The house at Castellar, Tempe a Pailla, is also completely engaged in dialogue with the context. The existing cisterns that Eileen used to anchor the house are part of the whole composition. Again the house is embedded in an existing system of terraces used in Mediterranean countries for agricultural cultivation. From the road, this house looks like the extension of the existing walls that support the terraces. The south elevation articulates her parti with the site multiplying the terraces into stairs.

The climate (sun and air, the Mediterranean versions of fire and wind). The control of light and heat. One cannot deny the importance of the climate in southern country. In southern countries, climate plays an essential role in lifestyle, rescheduling time and reshaping habits. The flexibility of the house accommodates these shifts, controlling the amount of light and heat while facilitating ventilation with varied applications of shutters, awnings, overhangs. The sun and air are essential architectural components. The inhabitant is given the opportunity to extend the interior outside. The south-facing living room window-wall is made of panels which pivot and slide open to turn the living area into a loggia. The fabric-draped banister extends the window to give protection from the wind in winter and sun in summer. The Nicoise derived shutters that slide and pivot accommodate diverse conditions and experiences -- privacy, control of view, ventilation, light.

Giedion describes the house as a response to the Mediterranean climate, facilitating the passage of air while protecting from the heat of the sun.

...protection contre l'excès de lumière dans les pays méridionaux. Fenêtre, type paravent, elle s'ouvre et se ferme automatiquement elle comporte une boite d'aération différentielle de lumière qui brise le courant d'air....Les volets à lames verticales ou horizontales mobiles ou fixes protègent la fenêtre contre l'excés de lumière....ces volets qui glissent latéralement sur un rail, sont comme les écrans mobiles qui protegent la fenêtre contre l'assaut trop brutal du vent, de la pluie ou de la chaleur. Comme ils sont placés à 40cm en avant de la fenêtre, ils isolent devant celle-ci une couche d'air propre à maintenir dans les pièces une fra”cheur constante. Ils s'ouvrent et se ferment aussi facilement que la fenêtre."

(S. Giedion, "L'Architecture contemporaine dans les pays méridionaux. Villa à Cap Martin par Jean Badovici et Eileen Gray," Cahiers d'art (6 AnnŽe 1931):102).

Programatically as well, the house responds to the specificity of climate. Winter and the summer kitchens are differentiated; one could cook outside in mild weather. Here she builds on the local custom -- standard indoor kitchens were frequently complemented by outdoor varieties in this area of France.

The "plan d'ensoleillement" lends a materiality to the movement of the sun. Clearly, it was a prominent design feature, related graphically to the path of the inhabitant. The passages of the sun to the south and the inhabitant to the north are overlaid on the plan, creating a further bridge between outside and in, calculation and life. The change of air, light and heat create a dialogue with the inhabitant. The house becomes a whole composition of interpenetration of the interior life and the primary elements.