WEEKEND HOUSE
- emilio ambasz
- Oct 25, 2023
- 1 min read
COLD SPRING, NEW YORK STATE, USA (2009)
This weekend house was designed with several objectives and premises in mind. First, to give back to the users as much as possible of the greenery that would have been covered by a regular building's footprint. Second, to allow the sun to truly penetrate under the building, thus avoiding the cold shading of earlier period houses built on not tall enough columns. Third, positioning the users high above the surrounding plantings to give them an ample view of the landscape and the nearby pond. Fourth, to acknowledge that sometimes there are serious floods that would damage the house were it on the ground. Fifth, to ensure the house's contents safety by using open mesh metal rolling curtains to 'corral' the building either when the users are there or, more pointedly, when they leave to return to the city. Last but not least, by lifting the building high the neighbors' houses can continue enjoying the view. The plan distinguishes a day area and a night area. In between there is a loggia open on two unglazed sides, which serves as a place for dining alfresco or just for sitting there enjoying the breeze. Access to the house from the ground is by means of a lift and a helicoidal stair.
