The design of the House of Horns enfolds an existing foundation that was intended for a partially constructed Spanish Style home (designed by another architect). Our proposal eschews the formalities and large presence of the previous version looming over the landscape in favor of a new form of coherence that synthesizes the particularities of the foundation with a new set of ordering principles.
The initial act of the project is to restore the original hillside topography, re-burying the lower level of the house into the earth. This key move produces two distinct environments:
Above, the upper level effectively becomes a single story house nestled on a hill. Its perimeter touches the ground on all sides, reducing the perceived scale of the house, while allowing for an immediate and fluid connection between inside and outside all around. Above, six ‘horns’ or differently oriented skylights and clerestories, act as instruments to register the cycles of the day. Four of the horns comprise the main living space of the house—a large space that provides an open context for a more nomadic appropriation of space— allowing its occupants to discover the changing conditions of light across time and seasons, connecting their everyday experiences to the larger cycles of the environment around.
Below, contained within the hill is a wholly other kind of space. It selectively opens itself to the landscape outside through a series of separate and distinctly different openings. All of these openings tunnel through the hill and are intentionally disconnected from wall plane of the upper level and from each other. This both further reinforces the perception of single-story-ness above and minimizes their collective visual impact below. Each opening produces a unique micro-environment for the spaces of lower level to enjoy.
