The Olnick Spanu House Is a Minimal, Modern Glazed Home on the Hudson River
The Olnick Spanu House is a modernist beauty on the banks of the Hudson River in Garrison, New York. Its simple design consists of a glazed box built on an extended platform and topped by a light cantilevered roof supported by an array of cylindrical pillars. The project is by Spanish architect and lecturer Alberto Campo Baeza, who sought to create a modest but modern home peacefully immersed in nature.
There’s something very elegant and ethereal about this riverbank property. Its clean lines, discreet appearance and the transparency of its skin allow for a close relationship with nature, blending the boundaries between inside and out.
To create this tranquil property, Campo Baeza first established a plane–a platform at the edge of the sloppy terrain. Right above the ground there is a distinctive glass box that measures 122 feet long by 54 feet wide by 12 feet high, supported by sturdy concrete walls on its core and surrounded by many sliding doors that lead out to a balcony from which the homeowners can appreciate the deep waters of the river below.
The box is topped by a flat roof, which was paved in travertine rock so it can be stepped on and enjoyed. Supported by ten cylindrical steel pillars arranged in a 20 foot x 20 foot grid, the cantilevered top resembles a large table with ten thin legs.
Inside the glass container, the spaces are bright, open and airy and feature minimal, stylish furniture. There is a central living area, a dining room with a large white table, and a kitchen, all within the home’s transparent boundaries. The stairs and service spaces are hidden inside enclosed central areas, making the space tidy and uncluttered.
Right below the glass box and inside the cement box one can find the private areas like the bedrooms and baths, the main entrance from the garden, and a small, private art gallery displaying the owner’s own pieces of contemporary Italian art and Arte Povera.
See more stunning modernist homes by Alberto Campo Baeza here.
Photos courtesy of Alberto Campo Baeza
