Category: Architecture

What happened to the rich vernacular of the American suburb? While the answer is one of complexity, the term conjures a clear image of rows upon rows of vaguely colonial, builder-grade homes. The commercial architecture machine would have home buyers believe that the “McMansion” or “contemporary farmhouse” is aspirational. But with the help of Duravit, Studio 804 adds the Pinkney Neighborhood House to its extensive portfolio of unique, new local builds that buck the conventional, marrying modern with local language. Helmed by architect and educator Dan Rockhill, not-for-profit Studio 804 bridges the gap between formal studies and professional practice for University of Kansas architectural graduate students – operating for nearly three decades – with Duravit playing a significant role since 2017.

Team Work

Each year, and over the course of the nine months, the design-build practice shepherds roughly 30 students through almost every aspect of the construction process from inception to full realization – sparing no misadventure in an effort to strengthen their constitution as working professionals. “I had noticed that students were suffering from what I’ve described as this sort of deprived youth, and began doing just a little bit of building with them,” Rockhill says. “And they were just drunk on the potency of that experience. I couldn’t believe it. And they just wanted to get out of the classroom.” This modality begins where traditional studio learning ends, at pencil on paper, and extends from the school into the community to engage residents and local businesses now vested in Studio 804’s mission – a reminder that the neighborhood is among the greatest assets and amenities.

Street facing entrance of the 2023 Pinkney Neighborhood Dwelling(s)

Driveway and facade of the primary dwelling along the entry deck

View from the entry deck toward the driveway

The structure’s inception coincides with the fall semester’s start time and search for a viable lot, which could take several weeks, followed by another month of design work. The aspiring architects swiftly move through drafting construction documents, permitting, and initial construction with the goal to build out the framework and get the exterior insulated before unsavory weather sets in. Come spring is the implementation of finishes, appliances, and sanitary ware. “The partnership of Studio 804 and Duravit made me a better builder and a more experienced designer, especially when having to consider waterproofing in a real scenario for the first time,” Thomas Padgett, an architecture student, shares. Within nine months, and a range of similar hands-on experiences, the finished building is turnkey for the client.

The back deck of the primary dwelling

Indoor passage along the entry deck leading to the primary dwelling’s living space

Primary dwelling first floor bedroom

Site Specific

This year’s residence, in the City of Lawrence, Kansas, is the 18th LEED Platinum Certified project completed by the firm and another example of an architectural solution rich in detail informed by context. The site’s initial state echoed prior development in its overgrowth, the suggestion of a former foundation, and an existing scale within which the homes operate. In addition, an adjacent flood zone encroaches on the buildable area resulting in an extended, forested backyard unlike the other Pinkney properties. However, this green wall allows for built masses to be juxtaposed against the wooded landscape with enough seclusion from the bustling downtown just a few blocks away.

En suite for first floor bedroom in primary dwelling

View from primary dwelling first floor bedroom into passageway

First floor powder room in primary dwelling

Comprising the final scheme are two gabled forms that contemporize local visual language with their reflective, black, Nichiha-clad facades – a solution particularly avant-garde for the area. “It’s nice to hear passersby stand out in front and say, ‘God, that’s gorgeous,’ because it’s something they’ve never seen before,” Rockhill says. “So that’s a milestone for me, when people say that to us, because years ago that would not have happened. Now, we have up to 1,200 people come to our open house.”

A look back down the indoor passage along the entry deck leading to the primary dwelling’s living space

Living, cooking, and dining space for the primary dwelling

Living, cooking, and dining space for the primary dwelling

The larger of the two builds is the primary dwelling whose contrasting slatted treatment along the entryway invites guests in where they’ll find an open living, kitchen, and dining area. A hallway to the backdoor, across from the garage, is lined with storage, laundry, a mechanical room, guest powder room, and mudroom. An en suite bedroom and walk-in closet are located where the hallway terminates. And the bedroom opens to the east to celebrate the green landscape. Visitors may continue up the living room staircase to find a flex space with built-in storage before continuing to a second suite.

Open concept kitchen in the primary dwelling

Dining space with custom built-ins for the primary dwelling

View from the open kitchen spilling through dining space and out onto the entry deck

Across the way is a small self-sufficient accessory dwelling unit on the second floor above the detached one-car garage. Accessible through a private exterior entry, this space allows additional flexibility for the homeowner with implications to mitigate urban sprawl through its use as a rental property increasing residential density in the heart of town. This solution is anticipatory of homeowner needs, satisfies a variety of lifestyles, and aligns with the city’s long-term mission to support sustainable development and ultimately communities.

