How do you keep the existing structure of a home (to fulfil client's exigency for sustainability) while breaking away from the rigidity of modern architectural aesthetics? Topos Architects presented the homeowners of this 3,500sqf house - a doctor and his wife – with an unconventional solution: to wrap the house with a geometric form by way of a 3D-modelled screen.
The screen completely envelops the original front and side facade of the house, cleverly marrying the two forms in a fashionable manner, while providing some shade indoors.
The screen makes for a filter of sorts, limiting the amount of natural light entering the house. The buffer in between the screen and the house also provides some distance from the natural elements, lowering the overall ambient temperature of the interiors, reducing the need for cooling measures and thus energy consumption.
One way Topos Architects designed with sustainability is to use wood from sustainable forests. Timeless, yet hardy materials were used – namely timber, granite, aluminium and marble – to achieve an elegant yet evergreen appearance.