Catalog House / Pend Architects

Pend has completed a comprehensive renovation and integration of two former flats into a single family home in the Trinity suburb of Edinburgh for long-term clients and collaborators, Dixie and Ralf, owners of independent multi-brand design store, Catalog Interiors in Stockbridge. The project focuses on the functionality of Catalog House as a forever family home and as an intuitive backdrop for hosting, balancing inviting and open spaces with more personal, family oriented areas.

Marginalized in architectural discourse and often dismissed as purely functional, parking garages remain among the most ubiquitous structures in the urban landscape. Designed to accommodate the needs of private vehicles, they occupy central locations, shape skylines, and consume considerable resources, yet rarely receive the same attention — or architectural care — as cultural institutions, schools, or housing. Despite their prevalence, these buildings tend to fade into the background of daily life, treated as infrastructural necessities rather than as design opportunities.

The Arthur Residence was designed for a finish carpenter and emergency room doctor from South Africa with a passion for gardening. The couple was seeking a modest sanctuary with ample space for privacy and respite from the outside world. They selected an infill site near downtown Regina, in a mature neighborhood where small bungalows are rapidly being replaced by conventional homes. In contrast, the Arthurs wanted to challenge this development with a thoughtful alternative.

Stones hold time. Some are formed by the sudden solidification of magma, like basalt, whose dense structure and dark color result from rapid cooling at the surface. Others, such as granite, are born slowly in deep magmatic chambers, where gradual cooling allows the growth of visible crystals, creating unique patterns and colors. There are also sedimentary rocks, formed by the compaction of mineral and organic debris over millions of years, with tones that reflect their chemical composition and the environment in which they were deposited. Transforming this geological diversity into a single continuous surface, terrazzo is a cementitious or mineral composite in which fragments of marble, granite, quartz, basalt, and other lithologies are embedded in a binding matrix, then polished to reveal the structure and luster of each particle. Unlike a homogeneous surface, terrazzo acts as a mineralogical showcase, where each aggregate retains its identity while contributing to a coherent whole, which can become a floor, wall cladding, or even furnitures.