Spatial Oddities: Breaking up Space in 11 Modular Homes

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Generally speaking, the spaces within a home are separated into different rooms in accordance with their intended use. Accordingly, each room designated for a specific use is separated from the other by a wall. As with all architectural typologies though, anomalies exist: Spatial oddities, or if you will, spaces of different use can coexist in a structure consisting of multiple volumes. Introducing modular spaces allows separate structures to act as their own entity and at the same time function together as a cohesive whole.

This collection of modular homes explores different examples of how architecture arranged as a series of interconnected volumes can culminate in a unique, all-encompassing abode. The 11 projects below demonstrate a unique way modularization can break up space. Mind the gap …

Museum of Outdoor Arts Element House by MOS Architects, New Mexico, United States

Appearing as a cluster of silver-clad volumes, this futuristic home is constructed from SIPS (structural insulated panels), and was designed to function independently by employing passive systems such as solar power, LED lighting, and recycling water. Located in the middle of a barren desert, the modular scheme was the perfect opportunity to set up an adaptable, off-the-grid experience. Hence, the energy-efficient prototype can expand and adapt to any number of inhabitants, while sustaining a domestic scale and the atmospheric qualities of a ‘home.’

Micro Cluster Cabins by Reiulf Ramstad Architects, Vestfold, Norway

This cluster of three integrated cabins is arranged around an external courtyard space that connects the units. The timber-clad gabled buildings were designed to accommodate three generations of the same family to holiday together while keeping their own personal space, incorporating two separate bedroom cabins and a communal living and dining area.

T-NURSERY by UCHIDA ARCHITECT DESIGN OFFICE, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Named for the three pillars that make up the conceptual backbone of the project — timber, trusses, and trapezoids — the nursery is composed of repeatable modules that allow for future expansion or reduction. The structure doesn’t have any pillars inside, as the structure was conceived as one space, which in turn becomes conducive to conversions for various uses.

Sunflower House by Cadaval & Solà-Morales, El Port de la Selva, Spain

Protruding from a mediterranean cliffside, the series of white stucco cubic forms were structurally designed to direct as much national light and heat inside — acting as a solar collector. The two-story arrangement and orientation of the modular volumes provide dramatic views of the ocean from the private quarters at the top and the living spaces at the bottom.

Split View Mountain Lodge by Reiulf Ramstad Architects, Geilo, Norway

Designed as a contemporary interpretation of vernacular building techniques, the continuous timber cladding — which will fade to gray patina over time — allows the elongated cabin to blend in within its given context. The ‘split view’ family home contains four bedrooms which are sectioned off from distinct living and dining areas, a youth lounge, and a mezzanine level for the younger children.

Chameleon House by Petr Hajek Architekti, Prague, Czech Republic

Stationed on the outskirts of Prague, this house is organized in an asterisk-like arrangement, with rooms that branch out in all directions to frame views of nearby trees. The sprawling configuration of the structure creates gaps in between rooms, which create blind spots that limit views towards and from neighboring properties, the road, and a nearby playground.

Tower House by Andrew Maynard Architects, Alphington, Australia

The expansion of this family dwelling doubles the structure’s size by adding a row of skinny gabled blocks, intentionally making the home look like a small village of an imposing monolithic block. Inside, the spaces and functions perform as a large and interconnected scheme that was designed to bring together community, art, and nature.

House M by SoNo arhitekti, Slovenia

Composed of three large volumes, this family home’s bold black and white exterior reflects the theme that filters into the interior living spaces, where wood and white fiber-cement panels play against black steel rails and banisters. Angular patterns and sharp lines divide the space that stretches across the series of volumes, which are all connected by the heart of the home: a central kitchen and dining room.

House of Four Houses by PROD architecture & design, Penafiel, Portugal

This holiday home designed for a family of four was arranged as a scheme of three gabled dwellings with similar dimensions around a central core, attached to a further volume rotated to match the direction of a neighboring building. Providing external views of the surrounding landscape, the intermediary space at the center of the plan is covered by a flat transparent roof with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Cabin at Femunden by Aslak Haanshuus Arkitekter AS, Røros, Norway

Reusing existing buildings perched on the tranquil shores of Lake Femunden, two original separately existing small cabins were focused together with the addition of a new structure to create a family-sized lakeside retreat. Translucent roofing placed between the indoor volumes allow light to cascade downwards into the interior, where each room naturally frames a different view of the lake and the distant mountains.

Vizu Jaus by Alric Galindez, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Located on a sloped site overlooking Nahuel Huapi Lake and the Andes mountains, a single volume clad in matte-black sheet metal was rendered from a child’s first drawings. Four walls and a pitched roof — nothing more, nothing less — contain the common areas, while all private, intimate spaces are situated in the second portion of the design located within the mountain side.

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