Editor’s note: The following item is republished with permission of AOL Real Estate. See the original article: 2012 AIA Housing Awards for Architecture.
Explore five outstanding American home designs awarded by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for 2012. Custom home projects, remodeled or new, completed between Jan. 1, 2005, and August 2011, were eligible for recognition by the 105-plus-year-old institute.
These houses are part of the AIA’s Housing Awards Program, which recognized 10 home projects this year; the following five award winners comprise all the awardees from the program’s category "One- and Two-Family Custom Residences."
The creative elegance; harmony between exterior and interior; the way they reflect the landscape around them; and the great photos make this unique home tour worthwhile.
See all of 2012 Housing Awards Program winners here.
CARMEL RESIDENCE
Carmel by the Sea, Calif.
Dirk Denison Architects
A 2,500-square-foot residence located on a steep site in Carmel by the Sea, Calif., required added privacy and protection from strong sea winds while remaining open to dramatic ocean views. A precise refinement of the existing volume maximizes the unused breadth of the home and presents stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
The central heart of the house is protected from the ocean’s strong seawater winds by a glass roof, designed to allow clear upward views and to maintain a warm center space. Steel columns that anchor the steel cable and strut trusses are integrated into the vertical wood screen, matching the screen’s changing, staccato rhythm and contrasting nicely with their deep charcoal color. When a sweeping breeze is needed, the large sliding windows between the office and the courtyard are easily opened to allow full cross ventilation.
The house lives and breathes through the courtyard, and the clients live fully in this "large" room, even soaking in the Japanese ofuro installed beneath the glass roof that allows stunning views of the evening sky. The residence maximizes the openness and function of limited square footage, taking advantage of a favorable climate to allow outdoor spaces to become integral to the experience and use of the house. The emphasis on organization, and design quality over quantity of enclosed space, allowed these clients to maximize resources in the home’s construction and offers its inhabitants an energy-efficient lifestyle.
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