PHOENIX HOUSE
a project by Sebastian Mariscal Studio
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, USA, completed 2012
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Concrete can wear many faces. In the wrong hands it goes cold and clinical, the stuff of a thousand Brutalist eyesores. But when made with skill, it becomes something else entirely, imbued with a tactile allure that's well suited for residential projects. This allure is largely responsible for the quiet, contemplative power of Phoenix House. It’s fitting that the owners, a married couple with three sons, felt drawn to this indestructible material. “We
wanted a house that was a complete departure aesthetically from where we’d lived before, and we had the freedom to build one here,” said the husband.
For Phoenix House, Architect Sebastian Marsicol inverted the typical floor plan, tucking the bedrooms beneath the common areas so that the latter snagged the ocean views. And instead of designing it as a monolithic mass, he broke it down into distinct volumes joined by stairwells and bridges. Within and between these volumes, he carved out openings to let in light and create voids that form decks, patios, and seating areas—nearly every room has direct access to one. Though unconventional, the layout coheres as a series of gallery-like spaces that are themselves works of art, worthy of exploration.
Outside, finding the entry feels a bit like discerning the head of a hiking trail. “I like to hide houses from the street,” Mariscal admits. “I design from the inside out, so I never think about curb appeal.” Staggered stepping stones wind through surrounding vegetation, then pass beneath a concrete overhang on their way to the entry. Where the tree canopy opens up to reveal the sky, a sliding mahogany door materializes at the path’s end. Behind that door sits the double-height vestibule, its main light source a wall of glass veiled by bamboo. This entry space is shadowy and sanctuary-like—there’s an urge to lower one’s voice—but steers clear of stuffy formality. From there, the glow of daylight from the stairwell invites a climb to the second-floor common spaces.
In a nod to traditional design, ceiling heights are lower in transitional spaces and higher in the areas they lead to. “Each part of a home should feel like a distinct experience,” Mariscal says. “Too many houses today are open-plan boxes with undifferentiated spaces.” By keeping the interior palette—limited to concrete and a handful of materials—stripped back to essentials, he highlighted the impeccable craftsmanship and a pervasive calmness and order.
The reinforced-concrete structure was both an aesthetic choice and a functional one. By day it prevents heat gain—so much so that the house has no air conditioning; by night it releases warmth as the temperature dips. The hot-water radiant heating system embedded in the floors is powered by a geothermal pump. Solar panels provide 30 to 40 percent of the home’s energy needs.
For all its heft and groundedness, the house offers a number of dynamic effects. Its facade acts as a giant screen for information from outside; depending on the weather, hour, and season, sunlight might cast rainbows on the rough walls, bathe them in an orange glow, or dapple them with shadows. The owners are fond of snapping smart-phone pictures of these fleeting moments and sending them to Mariscal.
________________________________________________________
Concrete can wear many faces. In the wrong hands it goes cold and clinical, the stuff of a thousand Brutalist eyesores. But when made with skill, it becomes something else entirely, imbued with a tactile allure that's well suited for residential projects. This allure is largely responsible for the quiet, contemplative power of Phoenix House. It’s fitting that the owners, a married couple with three sons, felt drawn to this indestructible material. “We
wanted a house that was a complete departure aesthetically from where we’d lived before, and we had the freedom to build one here,” said the husband.
For Phoenix House, Architect Sebastian Marsicol inverted the typical floor plan, tucking the bedrooms beneath the common areas so that the latter snagged the ocean views. And instead of designing it as a monolithic mass, he broke it down into distinct volumes joined by stairwells and bridges. Within and between these volumes, he carved out openings to let in light and create voids that form decks, patios, and seating areas—nearly every room has direct access to one. Though unconventional, the layout coheres as a series of gallery-like spaces that are themselves works of art, worthy of exploration.
Outside, finding the entry feels a bit like discerning the head of a hiking trail. “I like to hide houses from the street,” Mariscal admits. “I design from the inside out, so I never think about curb appeal.” Staggered stepping stones wind through surrounding vegetation, then pass beneath a concrete overhang on their way to the entry. Where the tree canopy opens up to reveal the sky, a sliding mahogany door materializes at the path’s end. Behind that door sits the double-height vestibule, its main light source a wall of glass veiled by bamboo. This entry space is shadowy and sanctuary-like—there’s an urge to lower one’s voice—but steers clear of stuffy formality. From there, the glow of daylight from the stairwell invites a climb to the second-floor common spaces.
In a nod to traditional design, ceiling heights are lower in transitional spaces and higher in the areas they lead to. “Each part of a home should feel like a distinct experience,” Mariscal says. “Too many houses today are open-plan boxes with undifferentiated spaces.” By keeping the interior palette—limited to concrete and a handful of materials—stripped back to essentials, he highlighted the impeccable craftsmanship and a pervasive calmness and order.
The reinforced-concrete structure was both an aesthetic choice and a functional one. By day it prevents heat gain—so much so that the house has no air conditioning; by night it releases warmth as the temperature dips. The hot-water radiant heating system embedded in the floors is powered by a geothermal pump. Solar panels provide 30 to 40 percent of the home’s energy needs.
For all its heft and groundedness, the house offers a number of dynamic effects. Its facade acts as a giant screen for information from outside; depending on the weather, hour, and season, sunlight might cast rainbows on the rough walls, bathe them in an orange glow, or dapple them with shadows. The owners are fond of snapping smart-phone pictures of these fleeting moments and sending them to Mariscal.
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text and images via:
Architectural Record: http://goo.gl/QFgrB4
Sebastian Mariscal Studio: http://goo.gl/jCTpp5
For more photos, visit this project at +@rchitecture
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For more photos, visit this project at +@rchitecture
⬣
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