The brief from the client was to create a space where 3 families can stay together, communal living but also yet having each of their private spaces. We started thinking of a metaphor of three separate concrete volumes enclosing a sheltered courtyard with the central courtyard as the heart of the house. Pyrite crystals are characterized as intersecting faceted cubes. We adopted the intersecting and inter-connecting volumes as a formal language to create the form of the house where three solid volumes are wedged into a central glass volume. These three prisms are slanted and staggered and the gaps between the volumes form corridors and atrium spaces. The living, dining and kitchen can be closed off to form individual air-con spaces. Once opened, this spaces connect to the atrium to form an expansive open plan. The tips of the prism are folded in to create more depth to capture light and shadow. These are some architectural expression of the prismic forms. Most of the rooms do not have columns at the window corners. This is to create a wider panoramic view out from the corners. The cornered windows are also positioned in a way to capture the southern wind and voids created at the party wall to create a cross ventilation once all the windows are opened. We are also interested in how the slits between the volumes allow light to penetrate through and creating interesting shadow patterns. Blurring of interior and exterior spaces is also a central theme in this project. The in-between spaces between the volumes are experienced as sheltered outdoor spaces as light busking down the atrium makes the whole central courtyard feels like an outdoor space.
