House X - Looking back at the process

Peter Eisenman’s ideas have clearly been developed and realised on the design of House X, the final part of a series of housing designs that study and extend further more the concepts of deconstruction by the architect.

House X has a special complexity, an architectural form that derives from studies of maths, geometry and philosophy on a combination of planes that create spaces, voids and 3d spaces, highly related between differentiating grids. An extended version of Eisenman’s theories that includes concepts from previous designs to a more complex but at the same time more complete design solution.

This is an attempt to apply Eisenman’s theories of deconstruction onto Typography. In other words, a representation of Eisenman’s architecture through type elements that stand on 3d planes, creating volumes and spaces in such a form, as House X is developed throughout space.

The initial step of experimenting with architectural typography was an attempt to combine the title of the building (House X) with the actual walls, windows and voids of the structure.

Helvetica was chosen as a plain typeface that can easily be absorbed and transformed through architecture. A typeface with such a special character or even more with a non-character that is successfully adapted according to its use.

Firstly, we have to realise the way that House X is designed. Based on a strong square grid (or a repetition of this grid on various positions), different planes and volumes are placed with interacting points of reference. The fundamental element in this composition is the L-Shape block rotated, mirrored and multiplied to form the various areas of the house, corridors, rooms, spaces.
A centre point, divides the composition into 4 smaller groups all set up on the strict x,z,y axis.

What are the linking points? What is the hidden message?

House X, has not only a significant importance (as all the houses from these series of designs) as the conclusion of Eisenman’s long process but also a ‘concluding’ title as it is the tenth and final house. A celebration of its strong character and importance will be attempted with the use of typography by manipulating the letters of ‘HOUSE X’.

House X can be included on a hypothetical cube (6 elevations) which helps us apply each letter of the title ‘House X’ to a different plane. By numbering the elevations of the cube in a series of numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6) we can relate each letter (H,O,U,S,E,X) to each elevation. Therefore:

(1+H), (2+O), (3+U), (4+S), (5+E), (6+X)

This process results on 6 drawings (I, II, III, IV, V, VI), so:

(1+H) = I
(2+O) = II
(3+U) = III
(4+S) = IV
(5+E) = V
(6+X) = VI

The process is simple. We ‘push’ each letter on each elevation and every time any volume of the letter ‘hits’ a volume of the building, it stops there leaving the rest of the letter to continue its movement on that axis until it further hits a different plane and so on. The result (i.e. I) is a representation of the letter (H) on a 3d plane that includes all volumes on that elevation (1). So the result (I) is in some way a typographical elevation of the building.


If we continue this process, the six resulting drawings (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) represent House X on way that not only includes its physical meaning (title) but the architectural solution too as the letters are now 3d objects that are related to the different grids of the building.


The initial assumption of the building being able to be included on a cube, can now be represented on an arrangement of the six resulting drawings on a cube spread, placed on the corresponding positions. (see poster)

If we randomly take one of these drawings (i.e. drawing I), we can revert its 2d representation with a 3d model that its shadow (from a specific distance of light) creates the initial drawing. (see model)

The 3d model has, although its completely different arrangements of objects and volumes, a great relation with House X and its planes on the specific elevation (1).

Although the first part of the process results on the distortion of type’s functional use to a more decorative element, the second part re-invites it to a more functional existence whiten 3d space and architecture.

Elevation 1 and the elevation of the model (a) have a completely different appearance but at the same time are the same things, one resulting from the other from a circular process of designs and developments.