The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.
In his 1927 manifesto, Five Points of Architecture, Le Corbusier made horizontal windows a core concept of his architectural philosophy. These long narrow windows which could wrap around the façade’s length like a ribbon, he argued, were the best way to offer evenly light spaces throughout a building without compromising privacy. Le Corbusier’s ‘ribbon window’ (highlighted in emblematic projects like his Villa Savoye) quickly became a staple of modernist architecture. From schools to office buildings and apartment blocks, the ribbon window became somewhat omnipresent.
One hundred years later, in a step that follows a similar logic yet moves away from Le Corbusier’s iconic signature, architects continue playing with new configurations for fenestration. Whether by de-emphasizing the horizontal nature of windows or experimenting with different shapes, sizes and compositions, architects are moving towards more tailored and idiosyncratic approaches to fenestration design.
Casas Cubo
By Aleph Zero, Curitiba, Brazil
Photos by Felipe Gomes
The architects of this new project in a remote neighborhood north of Curitiba wanted to create a sense of distinction between the three complexes and nearby houses. They do so by treating the exterior façades as a canvas onto which narrow windows are etched in seemingly whimsical fashion – though their order strategically aligns with the layout and functions of the rooms inside. The colorful composition of square and rectangular frames on the white plaster exterior is a clever homage to Piet Mondrian’s neo-plasticist masterpieces.
The Snail Apartments
By archimatika, New York City, NY
House in S.Abbondio
By wespi de meuron romeo architects, Locarno, Switzerland
Photos by Hannes Henz
House Au Yeung
By Tribe Studio, Sydney, Australia
Jazz Loft
By T2.a Architects, Budapest, Hungary
Photos by Zsolt Batar
This residential building is the culmination of a fifteen year-long meticulous renovation and restoration project of an abandoned 19th century mill on the outskirts of Budapest. The decaying façade was refurbished and reinforced but maintained almost identically to its original configuration. Not only does this give a fresh face to the old building, it also helps reinterpret the industrial design elements for the new residential purpose.
Most notably, the row of windows on the top floor is now highlighted by a dark-grey brick cladding and draws attention to their random assortment of shapes and sizes; what were once functional windows designed for the mill now give an improvisational dynamism to the building, making it fit for the name “Jazz Loft”.
House A&J
By CKX architects, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Fidalga_727
By Triptyque Architecture, São Paulo, Brazil
This new high rise apartment block in a middle-class neighborhood of São Paulo references the Paulista School — one of the major 20th century movements in Brazilian Brutalist architecture — with an elevated concrete structure and a building body fragmented into three parts. Somewhat ironically, it’s the Bauhaus-inspired window pattern (reminiscent of Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus Dessau) that takes the building into the 21st century.
The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.