Part B: Brookes Street House Site Analysis

LOCATION

BROOKES STREET HOUSE SPACE/ZONING ANALYSIS

SITE ANALYSIS OF BROOKES STREET HOUSE

OPPOSITE OF SITE:

• HOLY TRINITY CHURCH OF FORTITUDE VALLEY
• SCHOOL
• CELESTIAL ART GALLERY

NOISE:

• TREES RUSSLING
• TRAFFIC
• BUS
• BIKES
• BIRDS
• LAUGHTER
• AIRCONDITIONING (AT REAR)



SKETCHES OF SITE ANALYSIS

Part B: Brookes Street House Extrapolating Key Design Elements

The diagrams below are to identify and extrapolate the three Key Design Elements within my Exemplar House - Brookes Street House, which represent my Architect's Approach to 'Firmness', 'Commodity' and 'Delight' in design.

'Firmness' in Design, in Design, how the Brookes Street House acts as an 'Environmental Filter'.

'Commodity' in Design, how the Great Bamboo Wall acts as a 'Container of Human Activities'.

'Delight' in Design, how the Great Bamboo Wall acts as a 'Delightful Experience'.

 

Part B: Requirements + Outputs

Based on my research findings, brainstorming and contemplation, I decided on James Russell's BROOKES STREET House to be my precedence for further research, analysis and representation, over the other two exemplar buildings.

Furthermore the identification of discreet concepts in architecture; a house as an environmental filter; a house as a container of human activities; and a house as a delightful experience; all reveal themselves to be aspects essential to the understanding of architectural excellence that is argued to constants in the discourse of the discipline.  As mentioned, I will focus on these three crucial and interrelated House Design Concepts in the remainder of the project.

Part C: Idea + Analysis

Part C: Site Analysis

SITE LOCATION



CLOSE-UP SITE LOCTION/DIMENSIONS

http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/ (accessed March 24, 2011)

EXISTING SITE FEATURES

• BUBBLER
• BBQ
• SHELTER AREA
• NEIGHBOURS
• BIN/RECYCLEBIN
• LIGHTPOLES

SOUNDS

• TRAFFIC - MINIMAL SOUND NOISE GENERALLY FROM BUSES
• CONSTRUCTION
• CONVERSATION
• SCHOOL KIDS
• BIRDS
• TREES RUSSLING

Part C: Requirements + Outputs

In Part C, I will design a Cabin for my Exemplar Architect - James Russell.

The Cabin is located at Kelvin Grove.  Indeed, my Cabin proposal will have a futuristic approach within this location.  The Cabin incorporates all the necessary studio and workplaces for my Exemplar Architect - James Russell, as well as living accommodation.

Moreover, the size and arrangement of the spaces is reflecting the lessons that I have learnt through studying my Exemplar Architect/Practice namely James Russell Architect (Brookes Street  House), Gary Chang (Suitcase House), and Elizabeth Watson Brown (St. Lucia House) and their House Design .  

Moreover, my cabin design will include the following spaces :

• space for living;
• space for working;
• space for reflecting;
• space for dining;
• space for preparing meals;
• space for sleeping; and 
• space for abluting.

My proposed Cabin is designed to accommodate my Exemplar Architect and his partner only - no additional accommodation for other members of the family or friends is to be provided.

Part C: Cabin Design

MY CABIN DESIGN

2.Living Room

5.Central Courtyard

6. Rear Stairs to Architect's bedroom

10.Stairs to Courtyard and Office

11.Garage

1.Reading Area

2.Living Room

3.Children's Bedroom

4.Architect's Bedroom

5.Central Courtyard

6.Rear Stairs to Architect's Bedroom

8.Glass pathways from Adults area to Childrens's area

9. Office

Part A: Archetype - St Lucia House

St Lucia House 2000 - Elizabeth Watson-Brown

FRONT CLOSE - UP
qag.qld.gov.au (accessed March 23, 2011)

Environmental Filter

The Cabin for Architect Elizabeth Watson Brown is located in the Mt-Methodology where the climate is sub-tropical and the prevailing wind direction is north. As seen in the image below, the house is located in a small site off the Hierarchy Highway.

As a result of the north orientation the Cabin benefits from excellent wind and sun positions. The house acts as an environmental filter with its split-level open space design. The operable full height glass walls maximises cross ventilation and air movement through the house. Having glass increases the solar gain during winter periods and allows good ventilation during summer. Furthermore, the sloped roof of the Cabin allows the flow of wind and the rain water acting as an environmental filter (can be clearly seen on the analysis diagrams) There is a large Poinciana tree located in the north of the site providing shade and breeze.

