The ee24.com portal chose some amazing architectural projects that were completed in the recent past and some of which can be found in our catalog - the largest in the Russian Internet, dedicated to European real estate.
Architecture can rightly be considered as one of the major arts of our sublunary world. Beautiful or unusual houses are, of course, masterpieces of art; a talented architect receives worldwide recognition on a par with artists, fashion designers and representatives of other creative professions. As with any art, tradition and modernity coexist in architecture. We’ll discuss the latter.

The Dutch have always been known in Europe to be quite eccentric. No wonder. You can’t help becoming eccentric if your country is below sea level, and Mother Nature has not endowed you with gills. You have to worm your way out and develop engineering idea. Nowadays, this passion for the search for innovative solutions leads to such intricate buildings. These are houses, just in case. Yes, they are cubical. Yes, people live there. How? Don’t ask. You’d better turn on your fantasy and imagine yourself in the place of one of the residents of this funny house. It’s extremely hard to understand how they live there. Only one thing is clear - their lives can be anything but boring.

The architect of this house, located on the Costa Blanca, close to Murcia, obviously worked under the influence of the fashion trend in Europe - concerns about the environment. It can be seen in the presence of solar panels, which are very perfectly blended in design of the facade. The building as a whole gives the impression of openness and some airiness. You feel that the house is ready to open the wings and soar into the cloudless Spanish sky. Actually, the building stands firmly on the ground, and the airiness is shown in the fact that in the rooms it is not hot during the day and not stuffy at night. Given the Spanish climate, these are very important features.

Such modern villa is located in the city of Kemer on the Antalya coast of Turkey. At first glance, the house looks like shoe boxes stacked on top of each other in a wardrobe. But this impression is deceptive. Architect made sure that the building should pass a sense of solidity and confidence to its residents. It seems that the house is standing at the crossroads of time. Marble facing of facade evokes associations with antiquity, but the most modern technologies, used by the architect, bring us back to the realities of the 21st century.

In Faro, Portugal there is a villa that reminds us that the owners of the house will live on the Atlantic coast. Building design ideally exploits chic look to the vast expanses of the ocean. Large terrace, spacious windows, orientation to the West, allowing to enjoy the fantastic sunsets every evening. The architect showed us a great example of what the well-known expression "genio loci" means.

At last let’s have a look at Halkidiki, Greece. A three-storey villa, made an intriguing minimalist style is waiting for us here. Looking at the house from the outside, it may seem that it is quite small. But it's a tricky illusion that will be dispelled, as soon as you cross the threshold. The architect cleverly concealed spaciousness of inner rooms behind the outer diminutiveness. The house can easily accommodate a dozen people. He did not forget about the benefits of the place, having well-located the house on a hill, providing hosts and guests with a great sea view. I think that future owners of the villa will thankfully remember the creator again and again.

P.S. And as a special treat - a house that seems to have emerged from the paintings by Salvador Dali. Or probably it has successfully landed after a space flight of a couple of million light years. To tell the truth, I'm not sure I have enough courage to go and meet the residents of such outrageous home. Although it is likely that curiosity and desire to get to know people who willingly live in this masterpiece of postmodernism, will overcome the fear to meet reptilian mutants behind the door. What do you think? Who lives in the house?
Text: Ivan Ulitin, especially for ee24.com