At the atrium’s bottom, an elliptical reflecting pool is shielded by the busy road by a perforated wall of stacked white tiles that wraps around it creating a secluded, serene communal space. The filigree-like texture of the stacked tiles is picked up by the gridded white metal roof that covers the street-facing space on the other side of that wall, which, seen from the upper floors, blocks out the un-built area to accentuate the well’s shape. Specially designed holes allow the trees on the ground level to grow through this metal lattice, creating a soil-less planted area on the floor above.

The interiors sport a minimal aesthetic of white-painted walls and pale floor tiles beautifully juxtaposed with the exposed structure of the existing gable roof and its supporting brickwork on the first floor. Ultimately, it is this finely-tuned balance of past and present, old and new, which perfectly reflects the graceful equilibrium between void and solid that this house’s subtle design hinges upon.