Stories On Design // Cunning Cantilevers.

The soaring cantilever is a daring thing of beauty. It speaks of ambition, inspiration, unconventionality and an aversion for doing things the easy way. It’s the extreme sport of architecture as it defies gravity and screams “look at me!”. Compelling to view at and a thrill to experience, the cantilever is a dramatic design statement that isn’t for the faint hearted.

While there are many cunning cantilevers out there, not all of them want to knock you out or aim to shock. Some are defined by subtlety, delicacy and nuance. And contrary to popular belief, a cantilever is not just an excuse to burn through your budget but also has the potential to vastly improve design. Long story short, cantilever structures are more than meets the eye. So, get ready because we’re about to scale the lengths of over 25 cantilevers from every corner of the world!

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Photography by Hiroshi Ueda, Courtesy of UID Architects.

+node by UID Architects // + node is a cantilevered wooden house by Japanese studio UID Architects that hovers 10 meters above the forest floor and has a space beneath to allows trees to grow up inside. Located in Hiroshima Prefecture, the all-timber building brings the surrounding woodland to its inhabitants. According to the architect Keisuke Maeda, “the site is located at the node point of nature and human-made places.” It is a place for animals, plants and human beings. It’s like an awesome grown up’s version of a tree house!

Images © Modscape.

Cliff House by Modscape // This five storey modular home is Modscape’s theoretical response for extreme parcels of coastal land in Australia. Inspired by the way barnacles cling to the hull of a ship, this concept was developed for a modular home to hang off the side of a cliff as opposed to sitting on top of it. The home is visualised as a natural extension of the cliff face rather than an addition to the landscape, creating an absolute connection with the ocean. Since conventional construction would not suffice in this case, the concept uses Modscape’s modular design and prefabrication technologies to deliver a series of stacked modules that are anchored into the cliff face using engineered steel pins. This is a wild proposal that dares to be different, bring it on!

Photography by inexhibit.com, Werner Huthmacher & Luke Hayes.

Messner Mountain Museum Corones by Zaha Hadid Architects // Messner Mountain Museum Corones is surrounded by the alpine peaks of the Zillertal, Ortler and Dolomites. Established by renowned climber Reinhold Messner, the sixth and final Messner Mountain Museum explores the traditions, history and discipline of mountaineering. Zaha Hadid explains the concept of the design that “the idea is that visitors can descend within the mountain to explore its caverns and grottos, before emerging through the mountain wall on the other side, out onto the terrace overhanging the valley far below with spectacular, panoramic views.” Very cool.

All images © Nigel Young.

Kulm Eispavillon in St Moritz by Foster + Partners // Kulm Eispavillon has been renovated and extended by Foster + Partners in the resort town of St Moritz, Switzerland. Originally built in 1905, the Kulm Eispavillon had fallen into disrepair. Now the building has been completely overhauled with the addition of an ice skating rink, a new club restaurant and a sun terrace. Foster + Partners incorporated a new multipurpose building to expand the pavilion’s capacity to host events. The design pays homage to the region’s long history of woodcraft, with a cantilevering roof that extends from the street edge to form a partially sheltered space. This canopy is made of horizontal wooden slats which allow for views through to street level. A truly beautiful intervention.

Berman House Joadja Southern Highlands by Harry Seidler // This absolute masterpiece by Harry Seidler is built against a rock cliff face with a suspended living area and projecting balcony overlooking the dramatic natural setting. Following the rocky plateau, the plan is arranged on two levels with the glazed pavilion of the living area below the upper bedroom wing. Available as a holiday rental, you can now enjoy the breathtaking panoramic views for yourself. I’ll meet you by the pool!

GASP! by Room 11 // Room 11 have created a 3km riverside pathway in Hobart, Tasmania where brightly coloured boardwalks are punctuated with public pavilions. Named GASP! an acronym of Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park, the project was conceived as a community park that combines an arts programme with a play space for young children. The ribbon-like pathway ends at a cantilevering pavilion with a large red-tinted window that frames the Tasmanian landscape. Colour and architecture have been used here as a vehicle for re-evaluation and re-appreciation of place.

