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BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

Barud House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

A bare cliff face is visible through the abutting glass walls of a Jerusalem house.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The two-storey house was recently completed by architects Paritzki & Liani, who are based in Tel Aviv.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The L-shaped ground floor of the house is positioned beside the rock face whilst the top floor tunnels into it.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The building has a chequered white facade of Jerusalem stone that is exposed on both the exterior and interior walls.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The residence is named Barud House, after the traditional Israeli warning call for an imminent mountain explosion.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

Other recently published projects in Israel include a refurbished apartment with a vaulted ceiling and a house that combines traditional Palestinian and Islamic architecture with modernismsee all our stories about projects in Israel here.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

Photography is by Omri Amsalem, apart from where otherwise stated.

Hers's some more text from Itai Paritzki & Paola Liani:


Barud House by Paritzki & Liani Architects

Barud – a warning call shouted by construction workers before exploding the rock mountain in Jerusalem.

It is superfluous to emphasize that, from our very first visit to the site, impressed by a pink Cyclamen growing out of the rocky face, we decided to allow ourselves to be guided by the raw state of the terrain.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

Above photograph by Paola Liani

Our treatment of the site emerged from this stabilitas loci, which we subdivided into three main themes: Jerusalem, a city of rock and stone; wide aerial views; and the sacred architecture of multiple religions intersecting in the skyline. These images composed the texture and backdrop for the project.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The house is positioned accordant to the mountain by constructing its first floor as an L-shape juxtaposed to an exposed rock wall. The living space, screened by glass mediates between a view of the minimal and pure geometric form of the rock on one side, and the landscape panorama on the other.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The two upper volumes, in contrast, project from the landscape, they converge with the rock forming a tunnel. The passageway leads from +6 metres at the top of the site, down to a subterranean room at +3 metres, descending further, to a sequestered subsidiary entrance.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

Click above for larger image

Whether from the road, or a path which curls between the drywalls and cypress trees of a nearby property, the house appears a woven surface, even a bas-relief. The effect is composed by alternating 2cm projections of 53 x 25 cm modules of Jerusalem stone. The patterned surface establishes a powerful relationship between the building and the variations in light conditions throughout the day, and the passing seasons.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

The composition of natural contours, the mountain, and the house draws out a near serigraphic effect between the constructed and natural landscapes.

BARUD HOUSE by Paritzki & Liani architects

If on the outside the chiaroscuro pattern seems screen-printed, the building’s interior allows light to penetrate its volumes, accentuating depth. Daily life in the house runs parallel to the exposed rock, separated by only a slender gap, or wadi: a tribute to the winter rain and snow.