Comment of the Holcim Awards 2005 Jury for North America
While deceptively simple in how it gives expression to materiality, the project merits distinction for its careful handling of issues pertaining to sustainable architectural construction.
The collaborative scheme displays particular innovation, for example, in articulating a roof shape determined by wind forces as well as by proposing a movable patio that is responsive to seasonal changes in sunlight.
The deployment of phase-change materials is also to be commended, as is the functional flexibility of the design. The work represents an atmospherically sensitive intervention that is capable of adapting to changes in temperature and humidity, hereby expanding the notion of contextual responsiveness.
Considering the small scale of the case study, the research nevertheless offers promising potential for application under different circumstances and according to new environmental parameters, while inspiring curiosity as to its ongoing development.
Deserving further merit are the elegant spatial qualities achieved with an economy of means.