The house features six spaces that flow in a continuous loop around a series of separate bathroom and storage cores that allow the rooms to be experienced as a single loft or a series of individual rooms. Each core contains all of the requirements of daily living, including a WC, shower, closet, and more. As for the rooms, they can be experienced collectively when open, or privately when closed – this means they can function as both a living space during the day, and a sleeping space at night. At the core of the house is the courtyard, which was planted to continue the surrounding indigenous landscape and act as a spatial divider. On their website, NOA describe the space as a “family camp” that can “consolidate and share the conviviality and burdens of daily living without feeling overcrowded at night.” It’s also been designed to optimize views and passive solar gain, a feature which was offset by sinking the house into the hillside to maximize thermal insulation and intimacy from the urban context. [photography by Iwan Baan and NOA]
Courtyard House by NOA | Gallery