Hill House

Figure 1 - Hill house

Hill House in Helensburgh was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and was built between 1902 and 1904. Mackintosh did not only design the building, but designed all of the internal furniture as well, even the door handles. The house was designed for the publisher Walter Blackie and before Mackintosh started creating the building he actually stayed with the publisher so that he could see how he lived and what he thought Blackie main needs were. This showed how much of a perfectionist Charles Rennie Mackintosh was; he wanted to get everything just right even down to the final touches. The exterior of the house is a quite imposing as it sits overlooking the garden with its large form and isometric shape. It is completely opposite to the interior mainly because the exterior is painted white and dark colours have been used to decorate the interior, but also because the outside of the building is quite plain and the interior has lots of intricate detailing. Mackintosh actually designed the house from the inside, which is why the exterior takes this unusual form. This is probably what makes it so striking, the fact that it is so different and very clearly a Mackintosh building.    

Figure 2 - Interior

Figure 1 - Hill House - www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk

Figure 2 - Interior - www.designmuseum.org

Toyo Ito - Serpentine Gallery Pavillion

Figure 1 - Pavilion

Figure 2 - interior of pavilion

Toyo Ito’s design for the serpentine gallery pavilion was chosen in 2002 in London. Intricate triangular shapes and glass panels are used to create the pavilion which when complete is a simple cube form. After the competition the winning pavilions stay in Hyde Park for a few months, but are then dimantled and moved to other places all over the world. Toyo Ito is one of the many big architects whose design has been chosen for the pavilion, other architects include Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and apparently Peter Zumthor is to be designing the temporary building this year. The pavilion uses steel tubular lattice structure and the main materials include aluminum and glass. Toyo Ito has taken a great deal of time and consideration with this design to get everything just right. For example the lighting in the pavilion is spot on, where ever you are positioned inside you will be hit with natural light and even at night the pavilion glows in the dark, which is just cool. This pavilion is so simple, but yet so complex and it manages to look beautiful in whatever surrounding.   

Figure 1 - Pavilion - www.arcspace.com

Figure 2 - Interior of pavilion - www.serpentinegallery.org

Muskoka Boathouse

Figure1 - Muskoka Boathouse

Figure 2 - interior

The Muskoka boathouse was designed by Shim Sutcliffe Architects and is situated on the idyllic shoreline of Lake Muskoka in Canada. It has the style of a traditional log cabin that places itself perfectly into its surroundings. There are two boat slips which are located under the living area and can be accessed straight from the water. The build began in winter when the lake was frozen and this made work very difficult as areas had to be drilled through the ice for the stilts and structural supports. The interior of the boathouse is not massive, but it was not built to accommodate an entire family to live in. The whole interior is quite open plan so that too many walls do not spoil the picturesque views outside, with a kitchenette and living room , a bedroom and a shower room. This is a lovely wee boathouse, but its the surroundings that really make the boathouse so beautiful. On days when the water is flat calm and it is so peaceful you could just sit for hours and look across the water away in a dream or take one of the boats out and really experience the surroundings.  

Figure 1 - Muskoka Boathouse - www.raic.org
Figure 2 - Interior - www.raic.org  

Peter Zumthor Thermal Baths

Image 1 - Thermal Baths

The Thermal Baths are located in Vals in Switzerland and are a grand spa complex built into the side of the Swiss Mountains over the only thermal springs in the area. Zumthor created this complex to appear as part of its surroundings, like it has always been there as a large rock face embedded into the hill, using grass on the roof to help it blend in. The spa is made from concrete and quartzite from the area. The way in which zumthor uses light in parts of the complex is very unique. There are large glass windows which allows light to flood into the public areas, which lead the visitor onto the pools. The pools are considerably darker, but open slits in the ceiling allow light to come down from above and light up the water creating a magical feeling.  

Image 1 - Thermal Baths - commons.wikimedia.org
Image 2 - The pools - www.stylepark.com

Image 2 - The pools

Yellow Treehouse

Image 2 - Yellow Tree House

Image 1

This is a very extraordinary tree house, that is actually a tree top restaurant. It can be discovered in a forest in New Zealand and was designed by Pacific Environments Architects. The tree house is 10m above the ground and can be accessed by a 60m walkway which meanders throught the tree canopies to give the visitors a real feel for where they are, before sitting down (in the air) to enjoy their meal. As the visitors travel through the trees it also gives them a chance to revisit their own childhood which was the concept for this design. Eventhough it is a restaurant the tree house is not very big and can only accommodate eighteen guests. the interior of the restaurant is very open, it has been made from timber beams which have been placed slightly apart so that the diners get great views across the valley. The "pod" as it is known is supposed to look natural, as if it could be part of the tree, but having a width of 12m, this is rather difficult to achieve. Even so the tree house is beautiful and it really does take you back to your childhood, not that many kids tree houses looked anything like that.

Image 1 - www.pacificenvironments.co.nz
Image 2 - Yellow Tree House - www.e-architect.co.uk

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Image 1- Leaning Tower of Pisa

Image 2 - Close up of columns

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a free standing bell tower in the city of Pisa in Italy. It was built in three stages and overall took 177 years to complete. The structure has eight floors with 294 steps and the highest side of the tower measures 56.70m with the lower side being one metre shorter. When you climb the tower it is the most surreal feeling of falling. You enter the building and as you get higher and higher you begin to feel like you are being pulled over in the direction that the tower is leaning. Your orientation just seems to disappear and you feel so drunk eventhough you're not (I don't think I was anyway). You are so busy trying to hold on to anything you can ( I really did feel sorry for the poor person who was walking near me and kept being pulled to the ground everytime I thought I was going to fall). The last part of the climb to the top of the bell tower is like being in a cave. It's so dark and enclosed, but when you eventually reach the top it's amazing. The feeling of falling seems to leave you and the views across Pisa are beautiful. It may not be the tallest tower in the world, but it is the most incredible experience.

Image 1 - Leaning Tower of Pisa - www.wikipedia.org
Image 2 - Close up of columns - www.wikipedia.org