Solo House II
In May 2017, Solo House II, the second in a series of holiday homes, was completed. The ring-shaped house threads between trees on a plateaued site, providing views of the surrounding forest and landscape.
Located in the mountainous region of Matarraña, the house was designed by the Brussels-based architects Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen for the French developer Christian Bourdais.
The architects attempted to to make the architecture ‘invisible’, to emphasise the impressive scenery at the site and the natural quality of the surroundings.
The house comprises a simple, circular roof with a diameter of 45 m, supported by four rows of eight columns that intersect with the circumference of the circle. Three of the four sections formed by the resulting straight and curved edges enclose the living areas of the house.
The outer portions of the circle incorporate a sliding facade made from expanded metal mesh that provides dappled shade and privacy when closed. This can be drawn aside to completely open up the rooms to the outdoors. The remaining spaces beneath the curving roof are left open to the elements and look out towards the landscape.
The off-grid dwelling relies on solar panels for heating and electricity, while water is collected and purified on site by tanks and a filtration system on the building's roof. The artist Pieter Vermeersch applied a graded acrylic paint to two cylindrical volumes that emerge from the roof to accommodate the utilities.
Images and content courtesy of Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen.
Photographs © Bas Princen.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.
Plumbing and heating for sustainability in new properties
Technical Engineer runs through changes in regulations, innovations in materials, and product systems.
Awareness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
What CBAM is and what to do about it.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.