架构师提供的文本描述。几年前，理查德·英格兰著名的“马尔蒂亚别墅”(Villa La Maltija)及其在圣帕尔·塔-塔尔加(马耳他)的周边花园被拆除，以便为半独立别墅让路。发展商获准将该屋划分为若干幅土地，每幅土地的平均面积为250平方米。

Text description provided by the architects. A few years ago, Richard England’s celebrated ‘Villa la Maltija’ and its surrounding gardens in San Pawl tat-Targa (Malta) were demolished to make way for semi-detached villas. Permission was granted for the developers to divide the estate into parcels of land with an average area of 250 square metres each.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

接下来的六年里，这二十多座建筑的建筑景观非常繁忙-每座建筑都由不同的业主雇用不同的建筑师-它们的设计和建造几乎是同时进行的，但它们彼此之间却有很大的不同。当地中产阶级建筑品味的一种缩影，街区的风格各不相同，从传统到现代，再到不伦不类。其中一幅作品被委托给克里斯·布里法建筑师，他设计并于最近完成了这个白色立方体的雕塑，表面上的光圈很小，悬挂在一个狭小但扣人心弦的花园上。

The next six years saw a busy construction landscape of the twenty or so structures - each by a different owner employing a different architect - all designed and built at pretty much the same time; yet all very different from each other. A sort of microcosm of local middle-class architectural tastes, the neighbourhood varies in style; from traditional to modern to nondescript. One of these lots was entrusted to Chris Briffa Architects, who designed and recently completed this sculptural white cube with seemingly very few apertures, hanging over a narrow but gripping side-garden.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

这些客户-一个三口之家-需要利用他们有限的250平方米土地。虽然分区法规只允许占地面积的40%，但他们向建筑师提供了一个非常苛刻的简短内容：一个开放式的客厅、一个单独的餐厅、两个带浴室的大卧室、一个独立的家庭办公室、一个书房、一个三车库、一个游泳池。尽可能多的花园和一个地方来欣赏女儿的钢琴演奏。

The clients - a family of three - needed to capitalize on their modest 250 square metres of land.  While zoning regulations allowed only 40% site coverage, they presented the architect with a very demanding brief: an open plan living area, a separate dining room, two large bedrooms with bathrooms, an independent home-office, a study, a three-car garage, a pool, as much garden as possible and an area to enjoy their daughter’s piano playing.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

经过数小时的设计规划和会议后，布里法提议在游泳池区域上几乎把房子的一半面积悬挑起来，以便在花园里腾出更多的空间，同时仍属于规划条例的范围。一个尺度模型说明了该方案对空间的使用，并巧妙地将外部和内部空间并列在一起，并得到了客户的一致同意。该布局不仅满足了他们的简短，而且提供了一个慷慨的户外面积相比，小的侧面梯田相似的属性。2011年底，在经历了一系列的许可证延误、施工打嗝和定制的室内装修之后，这些客户搬了进来。

After numerous hours of design planning and meetings, Briffa proposed cantilevering practically half of the house over the pool area, in order to liberate more space in the garden, while still falling within planning regulations. A scale model illustrated the proposal’s use of space, with a skillful juxtaposition of exterior and interior spaces, and the clients agreed to the design. The layout not only satisfied their brief, but also provided a generous outdoors area compared with the small side-terraces of similar surrounding properties. The clients moved in at the end of 2011, after a saga of permit delays, construction hiccups and bespoke interior finishing.

在街道上，一座钢楼梯架设在下面的前花园上，并邀请我们躲在白色的掩体下。高百叶窗门，类似于传统的马耳他“桃贾尼”，通向室内。入口大厅本质上是两个相对的开口和一个楼梯，结构紧凑，但令人振奋：一个由玻璃、钢铁、木材和大理石组成的平行线。一个洞口是通往起居区域的门，另一个是通向外面的狭小窗户，从下面的水池里瞥见了水的一瞥。大厅向上延伸到一个轻钢楼梯，夹在一个8米高的空间之间，从上面自然照明。

From the street, a steel staircase bridges over the underlying front garden and invites us beneath the sheltering white mass.  High louvered doors, similar to traditional Maltese ‘persjani’, lead to the interior. Essentially two opposing openings and a staircase, the entry hall is compact but motivating: an unassuming composition of horizontal lines of glass, steel, timber and marble. One opening is a doorway into the living area, while the other a narrow window to the outside; catching a glimpse of water from the pool beneath. The hall extends upwards onto a light steel staircase, sandwiched between an eight-metre-high space naturally lit from above.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

