Exterior facade by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
An architectural precedent by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture demonstrating the juxtaposition of a solid, cantilevered linear-masonry upper block over an ultra-transparent ground-floor pavilion interfacing with water and landscape.
- What we like about this project
- The precise alignment of the sun flare directly on the vertical steel mullion of the glazed corner.
Materials
- masonry
- brick
- glass
- steel
- water
- wood
Visual identifiers
- cantilevered-mass
- linear-masonry
- floor-to-ceiling-glazing
- infinity-pool
- golden-hour-light
Style tags
- contemporary-modern
- regionalist
- warm-minimal
Visual tags
- residential
- indoor-outdoor
- cantilever
- poolside
- transparent-corner
- light-play
- Geometry
- A solid, cantilevered rectangular upper volume clad in horizontal masonry sits directly above a transparent, floor-to-ceiling glazed ground floor corner, terminating in an exterior infinity pool at the base.
- Facade system
- Combination of linear thin-brick or masonry cladding on the upper floor and minimalist floor-to-ceiling structural glass framing below.
- Structural guess
- Steel moment frame or post-tensioned concrete slab allowing the upper volume to cantilever cleanly over the glazed corner.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story residential scale, with an intimate ground-level living space opening directly to water and landscape.
- Lighting
- Golden hour side-lighting with a sharp lens flare catching the corner joint of the upper volume, casting warm reflections across the pool water and interior floor.
- Atmosphere
- Serene, warm, and luminous, balancing heavy protective mass with open natural transparency.
- Environmental context
- Lush, mature deciduous tree canopy wrapping the immediate exterior, filtering late afternoon sunlight.
- Spatial experience
- The composition creates a contrast between the heavy, protective overhead mass and the open, floating transparency of the living space at the pool edge.
- Composition rhythm
- Horizontal coursing of the masonry volume echoed by the planar lines of the pool edge and floor slab.
- Style reading
- Contemporary regional modernist residential design
- Program
- Luxury residential living pavilion with pool
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- masonry, brick, glass, steel, water, wood
- Visual identifiers
- cantilevered-mass, linear-masonry, floor-to-ceiling-glazing, infinity-pool, golden-hour-light
- Style tags
- contemporary-modern, regionalist, warm-minimal
- Visual tags
- residential, indoor-outdoor, cantilever, poolside, transparent-corner, light-play
- Geometry
- A solid, cantilevered rectangular upper volume clad in horizontal masonry sits directly above a transparent, floor-to-ceiling glazed ground floor corner, terminating in an exterior infinity pool at the base.
- Facade system
- Combination of linear thin-brick or masonry cladding on the upper floor and minimalist floor-to-ceiling structural glass framing below.
- Structural guess
- Steel moment frame or post-tensioned concrete slab allowing the upper volume to cantilever cleanly over the glazed corner.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story residential scale, with an intimate ground-level living space opening directly to water and landscape.
- Lighting
- Golden hour side-lighting with a sharp lens flare catching the corner joint of the upper volume, casting warm reflections across the pool water and interior floor.
- Atmosphere
- Serene, warm, and luminous, balancing heavy protective mass with open natural transparency.
- Environmental context
- Lush, mature deciduous tree canopy wrapping the immediate exterior, filtering late afternoon sunlight.
- Spatial experience
- The composition creates a contrast between the heavy, protective overhead mass and the open, floating transparency of the living space at the pool edge.
- Composition rhythm
- Horizontal coursing of the masonry volume echoed by the planar lines of the pool edge and floor slab.
- Style reading
- Contemporary regional modernist residential design
- Program
- Luxury residential living pavilion with pool
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture