Matryoshka House / David Jameson Architect

Located in Bethesda, Maryland this small house is organized as a series of volumes nested one inside another. At the core of the volumes is a suspended meditation chamber. Follow the break for more photographs and drawings of Matryoshka House by David Jameson Architect.

Architects: David Jameson Architect, Inc.
Location: Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Principal: David Jameson, FAIA
Project Architect: Matthew Jarvis
Contractor: Added Dimensions, Inc.
Project Area: 3,200 sqf
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Paul Warchol Photography

The suspended box acts as the physical and spiritual center of the project. The internal energy of the meditation chamber is encapsulated within an open glowing frame. An alternating tread stair engages the participant to deliberately ascend the threshold to the meditation chamber.

The meditation chamber is surrounded by a wooden container which encases the living areas of the house. This shell is in turn cradled by stucco walls serving as a protective layer and grounding the house to the earth. The in-between spaces of the nested volumes are strategically sliced to allow the sun to project lines of light within. By separating the three shells, the interstitial spaces allow light to become an architectural material that activates the interior.