Wall House #2 (Bye House)

Designed in 1973 by John Hejduk (a key figure of the New York Five) for landscape architect A.E. Bye, Wall House #2 was not constructed until 2001 in Groningen, Netherlands, due to funding challenges. The house reimagines traditional domestic spaces through a 14-meter-high, 18.5-meter-long concrete wall that acts as both a physical and metaphorical divider, symbolizing the linear progression of time and the transient phases of human life.

The structure comprises organic-shaped volumes housing living quarters (bedroom, kitchen, living room) on one side and a studio-library on the other, linked by a spiral staircase and a biomorphic corridor. The wall, painted gray to signify neutrality, is non-structural but serves as a poetic axis separating public, private, and functional zones. Inspired by Le Corbusier and Cubism, the design employs pastel-colored volumes to emphasize spatial distinction and conceptual tension.

Originally intended for a site in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the house was finally realized an ocean away in Groningen; Hejduk died in 2000, a year before completion, never seeing it built. The house was acquired by the Stichting Wall House #2 Foundation in 2004 and has been managed by the Groninger Museum since 2016, functioning as a public cultural venue with artist residencies, exhibitions, and workshops.

Hejduk’s design challenges conventional notions of dwelling, merging philosophy and architecture to explore themes of existence, memory, and spatial transition. The house has become a pedagogical tool in architectural education, inspiring debates on form, function, and temporality.