The main design aim was to allow close interaction with the surrounding nature and the spectacular view. The use of full height operable glass windows generates a feeling of being outdoors when inside. The glass allows the occupants to enjoy the sun as it rises and sets.

                                                   A house is a container of human activities

The cabin contains a ground floor and a mezzanine floor, on the ground floor there is space for living, dinning, preparing meals, a space for working and a space for reflecting.

The main entry to the house is through the living area of the cabin. Then it follows into the dinning and meal preparation areas. These areas are designed close together to encourage open plan living, just like in the St.Lucia house. Another main reason for having open plan living is because this Cabin is designed for a couple. As it is the architect and her husband that live in the space it allows sufficient space for interaction.

The spaces for living, dinning and meal-preparation have been elevated 60cm above the ground as a split-level design. As seen in the floor plan below, there are stairs from the main living area leading into the working area. The reason for doing this is because I believe it’s important to have a separated area for working (need solitude and peace). As seen in the exemplar by Elizabeth Watson B Architect, the study area is located in a semi-private location.

The working space leads the occupant into the outdoor reflecting area covered with a pergola. I tried to create a link between the outdoors and the reflecting space + working spaces. The pergola area has been covered with timber strips creating a semi-outdoor area. The idea behind have the reflection area semi-outdoor is to allow the Architect to think peacefully under the shade of the majestic branches of the Poinciana tree.

From the living and working spaces there is a staircase leading the occupants into the Mezzanine floor. This floor contains a space for sleeping

abluting and another deck area for reflection. I believe the sleeping space is a major part of the daily human activities. The bedroom located on the upper level allows privacy to the occupants whilst still being open to the rest of the house. The bedroom located in the split-level (Mezzanine floor) creates a vertical arrangement allowing many different social settings. The husband in the bedroom can still see/communicate with the wife in the kitchen/living area.
 

Delightful experience

The Cabin is located on the suburban areas of Mt-Methodology just off the Essential Exists on Hierarchy highway (can be seen on the site map above). It is placed in the middle of a small land approximately 350 square meters. The construction lies on a flat land overlooking the majestic Poinciana tree, which is the main view of the Cabin.

The Cabin was designed to harmonize with its surrounding. By the choice of raw material and full height glass windows; it blurs the edge between inside and outside. Both the pergola and the deck have timber strips of wood creating a play of vertical and horizontal lines. I have tried to follow the characteristics of Elizabeth Watson Brown’s architecture of playing with vertical and horizontal lines. I think this is a very simple method of adding interest to the design by using repetition of vertical and horizontal lines.

 

The small scale Cabin with its wooden, steel and glass materials will gradually change colour to interact and fit in with the existing Poinciana tree and the colours of the surrounding landscape.

The scenery from the Poinciana tree branches can be seen from every window of the Cabin, integrating the nature into the interior of the house. It’s almost like you are living outside when you are inside.

The Cabin is 5.4 meters high with the Mezzanine floor dividing some spaces at 3 meters. Some places of the house contain void areas giving a sudden surge of volume and spaciousness (because of the high ceiling). The first floor has been elevated by 60cm in the living, dining and kitchen areas to further enhance the split level design.

The Mezzanine floor creates shadowy patterns into the lower floor. From the ground floor this Mezzanine floor looks like a floating level. The walkway is built in the centre of the Cabin with horizontal beams of timber for support (can be seen in the floor plan). These timber beams act as a delightful device creating shadowy patterns to the lower floor.

As seen my Elizabeth Watson Brown’s architecture, the main principles of the Cabin is to be simply yet intriguing and with intricate details.

Part A: Archetype - Suitcase House

SUITCASE HOUSE 2002 - GARY CHANG

EXTERIOR FRONT VIEW

mimoa.eu (accessed March 23, 2011)

The Suitcase house in Shuiguan, China is an experimental house design within an architectural commune of hotel accommodation, situated near the Great Wall of China. The house was designed by Gary Chang of Hong Kong based company Edge Design, and its principal feature is its adaptable interior elements, which can be folded out, slid away and hidden completely. As such the house design is essentially a long box within which the interior structure can be adapted to suit the needs of the user.

A House as an Environmental Filter
The long house has a North – South orientation maximizing sun light in the mild climate. The double glazed windows around the facade can open out, however the house is much more about retaining heat, and as such responds to its environment very differently to the Australian examples. There is also a flat roof terrace along the entire length of the building. However the building could just as well be located in a city as within the Chinese countryside, suggesting that the focus was primarily on the adaptability of the interior rather than environmental responsiveness.

