A very interesting example of how simple volumes and geometries can perfectly balance the relationship between private and public space. The construction materials and the way they are used also play a decisive role in the conceptual separation of the spaces and their promotion.
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Architects: Studio Toggle
- Area: 2841 m²
- Year: 2020
- Photographs: Gijo Paul George
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Manufacturers: Graphisoft SE, JNF, Profilati EKU Perfection, Wipro
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Lead Architects: Studio Toggle
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Design Team: Hend Almatrouk, Gijo Paul George, Mani Kuruvila, Abdul Rashid, Dionne Pereira, Ashlon Frank
- Source: ArchDaily
Ternion is a composition of three independent villas in Kuwait. Variably stacked prismatic volumes create a porous-pixellated massing achieving a harmonious balance between the opposing ideals of privacy and community. The project encouraged the architects to rethink the modern suburban Arab residential block, usually populated with affluent independent villas. In a society where privacy and weather become the overriding design directives, the norm in residential architecture is to create impenetrable and introverted structures that maximize the climate-controlled built-up area. The brief dictated the creation of three independent villas with private gardens and private swimming pools, that can be used on a year-round basis.
While it could not be completely avoided, the architects sought to minimize the use of active climate control by employing passive cooling techniques traditionally part of the vernacular. Combining these with self-shading massing strategies gave the project the direction it needed both spatially and aesthetically. Each villa is centered around a private courtyard featuring a swimming pool as a modern functional interpretation of a traditional ‘Hosh’ with a water feature.
The social spaces are grouped around this pool and feature longitudinal full-height glazed windows facilitating cross ventilation and evaporative cooling when open. The glazed internal walls afford panoramic views to the garden and pools while shaded from the scorching sun by cantilevered volumes mitigating the heat gain. This results in a composition of variably stacked prismatic volumes creating a pixelated / porous massing that endeavors to achieve a harmonious balance between the opposing ideals of privacy and community.
