In upstate New York, at approximately three hundred kilometers to the north of the city of skyscrapers, a plot of 140 hectares was chosen to build a concrete dwelling with no further pretense than to become a weekend retreat.
Designed by renowned German architect and artist Simon Ungers, Cube House has a simple, monolithic appearance that combines minimalism and utilitarian design. Located almost at the edge of the property, the house searches for the faraway views of a ravine and the forest which covers around one third of the estate, becoming a privileged viewpoint of its natural surroundings. In this wide open space which extends to the foot of the hills, the house shyly tries to take over its nearest environment with an additional one-story pavilion which will be built in a second phase. A wall along the path that in a future is to connect both buildings will finally delimit a portion of the plot as an open courtyard between them.
The house welcomes the weekend visitors with a solid volume whose precise lines are cut off before the backdrop of hills. This prism of almost cubic proportions houses the simple program: a garage and a small studio on the ground floor and a living room area and kitchen on the first floor, barely separated from the bedroom by a low bookcase. Instead of the typical pitched roof which is common to the rural constructions of the area, a flat deck crowns the building, accentuating its character as a viewpoint. The house is raised as a vantage point from which it is possible to contemplate the landscape sheltered from the weather, and which even wolves and deer approach fearless.