Cooking and dining space for the primary dwelling

Main stair in the primary dwelling leading up to a flex space

Flex space in the primary dwelling that overlooks open plan below

Sustainability

The true value of Rockhill’s elegant solution lies in achievements measured with a LEED Platinum certification. The exterior skin features a rainscreen ventilated facade that improves thermal performance, encourages efficient water drainage, and can be recycled to extend use beyond its current life. Air, vapor, and water barriers create an envelope so tight that an energy recovery ventilator is required to introduce fresh air and exhaust stale air simultaneously, which dramatically reduces the stress on HVAC systems. Other exterior attributes include 16 solar panels, lighting that is Dark Sky approved, and a driveway designed to minimize stormwater runoff through drainage that replenishes the water table.

Flex space in the primary dwelling with custom storage and desk

Second story bedroom in primary dwelling

Second story bathroom in primary dwelling

Louvers on the facade mitigate direct solar heat gain in the summer while permitting winter sun to warm the concrete floors. Operable windows assist with the passive heating and cooling. And all finishes are low VOC emitting – with material consideration extending into the bathrooms. Deceptively simple in aesthetic, Duravit’s products are sculpted from minimal amounts of material to maximize performance while incorporating an average of 30% recycled matter.

Hallway leading to stairs for additional dwelling unit

Second story bedroom in ADU

Second story bedroom in ADU with kitchenette

Second story bathroom in ADU

A Path Forward

Rockhill employs a modernist style with unexpected material use for a cheeky take on the traditional roof structure residents are accustomed to seeing. What’s more is his subversion of the cookie-cutter, postwar suburbia seared into American consciousness. With a great deal of gumption, Studio 804 demonstrates the architect’s role in building as a liaison between aspiring designers, construction companies, local communities, and manufacturers. If more firms took this approach perhaps neighborhoods could reclaim their unique local styles. “Most people think that surely, in an architect’s education, it’s got to include some connectedness with building. And it never did,” he continues. “So that’s why I started it. And we’ve grown to have an international reputation because it’s so unique.”

Photography by Corey Gaffer.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.

Looking for an opportunity to have your designs discovered on an international stage? The deadline to enter your work – or nominate someone else – for the A’ Design Award & Competition is fast approaching! You have until February 28th to make a decision and register here.

With more than 100 categories to choose from, your work may even qualify for more than one. A few favorites that we look forward to every year are the winners of Furniture Design, Architecture, Building and Structure Design, Lighting Products Fixtures Design, Digital and Electronic Device Design, Arts and Art Installation Design, and Office Furniture Design.

There’s an entire list of good reasons to enter, including the valuable jury feedback that all entrants receive. Entries will be judged by an international panel of scholars, professionals, and media members. Unlike other awards, A’ Design Award & Competition follows a peer-review process with anonymous voting and evaluation of entries.

Fushan Ecological Greenway Design by Tengyuan Design

A’ Design Prize winners are awarded a unique trophy and are included in world design rankings. Laureates will receive publicity, credibility, international awareness, an invitation to the awards gala, and so much more. They’ll also be granted space at the winners’ exhibition, where all of the prized A’ Design Award & Competition winners will be on display. Best of all is the opportunity to sell their design!

Od Ana Lighting by Cenk Ahmet Kaya

To help inspire your registration, we’re sharing a dozen of our favorite winners from last year’s contest. Stay tuned for when the newest winning designs are announced on May 1, 2024 – maybe yours will be one of them! Register here to enter the A’ Design Awards & Competition.

Risefit Outdoor Fitness by Budero

Softline Coffee Cup and Bowl by Ahmet Osman Peker

Harp E Electro Acoustic Harp by Joris Beets

Dance With The Wind Art Installation by Daisuke Nagatomo and Minnie Jan

Lavvu Small Tables by Dorian Asscherick

Shenzhen Zhongshuge Bookstore by Xiang Li

Wood Table Lamp by Magali Suchowolski

Serel Passion Smart Washbasin by Serel Design Team

Wave Armchair by Crystian Freiberger

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

Toronto-based Reflect Architecture has a way with words – visually speaking – which pairs well with the asset management firm, NewGen, who is out to redefine the language of the office typology in their new downtown space. While returning to work in-person is a point of contention for some, the three friends and financiers behind the business argue it’s a matter of semantics.

