THE PLAN 145, the second issue of 2023

THE PLAN 145 is a special issue dedicated to designer homes. It opens with the editorial “Form Ever Follows Courtesy,” by Sebastián Irarrázaval, who highlights the importance of taking the ethical aspects of architectural design and sustainability into account. He explores the relationship between architecture and the environment, emphasizing the need for a more aware, more respectful approach to nature.

In the Highlights column, Yehuda Safran examines the Shanfeng Academy in Suzhou, the work of Chinese studio OPEN Architecture. Although comprising buildings with different volumes, all of them maintain a constant dialogue. Their recurring basic geometries are positioned according to a precise scheme that’s not just architectural but also creates identity.

Nicolò Bini, the son of Dante Bini (the visionary designer of La Cupola, Michelangelo Antonioni and Monica Vitti’s home in Sardinia), looks at Binishells, reinforced concrete domes built with pneumatic formwork. Column-free interiors and sculptured shapes define the guest house commissioned by actor Robert Downey Jr. in Malibu, California.

Still in the United States, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s design of Highbank Residence, overlooking a lake in Iowa, draws its inspiration from typical Midwestern homes with their long horizontal lines and large overhanging roofs.

We then head south to Mazunte, Mexico, for a project designed by Taller | Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo named Casa Cometa, a house immersed in natural surroundings that recalls the shape of a fortress.

In Leiria, Portugal, Contaminar Arquitectos has designed Villa Quinta do Rei, a home composed of a series of horizontal rings connected by oblique pillars. The result is architecture that’s simultaneously massive and light, in which alternating solids and voids enhance the role of light.

A similar contrast between solids and voids is found in Chalet Dachstein, designed by Jadric Architektur in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria. This minimalist home built on a mountain slope uses a continuous ribbon of windows at ground level to illuminate architecture that’s both compact and simple.

Ignacio Borrego has designed a reinforced concrete home in Torremocha, Madrid, in which each of the three levels have a different relationship with the landscape: “open” at ground level, “framed” on the first floor, and “immersive and exposed” on the roof.

Finally, we look at Bass Coast Farmhouse, designed by Wardle. Located in Victoria, Australia, this timber home sits in a dry, gravelly garden, typical of a canyon.

As always, THE PLAN 145 ends with the Report section, dedicated to the latest from firms as selected by THE PLAN.