Project 1 Part A – Archetype: Archetype Research

For part A, I was to research three exemplar buildings from the list provided -1 international exemplar and 2 national exemplars, in terms of Vitruvius'  Firmness(environmental filter), Commodity(container of human activities) and delight(delightful experience). 


Exemplar 1: International Building

Bamboo Wall House

Architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates

Location: Shuiguan, Badaling, China

Completion date: 2001

A house is an environmental filter:

• Local materials have been used to the maximum
• Bamboo filters the surroundings - light and wind pass through it
• Floating partitions made breezy by bamboo shoots

A house is a container of human activities:

• Focus on tea room
• Logical design - rooms come off main axis
• Separate public and private areas - spaces between the bamboo symbolises change of fluidity

A house is a delightful experience:

• Bamboo allows glimpses through to rooms beyond and allows light to filter through
• Tranquillity of water feature
• Boundary between interior and exterior blurred

References:

Brown, A. 2004. Kengo Kuma: Making Magic with Materials and Light. http://int.kateigaho.com/mar04/architect-kuma.html (accessed March 9, 2011)

The McGraw-Hill Companies. 2011. “Great (Bamboo) Wall”. http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/bts/archives/hotels/04_greatWall/overview.asp (accessed March 9, 2011)

Exemplar 2: National Building 1

St Lucia House

Architect: Elizabeth Watson-Brown Architects

Location: St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

Completion date: 1998

A house is an environmental filter:

• Orientation - every major room of the house faces due North, therefore avoiding the fierce summer sun and allowing maximum sun penetration during winter
• Micro-climate - shade and evaporation in the Northern courtyard 'pre-cools' summer breezes
• Ventilation - 50% of the Northern wall is able to be opened allowing cross ventilation through high southern windows 

A house is a container of human activities:

• Open glass wall brings indoor living outside
• Vertical arrangement allows all the main rooms to have a North aspect 
• Designed for limited openings onto adjacent properties

A house is a delightful experience:

• Simplicity of elements creates a sense of sophistication
• Focus on the three existing trees (2 x mango trees and 1 poinciana)
• Open plan living can be made private by internal sliding doors

References:

Elizabeth Watson-Brown Architects. n.d.. “St Lucia House”. http://www.elizabethwatsonbrownarchitects.com.au/ (accessed March 9, 2011)

Skinner, P. 2009. “Claims to the significance of the St Lucia House as design research & contribution to knowledge”.  http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv/UQ:163464/Claim_SLHouse.pdf (accessed March 10, 2011) 

Exemplar 3: National Building 2

C House

Architect: Donovan Hill

Location: Coorparoo, Queensland, Australia

Completion date: 1998

A house is an environmental filter:

• Emphasis on changing climatic conditions
• Materials selected to blend into environment
• No window or door frames - allows uninterrupted view of surroundings

A house is a container of human activities:

• Designed and built with future needs in mind
• Public and Private spaces grouped for easy circulation
• Outdoor room is the central room and designed for multi-purpose

A house is a delightful experience:

• Material choice to evoke delight
• Grand and complex design, yet it evokes delight
• Views of city and neighbours tropical garden from the outdoor room

References:

Architecture Australia. 2011. “The Domestic Ideal”. http://www.architecturemedia.com/aa/aaissue.php?article=4&issueid=199905&typeon=2 (accessed March 10, 2011)

Project 1 Part B – Analysis: Analysis of Archetype

Further research: Blades Residence (please note: this was not one of my original exemplar houses as the three I had researched are being studied by others in my tutorial group)

Architect: Morphosis

Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA

Completion date: 1996

The intent of design in the Blades Residence was to “activate land surface” and to react with nature on an unusual scale. Making the garden space the main element was the strategy of Morphosis, achieved by creating a dynamic interplay with inter-weaved indoor and outdoor space.

The wall types played a major part in this aspect, with curved walls framing and encircling the garden space and the orthogonal walls responding to the geometry of the neighbouring houses.

The building uses a mix of the three materials that are often considered as the three main “modern” materials; concrete, glass and metal, which enhances the visual delight and reflects the client, who is an artist who focuses on metal sculptures.

With the blurred effect of interior and exterior, the design incorporates a sequence of spaces, rather than distinct rooms. To allow this, reveals and recesses have been cut away, flooding the area with natural light and organic views.

A house is an environmental filter:

• The garden space is the dominant area
• Indoor/outdoor experience allows light and breezes to flow through the house
• Orthogonal walls relate the house to the neighbourhood, whereas the curved wall and roof shape gives the house an unique quality.

