The Pixel House is an interesting project designed by Mass Studies and has an innovative design and a curve like geometry. It just looks like each pixel of stone jelled together to create this astonishing building, which apparently gives you an effect similar to that of a 3-dimensional picture.

By using a simple orthogonal bricks, the smooth shape is digitized nto discrete units. This tectonic tension between the larger smooth form and the individual bricks parallels the tension between the individual house and the row and between the buildings, as described by the master plan, and the hilly landscape. The bricks also provide a very tangible sense of scale and of the making, the process of turning the abstract into the real, manifest in the grain and the inability to “zoom” in beyond a certain scale. The number of pixels determines the smoothness of a digital image; the smoothness of this house is determined by the brick modulethe result is a 9,675 Pixel house (1 Pixel = 1 Brick).

The middle piece of the house, phase two, occupies the back yard as defined in the master plan. By placing it in this zone this piece of the building occupies the semi-private backyard but is accessible directly from the front yard. It invites the community to share this space by taking it out of the housing row. The owner plans to use this space as a community center during the day and as part of the private living space at nights and weekends. Taking advantage of the opposite cycles between educational and residential uses the space performs double duties.

This house was designed for a young family with two children. This family is very interested in the larger community and plans on sharing their exterior spaces with the community. They intend to create a day care for neighborhood children. In addition to being a house this structure will end up also functioning as a community center. For those who are interested in documentation on the building ( drawings, models and photographs ) you can check this pdf file.




Published by Michael December 30th, 2007 in Architecture
Tags: 3-dimensional picture, house, innovative design, Mass Studies, pixel
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38 Responses to “Pixel House”
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This sucks.
what the hell
a house could look so much better than “packman” interesting concept not applied to its full potential they could have created some intersting lines in the brickwork.. more form in the scuptiral aspects of the house.. like a wave pattern. or a smooth ripple effect
That is one ugly house. Yes, it may be an innovation but one in the wrong direction.
hmmm, living room/kitchen a lil too open for me. and looks like its in an area that was recently deforested….
Hehe, that’s really cool…
I am amazed it took someone this long to create a house like this…
Thanks for sharing,
Keith
Awesome House
that is one ugly house
awesome.
ZOMG, I think I was about to build a house like this in one of my dreams, but then I got hit by an old person driving a buick. It spooked the crap out of me, and to this day, I don’t think there’s anything scarier than the elderly behind the wheel of a large steal object. In fact, that’s what I dress up as for halloween, and I put on a couple extra pairs of diapers just in case.
Very clever design, I like it!
Pixel house, thats an original. Good article, I posted the site on my blog, with som extra comments, http://www.opentopix.com/topic/other/the-first-pixel-house
HUH PEOPLE WASTE THEIR TIME IN VARIOUS WAYS
Stupid “designer” idea. Bricks and blocks work well for rectangular walls, if you want a curve use something that can be formed, or cast. The vertical, rectangular window in a curved wall looks plain ugly, and will probably leak in due course. The thousands of little triangular niches created by using straight bricks to make a curved wall will soon fill up with silt, algae and moss.
Just a little correction:
Actually, the 3d volumetric unit that this bricks represent is not a pixel, but a voxel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voxel
pixels are purely 2d.
other than that.. cool
Very cool, must have been, cheap?
0 comments.. ?
let me start .. its a beautifully designed house and a standout among crowd .. not so much about computer inspiration but definately a winner amoung its surrounding .. look forward to see some of its videos on the net soon.
cheers ..
Wow! That is inspiring! It’s almost like Gheary meet Gaudi. What a beautiful living space and I love the concept of community. Good luck!
Gosh I want one! Normally I look at new design concepts and think cool but I don’t see that they are practical. take the time to look at the PDF and be blown away by the interior shots, hard wood floors and the bookshelf, are some my favorite interior features.
Funny thing. Both Gaudi and Gheary have received these kinds of comments about their innovative buildings. Hey, Even Frank Lloyd Wright caught flack for his designs. Looks like some things never change.
That’s why there are nice, safe, McMansions for the average thinkers to live in.
But for those few who can appreciate something new that challenges the way we look at living spaces, there are home like this and many others that push the boundries.
It’s funny too, how many people will sign on and take the time to point out what a waste of time a creative endeavor is… Sot of, ironic, actually.
Do yourself a favor and drop the pretentious double speak. Talk like a normal person and it’ll make the house seem less ugly.
Its an interesting concept but poorly implemented. It just doesn’t look very nice. It looks a boring, not quite finished, bunker. In no way does it look at all inviting or comfortable. Certainly nothing i would consider as someplace I’d want to live, given a choice of other options.
B for interesting idea
D- for poor implementation
> Both Gaudi and Gheary have received these kinds of comments
> about their innovative buildings.
> It’s funny too, how many people will sign on and take the time to point out
> what a waste of time a creative endeavor is… Sot of, ironic, actually.
Maybe I didn’t make it clear enough. I love good design, ancient or modern. If
I had the money I’d commission an architect to build me a house using the best
modern technology has to offer. I don’t have a problem with the shape of
the ‘Pixel house’ (or Voxel as a previous respondant pointed out) and I
loathe pastiche houses which all the major housebuilders build, because the customers want them and the planners allow them, but if you want a curve why use rectangular blocks? You could make this design in metal, plastic/composite, concrete or laminated timber. Using bricks / blocks is just screaming “look at me I’ve done something different.”
And using my time to criticise others isn’t a waste either, “Reading maketh a
full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.” (Francis Bacon)
Guess I’m just not exact enough yet.
I’m thinking cool daycare until the kids start climbing/falling off the building….
The house is ugly. If I had the choice between living in that and a cardboard box next to a dumpster…I’d live in the box.
Unless the brick is square (which the ones comprising the front aren’t) the brick occupies 2 ‘pixels’ when used longwise. ;c)
The house isn’t ugly to me. It’s lacking sunlight, but it’s still an eyestopper, and interesting new way to think of old scheme of building. pretty sweet.
Stupid house if you ask me
This kind of time wastage is really a stupidity. Please there are lots of things in this world to spent you time on. Making this kind of house servers no one’s purpose but just for your own contentment that you have done something.
This looks really like a PROJECT that needs to be polished up!
wow !!!
no mamen, they have a lots of brick left over and they did not know what to do with it. I do not want one… it sucks . imagine cleaning all that grout .