Architectural Façade Face-Off – Unusual Exteriors

Just like people, buildings have personality – and in the charisma stakes, bland gets booby prize. Blending-in is fine, elegant yet aloof gets attention, in-yer-face will get a marmite reaction, while charm and originality make the world a better place to live in. With this in mind, we’ve decided to give you a line-up of some of the most stand-out architectural beauties that are currently making the headlines. 

First up is an Architecture for London house extension in Islington. The award-winning architects gave it a face of stone, concrete and wood, and it even features a separate, arched entrance for the family’s cat. Nice. Recently featured in Dezeen, the creative behind the project Alastair Selven restored a dilapidated interior and structure, as well as masterminding the ground floor space to open up a limited view of the garden. The warm tone of locally sourced limestone features in the construction of the pavilion that is now used as a dining area and yoga room. This flexible space shines a spotlight on the popular move towards versatility in our homes. 

Next up, we’re taking a plane journey over to Maine, where Whitten Architects took up the challenge to complement a natural landscape of wood, water and rocks with a family home that would do its surroundings justice. The wonderful views came complete with a rather steep slope, so Whitten had the idea of creating a treehouse for grownups.  

A façade of Eastern cedar paired with stilts to tackle the incline at the rear, both give this gorgeous home the dignity it requires against such a stunning backdrop. Plus the thoughtful design of a ground-level driveway which tackles any mobility issues head-on, gives a welcome addition to its kerb-appeal. Five gold stars. 

Our final destination is back across the Atlantic to Guarda in Portugal, where architects David Bilo and Filipe Pina were invited to create an extension for a traditional granite farmhouse. In a fit of pure inspiration, the daring duo used rough board-marked concrete to fashion two intersecting, gabled structures. These structures flow naturally from the original farmhouse, and have provided the owners with three bedrooms and a large living, dining and kitchen space. 

A thin concrete terrace links the new and old buildings together at the front of Casa NaMora, while at the rear there is a poolside patio and garden accessed through a fully-glazed gable end in the living area. 

These mutually complementing styles mirror the home’s name. Known as Casa NaMora, this rather aptly translates from the Portuguese as not only ‘in Mora’, but also as ‘flirt’ or ‘date’.  So, the new part of the house is literally flirting with the old. Ooh, cheeky! 

We’ve only been able to skim the surface with this, but if you’re feeling inspired, and are passionate about sustainable and innovative architecture, contact us here at mustard BE for a chat about the future.