The Slot House

Two architects decide to design their own small living space inside an existing 600 sq ft footprint. They agreed from the beginning of the project to veer towards an architecture in construction vs an environment of "design". This idea of construction is present in the physical material and the perception of the project.

The first move was to cut a slot that would allow the tree to be seen from the inside. An opening framed in the floor beams located the original hearth, and was echoed by aligning a pair of VELUX skylights in the new roof above it. The central skylight then becomes the ghost of the original hearth, and makes a vertical connection between the sky and the ground.

The light brought in by the new skylights creates a dynamic interior space, a space that is constantly changing according to the movement of the sun. During the summer, the new glazing (including one of the skylights) opens up to provide ventilation, and in the winter, when the tree loses its leaves, the intake of daylight provides passive heating.

The resulting interior is an open, vertical "loft" that reveals the archaeology of the original structure. This is a "living" archaeology, not just exposing the bones of the original structure. What brings new life into the house is the transformation of the memory of a wood-burning hearth into a vertical beam of light, which falls into the space through a central skylight.