Sliding House Part 2

After a recent discussion with a friend about the sliding house, it became clear there are many questions that are unanswered by simply posting this clip to designCite. The comment was:

So I thought it best to explain what it is I like about this house. Of cause this is only based on what we see in this video, I have little more knowlege of the project beyond this.

It is apparent from this video the owner was out to put a challenge the architect. With an opening link to a brief of “we are prepared to be radical”. This is very exciting as an architect to find a client like this, however it is also daunting. I believe that this house was able fulfill this in a very original way.

Obviously this is a green field site, and one of beauty from what we see. This resulting house takes advantage of this with the extensive use of glass, immersing the occupants into the landscape, but also allowing them privacey or shelter from the sun when they choose. It should be noted that even when the roof is drawn, there are very strategic openings framing view of the countryside.

The form as suggested is a play on the local housing vernacular, derived from the 45° pitch roof and use of timber cladding, in a contemporary way.

So back to my friends comment, would this work in Australia? No it could not take this house out of it’s context and expect it to preform here in Australia. Could the basic ideas of this house work in Australia? Yes very much so, but it would be something very different given the Australian context.

Click here to see orginal post.