Mid-century Phoenix home receives updates and expanded living space

This home at the foot of Camelback Mountain in Arizona has been thoroughly renovated by 180 Degrees Design + Build and CBTWO Architects with updated finishes and a new double-height living room.

Located in Phoenix, the Brandaw Residence was originally built in the 1960s, and in need of a refresh.

Local architects 180 Degrees Design + Build teamed up with Oregon-based CBTWO to update the home.

The Brandaw Residence sits at the foot of Arizona's Camelback Mountain

The team completely re-clad the exterior of the 4,930-square-foot (458-square-metre) home in a white stucco finish. They also took this opportunity to simplify its form, creating orthogonal corners and a consistent line at the parapet.

"Our goal was to focus less on the architecture, and allow the beauty of the site dictate the organisation of space, both horizontal and vertical," said the team. "From here it was an exercise in restraint and subtraction."

There is a dramatic fireplace in the living room

The residence is V-shaped in plan, with two wings that meet at a central living room.

This space was demolished and rebuilt completely, receiving a new pitched roof that directs the gaze upwards and towards the mountain behind the home.

Full-height glazing wraps the living space on two sides

"The design team, along with the owner, agreed to reorganise much of the interior uses to create a stronger relationship to its environment, allowing the interior spaces to capture the incredible dynamics of the surrounding mountains and distant views," the architects explained.

The entrance to the home is at the intersection of both wings, which now is highlighted by a yellow steel portal.

Private areas received a lighter touch during the renovation

"The steel portal, painted in vibrant yellow to mimic the yellow blooms of the desert plants, compresses as you enter the home," said the architects.

Immediately through the door is a dramatic fireplace that creates a separation from the entrance and the living room beyond.

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Full-height glazing wraps this room on two sides, helping to connect the interior living spaces to the back yard, which was also overhauled as part of the renovation.

"The beauty of the architecture now becomes a canvas on which the desert environment and mountain can exist," said the architects.

The architects re-clad the Brandaw Residence in white stucco

The wings of the home contain four bedrooms and other private areas, with the primary bedroom enjoying its own wing for additional privacy.

These areas received a lighter touch but were still updated with new flooring, finishes, and simplified windows that give the residence a cohesive feel.

The entrance to the home is now highlighted by a yellow steel portal

Phoenix is among the fastest-growing US cities, resulting in many new-build and renovation projects.

Others to recently complete include a home with a "zen-like" quality and a board-marked concrete residence for a ceramicist.

The photography is byAn Pham.

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Project credits:

Architecture firms: 180 Degrees Design + Build, CBTWO Architects

Design team: James Trahan

Structural engineer: Cartwright Architects & Engineers

Environmental & MEP engineering: Otterbein Engineering

Lighting: Woodward Engineering

Construction: 180 Degrees Design + Build

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SHED gives mid-century Golden House in Seattle an extensive update

American firm SHED Architecture and Design has transformed a 1950s building that formerly served as an adult living facility into a contemporary home for a family of five.

The Golden House is located in Shoreline, a community just north of Seattle, and sits on a large lot with views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound.

The Golden House sits on a large lot with views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound

Designed by an unknown architect in 1959, the 4,080-square-foot (379-square-metre) house was converted into an adult living facility years ago.

Local firm SHED Architecture and Design was charged with turning the two-storey building back into a single-family house for a couple and their three children.

SHED reconfigured the layout of the home's upper level

"Although the house had good bones, modifications adapting the original layout for use as an adult living facility – combined with deferred maintenance – had tarnished the structure inside and out," the team said.

The most extensive changes took place indoors. The upper level holds the public zone, an office and the main bedroom suite, while the lower floor holds sleeping areas.

The kitchen is organised around a central island

Working around the existing post-and-beam structure, the team reconfigured the upper level's layout by removing walls and built-in casework. An emphasis was placed on providing natural light and views.

"Although the structure is re-engineered to work with the revised floor plan, the post- and-beam structure was retained as a principle organising system and integrated into the design," the team said.

Dragon-themed wallpaper wraps the powder room

The kitchen was moved and enlarged, with the new space organised around a central island that overlooks the dining and living area.

Just off the kitchen is an office, pantry and coat closet, along with a powder room wrapped in dragon-themed wallpaper.

Bathroom tiles are formed from black and white terrazzo

In the living area, where casework had been removed, the team placed a wooden "soffit" that extends over a circulation area and helps proportion the room. The team also installed low-lying cabinetry with a built in DJ station.

An old fireplace was redesigned and faced with concrete masonry units (CMUs) with a ground-down surface. A new concrete bench surrounds the hearth.

