Fran Silvestre's House on The Air
The House on the Air by Fran Silvestre is located in Tarifa, Spain. Spanning a 400-square-meter area, the house is nestled on the side of a mountainous terrain. The construction features locally sourced stone, and the house boasts a modern style with clean lines and floor-to-ceiling windows on both the front and back of the horizontally expanded structure. The architectural concept frames the horizon, with the home’s large view ports facing the ocean. The architect intended to draw in the sunrise and sunset, creating a space that perfectly frames these moments, allowing the colors of the sky and light to become art themselves, contrasting with the stark, modern, colorless home. The main feature and namesake of this structure is its floating appearance. The main long (top) floor is situated on top of the ground floor in a cross orientation. Due to the bottom floor supporting the center of the elongated top floor, a cantilever effect is created, making the house look as if it is floating.
Drawings
Pull-Apart Model
In the scale model of the house I was responsible for the assembly of the main floor’s framing and windows, all interior walls, furniture and the pool structure with water.
Diagrams
My 3D diagram showcases levitation and framing. Inspired by Frans Silvstre’s “House on the Air,” which uses longitudinal planes and portals to frame its surroundings, I incorporated these concepts into my design. I created a volumetric space with a wooden base frame holding an acrylic casing. The transparent acrylic gives the appearance of floating and enhances the framing effect. Inside the casing, a smaller volumetric space is framed by two longitudinal portals, offering multiple perspectives. The movable acrylic casing can be oriented on its base in various ways to further illustrate levitation and framing.
