{"id":391537,"date":"2026-04-10T11:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/391537\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:52:10","slug":"they-should-have-embraced-what-they-avoided-says-commenter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/391537\/","title":{"rendered":"“They should have embraced what they avoided,” says commenter"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this week’s comments update, readers are discussing the renovation of a 20th-century villa in Lviv by Ukrainian architecture studio Replus Bureau<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Villa Quince was originally designed in a neoclassical style in 1906 and altered by architect J\u00f3zef Hornung in 1922, before being renovated by Replus Bureau. The studio contrasted the exposed surfaces of the home’s historic shell with contemporary extensions and finishes.<\/p>\n

\"Neoclassical<\/a>Replus Bureau avoids “nostalgic reconstruction” in Ukrainian villa renovation<\/p>\n

“Fantastic palimpsest!”<\/p>\n

The comments were left split, with some readers enjoying the modern twist on the heritage structure.<\/p>\n

JZ<\/a> said, “Fantastic palimpsest!”, while Ann Jones<\/a> wrote a simple but effective, “Lovely.”<\/p>\n

Marius<\/a> shared a similar sentiment, writing “There is a heartwarming hope in the reconstruction of the villa in Ukraine now.”<\/p>\n

Others weren’t as appreciative. “To me the most hurtful thing in all of this is that an architectural marvel was utterly violated and destroyed beyond recognition and beyond future preservation,” said Weetbix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Similarly scathing, Souji<\/a> wrote, “Maybe they should have embraced what they avoided. That extension looks really bad and lazy.”<\/p>\n

What do you think? Join the discussion \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Arts<\/a>Arts and Crafts details enliven London housing by Metropolitan Workshop<\/p>\n

“Charming, quirky and characterful”<\/p>\n

Garnering overwhelmingly positive feedback in the comments section this week was an Arts and Crafts-style affordable housing development in London by Metropolitan Workshop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alfred Hitchcock<\/a> had nothing but praise, writing, “This is a housing development that people will actually want to live in and will be happy to live nearby. It’s charming, quirky and characterful.”<\/p>\n

Ghost of Mike Brady<\/a> was just as enthusiastic, saying, “Quirky and a little overwrought, but original and well built. A breath of fresh air!”<\/p>\n

“Fits in, stands out, beautifully done. Architecture begets architecture \u2013 being informed by place and style demonstrates a deep engagement with the art and artistry of architecture,” said Jb<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Really thoughtful, refined, and whimsical,” wrote Mr Marsden<\/a>, “Love it.”<\/p>\n

Some commenters approached the project with a more practical lens.<\/p>\n

“As much as I love the energy of this complex, my enthusiasm keeps tripping over its ill-resolved details that act like speedbumps. So I find myself trying to defend its wonkiness as one might embrace a child’s drawing,” said David Chase Martin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lust Demon Laz<\/a> was on a similar page, writing, “Looks more expressionist rather than Arts and Crafts to me; but overall a lovely design. Though I do wish the interiors were more than the typical modern white box.”<\/p>\n

Have you had your say? Join the discussion \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>Black concrete defines “strong and monolithic” Casa Mavra in Mexico<\/p>\n

“I don’t think this is the flex it thinks it is”<\/p>\n

Also causing a stir in the comments section this week was Taller Alberto Calleja’s black-concrete Casa Mavra in Mexico that blends in with the shadows of the surrounding forest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

JZ<\/a> had nothing but praise. “Pretty badass,” he said. “The constant opening and closing of the interior to the landscape, with the always shifting path of the sun, seems to make the spaces constantly in flux.”<\/p>\n

The Truth<\/a> was in agreement, stating “If the design goal is to maximise heat loss via an enormous roof area and exterior wall area-to-floor-area ratio, and to maximise the house’s carbon footprint with tons of concrete, then the architects did a great job.”<\/p>\n

However, other readers were less supportive of the monolithic structure. “I’m sure that the architect had fun designing it and selling it to the client, and initially they will no doubt enjoy living in it, until it begins to become painful and the lack of practicality and homeliness sets in,” wrote Alfred Hitchcock<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think this is the flex it thinks it is,” said Love Your Hair Hope You Win<\/a> bluntly.<\/p>\n

What’s your take? Join the discussion \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

Comments update<\/p>\n

Dezeen is the world’s most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our\u00a0comments page<\/a>\u00a0and subscribe to our weekly\u00a0Debate newsletter<\/a>, where we feature the best reader comments from stories in the last seven days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this week’s comments update, readers are discussing the renovation of a 20th-century villa in Lviv by Ukrainian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,1863,308,93,6403,61,60,3949,6399,814,815,1864,2040,146920],"class_list":{"0":"post-391537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-comments","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-extensions","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-renovations","19":"tag-residential-extensions","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture","22":"tag-sectioncomments","23":"tag-ukraine","24":"tag-villas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}