If you’ve ever been to Sao Paulo, Brazil, you know it’s a city that is already infused with plenty of “cool” character. Now, the decidedly chill Chimney House by Marcio Kogan and Studio MK27 has elevated the city’s cool once again.

Oozing with architectural harmony, the Chimney House features slatted decking, lined concrete ceilings and patched hardwood floors that run from one end of the residence all the way to the other. The visual vanishing point created by such design is quite astounding and highly pleasing to the eye. In fact, the level of balance and symmetry on display at Chimney House goes a long way towards defining the home’s outstanding character. On the main floor of the house is a wide and open salon used for entertainment, relaxing and dining. Here there is a spectacular modern kitchen and a TV room with all the toys. The central living and dining area features boldly designed garden patios on either side, seen through wide and tall windows; upon taking it all in, it is designed in a way that makes it appear as one uniform atrium. The second floor of Chimney House offers individual private bedrooms, including a stunning master suite, and an area that opens up into patio with city and garden views. At the end of the patio is the home’s defining feature: a metallic chimney, inspired by the chimneys on the rows house in São Paulo.

The Styleture is a longtime fan of Marcio Kogan & Studio MK27. The studio was founded in the early ‘80’s by Kogan and today has over 12 architects on staff. The architects of the studio develop the projects from start to finish, and co-sign their authorship. A highly decorated company, they have won several awards including: Record House, in 2004 and 2005; the D&AD “Yellow Pencil” in 2008 and 2009; and the Dedalo Minosse in 2008. Studio MK27 highly values formal simplicity and that is exactly while we value them and their projects.

Bay of Fires Lodge, Tasmania

Tasmania, an island and Australian state situated about 150 miles south of the continent, is one of those rare destinations that even many seasoned world travelers never get to experience. But for those who do make it there, a stay at the Bay Fires Lodge is an opportunity to experience one of the great architectural masterpieces of the entire region.

Bay of Fires Lodge Deck

Situated at the top of a 130-foot cliff that receives a constant pounding from the sea, and surrounded by the outstanding wilderness of National Park, Bay of Fires Lodge was conceived by entrepreneurial architect Ken Latona. Latona’s driving philosophy behind choosing the particular locale and imagining the design of the lodge was that our nomadic instincts are dormant within us; therefore, Bay of Fires Lodge is designed as the ultimate base camp for extended nature treks through the region’s rugged terrain. Built to the highest of ecologically responsible standards in an area that is of high significance to the local Aboriginal populations, the lodge is delicately nestled into its unbelievable landscape – almost invisible. Its steep slopes are coated in dry sclerphyll scrub and lead down to white sand beaches with protruding and sensuous pink granite boulders. The structure of the Bay of Fires Lodge eschews traditional, spread out, individual cottages and instead features two elongated timber and glass pavilions; the timber is Tasmanian hardwood and pine that was either air lifted in by helicopter or hand-carried in on foot for the least environmental impact possible. The pavilions are light and linear featuring curved roofs linked to outdoor spines; this architectural technique has proven to be quite effective in providing cross-ventilation and protection from the sun. The theme of light, linear pavilions has also been a fertile field of exploration in recent Australian architecture; the construction technique has been especially fruitful for inserting buildings into sensitive rural sites with minimal cut-and-fill. One of the pavilions houses the lodge’s bedrooms and library, while the other features staff rooms and communal spaces; all rooms and spaces are decidedly Spartan, in a modern and elegant way. A sprawling living area with a large timber deck and open fire is perfect for dining on meals prepared with fresh local produce and paired with Tasmanian wines – a touch of luxury that is welcome at the end of a long day of trekking.

Bay of Fires Lodge Guest Room

Bay of Fires Lodge features 10 rooms and can accommodate 20 people at a time. In Tasmania, “walking season” ends in May of each year – a good thing to keep in mind when planning a visit to this original, design-forward and inviting lodge.

