House for a violinist by Patrick Dillon

Description of project by Patrick Dillon

I had known the clients- he a successful businessman and she Panama´s most renowned classical violinist- for several years, having travelled together time and again over a period of months along the Pacific coast of the Azuero Peninsula searching for a site where they could build a home and make a definitive move from the city to the countryside. So when they finally found the hilltop site with a view south to the ocean half a kilometer away, the program had been thoroughly discussed and agreed upon.

We decided that the house should be composed of a large central open living/ dining room space, mezzanine level studio, open kitchen, master bedroom, music studio/guest room, storage and garage.

On that first day, standing on the hilltop thrilling to the sight of humpback whales breaching within swimming distance of the beach, we agreed that the house should open out to the south to the constantly changing spectacle while presenting a more closed, protected courtyard space to the community street.

To that end we decided that an “L” shaped plan would allow us to organize all the communal areas of the house in one leg of the “L”, extending east to west and facing south to the ocean and north to the entrance courtyard. In the second leg, which would extend north to south and face east and west, we would organize the music studio/ guest room, storage and garage. All of these spaces are distributed on a single level above the undulating terrain, partially on a cast in place concrete slab and partially on a timber floor where the house is at a considerably higher elevation than the natural terrain. The central common area, consisting of the main entrance, living room and mezzanine studio, projects upward through the roof in the form of an 8m.x8m.x8m. polycarbonate clad cube.

The facades have been developed in response to their specific and particular orientations. Towards the south and east they are decomposed, with sliding glass doors, open terraces and wooden decks in accordance with the nature of the landscape, while to the north and west minimal openings are provided in concrete block walls to allow discreet views towards the community street and entrance courtyard. These facades are clad with fixed 2”x6” recycled southern yellow pine boards. The west façade facing the entrance courtyard is also clad with these boards. The upper part of the projecting 8m.x8m.x.8m. cube is clad on three sides with polycarbonate panels and on the fourth with glass to allow views south to the ocean.

The structure consists of concrete foundations composed of pedestals, grade beams and concrete slab on grade upon which 6”x6” tubular steel columns and WF 8x15 beams with galvanized steel purlins support a corrugated galvanized steel roof. The interior walls are built with recycled tongue and groove southern yellow pine boards or plastered concrete blocks. Framing for the glazed and mosquito net clad sliding doors have been built with recycled 2”x6” southern yellow pine boards.