Situated in the highest tower of the world Burj Khalifa, the Armani Hotel Dubai is one of the most luxurious hotels ever. The hotel is located on eleven floors of Burj Khalifa tower. Exquisite guests have an access to a number of restaurants, spas, saloons or a night club. The entire interior has been designed by Giorgo Armani himself. Of course all used materials are luxurious: wood, cloth, stone etc. As for the colors, gold as a symbol of wealth is dominating. Gold is for centuries the commodity that never loses on value and that is also the main idea of the concept. All the rooms look very neat and elegant, furnished in brown colors complemented by red. At first sight they are made from wood when approaching it is evident that the material is marble. To spend a night in this exquisite hotel would cost you 2400 dollars per night, the breathtaking view on Dubai is included in the price.

An old school building in Doha`s Education City will house temporarily the Arab museum Mathaf. The reconstruction of the exhibition rooms has been designed by a French architect Jean-Francois Bodin. All rooms are linked by white colour, even present on the furniture. Modern construction on the facade is contrasting with the rest of the original building, but they are still in harmony. Mathaf museum will host a number of various exhibitions and programs centered on Arab art. The Mathaf collection owns more than 6000 art-pieces and presents the main trends and sites of production of modern Arab art from 1840 till now. The first exhibition that will take place in the reconstructed museum building got a name Sajjil : Century of modern art. This exhibition will show more than 100 artists and major experiments in aesthetics. The exhibition will start on the 30th of December this year.

The house surrounded by beautiful mountain wild is located in the valley near by Innsbruck, Austria. Architecture studio KM Architects has designed this modern housing made from wood. Ground-floor was literally embedded in the landscape, the garage was built as an integral part of this floor. First floor houses kitchen, dining room and an open living room with a large terrace viewing at the beautiful mountains. Entire second floor serves as a bedroom with private bathroom. Materials that dominates in the interior are natural materials as wood for example and natural colors. Wooden wall-covering used on the facade and on the terrace was laid in both directions what accentuates the simplicity of the construction and gives it a cachet.

American designer Chris Cobb has constructed a very modern house called Eva Street in the capital of Texas, Austin, USA. The design is very modern, but it blends well in the surrounding area. The author had to face the challenge of preserving a 150 years old oak tree, situated right in the center of the premises. The house was supposed to make a compact piece with the tree and the ambient environment in general. The result is a house composed of several units creating a dynamic group of various forms and heights. Outside walls are covered with Brazilian red wood and wood also covers inside walls. The house interior also features dark bamboo floor in combination with white walls and clean details.

Everything is compact and mobile these days. Thus it was only a matter of time before someone comes up with the idea of mobile housing. A New Zealand architects Andre Hoskin recently introduced his newest invention which should give nomads a chance for a more comfortable living. The house is simple, light and elegant at the same time. It is delivered as a construction kit easy to assemble into a stylish house. Each unit features 1,130 square feet of open space which includes a living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, two closets, cabinets and storage space as well as three outside terraces. It can also serve as a single ample bedroom, office/studio or a neat secondary housing however units can be combined forming a large residence. Siding is made of plywood and timber in white, black and red colors. Low construction, rectangular layout and wood-glass combination remind of the famous Farnsworth House by Mies vad der Rohe.

Lofts ie conversion of old industrial building into residential housing has been becoming more and more popular benefiting from large space and convenient locations. This beautiful recently finished 100 m2 industrial loft was designed by Diego Revolla, interior designer and architect from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Revolla indeed knows how to use classic elements in contemporary projects. The design perfectly combines modernity and comfort resulting in a unique industrial style. An emphasis was put on integrity through the use of identical material for wall and roof cladding forming a single unit. The entire interior including furnishing is smooth and clean leading to a simplicity of colors and shapes. Natural materials are used for large spaces (e.g. stone on walls) while small elements such as shelves or vases are made of metal.

