Our Home of the Week this week is the Yalong Royal Moon Bay Villas in Yuyao, Ningbo, China. Now we travel some 5,500 miles from China to Iceland to visit Big Little Rock, our Single-Family Platinum winner in the Best in American Living Awards’ International category.
Big Little Rock is a modest house designed for an easy lifestyle and to blend into the beautiful Icelandic nature.
Vacation home or year-round, its simple, eco-conscious design focuses on functionality and creates a healthy living environment for the family.
The home integrates with the landscape, and a conscious effort was made to use materials in their most organic form, reducing impact on the environment.
It embraces history with forms found in traditional mud houses. The sod roof and walls form the solid building.
However, concrete, wood and glass unify to create the building. Large and expansive windows and openings are used in the living area to provide abundant natural light, frame the beautiful landscape and enable a seamless connection with nature.
Sustainable practices like using recycled materials such as rubber tires within the kitchen wall are common throughout. The home is open, and glass is used to make the nature fill into the house. The summers are filled with endless sun while the winters glow with the Northern Lights, and the snow is so bright it lights up the endless darkness.
Project Team
- Architect: Minarc – Architect’s Website
- Builder: Owner
- Interior Designer: Minarc- Interior Designer’s Website
- Developer: Owner
Related Links
- BALA International Single-Family Gold Winner: Waterfront Hideaway: Gambier Island, British Columbia, Canada
- BALA International Multifamily Platinum Winner: Jinshan Town Center, Guangzhou, China
- BALA International Community Facility Platinum Winner: Lingshui Blue Bay Golf Course/Clubhouse, Hainan Province, China
