Example of housing architecture
Example of housing architecture

Housing Architecture

Housing architecture is the field of architecture whose purpose is the study and construction of spaces - houses - in which people can live. Here you will find new stories and projects from all over the world that address these issues in many different ways: home renovations that observe long-standing traditions, housing projects that challenge existing paradigms, vernacular architecture, modularity, eco and minimal. All this is housing architecture.

Residential architecture is one of the most important fields of architecture, which aims to create buildings for people to live in. These are projects that use a variety of disciplines, such as building geometry, structures, natural and artificial lighting, outdoor landscaping and accessibility. An architect must consider all these factors to create a comfortable and safe place for people to live.

The fundamental elements for residential architectural design are:

  • Choosing the right site: variables such as potable water and drainage, access to main roads must be taken into consideration. The architect should also take into account the environmental regulations in force in the country concerned.
  • Size of the structure: the size of the building will also depend on the individual preferences of the users: they can be luxury buildings with large internal spaces or very small individual homes to be furnished with space-saving solutions
  • Available budget: factor to be considered in establishing the most innovative construction materials and technologies to be used in the building.

In stylistic terms, the architectural styles most commonly applied to residential architecture include the American or European colonial style, the Italian or German modernist style; but lately contemporary and ecologically aware styles such as sustainable or bioclimatic styles are spreading more and more. Naturally, there is no shortage of hybrid styles that mix the different styles together to create solutions that are increasingly suited to the expectations of end users.

 

The Analog House in California is blending into the landscape between stained glass windows and woods
The Analog House in California is blending into the landscape between stained glass windows and woods

Analog House winds through the undergrowth, deliberately shaped to preserve existing trees and create a protected inner courtyard. Large transparent windows and skylights open the house to the landscape and daylight, and numerous connections between indoors and out connect residents to their surroundings

A quest for elegance and passion for an original mountain home model. An alpine villa in Chamois
A quest for elegance and passion for an original mountain home model. An alpine villa in Chamois

"[...] do require from them happy and perfect houses to comfort your life, with a most civilized architecture, beautiful, serene, luminous, sonorous, clear, colorful and pure," said Giò Ponti. The alpine villa in Chamois, Aosta Valley, embodies this intention

Rural house among vineyards in Friuli. A contemporary reinterpretation of tradition
Rural house among vineyards in Friuli. A contemporary reinterpretation of tradition

The country house is located inserted within a farm with vineyards and fields with different crops in the Pedemontana Friulana

An historical house expansion in the city center: it's just a house in the courtyard
An historical house expansion in the city center: it's just a house in the courtyard

In the center of Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, a project is being executed for an extension in the inner courtyard of a historic house. The house is occupied occasionally by the owner family of four, but the intention is to live there permanently

A modern urban house in Infinity Park. Aluminum and glass for pure form, precision of execution and maximum durability
A modern urban house in Infinity Park. Aluminum and glass for pure form, precision of execution and maximum durability

The Infinity Park residential building in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a project dedicated to the upper segment of the city's housing market. The building's location, close to Zaimov Park, provides an opportunity for an active social life and excellent connections in the area. To ensure peace and comfort in the building, no functions other than those that accompany residential are planned - parking and maintenance

"An industrially prefabricated piece which blends well with the environment and settles gently into the ground"

The enclosure of Casa Mirador is the very nature that surrounds it, on the slope of an Ecuadorian valley, where the architecture does not in any way affect the soil or vegetation

An architecture inspired by the vineyard landscape in northern Italy. Villa Kastelaz Hof in the home of Gewürztraminer
An architecture inspired by the vineyard landscape in northern Italy. Villa Kastelaz Hof in the home of Gewürztraminer

The new villa Kastelaz Hof is located in South Tyrol's beautiful alpine landscape of Tramin, renowned for the production of Gewürztraminer wine, and its geometries are inspired by and evolve from the vineyards and conditions of the project site

detached house cement swimming pool
Pristine volumes for a house in Merano. Exposed concrete and glass determine the architecture

