Excerpt: The F.LOT house designed by Studio Toggle is a minimal composition of two seemingly floating masses intersecting at right angles. A 5m cantilever adds drama and gives the composition its unique character. The challenge was to cater to the client’s need for a clean open design while tackling the issues of privacy and shade from the desert heat.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] The F.LOT house can be described as a minimal composition of 2 seemingly floating masses intersecting at right angles. A 5m cantilever adds drama and gives the composition its unique character.
The challenge was to cater to the client’s need for a clean open design at while tackling the issues of privacy and shade from the desert heat. Inspired by Donald Judd’s compositions and Louis Barragan’s work, we strived to create a composition that would shield itself from the desert sun by virtue of its aesthetics. The form evolved from our attempts to create dramatic self-shading volumes using perpendicular intersections and cantilevers. Clean lines and the use of white emphasize the purity of form.
The house features a 15m long pool that appears to float above the parking. The pool bisects the longitudinal volume which houses the main social spaces and the living quarters. The open-plan ground floor is organized on either side of the pool, which is quite clearly the focal point of the house. These spaces flow into each other connected by a bridge that is enclosed by panoramic sliding windows. The barrier-free design of the ground floor is emphasized by the open kitchen and dining, with sliding-folding doors, giving unrestricted access to the landscape/deck and the pool.
The basement houses the ‘Dewaniya’ (traditional Kuwaiti gathering space for men), parking for 3 cars under the floating pool, and the staff quarters. The Dewaniya opens into a large courtyard at the basement level, covered in white pebbles, which breaks up the harsh Kuwaiti sun and lights up the basement spaces in a glow of diffused natural light. The first floor houses private living quarters and is lit by panoramic windows on both sides. Aluminum louvers and deep recessed balconies offer effective sun protection and mitigate heat gain due to the large window openings.
An austere palette of white plaster, exposed concrete and white epoxy flooring gives the social spaces a sense of ethereal openness reminiscent of an art gallery. The first floor on the other hand features solid teak wood and rough-cut travertine cladding giving the living spaces a warmer texture.
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