Façades

The office volume abuts the street front.

Security was a major concern, common in Latin America, reflected in the extensive protective gate.

Red- and blue-pigmented cement augments the color palette of the courtyard.

Downstairs, the open-plan living and dining space features expansive openings that open out to the balconies, patio, and the integrated gardens. This abundance of green space connects the home to the framed views of the verdant escarpment.

By editing the views with the built form, DD House takes on a striking, sculptural form. The upper level is perched atop the elevated ground floor on slender columns that dissolve the building's mass and give it a lightweight appearance despite the solid balustrades.

The couple chose Shou Sugi Ban siding, with an extra treatment to meet stringent fire codes.

A walled patio with a sunken garden takes up fully half the ground floor. Open to the sky, it allows sun and rain to enter, while the walls offer protection from the area’s constant winds. “The home takes a piece of the site into its enclosure,” says Barache.

The cube-shaped structure, designed by architects Jean-Baptiste Barache and Sihem Lamine of Paris firm Arba, is clad in timber finished with pine tar.

The view was pivotal in the design, and the living area features 180-degree views that bring the spectacular seascape into the interior. The soft, neutral palette complements the seascape.

An outdoor shower set in the timber-clad walkway offers another way for the homeowners and their guests to connect with nature, and an easy way to rinse off after swimming.

The entrance to the home is through a timber-clad passageway, which connects the different spaces, which are all under one roof. Over time, the Canadian cedar timber cladding will develop a silver patina and the built form will dissolve further into the landscape.

The entrance to the home is through a timber-clad passageway that leads to a guest annexe, a utility shed, and the main house. Whilst traditional Danish summer houses are often clad in dark timber, this contemporary interpretation of the typology inverts expectation by using a light Canadian cedar cladding—most expressively in this walkway.

The summer home is located on the west coast of Zeeland in Denmark. Egelund’s son had also recently built a summer house nearby, and Egelund and Dahl appreciated the work of the architect, Mads Lund. “We felt we could have a good collaboration with him, rather than being a small client with a big company,” Egelund explains. “We started to talk with him about what we liked about my son’s house, as well as our own ideas for our summer home.”