Compact & light construction

The sloping plot of land is located 2.5m above street level and spans approximately 600m². On the land rises a building that encompasses a basement, two apartments spanning an entire storey each (150m² and 125m²) and a 300m² maisonette. The structure’s form and structure is unquestionably unconventional. However why did this form come take shape? It is a question that goes beyond the architects persistence to test at every opportunity their limits, the limits of the materials they use and that of the craftsmen. One of the project’s cornerstones was the creation of privacy for each of the three apartments and it dictated the smallest possible coverage of the land in order to allow for spacious garden areas. To this end, the first and second floor apartments are on a parallel arrangement to the road that splits the land into two areas. The land’s natural inclination forms a garden to the front at the same level as the first floor, while to the back a second garden is at level with the second floor. Positioned at a right-angle to the rest of the building the maisonette above offers a view to the sea from the second floor while the resulting space allows for a raised garden and pool. The building’s dual direction liberates the garden areas and led, even necessitated the creation of the metallic construction that forms the upper level that eventually expanded into segments of other areas. Visible from the street and the floors below, the resulting expanse above essentially gives another interesting dimension to the building. A series of sliding or fixed vertical and horizontal shades offer protection to the southwestern facing building. At the same time, on the northeastern side a series of skylights that open allow for ventilation and light to filter through. An expression of the building’s distinct sections, the light and the compact, evidently lies in the differentiation in the materials used. Nevertheless, a single rule governs the surfaces of both the bear concrete and the coating of the metallic structure: Wooden planks traverse all surfaces whether as an imprint on the concrete or in its final form as the finishing surface for the coatings. Over time the wood’s natural graying will contribute to the structural unity by appearing to emulate the colour of concrete.