The sliding screens are stored in a central core element which contains vertical routes for services and a fire place.
The internal arrangement of the ground floor is identified as complete open space which can be adapted by sliding screens to make three separate spaces allowing the house to function as required by the occupancy. From there one passes through the ordering wall which runs from the front to the back of the building provided with hinged screens to allow access to storage and utility elements. The timber paneling partially opens to allow access to a three storey void forming a lobby which makes a physical connection between spaces at all levels. Passive surveillance is increased by introducing another space between the street and this private domain screened so as to give glimpses of the interior and private external spaces from without this indicates to the stranger that there is a possibility of being watched while allowing sufficient view to the occupant from the interior to give a sense of security.Īpproach from the street is by way of a hard landscaped court and down steps to a covered space which is enclosed on two sides by timber screens and provided with a roof void.
The ground floor enclosure extends beyond the building lines to the rear and to the front to create a private secure domain on the southern street side of the building on an otherwise under-utilized piece of suburban ground. The attic is set back from the façade to reflect the elevation treatment of neighboring buildings, all be it in a modern idiom. The box is permeated by structure and two voids which allow light penetrate deep into the plan. This forms the ground floor finish and external surface to the court yards, A first floor box spans from east to west and sits over a plate which is the ground floor roof set in a diagonal relationship. It is placed on a seventy by fity six foot stone plate set below existing ground level. The form of the house is derived from the site geometry and context.