Reception

Located in the near century-old Commerce Court North Tower, the site provides context clues that suggest an architectural space with a decorated résumé, but it does little to foreshadow the subversive experience upon reaching NewGen’s office. Employees and clients alike circulate through the historic halls and up 30 floors in an homage to decades of progress that allow for newer institutions, like theirs, to take up residence high above the stone expanses, vaulted volumes, and gold-coffered ceilings below.

Reception

Waiting area

Occupying an entire 3,000-square-foot space, this “clubhouse style” solution disperses a series of spatial vignettes around the U-shaped plan. A moody corridor – suggesting a speakeasy passageway – is finished with rough, textured concrete panels, herringbone patterned hardwood floors, and backlit vibrant blue-green arches. It delivers guests from a dense core into the bright, airy reception and waiting area. Light millwork and additional views framed by the arched metal panels echo the Art Deco stylings inherent to the building. The main programming includes a wing of individual office, kitchen, and conference spaces flanking the left, and collaborative office, lounge, and gym spaces flanking the right.

Conference

Conference

The suspended arched installations – marrying form and function to integrate light, hide unsightly services, and define distinct functions – are exemplary of Reflect Architecture’s command of surface and ability to contemporize classic forms while employing devices like technology, materiality, and color.

Conference

Kitchen and lounge

NewGen’s new digs are steeped in local vernacular yet self-aware, cognizant of the ways in which modern, professional decorum continues to evolve and the implications on traditional office requirements. “They’re there day and night. They hang out. They will leave, but then they often go back to do work. [The office] is their ‘all-in’ place, and a place where they need to feel really comfortable, sometimes casual, and always social,” principal architect Trevor Wallace says. His visual narrative masterfully splices a variety of inky hues and textural stories together from both the existing structure and aspirational spaces. “We looked at the New York Athletic Clubs, the St. Andrew’s Golf Club in Scotland, and the Aman Le Mélézin in Courchevel, to name several.”

Kitchen and lounge

Corridor

Wallace manages to make space for a new generation of financial minds with a progressive perspective of their own, expressed in an amalgam of finishes that echo intimate settings where the most critical business relationships are often formed. Its continued success rides the wave that results from broader tectonic shifts in workplace perceptions that address the role of the physical space in people’s lives.

Lounge

Workstation

Photography by Joel Esposito.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.

In Katowice, Poland, a house from the 1970s has undergone quite a renovation, thanks to architect Grzegorz Layer. Spread across 225 square meters (approximately 2,422 square feet), this terraced house has been meticulously redesigned to embrace a contemporary, open-plan layout while paying homage to the classic aesthetics of 1970s Polish modernism.

The comprehensive renovation involved a myriad of changes to the structure. A new staircase was integrated, the ground floor’s level was lowered, internal walls were completely removed, windows were enlarged, and the roof was raised. The result is a spacious and versatile interior that can be easily configured to accommodate various functions.

The expansive ground floor encompasses an entryway, dining room, living room, and a kitchen featuring an island with an extended bar table for casual meals. The only enclosed spaces are a pantry and bathroom, cleverly hidden within a built-in structure painted a vibrant green color.

Large furniture pieces, reminiscent of the iconic meblościanki or “furniture-walls,” keeps the layout organized while emphasizing the home’s geometry. Warmth is infused inside through the use of wood finishes and fluted decorative details, subtly nodding to the wood paneled walls that were popular in the 70s. Light concrete floors provide the perfect canvas for the curated pieces of furniture and accessories.

The color palate on the main level combines white walls and black elements, with soft green details used in moderation.

Steel columns and beams remain exposed to visually suggest the division of spaces on the main level into zones. Lighting plays a pivotal role in enhancing the atmosphere throughout with arranged technical fixtures coexisting with design-driven lamps that echo the time period that the home was originally built.

A new staircase is flooded with natural light while providing access to the upstairs and rooftop terrace.

The second floor is designated as a private area, housing bedrooms, bathrooms, and an office. The redesign of the open staircase, complete with a glass ceiling, allows the spaces on both floors to blend seamlessly, creating a harmonious flow throughout the house.

