Monday 28 March 2011

Project 1C: Architect's Cabin

We have recently been given a small project located close to our Kelvin Grove campus to submit a schematic design for an "Architect's Cabin". The cabin is to be able to accommodate the exemplar architect and their partner comfortably with a maximum enclosed floor space of 75m².

As a result of this brief my approach was to utilize the surroundings while providing minimal enclosed space so the tenants will be able to re-connect with nature whilst having as much open space as possible. I've provided the basic spaces in which we require to live, work, reflect, dine, prepare meals, sleep and ablute.
Using the exemplar building i studied, i used some aspects of which Sean Godsell used in his designs. The main element I've used:

  • Is the vertical running timber battens on the "Automated Enclosure". As Sean used these as vertically hung with hinges and had the space for the function it was applicable. In this site the area is limited so in this case I've introduced this new item. These run electronically which run along concrete tracks along the boundaries. This enclosure provides filtered solar penetration with a glazed roof for weather protection. The ends are just lined with battens running vertically.
    • Filtered solar access during the day.
    • Recycled Materials.
    • Lightweight Structure.
  •  Open plan living/sleeping/study and kitchen spaces, readily able to adapt and change via climate with the use of sliding ply walls.
    • Flexible.
    • Comfort & easy solar access.
    • Easily accommodates change.
  • Easy solar access during winter to provide thermal massing. With the proposed concrete walls and slabs there an adequate amount of thermal mass contained during the day and released slowly during the night.
    • Flexible.
  • Easy filtered cross ventilation with the effective cooling of a pond on the south-east breezes during summer.
  • Concrete seating; Dining table to follow the concrete from ground up, to keep it continuous.

In the end i believe that the exemplar house had some merits though it was not climate suitable for Queensland, it did not take into consider our harsh conditions during summer and our cold winters. My solution to this whilst also providing flexible open planning is using the "Automated Enclosure" and sliding walls together to create a comfortable environment within the site. How does this work? 
Say we have a strong north easterly wind during winter and we'd like to have dinner externally. To solve this problem we'd use the Automated enclosure to close off the space whilst using the sliding walls to redirect the wind externally around the site. The space will be covered with a light hint of a filtered breeze, comfortable enough to have dinner externally.
In Summer the sun is right on top of the site and the "Automated Enclosure" is filtering the sun but its still harsh? To solve this u can stack all three of the enclosures to provide shading to the desired external areas to suit. 
Please find below the drawings to further justify my reasoning.  








Please feel free to contact me on edward.truong@opus.com.au for PDF's as they are readily available for clearer images. Cheers -Ed 

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