Olson Kundig Architects : Shadowboxx

Sur l’île de San Juan dans l’état de Washington, l’agence d’architecture Olson Kundig a réalisé la maison Shadowboxx. Habillée de tôle d’acier rouillée, elle se glisse dans le paysage, entre rupture et camouflage. Mais plus que par sa volumétrie, cette maison surprend par sa toiture mobile. Dans la salle de bain, elle se soulève, sur simple pression d’un bouton pour une douche à ciel ouvert.

About : “Shadowboxx responds to a desire to facilitate an intimate understanding of this special place and explores of the tradition of gathering around a fire. Tucked between a thicket of trees and a rising bank, the house sits in a natural clearing created by the strong winds that force back the trees from the rocky bank.

The building purposely confuses the traditional boundaries between a built structure and its surroundings. Its masses are modeled by winds off the water, exterior cladding is allowed to weather and rust, and shifting doors, shutters, walls and roofs constantly modulate the threshold between inside and outside.”

“A guest room sits at one end of the house, and the bathhouse at the other. The bathhouse is topped by a 16×20’ roof that opens the room like a cigar box at the push of a button. Materials with a strong tactility are used throughout the house, including rammed earth floors, reclaimed oak floorplanks, unpainted gypsum board and steel walls, corrugated steel siding and roofing, and reclaimed scaffolding planks for the ceiling.”

“Inside the home, a gallery runs the length of the house with rooms spilling off of it. Two 15’ by 10’ steel clad doors slide open to reveal the main living space, named the cloud room for its ever-changing atmospherics. A glass-walled bunkroom, it contains six custom-designed rolling platforms that serve both as sofas and beds and enable the room to morph and accommodate different functions. Exterior awning shutters facing the water can be closed for protection from the elements or for security when the owner is away.”

Photos © Olson Kundig Architects / Jason Schmidt / Tim Bies

+ Via Olson Kundig Architects

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