Magnet Tile House

The idea for the Magnet Tile House was developed while my daughter and I were playing one evening with a set of the popular children toys with the same name. As our firm has been interested in modular architecture and design, this toy perked our interest and we came up with a modular system, which we then applied to one of our current projects, a vacation home for a young couple from LA that wanted a building that stood out from the crowd while taking central design clues from its environment.

The shape of the building is based on an abstract reinterpretation of a boulder – which are plentiful in that area of Pioneertown, CA.

The building system is based on a single module that comes with four different wall arrangements in order to enable it to create a variety of layouts, which in turn can respond to specific site requirements and owner preferences. This particular project is using the cartwheel approach but the units could as easily be used in other quantities and arrangements.

The building will be mostly off grid with a well and a septic field and possibly a dedicated solar tree. The elevated units provide ventilation and storage below the units while the vaulted interiors with the operable opening at the top of each module allow the heat to dissipate through stack ventilation.

We are currently comparing the construction cost of a site built versus prefab construction approach in order to determine the most efficient construction method.

More coming soon