The Breathing House: A Vision of Future Living

Joao Silva and Paola De Francesco's Eco-Sustainable Architectural Marvel

The Breathing House stands out with its dynamic facade of sliding terraces. This three-storey family home is designed with a glass facade segmented into a series of sliding terraces, creating a dynamic living system. The sliding terraces extend the internal room into a dynamic balcony, effectively blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces.

The house's unique design is supported by a large metal grid that serves as an anti-seismic external skeleton for the structure. This frame not only provides structural stability but also allows for the conduction of cabling and collection of rainwater. The windows are made of solar glass cells, providing all the energy needs of the house, underscoring its eco-sustainability.

The Breathing House is situated in Los Angeles, on the last plot of the Mulholland Drive road, underneath the iconic Hollywood sign. The design was awarded in the Arch Out Loud international ideas competition: Last House on Mulholland (LHOM), which called for designs that demonstrate the use of innovative technology and integrative environmental strategies.

The design process involved extensive research into sustainable building practices and technologies. The designers recognized the growing issue of greenhouse gas emissions from inefficient home energy use and aimed to address this through their design. The Breathing House represents a new perspective on the single-family home, pairing passive design strategies with renewable energy to reduce its carbon footprint.

The Breathing House was awarded the Golden A' Futuristic Design Award in 2018, a testament to its innovative and trendsetting design. This award is granted to creations that reflect extraordinary excellence and significantly impact the world with their desirable characteristics.