White House — Astolfo Maria Cicerano

Year: 2014
Location: International Garden Festival, Jardins de Métis, Grand-Métis, Quebec, Canada
Role: Lead Designer & Concept Development
Type: Competition Proposal / Pavilion
Status: Unbuilt

White House" is a series of wireframe interventions designed as intimate sanctuaries—modern interpretations of the domus—integrated into the natural environment. The project consists of three structures connected by a path, each serving as a vessel for foundational human experiences: Play, Sign, and Sound.

The architecture does not seek to enclose; instead, it acts as a porous filter that allows the forest to flow through the living space. In the first house, visitors are invited to engage in games of strategy; the second, the "House of the Sign," returns to ancestral origins, allowing guests to leave chalk marks on slate walls. The journey concludes in the third house, where the forest is filled with the notes of a piano, merging the architectural frame with the surrounding soundscape.

Site Plan & Spatial Organization

The layout plan (Scale 1:100) defines a precise path that winds through the forest, connecting the three structures in a narrative sequence. The positioning follows a North-South axis, strategically placing the houses between trembling aspens and poplars to maximize the interplay of light and shadow.

This organic arrangement ensures that each "house" remains secluded while staying part of a larger, articulated whole. The trail acts as the architectural spine of the project, guiding the visitor through the three houses in sequence.