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Location: Winter Park, Florida
Project size: 3,150 square feet

Program: The owners of Origami House previously worked with Oza Sabbeth Architects on a renovation project in East Hampton, New York, and commissioned the firm to design a winter retreat on a small plot of land in Winter Park, Florida. The couple—one a psychotherapist and the other a tech executive—wanted a place that could provide respite, accommodate occasional visits from their children, and entertain up to 30 guests.

Design Solution: Crucially, the clients regarded the house as a work of art, emphasizing a desire for “clean lines, solid lighting, traditional shapes, and the idea of the outside folding into the landscape.” The designers developed the house from the top down as well as from the walls up in search of a simple but bold aesthetic statement.

Photo © Seamus Payne

Intrigued by the ability to form three-dimensional space from a two-dimensional plane, Oza Sabbeth Architects looked to origami for inspiration. Outside, folding planes of dark slate sidestep the distinction between roof and wall, facing both surfaces. Underneath this wrapper is a clear plan with a long-windowed gallery wall, a suite of guestrooms, and an open living-dining-cooking area. A library doubles as a privacy buffer, separating the primary suite from the rest of the house and offering solitude from even the rowdiest of young visitors.

Throughout the house, sightlines mediated by windows and doors offer moments of surprising encounter between inside and outside. At the rear, a roof overhang shelters a patio with views out to one of the city’s many lakes.

Structure and Materials: Turning crisp corners in slate required rigor and precision. Precast, hollow-core slabs allowed the architects to achieve maximum span with minimal depth, resulting in thin, paper-like “creases.” High ceilings throughout the single-story residence create a sense of depth, further heightened by a refined palette and high-quality finishes.

Additional Information
Completion date: June 2022
Site size: .25 acres
Total construction cost: $3 million (construction)
Client/Owner: Withheld

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Photos © Seamus Payne

Images courtesy Oza Sabbeth; click to enlarge