Articles by Hana Abdel

Real House frames the boldness and subtleties of the Sonoran Desert, translating these qualities into spaces that a young family of five can call home. A driving part of the design process was site selection with the clients. Their ambition was to find a foothills parcel with panoramic views, however, as this kind of property was unavailable, we instead transformed the opposite of their preconceptions into an opportunity. Situated on an introverted parcel along a quiet arroyo — with seemingly no views — downslope from a busy road and surrounded by neighbors, the design is transformative. The home reveals a dramatic sightline down the arroyo, while surprisingly capturing the opposing panoramic range of the Santa Catalina mountains.

Falling Leaves House occupies a ten-acre hillside in West Austin, where the design interprets the curved motion of oak leaves as a series of sculpted pavilion roofs. Three glass pavilions step down the limestone bluff, positioned to frame the surrounding forest, creek, and wildlife corridor. A carved cut in the slope forms the building pad and exposes the natural stone, echoing the grottos found along the creek below.

Situated on the southern shore of Lake Memphremagog, in the region of Potton, this residence engages with a landscape of striking geographical and atmospheric intensity. The site, defined by a steep incline descending toward a narrow strip of shoreline, is frequently cast in the shadow of the surrounding mountains, generating an ambiance at once archaic and contemplative. The architectural project emerges as a response to this dramatic setting — an attempt to co-inhabit the terrain with discretion and reverence.

Lantern House sits quietly among the oaks of Austin’s Bouldin Creek; a study in light, material, and restraint. The design transforms a densely wooded urban lot into a private sanctuary, where filtered daylight and layered transparency define the rhythm of daily life.

Built in 1811 on the banks of the Rivière des Mille Îles, the Aubé house is a patriot’s home nestled in the heart of a vast garden, a remnant of former farmland. Inhabited by the same family for generations, this site has become, over time, the stage for a multigenerational architectural and human story. Faced with evolving uses and the accumulation of ad hoc interventions, the owners wished to restore the heritage home to its original coherence and strength, while also increasing its capacity.

Remotely accessed via a winding former stagecoach road north-east of Healdsburg, California, the 2019 Kincade Fire destroyed the original off-grid house. The pioneering resourcefulness of the clients allowed them to embrace an alternative, landscape-driven lifestyle that follows the spirit of the nearby original historic Pine Flat community – a boomtown that flourished in the Mayacamas Mountains during the quicksilver and mercury rush in the 1870s.

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The Roberval Courthouse is set within an exceptional natural site, at the heart of the historic downtown, at the meeting point between a heritage urban fabric and the lakeshore landscape of Lac Saint-Jean. This context revealed both strong potential and complex challenges for the project: restoring a fragile century-old building, repairing past interventions that had severed its relationship with the lake, modernizing judicial spaces, integrating a substantial expansion without compromising the building’s symbolic value, and improving accessibility and security.