Photography by Ricardo Oliveira Alves.

Tree Snake Houses by Luís Rebelo de Andrade + Tiago Rebelo de Andrade in Portugals Pedras Salgadas Park // These two snake like forms peer out from the trees in Pedras Salgadas Park in Northern Portugal. The structures offer accommodation for one or two inhabitants in a rural holiday resort on the edge of a spa town. The architects aimed to “recreate the fantasy of tree houses”, by designing spaces that sit amongst the tree branches. Rather than climbing upwards, the structures maintain a flat level, which gradually becomes more elevated as the ground slopes away underneath. Both buildings are constructed from timber, but are externally clad with slate tiles that create the impression of rough scales.

Photography by Patricia Parinejad.

Nhow Hotel Berlin by NPS Tchoban Voss // Nhow Hotel by NPS Tchoban Voss is a music and lifestyle hotel that opened in Berlin in 2010. The architecture of the Nhow Berlin is most accessible when seen from the river Spree. To the sides the East and West Towers take on elements of the pre-existing adjacent storage buildings with their uneven brick facades, while the centre of the Upper Tower (floors 8 to 10) appears to float at a height of 36 metres over the Spree. The gigantic 21-meter cantilever of this building comes close to the limit of that is structurally possible. Equally thrilling are the views to be seen from the ten-metre-wide river-side promenade and the spacious terrace on the river-bank side of the building that is clad in reflective stainless steel panels.

Photography by Murray Fredericks, Simon Wood & John Gollings.

One Central Park by Ateliers Jean Nouvel with PTW // One Central Park has joined the list of Sydney’s iconic landmarks with its flourishing vegetated facade and its towering cantilever crowns. One Central Park offered the architects a canvas of an entirely new scale where they managed to integrate the experience of living in harmony with the natural world. An assembly of motorised mirrors capture sunlight and direct the rays down onto Central Park’s gardens and after dark the structure is a canvas for leading light artist Yann Kersalé’s LED art installation. This is an ambitious building that totally nails it!

Photography by Hugo Carvalho Araújo.

Casa do Geres in Portugal by Carvalho Araujo // Casa do Geres interacts with the land in a very unconventional way by embracing its steep slope and a small stream that runs through it. Located in the Canicada Valley, the large home consists of two main materials of wood and concrete. A large wood volume rests on a concrete base and extends over the land to the waterline. The use of these two materials extends inside forming the floors, walls and ceilings of the house.

Photography by Fernando Guerra.

Casa Redux by Studio Mk27 // Sandwiched between two striking concrete slabs, this intriguing house is made up of four rectilinear volumes. One of these is entirely glazed and accommodates an open-plan living space, while two others are wrapped in timber and contain the bedrooms. The fourth houses a garage. The house features a concrete swimming pool which also hovers and cantilevers off the ground.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Sandro Lendler, Ivan Dorotić & Želimir Gržančić.

Nest and Cave House Abbazia in Croatia by Idis Turato // The trend for extreme cantilevers continues with this house in Croatia by architect Idis Turato, where one floor dramatically overhangs the other. Nest and Cave House overlooks the sea in the Opatija Riviera, Croatia where houses typically follow a vernacular style with gabled profiles and clay roof tiles. Unconventionally, this house has a more contemporary form that has greater dominance over the hillside.

Photography by Leonardo Finotti.

Oscar Freire by Triptyque // Oscar Freire by Triptyque is a complex that was designed as a metal structure made up of a ground level form and an observatory above. Massive and cubic in volume, the observatory floats above adjacent rooflines and is balanced on an asymmetric structure. Completely covered with stainless steel, reflections are distorted and blurred over time. The Observatory Oscar Freire is a dynamic form that was inspired by the concept of the Space City of Yona Friedman created in 1959.

Photography by 45g Photography.