A house is a container of human activities:

• Open plan living - loft style
• Zones rather than rooms - the house is separated into public and private zones
• The boundary between indoors and outdoors is inter-weaved

A house is a delightful experience:

• Smooth and rough textures and tough materials elaborate the broken and chaotic form
• Value on space and light rather than materiality
• The eye can travel great lengths due to the open plan living

Morphosis

The “design director and thought leader” of Morphosis is Thom Mayne, who helped found the company in 1972. He is well known for his architectural work and has received over 100 architecture awards, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Throughout his career, Mayne has not only focused on his work, but has helped educate inspiring architects through his career as an academic at many top tier American universities and other educational facilities worldwide.

Being true to the 21^st century, Mayne’s style of design is very digitalised, even the early conceptual drawings were produced on design programs (as seen below).  Mayne’s style is very different from the standard technical drawings. The floor plans look “2D” and therefore are very difficult to analyse and comprehend; there is also a lack of documentation of doors and windows in the floor plan (which increased my confusion in trying to replicate these). Another element which makes his floor plans unclear is how he layers the floor plans, e.g. on the third floor plan you can see the implied ground floor and second floor plans as well.

References

Mayne, T. 1989. Morphosis: buildings and projects, 1993-1997. essays by Thom Mayne, Tony Robins, Anthony Vidler. New York: Rizzoli International Publications inc.

Morphosis. 2011. “Blades Residence”. http://morphopedia.com/projects/blades-residence (accessed March 13, 2010)

Site plan

When designing in the Northern hemisphere, as the exemplar is, the ideal aspect is South. However, the architect has challenged this by having the main living areas and the emphasised garden facing North East, which is the ideal positioning for a Brisbane site. I feel that this is an odd choice... however, perhaps this has been done to shade the outdoor courtyard and pool, creating a more pleasant environment. 

Aerial view of the site: 

Virtual Globetrotting. 2011. “’Blades Residence’ by Morphosis”. http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/blades-residence-by-morphosis/view/?service=1 (accessed March 21, 2011)

Floor plans

Although the drawings provided by Morphosis don’t show line depth, I have chosen to included different line types to add some depth in an attempt to clarify the individual levels

First floor

First floor plan from Morphosis

My ink interpretation

Second floor

Second floor plan from Morphosis

My ink interpretation

Third floor

Third floor plan from Morphosis

My ink interpretation

Critical section

Critical section from morphosis

My ink interpretation

Critical elevation

Three Dimensional representation

The following link shows a video with virtual tours and computer programmed images. Relevant footage can be found at 1:15-1:45, 2-2:55 and 3:05-3:20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rnuDtLolPg

These stills have been taken from the above link: 

All photographs, floor plans, conceptual sketches and sections are from the Morphosis website.

Project 1 Part C – Application: Application of Analysis

Designing a cabin for Thom Mayne and his partner taking inspiration from Blades Residence.

Site Analysis

Sun Path

The above diagram shows the beneficial influences in the green and the negative in the red. The sun path which would protect the house from the summer sun and maximise the winter sun penetration is shown in yellow.

As can be seen above, the south and west sides of the site have buildings. Below shows the north side which is a park and the south, a golf course, both which would have beneficial views.

Cabin Layout

Matrix diagram

To get an idea of what spaces should be positioned in relation to each other I created a matrix diagram:

Space layout planning

“Channelling the architect’s style”

I have chosen to use several of the elements used in the Blades residence in the cabin I am designing for Thom Mayne and his partner. For example, I am continuing his use of curved concrete walls which divide the public and private spaces and will become a landscape feature. 

I have also put an emphasis on the garden space, as done in blades residence. I have used the concrete wall to separate the garden into two sections, creating public and private gardens.

Taking inspiration from the way Mayne did not necessarily design rooms in Blades residence, but instead creating zones, I have designed a series of spaces separated with half walls and the concrete wall. Therefore there is only one interior door and one full height interior wall in the house for the W.C.. In the cabin I have designed, I have purposely created a gap between the curved concrete wall and the ceiling which has been imitated with all internal walls. This will to allow light to flow through and give the effect of the space appearing larger and more open.

In Blades residence, a curved roof has been used for part of the house, keeping with this I have designed the cabin to also have a slightly curved roof. The cabin will also use the same basic materials as the exemplar, glass, concrete, metal and wood.

Draft cabin plans

The final cabin design for Thom Mayne and his partner


Site Plan

I have designed the house to have all the rooms with a north aspect to gain the best aspects of the winter sun and to protect them from the summer sun. I have positioned a deck in the south east area of the house to benefit from the morning and some of the evening summer breezes. By having the curved concrete wall and several trees next to the deck, the deck will be protected from the summer storms and from the strong W to SW winter winds.

Floor plan

Critical Section

Critical elevation

Three Dimensional representation