Screen House
cnc fabricated roof trusses
ribbon wall studies
CNC cut recycled solid timber wood panels
superstructure The lower chords designed to reinforce the individual rooms while the upper chord is a more continuous form at the scale of the house. They are exposed throughout forming a web of poche defined by the parametrically derived trusses. They utilize the normative plate truss truss technology prevalant in Florida but take advantage of the CNC fabrication process to fabricate each of the unique trusses economically.
ribbon wall This undulating wall defines a partition between front and back that alternate the orientations of the house. This configuration allows the rooms to be distinct yet connected. The walls are constructed of cnc cut solid laminated timber panels.
artificial ground On this elevated ground, natural and artificial materials are staged to blur the boundary between inside and outside.
View of screenhouse from river
The remaining swimming pool of a razed cottage in Central Florida on the Alafia River, and the client’s desire to have both a fluid living arrangement as well as “rooms” – distinct spaces isolated from each other as well as to have a strong connection between interior and exterior spaces become the starting point for this project. The Screenhouse proposes a super porch. A screened porch that also encloses the existing swimming pool while producing a zone of inhabitation that is in-between inside and outside. Within this screened volume, a folding ribbon wall defines a minimal partition between front/back and inside/ outside creating the spaces of the house and alternating orientations to the river and to the front yard. The house is defined by the residual spaces between screen and wall niches creating an in-between environment where the barrier between inside and outside is minimized while protecting from the heat and insects and maximizing air flow through the house. As the wall is folded back and forth, distinct rooms are created while maintaining a fluid connection from room to room. This also allows the house to be one room deep along its entire length in order to provide a strong connection to the river from every space and allowing each room to be cross-ventilated.
plan- The envelope provided by the screen allows the home to be open to the outside year round and minimizes reliance on artificial heating and cooling.
View at entry through to river
view of existing pool that ispreserved and envelopeed by the new structure