Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2013 i Dwell

Creativity feeds on challenge. Obstacles force reconsideration, resulting in new, previously unexpressed ideas and actions. In design, the most successful projects emerge only after a quick succession of smart, lasting choices are made. For most, the first and most formidable concern is budget. Instead of suggesting that one substitute shoddy materials or compromise ideals, this issue pins its focus on innovative answers to architectural problems. We highlight an economy-of-scale development in Texas, present familial comingling in Mexico, and salute young parents taking the time to do it right in Wisconsin. Their various strategies make the most of available resources and site specifics, balancing well-placed splurges alongside winning bottom lines. While certainly it’s true that “affordable” is subjective, we believe good ideas can be realized at any price. In the pages…

Grupo Habita is known for its high-design Mexican hotels, but the firm’s new hostel Downtown Beds, near Mexico City’s main plaza, offers a radical sense of style for the budget traveler. Design-savvy jet-setters may already know Grupo Habita’s hotels like the Condesa DF in Mexico City and the Hôtel Americano in New York. But the new hostel Downtown Beds, half of a two-part project designed by architect Abraham Cherem in central Mexico City, has given the hospitality firm a chance to aim its considerable design acumen at a different end of the spectrum. And the result—a just-of-the-Zócalo hostel that you’d actually want to stay in—is a backpacker’s dream. Downtown Beds, which offers 78 sleeping spaces, some of which cost as little as $15 per night, opened in July, 2012. “We…

The Danish concept of hygge—a sense of warmth that pervades even the sleekest modern household—is becoming familiar around the world, thanks to these cozy-making goods under $250. Dot Cushions by Hay $100 each Hay, the Danish tastemakers whose collection is slowly filtering into the U.S. retail market, offers these wool pillows in 11 shades of Kvadrat’s Hallingdal fabric. dwr.com Shayk Pendant by Amanda Betz for Artecnica $105 A Danish architect translates ornamental motifs from an Iranian mosque into this lightweight pendant made of synthetic paper. artecnicainc.com Pik Vases by FX Balléry $99 Three connected vases perform an understated balancing act, while cheery accent colors and pale wood nod to Nordic design. aplusrstore.com Candleholder-1 by Tora Urup $72 Glassblower Tora Urup is part of the 2012 lineup at Danish Crafts, an…

Affordable gestures abound in this transformation of a dilapidated former duplex in the Texas Hill Country. Project: Walkabout Residence Designer: Nick Deaver, nickdeaver.com Location: Cedar Park, Texas For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design. He then applied locally quarried Lueders limestone near the entrance—a warm contrast to the steely facade. “I tend to take advantage of the look and feel of an area instead of accenting how we stand apart from it,” says Deaver. To frame picturesque vistas of the nearly three-acre lot, Deaver included extra tall windows. “Here, it’s desirable to have your own little ranch…

Slow and steady wins the race when furnishing an entire room. Stick to a budget of $1,000 and under by splurging on one item at a time, from timeless lighting to a quality sound system to a show-stopping rug. Bloom Chair by Archirivolto for Calligaris $444 The machine-made sleekness of the chair’s polycarbonate seat is tempered by the organic feel of its wooden legs. We also like the smoked gray version in addition to the amber shown here. jensen-lewis.com Spinning Light BH2 by Benjamin Hubert for & Tradition $440–$590 Sleek, sexy, and understated, Hubert’s very grown-up pendant lighting is actually inspired by a children’s spinning top toy. andtradition.com Boet Stool by Note for Mitab $283–$437 A cork seat supported by metal legs pays homage to a bird’s nest. Handily, boet…

By William Lamb Photos by Matthew Williams Project: Boerum Hill Townhouse Architect: MADE Location: Brooklyn, New York In 2009, Dawn Casale and Dave Crofton faced a quandary: With the arrival of their son, Nate, they had outgrown their apartment in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. And though unwilling to stray far from nearby Boerum Hill, where they opened a boutique bakery, One Girl Cookies, in 2005, they were largely immune to the charms of the neighborhood’s brownstones, which they viewed as being long on period detail but short on light and space. So they set a less-than-realistic goal of finding something close by with an open, loftlike feel. “We gave our realtor a somewhat impossible task of finding us a place that probably didn’t exist,” Casale acknowledges. Then they saw a three-story…