House in Yatsugatake, Japan by Kidosaki Architects Studio // House in Yatsugatake by Kidosaki Architects Studio is located at the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains in Japan and uses mega structures to enable half of the house to cantilever into the air. To support the large overhanging floor, 2 diagonal bracing steel cylinders were introduced. With this, the house floats in to the midst of its glorious natural surroundings.

Photography by Peter Bennetts.

Moor Street Residence by Austin-Maynard Architects // Moor Street Residence is a petit family home that has been renovated to suit a growing family in the inner suburb of Fitzroy, Melbourne. The tactic was to maximise the interior functions and available space, while also responding to the context by creating a single building out of three small objects rather than a single contemporary monolith.

Photography by Satoshi Asakawa.

Fly Out House by Tatsuyuki Takagi Architects Associates // Fly Out House is a minimalist timber framed structure by Tatsuyuki Takagi Architects Associates located in Aichi, Japan. The house is oriented so that it wouldn’t look onto the congested canal but rather have a harmonious relationship with the surrounding natural environment. Raised up by a cantilevered concrete slab, the protruding volume is set above ground level to avoid direct views of passing traffic, instead framing views of housing on the opposite side of the road.

Photography by Greg Richardson.

Two Hulls House by MacKay Lyons Sweetapple Architects Architecture // This project is situated in a glaciated, Canadian coastal landscape with views to pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters. These two pavilions float above the shoreline like two ship’s hulls forming protected outdoor places both between and under them. This is a full-time home for a family of four; consisting of a ‘day pavilion’ and a ‘night pavilion’. This project is both sculptural and monumental yet evokes a sense of calm. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t mind living with that gorgeous view every day!

Photography by Parham Taghioff.

Mosha House by New Wave Architecture // Mosha House sits atop the Alborz Mountains just north of Tehran. Studio New Wave Architecture was inspired to capture the breathtaking views and set about creating wide, limitless vistas. There’s an exhilarating sense of suspension as three cantilevered boxes protrude from the mountain face each rotated at a central point. The exterior is an angular form draped in white render while the interior is mellowed by raw pale timber. New spaces are generated from the unconventional layout where the ceilings of each story become the terrace. All that lies ahead are panoramic views – it’s altogether exhilarating and downright refreshing!

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Martin Gardner.

The Quest House by Strom Architects // The Quest House by Strom Architects is a house that challenges preconceptions of how architecture for older people should be designed. The rooms are arranged over one long storey, designed to suit the future needs of the clients. Larch cladding and full-height glazing make up the property’s facades, framing views of the surrounding woodland and the nearby Durlston Country Park. “The large cantilever has been achieved through two concrete planes: the floor and roof acting together like a space beam,” explained Ström. Here the cantilever feels restrained and perfectly in proportion. Love it!

Photography by Shinichi Ogawa and Associates.

S Gallery & Residence by Shinichi Ogawa and Associates // Shinichi Ogawa and Associates added a glazed wall to the elongated facade of S Gallery & Residence in Japan’s Mie prefecture so that the florist who owns it could look out to the forest. The reinforced concrete roof cantilevers from a steel framework, enclosing a corridor at the rear of the building, to ensure the gallery interior is free of any columns that might obstruct the view. A glazed wall runs along the 18-metre-wide facade and continues around the two ends to provide uninterrupted views of the natural landscape from the gallery space located behind it. According to the architects “the frameless glass makes this a special open space that is completely invaded by the exterior nature.”

Photography by Jeroen Musch.

Villa Kogelhof by Paul de Ruiter Architects // This eerily isolated villa in The Netherlands is raised above the landscape in a glazed box while the other half is buried underneath a pool of water. The architects wanted to create a simple, abstract and spectacular home that provided a comfortable environment all year-round while minimising its energy use. The result is a composition that consists of two square stacked volumes: one underground and one floating above ground. The house’s upper storey seems to hover above the landscape but is supported by a V-shaped steel frame at one end and a glazed box at the other. Inside there are several separate volumes for the kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom and a multifunctional room. The entire floor is covered with white epoxy and the furniture consists of designer classics from Le Corbusier and Eileen Grey. The façade is completely made of glass and offers a spectacular view over the surrounding landscape.

