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
Create a profile, write informed product articles and share.
Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP) is one example.
Top 50 Women in engineering 2022.
Inventors and innovators at ICE.
Life, death and art at the Stuart court. Book review.
Real estate, place adaptation and innovation.
Review and comment on the revised draft before July 11.
We are indeed now 10 years old, so go on and be bold !
Write about something you know, help us build and grow !
IHBC's 25th anniversary 2022 Aberdeen School.
A blended event and triumphant return.
New Construction Leadership Council Co-Chair selected.
Mark Reynolds succeeds Andy Mitchell as Co-Chair of CLC
Designing Buildings is 10 years old.
Types of work to existing buildings.
From alteration to deconstruction on DB.
Publication available
In the sunshine things get hotter.
Understanding temperature in buildings on DB.
Giving power to the consumer on the road to net-zero.
A call for home energy management to be modernised.
How many different types can you think of ?
50th anniversary of the first Pride parade UK.
Looking back and fourth to what still needs to be done.
Balkrishna Doshi wins Royal Gold Medal 2022.
Pioneering Indian environmental design Architect.
The greenest building is the one already built.
History of Temple Meads rewritten.
UK crying out for female tradespeople says CIOB research.
Currently standing at just 1%.
Find out more with BSRIA.
Changes come into force for F,L,O and S.