The Vault House designed by Johnstonmarklee is situated on a densely developed Californian beach site and challenges the standard prime, single-view typology by applying a strategy of complex layering of transparent interior spaces. With a series of stacked and unidirectional vaults contained within a simple solid mass, the parallel orientation of the rooms within the house becomes a filter that emphasizes the continuation of the oceanfront view from the beachfront façade to the street. Similar to the paradigm of a shotgun-house, the singular direction of the vaults maximizes the connection of all spaces within a deep building, meanwhile incorporating the ideal exterior landscape of the ocean and horizon.

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