Jamaica: The exotic superhouse of DJ Diplo

 “The state of mind produced by architecture is similar to the effect of music” 

 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Architecture: Lauren Crahan/Freecell Architecture and Gia Wolff Design     

Interior design: Sara Nataf & Katelyn Hinden

Landscape design: Geoponika

Photography © Frank Frances 

Thanks to the coordinated work of a team of architects, artists and craftsmen assembled by DJ and producer Diplo, he was able to create a unique Jamaican jungle home that blends seamlessly into the exotic slope of the rainforest.

Diplo: 

“It was a crazy place to build. This project was all about patience. There were so many ways that it could have failed, but we kept finding solutions. I thought that, if nothing else, at least I own a bunch of banana trees.”

The team was led by architect Lauren Crahan/Freecell Architecture, interior designer Gia Wolff/Freecell, creative director Sara Nataf and Katelyn Hinden.

Lauren Crahan:

“Was incredibly open to hearing our ideas, what excited us. His whole life is collaborating and fostering artists”

Lauren Crahan:

“Wes has traveled all over the world, and he’s spent a lot of time in tropical places like India and Brazil. We found a nice intersection of interest in the work of people like Geoffrey Bawa, Oscar Niemeyer, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Roberto Burle Marx. Ultimately, we decided that concrete was a natural choice to think about this building. Cast concrete allowed us to make bold, simple volumes that can be in dialogue with the jungle”

The house is divided into two areas: a private area for the use of the owner and a part for guest accommodation. In the central part of the house there is a common dining area and a swimming pool. Transitions, bridges and lattices logically organise the structure of the house into a single external and internal organism that is rearranged according to the mood of nature. It is an unconventional house designed to celebrate the rituals of daily life and family rituals, and its openness gently connects its inhabitants to the intriguing jungle landscape and to each other. 

Gia Wolff:

“The forest was a treasure chest, with hills, lowlands, grottoes, all manner of trees, and a variety of microclimates. A lot of our work was unpacking it and figuring out how to make connections between the landscape elements”

Diplo:

“One of the most inspirational things about this place is just hanging out by the banana trees by the pond with the turtles. There are stories and wonders everywhere, not just the house and the interiors. In the middle of the night, you’re surrounded by the soundtrack of Jamaica – a million cicadas and birds and crickets and always dancehall beats drifting in from miles away. It’s what I love about Jamaica, the sounds of the ocean, rivers, animals, buses, and chaos. We’re so high up we only hear it as a kind of soothing ambience. It feels like my medium.”

Sara Nataf:

“If you want to know who Diplo is, just look at his house. It's a heavenly palace, where every nook and corner is meant to be a place where you can get inspired and create, or simply chill and contemplate.”

Diplo:

“Lauren and Gia were obsessed with light and shadow, and they considered every part of the day. The house changes from morning to noon to sunset, so time enters as an element of the design – the movement of clouds, the rain, the sunshine”