28-11-2016
Lenz Architects’ Shell House
Kazak studio Lenz Architects designed a home in Almaty which closes up like a shell to isolate the inhabitants from the world outside. But inside its shell, Shell House conceals a glass wall that lets in what is outside.
The latest project by architect Damir Ussenov, head of Lenz Architects of Kazakhstan, is Shell House, a home in Almaty at the foot of Mount Trans-Ili Alatau.
Ussenov wanted to create a house that would be safe and isolated, but with a view of its natural surroundings.
The idea behind Shell House took concrete form in a curved wall which brings all the greenery outside into the house through a big window. But the same wall can be closed with a dynamic aluminium panel structure to shut up the entire building like a tortoise’s shell.
The living spaces inside the home are generously sized and decorated in minimalist style. While the furnishings add a sophisticated but cosy touch, when seen from outside, Lenz Architects’ Shell House, with its automated panels, geometric domes and light fixtures of various shapes, looks like a spaceship out of a science fiction film.
Francesco Cibati
Location: Butakovsky Gorge, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Design: Damir Ussenov – Lenz Architects
Photos: Botagoz Nurgaliyeva
Year: 2015
Area: 600 sqm
www.lenzarchitects.kz
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