丨墨西哥丨Steven Holl Architects

Turbulence House

New Mexico, United States

Adjacent to adobe houses built by the artist Richard Tuttle, this small construction sits atop a windy desert mesa. It is imagined like the tip of an iceberg indicating a much larger mass below. The form allows turbulent wind to blow through its center.

The stressed skin and aluminum rib construction is digitally prefabricated in Kansas City then bolted together on site. A total of 31 metal panels, each with a unique shape are fabricated to form the “shell” of the house.

The second Turbulence House, made for an exhibition in Vicenza, Italy, is in a private sculpture park in Italy. The metal fabricator utilizes digital definition combined with craftsmanship to produce intricate shapes. By means of parametric logic, materials can be converted into engineered assemblies with an accuracy once considered impossible.

Location

New Mexico, United States

Years

2001–2005

Size

900 sq ft

Status

Complete

architect

Steven Holl Architects

Steven Holl (design architect)

Anderson Lee, Richard Tobias (project architect)

Arnault Biou, Matt Johnson (project team)

local architect

Kramer Woodard Architects

structural engineer

Delapp Engineering

metal panel fabricator

A. Zahner Company