By Robert Landon/Photos by Mauricio Alejo/Project: Cocoyoc House/Architect: Transepto/Location: Cocoyoc, Mexico In Mexico City, fresh air and a quiet stretch of grass can seem like the greatest of luxuries. To secure these things, Alfredo Oropeza and his family head 60 miles south to Cocoyoc. Set amid fertile highlands that, like neighboring Cuernavaca, are bathed in a more or less perpetual spring, the town has attracted city folk since the 15th century, when Moctezuma I built his pre-Columbian version of the Alhambra here. Oropeza himself heads a small empire—a culinary one, spanning books, websites, and Al Sabor del Chef, a TV show. But Oropeza doesn’t exactly have the deep pockets of an Aztec emperor. To share the pleasures and costs of his weekend getaway, he invited his brother, Guillermo, and his…

23 In the Modern World Calma Chicha calmachicha.com Mariner fan by Hunter hunterfan.com Countertop in 2141 “Blizzard” by Caesarstone caesarstoneus.com 590V faucet by Vola vola.com Kitchen sink by Mekal mekal.com.br HRB1110 refrigerator by Liebherr liebherr-appliances.com 98001K induction cooktop by AEG aeg.com Nud Bulb pendant lamps by Nud Collection nudcollection.com #75 Dining Chair by Niels Moller from Zig Zag modfurnishings.com KGA Custom Kitchens kgakitchens.com 56 My House MADE made-nyc.com Salvaged wood for kitchen cabinets from Excelsior Wood Products excelsiorwood.com Bluestar Residential Culinary Series freestanding range bluestarcooking.com VCWH3648-SS Chimney wall hood by Viking vikingrange.com Leather sofa from ABC Carpet & Home Outlet abchome.com Rug from Anthropologie anthropologie.com Antique Danish glass pendant light and side chairs from City Foundry of Brooklyn cityfoundry.com Upholstery fabric by Kravet kravet.com Charles wallpaper by Sandberg sandbergab.se/en Antique…

@calebamundson: This may be the best issue of @dwell yet. Possibly because I’m studying arc. at K-State. #littlecabinsontheprairie. 5 TWEETS @jeromelimjr: I’m loving @dwell magazine. Looking at beautiful home decor & architecture gives me as much inspiration as art and fashion. @ziggyirie: Pretty cool design concept from the pages of this month’s @dwell magazine. Bookshelves in the shape of the USA! @BrentoRama: Looking through my latest @dwell magazine. Getting ideas on how to build. #storage. @scottdukes: Great little feature on #dodgerstadium in the current issue of @dwell magazine. @NathanMattise: Cool bit in @dwell, one designer turned an Airstream trailer into a green room for bands at @StubbsAustin. Enjoyed seeing our neighbors’ recent addition in the current issue (“Sun Screen,” October 2012). We followed the construction with interest every day as…

Still saving up for the George Nelson Swag Leg desk of your dreams? Until then, kit out your workspace with a well-priced accessory that packs a visual wallop for less than $150. Standard Magnets by Fort Standard for SCP $37 These curvy little numbers, sold in packs of six, are hand-turned out of solid oak and walnut and conceal mighty rare-earth magnets. scp.co.uk Toolbox by Arik Levy for Vitra $60 Levy’s plastic carryall is extraordinarily versatile: It can keep tabs on live–work necessities, from notepads to sewing kits. dwr.com Hum Pocket Notebook from Alder & Co. $18 There is something to be said for perfectly palm-size doodle pads with tear-out pages. Hint: The best ones are made in Japan. store.alderandcoshop.com Concrete Desk Set by Magnus Pettersen for Areaware $60 Show…

At their Buenos Aires shop, a couple reissues classic Argentine designs—and moves the regional furniture design field forward, one “simple object” at a time. Photos by Ali Kate Cherkis —Calma Chica co-owner Diego Olinik When textile designer Carla Bonifacio and entrepreneur Diego Olinik (right) moved in together in the early 1990s, they had trouble finding well-designed, reasonably priced pieces with which to outfit their new home. So they decided to open a shop and make their own. Calma Chicha, located in Palermo Soho—a once industrial, now trendy neighborhood in Buenos Aires—has since become renowned among design-savvy locals and in-the-know tourists seeking unique keepsakes to take back home. The majority of the products at the 1,938-square-foot emporium are designed by Bonifacio and Olinik. They’re all made in Argentina, from the vivid…

