Poliphil, the hero of a Renaissance novel by Francesco Colonna, encountered fantastic landscapes and architecture during his wanderings in search of love and truth. The story formed the thematic background to an international architectural competition in which this design was one of the entries. The scheme is divided into two parts: the House of Saturn, a closed, solidly built structure; and the lighter, more open House of Delia, which is clad in cedar wood. The latter accommodates most of the usual habitable functions.