On a plot in front of a public square, we were commissioned to design a contemporary house for a family of four. The small area as well as the orientation of the plot, led us to a design in which the building’s volume itself “generates” the corresponding outdoor spaces, sheltered or not. The residence is essentially composed of two rectangular volumes, a less solid one on the ground floor through which emerges a solid second one, that seems to hover, reaching the plot’s end, while creating a strong boundary towards the public square.
The handling of voids and fills follows the spaces being developed within this cubistic housing. Thus, the ground floor where the living areas are located, is placed in retreat while at the same time, through a large glass wall, it “opens” to the plot’s front yard, providing direct contact with the outdoor space. On the contrary, the first floor, where the bedrooms of the house are located, being on the second level, reaches the plot’s boundary, providing controlled contact with the public square. The strict geometry and shape of the building “lightens” at the top of the highest volume, where it unfolds through a single-pitched roof, while housing the first floor’s attic.
The white plaster is combined with the anthracite colour of both the roof’s cantilever and the window frames, in a game of contrasts and geometry. Finally, the perforated metal fence, in combination with the dense planting, provide the appropriate privacy to this residence.
