Laetitia Delubac and Christian Félix have completed a holiday home and guest house in Siwa, Egypt. Here, quite isolated, the house was built with materials made available by desert, oasis and salt lake: mud, sun fired bricks, palm wood, reeds, red stone and salt stone.
Walls are built by local craftsmen with kershef, a traditional building material made out of mud, sand, and sun-dried salt harvested from the Siwa’s salt lakes. In addition to blending in with the surrounding natural environment, kershef acts as a natural insulator, keeping indoor air temperatures mild in both hot and cold seasons.
No electricity in the house. Niches have been installed within the thick walls in kershef to place candles. A spring spurting out in the bottom of the mountain, not very far in the south, irrigates the palm grove and continuously feeds the kitchen and bathrooms with fresh and healthy water, as well as a small pool and the basin at the centre of the peristyle intended for cooling the courtyard and adjacent rooms. More information Please visit the architect website.
Sited along a sloping hill of Montana Camp, this "Stone Creek Camp" designed by Andersson Wise Architects. The buildings offer warm, almost cave-like spaces as well as expansive porches, open to the views and sunlight. Small windows and thick walls facing into the slope of the site are contrasted with entire walls that open up towards the lake. Inhabitants may choose to be outdoors while inside by sliding open walls or moving outside to spaces that are more civilized than the outlying wilderness. Similarly, with each bedroom’s separate screened-in space, it is always possible to sleep in nature and yet still be secure within the building. The materials and textures of these buildings connect them to the site. The effect is paradoxical: despite their size, the camp’s large structures seem to emerge from the rock, wood, and grasses that surround them. Like the lake, they feel as if they have been — and will be — here forever. via housedesignidea