Photography by Grzegorz Layer.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

Robert Blaser, AIA, Principal, and Design Practice Leader at Michael Graves Architecture (MG), finds himself in the unique position of having been mentored by the firm’s namesake. (Fun fact – Blaser was an aerospace engineer prior to becoming an architect!) Drawing from more than 25 years in the industry at MG, it was recently announced that Blaser is forming an experiential design team – something Graves did himself to foster innovation and growth. The design team helps keep this legacy alive while propelling the firm toward honors that architectural heritage while encouraging evolution, marking a historic moment for all parties involved.

As an architect, Blaser is passionate about designing user experiences no matter the context. He dreams big while accounting for the smallest interior details working with owners, developers, operators, and fellow designers to turn their stories into architecture overflowing with character. And that carries over into how Blaser leads the firm as he grows Grave’s legacy through initiatives such as the experiential design team. “I like to tee up the conversation and see the various generations run with it, finding both common ground and differences that result in magical experiences,” he mentions.

NFT Nightclub Photo courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture + Burkard Group

The catalyst to creating the new experiential design team grew from the various hands and minds that touch a project as it makes its way through MG, from graphics to hospitality to branding expertise and more. “They’ve inspired me to look at design less formally and more emotionally,” Blaser shares. Diversity between discipline, gender, generation, and culture are all invited to the proverbial table, each adding their own takes as they pull up a chair. The graphic and brand developers who set the vibe, the story, and the magic through the reimagination of brands; interior designers who are focused on experience rather than form; and others hungry to make their mark. In other words, Blaser believes there’s no correct direction for conversation or information to flow during the creative process, it doesn’t have to be from the top down. By rethinking the development and growth of Michael Graves Architecture, his legacy of valuing imagination above style stays true to its roots.

NFT Nightclub Photo courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture + Burkard Group

The crux of the firm to this day remains Graves’ inimitable ability to make human connection through storytelling. While many architects are talented at conveying thought and form through their sketches, Graves was able to convey emotion, a truly unique quality to capture in 2D. “That has stuck with me, yet my approach to storytelling is with a broader, diverse team of experiential designers who explore a multi-disciplinary approach to pre-design that tries to capture the heart in the way of Michael,” Blaser says. This has had the greatest impact on him from his time learning and working with the iconic architect.

La Luna Night Club Photo BU Studios Photo courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture + Burkard Group

“While many in the architectural community recall his design palette and language evoking postmodernism, I see his philosophy as deeply human, experiential, and imaginative. He brought emotion, scale, and whimsy to architectural design, Blaser says of Graves’ exceptional talents. Noting that this spirit is what gave him success beyond the world of architecture, it’s now viewed as the firm’s brand. “Michael reacted to everything he believed was “stale” when he emerged on the architectural scene,” Blaser continues. “Stylistic legacy is counter to his philosophy; we aim to tell stories that touch the human heart, create experiential moments, establish places, and destinations that inspire. Michael did this so well, and it is our mission to follow in those remarkable footsteps.”

BU Studios Photo courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture + Burkard Group

As 2024 begins and we look toward anticipated trends of the coming year, Blaser notes that he prefers ideological trends that broadly focus on nature or technology over stylistic tendencies. “My favorite industry shift is one towards immersive art that is not bound by a frame, placed on a podium, or restricted to a stage. Technology also plays a pivotal role in making art interactive and changeable. Creating opportunities like this in design is wonderful, and I truly hope to see more of it in the coming years.” We’re looking forward to what Blaser and his team dream up next.

BU Studios Photo courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture + Burkard Group

BU Studios Photo courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture + Burkard Group

Robert Blaser

To learn more about Robert Blaser and Michael Graves’ Architecture’s endeavors, visit michaelgraves.com.

Photography courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture and Burkard Group.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

It is often said the best design goes unnoticed, but that’s not entirely true of the Crossfold Loft by interdisciplinary design studio Kalos Eidos. Helmed by architect Ryan Thomas – who is also a founding member of the feminist collective WIP Collaborative and Co-Chair of AIANY New Practices Committee – her solution to a client’s compact space in Brooklyn, New York, is more compelling than any midtown urban development that mistakes novel installations for public art or glossy towers for a solution to the housing crisis.

Compact is King

The versatile space-planning and minimal interventions executed with surgical precision in the 900-square-foot home allow this structure to maintain multiple identities – currently a two-bedroom unit with ensuites, respectively, convertible to a one bedroom – while integrating custom storage and enough horizontal planes to display a collection of personal artifacts. “The strategy for this project was to mine the floor plan for small-scale opportunities to capture space, increasing the capacity for storage through a cumulation of small gains in depth and surface area, while leaving the floor area open for essential furniture elements,” Thomas says.

