Innovation plays an important role in designing and building houses. Several A-list architects and designers of the century have been successful in introducing residential structures that feature innovation in many ways—from their visual forms to their functions. These homes have brought new ideas in the field of design and architecture and have been effective in showcasing the skills of modern architects and designers. Here are examples of 25 innovative homes around the world:
25
3D House on a Slope, Mexico
Designed by Mexican Dellekamp Arquitectos, this house is a rectangular house that stands out because of its unique form. It features three solid facades and a glazed façade with rectangular shapes that turn into triangles by simply painting them in two colors.
24
Bridge House, Australia
This innovative house in Adelaide, Australia was designed to bridge the gap between architecture and innovation. It has a long, narrow glass house plan that extends from one side of a river valley to another, and includes thermal windows and heat-absorbing floors.
23
India House with Amazing Exterior Walls and Courtyard
Situated in Bangalore, India, this modern house was designed by Indian architecture firm Cadence. More commonly known as “Out of the Box” house, it basically is a simple cube house that has a white façade and features unusual perforated walls, meant to cast sunlight onto its indoor courtyard.
22
Outdoor Living House, Ireland
Probably one of the most interesting houses in Ireland, this incredible home design by LID Architecture boasts of an outdoor living house plan, maximizing the view to the incredible surrounding landscape. “The main plan was to break out from the restrictive form of the existing to create a ‘landscape room,’ partly internal, partly external, orientated to the south-west, and surrounded by the landscape,” explains the architect.
21
Minimalist House, Tokyo, Japan
Designed by Architect Label Xain (A.L.X.), this “unusual” house in Tokyo features a clean white palette and a uniquely irregular shape that makes it stand out in the community. It is angular and asymmetrical with many windows in varying sizes.
20
Industrial House
Designed by Groves Natcheva Architects, the Industrial house features a black and white façade with modern flat roofs and floor to ceiling windows. Its industrial interior features unfinished concrete walls and knotty-wood details.
19
Contemporary House with a Twist, Tokyo, Japan
Located in Tokyo, Japan, this urban house is designed by architecture firm Takeshi Hosaka Architects. It sits on the corner of two narrow streets and features a minimalist exterior and interior that is randomly dotted. The most innovative feature of this house is that it allows residents from different rooms and floors to communicate via sign language by using the random window portals.
18
Concert Hall House, Toronto
A contemporary custom home designed by Architect Shim Sutcliffe, the concert hall house was designed for a professional symphony orchestra violinist so it appears like a concert hall. It features massive floor to ceiling windows as well as curved wooden walls.
17
Social House
The innovative design of this house was conceived by the Japanese architecture firm Katsutoshi Sasaki and Associates. It incorporates the concept of “socialization” in its house plan so it has an X-layout to provide each room a sense of privacy while maintaining a connection with the other rooms.
16
Barn-Inspired House, The Netherlands
This barn-inspired house in the Netherlands was designed by SPOT Architecture and boasts of commercial beauty that is extremely uncharacteristic of most traditional residential houses. The façade of this house is closed off. It was especially designed in reference to the path of the sun, so its east side opens to the sunrise while the large glass-walled patio on its west side receives the evening sun.
15
Netherlands House with Dugout Level and Light Box
Designed by LEX Architecten and Doepel Strijkers, this modern urban home is an old ambulance bay located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Popularly known as “Parkside” due to it’s proximity to a secluded park, it features a sunken kitchen and dining area, as well as bedrooms that are enclosed in a polycarbonate light box.
14
River Place Home that Uses Trusses to Cantilever Both Ends, USA
The River Place Home is an energy efficient home that features two structures: the main building and a secondary building intended for guests. Employing an innovative truss system measuring 80 feet at the center and 16 and 32 feet at both ends, the construct extends part of the house over the river for a truly mind blowing view.
