The Sliding House designed by dRMM Architecture does something that you come across a home like this – it slides.
The form looks nothing special and gives you the idea of a regular timber barn until you realise that the entire outer skin (the wooden part) is capable of sliding back and forth. The separated forms can be transformed by a 20 ton mobile roof/wall enclosure which traverses the site, creating combinations of enclosure, open-air living and framing of views according to position. This is an autonomous structure; steel, timber, insulation and unstained larch spanning recessed railway tracks. Movement is powered by hidden electric motors on wheels integrated into the wall thickness. The tracks can be extended in the future should the client wish to build a swimming pool, which may need occasional shelter.
Sliding House offers radically variable spaces, extent of shelter, sunlight and insulation. The dynamic change is a physical phenomenon difficult to describe in words or images. Here is a short video in which the owner Ross Russel explains the concept of the house and shows how the sliding takes place.
