The Edge House is quite unusual in that it was originally designed for a narrow plot in Marbella with amazing views – so we wanted these views to be safeguarded, even from the kitchen in the very back of the house.
The house has spectacular cantilevers on the front, supported by structural walls on one side only – and a strong “graphical” look.
This cantilevered front is used often in our designs, as it creates a great view for the main room as well as the master bedroom on top.
When combined with a second volume in an L shaped design – it becomes our “flying house” design. And occasionally we´ve used two cantilevered volumes, like in the St. John house on the USVI.
a typical modernist design. Strong shapes and sleek lines make a bold statement.
In the first half of the 20th century, new materials and techniques like steel beams and large glass panes, allowed architects to create new, larger and more “graphical” shapes and spaces.
No longer constrained by the small spans that older techniques dictated, the “mid century modern” architects started creating houses with totally new shapes.
Bauhaus, Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson Le Corbusier are typical exponents of this. In the early years, a certain obsession with steel and glass made the houses sometimes a little too “cold” and “sterile”; but these days are long gone.
Today, 7 decades later, thousands and thousands of difference modern façades and layout have been created, but probably only 10 or 20 archetypes have stood the test of time and have become really timeless.
Getting the shapes and proportions exactly right is extremely important. Modern designs are “easy” to copy but at the same time easily destroyed. Today, almost every architect claims to do “modern” design – but if it´s not their real talent and vocation – steer clear.
A modernist design – the “left wing” architype – using steel columns that reminisce the mid-century style
Perhaps surprisingly, Brazil has been an early adapter of modernism and has probably some of the best modern architects of the world, with Marcio Kogan (studioMK27)on of our personal favourites.
Our teams our spread from Europe to Brazil and Australia, have a long track record of good modern design. After all, it´s all we do, and we´ve been doing this for a long time.
The sliding house – one of our first modern villa designs – back in 2013
Our default style at Modern Villas is “warm minimalist” – although of course we always follow the client´s cue. We´re designing a house for you, not for us.
Minimalist house design means: clean lines, shapes and forms, with a minimum of clutter.
All visible shapes and volumes – walls, windows, roofs, doors, terraces – should combine in a beautiful, harmonious, balanced “rhythm”. All proportions should be just right.
This is perhaps an art more than a science; and it explains why less specialized architects often create designs that are “almost there”, but still a little bit messy.
It takes a special talent – and a lot of time and patience – to iterate designs until all shapes are not only “functional” but also balanced and harmonious.
The Modern Villas workflow is organized specifically to this end. We use multiple creative teams in “swarm mode” – like a visual brainstorm session – as well as custom technology – in such a way that dozens of “variations” can be generated relatively quickly. Until eventually… everything just falls in place.
The result: a house that feels welcoming, relaxing, beautiful and uncluttered; usually with long, uninterrupted lines of sight. Without any unnecessary interruptions or visual obstacles.
And no, “minimalist” homes do not have to be cold: using the right materials and proportions, they can deliver high-touch, warm, human, and beautifully textured “experiences”.
We love the touch of natural stones – like untreated travertine, which feels as if you´re walking on a beach; beautiful woods with soft textures, organic textiles…
Exactly how minimalist you want to go, is up to you. Some clients want go extremely minimal, as their minds won´t be in peace until every unnecessary detail is removed.
Others like a more “opulent” style where the house itself is nothing but a minimalist “canvas” where richer details in the form of furniture, art, unique ceilings etc. can be added.
Understanding exactly where you are on the scale of minimalism is one of the first cornerstones of our design process.
an “average” level of minimalism, for this version of our “sliding house” designa slightly more minimalist, almost brutalist, version of our “flying house” design, rendered with Gemini AIan opulent, almost “maximalist” minimalism version of our “Eagles House” design, rendered with Grok AI
Our design-sensitive Ukrainian clients were moving from California to Texas and wanted sleek, minimalist, yet spectacular all-white modern architecture for their 1-acre plot near Dallas, definitely breaking the traditional mold of the neighbourhood.
The kids also received special attention in this house – with an indoor play area that is almost as large as the lounge, a tiny (but functional!) kitchen, and special kid-sized appliances in many of the bathrooms.
