The Choices...

Casa Tolo

By Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira

photo from here

Casa Tolo, a vacation home deigned by Portuguese architect Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira, is located on a steep hill in northern Portugal. Faced with a difficult site, the architect opted to embrace the steep contours, using the slope as the home's main characteristic. The home begins as a slab of concrete at the top of the hill and slowly reveals itself while descending down an outdoor staircase. The various rooms are divided among the levels, each one with its own patio space, connected by internal and external stairs.

Firmness

One of the most striking aspects of Casa Tolo is its initial view from the street- or lack thereof. It exists, from that point of view, as a rectangular slab of concrete, a parking bay to be precise, and a small opening to walk through into the rest of the house. This streetscape gives no idea as to the house that lays beneath, secluded from the rest of the world.

The house not only limits what others can see of it, but through specifically placed windows and openings, it creates framed views of its surrounding, further enhancing the secluded feeling.

Casa Tolo has an intimate relationship with its hillside site; it creeps down the mountain, taking its inhabitants on the journey (Pearson,2006).. Particularly interesting is the fact that it is partially buried, creating a thermal advantage. During warmer periods, the earth would be much colder than the surrounding air, keeping the house cold, while in winter it would act as a form of insulation.

Commodity

This house, perhaps more than any other studied, dictates the flow of people through it. It has been described as a pedestrian link between its upper and lower levels, and in moving between these levels, very specific journeys must be taken, some internal, some external, and some with a choice between the two (Yoshida 2006, 12).

Interestingly, while the living areas of Casa Tolo are quite large, the bedrooms are much smaller, perhaps indicating a preference to time spent “together”. However, the house is very modular, making solitary space easy to find . A reason for this may be hidden in the fact that it is a holiday home, and its purpose is to both give a family a place to spend time relaxing together, as well as for separate members to reflect and reenergise alone.

Casa Tolo also promotes inside/outside living, with its interior and exterior spaces, as well as the duality of the journey through it, an interesting fact for a country which has a rather distinct wet season.

Delight

The streetscape, the journey and the unfolding of the house are a reason for delight, like a secret hideaway. It opens itself to visitors slowly, holding them in suspense while they wait for it to reveal itself further. The journey up and down steps, while exciting at first, may become tedious for more permanent inhabitants.

Alvaro Vierra commented on the use of concrete, remarking that the plasticity of concrete and its relationship with nature please him (Yoshida 2006, 12). Aesthetically, the house seems to have a somewhat natural, albeit modern form, like large, perfectly formed stones erupting from the site (Yoshida 2006, 12).

And yet, the house is not in any way a typical house, it has no façade, no front and back, it is a path or journey to be taken by those who enter it.

The house is strikingly beautiful, and the architect is said to have been influenced by Escher and Piranesi, creating a space that was like living in a piece of art (Pearson,2006).

Balaam Residence

By Shaun Lockyer (at Arkhefield)

photo from here

The Balaam Residence in Hamilton, Queensland was designed by Shaun Lockyer of Arkhefield for a family who valued privacy, but also wanted to maximise on their riverfront position (Arkhefield 2007). The house is said to “challenge form and material use, while being inspired by modernist, robust and tactile sources”. The architect aimed to engage the city, the river and the passers-by, through becoming a part of the public realm in an urban environment. Over multiple levels, the house is designed to accommodate the present and future needs of a large growing family (Specifier, 2010). The home is constructed from white concrete, timber and zinc, the natural ageing process of which will continue to evolve over time, creating a changing façade. The house animates the street and boardwalk, and its form is a manifestation of the needs of the family and the constraints of the site (Arkhefield 2007).

Firmness

The house is situated in an extremely public precinct, surrounded by apartment blocks and a boardwalk, creating a difficult site in which to harbour privacy for the inhabitants. The design resolves this problem by using a series of structures to “fortify” the main house and manipulate exterior site lines, resulting in a space which is highly permeable from the inside out, but protective from the outside in (Thomson, 2007). This is achieved by taking advantage of neighbouring high rise development as anchor points, blocking out public access from these sides (Australian Institute of Architects,2007).

The architect also made considerations in regard to sustainability, using rain water harvesting, solar hot water, passive “heat stack”, cross ventilation, solar control glass, and operable louvers, shutters and blinds, all on solar clocks to limit air-conditioning (Arkhefield 2007). Thermal mass and low maintenance, recycled materials were all considered in the design and construction of this house (RAIA,2007). An aim of the architect was to simplify the use of the house through technology rather than complicate it, through the use of air conditioning, extraction, ventilation, automation and security systems.

