The world will never be short of unique home designs we’re sure. And just to prove it we have collected seven from around the world – America, Australia, Japan and Argentina - for your particular perusal. We’re sure these fantastic pieces of liveable concrete architecture will ‘wow’ you just as much they did us:
Australian Design
Indigo Slam is the name of the Sydney Town House home of gallery owner and philanthropist Judith Nelson of Australia. They were so impressed by the geometric concrete fashioned walls and overall design that fellow architects and judges of the 2016 AIA National Architecture Awards for New Residential Architecture voted the property, designed by local architecture firm Smart Design Studio, Australia’s top home of the year:
Photo credit: Sharrin Rees
Staying in Antipodean waters (well, they’re lovely and warm; after all), architect Craig Rosetti designed the following stunning four bedroom, three bedroom creative family house. Amongst its many lovely features is a smart cascading roof leading to a tempting swimming pool. The pool, in turn, is overlooked by a huge glass north window - described by the artist himself as ‘a collapsing soap bubble.’ The home, says Rosetti is all about ‘engagement in the environment.’
Photo credit: Andrew Ashton
Argentinian Design
Referred to as a ‘modern cast concrete sculpture,’ this award winning two-storey contemporary home in Rosario, Argentina has been designed to embrace the surrounding views. Architect firm Johnston Marklee were responsible for the minimalist house, which includes irregular cast concrete contours complemented by huge windows. These are perfect for showing off the gorgeous green, serene landscape in which it sits.
Photo credit: Johnston Marklee
Japanese Design
This two residence inter-generation family home in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture is known as the KHT House. The elder family live on one storey and the younger generation on two – both buildings are divided by a Japanese room with terrace in between. Architects International Royal Architecture were aware how damaging snow was to building so connected the roof with the walls using galvalume steel sheets. The walls, with exposed birch plywood, are strong enough to support the weight of the snow:
Photo credit: Nobuaki Nakagawa
Staying in Japan, the fabulous Lotus House in Kanagawa Prefecture sits in the mountains overlooking a peaceful river. The house is divided into two wings with the hole-shaped terrace between them. It has been designed to blend the back of the house with the woods opposite. The architect firm responsible for the design, Kengo Kuma & Associates, described the house as being ‘all about holes’ (or rather thin travertine plates to you and me):
Photo credit: Nobuaki Nakagawa
American Design
Over in America – Los Angeles to be precise – you’ll find the smart but definitely irregularly-shaped Hill House. Designed by Johnston Marklee architects the property has been designed to stand out by contrasting with its surroundings (and certainly its smooth white concrete façade is nothing like its lush, green, forest background).
This Californian home takes advantage of a sun-soaked interior thanks to plenty of large windows and skylights. Its views include woodland, canyons and an ocean.
Set Your Creativity Free
Are you looking for ideas for your brand new home? You may not want to replicate any of these avant garde concrete homes in Derbyshire, but there are no shortage of innovative ideas you can experiment with and blend into your unique self-build vision. To fire your imagination, why not check out our free Self Build Guide for inspiration and tips?
