House and garden design become a bridge between two different bodies of water: gentle Mecox Bay to the north and wild Atlantic Ocean to the south. An existing house was radically transformed as opposed to being demolished. Substantial effort was undertaken in order to reuse, rethink and modify existing conditions and materials. Much of the material removed was recycled or reused elsewhere. The plans were reworked to create smaller, staggered volumes, which are visually disconnected. Deep overhangs were added to strengthen the indoor/outdoor relationship and new bay to ocean views through the structure result in house as breezeway and bridge. The dunescape between house and shore was restored to a natural state while low maintenance building materials, allowed to weather naturally, will continue to strengthen the relationship of the structure to its surroundings. Photography credit: Kay Wettstein von Westersheimb Francesca Giovanelli Titlisstrasse 35 CH-8032 Zurich Switzerland

Mother of Pearl wall

Ciro Coelho

William Beauter and Jess Mullen-Carey

Ashbury General Contracting & Engineering Photo by: Ryan Hughes Architect: Luke Wendler / Abbott Wendler Architects

The owners of this 520 square foot, three-level studio loft had a few requests for Turett's design tea,: use sustainable materials throughout; incorporate an eclectic mix of bright colors and textures; gut everything..but preserve two decorative tiles from the existing bathroom for nostalgic value. TCA drew on its experience with 'green' materials to integrate FSC-certified wood flooring and kitchen cabinets, recycled mosaic glass tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms, no-VOC paint and energy efficient lighting throughout the space. One of the main challenges for TCA was separating the different programmatic areas - ktichen, living room, and sleeping loft -- in an interesting way while maximizing the sense of space in a relatively small volume. The solution was a custom designed double-height screen of movable translucent panels that creates a hybrid room divider, feature wall, shelving system and guard rail. The three levels distinguished by the system are connected by stainless steel open riser stairs with FSC-certified treads to match the flooring. Creating a setting for the preserved ceramic pieces led to the development of this apartment's one-of-a-kind hidden gem: a 5'x7' powder room wall made of 126 six-inch tiles --each one unique--organized by color gradation. This complete renovation - from the plumbing fixtures and appliances to the hardware and finishes -- is a perfect example of TCA's ability to integrate sustainable design principles with a client's individual aims.

Bruce Damonte

Architectural designed kitchen features custom split level bench including lower seating area, large mirror sliding door to conceal pantry compelte walk in butler's style pantry. Extra deep custom made sinks in main kitchen and scullery, completely welded in to the stainless steel top in scullery. Bold ‘red’ glass splashbacks, dark specialised carcasses and drawer sides. Cabinet doors: ‘Oregan Pine’ Cleaf, Blum ‘Tandembox’ soft-closing drawers. Benchtop: 20mm ‘Cambrian Black’ brushed Granite with waterfall ends and low table. Mirror splashback Feature: 6 door feature side cabinet in ‘Chimney Sweep’, ‘Solitaire’ & ‘Soapstone’ Glass doors with ‘Carbon Micro’ carcasses, Door: ‘Mirastar’ feature door with ‘Exterus’ sliding door to conceal pantry. Scullery:Createc ‘Black’ gloss doors, Splashback ‘red’ glass, stainless steel 35mm bench top, shallow adjustable open pantry shelving and wine rack.

Photographer: Michael Cole

The modern Great Room designed by chadbourne + doss architects is a composition of wood and steel. The open shelves separate the stair from the Living space. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

Ciro Coelho

Ben Gebo Photography. Shot for Brown/Fenollossa Architects.