Project: K House
Architects: Blatman Cohen Architecture & Design
Lead Architect: Vered Blatman Cohen
Location: Moshav Herut, Israel
Area: 360 m2
Year: 2018
Photographs: Amit Geron, Yahav Trudler
In recent years, the Sharon Plain underwent a dramatic transformation, and its small villages were reinvented as communities that mix agriculture, orchards, and suburban private houses. At the same time, spatial planning, land parcellation, and planning restrictions imposed by local municipalities successfully preserve the characteristics of a quiet and green countryside.
K House exemplifies how architecture meets high urban design standards while taking into account the landscape of its rural surroundings. Vered Blatman-Cohen designed the house as a “cube” that was dropped onto the narrow, elongated plot. The land’s topography, which is characterized by a slope, was utilized in the construction of another structure that serves as a studio and fitness room with a rooftop pool. Half below ground, it is open in the lower level and hidden in the upper level.
The K family consists of two parents in their sixties and three adult children who visit often. Alongside the family’s love for hosting family and friends, it was vital to maintain maximum privacy inside and around the house. The house is designed as a deconstructed cube. The deconstruction of the mass is manifested both in the internal layout, dividing the space with inner patios, and in the outer shell with the design of simple and elegant integral mashrabiyas, based on built beams.
The mashrabiya motif recurs throughout the house on the ceiling as a pergola and as an external wall. The combination of inner courtyards with mashrabiya screens offers a barrier and privacy, both inside and around the house. The beams’ size was designed so that in hot afternoons they offer shade. In addition to protection from the sun, at certain hours of the day, the shadows blur the boundaries and add another dimension to the architectural mass.
The white cube concept is softened in the interior design with the extensive use of wood and organic palette. Thus, all the utility functions in the master bedroom (closet, ensuite bathroom, and work area) are defined by a wood-clad floating cube. The floor is made of large brushed stones slabs and the furniture is modern and simple, combining wood and textile in natural tones.
The exceptional nature of the K House is revealed in the back of the house, overlooking the farmlands in the south, in the connection with the steep topography through the development of terraces and the extensive use of vegetation. The house is located on the high level, seeing but not seen. The spaces in the lower level are visible and open into constructed beds with seasonal vegetables, vine, and fruit trees, creating an organic connection with Sharon’s agricultural landscape.
