No walls, no columns, no ground, no boundaries, no limits…just pure space, and the never-ending possibilities that nature’s man linked to man’s nature offer to the whole world of living experience. The Global House, designed by Daniel Corsi, André Biselli Sauaia, Daniel Fonseca, Reinaldo Nishimura, and Victor Paixão, reveals itself as a living being, related to man through the most fluid way, where neither one is a stranger to each other and new forms of spatial relations are generated: a house as an interface that interacts with the human – physical/mental – necessities and desires, as it also acts by its own condition of a vital organism. More images and the team’s description after the break.
A space with no limited dimensions, containing all the possible magnitudes reduced to their primary essence and applied to a contemporary concerned and context related to architecture. A space guided towards its most virtual potentiality, only possible by the presence of life. In that way, the Global House is a “living house”, and so, a simple house becomes a complete habitat.
All of this is based upon a quest for universality. Due to this attribute, it is primarily conceived for a single user – essential living condition and most common situation in contemporary circumstances – but easily adaptable to other different structures. It is capable of adapting itself to all kinds of contexts, first because of the versatility of the surface that can be accommodated to any land or no-land conditions, and also for the compact area determined by the needs of elementary activities. Another important universal element is the form, conceived in its most fundamental design to be easily identified, acknowledged and comprehended by different men and cultures. That is when shape and geometry enfold into a single synthetic element that holds no particular symbolism, but a pleasant and living expression.
This universality leads to a very simple interpretation of today’s uses and functional areas, based on the multiplicity of spaces and forms of occupation. Basically the interior is divided in three sectors: “A” (Public Space) is the largest and most important one, containing the social, recreation and work areas; “B” (Private Space) contains the rest areas; and “C” (Semi-Public Space) contains the operative and hygiene areas. All spaces are conceived almost as unoccupied sectors, merely indicating where each activity should be taken. This makes possible a infinity of occupation forms, in which man can summarize all types of activities.
At last, technology is the most expressive component of the house as both construction and media instrument. It is this involving “tissue” that defines the form, the space, the light, the nature and the matter of the Global House. Acting like an intelligent textile, it can assume the most diverse characteristics: from textures and images to transparency or total opacity. It is the life of the house, containing all of its possibilities. Three layers compose this virtual living membrane: the outer one works as a heat protector consisted by suspended particle devices (millions of black particles placed between two panes of glass) that also absorb sun energy transforming it in electric energy (photochromic panes). It is also by this membrane that the house breathes, ventilating its interior by its porous texture. The middle layer is the metal self-structured truss sustaining the other two layers and also the whole form of the house, being the only necessary structural element. The inner layer is the digital liquid crystal membrane, appearing to be a simple glass that carries a powerful media instrument. The combination of these three elements gives both exterior and interior infinite possibilities of appearance and functioning. Light is taken to its most expressive capacity, during day and night. It is totally controlled by the user, but as an organism, it reacts automatically to day light, protecting the areas with most incidence and adjusting itself by days and seasons.
The Global House is so the most harmonious union between man and dwelling. The man’s living space becomes alive by its two natures: one of which it is part and another that he himself created. It is so simple that it is able to inhabit nothing less than the whole universe.
Project Team: Daniel Corsi, André Biselli Sauaia, Daniel Fonseca, Reinaldo Nishimura, Victor Paixão Status: Second Prize Global House International Competition for Young Architects Year: 2005 Site Area: 225m² Construction Area: 100m²