An additional independent apartment was created for the couple´s parents.
All in all – a pretty ambitious program that required much more space on the ground floor than on the upper floor
The house will be built with state-of-the-art building techniques (ICF and MgO Sips panels) which keep costs down while providing far more insulation and comfort than the traditional wood-framed houses so common in the U.S.
The Abidjan House, a modern villas design in the Côte d’Ivoire
Modern Villas recently designed the Abidjan House – for an amazing 5 acre riverfront plot in the Ivory Coast.
The client, a successful businessman from Abidjan, has lived many years in Paris and knows exactly what luxury is. He wanted to achieve an absolutely state-of-the art house, both in terms of exterior and interior design, and contacted the luxury architects of Modern Villas to make this dream a reality. .
As the plot allowed for a 4-story building, the “ground” floor was actually raised one floor, so that all rooms would have views to the lagoon over the extensive gardens.
The central wing is the core of the house; it contains an impressive entrance as well as the main entertainment room – both with double height ceiling. The entrance itself is conceived as a refreshing oasis that welcomes visitors with a cool lagoon – flanked by interior gardens left and right – and a sculptural waterfall.
Recording of the virtual walkthrough – the first (!) phase of any Modern Villas design
The main living room offers panoramic views and space to entertain large groups with a double seating area; while it can be air-conditioned it is designed so that the oasis behind will generate a natural cross-ventilation and comfortable indoors-outdoors living.
On the ground floor, the right wing further holds a series of more intimate rooms – a family TV room, library, office, music room; with a stadium cinema room for 15 guests at the end.
The left wing holds the formal dining room, connected to a designer gourmet kitchen. The gourmet kitchen is where the family can have a private breakfast or have a glass of wine with friends; but it also hides a second, near-industrial kitchen with a large walk in freezer, which allows the owner to easily host events with 100 guests or more.
And finally, the left wing ends with a bar-slash-play room, again with panoramic views over the river and lagoon. .
On the first floor, the left wing holds generous suites for the client’s teenage kids; as well as a private entertainment area – so they can receive their own guests and feel independent, without needing to disturb the parents.
The right wing holds guest suites as well as a gym-with-a-view, complete with sauna. .
The top floor, which floats majestically over the double height living, is dedicated entirely to the owner’s suite. An amazing bedroom, his-and-hers dressing rooms, and a beautiful bathroom are just the start. Connected to this suite is a small service kitchen – so the owners can be served without the need for staff to enter the room; a home office, and a secure panic room.
On the terrace, a private resort area offers privacy for the family to catch some sun, enjoy the outdoor showers, jacuzzi or even a barbecue. . A house like this of course requires an extensive support system. Therefore, the service rooms and staff quarters are located in the back and have their own service elevator; and the circulation areas are designed – like in the best hotels – so that much of the service traffic can happen without interfering with the owners’ privacy.
The “garage” as well is out of this world. Guests can be dropped off just in front of the access, but drivers can then continue to the 15-car garage on the lower level.
Alternatively, and maybe during major events, they can drive straight into the garage where an internal patio, not much less impressive than the ground floor oasis, offers them a cool welcome. As the garage is actually on ground level, even this patio will enjoy natural light and ventilation.
This level also offers space for the guests’ drivers, and a separate service garage with a loading dock. This way, suppliers and service vans need not interfere with the VIP driveway and parking. All is organized so that the workings of the house are out of sight and – also for safety – separated from the private parts of the house.
Although rough construction will be done by an African construction company, most finishing and materials will be imported from Europe and executed by European specialists, such as to ensure the highest standard. The massive living room windows e.g. – nearly 8m high each – will have minimal frames and will slide away behind the sculptural pillars that “anchor” the impressive façade.
The architects of Modern Villas are designing a series of luxury villas and condo-hotels for U.S. luxury developers Oasis- for their high-end investment projects around the world.
The Oasis clubs are exotic retreats comprised of lushly landscaped grounds surrounding tropical lagoons. Each Oasis is located in convenient and prestigious neighborhoods of major cities, creating an idyllic refuge within an urban sprawl. An Oasis!
