Description

This spectacular plot on a steep slope with a sweeping view over the Mediterranean demanded panoramic views from almost all rooms. Access is from the street above and into the living floor with separate guest area, a roomy main living zone and the kitchen, divided off by a top-lit courtyard. This is an almost classical disposition of function areas for sloping sites of this kind. The entrance lobby thus becomes a significant point from which the natural scenery makes an impressive impact over the open courtyard. The hierarchy of functions is signalled by the body of the building: the living block is separate and stands out clearly in front of the servant section.

Like a glazed viewing terrace, the living level ‘floats’ over the landscape: it is in fact dissolved into a window façade along its whole length and across the corners, but the building’s outlines are precisely delineated. Two cubic bodies are presented in their independent outline, but combined so that they flow into each other. Thus the upper floor on slender columns forms a roof for the sleeping level below it; this has a façade dissolved into steel and glass, kept solid on one narrow side. The upper part of the building protrudes dramatically, and protects a generous terrace from the glaring sunlight. The latter is attached to the sleeping area with its three different bedrooms. Various stairs connect the levels both inside and outside and forge the spatial structure into a rich interplay of outlook and tactile awareness of the topography.

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Originally published in: Klaus-Peter Gast, Living Plans: New Concepts for Advanced Housing, Birkhäuser, 2005.