Copan Apartment

amazing apartment in São Paulo, Brazil
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BRAZILIAN HAACK HOUSE

Brazilian architecture firm, 4d-Arquitetura designed this beautiful home in a gated community in Guaíba, Brazil. The house was constructed in three parallel blocks. The central block of the house has two floors: the ground floor for the living, dinner and leisure rooms; the second floor contains more private areas. The other blocks contain the four car garage and other private spaces.
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House Studio

Italian architecture company Studiota transformed a residential space into a stunning contemporary home. The House Studio residential project covers 915 square feet – enough space for all the necessary facilities to be carefully reconfigured into more inviting and modern spaces. Located near Piazza Castello, on Via Bertola in Turin, Italy, the residential project features a bold and soothing combination of wooden floors and wood volumes shaping the interior design. Reconstructed with a budget of  €80,000, the House Studio features living spaces on the east side, while the nighttime  invites owners and guests to the west area, where the bedroom is.
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haus w

'haus w' by london-based practice kraus schönberg architects is a private, low-energy dwelling 
for a young couple and their two children in hamburg, germany. conceived as an affordable prefabricated 
project, the house is composed of two parts - an upper and lower level - that seeks to connect the interior 
space together while engaging with the surrounding lush site through a transparent gap that wraps around
the residence at ground level. 
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heatherland poolhouse

an extension to a single family dwelling in devon, united kingdom, the 'heatherland poolhouse' is designed by 
london-based satellite architects. the folded facade and roof pitches frame outward views into the landscape, 
transitioning from the living spaces of the original house. the additions steps downward into the sloping terrain
leading towards a pool, gym and sauna. the angled and stepped walls envelope the volume to form bands of 
clerestory windows to introduce natural daylight from above.
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Wood'Insane Design: Stools

Renaud Dancie, a french creator is hand-making these classy stools and other home decors with reclaimed wood from the french “Landes” forest. Via Design Don't Panic.

-priscilla giler

Porsche 911 track day

I know it has nothing to do with architecture, but my love for sports cars sometimes transpire into the blog...

One day at the Porsche track event with the new 911 code name 991.
I was invited by PCNA and The Collection to an "Undercover" event at the Miami Homestead Speedway today. One day of pure track events and Autocross behind the wheel of this great automobile. Porsche NA flew 6 instructors from Porsche Driving School in Birmingham, Alabama to Homestead Speedway in Miami for a 3 part day that con sited of Autocross, Track and technical Q/A about the new model. I felt like the smart kid in class… answering every single question the guy asked to the audience! :)

We all know the first impressions and road test drives and accolades that the car provides but you don't get as many track oriented POVs

We had 2 cars dedicated to Autocross only and 8 cars for the Track. (some of then only had 23 miles!). The Autocross ones came with Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control. And it makes the whole car feel like a giant go kart. Turns were "neck snapping" quick and body roll was totally absent. The course was conservative with a long straight for acceleration and a series of twists to test your reflexes. We paired with an instructor as a co-pilot and went ahead 3 laps. Then it rained and we did 3 extra laps with an instructor sitting next to us giving us directions. The car really makes all this seems very easy. We weren't allowed to disable PSM; and with the weather condition, I wouldn't touched that button either! Then, the instructors took the lead and let us go "shotgun" for a hot lap at AutoCross… OMG. I told my instructor… "so, this is how you do it?"

We had a short break and move to the Track portion of the event. If you are familiar with Homestead Speedway, you know that you'll get a good mix of fast turns, twists and long banked straights were we could reach top speed…
Again, raining was the ruler of the day but that would make us better drivers. The car handles so well, that you would forget it's raining/wet. Turns were flat and acceleration was splendid. The brakes never showed any fade and provided plenty of confidence. Again, we did 3 laps following a Pace car and we switched with our co-pilot. At the end, the instructor drove us for a HOT lap. Hot when wet. These guys are amazing!

To wrap this up, the car is more than capable on the track, yes, it has a lot of comfort items and it feels luxurious but I don't like to drive a car with metal floor pans, no insulation and just a sequential stick popping from the floor… console less! If you want that, wait for the 991 GT3.

I hope you enjoy the read and I would like to take 34 words to thank Porsche North America, Porsche Driving School Instructors and The Collection Porsche for putting such a great event for us… mere mortals.

p.s. it was cool that they let us park right at the pits... only requirement: Porsches only! hilarious