Artist Patrick de Veyra has always been obsessed with the idea of images and appropriation. As recently as last year, he curated two exhibits for Faculty Projects which tackle the idea of how we deal and define the images we use today. Storm in a Teacup, his most recent exhibition at West Gallery, circles around […]
Shi House: A Home That Blends into the Ravine
The mountain can be such a place of quiet serenity. It’s far from civilization and filled to the brim with nature around it; no wonder temples used to be built at its peak. Shi House constructs a residence in a mountain that finds stillness in the darkness of the place. Situated in the mountains of Morelia, Mexico, HW Studios designed the home with Rogelio Vallejo Bores as lead architect.
The house, built near the peak of the mountain, overlooks a suburban neighborhood. With the desert-like vegetation around it, the work has a futuristic look akin to something in science fiction. This wasn’t by design; instead, this was due to a desire to emphasize its divide with its surroundings.
Peering Through the Ravine
Shi House exists in a ravine’s slope, with an eye-popping horizontal element that sticks out from the rest of the stone gray exterior. This features floor-to-ceiling glass on its three public-facing sides as well as a white-painted facade that contrasts with its wild surroundings.
The most striking space of the building, it is also the communal part of the residence. It functions as a great living room area because of the panoramic views on three sides. You can see the mountain, the residences below, and the nearby golf course.
A Play on Elements
This project consists of two main elements. The first is a vertical structure contains the stairs and some horizontal pathways. Constructed with stone material, it will naturally blend into the surrounding mountain over time. The second is a horizontal white structure housing the entire program of the house.
The stone volume serves as a vertical link, connecting the entrance and garage to the rest of the house. Enveloped by the disruptive and abstract white structure, it achieves a balance between natural and artificial elements.
The granite and stone building houses most of the private areas. Its blank gray exterior exudes a different feeling from the white walls of the communal area. It looks more like a bunker than the futuristic minimalism of the communal area.
In discussing their choices regarding the exterior of the building, HW Studios said that the facade look was intentionally disparate from the desert plant life surrounding it.
“In some Eastern cultures, it is believed that to intensely experience any phenomenon, one must place two opposites together; this house could be an exercise in the meeting of these two opposites: the Baroque mountain teeming with vegetation and these two Platonic volumes,” they said.
Eyes into Liminal Spaces
The interior of the house provokes a kind of uneasiness due to its composition. It follows the aesthetic of the communal area with its tight walls and white painting. This creates the illusion of liminal space, an eerieness in its hallways that feels ethereal as it does strange.
The private areas of the building, from the bedroom to the garage, exist inside the vertical stone slab. It looks serene, but not in the way that wilderness is serene. Instead, the spaces look purposeful and planned, with clean walls and easy-to-navigate spaces permeating the expanse of the home. It is uncluttered—a place that’s easy to lose one’s self in.
According to the architects: “In this house, a central division between social and private areas is prominently marked by a long axis culminating in the golf course. This axis or corridor presents an anomaly; a single slightly curved wall that aims to soften the journey and also serves as a tribute to the three women comprising this family.”
Shi House summons in us a feeling of reserved quiet. It evokes a vibe of relaxation; of being transported to another world away from our own. Something that promotes serenity like this becomes a welcome release from the loudness of the world around us.
Related Reading: Bookstore in the Blast Furnace: Adapting Projects to New Functions
Smart Home Philippines continues to solidify its position as a leader in smart home innovation, receiving the prestigious Best Interior Design Smart Home in Asia Pacific award at the IPAX Global Property Awards 2024-2025. Held at the Savoy Hotel in London, this recognition underscores the brand’s commitment to seamlessly integrating state-of-the-art technology with modern, functional […]
Kärcher, the German multinational company known for their cleaning machines, debuted the newest part of their 2025 Cultural Initiative as they partnered with the Intramuros Administration to clean up the walls of Fort Santiago. A “restorative cleaning effort” done to celebrate the company’s 90th anniversary, Kärcher’s team focused on cleaning up the wall facade and […]
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Primex Printers, Chief Marketing Officer Mariel Ching and Creative Director Gio Prado put together The Infinite Dot. The exhibit functions as a showcase of the capabilities of modern-day fine art printing, giving audiences a taste of the flexibility of the form to different ideas. The exhibit’s name comes from […]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Seeing the spectrum of human emotions as fragile is a concept as old as time. The way emotions break and mold itself to our environment is the subject of a lot of art. What Ciane Xavier does with Breaking to Mend, however, is to capture these emotions in porcelain, literalizing the conceptual framework interplaying with […]
Download this month's BLUPRINT magazine digital copy from:
Subscribe via [email protected]