FLUX LOFT

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FLUX LOFT

Firm

Type

Residential › Apartment

SIZE

3000 sqft - 5000 sqft

BUDGET

$1M - 5M

Once factories and warehouses, these raw, unpartitioned spaces contradict the more discreet elements of the residential program. Typically, parts of lofts become opaque with the introduction of privacy, challenging the open, transparent nature of this type of space. What if walls were simultaneously transparent and opaque?
In this loft, two parallel glass walls - each completely laminated with passive (non-electric) linear polarizing film - mediate privacy and publicity, opacity and transparency. While these two walls are identical in size and material, the film on one is rotated 90 degrees in relation to the other. With this orientation, the films allow light and views to pass through one wall but not both.
The public areas of the loft are located between the two walls. In these areas, guests are allowed to see the entirety of the loft as they only ever look though one wall at a time. From here, the walls appear transparent.
Private areas such as the bedrooms are located at each end of the loft, flanking the public space. From either bedroom, the farther of the two walls appears black and opaque due to the polarizing phenomena. Privacy is created not by conventional opaque materials but by the extinction of light and views as well as the locational relationship between residents and the two walls.
These two walls behave oxymoronically by providing transparency and opacity. Depending on the vantage point, either wall could appear transparent to one resident while it appears opaque to the other. Due to the misalignment of physical and visual boundaries, this residence is organized less by walls and more by views.