Envelope House

Our initial intuition was to create a dense and private façade towards the street and orient all living areas to a private back garden. We were surprised then when the clients requested a great openness towards the front street, expressing an idea of their relationship with their neighbors and community and the opportunity of using the front garden in the morning and the back garden in the evening according to the sun’s position. From this point on it became clear that the façades would open towards front and back simultaneously. From this front and back relationship the house becomes a shell, a kind of arch from side to side which contains within it the “lighter” front and back façades, containing mostly glass. The south façade, which is also the warmest in the strong Israeli sun, is shielded by shell allowing for better insulation and privacy from the closest house to the bedrooms. At the rear of the house a sunken patio is placed strategically behind the main staircase allowing for views all the way from the topmost floor to the basement level, creating an interesting vertical relationship between all public areas of the house.