Kaleidoscope House

Suresnes, France

Photo © Nicolas Borel

Photo © Gilles Walusinski

Photo © Nicolas Borel

Photo © Gilles Walusinski

Photo © Nicolas Borel

Architects: Moussafir Architectes

Location: Rue de la Procession, 92150 Suresnes, France
Year: 1998

Situated between a continuous, staggered block of collective housing and an area of individual homes with private gardens, the Kaleidoscope House is composed of two elements. The cube-shaped pavilion is aligned with the street, while the wing creates right angles with the pavilion, providing a link with the neighboring frontage and marking a morphological transition from the continuous block to the area of detached houses. This two-component approach echoes the functional stratification of the interior design, where the zones dedicated to rest and introspection are located at the garden level, while the upper floor is intended for socializing. Downstairs, the space is colorful, horizontal and fragmented, each doorway affording glimpses of the garden. Upstairs, one finds a generously proportioned, high-ceilinged white space, abundantly lit by seven vertical windows that provide close and distant views: fragmented and oblique perspectives of the sky, the gardens, and the neighboring buildings. The cube is both a refuge and a viewpoint over the suburban landscape; it acts as a kaleidoscope oriented according to the four compass points and transforms the banal surroundings into a collage of transfigured reality. Windowless gables, fragments of trees and patches of sky offer moments of silence and visually relaxing surfaces upon which the eye can rest.