Oriental space does not reveal itself all at once. Behind its mashrabiyas, it screens its private spaces to gradually give away the images it has been hiding. Conceived by BLANKPAGE Architects as a modern day mansion made of white volumes and lattice work, it is an exercise in layering, volumetric composition, and subtle effects of lighting. The stacking of volumes allows for an elegant deployment of the program on the site without overpowering it with formal presence. The lobby, with its spectacular double-height space opens for the visitors and hosts directly on both the entrance side as well as the garden side. It is treated with double skins of glass and white lattice that set up a scenography of gradual entering and exiting in layers that hide and reveal the view while diffusing the intensity of the sun into the interior. At night, the golden light of the chandelier emanates its shine onto the garden.
The ground level, organized in a U-shaped courtyard style layout, maximizes the permeability of the garden to the public living and dining programs. Covered galleries filter the space to the outside while providing for shaded space during the mild weather of the fall and winter time. The majlis space, accessible on the entrance side is connected to the dining area via traversing axes of windows and doors that connect to the garden visually and physically. The expansive garden, with its spectacular longitudinal pool, bridges the U-shape, virtually completing the courtyard while allowing openness to the watercourse.
On the upper floor, all bedrooms benefit from the garden and watercourse view while extending on terraces and pergola spaces and connecting to the family living and pool area on the ground level via an external staircase on the south side of the site. Conversely, the multi-purpose area, also located on the first floor, makes use of the parking garage roof as terrace space.
Finally, the master bedroom, a private volume on the second floor of the house, (accessible by the internal panoramic elevator and staircase) equally extends towards the watercourse view, private balcony, pergola, and terrace.
While the house’s near pristine volumes barely reveal its interiors during the day, at night the spectacle is reversed: the hidden gold shimmer of its unexpressed aura transpires through every pore of its intricate contemporary lace and every hidden thing becomes the place of a glittering spectacle.