The winner team of the AIA Architecture Firm Award 2009 was awarded 2 of 17 AIA Housing Awards 2009 for projects “Montecito residence” and “Outpost.” Specifically, the studio has received the prestigious award in the category “Mono or Bi-family residences”.
Now in its ninth edition, the AIA Housing Awards Program was created with the objective of recognizing excellence in residential design and promotes a culture of quality housing as a “vital need, a sanctuary for the human spirit and precious national resource.
The project of Montecito Residence on Single Family home located in the area at risk of fire Toro Canyon (Santa Barbara, California). The commission asked the team a home with low environmental impact, respectful of scarce natural resources surrounding and able to withstand not just the temperatures and environment of the destination site.
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen has developed a building whose roof is essential and squared, repair the house from direct sunlight. The elongated structure and composite volume also allows the natural currents of cold air to move through all areas of residence.
The interiors are designed to encourage an ongoing dialogue with the ‘outside. Sliding doors and full height glass of windows, located in areas of essential furnishings and elegant color palette from the reduced and allowing the entire house “to open” the surrounding landscape.
Steel, glass and concrete are the predominant building materials “The house is built with fireproof materials. Furthermore, over time, the steel will oxidize and concrete will take the colors perfect for camouflaging the house into the landscape, “the architects explain.
With the project “Outpost” the team has designed a house that serves as both studio art and exhibition space. The building, located in the dry desert landscape of Bellevue (Idaho, USA) hidden inside a garden, called “Paradise Garden”, separated from the surrounding landscape with thick concrete walls. The simplicity of materials and primarily of concrete that was characterizes the entire volumes. In this way the structure requires very little maintenance and is able to face all sorts of climatic variation of the surrounding desert area along the four seasons.
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