The housing estate in Ostrow (Poland) was designed by Konrad Idaszewski Architekt in 2007. The whole development consist of 8 separate buildngs – first building finalized in 2009.

As an overall majority of  the accommodation in that town are single family houses – the main task was to design higher buildings which would be local-friendly. This was created by external shape, used materials and colours as well as internal structure of separate flats.

Konrad Idaszewski Architekt made four floors buildings plus attic with a sharp angle roofs applying white plaster and tropical wood for elevation and gray steel for roofs.

Almost every flat has independent balcony or loggia.

Housing estate in Ostrow, image courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow, image courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow, image courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow, image courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow, image courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow, image courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

+ Project credits /data

Project: Housing estate in Ostrow
Architect: Konrad Idaszewski Architekt
Location: Ostrow, Poland

Housing estate in Ostrow - Ground floor plan, drawing courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow - First floor plan, drawing courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Housing estate in Ostrow - Elevation, drawing courtesy Konrad Idaszewski Architekt

Daylight, highlighted textures, fully open to the outside. In 250m², Fernanda Marques has created a dream escape from urban frenzy.

Loft 24-7, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

After her resounding success of her in Casa Cor's 2008 edition, Fernanda Marques now presents her 2009 version of her Loft 24/7. This time, in the form of a spacious bungalow, of about 250m², where nature plays much more than a mere supporting role: one just has to note the intense use of daylight. The use of materials in their rough state. Its total openness to the outside.

Loft 24-7, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Being inside feeling like one is outside. I believe that to be a key issue in understanding the interior design being produced today. In times when environmental awareness is growing, and, of course, also the desire to be close to nature.

explains the architect, who places her design somewhere in between a country villa and a modernist home designed by one of her masters, German architect Mies van der Rohe.

Loft 24-7, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Combined with rough stone walls and limestone floors, steel and glass are not present just by chance. Altogether, the house is 180m², linked by a wooden deck which projects the house out beyond its internal boundaries. A kind of interface between the interior and the outer environment, glazed walls and ceilings ensure spatial continuity: one of the hallmarks of Fernanda Marques's designs.

Loft 24-7, sketch courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

No less impacting, the all-white interior is furnished with pieces made only from sustainably obtained raw materials and accented by a few feature pieces: in the kitchen, for instance, the appliances are integrated to a steel panel that projects up to the roof, whereas a monolith, which serves as a breakfast counter, imprints the space with a rustic, almost rugged tone.

Loft 24-7, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

In the living-room, the niches in the cabinetry and bookcases also have their little gems: on one side, the organic glass objects by US glass artist Jeff Zimmerman – one of the architect's favourite artists, displaying his art in Brazil for the first time by invitation of Fernanda. On the other side, a very special selection of objects, handpicked for the space by antiquarian Beto Altílio. Among the Florense launches, created especially for the space, high-gloss cabinetry, all equipped with coloured glass and automated drawers. Pieces, according to Fernanda, which are ideal for people who demand quality. "But who also have no time to waste".

Loft 24-7 - Floor plan, drawing courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

+ Project credits / data

Project: Loft 24-7
Architect: Fernanda Marques | http://www.fernandamarques.com.br/
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Typology: House

+ All images and drawings courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Brazil-based architectural firm Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados designed this Sustainable Winter Loft for the Casa Cor 2010 exhibit.

A house that expands your horizons. That doesn’t confine. That is virtually and concretely open to the world, nature and its inhabitants.

Fernanda Marques

Sustainable Winter Loft, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Sketch

From the constructive point of view, Fernanda Marques‘s project for the Casa Cor 2010 exhibit was conceived under the influence of sustainability. All of the coverings, both internally and externally, were executed in recycled wood, as well as all the furniture, which carry the green seal representing our commitment to the environment.

In terms of lighting we have adopted the highly-efficient LED system, to lower energy consumption. Emblematically, the tree trunks originally from Bahia became our own supporting pillars.

From the conceptual point of view, this great lounge, an open-plan, single space of  207m², contains a living-room, gourmet kitchen, bar and a video hall, designed to meet the needs of a family's hectic everyday life.

