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Posts Tagged ‘Turned’

Beautifully Simple: School Bus Turned Minimal Mobile Home

26 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

bus home finished project

You could make a strong case for this vehicle being barely recognizable as such. The dimensions, fenestration and over spatial configuration give good clues that this space may have once been a school bus, but the finishes, furnishings and built-ins go above and beyond bare-bones adaptive reuse.

bus converted exterior retrofit

Architecture student Hank Butitta was sick of drafting imaginary buildings in studio courses destined never to be built, and sought (with help from his younger brother Vince) to steer his education in a more hands-on direction.

bus conversion program diagram

For his final thesis project at the University of Minnesota, Hank bought a bus for $ 3,000, added $ 6,000 to improve it, and spent fifteen weeks creating this amazing multifunctional mobile home.

bus adjustable seating area

We should start with the evolution of the programmatic diagram, described and illustrated in simple terms: “The even spacing of the window bays allow for the volume to be broken down into modular units of 28 inches square, leaving an aisle that is also 28 inches wide. The modular units are then grouped to create four primary zones: Bathroom, Kitchen, Seating, and Sleeping.”

bus multifunctional sleeping space

From there, a series of rules and strategies evolved, like: keep the space as open as possible, so the 225 square feet available area does not get broken down into cramped compartments.  The result is a limitation of objects built above the bottom edge of each window and an open-feeling floor plan. Hank also “developed a thin wall system integrating structure, insulation, electrical, lighting, and facing, leaving the interior open for occupation. The ceiling is covered in plywood flexed by compression, and the floor is reclaimed gym flooring, complete with 3-point line.”

bus cab storage space

Throughout the project, there are clever and deceptively simple ways to redeploy structure to address different needs on demand, like a bed system that allows for different sleeping configurations, and seats that with secret flip-up and slide-out panels to allow for further lounging or additional overnight guests. Storage is tucked and hidden throughout, integrated into other built-ins wherever spare space was available. The detailing throughout is minimal and consistent, but don’t let that fool you: a great deal of thought and work went into that apparent simplicity.

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House Turned Inside Out: All Walls Cut, Flipped & Reattached

15 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

inside out house project

An ambitious art project, the House Turned Inside Out peals away facades, those outer layers of mystery physically surrounding abandoned buildings, and reveals the internal structure. From floors, rooms and walls to hidden support elements, heating fixtures and more, innards are turned outward for the world to see.

building facade home turned

Artist Martin Papcún (images by Ryan Pearl) “gained access to [this] abandoned Cleveland house and then convinced a building contractor, many volunteers, and city officials to allow him to alter the structure so that all of the interior walls were physically on the exterior of the house.”

inside building flip idea

One by one, each building face was carefully cut, rotated 180 degrees with the help of volunteers and a crane, then slotted back into the same place, just in reverse.

inside wall cut paste

Dilapidated, disused and ultimately deserted, the subject structure was reanimated in both a literal and twisted sense, like an architectural corpse come back to life. It is lit up at night, but the lights shift between rooms as if the house were still occupied.

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House Turned Inside Out All Walls Cut Flipped Reattached

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Billboard Trailers Turned Tiny Parasite Apartments

09 Jul

[ By Steph in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

Reclaimed Billboard Houses 1

Advertising is so ubiquitous that billboards aren’t even restricted to fixed positions anymore; they’re often found moving from one spot to another on trailers, always in search of those all-important eyeballs. Inside these trailers are little spaces that, one would imagine, are too small to be of any real use. But Belgian artist and hacktivist Karl Philips has taken some practical function from these ugly urban fixtures by turning them into tiny ‘parasite apartments.’

Reclaimed Billboard Houses 2

The series, entitled ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,’ consists of three billboard trailers which have been hacked into living spaces just the right size for a single-person mattress and a small collection of possessions.

Reclaimed Billboard Houses 3

Billboards take up a considerable amount of space, and it can be argued that most of them don’t have a positive impact on society. By turning them into houses, the revenue from the ads goes to the people who live within.

Reclaimed Billboard Houses 4

According to Philips’ biography, he is particularly interested in the margins of society, focusing on “themes such as gaps in legal, economic and social systems, the omnipresence of advertisement, unrestrained capitalism and consumerism, etc.” His previous work includes a parasite apartment built onto the back of a conventional billboard, invisible from the street.

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Waste Not: 1890s Urinal Turned into a Sandwich Shop

20 Mar

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 2

Sit at a counter embedded into a wall of urinals and enjoy a nice sandwich at Attendant, an eatery in London built in a former men’s bathroom. While it’s virtually unrecognizable after an extensive $ 150,000 renovation, it’s hard to imagine how the owners were able to look into the trash-strewn pit of a subterranean restroom and think about food.

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 5

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 3

The Attendant restroom had been abandoned for more than fifty years before its two-year transformation. It now serves sandwiches, soup, breakfast, cakes and espresso drinks, with many ingredients plucked from the New Covent Garden Marketplace just down the street.

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 1

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 6

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 4

Partners Peter Tomlinson and Ben Russell removed 12 layers of paint dating back over a century from the ornate wrought iron entrance and removed a wall that separated the urinals from the attendant’s space. The urinals were polished, a counter was added and a kitchen was built. Green seating matches the original Victorian floor tiles.

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Church Bells To Doorbells: 8 Churches Turned Into Homes

19 Feb

[ By Marc in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Church-House-Renovations-Montage

Churches are some of society’s most stylistically beautiful buildings. A large amount of building design comes down to functionality and affordability, so churches, built for a spiritual purpose rather than a materialistic one, tend to include elements that highlight beauty and detail. When these churches grow old, or are purchased, they can then be renovated into amazing houses that uniquely introduce religious elements into a pedestrian environment.

The Church of Living

Church-House-Zecc-Netherlands

The Church of Living is a transformed structure, from church to residence, carefully designed by Zecc architecture in the Netherlands. This firm is no stranger to church conversions, and their design chops are shown to full affect in this example from Utrecht. White walls and modern appliances and motifs maintained the atmosphere of the church, while making it a home worth living in. The small old church touches that remain are what keep this building anchored. For example, the chandelier in the ultra modern bathroom is the perfect example of an old touch balancing out a very modern renovation.

WG Architects, Brisbane

Church-House-Bonney-Ave-Willis-Greenhalgh-Architects

Willis Greenhalgh Architects, known better as WG Architects, transformed this Brisbane church into a gorgeous home full of light. Built in 1867, this is a heritage site, and thus required a very delicate renovation. The unique elements of an old style church were maintained, while contemporary elements were introduced to bring the church house “up to speed.”

Westbourne Grove Church

Church-House-Dos-Architects-Westbourne-Grove

This imposing building, Westbourne Grove Church, was transformed into a modern home with a 2 floor renovation by London-based DOS Architects; the steps taken to complete the process are presented visually on their site here. Design site Abduzeedo provides additional background information about the history of the church, which despite seeming ancient, was built with a Victorian style in 1953. The design team decided to go highly modern in the interior, which contrasts nicely with the old-style stone outside.

Glenlyon Church

Church-House-Glenlyon-Multiplicity

Multiplicity is the two person team of designer Sioux Clark and architect Tim O’Sullivan. Bedecked with awards (for good reason) they hold tightly to their commitment of “creating spaces that are intrinsically beautiful, highly useable, readily enjoyable and environmentally friendly.” Their 2004 conversion of the Glenlyon church into a livable residence pulls out all of the design stops, as it required that they literally create a 2nd story out of thin air. Utilizing glass and the many gorgeous windows, they were able to highly increase the usable space, while keeping the structure in the middle from making it seem too crowded.

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Church Bells To Doorbells: 8 Churches Turned Into Homes

08 Feb

[ By Marc in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Church-House-Renovations-Montage

Churches are some of society’s most stylistically beautiful buildings. A large amount of building design comes down to functionality and affordability, so churches, built for a spiritual purpose rather than a materialistic one, tend to include elements that highlight beauty and detail. When these churches grow old, or are purchased, they can then be renovated into amazing houses that uniquely introduce religious elements into a pedestrian environment.

The Church of Living

Church-House-Zecc-Netherlands

The Church of Living is a transformed structure, from church to residence, carefully designed by Zecc architecture in the Netherlands. This firm is no stranger to church conversions, and their design chops are shown to full affect in this example from Utrecht. White walls and modern appliances and motifs maintained the atmosphere of the church, while making it a home worth living in. The small old church touches that remain are what keep this building anchored. For example, the chandelier in the ultra modern bathroom is the perfect example of an old touch balancing out a very modern renovation.

WG Architects, Brisbane

Church-House-Bonney-Ave-Willis-Greenhalgh-Architects

Willis Greenhalgh Architects, known better as WG Architects, transformed this Brisbane church into a gorgeous home full of light. Built in 1867, this is a heritage site, and thus required a very delicate renovation. The unique elements of an old style church were maintained, while contemporary elements were introduced to bring the church house “up to speed.”

Westbourne Grove Church

Church-House-Dos-Architects-Westbourne-Grove

This imposing building, Westbourne Grove Church, was transformed into a modern home with a 2 floor renovation by London-based DOS Architects; the steps taken to complete the process are presented visually on their site here. Design site Abduzeedo provides additional background information about the history of the church, which despite seeming ancient, was built with a Victorian style in 1953. The design team decided to go highly modern in the interior, which contrasts nicely with the old-style stone outside.

Glenlyon Church

Church-House-Glenlyon-Multiplicity

Multiplicity is the two person team of designer Sioux Clark and architect Tim O’Sullivan. Bedecked with awards (for good reason) they hold tightly to their commitment of “creating spaces that are intrinsically beautiful, highly useable, readily enjoyable and environmentally friendly.” Their 2004 conversion of the Glenlyon church into a livable residence pulls out all of the design stops, as it required that they literally create a 2nd story out of thin air. Utilizing glass and the many gorgeous windows, they were able to highly increase the usable space, while keeping the structure in the middle from making it seem too crowded.

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Church Bells To Doorbells 8 Churches Turned Into Homes

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Dystopian Dumpster Living: Trash Bins Turned Tiny Houses

18 Dec

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Giant receptacles for trash have been transformed into the most unexpected things – swimming pools, bars, giant pinhole cameras, and now tiny ‘living containers’ on wheels. German designer Philipp Stingl envisions a future in which the growing elderly population requires cheap and portable housing, and these lockable rolling dumpsters would certainly fit the bill.

The set of ‘housing containers’ includes a larger yellow dumpster with a door, window and a drinking canister; the top opens like a normal dumpster and has a net in the lid for storage. The second unit is smaller, meant to be used as a bath tub.

The designer created these containers for a rather bleak future in which social systems collapse and “from the ashes an aging society will rise, marked by crime, sickness and poverty.”

One can only imagine that Stingl is being satirical when he states, “Essentially, these ‘living containers’ testify to an active and creative lifestyle for the old age without compromises.” It’s hard to ignore the implications of placing the homeless and elderly in trash containers. However, this concept isn’t much different from many other economical ideas for homeless housing, which can also be used as emergency shelters in the event of a disaster.


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