Dezeen Magazine

Didier Faustino's Big Bang-inspired structure to be next in series of dream houses

A house modelled on the form of an explosion by Portuguese artist and architect Didier Faustino looks set to become the next completed residence in the series of Spanish dream houses for French developer Christian Bourdais.

Casa Faustino by Didier Faustino for Solo Houses

Casa Faustino is scheduled to be the next project to begin construction in Spain's Matarraña region as part of the series of Solo Houses, an initiative to construct 12 architect-designed holiday homes that are free from any constraints besides budget.

Didier Faustino and his architecture studio Mésarchitectures have designed a residence made up of rectilinear volumes that project outward in different directions to create a variety of apertures, framing views of the surrounding landscape and sky.

Casa Faustino by Didier Faustino for Solo Houses

Floors inside the structure will be arranged as staggered platforms, which the design team hopes will encourage residents to "experience space in new ways, from infinitely large to infinitely small".

"Similarly to the centre of the 'Big Bang' the house appears to draw in as well as reflect the light at its core," said the designers. "The floors cause the body to feel weightless due to a lack of traditional spatial references."

Casa Faustino by Didier Faustino for Solo Houses

A swimming pool will be located on the lowest level of the building and will extend out beyond the walls.

So far only one house has been completed in the Solo Houses series - the symmetrical concrete Casa Pezo by Chilean studio Pezo Von Ellrichshausen. A total of 12 are proposed and include designs by Sou Fujimoto, Johnston Marklee and Takei Nabeshima.

Casa Faustino by Didier Faustino for Solo Houses

Here are a few more details from Mésarchitectures:


Casa Faustino

At the Centre of Infinity nestling in the telluric mountain scenery, this ultimate shelter lies before us like the promise of a new world. Protecting from the natural elements but inspired by the surrounding nature, this carapace capaciously opens out to frame the many perspectives of the landscape resulting in a better understanding of its diverse nature.

Similarly to the centre of the "Big Bang" the house appears to draw in as well as reflect the light at its core. The floors cause the body to feel weightless due to a lack of traditional spatial references (top and bottom, right and left).

As if from elsewhere, the house invites its occupants to experience space in new ways, from infinitely large to infinitely small.

Location: Poligono 12, parcella N°141, Cretas, Matarraña, Espagne
Area: 3,48 Hectares
Architects: Didier Fuiza Faustino & Bureau des Mésarchitectures
Collaborators: Tony Matias, Pascal Mazoyer, Maÿlis Puyfaucher.