Homeowner preferences lean to energy efficiency and simplicity in design

The AIA Home Design Trends Survey issued its monthly report evaluating the US housing market. Without the rapid appreciation in home values seen between 1995 and 2005, design of kitchens and bathrooms has recently been somewhat more modest. Functionality is now preferred to more and larger kitchens and bathrooms within U.S. homes. Households are placing a premium on products and features that promote energy efficiency, and adaptability in the use of space for seniors and those with accessibility concerns.

Residential architects continue to report declining business conditions, indicating that the housing market is not yet entering a full recovery phase. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey for the fourth quarter of 2009, which focused specifically on kitchen and bathrooms.

For more than 125 years, the University of California, Davis has maintained active research and education programs in viticulture, enology, and food science,. In 2001, Robert Mondavi, renowned California wine producer, made a personal gift of $25 million to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science within the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Davis, opening a new era of opportunity for UC Davis in its widely acclaimed wine and food programs.

The Robert Mondavi Institute allowed the University campus to move two departments, Viticulture & Enology and Food Science & Technology, under one roof. Moreover, in the new facility these two departments, recognized as the best in the world in their respective areas of scholarship, have been linked with other disciplines investigating the role of healthy and safe foods in the quality of life.

After years of accommodation in temporary premises, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has revealed its design for new permanent headquarters by schmidt hammer lassen architects (SHL). The Danish office was selected in an architectural design competition with a twenty strong international shortlist including David Chipperfield, Mecanoo Architecten, OMA/Search, Ingenhoven, Wiel Arets, and Kengo Kuma & Associates.

31 Blair Road is a contemporary renovation of an Art Deco style terrace house, results in an charming neutral living space. The continuity of spaces eliminates the boundary between inside and outside, in order to create multiple relationships between diverse activities that occur in a residential realm. Simple and minimalistic with a constant analogy to industrial spaces.


The final result is an innovative response to the constraints of a conservation building. A traditional façade embraces a contemporary way of living, that has meticulously achieved a delicate balance between the old and the new. This has created a unique and effective house design, the exterior and the modern approach to the interior has been designed in context with the surroundings.


Photographs: Tim Nolan

Built like its neighbors, over a century ago and part of a continuous network of buildings in a historical district, this town house has been completely renovated. Regulations required that the traditional limestone facade remain intact.

Photographs by Paul Warchol

The bottom floor of the facade has been reworked within the existing limestone composition in an effort to provide a separate entrance and storefront for a future commercial tenant in the lower level. The rear facade, located in an alley has been completely reworked to provide more light into the building.

Australian based Architects, Bark Design, produced this attractive modern house, built within a breathtaking site, located in Tinbeerwah, a suburb of Noosa in Australia.

Photographs by Christopher Frederick Jones