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Architects about facades

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Nicole Climanova

The Geisel Library (the main library of the University of California) was designed by William Pereira in the late 1960s. The appearance was conceived as hands holding a stack of books, but at the building also resembles the crown of a tree.

The image was so memorable that it immediately became the emblem of the university.

This building, which contains around 7 million books, is an example of brutalism in architecture, a movement in the 1950s and 1970s that began in Britain but rapidly became international.

Le Corbusier is considered the inspirer of this trend, because the term "brutalism" comes from French béton brut — «untreated concrete». Le Corbusier used in many of his buildings, which implies not only the absence of a facial finish, but also the preservation of the texture of the technical imprints of the formwork.

The Brutalist traits include functionality, scale, massiveness, geometricity, boldness and complexity of composition, the lack of finishes, and the use of concrete as the main material.

Nicole Climanova

A Dutch house built in 2007.

Even though it's almost 15 years old, it looks current and fresh.

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The bottom of the building is finished with dark-colored brick, which creates a powerful, stable, rough look. The top floor, by contrast, is light, in wood, with geometric patterns. Particularly interesting is the band of glass around the entire perimeter, dividing the floors and allowing daylight to enter the house.

In the upper floor, on the other hand, the light is very striking.

You'll also notice the corner window and the original shape of the roof.

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Yulia Dobjinskaya

In this project we propose to finish the house with Nichiha panels and Cedral fiber cement siding. The trimmings will be decorative metal inserts with graphic pattern on the bay window.

They capture the eye on the ascetic, monochrome facade and refresh it without overstyling the style.

Nicole Climanova

Moscow office of a company that builds houses of glued beam. One part of the facade has a textured, three-dimensional structure, the other part is smooth, with a grid pattern, but no less attractive.

The main idea and message of the facade  — is to show the possibilities and relevance of wood in modern construction. The freedom to choose between traditional architecture and embodiment of bold, innovative ideas.

Nicole Climanova

The first sketch in the new project.

The customer likes the modern style and the light colors. Based on that, we suggest that the main body of the house be finished in several shades of plaster and add rustics on the bay window as a decoration. Make the plinth quite narrow, of graphite-colored stone, and combine it with planken inserts in vertical groups in some places.

Nicole Climanova
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Home in Latvia in the small fishing town of Pavilosta.

In the spirit of traditional house-building in this region, the house is triangular in shape, clad in wood, with a roof also of wooden tiles.

One of the house rules in Pavilosta is to maintain the house's signature gray color, which is why we chose Siberian larch, which develops a noble gray color over time.

The architects of Open AD.

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Facades #12776
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Facades #12777
Nicole Climanova

In addition to the design of the main house we also create an image of additional buildings (garage, gazebo, guest house) in the same style.

Nicole Climanova

One of our latest projects.

The contemporary house with laconic planken and brick tile finishes. The combination is so good-looking and widely used that it could be considered a well-established classic. The wide balcony band and stoneware plinth enhance the building's horizontal lines, and the The intricate lighting system with different scenarios accentuates the geometric volume.

Nicole Climanova
entrance with canopy

One of the most instagrammable places in Paris — the Hotel San Regis, was built for private ownership in the late 19th century. Privileged by the Champs-Elysées, it was already bought in 1923 and became a luxury hotel, a center of fashion and pleasure of high society.

In 1985, the current owners renovated the hotel with antique furniture, vintage wallpaper and furnishings.

Nicole Climanova
J House in Indonesia. Photo by Antonius Widjaya.

House with obvious Japanese aesthetic influence on the island of Java, by y0 Design Architect.

The main feature of the site chosen for the design —direct sunlight from the west side, which causes difficulties at an average temperature of 22-29°C.

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The simple geometric shape of the house was chosen, but with an abundance of detail. The concrete —is the main building material used for both the foundation and walls. Wood, tile and steel are used in finishing. To reduce heat on the west side, the walls are filled with spaces or architectural details. Many openings are also used for maximum ventilation and natural light.

J House in Indonesia. Photo by Antonius Widjaya.
J House in Indonesia. Photo by Antonius Widjaya.
J House in Indonesia. Photo by Antonius Widjaya.
Practical issues of "The Secrets of Beautiful Facades"