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.

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