Sommerhaus Piu

When it comes to pre-fabricated eco-houses, the Sommerhaus Piu by German architects Patrick Frey and Götte Björn is unparalled in design. Envisioned as a vacation house, but usable for other purposes including as a work studio, Sommerhaus Piu offers the ultimate in streamlined, elegant living.

Crafted from sustainable woods for a modern, naturalistic feel, Sommerhaus Piu is designed to offer its inhabitants both a luxurious indoor feel and outdoor relaxation and recreation facilities. The home should ideally be erected on or near a natural, open site for maximum benefit. The façade features a simple, wooden strip style with a slightly sloping roof made from charcoal planks. Sections of the roof are perforated to provide a system of natural ventilation. An abundance of natural light pours into the house through clerestory windows, however the roof’s overhang provides protection from overexposure. Large sliding glass doors blur the boundary between home and nature, creating an environment of beautiful scenery; however, the bedroom of the home is closed off for total privacy. Additionally, a wide open terrace, painted dark to define the edge of the house, and covered veranda allow for alfresco dining and other outdoor activities.

Sommerhaus Piu by Patrick Frey and Götte Björn

Ultimately, the eco-friendly design of Sommerhaus Piu provides a pleasurable and comfortable green environment for its inhabitants, as well as a lower costing option for a summer home. It is the ideal home for those who want to have a getaway in the summer where they can relax indoors while having the option to enjoy the outdoors as well. Furthermore, the Sommerhaus Piu has been designed so that it is livable during all seasons.

The famous Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills

Situated just north of the world-famous Sunset Strip in the Hollywood Hills is the neighborhood known as Doheny Estates – often called the Bird Streets as a result of street names including Oriole, Thrasher and Warbler. It is within this prestigious residential community that some of the most architecturally impressive homes in the region can be found. Inspired residences that span from mid-century modern, to ultra-modern, to veritable castles can be seen dotting the hillsides. Conveniently located in regards to accessing the best parts of the Los Angeles, and within close proximity to the city’s best dining and nightlife, it’s little wonder that the Bird Streets have been attracting Hollywood royalty like moths to a flame.

1654 Blue Jay Way is a large and luxurious modern Bird Streets home in Los Angeles, California, once owned by funnyman and media mogul Tyler Perry. Boasting three different levels with balconies, courtyards and spectacular views of the Hollywood Hills, it is undoubtedly one of the finest homes in Southern California. The interior is decidedly modern with a sleek stairwell that opens up the floor plan of the dining and living areas. The staircase itself is impressively made out of steel beams and railings. The color scheme throughout the house includes white, black, nude and brown finishes, furniture and fixtures. Special features of the house include a billiards room and a striking nightclub bar and lounge. A true bachelor home, Tyler Perry is said to have enjoyed some pretty wild parties here.

1654 Blue Jay Way

Another famous figure with a spectacular trophy house on one of the Bird Streets is Keanu Reeves a.k.a. The One. The Matrix star is said to have bought his 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath contemporary castle for $5,495,000. A stone’s throw from Jennifer Aniston and Leonardo DiCaprio’s homes, Keanu’s house was built in 1988 and features 5,600-square-feet in which to frolic and play. The gated abode has glass walls with ocean and city views, stone floors, state-of-the-art security, and an infinity pool to help Keanu stay in shape between films. Famously, Keanu Reeves was “homeless” for many years even though he had millions in the bank; he would divide his time between cottages at the Chateau Marmont, when he was in LA, and other high end hotels all over the world when filming. It seems his Bird Streets residence is the first place he’s really been able to call “home”.

Last but not least, Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom owns a Bird Streets compound and he recently put it up for lease at a staggering $18,000 a month. Bloom’s home features 3,200 square feet of living space, all set behind gates on a heavily landscaped lot of three-quarters of an acre. The exterior is quite dark and woodsy, perfect for relaxing in the shade. The interior is decidedly contemporary with state of the art amenities in the kitchen and bath. On a side note, the home was burglarized in 2009 by the so-called “bling ring” burglars who focused on celebrities homes including Paris Hilton’s.

