The plot, presently a large grass meadow, is spatially defined on two sides by the access road (south) and a pedestrian path (north) while on the other two sides by groups of trees (east and west). For this reason, rather than occupying the plot, the house is an attempt to make this open and defined ‘green room’ available through the simplest possible infrastructure.
The One-Room House represents the minimum infrastructure that could be placed on the site in order to make it inhabitable. Given the green character of the area, this minimum infrastructure takes the form of a pergola stretching across the site in the north-south direction. The pergola, a simple wood structure with a width of 4 meters that is to be covered with climbing or trailing plants, becomes the support of the house itself. By closing the central spans of the pergola with light wooden walls, the space of the house is defined. The remaining spans of the pergola are to be used to access the house, as shaded space for leisure and productive activities, for parking and ultimately for the potential expansion of the house.
Our project proposes one single space that can be used in many different ways. In this house, domestic space is reduced to one room but the service core acts as separé that without dividing the space addresses different regions of it. In our proposal the service core runs parallel to the house itself thus making the latter a single room. A system of sliding panels placed at regular distance allows the single room to be transformed at occurrence into an enfilade of rooms. Overall, the house is not constructed on the predetermined separation between living and working, but allows for a flexible use according to one’s need.
