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.

 

Mixed-use Broadway complex in London inspired by Art Deco architecture creates its contemporary response
Mixed-use Broadway complex in London inspired by Art Deco architecture creates its contemporary response

The Broadway, completed in 2022, is a 1-million square foot mixed-use development that establishes a new destination in Westminster encompassing 268 apartments, workspace and retail outlets with a generous new public space

Pokrinniemi House and its original cross-shaped space. Four different views of the precious landscape
Pokrinniemi House and its original cross-shaped space. Four different views of the precious landscape

The location of the Pokrinniemi House is unique: even though it is only a couple of kilometers from the center of the Finnish city of Hämeenlinna, the house sits on a small promontory surrounded by a lake from which a precious natural panorama can be enjoyed. Precisely for the protection of this, the general plan of the city has established strict rules for new buildings

A house in Nigran, Spain. The architecture seen as
A house in Nigran, Spain. The architecture seen as "space between," transitions on the journey home

The House in Nigran is an architecture that speaks of returning home, it is a project that is sensory promenade, it is an idea of spaces that are transitions, passages crossed during our return we do not know from where

Fulton Project in Paris. Social housing units, shops, and the landscaped heart of the island
Fulton Project in Paris. Social housing units, shops, and the landscaped heart of the island

The Fulton Project is part of the development of the Zones d'Aménagements Concerté (ZAC) in Paris and includes 87 units of social housing, 2 shops on the ground floor, a new design for the landscaped heart of the island, and an underground parking lot in Quai d'Austerlitz, in the 13th arrondissement

Bellary House embraces protectively with its walls the generous and simple energy of the family that inhabits it
Bellary House embraces protectively with its walls the generous and simple energy of the family that inhabits it

Bellary House is located in the small namesake town, in the heart of India, known for its iron mines, historical ruins, and its warm and dry climate. The house is located in one of the neighborhoods undergoing a slow but steady transformation, where old modest houses are giving way to larger villas

Altaire II Residential Tower in Mexico City. Innovative design for a cosmopolitan lifestyle
Altaire II Residential Tower in Mexico City. Innovative design for a cosmopolitan lifestyle

The Altaire II tower was born within the Vidalta residential complex, thanks to the latter's great success: one of the first complexes to achieve a perfect balance between architecture, green areas, and social spaces

Single-family dwelling in Portugal. Dynamics of volumes and heights
Single-family dwelling in Portugal. Dynamics of volumes and heights

Located on a plot of land in Vagos, in the municipality of Aveiro, a new architectural challenge for this single-family dwelling in Portugal where the owner can identify himself

Chukumera House: Maya's Ancient Wisdom. A Single-Family Residence in Yucatán
Chukumera House: Maya's Ancient Wisdom. A Single-Family Residence in Yucatán

The client of Chukumera House has a special connection to the main material featured in this architecture, which also gives it its name: Chukum. With elegance and naturalness, it tells an ancient story of this part of the world, where it was used as a stucco made from limestone mixed with resin from the trees of the same name

House for two families in Lucerne. A rigorous floating structure attenuated by playful openings
House for two families in Lucerne. A rigorous floating structure attenuated by playful openings

In north-central Switzerland, the house for two families in Lucerne integrates into the fragmented urban context, where buildings alternate with open spaces, redefining the proportions between adjacent buildings: a 5-story house to the west and a 2-story house to the east. With its gabled roof, this project establishes the continuity of the suburban landscape

MORpH. A smooth shape and a variable building structure for the Croatian military academy housing
MORpH. A smooth shape and a variable building structure for the Croatian military academy housing

MORpH is being built in Zagreb, Croatia: a 15-story residential building for housing officers and students of the "Dr. Franjo Tudjman" military academy. MORH stands for the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia

Edwin M. Lee Apartments for an integrated, equal and sustainable community in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco
Edwin M. Lee Apartments for an integrated, equal and sustainable community in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco

A model of healthy living and resilience, Edwin M. Lee Apartments is the first building in San Francisco to combine supportive housing for both homeless veterans and low-income families

Tranquility, spaciousness and views in House B7 made of zinc and wood
Tranquility, spaciousness and views in House B7 made of zinc and wood