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The team used a restrained palette of materials throughout the public area, including cork flooring, rift-sawn white oak paneling, and white sheetrock walls. Trim was painted black to create visual consistency.

"As a nod to the past, the original natural slate tile and metal railing were preserved in the entryway," the team added.

Downstairs, a storage room was made into a children's bedroom

In the main bedroom suite are elements such as a grasscloth wall panel and bathroom tile made of black-and-white terrazzo. A "connecting datum" made of white oak wraps behind the mirrors and the tub.

Downstairs, the team made changes to accommodate three children. A storage room was turned into a shared bedroom, and bed cubbies made of plywood were installed.

Golden House's trim was painted black to create visual consistency

A small bathroom was cleverly reconfigured to be more suitable for multiple users.

Outside of the house, a wheelchair-accessible entrance and driveway were removed to create a large lawn. The team also updated the building envelope by installing new windows and insulation, along with automated blinds on the west to cut down on solar heat gain.

An emphasis was placed on providing natural light and views during the renovation

Founded in 1998, SHED has completed a number of residential projects in Washington, including a home on a bluff clad in rough-sawn cedar, a compact dwelling in a backyard, and a sensitive renovation of a 1950s abode.

The photography is byRafael Soldi.

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Project credits:

Architect: SHED Architecture and Design

Contractor: Ambrose Construction

Structural engineer: Todd Perbix

Landscape designer: Susan Papanikolas

Lighting designer: Sparklab Lighting Design

Casework: Beechtree Woodworks

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Burwell Architects completes renovation of Denys Lasdun's Charles Clore House

Burwell Architects has refurbished a Brutalist icon that houses a legal research centre for the University of London, improving the existing library and workplace facilities while retaining the Grade II-listed structure's original aesthetic.

The university's Institute of Advanced Legal Studies occupies several floors of Charles Clore House, which is part of the Bedford Way complex completed by renowned British architect Denys Lasdun in 1976.

The renovation of Denys Lasdun's Charles Clore House was completed by Burwell Architects

The building, which overlooks Russell Square in the heart of Bloomsbury, is home to the IALS Library, which is considered to be one of the world's leading legal research libraries.

Burwell Architects, which has offices in London and Exeter, was commissioned to oversee a multi-phase programme of works aimed at ensuring the library is able to meet the evolving needs of the global legal research community.

The refurbishment preserved the original mid-century features

The modernisation of Charles Clore House preserves the building's form and sensitively upgrades the interior to improve its comfort, accessibility, security and environmental performance.

"The necessary improvements to the mid 20th-century building fabric and services presented the opportunity to appraise the existing internal arrangements and re-align these with the culture and needs of end users for the 21st century," said Burwell Architects director Christopher Gilbert.

The research centre is located across the second, third, fourth and fifth levels of the building

The main interventions involved reorganising the library, administration and academic research spaces to take advantage of views towards Russell Square and the surrounding neighbourhood.

The existing library entrance was moved from the fourth to the second floor and reoriented so it overlooks the square.

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The architects also upgraded the library's study facilities to include private rooms, meeting rooms and informal spaces for group study that are positioned within the circulation areas.

The previous cellular arrangement of the administrative spaces was replanned to create a more open layout that promotes interaction and collaboration.

The studio rearranged the floor plan to improve the layout

Upgrades to the building's services and infrastructure include the addition of an external lift next to the main entrance. Issues such as traffic noise and overheating in summer were also addressed to make the interior spaces more practical and comfortable.

New interventions utilise materials including anodised aluminium, painted metal, stained timber, fabrics and period colours that were carefully chosen to complement the existing features.

"We developed a materials palette that is intended to reinforce and update the original Lasdun feel," claimed Gilbert, "while elsewhere sensitive repairs were carried out to remove accumulated fittings from several decades of use and maximise the contribution of the fine concrete finishes."

The interior was sensitively updated to suit modern use

The project's planning and implementation was spread over a period of five years, with a phased delivery strategy allowing the improvements to be carried out without disrupting the building's daily operations.

Denys Lasdun was responsible for several brutalist landmarks in central London, including the Keeling House apartment building in Bethnal Green, and the Royal College of Physicians building in Regent's Park. His signature style combined cubic forms, exposed concrete, long perspectives and open, cantilevered forms.

Materials were specifically chosen to complement the Brutalist architecture

He is best known as the architect of the Royal National Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames, which architecture firm Haworth Tompkins refurbished in 2015, adding a new aluminium-clad production facility that complements the existing building.

Architect Ben Allen renovated his own two-storey apartment in Keeling House in 2020, adding mirrored furniture and artworks by Olafur Eliasson to the bright interior.

The photography is byBen Blossom.

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