Creative residency – temporary dwelling in nature

Authors’ Comment

Located in a clearing within an oak forest, the house embodies the theme of temporary living and living in nature. It is a creative retreat for a couple who desire to be close to nature and to extend the house outward toward it.

The design brief had as defining parameters the construction of a residence to shelter this couple within a built area of less than 100 sqm.

Starting from this criterion, unequivocally, the size brought to mind that of a pavilion — a livable pavilion. In this regard, we proposed a referential nod to the Black Pavilion by Buero Wagner, but in our case, the core of the project is the articulation with the exterior.

Conceptually, the house is characterized by a flexible, versatile façade adaptable to needs, allowing a double opening toward the mountain landscape. On one side, there is a double-height porch, illuminated from above, which, once opened, enlarges the usable area of the ground floor. On the other side, the living area faces the forest, where façade panels open up to form a protected zone — an extension of the living area into the outdoor natural environment. Thus, the house’s outline blurs and intertwines the boundaries between the interior space and nature.

The heart of the house is the fireplace around which the living area unfolds. Here are housed the kitchen, dining room, living room, a guest toilet, and a storage area — on one side, and the porch — on the other. Access follows the archetypal model of entering through the porch and then into the common space of the house. The ground floor is flexible; a pivoting wall allows merging with the porch area and maximizes the ground floor surface without affecting the house’s functionality, offering an alternative way to navigate the space. Adjacent to the fireplace, within a dynamic, slender volume, stands the staircase leading to the upper floor — the sleeping area and creative studio. The light that enters emphasizes the intimate part of the house, coming through an oculus cut into the porch façade, zenithally above the studio, and through three slits in the façade for views “along the forest.”

On the exterior, the wooden cladding and structure are treated with a color that complements the oak foliage, with a burgundy tone that reveals the wood grain. The only concrete element, exposed board-formed concrete, remains the fireplace — the core of the house.