Lane B - Nashville, TN (2019)
A house can protect us, and in that protection provide new opportunities for life. The concrete wall provides security from the outside while creating moments of nature within. The wall also allows the house to be transparent yet hidden.
The wall is a barrier between the street and the house, with large 9’ by 9’ cut out frames. Each frame creates a relationship between the house and the street. Between the wall and the house private gardens appear. These gardens create experiences of light and nature for the interior spaces to enjoy. The wall, although very strong, creates light and playful gardens.
The house blurs the boundary between the interior and exterior through large glass walls that create layers of connection. The wall protects the house, so that the ground floor can be more transparent and open to outside. The wall adds a sense of shelter to these outdoor spaces.
In the spaces, walls run from outside to inside bringing light from the adjacent courtyards. Interior light is experienced as exterior, completely redefining the feeling of interior spaces. Throughout, the exterior spaces become part of the interior programs, no longer detached like in traditional homes. Light alone has acted to de-materialize the thresholds that once pushed nature to the outside.
There exists a beautiful confusion, where the interior spaces feel as if they prefer to be outside, exposed to nature. The exterior spaces feel as if they are internalized, comforted by the concrete wall.