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Text description provided by the architects. Yellow House is situated in a sloped area that is surrounded by a lot of big trees scattered all over the site. The house consists of two main parts. The first is the “inner spaces,” composed of highly private functions. And they are surrounded by “outer spaces,” which are composed of less private functions. The “outer spaces” are open-air courts that are situated on four sides of the house.
This court allows daylight and air into the “inner spaces.” All four courts have their own character in terms of scale and dimension, depending on their orientation to maintain the existing trees and slope of the ground. And because of the courts’ position, they have their own functions and define the functions of the area around them. Such as:
- • The “Welcome Court,” which is located at the front of the house and is +0.30 meters high, so this court acts as a shielded court that slightly hides the inner space (the living room) from the outside. and it also acts as an accessway to the kitchen due to the not-too-high ground level (0.30 meters).
• The “Inner Court,” has a counter and table around it because its ground-level height is 0.70 meters. That height is suitable for making a working table or counter, so functions around it like a dining and working area.
• The “Pool,” which is different from the other court because this court does not have any existing trees at the location, so it is not necessary to keep the land level for keeping any trees. The court is dug 1.10 m for a pool. And this pool also creates functions around it, like a relaxing area and a bath area.
• The “service court,” which is at the same level as the house (0.00), is used as a court that can be easily accessed from inside, so it acts as a service court for support utility and maid rooms around it.
In addition, all the courts not only create functions around them but also connect the surrounding area. So, the “outer spaces” are connected to a circular area around the “inner space.” The court and its surrounding space are dissolved by daylight and fresh air, which flows from one space to another. In the same way, the view of space is connected by material, which is the “concrete skin”.
“Concrete Skin” is used to link inside and outside space together due to duration and time reasons. Concrete is cast on top of the brick wall. The concrete skin is strong enough for weathering. So, the exterior and interior walls are all the same when time passes. It makes a connection between inside and outside spaces.