For an architect buff that happens to be in Los Angeles, a drive through the Bird Streets is well worth the time and effort. Just be prepared with a good answer in case one of those pesky ADT Security officers decides to stop and question you.

Château Marmont - West Hollywood, CA

“If you must get in trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont.” – Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures (1939)

Chateau Marmont, the infamous hotel situated in the hills of West Hollywood just off Sunset Strip, is drama, plain and simple. Looking very much like a castle (it is after all modeled after Chateau Amboise, a royal residence in France) and serving as a refuge for celebrities to behave very badly (John Belushi died in Bungalow 3 after injecting a lethal combination of heroin and cocaine), Chateau Marmont has the kind of allure that few other works of architecture have ever had. It’s little wonder that on any given day or night, the hotel plays host to an array of highly discriminating and extremely wealthy international clientele.

Originally built in 1929 as an apartment complex, Chateau Marmont features 63 rooms, cottages and bungalows. Built in a Norman architectural style, its turrets and towers are designed to make you stop, look and desire to enter. Upon entrance into the reception area, it’s impossible not to feel like you’ve just arrived at a charming European hotel. Just past the reception is a spacious living room filled with couches, lamps and sconces that look like they’ve been scavenged from high end thrift stores. While the suites are all well designed and true to their old Hollywood-by-way-of-France heritage, it is the outside Spanish-style bungalows on the hillside that are most impressive. Designed in a way that is equally minimalist and modernist in a postwar sort of way, they feature flat roof canopies at their entrance, terraces, loads of sliding glass doors, intricate moldings and simple but beautiful Spanish furnishings. The pool cottages recall the Craftsman era and feature fine fabrics and rattan chairs, and they also feature kitchens that are outfitted with vintage refrigerators and stoves. The seductive mood created by the overall architectural and interior design stylings of the hotel is one that could clearly never be duplicated anywhere else; after all, this is Hollywood at its finest.

One of the best things about Chateau Marmont is that for the architecturally curious (or the celebrity curious), it’s a fairly easy place to gain access, especially during the day before they place a checkpoint at the end of the driveway and bust out the guest list for those who want to dine in and/or party in the courtyard. When we sent our Styleture reporter, he hung out in the hotel’s impeccably groomed courtyard and spotted a cast member from “Californication” and maybe Clint Eastwood, but he’s not 100% sure about that.

Crab Creek House designed by Robert Gurney

Near an eye-catching estuary in Annapolis, Maryland, known as Crab Creek, which feeds the Chesapeake Bay, is a modern stone, stucco and slatted wood house from the vivid imagination of Robert Gurney Architect. Known as Crab Creek House, it is innovatively built on the foundation of a post and beam house from the 1960’s. Perhaps most impressively, its construction adheres to strict environmental regulations of the region, and does so with amazing style and grace.

Crab Creek House interior

The central spine of Crab Creek House is a linear bar clad in white stucco around which the rest of the home’s design elements are organized. Additional spaces arise independently and are sided in wood or metal. With a desire to create a strong relationship between the interior of the house and the exterior environment, floor to ceiling windows allow abundant natural light to flood in. Crab Creek House’s main living area offers its occupants expansive water views and features high ceilings and soft neutral tones. An open floor plan creates a space that appears much bigger than it actually is, and utilizes materials such as white oak, black slate, white marble, rusted steel and glass for a visceral and elegant look. The variation in color contrasts and materials makes a bold statement and clearly defines the house’s visual personality. Minimal furnishings and indirect recessed lighting further puts emphasis on thoughtful and balanced living. Occupants may step outside to a private swimming pool, or venture further out into the untouched Maryland woods. Crab Creek House is the ideal home for those who value gorgeous views and a deep connection to nature.