13
Concrete House for Strong Winds
Designed by Slovenian firm Dekleva Gregoric Arhitekti, this house has three sides that are protected by U-shaped concrete pockets and a wooden roof that anchors to the ground on both ends.
12
Roof morphs into facade, Brazil
Located along the coastline of the Rio Grande Do Sul in Brazil, this house’s design features a fusion of the American concept of a shingled roof and a large bay window. It’s façade is filled with staggered roof volumes in varying heights springing from the ground and creating a fluid, dynamic yet cohesive array of shifting and folding planes.
11
Innovative Glass Home, Melbourne, Australia
Designed by Vibe Design Group, this innovative glass house is a wood and glass enclosure that features a exquisite use of glass. In fact in 2011, it was recognized by the Building Designers Association Victoria for having the most innovative use of glass.
10
Elektra House, 84a Ashfield Street, White Chapel, London
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Completed in 2011, the Elektra house was designed by Arhictect David Adjaye as a home and studio for Elizabeth Wright and Giorgio Sadotti. Te structure has a windowless primary façade and uses rust-colored panels to lend a thuggish presence to the neighborhood. This house is captivatingly moody and mirrors 18th century architecture with its resin-impregnated panels and redbrick exterior.
9
Ban Residence, Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi, Japan
Designed by Tokyo-based architect Shigeru Ban, the Ban residence is an intimate structure characterized by its compelling elegance. Its eco-conscious pavilion features an S-shaped coil that is made of thick vertical logs of recycled cardboards inserted into glass boxes with walls opening to a surrounding terrace.
8
Malator, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Druidston, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Malator features a cunning structure that is softly contoured and is made up of a wedge of glass, timber, stainless steel and concrete tucked beneath a fake hill. It is called by some observers the Teletubby house because only its small metal chimney is visible from the ground.
7
Maison de Verre, Paris
Completed in 1932, Maison de Verre was designed by interior designer and cabinet maker Pierre Chareau and architect Berbard Bijvoet and Louis Dalbet. Its overall structure creates an L-shaped magnum opus and its exterior is filled with translucent and textured glass blocks that are impressed with circles. Its innovative interior features lofty spaces with skeletal iron staircases and rubber floors.
6
Villa Savoye, Poissy, France
Designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, this house was completed in 1930 and serves as an ingenious highlight of the modernist architectural movement.
5
The Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut
This glass-walled house designed by Architect Philip Johnson is a one-story house that features an idyll of streamlined clarity. It was completed in 1949 and is entirely encased by crystalline walls. Its bathroom is a sanctum sanctorum that is confined in a floor-to-ceiling redbrick cylinder. According to the architect, the form of the bath was inspired by the chimneys of European houses during the 1930’s.
4
Maison a Bordeaux, Floirac, Gironde, France
Equipped with a hydraulic platform that rises through the core of this three-story building, the Maison a Dordeaux is truly an exquisite example of architectural technology ingenuity. Completed by Architect Rem Koolhaa in 1998, it’s unique design addresses the disability of its owner who was a paraplegic.
3
Gwathmey Residence and Studio, Amagansett, New York
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Designed by Charles Gwathmey, this residence in New York was completed in 1965. A modest but epochal three-bedroom residence, it boasts of a graphic composition featuring basic geometrical shapes that resemble a gathering of toddler building blocks.
2
Chemosphere, Los Angeles
www.architecturaldigest.com
This house was completed in 1960 and is considered as “the most modern house built in the world.” Designed by Architect John Lautner, it looks like a UFO because of its structure. It features a sprawling octagonal folly that is built on top of a stout concrete pylon. It is also surrounded by windows that overlook the San Fernando Valley.
1
Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania
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This house located in the remote Allegheny Mountain in Mill Run, Pennsylvania was designed by Architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. It is a dynamic three-story sculpture that is made of intersecting glass, sandstone and concrete planes that are pinned on a rock ledge. It is called “Fallingwater” because its great terraces are cantilevered over a natural waterfall.
