Is it hard for architecture to be original today? Of course not. But it is hard to by appropriate, because it often disturbs or violates landscape and nature. Which is not the case for this construction in the eastern region of the African continent, formed by vast plateaux that slope towards the coast with steep cliffs: Gota Dam Residence is in fact a house on the cliff, a close relationship between architecture and the natural setting, a coherent way of narrating the host context.

The result of collaboration between the London-based architecture firm Seilern Architects (celebrating its 10th birthday this year) and the designer Muzia Sforza, the house was made for a musician in search of a refuge that would be suitable for composing and recording music.

The building has an area of 1500 square meters at the top of a dizzying cliff, like a macro-object that seems to tumble down to the artificial dam below it (the main reservoir for the surrounding agricultural land), reinforcing the overall form and image of the place. The design plays with the level shift, configuring a system of spaces stretched between 112 and 116 meters above sea level, becoming a feature that blends into the surrounding topography.

The awareness of working in a truly unique place has prompted Christina Seilern to multiply the pursuit of visual relationships with the landscape. “The design of windows that would not place limits on the view was the first source of inspiration for the architectural project,” she says.

“The windows are enclosed between progressive linear overhangs and belvedere terraces with shaded areas for protection from direct sunlight, creating a continuous relationship of indoor-outdoor osmosis.”

On multiple levels to adapt to the site, the house has three modernist volumes in granite, wood and glass. The stone has been obtained locally thanks to a quarry and to excavation, a choice that roots the house even more deeply in the surrounding context, also thanks to great attention to constructive details.

One volume contains the private spaces of the guest bedrooms, extending outward with a large wooden deck; the other two are for the winter living area and the master suite, enclosed in luminous glass boxes that accentuate the sensation of being protected and suspended inside the natural rock.

Inside the continuity of the lines, spaces and paths, the furnishings are spare and intentionally sober, as a backdrop for works of art. When the extroverted feature of the first pool of water – at the level of the central patio, a joint between the two main volumes of the residence – encounters the figure of the outdoor pool built on the lower level, the radical character of the project is fully visible: architecture becomes landscape and the house embraces the reservoir and the tropical greenery of the jungle. Without too much background noise.

Photos by Bruce Rowland, Angela Geddes Courtesy Studio Seilern Architects – Text by Antonella Boisi

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The fluid transition between outdoor and indoor spaces is underscored by the uniformity of the materials, in an ongoing correspondence between full and empty zones and green presences.
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Longitudinal section through the house.
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Overall view of the villa.
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View of the central patio which is the joint between the two main volumes of the living area, as well as an outdoor landscape viewing point.
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The pool of water at the level of the living area, bordered by continuous full-height glazing that generates perfect indoor-outdoor osmosis.
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Granite obtained at the site, and wood: in the varied volumetric composition the design of the terraces and the progressive overhangs of the flat roofs (to screen direct sunlight) accentuate the perception of a house suspended over the rocky cliff.
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Overall plan of the project.
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The full-height glazing, the principal material of the design, offers an unlimited view of the landscape in all the rooms, from the bedroom to the bath, which have essential forms and furnishings.
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The bath has essential forms and furnishings.
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The curved custom bookcase built into the spatial construction of the living area is lit by a large skylight, an element that returns in other zones of the house.