Do Architects Design Their Own Homes? 5 Interesting Examples

As an architect, do you often think about literally bringing work home? The answer would vary according to your personality—whether you are a nervous perfectionist or a confident adventurer. Architects are sometimes restricted by their clients’ requirements, hence it can be interesting being your own client for once; it gives you the chance to freely explore and express your identity both as an architect and as a human being.

Do Architects Design Their Own Homes?

Architects utilize their own homes as a design experiment as well as a reflection of their own values and goals. Their education and experience provide a foundation or starting point, but the effects of their culture, lifestyle, and childhood environment are naturally incorporated into their architecture.

The majority of architects would design their own dream homes if they afford to, however, others would fear the thought of living day to day surrounded by mistakes of your own creation—architects are critics after all, and it is not that easy to criticize yourself.

There are several convincing reasons why architects rarely design their own houses. According to a construction industry expert, young and newly graduated architectural practitioners typically do not have the cash to construct a home. Over the years they spend waiting to buy their first property, the idea of a perfect dream house evolves and becomes the architect’s final goal upon retirement.

For quite the same reason, building a new home necessitates a significant amount of time both on the design board and on the construction site. An architect may be too preoccupied with his work to devote time to planning and building his own home. It’s unpaid labor, and it’s a waste of manpower. He’d be better off using this time to work for a client on a paid project.

5 Interesting Examples of Architects Designing Their Own Homes

• Steinhaus by Günther Domenig

Image via Creative Commons

A Longitudinal Section

The ‘Steinhaus’ at Lake Ossiach, near Klagenfurt, became a personal manifesto for architect Günther Domenig, who designed it. It served as an outlet for his technical and formal experiments as well as a focal point for his architectural ambitions over the course of its construction. The Steinhaus has become a cultural symbol, having held concerts, been published in several books and publications, and been the focus of television and art initiatives.

• Mood Ring House by SILO AR + D

Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

Concept Diagram

The Mood Ring House investigates how buildings might have separate day and night presences, each with its own set of sensory and spatial aspects. Despite its prominent massing, the architecture has a modest character throughout the day due to the site orientation and subdued material palette. Illuminated soffits create volumes by projecting colored light from hidden energy-saving LED bulbs at night. Colors are influenced by the house’s personality as well as the owners’ preferences.

• Architects’ House by Morphogenesis

Image is Courtesy of Amit Mehra

Courtesy of Morphogenesis

The Architects’ House has been utilized as a platform to study two contemporary design issues: the family as a social unit and the environment. With new space needs and ideals of comfort, the Indian family’s lifestyle has evolved in the age of global travel and internet media. Local resources are frequently at odds with changing lifestyles. The designers show that it is feasible to solve lifestyle and environmental challenges with inventiveness.

• Tower House by Gluck+

Courtesy of Paul Warchol

Courtesy of Gluck

Tower House was built as a four-story tower with a “treetop aerie” for Thomas Gluck, one of the firm’s owners, and his family as a weekend hideaway with mountain views across the surrounding Catskill Park. The house is completely glazed on all sides. Gluck+ has installed dark green panels behind the walls to blend in with the surrounding woodland in some locations, while other areas are left transparent, displaying a bright yellow stairway that zigzags up behind the southern elevation.

• Hemeroscopium House by Ensamble Studio

Courtesy of Ensamble Studio

Courtesy of Ensamble Studio

Hemeroscopium House, created by and for Ensamble Studio’s Antón Garca-Abril, appears to defy gravity. The architect took a year to design the house, but it was barely put together in seven days. Through the use of structure, the house was created to trap a domestic area and a distant horizon in an apparently unstable balance. Gravity is triggered by heavy structures and large actions; as a result, the structures define the space and allow the vision to escape.