Architects: Axelrod Architects, Pitsou Kedem Architects
Project: Modern duplex house
Location: Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel
Area 8000.0 ft2
Project Year 2015
Photography: Amit Geron
A modern duplex house located in a small neighborhood north of Tel-Aviv, Israel, resides two families of close friends. Both are well attuned to modern architecture as owners of construction technology solutions businesses.
The goal was to design two different single family houses, each with its own unique plan, and still maintain a unified and coherent architectural element. The architectural design sets a dialogue between the modernist basic principles of the early 20th century of basic, simple and decoration free geometry, and the latest technological solutions that can be used in today’s homes.
The first House is composed of two basic shapes that create a minimalistic and balanced composition. It contains two concrete masse, with one floating on top of the other and creates a feathery feeling despite the massive materials. These two shapes extend over a horizontal axis. some parts are overlapping while in other areas they detach and break out opposite directions. The meeting point of these two masses is a vertical axis that cuts the horizontal position with a use of a staircase that goes through all levels of the house. These opposites across the horizontal and vertical lines create the architectural conflict and strain.
The two masses also enable clear functional separation with the lower mass containing the public spaces and the upper one hosting the private section.
The upper unit is a box that opens up to the view. The interior functions are separated by partitions while ensuring all facing the open view.
The lower structure delivers an open space that is connected to the outside. Without a formal entry point, these openings merge the interior and the exterior and allow a daily and unformal passage between the inside and the outside.
The floating mass at the top provides shading to the parts below and thus creates an outdoor space that feels like an integral part of the interior. The yard and swimming pool are part of the structural composition as well, and made of clear and minimalistic lines.
To enhance the minimalistic design, the materials used provide a sense of rawness, sincerity and coherency. The exposed and clean concrete gets a lighter and more open interpretation thanks to the constructive technology that allows the usage of big openings, a wide open floor plan and the hovering of the upper mass into the open view.
