The Guesthouse Nýp at Skarðsströnd is situated on a former sheep farm overlooking the Breiðafjörður Nature Reserve in western Iceland. Originally constructed as a farmhouse in 1936, the building was deserted in the 1970s, slowly falling into disrepair before the new owners eventually began rebuilding in 2001. Since 2006, it has come to be known as a cultural hub of sorts, playing host to various exhibitions, lectures, courses and workshops. The brief was to conceive a design that would make better use of the existing facilities, allowing for more multifunctional spaces for various cultural activities. This not only involved renovating the main house, but also rebuilding and enlarging the adjoining sheep-shed. Nýp’s first guests arrived in 2013 and where accommodated in two of the four bedrooms in the remodelled farmhouse. The reimagined sheep shed added a further three ensuite guestrooms with a separate entrance. This offers the owners greater flexibility, with the possibility of hosting larger events in the main house without disturbing guests. The new entrance hall and connection to the farmhouse has been given generous dimensions allowing it to double as an exhibition space. The main house is divided vertically in two volumes with the original living quarters to the south and a barn for hay storage to the North. Bua inserted an additional floor into the barn to create a raised event space with a series of new openings capturing views to the mountains and the fjord. Driftwood, salvaged from a neighbouring beach, has been used as columns to support the new floor. Steel handrails, timber doors and beams have been salvaged from building sites in Reykjavik old town. The ruins of concrete foundations have been repurposed to form a structured kitchen garden. A steel and polycarbonate structure has been bolted to the top of one concrete bay to create a tall greenhouse, also used by the client as an extra sitting room in the warmer months. Staying true to Nýp’s ethos of sustainability and slow tourism, Studio Bua took a vernacular approach with a form based on local turf homes and a gradual renovation that focused on restoring and reinterpreting historical features while making full use of local labour, techniques and materials such as stone-turf retaining walls and tiles handmade from local clay. Since the end of the 19th century, the combination of timber frame and corrugated metal cladding has been widespread throughout Iceland, replacing the traditional turf house. The prevailing wind comes down the valley from the north and east, and so it was decided to overclad the rear of the building and the new extension in corrugated aluzinc - one of the few materials proven to withstand the extreme weather. In the 1930's concrete was the wonder material, even used as window frames in the case of Nýp farmhouse! The aggregate for the house is rather course with pebbles sourced from the beach below, giving it a special character. Where possible the original concrete walls have been retained and exposed, both internally and externally. The 'front' facades towards the access road and fjord have been repaired and given a thin silicate render (in the original colours) which allows the texture of the concrete to show through. The project was developed and built in phases and on a modest budget. The site team was made up of local builders and craftsmen including the neighbouring farmer – who happened to own a cement truck. A specialist local mason restored the fragile concrete walls, none of which were reinforced.

ガルバリウム鋼板の外壁に、レッドシダーとモルタルグレーの塗り壁が映える個性的な外観。間口の狭い、所謂「うなぎの寝床」とよばれる狭小地のなかで最大限、開放感ある空間とするために2階リビングとしました。２階向かって左手の突出している部分はお子様のためのスタディスペースとなっており、隣家と向き合わない方角へ向いています。バルコニー手摺や物干し金物をオリジナルの製作物とし、細くシャープに仕上げることで個性的な建物の形状が一層際立ちます。

Архитектурное бюро Глушкова спроектировало дом для комфортного проживания в Подмосковье. Он не только тёплый и энергосберегающий, но и красивый с комбинированным фасадом.

Full view of the rear exterior of the house showing the double doors from the kitchen to the garden. The double height glass slot floods light into the interior. This is a lovely outdoor family space.

this roof access is developed like a doorway to the ceiling of the central room of a dwelling, framing views directly to heaven. This thin opening now allows a large amount of light and clarity to enter the dining room and the central circulation area, which are very dark before the work is done. A new openwork staircase with central stringer and solid oak steps extends the original staircase to the new roof exit along an existing brick wall highlighted by the lightness of this contemporary interior addition. In an intervention approach respectful of the existing, the original moldings and ceiling ornaments have been modified to integrate with the new design. The staircase ends on a clear and generous reading space despite the constraints of area of ​​the municipality for access to the roof (15m ²). This space opens onto a roof terrace and a panorama from the Olympic Stadium to Mount Royal.

Set on a narrow lot in a private ski club development in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, this hpuse is concieved as a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional chalet. Its form retains the convention of a gable roof, yet is reduced to an elegant two storey volume in which the top floor slides forward, engaging an adjacent ski hill on axis with the chalet. The cantilever of the upper volume embodies a kinetic energy likened to that of a leading ski or a skier propelled in a forward trajectory. The lower level counter balances this movement with a rhythmic pattern of solid and void. Architect: AKB - Atelier Kastelic Buffey. Photography: Peter A. Sellar / www.photoklik.com