301 : precedent analysis : fisher house

Located on a site in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, where the land slopes gently down a main road to small stream, the Norman Fisher house consists of three cubes, two cube forms appear like rolled dice sitting at ninety and forty-five degree angles and  serve as the two buckets of living within the home.  The proximity of the smaller one separates it from the main part of the house. The small area in which the two spaces do connect represents a key to the structural and systematic arrangement of living space.  Although the geometric forms offset the natural surroundings, the cubes work with the site to form two inter-connected outdoor spaces: an entrance court and a kitchen court. The orientation of the house gives an impression of an expansive space but these two forms clearly demonstrate a public and private zone, as do many interior and materialistic features of the house. The cubes contain two distinct groups of activities: one  an entrance lobby and the master bedroom suite (with dressing room and bathroom on the first floor and two smaller bedrooms on the second floor). The second cube, connected by a large opening to the entrance lobby, includes a two-story-high kitchen and living areas, separated by a freestanding stone fireplace.  

Kahn’s sensitivity of materials and light, as well as his specific use of cedar siding and native stone, compliment the surroundings while the natural surroundings offset the geometric forms. On the inteior, Kahn uses a large almost classically inspired fireplace in the center of the space to represent the circulation and relationship of man in the building.