architecture by UNStudio

VilLA NM was designed by UNStudio in the Netherlands. The house was built in upstate New York. Space Age architecture is back in full swing; we could not be happier! Fluid organic forms and a well balanced form sets this architectural trend apart from conventional contemporary architecture. UNStudio certainly had guts to use the unconventional windows with a reflective gold mirror film. The glass perfectly matches the color of the structure. The Space Age minimal white interior is a stark contrast to the exterior.

In the design for this single family house the sloping site is used as a device for programmatic and volumetric organization. A box-like volume bifurcates into two separate volumes; one seamlessly following the northern slope; the other lifted above the hill creating a covered parking space and generating a split-level internal organization. The volumetric transition is generated by a set of five parallel walls that rotate along a horizontal axis from vertical to horizontal. The ruled surface maintaining this transition is repeated five times in the building. From inside the huge window strips from floor to ceiling allow a fluid continuity between interior and landscape. From the exterior the reflective glass seams to become one with its surroundings.

The house did have a very unfortunate short life span. The house which was finished in 2007 burned down in 2008. What a shame!