Cover image

Little Tesseract

Dutchess County, United States

A hollow charcoal cube is warped by distorting forces opening a triangle of light from above. This cubic wooden structure is linked by an exoskeletal steel “L” to an existing stone “U”. The link, like a porch, is a temperate zone with operable glass. From the central room of the stone “U” one moves down a slight ramp in the steel “L”; space then overlaps diagonally connecting upward toward the triangle of light. This central spatial connection fuses outward contrasting materials.

A solar stack wall in structural glass planks heats the cube in winter and cools via stack effect in summer. PV cell assist the electrical. Steel windows slice through the dark stucco on steel plate blades forming special viewing frames from the interior with unified white plaster head/jamb/sill.

Location
Dutchess County, United States
Year
2001
Size
1,500 sq ft
Status
Complete
architect
Steven Holl Architects
Steven Holl, Solange Fabião (design architect)
Chris Otterbine, Laura Sansone (project architect)
Makram El-Kadi, Anderson Lee, Christian Wassmann, Urs Vogt (project team)
fabricator
The Orchard Group