House as a Container of Human Activities
Because of its changeable nature, the Suitcase House represents a very different approach to considering the house as a container of human activities. The flexibility of the internal structure means that the house is essentially one large polyvalent space. When the user wants to sleep, a bed can be extruded from beneath the floor, and during the daytime it can be folded in again to produce additional floor space. In the same way walls/ partitions can be introduced to divide the space and create privacy and individual areas. As the building functions as a hotel, it can adapt to hold any amount of people between a small family and a large group. In addition to standard living spaces the house also includes options for a Study, Music Chamber, Meditation Chamber, and a fully-equipped Sauna.

 

A House as a Delightful Experience
Due to its use as a holiday hotel the Suitcase House is certainly designed with the notion of a delightful experience in mind. The adaptability of the suitcase house must certainly evoke pleasure amongst its inhabitants through a sense of control, efficiency and even novelty. Moreover, the timber interior and exterior are simple and have a natural feel. The windows also allow views of the Great Wall from most areas within the house.

References
Chang, G. (2001). EDGE The SuitCase House Beijing, China. Retrieved March 15, 2010,
http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Edge/SuitCase/

Chang, G. (2002). Suitcase House Hotel Badaling Shuiguan/Beijing 2001/2002. Retrieved March 15, 2010,
http://www.archphoto.it/IMAGES/garychang/chang.htm

Chang, G., Chang, H., & Satoshi, A. (2002). Suitcase House Hotel Badaling Shuiguan/Beijing 2001/2002. Retrieved March 15, 2010,
http://www.archphoto.it/IMAGES/garychang/changweb/FrameSet.htmMinnett, E., & Zhang, K. (n.d.) Suitcase House. Retrieved March 15, 2010,
http://www.ejmartdesign.com/sh.html

  

ELEVATIONS

 

Requirements + Outputs

Project 1 Part A : Archetype - Requirements + Outputs

This project aims to establish an understanding that architectural design is informed through the availability and analysis of exemplary knowledge.  Project 1 includes the assessment items of observation and analysis exercises, contributing and leading to an integrated design of a
Cabin for an Architect.

Part A

I am required to individually select three of the exemplar buildings for further study.

Aspects of my particular exemplar to be researched are:

• a house as an environmental filter
• a house as a container of human activities
• a house as a delightful experience

Week Two : Tutorial Activity

 TASK ONE: WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

Tutors will give all Students a ‘post-it’ note. On this ‘post-it’ note, Students are required to quickly jot down or sketch the single most important thing that you already know about the Topic for Project 1’, before the Tutorial Group starts to explore this. Then we all had 1 minute to read out your ideas/ show your sketch and explain them to the Tutorial Group. Once we had have done this, we had to add your ‘post-it’ note to an informal collection of ‘post-it’ notes, created by our Tutorial Group. 

TASK TWO: RESEARCH APPROACH

Brainstorming ideas of the three interrelated and critical House Design concepts.
 

QUESTION 2.1 ::
‘What do we mean when we say that A HOUSE IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL FILTER’?

Some ideas that started the discussions…

• systematic design logic
• building performance
• climatic filter
• structural resolution
• technology
• resources
• macro-environment [orientation, sun-movement, sun-control, ventilation, wind, rainfall, noise, climate, weather etc.]
• microenvironment [unique site conditions including access, the topography of the land, aspect, views, vegetation,neighbours, day lighting, relationship to site context etc.

QUESTION 2.2 :: ‘What do we mean when we say that A HOUSE IS A CONTAINER OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES’?

Some ideas that started the discussions…

• spatial relationships
• adjacencies
• circulation
• functionality
• context
• family profile & needs
• zoning of activities [public, semi-public, operative, semi-private & private]
• space distribution & collocation
• schedule of areas

QUESTION 2.3 ::
‘What do we mean when we say that A HOUSE IS A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE’?Some ideas that started the discussions…

• expression
• aesthetics
• composition
• materials
• structure
• tectonics
• materiality
• sensory experiences [sight, smell, touch, sound & taste]

TASK THREE: WEB 2.0

Project 1 Work on the Internet, using Web 2.0 Technologies and Social Media:

 

QUESTION 3.1 ::

‘What do the terms “Web 2.0 Technologies” and “Social Media” mean to you?’

QUESTION 3.2 :

: ‘Who currently uses Web 2.0 Technologies and Social Media, and how are you using it?’

QUESTION 3.3 :

: ‘What are some good examples of freely available and easily accessible Sites for publishing your ideas… and where are these located?’

QUESTION 3.4 ::

‘How should your Tutorial Group approach this component of the Project – will you agree on a Common Approach, or will each Student define their own unique approach?’