house5

This project is another prototype in a series of houses which is an ongoing personal investigation and research into small houses. This project delves into the archetypical aspects of buildings and questions common notions of 21st-century house design.

The program has been fixed throughout this investigation. It includes a living, dining, and kitchen spaces on the first level with 3 bedrooms on the upper level. Other amenities include a fourth bedroom or home office on the first floor. The form is modeled to downplay the utilitarian functions in articulation but uses them as opportunities to highlight other spaces.

Formally, a platonic cube is inserted into the site aiming to contrast but not upstage the natural wooded surroundings. The cube is both a pure form visually as well as an efficient economically. It is the only part of the house expressed in brick. Other programmatic elements extend out of this cube on one of the two axes in order to emphasize the axial relationships and anchor the house, which is located at the apex of a steep hillside. As these additional forms expand outward, they create opportunities for outdoor spaces connecting the living areas with natural surroundings. The purity of the brick is challenged but highlighted by the expanding forms, thus strengthening its role as an anchor to the site