The character of this home conjures the archetypal images of domestic space and the origins of the architectural impulse while avoiding easy classification. An inexact relationship between the body and head allow for multiple readings between vernacular and modern, abstract and familiar. Here the triangle and the circle operate at a range of scales, from roof forms to apertures to shingle pattern. The shingles are treated as a monolithic enclosure, masking the prefabricated panelization and emphasizing the pure geometry with a textured field. The gabled roof adheres to the character of the neighborhood while providing an inclined southern orientation for the photovoltaic panels and increasing the site FAR allowance by 20% through occupying the area underneath a sloped roof (Attic Allowance).

“Postmodernism’s willingness to ransack history, as well as billboards, for its vocabulary revealed it indeed as fundamentally disrespectful of history, and even more disrespectful of the present.”
- Anthony Vidler, from Histories of the Immediate Present
Location
Staten Island, New York
Program
Affordable Infill Housing
Status
Competition Entry