Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Granite Intrusion: Hilltop Home Rests on Rocky Outcrop

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT

[ Filed under Offbeat & in the Architecture category ]

As wind and water weather the surface of a site, rocky outcrops are often left behind, pushing upward to form rigid peaks. Instead of blasting away this natural feature, one home embraces the existing stone in stunning ways.

Designed by Gibson Architects at an altitude of 8500 feet in the Rocky Mountains, this house turns difficult granite boulders into building assets, showing off this inherent geology in organic ways. Marble-clad elements like pillars and fireplaces rise up from the rugged ground, tying it vertically into the structure’s aesthetic, while horizontal white and wood elements provide contrast to these dark natural features.

From the architect: “Using what was considered by most to be an unbuildable granite outcropping, I took advantage of the variety and cascading effect of the natural granite to create a house which evolved into seven levels revolving around the main central fireplace built into the largest granite boulder …. The pathways in the house pinwheel around the central space whose vertical climax of the two chimney masses are anchored in the natural granite outcropping that rises from the entry and becomes the hearth of the main living fireplace. Every axis of the pathway connects with the next higher level path axis with stairs while at the same time opening up either into a direct connection to Nature outside or into a focal space.”

Keep Going - Check out this Great Related Dornob Article:

Stealthy Stepping-Stone Home Hovers over Rocky Terrain

This House Rocks: Hilltop Home Cut into Steep Stone Slope

[ Filed under Offbeat & in the Architecture category ]

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Mix & Match: Folding Flat-Pack Table Pairs With Folded Chair

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 05:00 PM PDT

[ Filed under Tables & Stands & in the Furniture category ]

You may remember a certain stellar folding chair from Robert van Embricqs with nesting elements that rise up to create a seat. Now he has made a matching table using the same elegant technological approach.

A series of careful incisions create a pattern that at once hints at function but goes beyond the bare-bones necessity of a set of corner-based legs as well. Wood throughout makes the form paramount and material secondary.

From the designer: “A conscious choice for functionality in design, doesn't necessarily mean one has to be burdened by conformity, let alone predictability. The Rising Table ignores the cliched notion that a table is little more than a flat surface that is held up by four separate legs. The result is a surprising mixture of fluid design that blends the multifaceted tabletop with the latticework of wooden beams that function as the center of the construct. From there, the table sprouts four wooden beams that hold up the entire construct.”