4-2-1 house
image courtesy ik studio

UK firm ik studio designed  villa 4-2-1 house for the ordos 100 project in inner mongolia, china.

their strategy was to use the landscape in a system of terraces bound by measurement. all edges are vectors that have an origin, direction and magnitude. as such, they can be used to process a third vector that is a cross-product. the derived verticals are not only markers of mathematical models but are here used as a design tool.

an extension of the vector cross-product, the house is a collection of terraced fields that adhere to the programmatic elements of the 1000sqm house; composed in a specific manner to allow for a serial unfolding of tableaux that generate views of the house in a cinematic sequence. house 4-2-1 is composed in a movement of four to two to one that progress from the ground where there are 4 separate towers that climb upwards to two towers, and combine into the final, single level. this simple system of bifurcation is amplified by the programmatic divisions that challenge the organization of a typical house.


4-2-1 house
image courtesy ik studio


4-2-1 house
image courtesy ik studio


4-2-1 house
image courtesy ik studio



4-2-1 house plan
image courtesy ik studio


4-2-1 house plan
image courtesy ik studio


4-2-1 house plan
image courtesy ik studio


4-2-1 house plan
image courtesy ik studio