The resulting Vault House is a smooth, pure-white rectangular block, cut through with arches, vaults and curving skylights that open up oblique and overlapping views
Though the building looks like monolithic cast concrete, it's actually synthetic stucco over a wood-frame construction. Wood was chosen over cast concrete because of cost, weight and seismic considerations
The ocean is visible from every room in the house, however far back, but the grand panorama of sand, waves and surfers practically inhabits the living room
The broad vaults, from which this house gets its name, shape the character of every room in this house. Even the ceilings are slightly curved
The inclusion of the central courtyard was a key architectural strategy. This sheltered patio, doubling as an entry court, opens the way for layered transparency and allows sunlight to penetrate deep inside
Sometimes sharp, often curved and occasionally oblique, the house's sculptural forms nearly always surprise, evoking the arched sequences of a de Chirico painting
Skylights often perforate the heavy vaults and arches, lightening the construction and brightening the interior
Although the front of the house is raised on stilts, the rear sits flat on the ground. The resulting asymmetries inspired a shifting play of interior levels around the court
A simple and stylish interior uses the house's abundance of natural light to maximum effect
A sense of layered transparency is felt throughout the house, transcending the boundaries of space often set by multiple floors
The parking garage, at the building's opposite end, had to sit directly on the ground, over walls engineered to collapse under huge-wave pressure
Special permits allowed the owners of Vault House to build six metres closer to the surf than any of their neighbours. With its vaulted underbelly, the house appears to perch lightly on the sand. But it's a lightness secured by massive underground pylons, designed to withstand high waves, wind and erosion
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Remembering Christopher Charles Benninger (1942-2024)Architect Christopher Charles Benninger has died in Pune, India, at the age of 82; we honour and reflect on his passing
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Chanel shows its sporting colours with a bold high jewellery collectionChanel's high jewellery collection is inspired by its founder’s athletic aesthetic
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Sarah Solis’ first furniture collection is an homage to art deco‘Is it weird to call furniture sexy?’ Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Solis discusses her debut furniture line and new brand and store, Galerie Solis
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Jewel Box is a Californian project of small scale and big impactJewel Box by Red Dot Studio is the reimagining of a Californian 20th-century gem through a creative addition
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Germane Barnes exhibition explores notions of classical architecture and identityGermane Barnes exhibition 'Columnar Disorder' opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
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Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum's newest addition effortlessly complements the institution’s existing complexThe third addition to Joslyn Art Museum is designed by Snøhetta, which opted for voluminous common spaces and illuminating atriums
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In a hidden Beverly Hills garden courtyard, fashion, art and architecture meetJohnston Marklee transforms a Beverly Hills storefront into a shared space for the Michael Werner art gallery and fashion institution Mameg, connected through a leafy courtyard
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Transamerica Pyramid: a San Francisco icon, remasteredThe Transamerica Pyramid, a landmark in the San Francisco cityscape, has been redesigned to 21st-century standards by Foster + Partners
