STILICHO II: PARIS DUPLEX : Preston Scott Cohen
This building is as integral to the inside of the Parisian block in which it is inscribed as it is to the systems of projection by which it was determined. Replacing two small houses (already demolished), it engages existing yard walls and passageways in a manner that alters the relationship of public and private spaces between surrounding buildings. While its primarily orthogonal core is continuous with the morphology of the block, its perspectival deformations transgress preestablished boundaries. On the one hand the duplex avoids crowding its neighbors by shrinking from them: on the other hand its attenuated components resting or leaning on existing walls connect diagonally opposed spaces. |
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The two units are interlocked around staircases stacked
and staggered along a wall that extends from the exterior and bifurcates
the interior. An exterior stair penetrates the building providing entry
into one unit (unit 1), while stairs in the other unit navigate left over
interstices (unit 2). The second unit gains access to a walled garden at
ground level; the first unit enjoys a covered roof terrace left open by
the two dimensional perspective from which it was projected. |
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