Pete Sampras’ House in Lake Sherwood

Everytime a celebrity buys a home its bound to make news. This time it is tennis great Pete Sampras and his new compound in Lake Sherwood. Listed at $25 million, the property boasts of a tennis court, a swimming pool facing the mountains and tiny houses and a 2000 square foot gym. The house has stone and wood flooring, a large guest house area and a 360 degrees view of the spectacular countryside. Take a look at the pictures below and appreciate the meticulous landscape and the awesome interiors.

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True Love Swivel Chair and Sofa from GLOBE ZERO 4

The True Love swivel chair and sofa designed by busk+hertzog from GLOBE ZERO 4 was a winner of the Red Dot Design Award in 2009 and if tradition holds true this year's winners will share an equal flair. The rounded shape of the True Love is possible thanks to molded foam and the vibrant colors really make the curves pop. See more of the snazzy modern furniture from GLOBE ZERO 4 of Denmark here.

Post from True Love Swivel Chair and Sofa from GLOBE ZERO 4Best of interior and architecture

Aluminum Gazebo – modern Xzone gazebos by Allplus

Allplus is reinventing your outdoor living spaces with a new alfresco essential – the Xzone gazebo. Specializing in fully recyclable aluminum furniture for indoors and out, this European company combines design and technology, research and creativity, and oodles of innovation. And now, getting you summer ready, this gorgeous gazebo is a versatile, modular design that will suit any outdoor area, regardless of its shape or size. Whether your outdoor living space is a small deck or a sprawling backyard garden, there’s a perfect place for the Xzone. Create a poolside paradise, or pair it with a table and chairs for a shady spot to sip your cocktails in the heat of the day. And if you love to entertain, this gazebo is a must for your alfresco soirees – spring, summer or fall! Just fire up the barbecue, crack open some cool drinks and you’re made in the shade. Check out this outdoor essential at Allplus.

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Capture the Rain / H3AR

The duo of Ryszard Rychlicki and Agnieszka Nowak, of H3AR, was awarded a special mention for their proposal in the 2010 eVolo skyscraper competition (see the winners on our previous article). The eVolo competition attracts innovative designers and receives hundreds of eccentric proposals. For this project, designed by 4^thyear student, the skyscraper is comprised of a system of gutters to catch as much rainfall as possible. The water captured and processed by the building may be used for flushing toilets, feeding washing machines, watering plants, cleaning floors and other domestic applications.

More about the skyscrapper after the break.

The water collected with the skyscraper will supply 85 liters of rain water to meet the daily needs of the inhabitants (each user averages a daily consumption of about 150 liters).

Initially, in designing the tower, the students focused on shaping and modeling the surface of the roof to optimize the rainwater collected. Yet upon working with the roof system, the students developed the skin treatment to make the building transform into a cohesive raincollecting machine.

Under the roof’s surface, water reservoirs in the form of a large funnel and reed fields, serve as a hydro botanic water treatment unit. The unit processes water into usable water that is further transmitted to apartments.

The gutters on the external surfaces of the building, capture rainfall flowing down the building. The rainfall is then transmitted to floors and its surplus is stored in a reservoir under the building.

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Joris Laarman

The reason I find the work of Joris Laarman so interesting is that all of it is inspired by life sciences, and made using cutting edge technology. The combination is certainly intriguing, and it only takes a brief look at his work to realize how incredible it is.

Shown here is his new Leaf Table made from resin, steel, aluminum and inspired by the veins of leaves. Also pictured is the Bone Chair. Even though it is from 2006 I still think it’s worth discussing. What is interesting about this chair, besides its name, is that Laarman actually used technology from the German auto industry to produce a chair that reduces and strengthens by optimizing material allocation, weight and stability to actually require less material.Best of interior and architecture

Cool Modern Chairs 'Loop 3D Vinter' by Infiniti Design

These cool modern chairs by Italian company Infiniti Design may be simple, but they’re anything but plain! The Loop 3D Vinter chairs feature a slim body and dainty chrome or satin-finish legs, leaving center stage open for their subtle curves and bold wood-grain patterns. Shaped using 100% natural materials, the modern three-dimensional curves of the chairs incorporate the seat, back and arm rests with grace. Available in a range of rich, natural wood finishes, each characteristic for its color and particular pattern, these cool chairs can be coordinated in your kitchen or dining room, or mixed and matched in your living areas for an eclectic, contemporary look in your home. Check them out at Infiniti Design.

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Sapphire Gallery | XTEN Architecture

Sapphire is a residential gallery addition to private residence with approximately 1,500sf located in Los Angeles, California, designed by XTEN Architecture. The lightweight structure lifted off the ground, creating a shaded multi-functional space for family use, the gallery on top enclosed by huge glass provides a better view to the surrounding hills.

+ Project Description courtesy of XTEN Architecture

The Sapphire Gallery is a residential addition designed to display a private collection of contemporary art while also providing for a home office with views to the surrounding hills.

The owners’ collection includes work by the artists Gregory Crewdson, Uta Barth, Tomoroy Dodge and the video artist Jennifer Steinkamp, and they expressed interest in a new building that would be more than just a container for their expanding art collection. The new building would have be multivalent; with suitable spaces for the artworks, but it would also have to be open to the views, provide for various domestic program spaces, and create a compelling new focal point for the approach and entry to the residence.

The new structure is grafted onto the circulation spine of the existing house and lifted off the ground to provide a minimal footprint. Freeing the ground plane creates a new multi-functional hardscape/landscape area for the family that they use as carport, children’s play area, for art parties and video projections.

Structural system diagram courtesy of XTEN Architecture

A structural system of lightweight braced frames was developed. They were factory built and assembled by crane in one day. These trusses rest upon moment frames that clear span the open ground plane in the perpendicular direction, and the floor and roof diaphragms are infilled with typical 2x wood framing. The system proved to be a remarkably simple, flexible and cost-effective way to achieve the program parameters of the project.

The remaining details are simple and direct: casement windows, quartz pebble flooring, steel stairs and railings with perforated panels, infill walls of gypsum board with floor to ceiling pivot doors, full height glass with a ceramic coating for UV and solar protection. An array of photovoltaic cells on the South facing sloped roof produces an average of 15kWh per day, enough to supply all the energy for the new building with a surplus directed towards the main house.

Level 1 Floor Plan courtesy of XTEN Architecture

Level 2 Floor Plan courtesy of XTEN Architecture

Section courtesy of XTEN Architecture

+ Project credits / data

Project: Sapphire Gallery
Architect: XTEN Architecture
Location: Los Angeles, California
Completion: May 2009
Photography: Art Gray Photography

+ All drawings and images courtesy of XTEN Architecture | photo by Art Gray Photography

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