Lawrence Residence

In Architecture

Posted: Mar 30th, 2009 / Last Edited: Jun 1st, 2010 Print

Description

The Lawrence Residence operated as a rather straightforward take on the realities of its mixed-use neighborhood: its solution derived from the intersection of the form of a stereotypical "house” with an orthogonal volume reminiscent of an apartment building. The house shape appears as an uncanny memory embedded within the rectangle, like a fossil preserved in a layer of sediment or an insect frozen and visible within a cube of amber. This exterior expression is left purposefully banal, a blank facade that masks the complex and idiosyncratic nature of the interior space. The house is organized from the top down; the major living spaces are located on the fourth floor to take advantage of ocean views. The metal-clad rectangular block that slices diagonally through the site is gridded, providing a datum that communicates the changing levels of the floors. The entire structure conveys a concern for privacy: enclosed gardens occupy parts of the first and third floors, controlling views and sources of natural light.
The Lawrence Residence operated as a rather straightforward take on the realities of its mixed-use neighborhood: its solution derived from the intersection of the form of a stereotypical "house” with an orthogonal volume reminiscent of an apartment building. The house shape appears as an uncanny memory embedded within the rectangle, like a fossil preserved in a layer of sediment or an insect frozen and visible within a cube of amber. This exterior expression is left purposefully banal, a blank facade that masks the complex and idiosyncratic nature of the interior space. The house is organized from the top down; the major living spaces are located on the fourth floor to take advantage of ocean views. The metal-clad rectangular block that slices diagonally through the site is gridded, providing a datum that communicates the changing levels of the floors. The entire structure conveys a concern for privacy: enclosed gardens occupy parts of the first and third floors, controlling views and sources of natural light.
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