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VISION 23 — BACK TO THE FUTURE
There are these sizable concrete slabs taken to a whole
other level with glass. It’s a combination that produces
some cave and a lot of tree-house.
That’s true, especially when you descend to the lower level,
there is that play of all the glass, this void experience where
you feel cozy, but remain exposed to the view. The trick
for that tree-house effect was doing without a balcony.
Everyone’s initial reflex is for a balcony. With the outdoor
living area there’s no outdoor furniture to block,
or obstruct views.
It’s a house that incorporates a series of ‘layers’
to deal with the afternoon heat and glare. Some
of those Case Study houses weren’t always
effective at that.
Many of those houses struggled to deal with the elements.
With this house there are three forms of shading. One
is the concrete overhang of the upper level with a north
orientation. Below we’ve used adjustable, retractable,
external louvres. That allowed huge glass areas upstairs and
downstairs, without a balcony in-between to help shade the
THE TRICK FOR THAT
TREE-HOUSE EFFECT
WAS DOING WITHOUT
A BALCONY. EVERYONE’S
INITIAL REFLEX IS FOR
A BALCONY.
Marco Spinelli, Architect