Crab Creek House backyard

Robert Gurney Architect believes that “The vast majority of houses constructed today are anemic replications of beloved houses built in a bygone era.” Their philosophy is that “architecture must break from unnatural and unhealthy imitation.” Adhering to this philosophy, they have numerous projects in addition to Crab Creek House to their credit including: the Lorber Tarler residence, an existing row house in Washington DC, reimagined as a modern, urban, light-filled dwelling for a professional couple; the Lujan House, located in Delaware and designed to integrate living spaces with the outdoors, specifically around a garden; and the Windyridge Residence in West Virginia, conceived as a village stretched across the top of a mountain. The Styleture editorial team is certainly a fan.

The ultra-modern Hoerboard Scomber mix DJ stand

Admit it – you’ve entertained dreams of telling your boss at your day job to go fly a kite, just so you can jet off to Ibiza and DJ the summer club circuit. It’s ok, we all have. Perhaps that dream was never more appealing than now, considering that the ultra-modern Hoerboard Scomber Mix DJ Stand is just a few thousand bucks ($2,330 once fully customized, to be more precise) away from being yours.

Hoerboard Scomber's Dutch Orange finish

If this puppy looked anything more like a Macbook, or something from the minds of Apple’s genius design team, it would, well, be made by Apple. The white has that sleek, glossy finish we have come to know, love and expect from our modern electronic equipment and gadgetry; for that matter, so do the plethora of other colors – Apple Green, Dutch Orange, Basalt Grey and Night Black – in which the Hoerboard Scomber Mix DJ Stand is available. Each DJ workstation can be customized with mixers, turntables, CD-players, space for your laptop or whatever else you may desire. Making it so any turntables fit perfectly into their own design-forward workstation, the stand consists of two units to make you more mobile, like on that aforementioned jaunt to Ibiza. The top of the deck is fixed to a laser-cut powder-coated steel support and all cables are made invisible by a smartly designed corpus. Turntable positioning comes with two options: To be angled in a battle position to give you ample mixing and scratching mobility, or in a classic position for standard mixing needs. With the well-designed laptop clip, you can be sure your precious storehouse of music isn’t going to crash to the floor and cause you to have a heart attack in the middle of your masterful performance. When not in use, you can cover the stand with the custom dust hood, which is designed to be almost invisible for a pleasing aesthetic. There’s no doubt that Hoerboard is on the leading edge of turntable design; the company has infused the creative German spirit into all of its elegant pieces and made them fully customizable to meet your needs. At once simple and highly thoughtful in terms of functionality, the company assures customers that their products will last a very long time.

The top of the deck is fixed to a laser-cut powder-coated steel support

As the brainchild of master designer David Kornmann, the Hoerboard Scomber Mix DJ Stand is leading the evolution of DJ-ing equipment. If you’re a working DJ, or dream of being one, don’t make the mistake of not checking out the company’s gear at www.hoerboard.com

Entra Magazine May/June 2011 issue

Presented by an editorial team with decades of publishing experience, images within Entra Magazine have been shot by internationally known photographers. Dramatic layouts of residences, shot in a way that captures the original vision of architects and designers (read: no stylists for photo shoots), coupled with concise and enjoyable text, makes Entra Magazine a pleasure to read. Videos provide you an opportunity to hear directly from the architects and designers. In addition to private residences, Entra Magazine brings you a variety of topical subjects including contemporary design, visits to showrooms and artists’ studios, humanitarian and preservation issues, antiques, market trends, and personality pieces. They also introduce you to new hotels, exhibitions, and books. The Styleture team was thrilled to learn that the July/August issue of Entra Magazine featured two of our favorite interior product design companies: Corbett Lighting, a producer of sophisticated and singular lighting fixtures by designers who expertly meld organic, rare and rich materials into stylized and luminous products for the hospitality and residential markets; and THG Paris, artisans of ultra-luxury, custom-crafted faucetry and bath fixtures using an intricate processes that has been passed down from generation to generation. The magazine features Corbett Lighting’s stunning foyer chandelier, Dolcetti, which boasts contrasting shells and honey-colored art glass; and THG Paris’ unique collaboration with Daum, the legendary Parisian atelier devoted to producing lead crystal and art glass. Entra Magazine undeniably attracts world-class clientele and brings readers the best-of-the-best in architecture and design.

