Remembering the Walker Guest House
Walker Guest House by Paul Rudolph is built of dimensional lumber, it is a product of practicality- at the time of construction, all material deliveries to Sanibel Island needed to arrive by boat making ready-made elements and simple construction financially preferable. Strictly adhering to an 8’ x 8’ cubic module, Rudolph created a one-unit high, three-unit wide by three-unit deep 24’ square pavilion. Offset exterior sister-ed columns frame the structure and visually lighten an already nimble assembly.
These frames support a pulley system connecting a weighted ball and plywood panel. The raised ball shuts the flap to secure the screened bay, when lowered, it yields a canopy of shaded exterior space while affording natural ventilation within and through, earning the guest house the moniker of “the cannonball house” in the process. Occurring on two consecutive of every three bays per side, these panels form a pinwheel that is accented by one solid glass bay or door per side.
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