Ocean view: a coastal house that responds to climate and site with vigorous spatial moves.The Peruvian desert is a weird place. A long strip of dusty grey edges the Andean country against the Pacific. Here, it never rains (well, there was supposed to be a shower about 35 years ago); it never gets very hot (about 30 deg C in summer), nor very cold (14 deg C in winter). The desert ends with a steeply shelving shelv·ing n. 1. Shelves considered as a group. 2. Material for shelves. 3. An incline; a slope. shelving Noun 1. material for shelves 2. cliff against the ocean, where layers of alluvial al·lu·vi·al adj. Of, relating to, or found in alluvium: alluvial soil; alluvial gold. alluvial Adjective of or relating to alluvium Noun accretion are exposed like a lesson in geological stratification stratification (Lat.,=made in layers), layered structure formed by the deposition of sedimentary rocks. Changes between strata are interpreted as the result of fluctuations in the intensity and persistence of the depositional agent, e.g. . From the top of the steep slope, the view is magnificent, and numerous resorts have been built up there on the desert plateau to capture it--though curiously most of the houses have little direct contact with the sea, which is far below, unenticing, rough and rather cold because of the Humboldt current Humboldt Current n. A cold ocean current of the South Pacific, flowing north along the western coast of South America. Also called Peru Current. coming up from Antarctica. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Barclay & Crousse have already won a high commendation COMMENDATION. The act of recommending, praising. A merchant who merely commends goods he offers for sale, does not by that act warrant them, unless there is some fraud: simplex commendatio non obligat. in these awards for the next door house (AR December 2001). This new one, Casa Equis, adopts the same sort of approach, but refines it. The architects took the envelope allowed by stringent planning regulations and carved carve v. carved, carv·ing, carves v.tr. 1. a. To divide into pieces by cutting; slice: carved a roast. b. into it to form spaces that are both private and open to the view. An entrance patio leads to the main living space that looks out through frameless sliding glass panels over a decked terrace, and beyond that to the ocean. This is what the architects call 'an artificial beach' (the real one being practically unreachable, and not very nice when you get there). Between sea and sky is suspended a long narrow swimming pool. On the lower floor are the bedrooms, the children's ones cut into the hill and lit from above by sky lights in the terrace deck. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The two levels are connected by a generous stair stair n. 1. A series or flight of steps; a staircase. Often used in the plural. 2. One of a flight of steps. [Middle English, from Old English open to the sky. If it doesn't rain and never gets very cold, there is no reason not to take the roof off the stairs, provided they are protected from wind. From the steps you can really see the stars. Colours (ochre, sand and white) are taken from pre-Columbian and colonial houses Colonial House was a short-run television series produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Wall to Wall Television in the United Kingdom, following the success of The 1900 House , and are intended to respond to the endless layers of dry dun dust that blow up and down the coast. The jury was taken with the calm three-dimensional elegance of spatial organization, and the thoughtful response of the building to its site. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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