Architecture studio Longhi Architects has designed a house called Lefevre. It is located at the coastline in Peru, in city of Punta Misterio situated 177km away from the capital Lima. The Punta Misterio region is known for its desert. The parcel has a great view at the Pacific ocean contrasting with the arid desert. One of the challenges was to create a design that will harmonize with the surroundings. It seems that they have fulfilled this demand very well. They have created a housing formed by geometric shapes stacked on each other looking like they are going to fall from the reef. Stacking of shapes created an extra space on the roofs that was used to build unique sand gardens visually extending the desert. Swimming pools reconnect the house with the ocean. The entire design concept could be expressed by words: “between sand and water”. As for the materials, the material of the wall-covering changes with every floor, the ground-floor is covered by stone, the top floor is completely white with a number of glazed walls that lighten and aerate the house.

Two entrepreneurs Kent Lindvall and Britta Jonsson - Lindvall have decided to fulfill their dream and build a tree house - the concept that allows a man to live in harmony with the wild. In cooperation with well-known architects and designers they turned the idea into reality. A series of unique hotel rooms harmonized with the wild and eco-friendly qualities have been created. The hotel is located in Harads, in one of the most beautiful parts of Sweden - the pearl of Swedish forests. The hotel is composed by a number of separated rooms, each room has a different shape and functions. “Mirrocube” room, for exemple, by architects Bolla Thama and Martin Videgård is a double room constructed from light aluminium structure hung around a tree trunk. Its dimensions are 4×4x4m and the entire construction is covered by mirror glass that reflects surroundings and creates a camouflaged hide. Another type of room is the “Cabin” by architecture company Cyrene & Cyrene. The designers have dealt with a high ground and a steep slope providing a beautiful view at the valley of the river Luleå. The Cabin is hung on trees and its form conforms to the surroundings. The tree hotel offers a number of interesting rooms as the “Nest”, “Blue Cone” or even the “UFO” room. Very unique is the sauna suspended in the height among the trees.

An unusual house has been recently built in the capital of Russia, Moscow by architects Arsenija Borisenka and Petra Zaytseva representing architecture studio Za Bor Architects. At first sight the house looks like an accidental group of shapes. This aesthetic chaos is in reality a rational design process. All the elements of the house, as its form, layout and functional structure constitute the final design. The house looks like the debris of a spaceship. Surrounded by a number of old trees worth to protect and other houses close to the house of Mr. R, the designers opted for a facade with just few windows. Almost all rooms are viewing at the interior or an inner court, contrary to the southern facade which is open. The living room situated in the southern part has thanks to an open facade double height. As for the relaxing area, the house a very cosy roof garden accessing the second floor that houses bedrooms. On the second floor children rooms and an office are situated. Skylights embedded on the roof provide the interior with natural sunligh

Modern Architecture...

Spanish architecture group A-cero have recently finished one of their residential projects, a family house in Mara that is located in a city at the coast - La Coruna, Spain. The house has about 250 square meters. The design is very simple, accentuating neat lines and geometric shapes. Some of them stick out, what creates an extra space for terraces viewing at the Atlantic ocean. The facade has a number of large windows providing the interior with sunlight. This three storey building is naturally divided into a basement, ground-floor and first floor. The top floor constitutes the private area housing two bedrooms with large terraces, bathrooms and clothes-rooms. Garages and service rooms are situated in the basement. The ground-floor is the living area.

“The most expensive house in the world” are titles of this building constructed in Bombay, India. A man that had built this house is reportedly the wealthiest Indian, his name is Mukesh Ambani. It is supposedly the most expensive house ever, it cost about one billion dollars. It took seven years to build the 27 storey building designated only for one six-member familyThe villa houses a swimming pool, yoga room, even a “snow room” where you can freshen up thanks to a pile of artificial snow. The building has three big balconies with gardens, terraces and a health club that are providing a beautiful view at the Arabic sea that contrasts with a view on surrounding slums. To build a breathtaking building became a way how the modern Indian oligarchs show their fortune and power. The house is well garded of course, nobody uninvited would enter. As for the architecture, this building is an interesting mixture of styles, materials and construction elements and reminds an ondulated ribbon pointing the sky.

