Roomers in Frankfurt and the Kameha Grand Hotel in Bonn have taken bold but wildly differing routes. Interior designer Oana Rosen brings a feminine touch to the masculine interiors of Roomers where the bar and spa provide a very different focus from the city’s usual corporate hotels. In Bonn, the expressive talents of Marcel Wanders have been used in a newbuild property that is as dramatic in its vast interiors as it is bold with its sustainability programming. The appointment of Marcel Wanders at the Kameha Grand Hotel is the only non-German architectural and design appointment in the hotels we review. The result? A radical design for a hotel strongly orientated towards meetings business.

15 on orange-cape town.

The design hotel revolution was a long time coming to Cape Town, not from a local lack of interest in contemporary design, far from it, local mid-market and upscale hotel groups were simply allowed the liberty of a prolonged period of recalibration with global standards once apartheid came to a close. Occupying a total area of 20,000m2 in a verdant corner of the Gardens district, equidistant from Table Mountain and the Central Business District, the hotel’s original building was constructed by the Dutch Reform Church in 1897. To today’s outside observers evidence of this colonial history is scarce, although certain key elements of the original façade were indeed incorporated into the re-design.

dock house - cape town

Perched on a promontory overlooking Cape Town’s harbour and the adjacent Victoria & Alfred Waterfront shopping area, Dock House is a petite six-key offering with six-star pretensions.

Alila Villas Soori -Bali

SCDA Architects have created a sustainable resort on the rugged west coast of Bali for emerging Asian brand Alila Hotels & Resorts.

As some of Bali’s fabled beach towns start to resemble the wrong end of Ibiza in peak season, so developers have begun the search for virgin territory with the requisite infrastructure and cultural appeal.

When Singapore-based architect Chan Soo Khian bought a six-hectare plot on Bali’s rugged west coast five years ago, his intention was simply to build himself a private villa. Just an hour from the airport yet pleasantly isolated from the island’s booming tourist industry, this was ‘authentic’ Bali, where entire villages still dedicate themselves to cultivating rice, carving wood and sculpting stone rather than tourism.

Michelberger Hotel - Berlin

Designer Werner Aisslinger, working with stylists Anja Knauer and Sibylle Oellerich, has created rough-around-the-edges spaces with a funky, communal atmosphere in an East Berlin factory for first-time hotelier Tom Michelberger.

There’s an air of organised chaos as Sleeper arrives late at the Michelberger Hotel. A band are holding an impromptu rehearsal in the bar. Owner Tom Michelberger is checking guests in behind reception, glass of red wine in hand. The hotel’s resident dog is roaming around. Laptop bags, guitar cases, and backpacks are piled up in the lobby. The Big Lebowski is playing on a TV screen in the corner.

In many ways, the Michelberger Hotel reflects contemporary Berlin – a city which is, as the hotel team describe it, “raw, creative, rebellious and constantly recreating itself.”

Brooklands Hotel -Surrey

Carey Jones Architects and Trevillion Interiors have incorporated the automotive history of the world’s first purpose-built motorsport venue with design influences from the track’s heyday in Hilwood’s latest venture.

It’s rare that the historic surroundings of a newbuild hotel influence its design so significantly that they can be traced to its foundations – literally. But this is the case with the new Brooklands Hotel in Weybridge, Surrey, where the finishing strait of the legendary Brooklands racetrack is demarcated through the centre of the site. Running from the landscaped terrace through the lobby, the track provides the most obvious link to the past amongst a wealth of references to reveal a narrative more apparent as the journey continues.

From the outset, planning consent for the hotel endeavoured to retain the nature of the site – once host to the British Grand Prix – now home to Mercedes-Benz World test track, an aviation and motoring-themed museum, and a range of major corporate offices.

Rfayel on the left bank - london

Property developer Iqbal Latif and architectural designers Latis collaborate with Philips on an environmentally conscious five-star hotel to create what they hope will become a blueprint for the future.

At a time when being ‘green’ is high on the agenda of the design world, labelling yourself “London’s first eco-luxury hotel” is bound to attract some attention. It is a rather bold claim, after all. But this is no marketing ploy, as Iqbal Latif, the mastermind behind Rafayel on the Left Bank is keen to show.

On a tour of the recently-opened property, located on the south bank of the Thames, Latif explained the concept of the hotel and some of the practices he has employed in order to achieve this eco-luxury model. His ultimate aim is to slash the average hotel guest’s carbon footprint of 70kg per night, to just 17kg. All the while providing the five-star luxury guests have come to expect. “The guest really wants to be energy conscious,” says Latif. “But when it comes down to any compromise, that’s a very tall order.”

Ten Manchester Street- London

The Frederick Gibberd Partnership have completed a new boutique hotel using a wealth of Christopher Guy furnishings for Bespoke Hotels’ latest property.

The past couple of years have seen Marylebone emerge as one of London’s more fashionable neighbourhoods. Its village-like feel and the relative lack of homogenised chains on its high street have encouraged a proliferation of boutique shops and art galleries. Its restaurant scene has thrived with the arrival of Galvin Bistro de Luxe, Providores and L’Autre Pied. As you’d expect, the neighbourhood’s hotel scene is beginning to catch up, with smaller boutique properties such as The Mandeville, and The Doyle Collection’s Marylebone Hotel opening up to complement historic grande dames The Landmark and The Langham. The latest hotel to join this growing enclave is Ten Manchester Street – the debut hotel launched by Arab Investments Ltd’s newly formed City & Country Hotels subsidiary, and operated by Bespoke Hotels.

Architects and interior designers The Frederick Gibberd Partnership have completed a refurbishment and extension of an existing hostel in central London to create a luxury hotel comprising 45 guestrooms over five floors, with the top floor becoming a VIP master suite.

Ames- Boston

Rockwell Group have collaborated with Morgans Hotel Group’s design team to create a blend of tradition and modernity in a 19th century building in the heart of downtown Boston.

Designed by Rockwell Group in collaboration with Morgans’ design team, Ames is a rich blend of historical ingenuity and innovative modernism.
The Romanesque structure which houses the hotel originally operated as the corporate headquarters for the Ames family’s agricultural tool company, a history that Rockwell Group and Morgans’ design team have adopted and interpreted through a modern lens. “I cannot imagine a better opportunity to design and restore our first hotel in Boston than working with Morgans Hotel Group on the transformation of the historic, 19th century Ames building into a hotel,” says David Rockwell, CEO and founder of Rockwell Group. “We really wanted our design to reflect a contrast of eras, where the historical context and Ames family history would merge with a modern framework to bring a fresh, new experience to the hospitality market in Boston.”

Boston’s status as a historical destination served as a key inspiration for the design team, who have preserved many of the building’s original features such as the grand staircase, vaulted mosaic ceiling and robust exterior.