46 DIGS.NET
| 5.29.2020
P R O F I L E | F O U R E Y E S H O U S E
PHOTOGRAPHS:
COURTESY
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EDWARD
OGOSTA
ARCHITECTURE
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old and conceptual to its core, Four
Eyes House is "an exercise in site-
specific experiential programming,"
according to the practice. Certainly there
is nothing per-usual about it. "Rather
than planning the house according to a
domestic functional program, the building
was designed foremost as an instrument for
intensifying a number of onsite phenomenal
events." Not only does the architecture
allow for observing horizon and heavens
alike, it supports the contemplation of life's
big questions: one's role in the cosmos, the
human impact on Earth.
Taking a thoughtful yet proactive
approach to these queries, Four Eyes House
is a project of interactions, chiefly with the
desert landscape. Both the building and
its arid surround are a bit mind-bending;
both exploit radical openness; and both
reinforce privacy and interiority. Its lack of
decorative obscenity, indeed any affect at
all, allows for focused engagement with the
outdoor environment while also responding
to its frailties with sustainable solutions:
floor-to-ceiling glass meant to capture
natural light and conserve energy, and an
edifice painted pure white to reflect heat
and control energy costs.
Orientation aids this engagement.
As the practice puts it: "Ground-floor
common spaces form a loose connective
field between discrete tower volumes,
and offer a more permeable relationship
to the landscape." Collectively, these four
"sleeping towers," as they are defined,
function as a kind of optical instrument.
Each has a singular configuration of stairs
leading to a compact top-floor bedroom
that looks out toward a different view:
morning sunrise, the mountains, city
lights, and evening skies. "By sleeping in
a room elevated off the ground and open
to the stars," the practice notes, "one might
inhabit a deep pocket of silence for a few
moments, and perhaps even perceive the
movement of the Earth, as it slowly rotates
beneath the stars."
Beyond changing or challenging
perceptions, Four Eyes House is
representative of Ogosta's ongoing
preoccupation with space and light. The
design is but one of these interventions;
others include award-winning residences
of similar feeling such as the Rear Window
and SkyValley Houses. In this one finds
Ogosta philosophically aligned with
contemporary artists like James Turrell
and Robert Irwin, whose work explore
comparative themes, not least the limits
of perception. While sympathetic in his
own work, as an architect Ogosta himself
appears to have few limits to his imagination
and is nothing if not remarkably consistent.
Four Eyes House is a tribute to the heart
of his practice: producing disciplined,
ambient, even hauntingly calm spaces.
Strong is the design that requires nothing
more. edwardogosta.com
