Project: Eclipse House
Architects: I/O Architects
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Area: 8,664 sf
Photographs by: Assen Emilov
Eclipse House by I/O Architects
The Eclipse House in Sofia, Bulgaria is the work of I/O Architects, a studio that has already made an appearance on our site with their Observation House and Pagoda House projects in Bulgaria’s capital. Their modern touch is immediately apparent in this project as well, but they have also increased the focus on privacy. Even though the residence is glazed on each side, there are curtains and blinds on each window, making sure that privacy is always protected.
Utterly introvert, this house is located on the last plot of a desired neighbourhood in the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria. The complexity of the program confronts the size of the site thus determining the tree structure of the house. Each of the three stories differs in both size and concealment strategy.
The vastest first story is underground yet naturally lit and directly connected to the street and the garden. The compressed and mostly open ground floor together with the small garden is hidden behind the hedge.
The privacy and sunlight of the large upper floor are meticulously controlled by big scale sliding panels. Only the simple hovering pigmented zinc volume and the blind entrance are exposed to the street while the rest of the complex structure remains unrevealed.
The spaces inside are integrated around the light of the central atrium and pierced by unexpected space connections. The reflective roof of the deep veranda brings back garden view to the interior.
The linear underground space of the swimming pool has visual and physical contact with the garden while the bright garage is connected to the rest of the house through an under-stair periscope space.
