Luxury home in the mountains for a family that like to entertain.
This house is inspired by modernist architecture and a sense of escapism mixing ideas developed by Mies Van Der Rohe at Farnsworth House, Pierre Koenig at the iconic Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills and Jeffrey Bawa’s effortless fusion of tropical and modern architecture. We imagined the house filled with museum-worthy furniture pieces by Le Corbusier, Mies, Saarinen, Eileen Gray, Castiglioni and Louis Poulsen; as well as traditional statement pieces such as settees and veranda chairs; with tribal objets d’art side by side modern canvasses and sculptures.
What is very important in this building is the clean slab jutting out over the gently inclining granite ‘glacis’ or plateau that the property sits on high above the island. The living space is free-flowing with a subtle differentiation between dining, sitting and breakfast areas as well as a balcony overlooking the pool area. The only partly enclosed room is the large family kitchen.
The family love to entertain and the pool house/ gazebo is their opportunity to do that in true style with a large bar and pool, while the interior bar gives them a place to hold soirees. The fun continues on the roof, which is nearly as big as the building’s footprint and is designed to host parties.
Living and sleeping quarters are separated quite simply on plan with the master suite upstairs tucked away to the rear of the house with the best views – including immediate access to the roof top terrace and a glazed shower as well as an external spa veranda. Under the house and gazebo are an apartment and various support spaces such as staff quarters, a kitchen, laundry and storage.
Material and detail are essential in maintaining an effortless appearance, so the concrete frame is exposed and simply protected with a thin layer of durable render – the rest of the house is composed of large panels of glazing, forming fixed windows, sliding doors and Juliette balconies.
Internally, the structure of the house reflects the exterior with a single tone for the rest of the walls. Simple painted and natural timber built-in joinery completes the palette. Everywhere, floors are granite with some areas of ‘washed grano-screed’ outside too.
Photos were taken in March 2019 when the project achieved completion – we expect that further furnished pictures will be available in future.
