Marc Thorpe Design has unveiled a new home concept along a tributary of the Savannah River in the United States. Sited in the deep south, the "House of Four Gardens" was designed between live oaks and perennial ferns. Access to nature was a central concept throughout the entire home, and each space is defined by the geometry of the structure in plan.
As the team describes the house "is an expression of humanity’s moral imperative to define meaning in life. As stated by English philosopher David E. Cooper in his work, A Philosophy of Gardens, the relationship between man and garden is in fact symbolic of the virtues one must strive towards in life. Virtues of character that form the quality of one’s life as a whole." The studio explores these ideas through spaces that encourage communal interaction with nature.
The four gardens follow four themes: Cultivation, Mediation, Community and Sanctuary for personal growth. The house is organized on a grid of 12’ x 12’ concrete double barrel vaults, thirty in total, centered on an inner courtyard. The gardens act as a bridge between the surrounding natural environment and the interior spaces. These interior living spaces include a program of living, dining, cooking and sleeping areas.
As Marc Thorpe states, “The House of Four Gardens is a seminal work for the studio. The work embodies the cultivated awareness one earns through the trials of life. The house represents one’s resilience in the face of adversity and a respect for ourselves in harmony with nature. The house is truth as art, an expression of the human spirit in splendor and imperfection."
News via Marc Thorpe Design
