Johnston Marklee's Vault House frames beach views through multiple arches
A sequence of vaulted ceilings and arched openings sets up layered vistas through the interior of this beach house in Southern California by Los Angeles firm Johnston Marklee.
Johnston Marklee planned Vault House as a twist on the boxy "shotgun houses" that were typical in southern USA until the 1920s. Although the building has a simple rectilinear form, its volume is punctured on all sides by arched windows and recesses.
The same motif is repeated throughout the interior, creating a series of vaulted doorways, rooms and corridors that conclude with a large framed view of the beach and ocean.
"With the assembly of stacked and unidirectional vaulted rooms contained within a simple rectilinear volume, the parallel orientation of the rooms acts as a filter that extends the oceanfront view," said the studio.
Local planning regulation stipulated that the house needed to be raised two metres above the sand and be collapsible in the event of a tsunami. This allowed the architects to create a split-level two-storey home with a car parking garage slotted underneath at the back.
An arched entrance leads into the house via a central courtyard that helps light to penetrate the interior, but also creates a natural division between the living spaces at the front and bedrooms at the back.
Vaulted forms overlap one another throughout these spaces, helping to outline different spaces and frame a number of artworks belonging to the owners.
"With varied contours and volumes, each vaulted room defines an area or a function in the house. The combined effect is a varied landscape of interior spaces, unified with a singular formal language," added the architects.
Outer walls are coated with a cement membrane to protect them from the elements, while floors are finished in limestone. A single staircase connects each level and also leads up to a terrace on the roof.
*Appreciation towards www.dezeen.com for providing the project description.*
