134 OOI HOUSE
boththesiteandthebuildingisstillabletodrawone’sgaze,
likegravity,towheretherivermeetsthesea.
Inconversation,thenowUK-basedowner
consistentlydiscussedthearchitecturebywayofexperiences
andfeelingsordetailsofsitebroughttoherattentionatthe
house.It waskindlysuggestedthatduringmyvisitI finda
comfortablepositiontowatchthesunsetand,withalllights
leftoff,waitforthemoontorise.Inthesubsequentgreylight
andshadowofa fullmoonthehousewasreducedtothe
purityofa white-cardmodel.Ata positioninthecentreof
thehouse,connectedtoallcardinalpoints,thedwelling’s
abilitytobebothprospectandrefugewasreiterated.This
homeisnota “machineforliving”buta placeandspacefor
dwelling.
WhilethebluehorizonoftheIndianOceanis
slowlybeingconcealedfromthehousebythesurrounding
bush,thecrashingwavesarestillheard.Unlikemany
architecturalexemplarsthathavebeenfrozenintimeas
museumsofanidealizedarchitecturalvalue,theOoiHouse
remainsliveable– andmemorable– asa nuancedvessel
ofdynamicspaceandunfoldingexperience.Whenreferring
backtomyoriginallistoficonicprojects,I nolongerrecall
themasimages,butinsteadseethemashighlyconsidered,
experientialarchitecture that continues to engage with an
ongoing present.
040504 Attheendofa
hallwaythatfollows
thefallofthesite,an
almostdouble-height
bedroomishunkered
intothelandscape.05 Introspective
momentsare
invitedbyquiet
detailing,that
createsa visceral
senseofcalm.06 Spacesof
refugearegarnered
betweenthehome's
heavyearthenwalls
andinstancesof
restrained glazing.