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Site Area : 1.1 Acres The client expressed a desire to evoke the ideas of living in a treehouse, which was reinterpreted in the proposition, ‘Living in the realm between the earth and the sky’. The house is hung 4.5 mts. high over a black granite stone wall on one side and light metal columns on the other side, creating a weather protected unenclosed space below, that acts as a threshold to the site as well as an informal open living space on the ground. The resultant transparency in the lower level allows a flow of landscape across the site evoking the aura of living as a part of nature. The main realm of the house hovers in two storeys above this level in a layered spatial organisation where on both levels two outer private realms sandwich a central double height public realm. The central public realm repeats the transparency found at the ground level. Each of the private realms terminate in balconies or open decks at both ends, heightening the connection to the garden, and emphasising the floating character of the house. A pavilion located at the interior end of the site connects to the house by a light steel bridge over the swimming pool, offering a retreat away from domesticity to reveal in the garden. The transparency to landscape, the gurgle of a water cascade, wind blowing under the house and rhythmic chirping of birds in the court create an environment of serenity that turns away from surrounding urban development. A light metal roof, steel structure and clean white walls emphasise the expression of floating in the air. In contrast, earthy materials at the ground level anchor the landscape, creating a deliberate contrast between that which is rooted in the earth and that which floats above it. A black granite wall at the ground level segregates utility spaces on the corner of the site, while drawing attention to the larger experience of landscape.
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