Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Victorian Revamp: Historic Elements in a Modern Context

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT

[ Filed under Architecture & in the Additions category ]

In Melbourne, this historic Victorian home joins the old and the new through a brilliant dichotomy. Balancing a classical element with a modern one, the Vader House from Maynard Architects is a creative exploration of both time and space.

At the North end of the property sits a high brick privacy wall, built long before the city’s planning regulations made such walls impossible. The wall provides a connection to the history of the home as well as to the history of the city.

A stunning modern glass-rich structure on one side of the lot offsets a tall brick structure at the opposite side. The older building is the lot’s original home, while the modern structure is the recent addition taken on by Maynard.

The new wing uses two of the existing historic brick walls to form its exterior, but the rest of the structure is composed of crisp, modern materials. The contrast between the old and new materials offers a rich visual connection between the old and the new.

Between the two buildings sits a huge courtyard with a secret. The deck slides from one side to the other to expose either a swimming pool or a small yard, extending the usable space in the courtyard.

Although the home is set in densely-populated urban Melbourne, it has the airy, light-filled nature of a country estate. Movable glass walls in the home’s new wing open up one entire side of the building to the courtyard, bringing the outside in effortlessly.

Keep Going - Check out this Great Related Dornob Article:

Black, White & Brick: Victorian Home + Modern Deck Design

Historic Farm House Building + Modern Home Addition =

[ Filed under Architecture & in the Additions category ]

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Shoe Sweeps: Floor-Cleaning Footwear Dusts & Disinfects

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT

[ Filed under More & in the Fashion & Style category ]

If you have not done it, you have at least seen it: the lazy approach to kitchen cleanup where someone drops a towel on the ground then sweeps it around with their foot.

This (still-conceptual) device takes things a step further, so to speak, using sole-mounted rotary cleaners to catch dust and dirt as you walk around your home.

The pair is designed to be battery-operated so you can close them up and charge them when not in use, with an LED display to monitor their status from above at a glance.

Conceived of by Adika Titut Triyugo it is hard to imagine these are going to hit the shelves of your local shoe store anytime soon, but one could imagine a technological leap making something like this into a simple attachment to an existing pair of boots or sneakers.