What happens when eight world-renowned architects are given carte blanche to design holiday homes on a dream site in Spain? This is precisely what French developer Christian Bourdais set out to discover with the launch of the Solo House project in 2010, and now, you can find out for yourself. Just two years after the completion of Solo Pezo, by Chilean architect Pezo von Ellrichshausen, the second of twelve houses is now emerging for tours and site visits. Solo OFFICE, by Office Kersten Geers David van Severen, will open its doors to visitors this week, October 9 through 11, as it nears fruition.
"In Solo OFFICE our aim was to see how far you can diverge from the preconceived idea of a ‘house’ and still create a comfortable place to live in; to produce a house that virtually disappears into its environment," as the Belgian architects of KGDVS explains. "The chosen context was ideal for this endeavour, as it is extraordinary and imposing. The very idea of inhabiting the site seems to us an exercise in creating a ‘house’ that is as little house-like as possible, to live in tune with the splendour of the natural environment, without constraints or boundaries between the ‘house’ and the surrounding nature."
The house is situated on a plateau overlooking the primordial landscape of a 50-hectare nature reserve about two hours south of Barcelona. Seeking to keep architectural intervention minimal and the focus on enhancing the existing landscape, Solo OFFICE manifests as a perimeter for the plateau. Carving a circular protected promenade along the border, the slender roof plate operates as a curtain rail. It is supported by four sets of columns, spatially marking various living quarters, while easily opened lightweight screens form a translucent exterior facade.
Alongside Pezo von Ellrichshausen and Office KGDVS, architects Sou Fujimoto, Johnston Marklee, Didier Faustino, MOS, Studio Mumbai, and TNA Takei Nabeshima are also set to design a Solo House. You can check out each of their proposals, here.
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Solo House Tours and Site VisitsWebsite
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From
October 09, 2014 12:00 AMUntil
October 11, 2014 12:00 AMVenue
Solo Pezo and Solo Office KGDVS