Dream Homes Cool Places

Houvel’s Lighting Scheme in the Louvre Abu Dhabi

Amidst a traditionally-inspired dome ceiling for the newly-designed renderings for the “Louvre Abu Dhabi” in the United Arab Emirates are thousands of little breaks, edges and holes that allow for a flurry of warm and charming sun light to slice in through the ceiling like the canopy of a rainforest. As you walk down the pavilions, plazas, alleyways and canals that seemingly float as sea level, the sunlight will hit the interior of the gallery space in completely new and exciting ways. Although these images are only renderings, the museum was design to allow for the naturalness of sunlight while keeping the interior bright and cool in the hot UAE summer days (which can literally pop up year-round). An amazing idea for builders or designers who are looking for bright, natural light without using a light shelf, formal skylights or high windows, the final product will be no doubt an absolutely amazing architectural space. - via

Kouichi Kimura Architects Stun With Black-White Contrast

The wicked folks from Kouichi Kimura Architects have done it again. This time they managed to impress us with a house that featurers a black exterior and a contrasting white courtyard that gets the eye. Highly modern, with some rooms dark and other rooms light, the house features the minimalist theme like a lot of Japanese architecture these days. We love the full black bathroom (don’t see that very often) and the plants that somehow bring the whole structure to life. A dream house indeed … - via

Casa Viviendas by MoRE Arquitectos

Mexican-based architects from MoRE Arquitectos came up with an interesting structure in their own Las Vegas. Dubbed Casa Viviendas, the house has two separate volumes unified under a deck inclined single roof. The facade to the street aligns perfectly with the other houses, adds a garage and still works as an area of transition with the interior and the beautiful garden in the back. With a small pool in the back where you can “hide” from those hot sunny days in Mexico, it looks like the perfect adobe for a family.

Amazing Idea

Floral Seating - Bouquet Chairs by Tokujin Yoshioka

If you have been enjoying the flowers blooming in your garden, you will definitely like Tokujin Yoshioka’s Bouquet Chairs. The designer says his chair “makes people who sit on it happy, just as a bouquet makes the person who receives it happy. The vibrant delicate colors trigger different sensations in each of us.” Indeed. Seating on one of his amazing chairs will remind you of being outdoors in a pretty garden.

His floral seating consists of hundreds of Alcantara fabric “petals” which provide plenty of color against the lacquered steel base. Each is hand folded from a textile square and are are assembled by hand - this explains the hefty price tag of about € 6,000 or $7,800. You can get them through Moroso.

Dream Homes

Brazilian Modernism: C16H14O3 House by Marcio Kogan

No, that’s not a chemistry formula. It’s the name Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan came up for this amazing home. Located in Sao Paulo, the C16H14O3 House is simple and elegant at the same time. Following a a South American theme with the base raised like a platform and large exposing supporting beams, the house is rich in wood and contemporary furniture that looks inviting. With a stylish pool and amazing lighting, the C16H14O3 House by Marcio Kogan is a great “lesson for our superfluous world in crisis”. - via

Herzelia Pituah House 3 in Tel Aviv, Israel

We at Freshome love modern clean structures that don’t go shy on using glass, but the Herzelia Pituah House 3 is taking things to a whole new level by adding a tinge of minimal. Designed by the creative folks from Pitsou Kedem Architects, the concrete house is located in Tel Aviv, Israel. Delightfully minimalist and quite deliciously linear, we’ve been charmed by the bare concrete, and the amazing mix of wood, glass and metal. Fourth place in the buildings category in the Project of the Year Competition organized by Architecture of Israel Quarterly, that’s a great example of poetic architecture. Brilliant!

Mosaic House by TNA Arch

Tokyo-base architects from TNA Arch are the guys behind this Mosaic House. Although the name doesn’t reflect the creative shape of the house, the Japanese sure managed to get us eye-struck. Following a contemporary minimalist theme, the interior of the Mosaic House looks like a place you buy a ticket to explore. Without much windows on the outside, the upper level features a glass roof that invites sunlight in and offers spectacular views of the sky. Can you imagine how rain feels at night? A lovely place to live, but isn’t it a bit … empty?

Carapicuiba House in Brazil

What do you do when you have a site that “weird” that restricts the building of your dreams? How about drawing inspiration from the Carapicuiba House? Built on a ground surface that falls abruptly down to 6m below, architects Angelo Bucci and Alvaro Puntoni have suspended a two level steel structure on pilots and covered it with glass for amazing views. Pure poetry surrounded by a beautiful scenery, it’s an amazing piece of architecture. A modern day “treehouse”? Looks lovely …

Cool Computers

Computer into a vase : Decorate without messing up the decor

Today you’ve gonna see something really innovative, an easy way to decorate your living room without messing up the decor. As we all know most computers don’t really fit into stylish living rooms, but taiwanese manufacturer ECS came out with this great looking computer at E3. At a first look you might think that this was a DIY project made by a DIY enthusiast, but but it’s actually something made by a company that will be for sale pretty soon. ECS put a fully functioning nettop computer into a vase.

This is all possible thanks to the low-power components used in these types of computers. The PC-in –a-vase is embedded with a pretty good system configuration: with an Intel Atom 230 processor, including NVIDA ION graphics, a 2.5-inch HDD, 1GB of RAM and a Blu-Ray drive that opens up. You’ll find a couple of plugs and USB ports at the bottom of the computer vase, meaning that you won’t have pesky wires hanging around. There won’t be a clue that the body is actually a computer. - Via - Engadget & Techabob