House X – farmhouse
A house wants to be embedded in its landscape, especially in a farm-like setting. This House extends in 4 directions towards the gently designed landscape that is distinct on each side. The living room opens towards the butterfly garden, the kitchen towards the lily pond and the bedroom towards the orchard.
The conventional spaces in a house are shaken up to bring most of the living spaces together in 2 levels, connected by a flowing space and a simple staircase. No walls are needed except for 2 bedrooms and toilets. No demarcation is needed for who the spaces belong to.
The building opens up, to let space and breeze flow, and let sunlight trace its path across.
Made with earth blocks (CSEB), the building retains an earthiness close ot the land. A modern form puts it in contrast to the garden, but partners it in ways beyond shape and lines. Rainwater was harvested, natural ventilation and daylight let inside, solar power and solar water heating, composting are other strategies that were put in place to make the building ecologically friendly and efficient.