“7 More London” is a new headquarter of the company PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Southwark, London.The existing 10 storey building was extended by more than 60 000 square meters. Architecture studio Foster&Partners created a multi-angle building with a polygonal inner court where the wings of the building meet by concave bridges. The facade of the inner atrium looks very simple and discrete. The building has a number of ecological and energy saving technologies and materials. A solar facade made in Germany for example with an incredible surface of 16 500 square meters. Because of the low sunlight transmittance of the facade covering, the interior has an optimal temperature even in the summer, what reduces air-conditioning costs.

This unusual house has been designed by architecture studio Andrew Maynard architects. It provides a complete privacy to its owners, even it has open spaces like a terrace or a swimming pool. The whole house is an open space where the sound flows unlimited. All around are reflexive surfaces like concrete or steel. The main challenge of the architect was to reduce the sound pollution. That is why he has opted for wood and wooden furniture and reduced the use of steel. Other acoustic element are sliding doors that are functional as well, they allow to open the space or keep the space private. A vertical staircase connects the living area with a terrace.

. The house is very compact, designated for modern but simple live in compliance with the nature. The construction is based on sustainable and “green” design. The operational costs are minimal and overall, the house proposes a well-designed alternative housing in the wild nature. It is a prefabricated house, what provides a big range of possibilities concerning the layout, dimension and design. The Ecomo House design is a unique solution for an exceptional locale. It is composed by three main elements: sleeping, playing and living area. Other parts can be added later, according to the needs of the clients.

The biscuit house is a structure 23m x 7m mostly made from concrete, glass and steel. Considering the steep parcel the house has two floors. Looking from the outside it seems to be embedded into the hill. Concrete was used mostly for wall covering and flooring, the pillars and window frames are made from steel. Unusual is the use of wood that is used only for an original shading curtain on windows - a series of wooden slats reminding biscuits that are linked together. The unique biscuit curtain is very characteristic and distinctive element and it was incorporated to the name of the house. The wooden curtain is functional, it took 200 hours to assemble it. It help to integrate the house to the surrounding nature and reduce the directs sunlight to the interior, especially in the morning. All rooms are taking advantage of daylight thanks to the floor to ceiling glass walls that line the house.

These students have worked on the project at school supervised by their tutors Greg Upwall and Jennifer Asselstine. The instructors took advantage of an opportunity to involve student in their design project. As the result, a beautiful, functional and sustainable construction has been created. The finished project has a table, storage and shelving system that not only responds to the needs of an office, but it creates an extra space for a family - a lounge area. Green and sustainable design was on of the demands of the client, it have been met by using eco-friendly materials. Students have chosen constructions, isolation, lightening and other elements that serve the best to the location of the office space.

The main challenge for architects from architecture studio Guillherme Torres was to take advantage of natural qualities of the land taking into account relations with the neighbours. The house was partially lowered and moved from the street by about 5 meters, what provides the interior with enough of natural light and as a bonus a maximum of privacy. Construction of the house is very functional and its appearance is very calm and effective. The shape is composed by a number of boxes. The one of them, a wooden box houses the main entrance, staircase and service entrance. Garage is built on slope, stone pavement gives it an elegant look. Wood and stone are used in the whole house. The structures are made mostly from concrete and steel. Except for living room area where we can find glass and aluminium. An interesting element of this room is an integrated swimming pool.

The building is formed by two elements. First one, matt and prismatic National Centre building is situated close to the road that goes around the city walls and is parallel to the edge of the quay. The other building is more angular and more transparent. Between them, a large ramp descends, leading visitors into the museum. The entrance should represent a metaphor to the theme of the museum which is the underwater archeology. As one plunges into the ocean, a visitor dives in the museum. The most used materials are concrete, glass and metal. The sign with the name of the museum composed of enormous lettering is very playful, visitors can sit on the letters and admire the complex and the special atmosphere of the place.