The house has been built in upward layers, in order to respond to external needs and pressure, for privacy, views and the incoming sun (RAIA, 2007). Elevated living areas take in views, with the house looking for winter warmth from the north and west. A western garden also provides warm sunny play areas for children after soon, made possible by a plan that hugs the east and south (RAIA, 2007).

Commodity

The layout of the Balaam Residence accommodates the bulk of living needs on the first floor located on the southern end, housing entertaining and living areas, with the master wing above it. A stack of four bedrooms for the children are housed above the garage in the north. This configuration is somewhat predictable, but it is the flow, shaping and interlocking of the spaces which create an ever-changing vitality (Specifier, 2010).

The house has been designed for a family, but has been built to allow space for their changing needs (Lariviere, 2010). The cantilevered swimming pool provides an eave for the main entrance, with a glass end, has been positioned at the centre of the home, and at the centre of family life (Specifier, 2010).

The house use of indoor/outdoor living areas maximises on views and provides a versatile environment for the family, while the different areas of the home have been constructed out of different materials, enhancing the layering effect (Thomson, 2007).

Delight

The Balaam Residence has defined spaces for particular events, creating a comfort for the inhabitants in knowing where “things go”. The layering design is visually appealing, while the use of various materials provide visual depth (Lariviere, 2010).

The design of the house aimed to provide view, privacy, security and sanctuary to the family who live within it. The views over the river toward the city are a focal point of the home, and it is oriented with living areas toward it. Privacy is maintained though a heavily screened façade, which allows little view of the interior of the house from the streetscape, a fact which also aids in the security, helped by various systems. Sanctuary is created through the solid walls of the eastern side, which peel back layers to the south west. An open garden area provides respite to the built up environs. (Specifier, 2010).

Isaacson/Davis Beach House

By John Wardle Architects

photo from here

The Beach House at Balnarring, designed by John Wardle Architects, was the recipient of the Royal Australian Institute of Architecture (Victoria Chapter) Medal in 1997, and was created as a holiday getaway for busy executives (Ferguson, nd). Set on a tree studded, completely flat site away from the beach, the house provides an interesting and different experience for its owners.

Firmness

The house, as described by the architect, is a simple rectilinear container, clad in tounge-in-groove cedar which has been left to weather over time (Ferguson, nd). Renowned for finely crafted homes, the architect has used preserved timber for all finely constructed elements, creating a weathered outer skin, protecting a softer warmer inner layer.

The architect wanted the house to exist as part of the natural environment as much as possible, and therefore designed it atop stilts, meaning fewer trees had to be removed for its construction, and also allowing air to circulate underneath it providing natural cooling systems (Jackson 2008). The design of the house utilises windows and balconies to bring the outside in, while extruded rooms give the feeling of being outside, while being inside the home. Effectively, these areas act as transitional spaces between the interior of the home and the environment it is located in, while horizontal windows allow filtered light to also enter the space.

Commodity

This house is, in every way, a holiday home, designed to be functional and house holiday activities. Its internal space is divided by use in its binuclear plan, with like activities grouped together (i.e. living and dining on one side of the house, with bedrooms on the other) (Ferguson, nd). This grouping also manages to separate the private areas of the home from the more public, allowing family members privacy from guests.

In housing holiday activities, the house has large living spaces with balconies which allow views of the sunset, and outdoor rooms providing areas to reflect and relax. An open and adaptive floor plan allows flexibility for the owners.

Delight

While researching the Beach House at Balnarring, the one factor that has been written about time and time again is the delight that it offers to people. It has been described as “a house which can be unpacked on arrival and repacked on departure” (Jackson 2008). Lawrence and Hurst (2003) describe the use of folding and packing, both in the detail and whole of the house, as a reference to the occasional nature of a weekender. Even the elevation of the house off the site gives reference to the transient nature of holiday accommodation (Wardle, 2001).

The house has also been referenced as a match box which has been pulled open, with the outer sheath protecting an inner box which holds the program (Carter, 2008).. This process of extrusion reveals the innards and scores long, horizontal openings which link the living spaces with outside, while deepening the seclusion of the sleeping areas (Van Schaik 2006).

The caravan park nearby was evoked as another holiday type, with an abstracted caravan window pod pushing out on the southern elevation, referencing the archetypical caravan meals table (Hunter 2008: 279)