Studio Monovolume designs this villa between the valleys of Merano, where the slope of the land imposes a project of volumes, executed through the purist use of concrete and glass. The flat roof and the swimming pool emphasize the play in contrast to the greenery

Sports, work and home in one place with a Black Sea view: the PK26
Sports, work and home in one place with a Black Sea view: the PK26

PK26 is a mixed-use building located in the city center of Varna, Bulgaria. The neighborhood, in which it is located, is predominantly occupied by outdated single housing units with no aesthetic value. PK26 is the first newly constructed, contemporary building with a distinguishable minimalist form that the new urban development plan allows

Three-dimensionality and play of volumes on the facade. The residential building Interpolation B
Three-dimensionality and play of volumes on the facade. The residential building Interpolation B

Interpolation B, in Britanski square in the center of Zagreb, is a multi-apartment building of 22 residential units, mostly of larger size, with bilateral orientation. The building has 6 floors above ground and three basement floors, where there are parking lots and garages 

Act of balance between human experience and the environment. A villa as a temple to the sun and the culture of the Greek islands
Act of balance between human experience and the environment. A villa as a temple to the sun and the culture of the Greek islands

Between the 180º westward view of the Cyclades archipelago and the strong winds blowing from the north, on the island of Antiparos, a hybrid architecture finds its place: ARP - Architecture Research Practice gives life to Villa Avlakia, a mixed-use structure between an embankment and a building in order to preserve the landscape and celebrate the native materials

outdoor living room, villa greece
Architecture designed through emotion. A home to enjoy the freedom of peaceful existence in nature

Thanks to its stone, white walls and wood, Villa Mandra on the Greek island of Mykonos seems to be a natural product of the very land on which it is built and mimetically integrated: the panoramic ridge of Aleomandra. From its privileged position there, it embodies the satisfaction of that human need that the architects of K Studio poetically define as the pleasure of dedicating time to connecting with yourself, with nature and with everything that nourishes the spirit and which most people call a "holiday"

The house Tabares de Cala reclaims its function after decades of neglect
The house Tabares de Cala reclaims its function after decades of neglect

The single-family house, located in the historic center of the city of La Laguna, Tenerife, has been in a state of complete abandonment for decades now: the intervention returns it to its original use as a single-family home

A dialogue between architecture and landscape. Senior Housing and Public Hall in the Lombardy countryside
A dialogue between architecture and landscape. Senior Housing and Public Hall in the Lombardy countryside

In San Giacomo delle Segnate, province of Mantua, an architectural complex that houses housing for the elderly and public hall fits into the landscape with its two buildings that dialogue through different aesthetic languages with the various contexts they face

A silhoutte borrowed from the vocabulary of New England rural buildings: Saltbox Passive House
A silhoutte borrowed from the vocabulary of New England rural buildings: Saltbox Passive House

The Saltbox Passive House is a building anchored in its environment, both historically and naturally, and is built with simple, durable materials while being extremely energy efficient 

Living on the hills of Turin, in a contemporary villa design
Living on the hills of Turin, in a contemporary villa design

The She House project is broken down and reassembled, making it unique among the local architecture: 600 square meters distributed on three levels, surrounded by traditional architecture, with a 270° view of the plain below

Yellow for a metal structure which somehow
Yellow for a metal structure which somehow "captures" the space for this house in the center of Barcelona

Casa Collumpio frames a space in a Barcelona neighborhood, clearly and decisively externalizing its main construction elements: a heavy plinth on which rests a yellow metal frame that opens onto the outdoor space

Casa Acantilado. An endless continuity of architecture along the Pacific
Casa Acantilado. An endless continuity of architecture along the Pacific

On the Pacific coast of Guerrero in Zihuatanejo Bay, perched on cliffs constantly at the mercy of the sea, stands Casa Acantilado. Open and permeated by its spectacular surroundings, the building conceptualizes the idea of luminous reference in the immense nighttime darkness of the ocean, emerging from the rocks and dialoguing with the small lighthouse not far away

Façade arrangement according to orientation. The KR Apartments opens up toward the Black Sea
Façade arrangement according to orientation. The KR Apartments opens up toward the Black Sea

