WALL HOUSE

The gem-like Wall House re-imagines one of the most basic elements of the private home—the wall—breaking it down into a series of four layers (concrete cave, stacked shelving, milky shell, soft skin) in between which the different spaces of the house slip. From the inside out, the layers build materially and geometrically upon one another and blur the boundary between the interior and the exterior. By doing so, the project sets up an intelligent hierarchy that simultaneously addresses environmental, spatial and budgetary constraints.

Entering the Wall House, you gradually leave the outside behind. The house’s exterior membrane responds to changing light conditions--appearing from a distance like either a translucent or opaque diamond-cut stone. It offers a protective and pleasantly shaded canopy for approaching the front door. Upon stepping inside, a warmly-lit space gradually opens up which feels at once both inside and out.

To the left, one glimpses the open kitchen and dining areas, while to the right, slightly screened through the house’s open structural shelving, the living room offers a grand view of the garden and beyond. The super-functional kitchen grants generous storage with both exposed and hidden shelving, cabinets, and deep pantry space (including room for washer and dryer), while an intelligent heirarchy that simultaneously addresses environmental, spatial, and budgetary constraintsits floor, continuous with that of the dining area, is treated with a dark epoxy resin, offering a high-end seamless finish with an intriguing light-reflective shine. A cast concrete island doubling as an informal eating spot links the kitchen and the dining area and supports the open and interactive atmosphere of the Wall House. Continuing deeper into the innermost zone, one reaches the concrete core containing the most private areas, the two bathrooms. Inside, its surfaces are fully covered in ceramic tile, allowing it to be an entirely wet zone. On the ground floor, this core is connected to the master bedroom and its walk-in closet as well as the guest room, while on the upper floor it opens to a wide open studio-like room.

The Wall House features very strong links with the exterior. Both the master bedroom and living room connected to the garden. Their partially double height spaces feature wall-sized/oversized sliding glass doors with spectacular views of the surrounding exterior, allowing for a fully openable space to the shaded terrace, which under the silvery outside membrane offers a pleasant outdoor experience and protects from exposure to harsh summer sun as well as insects. From the kitchen there is also direct access into the shaded outside porch, which can double as a protected planting zone for vegetables and herbs.

The highly flexible upper studio level makes the Wall House highly reactive to your needs. This studio can be accessed through the spiral staircase close to the main entry. Its open plan and well-lit atmosphere offer great flexibility in possible uses. It may for example be used as an open work studio or as second living room or alternatively parts of the open space may easily be separated off as additional sleeping niches. As in most of the house, large parts of the walls double as shelves offering both plenty of storage space as well as a display of personal objects.

The playful and inventive design logic of multiple wall layers not only gives the Wall House a smart green concept but through it delivers an open and flexible live/work solution. At the same time the multiplicity of wall layers offers a series of distinct environmental and lighting conditions for the different areas within the house and creates a strong visual and sensual experiences of the environment the house is embedded within.

Become a Hometta member to view the complete builder set for Wall House. Memberships include five guest accounts for prospective local builder(s) to better discuss the feasibility of your project with you.