Invisible House | Balaclava Projects

Firm： Balaclava Projects

Type： Residential › Private House

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2022

SIZE： 3000 sqft - 5000 sqft

BUDGET： $500K - 1M

The sequel to Ghost House which we built on the neighbouring plot in 2018

Invisible House is a deconstructed dwelling comprising of 8 individual pavilions, which are joined together by glazed skeletal walkways. The pavilions float above the ground on a raised steel deck & weave between the mature trees which were retained on the site.

Each pavilion has a full elevation window which opens to give access to the rear gardens via suspended steps.

The exterior of the pavilions are clad in bronze mirrors, which reflect the landscaping & the wider area.

Whilst this is certainly not the first mirrored dwelling to be built, it seems to be the first that is made up of numerous pods as part of the same build. There were concerns that it could become a house of "infinity reflections" & we were not able to render the reflections of reflections. We went old school & tested angles on full sized panels. We concluded that the infinity mirror only became an issue when 2 mirrors are absolutely parallel & you are stood in the middle of them looking head on. As everything within the build was offset, this concern of multiple reflections did not materialise.

The exterior cladding is divided into three zones - a 330mm base which conceals the floor build up, a 2700mm glazing and ceiling height zone & a 330mm top band which hides the roof structure & all services.

The exterior mirrors sit off the pods by 90mm & this allowed us to conceal the guttering behind the top glazing band, with downpipes also concealed behind the mirrors.

We have been left with a very crisp & beautiful building.