Shelf life: interlocking pine planks create this delightful house cum library

Reminiscent of Atelier Tekuto's AR Award-winning Cell Brick house (AR December 2004), this house comprises a modular prefabricated egg-crate structure. Named Shelf-Pod House, the building is not simply a private dwelling. Instead, it was designed to provide space in which to store and exhibit the client's extensive collection of books about Islamic history. The lattice structure is made from 25mm thick laminated pine, with each cell measuring 360mm in height and 300mm in width and depth. Conforming to this modular proportion, spaces are arranged in a helical configuration, with four levels of accommodation stepping around the plan. The delicate structure was inspired by the Japanese woodcraft, Kumiko, and to clarify the reading of the house's composition, a simple pyramid roof bears only on the perimeter walls, free of central dividing walls, in a manner that the architect says recalls how a dome sits over principal spaces in Islamic mosques.

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In a similar manner to Cell Brick house, perimeter walls are articulated by glazed modules that form apparently random fenestration, however, this is where the similarities end. While Cell Brick house incorporated an advanced insulating paint developed by the space industry, Shelf-Pod House returns to traditional techniques to ensure that a stable environment is provided that is suitable for book storage. This comprises a straw and clay render applied to bamboo netting and then clad in red cedar boards, producing a composition that regulates internal humidity levels throughout the year.

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Accommodation includes a lower ground floor bathroom, and a ground floor (entrance level) kitchen and dining space. On an intermediate level is a salon, which leads through and up to more private workroom and bedroom on higher levels. Externally the thickness of the composite egg-crate structure is fully expressed, with a re-entrance inset, approximately 300mm deep. R. G.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 EMAP Architecture
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning