Download - Pure Luxury: World's Best Houses
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uxuryuxurypurepure
Edited by Driss Fatih
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2luxury | lk sh ()r|noun ( pl. -ries)the state of great comfort and extravagant living: he lived a life of luxury.
adjectiveluxurious or of the nature of a luxury: a luxury house | luxury goods.
Introduction
Luxury is the apotheosis of civilized living: it brings to mind a state of refinement, of
comfort, and of sensuous pleasure. It evokes abundance, and can be interpreted in any
number of ways, but it is always desirable. And desirable, irrespective of location be
it the glamorous Hollywood Hills, the rugged terrain of the South Island of New Zealand,
the lush green forests of the Baltics, or the tropical setting of Singapore or Jakarta.
The projects in this book are the embodiment of luxury they offer their owners a home,
a place of private refuge from a world which never stops turning; an uncertain world
where few things can be taken for granted as they were in the past. But these houses
are more than just homes and offer more than just a place to eat, unwind and sleep.
Some of these houses are at the cutting edge of the modern minimalist geometric
designs of glass, steel and clean lines offer transparency and simplicity in an ever-busier
and complicated world: the luxury of rising above the throng and leaving the rat-race
behind. Others offer the inhabitants a rural idyll a place for affluent city dwellers to
luxuriate in the grandeur and calm of nature.
While others allow the owners to employ the very latest in computer technology to
regulate how they live whether communications, entertainment, heating or cooling the
space they inhabit or even incorporating fully-operating studios or offices at home.
This is the luxury of choice, above all the highest aspiration in todays consumer society.
Luxury is in the eye of the beholder, as these houses testify. Some might appear
monolithic at first brutally minimalistic, even; but through clever use of sliding doors,
split levels, breezeways and often simply the changing light of day, they allow private
spaces to become public, or vice versa, allowing different generations of the same family
to live in harmony true luxury indeed.
Other houses are more subtle, and work in harmony with their natural environment. Some
of them become a part of the environment quite literally, built into the lie of the land be
it a cliff face, a hill, or a beachside and harness local, renewable materials. The luxury of
being at one with nature and saving the planet at the same time.
Living in the heart of a metropolis in an unrelenting climate of heat, humidity, pollution
and hustle and bustle hardly conjures up luxury, to most people; yet several houses within
these pages pull off luxury living, combining authentic Asian interiors hosting family
members from across the generations with all mod-cons. Some feature interior gardens
integrated into the house itself, a green sanctuary allowing the inhabitants to breathe
pure, clean air a precious luxury in the Big Smoke.
I hope you will enjoy leafing through the pages of this lovingly compiled book, and
indulge yourself for a few minutes in the sheer quality and range of modern residential
architecture on show.
Driss Fatih
Editor
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3100% Przemek Kaczkowski & Ola Targonska
acaa
Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter
Architecture Saville Isaacs
Architektu biuras, G. Natkevicius ir partneriai
Architrend Architecture
Austin Patterson Disston Architects
B3 Architects, a Berkus Design Studio
Bark Design Associates
Base Architecture
BKK Architects
Boora Architects
Bowen Architecture
Brooks + Scarpa
Caprioglio Associati Studio di Architettura
Caramel Architekten
Carlos Bratke Architect
Carol Kurth Architecture, PC
Charles R. Stinson Architects
Chris Elliott Architects
CHRIST. CHRIST associated architects
Concrete Architectural Associates
Damien Murtagh Architects
Diamond Schmitt Architects
Drozdov & Partners
FINNE Architects
Gabbiani&Associati
GLR Arquitectos
Graham Jones Design
Griffin Enright Architects
group8
Haller Jrgen & Peter Plattner
Harrison Design Associates
Helliwell + Smith Blue Sky Architecture
House+House Architects
Ignatov Architects
Infinski
Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects
IROJE KHM Architects
Irving Smith Jack Architects
James & Mau Architects
Jarmund/Vigsns AS Architects
Joe Valerio, FAIA
Johnsen Schmaling Architects
Jolson
Jon Anderson Architecture
Jorge Graa Costa Architect
JSa
Kanner Architects
Keith Pike Associates
Kerstin Thompson Architects
k_m architektur
Koutsoftides Architects
KWK PROMES Robert Koniezny
Lake | Flato Architects
Luis Mira Architects
Mark English Architects
Marmol Radziner
Matt Gibson Architecture + Design
Max Pritchard Architect
McClean Design
McInturff Architects
Mitchell Freedland Design
Morphogenesis
Morrison Dilworth + Walls
Norm Applebaum Architect
Obie G Bowman Architect
Olson Kundig Architects
Original Vision
Paramita Abirama Istasadhya
Parque Humano
Paul Uhlmann Architects
Phorm Architecture + Design
Richard Kirk Architect
Richard Swansson Architect
Robert Oshatz Architects
Robert Simeoni Architects
Robles Arquitectos
Safdie Rabines Architects
SAOTA Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects
Saraiva + Associados
Satoshi Okada architects
Saucier + Perrotte Architectes
Searl Lamaster Howe Architects
Sharif Abraham Architects
Shaun Lockyer Architects
Steendyk
Steve Domoney Architecture
studio 101 architects
Studio B Architects
Swatt | Miers Architects
Vilius ir partneriai
Wilson & Hill
Index of Architects
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Pure Luxury: Worlds Best Houses is a celebration of residential living at its finest, and best. Satisfying our natural and abiding curiosity about how other people live, and our endless quest to add a special something to our own homes, this latest volume in IMAGES 100 Houses series showcases contemporary architectural trends in their most opulent manifestations. The beauty of residential architecture lies in its infinite scope for innovation and the comfort of it inhabitants, be they at rest, at play, or hosting guests.
This lovingly compiled work features houses on every continent, from Costa Rica to South Africa, Korea to Cyprus, as well as extensive coverage of the USA and Australia and New Zealand. Among the awe-inspiring projects in this book are
Pure Luxury World's Best Houses Edited by Driss Fatih
an opulent villa set in the Hollywood Hills with an infinity pool projecting over LA, an idyllic rural retreat set in the valleys of the South Island of New Zealand, and stunning beach houses in Senegal and Cape Town.
The book showcases projects by leading architects including Lake | Flato, Griffin Enright Architects, SAOTA, Brooks+Scarpa, Iredale Pedersen Hook, Mojo Stumer Architects, Caramel Architekten, Helliwell + Smith Blue Sky Architecture, k_m architektur, Wilson & Hill and many more.
Australia Austria Brazil Bulgaria Canada
Chile Costa Rica Cyprus Germany India
Indonesia Ireland Italy Japan Lithuania
Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Peru
Poland Portugal St Vincent and the Grenadines
Senegal South Africa South Korea
Switzerland Thailand UK Ukraine USA
ISBN 978 1 86470 469 9 Format 254 x 254 mm Binding Casebound with jacket Pages 348 Illustrations Full colour In bookstores Late 2012
For publicity information contact Merry Lovell: [email protected] +61 3 9561 5544
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