SHELL House, designed by ARTechnic Architects, takes an interesting (and probably upon inspection, the best) stance towards nature. It sits in the middle of the forest, surrounded by trees, distinctly man-made, neither yielding to nature nor imposing on it (or would you say ‘neither imposing on nature nor yielding to it?’) Kotaro Ide of ARTechnic puts it that ‘Being in tune with nature is not to yield to nature – it is the coexistence.’
It really is a shell! Goddamn! What a shell! Two volumes, elliptical in section, one the parent volume to the other. When viewed head-on, a particularly strong ‘aha!’ moment occurs when the two seem to hover against the natural landscape, one overlooking the other in silent contemplation.
Floors and rooms are constructed as if they are clearly separate, but growing out of the shells. The shells’ clear dominance in the architecture gives rise to dualities, one of mass and another having to do with permanence. SHELL House would be a hell of a thing to see in one hundred years.
Matt Davis is a Virginia Tech graduate and one of the founding editors behind Arch2O. Launching the platform in mid‑2012 alongside fellow Hokies, he helped shape its identity as an international hub for design innovation and critical dialogue . With a foundation in architectural education and a passion for uncovering unconventional design approaches, Matt has contributed significantly—both editorially and strategically—to Arch2O’s growth, ensuring that emerging architects, academics, and creatives have a space to question, explore, and elevate the built environment.