uxuryuxurypurepure

Edited by Driss Fatih

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

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

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: merry@imagespublishing.com +61 3 9561 5544

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