Long a paradise for Angelenos on holiday, mid-century Palm Springs offered a mix of high design, temperate climes, and a Hollywood clientele that quickly came to embody California at play. Tucked at the foot of Mount San Jacinto in California’s Coachella Valley, Palm Springs is at once a desert oasis, stomping grounds for the jet set of the Atomic Age, and a hotbed of modern design, where a clutch of mid-century masterpieces are folded into the local gestalt of history-minded, sun-loving kitsch. Iconic homes, like the Kaufmann House by Richard Neutra and Albert Frey’s Frey House II, are local bulwarks of the modernist canon, pioneers of a European vision of architecture ably tailored to the American landscape. Here, we take a pictorial look back at the design, the terrain, and…

A glass-and-concrete mountainside lair is fit for a Bond villain with a penchant for stunning Alpine views. Project: Casa ai Pozzi Designer: Silvia Gmür Reto Gmür Architekten, gmuerarch.ch Location: Minusio, Switzerland Less of a rival than an homage to the Swiss Alps, Basel–based architect Silvia Gmür’s concrete villa on Lake Maggiore is a remarkable platform from which to marvel at sublime, peaked vistas. Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Farnsworth House is clearly in the DNA of her weekend getaway, but she disrupts the purity of the glass-box formula even as she preserves its sense of mathematical precision. Gmür’s version has two floors, each a separate home, each slashed in half creating a large terrace, and each punctuated by an unlikely pair of pyramids, one of which is made to stand…

Material Intelligence From a well-placed pop of color to a cleverly installed wall of curtains, these moves make the most of the materials at hand. Haste Makes Waste Getting your design just right isn’t a race against the clock, and taking your time just might save you a few bucks along the way. Rein It In Building small means building less. And building less means saving more. Expert Moves Whether designing affordability into the structure or driving a hard bargain for those countertops, budget-conscious architects and builders know what it takes to minimize costs. High-Impact Splurge Inexpensive needn’t mean uninspiring: These are the bold, big-ticket flourishes that really make the space. Sweat Equity A little DIY ingenuity and some deftly applied elbow grease keep costs low.…

Project: Row on 25th/Designer: Shade House Development Location: Houston, Texas Powered by petrodollars and famously devoid of zoning laws, Houston, Texas, hasn’t always been a friend to historical—or affordable—architecture. Now this humid Gulf Coast metropolis is getting an injection of updated mid-century cool with Row on 25th. The nine-home development is located in a former no-man’s-land on the northern edge of Houston Heights, a hip neighborhood of tree-lined streets, restaurants, and independent businesses, just a 10-minute drive from downtown. The Row brings together investor and developer Holden Shannon, an airline executive and graduate of Rice University and Harvard Business School, and husband-and-wife development, design, and construction team Matthew and Tina Ford. The Fords, who own Shade House Development and construction firm, Esplanade Homes, are veteran Houston builders specializing in green…

Photos by Andrew Rowat Adventurous but subtle. Something different that doesn’t scream for attention. These were the prompts John and Erika Jessen gave to architect Elijah Huge for the addition to their 1920s home in New Haven, Connecticut. With those in mind, Huge set out to find a cladding material that was both eye-catching and cost-effective. “They wanted the skin to be exciting,” he says. “I thought the shingles would be a good choice because they would echo the texture of the existing house without trying to imitate it.” Even better, the stamped recycled aluminum shingles cost just two dollars per square foot—on par with run-of-the-mill vinyl siding, which “wasn’t an option!” exclaims Huge. “Good design doesn’t require the most expensive materials. However, it does take time to explore ideas…

Mauricio Alejo At a young age, Mexico City native Mauricio Alejo was told to become an architect. He followed his heart and pursued creative writing instead. Now he works in photography: “The place where space and storytelling blend seamlessly,” he says. For this issue, he shot the vacation retreat featured in “Family Empire” (p. 78). Robert Landon Though he divides his time between New York and Rio de Janeiro, writer Robert Landon is now thinking the perpetual spring of Mexico’s Cocoyoc—the location of “Family Empire” (p. 78)—may just be the ideal way to split the difference. Landon has written about architecture and travel for Metropolis, Lonely Planet, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. Narayan Mahon Jurassic-size mosquitoes in the Muscoda, Wisconsin, woods surrounding the Stacked Cabin (“Short Stack,”…

Building on a shoestring is no mean feat in Singapore, especially when your home calls for a multilayered facade. Chang Architects, however, were more than up to the challenge. Project: Framed House Architect: Chang Architects, changarch.com Location: Singapore, Republic of Singapore Bound by a tight budget and a lot located amid a block of terrace houses with heavy street traffic, Singaporean architect Chang Yong Ter of Chang Architects made the savviest move he could for his clients, a young family: He oriented the staggered series of “rectilinear open shells” that comprise the Framed House toward the charming public park that sits just beyond the home’s modest backyard. Singapore is a famously expensive place to build, especially in soft-soil areas where pilings must be constructed before driving the first nail. But…

Need a place to stash your stuff without investing in a custom shelving system? We’ve rounded up some design-forward, wallet-friendly options for less than five Benjamins. Sowieso Storage by Sharonah Lüderitz for Stadtnomaden $500 Forgo shoving photos and loose files into old shoeboxes. Open cubes within a solid oak frame are a much tidier option. stadtnomaden-shop.com Quboo by Discipline $215 each Blocky units that lock together with the help of five holes per side can take the shape of a miniature library, a bench, or an asymmetrical shelving unit. discipline.eu Color Boxes by Henriette W. Leth for Normann Copenhagen $100 each Upgrade a living room with these folded steel containers, powder-coated in six colors and sized to house books, magazines, and vinyl records. normann-copenhagen.com Leaning Wall Pocket by Diane Steverlynck…

For a Toronto couple with a love of minimalist Japanese architecture, a sleek, storage-packed kitchen was the first priority in their home’s renovation. Project: Blantyre House Designer: Williamson Chong Architects, williamsonchong.com Location: Toronto, Ontario Ken Leung and Bonnie Lam loved their leafy, coveted neighborhood in central Toronto, but the couple—big fans of Japanese architect Tadao Ando—wanted to raise the design bar on their dowdy 1920s house before they settled in. The solution: knock down the garage, sell half of the lot to a new neighbor, and hire a local architect to build a new house in the piece that was left. In Donald Chong of Williamson Chong Architects, they found their match: a young designer devoted to small-scale urban infill and experimentation. Ken and Donald were long-lost high school acquaintances,…

Photos by Nigel Cox Digital Prints From high-tech wovens to digitally printed performance fabric, these 21st-century upholstery options fuse past and present. TWADDLE in Electric by Crypton Super Fabrics 100 percent polyester $65 per yard joann.com FURROW STRIPE in J707F-03 by Jane Churchill 40 percent cotton, 25 percent viscose, 25 percent polyester, 10 percent linen Price upon request, to the trade cowtan.com MOD PLAID in Pop Art by Dorothy Cosonas for KnollTextiles 58 percent rayon, 39 percent cotton, 3 percent nylon $75 per yard knolltextiles.com LEGER in Ball Bearings by Brentano 67 percent polyester, 33 percent rayon $94 per yard brentanofabrics.com MORISSET in Magenta by Designers Guild 52 percent viscose, 17 percent linen, 17 percent polyester, 14 percent cotton $266 per yard, to the trade designersguild.com EXPERT TIP Designtex president…

Photos by Åke E:son Lindman Project: Truedatorp Designers-Residents: Mette Lyng Hansen, Mads Odgård Location: Glimåkra, Sweden Stone walls, curly-haired cows, and oxblood-red farm-houses flank the narrow lanes of Glimåkra, a tiny town in southern Sweden. High-powered Copenhagen pair Mads Odgård, a designer, and Mette Lyng Hansen, an architect, came here in 2000, seeking a summerhouse, studio space, and simple living. What they found was Truedatorp, an 18th-century estate consisting of three deteriorating farm buildings. The farmhouse was inhabited by an aging Swedish farmer, who cooked food over an open hearth and used candlelight. The three-bay barn was filled with metal cans, chains, and other detritus. The chief bathroom was a wooden outhouse. But for the Danish couple, Truedatorp promised workspace, an open floor plan they didn’t have in their five-story…

Photos by Narayan Mahon Project: Stacked Cabin Architect: Johnsen Schmaling Architects Location: Muscoda, Wisconsin “I picked the property the same way I picked my wedding dress: I went with the first one I saw,” says Amanda Hollis of the 37-acre parcel she and her husband, Jeremy, bought in 2009. A weekend retreat for the Chicago couple, it was an ideal spot on which to pitch a tent for cross-country skiing and hiking. However, a year later, with a baby on the way, Amanda and Jeremy decided to build a more permanent structure. After seeing Brian Johnsen and Sebastian Schmaling’s work in the New York Times, the couple went to the Johnsen Schmaling Architects’ of ce with a copy of Tom Kundig: Houses and a strict budget. “We liked how Kundig…