Atelier Lapidus House

Atelier Lapidus was conceived as a summer house for a writer and his family. The design process began with vignettes – a small structure placed in a forest, open facades connecting interior and exterior space, a pool as a lake, a writing desk facing the evening sun. The decision to create a clear and minimal structure allowed the life inside the building to be unobstructed and untethered.
Following the topography of the site, a concrete base was cast atop the bedrock. Nine steel columns, 70x70mm, 6m tall attached to the base. The façade - constructed of prefabricated massive wooden boards - stabilized the structure together with the upper floor slab. Windows encircle the upper and lower levels and a thin sloped roof encloses the structure.
The program is separated between private and public needs. The ground floor supports living without internal hierarchy. The upper floor accommodates the bedrooms and spaces for privacy. Materiality also reiterates the separation of functions - the ground floor is open and vast, using raw, uncovered materials; while the upper floor is dense and private, in wood for a sense of intimacy. The minimal structural system allows the house to become personified by the clients - in complexity and freedom.