The Thompson House, Jamaica, British West Indies
Abstract
**Please note that the full text is embargoed** ABSTRACT: In the Thompson House, the driveway ascends the rising land to a mid-level entrance. The house unfolds with a large gallery reception space that divides the living from sleeping spaces. The south-facing living areas cascade down the steep hill with views of the land below, and the north-facing sleeping areas view the hill above. A tradition of shaded porches for the site in Jamaica are distributed throughout the south-facing areas, unshaded decks are distributed where the sun is not an issue, and a rooftop unshaded south-facing exterior space for nighttime viewing provides spectacular panoramas of the site below. The composition of cubic spaces is tamed into continuous fluid transitions by the introduction of angled porches and decks and stairs, and cross-ventilation was a major consideration in shaping the overall form of the house. In the Thompson House a sloping standing-seam metal roof will meet the white painted stucco walls.