The Lego Apartment - Clever Design Solutions to Maximize Small Apartments

Back in college, our professors challenged us to design a fully functional cube house. As far as I could remember, the restriction was a 6m x 6m building footprint, and we could only half that area for our second floor.

As first-year architecture students, we had to crack our heads to fit all the furnishing inside the house. Looking back, I thought I was able to maximize all of the space in my design solution.

When I found a video on youtube, I realized that there is more than one solution to solving a problem. There are simple and straightforward solutions, and there are out-of-the-box clever solutions. 

One such design is the Lego Apartment by Architect Barbara Appolloni, which maximized every inch of the 24sqm apartment. Although the apartment has a small space, the designer managed to incorporate all the apartment's basic amenities and storage space while still maintaining a spacious interior. Had youtube been available back then, I would have gotten my inspiration from this video.

Check out the video and tell us your thoughts on his clever design.

Sliding House - dRMM Architects

I found this cool house designed by dRMM Architects. The whole exterior wall slides out and exposes a fully glazed enclosure. I really like the concept of the house and this is definitely thinking outside the box.




Here is the link to the article

Source: Architectural Record

Egg House


Innovation has driven technology to higher heights and has greatly increased the standard of living in our lives. It has made a lot of things easier and cheaper. In the the recent years architects have been searching for the solution for a eco friendly sustainable home. Unfortunately most current solutions have a very high cost which usually deters a lot of people.

One architect in china has found a way to design a house stripped down to its bare necessities. Although after reviewing some of the photos I have some concerns about where he would go to take a bath or leak. I think his design of the egg house is one step closer to providing some form of shelter to a lot of homeless people.



Private Islands for Sale

I've always dreamed of owning my own Island. I never thought that a person could really won one, if he has the cash to pay for it.


Ram Island

Ram Island
Ram Island, Private Islands Online

Place: Machias Bay, Maine, 50 miles east ofBar Harbor
Asking Price: $595,000
Acreage: 16
Undeveloped

One tree, a few sheep, a 20 by 20 foot platform for pitching a tent, and a mooring in the cove. The rest is grass, rocks, and 360-degree views of the ocean and bay.


Charlie's Island

Charlie's Island
Charlie's Island, Private Islands Online

Where: Near Marathon, in the Florida Keys
Asking Price: $995,000
Acreage: 0.32
Undeveloped

The turquoise-colored roofs you see in the picture are open-air sitting areas with decks, chairs, and a campfire cooking area. But the island also comes with a 38-foot houseboat, not pictured here, that sleeps 4-5 people. Great reefs nearby for snorkeling. All the seafood you can eat.


Snug Harbour Island

Snug Harbour Island
Snug Harbour Island, Private Islands Online

Where: On Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Asking Price: $1,057,000
Acreage: 3
Developed

A two-hour drive from Toronto, this island features a two-bedroom, two-bath cottage with a glassed-in porch overlooking the water, a separate guest cabin with bathroom, hot tub built into the rock outcropping, and a boathouse with deep water mooring. Running water, electric, a septic field. And it has wireless Internet access. So you could get away from it all, but still check your e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.


Watch Island

Watch Island
Watch Island, Private Islands Online

Place: St. Lawrence Seaway, near Clayton, NY
Asking Price: $1,950,000
Acreage: 1.3
Developed

There are 1,400 lakes in the Thousand Lakes region of upstate New York. But few of them come with a 6,500-square-foot mansion -- ten bedrooms, four bathrooms, plus a boat house and dock. About an hour-and-a-half drive from either Syracuse or Montreal.


Little Hog Cay

Belvedere
Little Hog Cay, Private Islands Online

Place: Near Abacos, Northern Bahamas
Asking Price: $1,950,000
Acreage: 25
Partially developed

Notice the lagoon that separates the west side of the island from the east. On the west side sits a studio home and a guest cabana with an electric generator. The east side is undeveloped. Marina and airstrip are a 15-minute boat ride away, on the main island of Abacos.


5 Cove Island

Cove Island


Place: Howe Sound, British Columbia, between Whistler and Vancouver
Asking Price: $2,950,000
Acreage: 5
Developed

A 30-minute boat ride from the city of Vancouver, this island is up for sale to developers, with an approved subdvision plan.


Source: Yahoo Realestate