Photography by Bent René Synnevåg.

Villa S by Saunders Architecture // Villa S is the home of architect Todd Saunders of Saunders Architecture. The house is composed of three wood-clad elements, one vertical, two horizontal in Bergen, Norway. From the driveway you can see glimpses of the ribbon windows, flat roofs and shuttered facades. Clad in stained black wood, the house has an imposing presence with its towering form and glazing that reflects the sky and trees. Thanks to the long cantilever, there are views of the surrounding site beyond and beneath the structure, making the house look as though it hasjust landed on the site. According to Saunders, “the houses in the neighbourhood are not showing off and [this house] had to be a good neighbour.” I don’t know if this house blends in as such, but to me, the scale, proportions and materiality are just right!

Photography by David Frutos Ruiz.

Crossed House in Murcia, Spain by Clavel Arquitectos // Also known as the Crossed House, this dramatically cantilevering structure consists of two concrete blocks stacked on top of each other. These intersecting volumes are placed at angles on top of one another and cleverly ensure privacy on the ground floor while capturing the stunning views on the upper floor. The strategic arrangement of the two bodies and the rotation between them provides good orientation, excellent internal natural lighting and ample shade to the outdoor areas. The 10m long overhang is cunning alright and can be marvelled at whilst in the pool. But please, no jumping from the balcony!

Photography by Janez Martincic.

Alpine Cabin in Slovenia by OFIS arhitekti // Teetering on the edge of a mountaintop is this bold but tiny aluminium-clad cabin. The cantilevered form enjoys 360-degree views over Slovenia and Italy as well as spectacular views to Triglav, Soca Valley and Adriatic Sea. Made from a combination of cross-laminated timber, glass and aluminium; this shelter can accommodate up to 9 hikers, climbers, cavers or mountaineers. The remote site can only be accessed by foot or helicopter and interestingly, Slovenian studio OFIS Arhitekti used the Slovenian army to airlift the cabin into place. Perilous? Yes. Petrifying? Sure. But oh what extraordinary fun!

Photography by Robert Lemermeyer.

Glacier Skywalk by Sturgess Architecture // Glacier Skywalk by Sturgess Architecture is an incredible structure that is suspended 280 metres above the ground and forms part of a 450-metre walkway in the Jasper National Park, Canada. The walkway feels as though it were born from the landscape and a natural extension of the land. Echoing the rugged masses of the surrounding mountains, the landscaped path features folded walls of weathered steel that are set into the hillside. The parabola cantilever, with tempered and heat-strengthened glass, reveals an unobstructed of the valley below. The cantilever is the result of an engineering technique that takes advantage of a balance formed by opposing tension and compression members and eliminates the need for a more traditional superstructure of pylons and cables above the outlook. Absolutely incredible!

Photography by Shahriyar Mazaheri.

Dashte Noor Gym Building by Narges Nassiri Toosi // Dashte Noor Gym Building by Narges Nassiri Toosi is a public building in Northern Iran that provides body building and gym facilities for nearby residents. Its construction is made up of two walls which face east and west, both of which are huge and move with a curve to pull the 9-meter cantilever in the entrance. The architect envisioned that the mass would evolve from the ground and move very softly until it reached the sky. This sexy building form would certainly make me go to the gym more often!

Photography by Tim Van De Velde.

Enjoy Concrete HQ by Govaert & Vanhoutte Architects // The design for the headquarters for Enjoy Concrete showcases the company’s own capabilities being constructed entirely out of prefabricated concrete elements. The tree-patterned facade is set to a grid which determines the proportions of the building and the window extents. A cantilevered volume is located at the top corner of the building. The long volume was made of a lighter steel structure, allowing large windows on the south west façade. The cantilevered board room glows red at night making this building red hot!