Contemporary Design News

London-based architects Knox Bhavan have designed a new house and studio in a Hertfordshire village for a client who became paralysed from the shoulders down following a life-changing accident as a teenager. The house stands on the same lane where the client grew up and replaces a poorly built 1950s chalet bungalow, maintaining a similar size. Knox Bhavan utilised a prefabricated cassette system, developed in collaboration with modular manufacturer BlokBuild and engineers Price & Myers.

Swiss-based Celoria Architects have designed House C in the 'Alle Cantine' area in Mendrisio, Switzerland. It has the same volume as a previous house on the site and uses its foundations. The house stands with mountains and forest on one side and a valley leading to San Martino on the other. It is situated at the foot of a rocky wall in an area characterised by a row of houses and dominated by the Oratory of San Nicolao. The area is approached by a long, tree-lined avenue and features locally typical 'grotti' underground ventilation spaces.

London-based 31/44 Architects have built Six Columns, a house for its architect owner and family on a garden plot in Crystal Palace, South East London. The design responds to a trapezoidal site with a large Sycamore tree, incorporating architectural detail from the neighbouring house and also from the owner's travels. Conceived as a blend of a farmhouse and a California Case Study House, it reflects the directness of 1950s British architecture. The house is designed to evolve and prioritises shared spaces, minimising individual sleeping areas and contained rooms.

Swiss architects Bearth & Deplazes have designed a 96-unit residential complex with a cloister surrounding three sides of a large garden in Austrasse, Chur, Switzerland. Named 'Vier Jahreszeiten' (Four Seasons), the development shields the courtyard garden from a nearby highway. The garden, set with marlstone, accommodates children playing, pedestrians and cyclists, while ample trees provide shade, and islands of shrubs and flowers that are inspired by Japanese gardens.

Prague-based EHL & Koumar Architekti have constructed a new footbridge with an elevator in Litomyšl, in the Czech Republic, connecting the Municipal office to the town centre. The footbridge replaces an overpass built in 1981. The new steel structure is supported by exposed concrete pillars, with the elevator block forming part of the support. A central pillar with a concrete staircase, and on the western side, an abutment on an existing retaining wall, serve as the other supports for the structure.

UK-based Mole Architects and Invisible Studio have designed the Big Roof, a low-carbon, low-energy storage and training centre in the Cambridgeshire Fens for Forest School Camps, a charity providing educational camps for children. The single-storey, 745m2 building includes 400m2 for camp equipment storage for sites across the country and replaces three dilapidated buildings.

Berlin-based Sehw Architektur has completed the first phase of the expansion and renovation of a primary school in Essen, in the North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This involved the renovation of two buildings from the 1950s and the addition of new structures to create a 'learning village' of four buildings.

London-based architects Knox Bhavan have transformed a landlocked triangular plot in Teddington, once housing a disused warehouse, into Threefold House, a low-energy single-family dwelling with three planted courtyards. The site's restricted access rendered it unsuitable for industrial use. The replacement dwelling features a 2.5-meter-high perimeter wall echoing the old warehouse wall, behind which lie courtyards surrounded by single-storey accommodation, with a two-storey section bordering the street.

Berlin-based Sehw Architektur has completed a series of school buildings using modular timber construction in Cologne, in the North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

For a special school in Dünnwald, Cologne, timber modules were lifted over the existing listed buildings to extend the school. The extensions are finished in red brick to blend with the existing listed post-war buildings. The interiors are designed to maximise daylight and feature classrooms with adjoining annexe rooms.

Belgium architects noAarchitecten have replaced a 1950s extension with a tourist reception and visitor centre at the collection of historic buildings known as Het Steen in Antwerp. The extension draws inspiration from the site's history, transitioning from being a part of the city wall to a freestanding castle around 1890. To restore its character, the 1950s extension was replaced with a contemporary structure, referencing historical elements such as stone walls, bay windows, and towers.

Swiss architects Allen + Crippa have designed 'House with a Curtain' in Grabs, Switzerland, within the Rhine Valley offering views of the Prealps. The house spans three floors including a basement, featuring identical floor plans inspired by traditional barn houses of the region. The front section accommodates living and dining spaces alongside a bedroom, while service areas at the rear encompass a bathroom, pantry, and staircase. Internally, partition walls serve dual purposes as built-in storage.