Three Houses on the lakeside

Although these are three individual houses, from an architectural point of view it is one single building 70 meters in length and 10 meters in depth. Longitudinally, it comprises two layers: one being the succession of closed, private spaces; the other regarded as a transparent, communicative sequence of spaces. The gardens and courtyards belong to all three houses, thus connecting them as a whole. Here, the theme of Public and Private is not resolved through building up walls or hedges but rather through the interplay of common space and introverted space. The result is an exceedingly generous ambience, despite the limitations of the houses. The principle of dichotomy is also applied to each individual house: one half of the house is heated, the other is cold. The interior has only 120 m2 net dwelling area, yet the portico gives this space a much bigger dimension and a singular atmosphere.