In the historic center of the city of Varna, Bulgaria, the KR Apartments building embodies the concept of creating contemporary and functional housing with an elegant and simple design that discreetly fits the environment

The rich Californian history of courtyard buildings evoked and reinterpreted by Magnolia Hill
The rich Californian history of courtyard buildings evoked and reinterpreted by Magnolia Hill

The courtyard is a key design aspect of the Magnolia Hill residential complex: a housing typology frequently used in the first half of the twentieth century, capable of creating closeness, security and privacy, and which is revisited by Brooks + Scarpa

Srebarna 18, a building emphasizing tidiness and the minimalist approach
Srebarna 18, a building emphasizing tidiness and the minimalist approach

Between Loven Park and the Vitosha metro station in the city of Sofia, Srebarna 18 takes shape, a residential complex with a minimalist design, orthogonal geometry contrasting with dynamic volume

Casa Yaxché and the preserved tree in order to be fully embraced by the housing project
Casa Yaxché and the preserved tree in order to be fully embraced by the housing project

The design of the house revolves entirely around the Yaxché tree: the hypothesis of cutting it down is set aside, leaving room for the opportunity to preserve it and place it on the main visual, spatial, and conceptual axis of the dwelling

Mars, a project inspired by the Red Planet's evocative landscape
Mars, a project inspired by the Red Planet's evocative landscape

Mars, a real journey into fantasy and imagination: located in the middle of a new, almost sterile urban development in the city of Hwaseong, near the city of Seoul, which creates the illusion of living on Mars

Building the contemporary by walking in the footsteps of the ancestors.
Building the contemporary by walking in the footsteps of the ancestors. "Aperture," a main chalet-home in Chamonix

"Aperture" in English (which in photography defines the lens aperture through which light passes in order to enter the camera and that like a pupil, opens and closes out to adjust the amount of light) is the name of this chalet, built by a grandfather and renovated today with emotion by his grandson

Dimion Tower in Buenos Aires for an unprecedented living in an architecture with a strong material impact
Dimion Tower in Buenos Aires for an unprecedented living in an architecture with a strong material impact

The Dimion Tower was designed trying to incorporate a building massing that dialogues effectively with the environment and responds to regulations in a positive and purposeful way. Similarly, a morphology was designed to produce a novel experience in the way of inhabiting the city and with a materiality that responds to all these premises, in a concrete, explicit and expressive way

Villa inspired by the laws of the jungle. A balance between nature and luxury accommodation
Villa inspired by the laws of the jungle. A balance between nature and luxury accommodation

The concrete villa designed by Formafatal studio and part of a complex of three villas called "Art Villas", is located not far from the Costa Rican town of Uvita and offers the possibility of experiencing luxury and adventure at the same time.

Mitosis XL brings biophilic regenerative architecture to large-scale urban developments. A solution that
Mitosis XL brings biophilic regenerative architecture to large-scale urban developments. A solution that "gives back" to the Planet

Mitosis XL is the result of a new parametric design tool to generate positive footprint neighborhoods built of cross-laminated timber.
"We aim to generate a healthy, emotional and constructive habitat for rest, work and all-around living with nature." (Giacomo Garziano, founder of GG-loop)

A fabric of perforated bricks surrounds the Step Level House
A fabric of perforated bricks surrounds the Step Level House

A home made of different levels: large steps from the street reach the level of the garden, creating terraces from which to enjoy the view of the trees at the back

Amidst walnut trees a simple volume tunes in to the beauty of the surrounding nature
Amidst walnut trees a simple volume tunes in to the beauty of the surrounding nature

House in a Walnut Grove is a low-cost, durable home with a link to nature in very simple and proportionate forms

"What would Gwathmey do?" House in the Dunes, restoration and careful transformation of a piece of modern architectural history

It was originally the Haupt residence, designed in the 1970s by Charles Gwathmey, a member of the famous group of architects "The New York Five." Now fully restored and respectfully modified according to the needs of its new inhabitants, the House in the Dunes gains new life while remaining true to its creator