The Oasis luxury villas literally target the “jet set” – frequent users of private jets. Most buyers will probably use the villas only a few weeks per year – the rest of the year, the villas will be rented out by Oasis, and in exchange, the owner will get access to a number of private jet-hours in Oasis´ private jets.
Use of a few other perks like private yachts near the resorts, is included as well! So the architecture of the whole villa had to be designed with this in mind.
When used by the owner, it is a perfect 3-suite villa; when rented out, it offers three perfect suites, with separate entrances and terraces for each.
An amazing roof waterscape for the imperial upper suite surrounds the suites and connects seamlessly to the views while providing privacy for the lower units.
Modern Villas´ luxury architects created a glamourous, Miami-style villa, exuberant but refined, and totaling around 265 sqm, with a bright, luxurious feel and spa-style bathrooms.
The pool is a little resort all by itself – and features several fun pods like jacuzzis, kid´s pool, swim-in bar, in-pool cinema, etc. In the day, the shell-shaped floating lounge in the pool turns towards the sun – for that perfect sunbath with one´s feet in the water – at night, it turns and rises out of the water for a magical candle-lit movie session.
For a Belgian developer, specialized in minimalist architecture on the coast, Modern Villas did this quick study to show the potential of the building plot they bought in Marbella Club.
The design was made by the Brazilian team, based on the modernist, but warm, tropical minimalism so typical for this tropical country.
For a French client, Modern Villas just designed this eclectic mixture of traditional designs with modern, clean lines yet warm, high touch materials and interiors – Belgian style.
This is actually the way Modern Villas presents its “draft” designs… Clients get images, videos and even a 3D walkthrough so you can walk through your villa as if in a video game! Contact us ([email protected]) to see an example!
Clients already hàve luxury at home – when on holiday, they’re looking for a different experience, one that allows them to wind down without losing the comfort of home.
With time to relax, bathrooms become more than just functional or luxurious. Having a shower “outdoors” (or at least, with the outdoors experience), getting ready with a view of the ocean…
The bedroom can be more playful than at home, and a panoramic extra-wide view is a must. For this reason, we have created all suites to be extra-wide – avoiding the typical narrow and deep hotel suite format.
The above elements also make the house “instagrammable”. For resort success today, it is necessary to create “Instagram ops” as guests posting their unique views, bathroom and interiors are a key component of marketing success.
Size Impression & Width
With views like these, we prefer to maximize the width of the house to create a maximum number of rooms with views – and panoramic views at that!
This beats a “deep” house with “second line” rooms without views. It also creates a bigger perception of size – which boosts the value of the property for sales & rental. We’ve also created a little “double height” space near the monumental entrance door. This adds a little wow-factor to the first impression ánd provides natural updraft and cross ventilation – for those clients who do not like aircon 24/24.
The same logic was also applied to the pool: the swimming basin is only 37x11ft, keeping maintenance reduced, but the poolscape creates several different, shallow levels, different experiences, and different Instagram ops.
As a result, the pool looks twice as wide as it is. The pool is also slightly raised so it visually connects with the sea – without this, the green zone would show up between the pool and the ocean. Additionally, the infinity overflow on the terrace side creates a small waterfall with a zen-like and cooling effect. The cabana features an outdoor kitchen and a cool place to lunch in the shadow, enjoying the views of the pool and the ocean.
Openness
We emphasize “long” sightlines – where possible, from one corner of the house you can see all the way to the windows at the other end of the house – and further into the garden. From the bed, sightlines through the windows have exceptionally wide angles thanks to the slightly recessed bathroom walls. Those bathrooms, while offering privacy, are semi-open so the whole suite becomes a zen-like spa. Thanks to this strategy, all rooms are 22ft wide or more. We’ve shown the master suite on the ground level, which offers the best experience when the owners are in the house alone; sliding doors guarantee privacy – yet if preferred, the master can be on the first floor. Note that there ís a space in the back on the second floor which can be used as an office, playroom, or converted into a fifth room. Material choice Only two materials combine to create a tropical minimalist look – a natural stone (limestone, travertine), a warm wood white oak – with small details in white, black, or gold. Both materials are available as natural stone and wood – but also as tile and nano-printed aluminum, for ease of maintenance. Those sophisticated but high-touch materials create the ultimate barefoot luxury experience.
