obi obi
A house that floats above a steep escarpment.
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Obi Obi is a house for a couple who wanted a small modern house with views over the hinterland to the coast.
The client’s brief required a single level home on a very steep block of land.
One of the hardest challenges about the project was designing a single level house and pool on a very steep piece of land. The second challenge was to design east facing windows to capture views of the coast while at the same time being able to shade the glass from morning summer sun.
We designed the house to cantilever out over the steep slope so it felt like you were floating above the landscape. We positioned the pool behind the building so it could be on the ground and out of the wind. This allowed us to simplify the structure and have the single level house sit above the steep slope.
The second challenge was to design east facing windows to capture views of the coast while at the same time being able to shade the glass from morning summer sun. We designed large timber framed glass panels in the living areas and bedroom to frame the views of the coast. We concealed automated blinds in the ceiling that would drop down at night to shade the glass from the morning summer sun.