Entra Magazine THG Daum feature

Entra Magazine was inspired by the word enterer (French), meaning “to enter” or “join”. If you have an interest in architecture and interior design, we high recommend the magazine and strongly encourage you to do exactly that – “join” – at entramagazine.com.

Entra Magazine Corbett Lighting feature

The OfficePOD

The design of the OfficePOD is to satisfy four distinct criteria: 1) To create a self contained office that exceeds all standard office accommodation regulations and requirements; 2) To provide an environment that is conducive to productive work; 3) To create a product that staff would want, and even be proud to have, in their garden; and 4) To have the minimum possible impact on the environment – both in manufacture and use. The pre-fabricated, modular design of the OfficePOD allows it to be easily situated in a yard or garden, and ensures that little to no planning consent is needed. It is optimum in size (6.9ft x 6.9ft), has been meticulously crafted for user-friendliness and provides an appropriate degree of security both when empty and occupied. OfficePOD boasts excellent environmental credentials; recycled, recyclable and sustainable materials have been utilized wherever possible and man-made materials have been incorporated only when performance requirements dictate as such.

The OfficePOD is optimum in size (6.9ft x 6.9ft)

With an OfficePOD, the frustrations of “going” to the office are a thing of the past. Its contemporary look and feel is not only inviting, but conducive to productivity. The OfficePOD is ultimately a solution to the work/life conundrum that so many face; it is an opportunity to strike the ideal balance between the two.

The Kerchum Residence in Vancouver, British Columbia

In recent years, Vancouver has become increasingly known for hitting numerous environmental benchmarks, especially in regards to green commercial and residential building. Not long ago, the city’s Vancouver Convention Centre was awarded the highly prestigious LEED Platinum Certification. Now the Kerchum Residence – a single family home within the city limits – has become the first home to earn LEED Platinum Certification in Western Canada. Its modern design is not only environmentally conscious, it is also highly functional and extremely pleasing to the eye.

The Kerchum Residence living room

Designed by the accomplished Frits de Vries Architects and occupying an area of 3,070 square feet, the Kerchum Residence was created with the intention of enticing a younger couple with a desire to enjoy clean, modern living. The smart floor plan is flexible in that it accommodates entertaining, intimacy and a growing family. The interior and exterior entertaining areas are integrated to create a diverse spatial experience within the standard constraints of a city lot. The outdoor patios and gardens blend naturally with the architecture to give the feeling of a living space that is entirely cohesive. The Kerchum Residence is divided into two sections that are connected by a central staircase: Section A consists of two stories with vaulted ceilings and a roof deck; Section B is three stories with lower ceilings and a sunken courtyard. The staircase, with its full skylight, brings an abundance of light into the two sections, creating a sense of scale and intimacy. Additionally, the north wall of the house is made up entirely of glass sliding doors, inviting in even more light. As far as energy efficiency goes, the Kerchum Residence is far ahead of its neighbors with its passive solar energy use, triple-glazed windows, drought-tolerant and minimal water usage landscaping, and high-efficiency heating and cooling system including in-floor radiant heat and rooftop solar hot water. A home like the Kerchum Residence could not have come together without the help of numerous experts in their fields including: builder Galen Evans of Natural Balance Home Builders Inc.; 
landscape designer Claire Kennedy Design; interior designer Patrick Warren; and sustainable building advisor Orianne Johnson.

Kerchum Residence designed by Frits de Vries Architects

In addition to earning a LEED Platinum Certification, the architects of the Kerchum Residence were recently honored with a 2011 RAIC Award of Excellence for Green Building. Undoubtedly, the Kerchum Residence will inspire the construction of many more environmentally friendly homes in Vancouver and all of Western Canada.