"Volume One: Recent Houses" is the first in a series of compilations featuring contemporary houses by PlanetArchitecture.com. Will Bruder's Townsend Residence is a highly expressive oasis which captures the beauty and serenity of the desert landscape. Eric Owen Moss' Lawson Westen Residence is an unusual spatial composition of forms that creates its own uniqueness in a nondescript residential neighborhood. Roto's Carlson Regis Residence is a rehab of an existing electrical building adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles railroad tracks. The industrial toughness on the outside can be read as armor for the delicate and luxurious living spaces on the inside. Scogin Elam Bray's Nomentana Residence is an artist's home and studio hidden and nestled among the solitude of trees of New England. These are drastically different houses, yet they are equally powerful in their execution which embody the needs of individual clients, the singularity of each site, and the unique visions of the architects.
"Volume Two: Recent House" is the second in a series of compilations featuring contemporary houses by PlanetArchitecture.com. Morphosis is represented by two houses. The first is the Blades residence, a composition which engages the land and transforms it to redefine both the house and the landscape. The forms, spaces and materials here also redefine our preconceptions of what a house is and looks like. The second is the Landa residence, a remodel of an existing house which dispels any misconceptions about what can be accomplished within such a small house. What is truly masterful here is how the volumetric interplay of boundaries divide and form expansive spaces within the confines of a small house. The Dan Residence is one of Frank Israel's final projects. It is a carefully crafted residence full of simple gestures that makes it both remarkable and comfortable. Mark Mack's Thomas residence in Las Vegas is a wonderful adaptation of the Southern Californian lifestyle he terms "Easy Living". Its beauty lies in being simple, but not simplistic. Rick Joy's Palmer Rose residence is a graceful juxtaposition of old and new, refined and raw. Rammed earth and concrete, steel and glass are combined to make the house resonate with a timeless beauty.
"Volume Three: Bay Area Modern" is the third in a series of compilations featuring contemporary houses by PlanetArchitecture.com Featured on this CD-ROM are four houses by four of the most thoughtful and provocative architects working in the Bay Area today. Anne Fougeron's Kuhling Wilcox House is a study in surfaces, light and tectonics. She cites Pierre Chareau's Maison de Verre in Paris as a standard in architecture, and here, certainly, that standard has been embraced. Jim Jennings' Oliver House is a museum in a home. Its formal composition and grand aura reads museum while the delicate detailing of materials and spatial organization gives it the warmth and intimacy of a home. Fernau & Hartman's Anderson Ayers House continues the Northern California tradition of Maybeck but adds a playful casualness in compositions, colors, and materials that makes it a thoroughly modern, yet unpretentious and comfortable home. Robert Swatt's Kohavi House is undoubtedly inspired by the works of R.M. Schindler. The forms, materials and relationship of indoor and outdoor spaces exudes the spirit of Schindler's finest residences. They all represent highly unique approaches in addressing single family residences in urban, suburban and semi-rural environments.
These CD-ROMs feature an intuitive, multi-referenced interface used to access the entire e-archive (electronic archive) of video interviews, photographs, writings, virtual reality panoramas, and drawings. The unique graphical interface takes full advantage of the interactive media and makes the self guided explorations both user friendly and enjoyable. This e-archive provides comprehensive documentation and virtual experiences unparalleled by any single medium. Nearly 500 photographs of interiors, exteriors, and details document these houses like never before. 133 virtual reality panoramas (allowing 360 degree panning) take you there "virtually." 228 minutes of video interviews with the architects brings new insights in understanding these highly unique and innovative architects and the houses they built. A comprehensive collection of drawings, models, and computer renderings (over 180 in all).
