Overview
Earlier this week, we were pretty floored by the sci-fi-turned-reality that is the underwater home. Now, the latest in architecture is once again daring us to new extremes — this time in the form of the jaw-dropping Cliff House.
Conjured up by Melbourne company Modscape, the five-storey dwelling clings to your regular cliff face, affording dramatic ocean views, avoiding neighbours and enabling coastal development without the dreaded high-rise skyline. It's also the most terrifying holiday home we've ever seen.
We're not sure who has the cojones to live here, as this is next level extreme real estate — for example, is that last storey a pool or a ocean-accessing hole? Overall, according to the Modscape site, the design is "inspired by the way barnacles cling to the hull of a ship... visualised as a natural extension of the cliff face rather than an addition to the landscape, creating an absolute connection with the ocean." The Cliff House came about as a response to an increasing number of requests from clients wanting to inhabit Australia's more treacherous coastal sections.
Obviously, the big question — how does the house not plunge perilously into the ocean? Modscape's modular design and prefabrication technologies are crucial to the concept. Several modules are stacked on top of one another and kept in place with engineered steel pins. You enter the house through a top floor carport, where you meet an elevator that descends to each of the five floors. As far as interior design goes, the mock-up emphasises minimalism, allowing for total appreciation of the location.
At this stage, the Cliff House is still in concept phase, but the company is confident that given the right cliff face, it'll be totally doable — if you're game.
Via Inhabitat.