At times, the presence of new architectural elements can serve to enhance the allure of older ones. This entails a relationship neither of contrast nor uniformity, but rather one in which differences are embraced, allowing each element to shine as part of a broader whole.
For this project, we undertook the renovation of a 50-year-old wooden house. The 140-square-meter home was to be reconfigured for a family of three. The existing structure had a wooden framework with a traditional 910-millimeter grid and was divided into many small rooms, which created a sense of fragmentation. This sense extended beyond the home itself, as the partitions and sliding shutters between the house and the garden made it feel as if the interior was cut off from the outside environment.
Aiming to capture and disperse light, heat, and air throughout the house, we configured the design around a large living room running north-south, with a large area of open space on the floor directly above. To control these elements and direct them from the mass of air in the open space, we installed an acrylic panel with a grey dot pattern dividing the living room and the open space above. Similarly, as an elemental medium between the interior and exterior, we installed large, expanded-metal aluminum eaves in the south-facing garden. The eaves reflect natural light, brightening the air mass on the upper level while conversely diffusing and tempering the direct sunlight that enters the ground floor.
The expanded-metal eaves also transformed the original façade by integrating the interior and exterior elements that had previously seemed disjointed. The newly introduced features created a distinct rhythm that had not existed in the original house, and the old and new came together to create a single, integrated polyrhythm. The design of this polyrhythmic house seeks to fit into the broader polyrhythm of the diverse urban landscape.