Gabion latticework (160)

It is not watertight, it is not airtight. Depending on the density and sizes of the stones, it protects against direct sun radiation but without allowing the management of the visual relationship with the exterior. It considerably blocks the entry of light, gives privacy and protects from intrusion. If it is true that, together with a drained camera, it would then constitute a correct watertight envelope, but it seems that this is not the case here.
It is a formal resource that Herzog & de Meuron proposed, very accurately, for Dominus Winery, and that has served to inspire many other works, sometimes in blind facades and sometimes not, as is the case here. In this second situation, the important thing is to understand that what is reproduced is not the object - gabions - but the effect of light when crossing them in a certain orientation, with a certain size and density of stone.More images here