The T House by Marc Topilsky

The T House is located in Israel in a suburb of Tel Aviv. The lot is 750 Meters Sq. On it are two single family house sharing a central courtyard and pool. The houses are shared by two sisters and their families.

Structure: All vertical structure (columns) are steel except the west wall which is sheer concrete – 12 meters high – to resist earthquakes. The house, having no walls on the east side works structurally as a bridge – hung from the west wall. The roof is a steel structure assembled in a work shop and transported to the site in two parts, each 2.5 tons of steel. It is 100 meters square and is supported by 4 main – S shaped – steel beams constructed of 2 parts each, one concave and one convex, in the same diameter. This roof is supported to the west by the concrete wall, and to the east (the main courtyard side) by 4 “Mies Barcelona pavilion” style cross columns. The roof cover is dark zinc sheet. All interiors are column free, (except for the red central column) and all devisions are plaster walls.

The house has 3 levels:

Basement: Surrounded by a sunken garden to allow Natural light and ventilation, and is used as an Office by the owner.

Ground floor: This floor is the main public area, the floor plan is L shape with the entry in the angle. Both faces of the L face the central inner courtyard, by an all glass floor to ceiling sliding door system. The arrangement is such that plenty of light is let through but minimal direct sunlight. An imperative condition in hot climate locations as this. One side of the L is the formal living room, 5X5 meters and 3.4 meters high. This space has a low window on the pool edge, a large floor to celling opening towards the main courtyard, ad a 5X1 meter, north facing skylight to allow diffused light for the painting on the wall (the red flower, artist Yoav Ben Dov). The other side of the L is the family room opening on one side to the main courtyard and to the south to an outdoor sitting area and kids playground. The connection between the two sides is the kitchen and main entrance.

First Floor; Reserved for bedrooms, 2 children bedrooms, one communal area and a double height master bedroom, opening to reveal the roof structure. Above the kids bedrooms is an attic with one bedroom suite.