Tranquility, spaciousness and views in the House B7 made of zinc and wood.
In the rural village of Brandwijk in the Netherlands, in place of the old stable now stands House B7 from which one can enjoy the spatial qualities of the place

A house in Pedrezuela for a quiet life in contact with nature
A house in Pedrezuela for a quiet life in contact with nature

A lot bordered by a beautiful olive grove is perfect to fulfill the desire of the young couple commissioning the construction of Casa a Pedrezuela, near Madrid: a three-bedroom home where they can live, build their future and work remotely

Home on the Garraf Massif. Bioclimatic strategies for a zero-consumption dwelling
Home on the Garraf Massif. Bioclimatic strategies for a zero-consumption dwelling

The House on the Garraf Massif is a dwelling designed to be zero-consumption and have a healthy indoor environment. It is developed in a compact square plan of 90 square meters, with the advantage of avoiding heat loss through the facades but also the disadvantage of not allowing direct southern sunlight into the back rooms

An Art House in Palo Alto is welcoming a thriving art collection and occasional guests
An Art House in Palo Alto is welcoming a thriving art collection and occasional guests

The residential project in Palo Alto, California, that includes the construction of the Art House involves building three separate structures, creating additional interior space and forming a private courtyard for an existing house.The family with 4 children that owns the existing building takes the opportunity to expand when the adjacent lot is put up for sale

Rio Maggiore Mansion. Colors and shapes for an innovative architecture-nature dialogue
Rio Maggiore Mansion. Colors and shapes for an innovative architecture-nature dialogue

In the center of Levico Terme, in the province of Trento, Dimora Rio Maggiore was born from the renovation of an existing building from the first half of the 20th century. An intervention that is part of a design path whose basic idea is to connote with features attentive to the quality of life the planned interventions on an entire area with residential destination

A passive class house in Monte El Pardo. Bioclimatic strategies with breathtaking views
A passive class house in Monte El Pardo. Bioclimatic strategies with breathtaking views

30 kilometers from Madrid, a couple commissions the construction of a passive house in Monte el Pardo, on a steep terrain with fantastic orientation and views. The private home is designed so that it can be rented during the good part of the year when the owners are not at home

House II and its elegant fiber cement facade
House II and its elegant fiber cement facade

Architect Kyu Sung Woo designs House II for his wife, a concert pianist, and himself: a couple in their 70s who are still active and beginning to think about their changing needs

SWISSHOUSE XXXVI is located near Basel. Concrete sheets are pointing toward an unexpected experience of space
SWISSHOUSE XXXVI is located near Basel. Concrete sheets are pointing toward an unexpected experience of space

SWISSHOUSE XXXVI stands in Muttenz is a historic municipality on the outskirts of the city of Basel.
The new building, which fits into the general framework of the neighborhood characterized by houses with pitched roofs, appears as a volume enclosed by concrete blades

Wine tasting lounge and wine garden Alton Wines: a design that is sensitive to the natural landscape in Washington's countryside
Wine tasting lounge and wine garden Alton Wines: a design that is sensitive to the natural landscape in Washington's countryside

Focusing on the surrounding vistas, GO'C Studio's architecture for the new winery at Alton Wines, just outside Walla Walla, acts as a frame that brings the landscape closer, more in focus, making it a key part of the visitor experience

A family home with a garden, the outdoor space as a continuation of the house
A family home with a garden, the outdoor space as a continuation of the house

The clients purchased a relatively small sloping plot overlooking the hills of Palava, Czech Republic. The brief for the architects was quite simple: "A family house, trying to fit this somewhat unusual lot"

The chameleon-like Sterling Forest House which blends into the environment
The chameleon-like Sterling Forest House which blends into the environment

Set into the rock of the steeply sloping site, the Sterling Forest House blends into nature with its gray and salmon-colored granite cladding, green roof, and mahogany windows

Casa Fly, a house inspired by tradition to experience extraordinary memories
Casa Fly, a house inspired by tradition to experience extraordinary memories

Learning from the local architecture, and from the technique of 'Pedra en sec' declared in 2018 Intangible Cultural Heritage Of Humanity by UNESCO, Casa Fly uses the elements of Majorcan tradition by rethinking them through contemporary architecture and marrying them to simple concepts of energy efficiency based on natural ventilation and the heat storage properties of its massive walls

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