Description

The owner, who is confined to a wheelchair, expressed the wish for a complex house as a private cosmos. Rem Koolhaas designed not one, but three houses for the client and his family; the houses are stacked to promote a playful interaction of their individual characteristics. Thus the element that links the levels is transformed into the most prominent feature: the owner’s moveable office.

The central, hydraulic platform moves along bookshelves that reach from the basement to the attic and changes the configuration of spaces on each level depending on whether it is present or absent. Like all other floor levels, the basement is divided into two sections: the entrance with direct connections to the various vertical access links, the kitchen, and the family TV room are located in the glazed front half, overlooking the inner courtyard. The other half is carved into the hillside. This area houses the wine cellar (which can only be reached when the lift is stationed on this level) and the main entrance, staged much like a dark cave.

The living space above merges with the landscape beyond – it is half interior, half terrace, with undefined boundaries since the walls are fully glazed. By contrast, the next level is pronounced in its solidity, with the concrete monolith perforated only by small portholes. This upper level contains the family’s bedrooms, divided into parent house and children’s house linked by a small bridge. The position of the portholes is carefully calculated. They offer views onto selected highlights in the landscape and are designed specifically for visual contact with the outside from a walking, standing, or reclining position. The house derives its strength from the effective collage of contrasts in form, material, and program.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.