The house is a row-house nested
within the dense urban fabric of the city. The proportions of the plots and strict
restrictions on neighborhood planning defined the positioning and proportions
of the house.
Typologically speaking the house is
a concrete box with a wood clad country house positioned on top, slightly
shifted and cantilevered to the north façade. The shift enlarges the space of
the northern bedrooms and provides shading for the ground floor. The vertical
circulation is positioned at the core of the house, which divides the programs
of the house.
The staircase, the house's core, is
nested between two exposed-concrete walls, while the circulation wraps around
the center of the house. The spaces on all floors are defined by the stairs;
there is a glass gap at the landings which offers a view from the public to
private spaces on the ground floor, therefore the rear garden is visible from
the kitchen and family room. On the first floor the stairs divide between the children's
bedrooms and the master bedroom, providing privacy for all users of the house.
The children's rooms have double height ceilings and galleries which make use
of the pitched roof.
The house incorporates three
materials - wood, slate, and exposed-concrete.
These materials repeat themselves
throughout the house.