长期的起居区-一个双高的空间连接在一个较低的空间-容纳钢琴沙龙(由于其高天花板增强音响)，客厅，隐藏楼梯到车库和阳光充足的厨房/早餐区。餐厅和客人厕所都隐藏在橡木门和储藏室组成的后面，这也隐藏了垂直服务和冷却系统。

The long living area - a double-height volume attached to a low one - accommodates the piano salon (with enhanced acoustics thanks to its high ceiling), the sitting room, concealed stairs to the garage and the sunny kitchen/breakfast area. The dining room and guest WC are each hidden behind a composition of oak doors and storage cabinets, which also hides the vertical services and cooling system.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

餐厅延伸到花园里，由三面玻璃墙包围的悬臂混凝土板；徘徊在游泳池的深端，周围是朝南的橄榄树。这个周边花园-有12米长的游泳池、橄榄树和户外用餐区-由于有一个高架的半地下室的房间，里面住着家庭办公室，所以可以享受街道上的隐私。

The dining room extends into the garden on a cantilevered concrete slab enclosed by three glass walls; hovering above the deep end of the pool surrounded by south-facing olive trees. This perimeter garden - with its twelve-metre long pool, olive trees and outdoor eating area - enjoys privacy from the street thanks to an elevated, semi-basement room which houses the home office.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

也许是最有趣(也是建筑师最喜欢的)内部空间，这间奇特的住宅办公室部分位于地下，一边与游泳池共用一堵墙，一边仰望橄榄树和悬臂式的餐盘。在初夏的几个月里，池水反射在倾斜的天花板上跳舞。鼓舞人心的家庭总部有一个独立的通道，从街道和额外的灯光和通风从房子的前院。

Perhaps the most interesting (and the architect’s favourite) internal space, this peculiar home-office is partly underground, sharing a wall with the pool while looking up to the olive trees and the cantilevered dining slab. Water reflections from the pool dance on its inclined ceiling in the early summer months. The inspiring home headquarters enjoys a separate access from the street and additional light and ventilation from the front yard of the house.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

楼上，主卧室套房完全是悬挑整个房子的长度。个人隐私等级的提升，包括露台、休息区、步入式衣柜、浴室和卧室的线性排列；低层窗口严格控制隐私和反射自然光。

Upstairs, the main bedroom suite is entirely cantilevered over the whole length of the house. A progression of personal privacy levels, it consists of a linear arrangement of terrace, sitting area, walk-in wardrobe, bathroom and bedroom; with a low level window strictly controlling privacy and reflected natural light.

由于冬季采用低能耗、以水为基础的地板下供暖系统，建筑师们的主要关注点是在夏季的几个月里保持建筑物的凉爽。每个房间都可以从对面的窗户交叉通风，当大门打开时，朝南的餐厅就变成了一个露台。房子的主“肺”-主楼梯上方的空间-在夏季起到冷却塔的作用，从主要区域输送热量，同时从最上面的ClearStory窗口吹来凉爽的夏季风。

With a low-energy, water-based under-floor heating system keeping the house warm in winter, the architects’ main concern was to keep the building cool in the summer months. Every single room enjoys cross-ventilation from opposing windows, and the south-facing dining area becomes a terrace when the large doors are opened. The main ‘lung’ of the house – the space above the main staircase – acts as a cooling tower in summer, channeling the heat up from the main areas while scooping the cool, prevailing summer breezes from the uppermost clearstory windows.

 © David Pisani

(David Pisani)

这座悬挂在家里的房子-从外面纯而失重，在探索室内时慢慢暴露出它温暖的空间-是一个健康的客户和建筑师关系的结果。布里法说：“我们被允许探索各种架构解决方案”，“…”一直到最后一个细节。我们尽最大努力帮助客户在他们的预算范围内实现我们的目标，但这往往需要…信念的飞跃。“

The hanging home – pure and weightless from the outside, slowly revealing its balmy spaces as one explores the interior - is the result of a healthy client-architect relationship. “We were allowed to explore a variety of architectural solutions”, says Briffa “…all the way to the last detail. We do our best to help clients visualise our goals within their budget, but it often takes a leap of faith …”