Interior renovations echo the shared ethos of Kalos Eidos and the creative owner for whom the refreshed residence is recalibrated to adjust flow, functional use, and visual connection. Without radically altering the layout of room partitions, Thomas is able to create a substantial entryway that gives the illusion of opening up with a vastness to the primary quarters. The kitchen is further delineated by a soffit, gently marking program while pushing inhabitants on and through to the living room proper. Multiple layers of millwork meander along the perimeter, mitigating the existing quirks between fenestration, physical subdivisions, and home furnishings, which is especially helpful in resolving layout issues with limited real estate.

Millwork pieces operate in conjunction with one another as a critical layer to synthesize the overall space, helping to soften corners and edges, interlock and overlap function, and visually orient from zone to zone.

Dabbling in the Dark Side

The main volume is punctuated with dramatic elements in a way that provides balance and anchors the space rather than weighing it down. The central island and corresponding cooking surfaces incorporate a mixture of many textures including fluting, marbling, and matte finishes. These things combined create graphic clarity and a background to better articulate bright objects and collectibles displayed in the foreground. “Once we landed on a kitchen color scheme, which ended up centering around matte black tile and cabinet fronts, with a dark green-black soapstone countertop, the client had the idea to use terracotta colored grout at the tile backsplash,” Thomas notes. “It’s a subtle detail given the slender dimension of a grout line, but it was such a great thought and really adds a surprising layer of warmth and nuance that is both playful and sophisticated, bold and refined.”

Crossfold Loft’s primary living and lounge area

The lounge area integrates furnishings amid the large, full-height glazing of the space by introducing new sectional sofa pieces, a minimal, floating storage credenza, and a video projector above.

Leaning Into the Fold

Site conditions encourage the use of a diagonal parti through architectural gestures suggested by the building as if to say “this way.” Portions of the wall that once jogged in-and-out inconsistently now clearly divide the living space from the private bedroom and ensuite. And what started as the default resultant of a dimensional offset now becomes the driving force orchestrating the experience. “Acting as a kind of cross-fold seam for the activity of the main living area, this new threshold serves to visually and spatially link the space of a second bedroom,” Thomas adds. Like one of the Gestalt principles that underpins visual communication, the resolved vertical plane creates a line of continuation that engages visitors from the moment of entry.

The custom arched millwork bookcase and passageway make use of a generous threshold.

The dining and workspace are beyond the arched threshold. Select functional objects like a ceramic sculptural table by artist Liz Hopkins, a pair of vintage sunflower yellow reading lamps, and a set of vintage oak dining chairs from the client were starting points for determining the specific color choices for elements in each area of the apartment.

Soft seating in the dining and workspace

Shelving in the dining and workspace

The Power of the Arch

Punctuating the axis is an arched form – half shelving, half threshold – designed as a bookcase you can seemingly step through continuing to build on the apartment’s dichotomy is the contrast created by the solid-void, the light-dark.The idea first emerged during the interactive process thinking through opportunities the mass could yield. “It helps dissolve the fold’s flatness while adding some depth and materiality to a portion of the floor plan that is predominantly used only for circulation and passage through the different zones of the apartment.” Traying in and around the fanciful doorway makes the transition through it feel kaleidoscopic in motion, especially when the shelving is decorated with a variety of colorful paraphernalia.

The backside of the custom archway looks into the kitchen from the dining and workspace.

A view into the bedroom

Select functional objects like a ceramic sculptural table by artist Liz Hopkins, a pair of vintage sunflower yellow reading lamps, and a set of vintage oak dining chairs from the client were starting points for determining the specific color choices for elements in each area of the apartment.

Moving Forward

Meaningful architecture isn’t about grand gestures in the urban fabric or homogenous new builds. The most impactful works an architect can contribute to society are those imbued with personality derived from the client, and in doing so, help homes, buildings, and neighborhoods celebrate their local language. “As an approach we strive for in our process is to center ideation less around problem-solving a laundry list of isolated issues, but rather to set up a framework of critical values and priorities to be synthesized in the final design,” Thomas says. “The result necessarily relies on architectural and spatial thinking, but also on the composition of objects, materials and other elements that are folded into the space to help it become coherent and usable for living.”

An architectural floor plan for the Crossfold Loft

Deep captions courtesy of Kalos Eidos; Photography by Steve Freihon .

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.