Project 2: Double House

Clients;

 

Art Collector, Wife and Child

Couple (Parents of Art Collector (aged))

 

Precedents from Villa Mairea assignment;

 

Incorporation of art into the everyday

Circulation

Public vs Private ( How these are separated)

 

 

Precedents explained......

 

Light; to ensure that light is optimised into the architecture

Circulation is predetermined and changes according to level of privacy of the space.

Art that is shown through the gallery is incorporated into the way that the family lives, the house in itself is a sculptural element which determines space.

Optimise Views of the city



In the design of this house I wanted to look at the current streetscape and climatic conditions to help determine the best location of the architecture and how to optimise the space to be the best quality.

Because of the adjoining residences I found through the site analysis that a large shadow was cast over half of the site, which made that area ideal for the gallery space and the back of the site with the views and where the most direct light enters ideal for the double house.

 

The angles of the residences respond to the precedents; to optimise light and views as well as creating a determined circulation. The angles of the walls help to push the occupants and visitors through to certain directions whilst closing off the private areas. In the house of the art collector, the house transitions through public to private as you move up the stairs. Bedrooms are closed off from the living spaces and opens up downstairs where its public. There is a connection between the Art Collectors house and the gallery for access and the storage of the gallery is utilised in the office which is situated right next to the Gallery. THis is to enhance the connection of art to the everyday living as these lines are blurred by the connection between the private and public spaces. 

 

 The Gallery optimises the South light with large glass windows and the light filters down between the two levels. The second floor is made with clear material to allow this light to continue to filter down into the lower space.

The overhang of the gallery is to draw people in off the street and around into this sculptural contemporary concrete building, a stark contrast to the existing architecture along Victoria Road

Abstract analysis: Exterior to Interior

In this analysis, I wanted to look at the surrounding landscape and how it is referenced within the house, so I looked at the two main trees that are in the forest, the pine tree and the beech tree and how their trunks are reminiscent and feature in architectural devices; of the screening, the entrance of the house and the ties around the columns that are reminiscent of this texture of the two dominant trees around the house.
Next I looked at how the house sits in the landscape, and the landscape around it, where are the trees positioned, how does this affect the positioning of the spaces within the house and  the connection with the landscape and the major rooms/architectural devices that have a strong connection with the landscape.

This second study of the exterior to the interior, was a look at how the spacing of the structural elements imitate a forest spacing and the imitacy that this creates in an open space living room.

Abstract analysis; Circulation

Studying the major lines of circulation and how it correlates with the major lines of the architecture







This study was looking at the main circulation and how it correlates with the main areas of the house.



Art incorporated into everyday living, how Aalto devises the space into modernist art and creates a composition of spaces that reflect their function.

Process #1 Breakdown of the plan to shapes

Process #2 Deconstructing the plan into a Modernist painting, studying the size of the spaces, the repetition of blocks. Through this process I found that within the public areas, the spaces closed up, the circulation became more restricted as did the space. The rooms are more repetitive in size and more linear in comparison to the living/public space downstairs that is more open.

Study 3: How does the circulation space change according to the function of the space?
In this study I found the width/size of the circulation space opens up depending on whether the space is public or private. Within public space, the circulation channels are wider and in the private space the circulation is confined and channels down.

Abstract analysis: Part to whole

I chose this specific part of the house to model because it displays many fundamental themes pertinent within the house and also architectural techniques that help to convey these themes.

- Structural grid
- Reference of the exterior to the interior; screening
- Private vs public ; Library room within a public space and the screening off of the dining room to privatise this space more
- Change in levels as a shift in function of the space
- Thickness of the walls - show difference between use of that space
-Variation of materials

Part B:

Circulation

I wanted to look at the major arteries and lines of circulation that are within house, the position of the stairs in relation to the main areas and also the size of the circulation spaces depending on the function of the space.

Exterior vs Interior

I wanted to look at how the exterior is referenced within the building and how this reference defines and influences the definition of the space and the atmospheric qualities of different rooms.

Model

Drawings

Elevation and section

 Plan of section of the house I was focusing on and the front Elevation

Elevation

Villa Mairea

Architecture of contradictions

Nature and Culture

Layers of patterns

"Form is a symbol of artistic creativity... "

"Form is a symbol of organic content of human activity..."
Integration of art into everyday life