This is an experimental architecture project I worked on whilst working at Ordinary Ltd. The brief was to create a house that was small, but still felt very light and open. My colleagues had the idea of a house essentially made of two halves that opened in the centre and wanted me to explore this and develop it into a complete design.

I liked the idea of the central part of the building opening as it really helped the small space feel larger and create an open plan feeling. However, I wanted the natural light and openness to be an ongoing core feature even when the central part of the house was closed. This is when I had the idea of using aluminium foam on the outside of the house because this would allow light to filter through the walls of the house in an organic way, whilst still allowing the space to feel enclosed and private. The aluminium foam would also be a good insulator, keeping the interior warm in winter.

Expanded Aluminium foam sample

Scale Model

Exploded Axo

Section AA