Half-Slope House
這棟房子建於一個分隔山坡的擋土牆上，它所呈現幾何形體與天然斜坡地形、人工高原間交集。最重要的是，這棟建築體現了與自然和人們棲息之地的交匯。位於巴西聖保羅州的小鄉村聖佛朗西斯科澤維爾的郊區，這是一片陡峭的地形，因為它是曼蒂克拉山脈中山脊的一部分。該地塊曾因先前的建築而產生現有高原，後來舊建築被拆除重建了這個新房子。
Built upon the retaining wall which sections a hill slope, this house’s geometry manifests the encounter between the natural rise of the terrain and a manmade plateau. Above all, the construction lies in the intersection of natural terrain and human habitat. Located in the outskirts of São Francisco Xavier, a small village in the countryside of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, the lot is a steep terrain, as it is part of the mountain ridge that comprises Serra da Mantiqueira.
整合高原有利於此新房的方法，是該項目的挑戰。常規採取的方式是在原範圍將其建在現有平整的地面上。但這會犧牲所有的戶外活動空間，這對於一個鄉村住宅而言，戶外休閒場域與室內一樣重要。解決方案是在半坡上建造這棟房子，將臥室和浴室配置在斜坡上方，同時將客廳和廚房佈局在與地面齊平之處。而平坦場域則用於戶外休閒活動，透過一扇大型滑動門，餐桌可以移至室外，適合進行野餐或戶外用餐，將社交場域進一步延伸至戶外。
The lot had a plateau from a preexisting construction, later demolished to give room for the new house. One of the challenges of the project was to find the means to integrate the plateau in favor of the new house.A customary solution would be to erect it entirely on the existing levelled ground, contained to the pre-existing perimeter. But this would hinder all space available for outdoor activities, and when it comes to a country home, outdoor leisure areas are as important as the indoors. The solution was to build it half-slope.Placing the rooms and bathrooms on an upper level within the ascending slope whilst reserving only part of the plateau for the ground-levelled living room and kitchen assures most of the flat portion of the land is dedicated to outdoor leisure usage. A large sliding door allows the dining table to be moved outside for an open-air lunch or picnic, which further expands the possibilities of social activities to the outdoors.
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位於上層的三間臥室和浴室，被斜坡地形包圍，與開放空間的公共區域形成對比，獨立的小臥室擁有它們各自通往戶外的走道，所以使用者可以直接從他的房間走到外面，感受腳下的草地，而不必穿越整座房子。創造不同於以往人們在城市的日常氛圍，是此設計蘊含的意圖。建築地貌所導致的高低差，形成空間中的多個路徑，在一開始便可察覺到一個尺度的遊戲：抬高的平台通往高處的臥室且緊鄰擋土牆，使建築看起來比實際上更小、更低。當人們沿著主牆過道漫步時，尺度的感知便隨之改變。
Three bedrooms and bathrooms occupy the upper floor, which is enclosed by the slanted terrain. In contrast to the open space communal areas, the bedrooms are small, encased spaces. They also have their own access to the outdoors, so a visitor can step directly outside his room and feel the grass beneath his feet without having to cross the entire house. There is intent in the design to create diverse spacial sensations, which differ from what one usually experiences in everyday life in a city apartment. The built topography results in different heights and a myriad of pathways throughout the space. There’s a game of scale noticeable at first contact: the elevated mid plateau which gives access to the elevated bedrooms, adjacent to the retaining wall, makes the construction seem smaller and lower than it is in fact. This perception of scale shifts as one roams along the length of the main wall.
與地形的角度相對應的屋頂，其輪廓與原始景觀相似，相較於這個溫和的姿態，擋土牆是該設計表現意圖最強烈的地方。它的長度幾乎是房子本身的三倍，其延伸擴展至不同的層次，並為室外提供不同的用途。連接主牆和最上層的樓梯在屋外有一個對稱的反映。當人們下樓梯時可以看到玻璃門喚起了反射和透明的混合效果。在這個透視與鏡像的遊戲中，室內呈現僅僅是個片段的樣子「偶爾被遮蓋」它是一個大幅度擴展的建築的部分。從本質來談，這個項目將建築與其地貌相融；並非模仿大自然，而是一種扎根於其合適位置的存在。
The angle of the roof refers to that of the terrain, in profile similar to the original landscape. Opposed to this gentle gesture, the retaining wall is the strongest expression of the projects intentions. Its length is almost three times that of the house itself, as it stretches out of the enclosed space, expanding different levels and providing different uses to the outside. The flight of stairs, which binds the main wall to uppermost, is mirrored outside the house. Here, the glass doors, observable when one descends the stairs, evoke a mixed state of reflection and transparency. In this play of see-through and reflection, the interior presents itself as a mere segment – occasionally covered – of a much-extended construction. In its essence, the project revolves around the act of building a house merged with its site; not as a mimic of nature, but as something that feels deeply rooted in its righteous place.