Sustainable Winter Loft, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

I tried to give this transitional space a proper shape: a contemporary house. There was dematerialization in course: walls were excluded, overlapping function areas, reflexive surfaces. In, and at the same time, Out. This project is intended, if not to consolidate, but at least to investigate all of these aspects.

Fernanda Marques

Sustainable Winter Loft, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Based on two premises, in terms of sustainability, the first one being that  if construction is smaller, it entails the use of fewer resources, as well as lower energy consumption. Secondly, on a more personal level, has to do with the desire to give a specified and particular treatment to all of the items that make up her projects.

My main interest is to approach architecture on a more authoral basis in every detail of my interior design projects.

Fernanda Marques

Sustainable Winter Loft, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

This was seen in the fact that she designed of the pieces that furnish the space: from outdoor furniture to steel bookcases inside.

Not least impacting, and fully in sync with the lines inside, the elegant 235m² terrace expanding to its fullest projected like an outdoor-living room with a borderless pool framed by a fireplace. A long and sinuous structural awning certainly draws all eyes. A green roof, covered with vegetation that descends from the roof, passes along the pool side, turning into a counter and finally into a bar.

Sustainable Winter Loft - Floor plan, drawing courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

+ Project credits / data

Project: Sustainable Winter Loft
Architect: Fernanda Marques | http://www.fernandamarques.com.br/
Typology: House
Area: 207m²

+ All images and drawings courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Project conceived for the 2009 Boa Mesa Exhibit, which the architect in a close collaboration with Todeschini, emphasized her very best visionary style. On a 194 square meter area, Fernanda presented a very peculiar version of the contemporary kitchen: one of the most sought after spaces in the show. The wooden ceiling, made of sheets is remarkably organic and is the great highlight of the project.

Chef's Kitchen Lounge, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados | Photo by Demian Golovaty

Chef's Kitchen Lounge, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados | Photo by Demian Golovaty

Another interesting point is the sculpture-like deck, developed by Corian Dupont. It draws attention for its sinuous shape and for its multifunction quality: presenting itself at times as work bench for the chef, at other times as a bench, and at other times as a bar, until it is finally incorporated to the wooden ceiling.

Chef's Kitchen Lounge, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados | Photo by Demian Golovaty

Chef's Kitchen Lounge, image courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados | Photo by Demian Golovaty

Chef's Kitchen Lounge - Layout plan, drawing courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Chef's Kitchen Lounge - Section, drawing courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

+ Project credits / data

Project: Chef’s Kitchen and Lounge
Architect: Fernanda Marques | http://www.fernandamarques.com.br/
Photography: Demian Golovaty

+ About Fernanda Marques

Graduated from the University of São Paulo, majoring in Architecture & Urbanism in 1988, Fernanda Marques started her career as a trainee at the practice of one of Brazil's most remarkable architects – Aflalo&Gasperini.

In 1995, Fernanda Marques set up her own firm, Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados,  and set off on a trajectory that includes a great variety of projects – residential, commercial, corporative offices, real estate developments and showcases.

Amongst her residential projects, the three most significant projects are the Rua Polonia and Rua Bucareste houses, and most recently the beach house at Laranjeiras. Functionality and pure lines are important references in her design, which is constantly updated through her contemporary outlook on things. Her interior design clients include former Minister Mailson da Nobrega and she has designed one of the most modern residential structures in São Paulo, the "Diogo" building in  São Paulo. Among her commercial projects are the luxurious residential building  " L'Essence"  in the sophisticated area called "Jardins", in São Paulo, The Market Place Shopping Center Gym, fashion designer Ocimar Versolatos´s office, former football player Pelé´s office, and the Brazilian headquarters of both Ermenegildo Zegna's and Omint.

Leading a staff of over 70 professionals, Fernanda Marques is a tireless researcher. She constantly attends exhibitions and international design fairs, and, in the past few years, she has also started to design products such as furniture and objects, which much like her projects, stem from a minimalistic contemporary concept, always in sync with the latest technological innovations and current aesthetics.

+ All images and drawings courtesy Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados