Cabin Design - 3 Factors

A house as a Environmental Filter    

My cabin design tried to emphasize the user and its natural surroundings via space. The cabin utilizes passive solar design principles such as the height of the roof overhang to omit the hotter higher in the sky summer sun from directly penetrating the cabin, thus reducing cooling options. While allowing the cooler lower in the sky winter sun to directly penetrate and warm the cabin. The below ground level was placed exactly for this purpose of a kind of retreat from the huge open glass facade and the hotter temperatures. This was also for privacy if the occupants ever needed to escape from the 'glass box type' feel of the northern face. Large windows with glass louvres have been assimilated to encourage airflow and cooling as the wind moves down the northern park and through the south east direction onto the across the road golf course. I attempted to include a portion of the treeline in each of the windows and opening to try and emphasize the environment but without close contact due to site restrictions. The materials i chose such as laminated wood and simple plasterboard have an environmental feel and colour to better assimilate with the surrounding environment.

Site Plan with Cabin Design (scale 1:200)

Critical section highlighting multi-levels (scale 1:50)

 

A house as a Container of Human Activity

The cabin has a three-level design with the third level being underground. The first levle is the largest to create a sense of space and emphasize the large glass facade and surrounding environment. The second level is somewhat reduced to increase the experience and volume in teh first level and has a large open outdoor verandah type area to relax and recover. The verandah encourages outdoor living and accentuate the ease of spacial sequence. The second level is divided to include both a recovery space and a workspace which fronts direclty at the northern facade. The underground level is the more private living quaters and an escape type of space from the larger more open spaces. The first floor was designed to be a public space because it includes the cooking and dining areas. This perfectly conforms with the front facade as it can be a dining area for guests. The second level includes the abluting facilities and was designed to be a strictly workspace and reflecting space. However if the need arises; the cabin design can be arranged to allow for social settings to occur on all levels and spaces, such is the nature of the interrelationship between spaces.

Lower Level Plan (scale 1:50)

Ground Level Plan (scale 1:50)

Second Level Plan (scale 1:50)

East Elevation (scale 1:50)

North Elevation (scale 1:50)

 

A house as a Delightful Experience

The delightful experience was based on the same principles of the St Lucia House. I attempted to design the cabin to have amodernist appeal and engage with the landscape. St Lucia house had a central tree to create a large glass facade; this concept was uniqute to the St Lucia site; therefore I couldn't create the same circumstances. Instead I chose to highlight the park which connects to the site and its existing trees. I created a large northerly facade to emphasize this aesthetic element. Incorporated into the diesng was a number of key windows that open out to the trees to draw attention to the natural environment, and it is likely that during the afternoon sunlight will penetrate through the northern trees into the cab in creating great visual aesthetics. These windows occur on the norther and south side. The cabin instead of have a very structured interior; has several large spaces. These compliment the windows and allow for ease in navigating around the cabin and ventilation issues. There is also an uncovered balcony type area for private reflecting. The material examples chosen try to accentuate the simple modernist nature of the building by using large amounts of plywood, unfinished fibre cement and lightly bagged blockwood which fit perfectly with the modernist style. 

Perspective View - Artist Representation

 

 

Upper Level Perspective - Cross Section

Isometric View - On Site

Cabin Design - Site Research

The Site had a number of factors which restricted the design. these factors included noise pollution wind direction and privacy concerns. The brief also stated that the cabin was restricted to 75 meters squared. with setbacks of 10,000 east 2500 north, 1000, south and 2500 west. The direction of the wind meant that i could create large north and south facing windows which would ventilate the cabin and allow for easy air flow. The direction of the sun meant that i could use the tree line and design the cabin to be shaded from direct sunlight, thus reducing heating and cooling costs.

Google Earth Map

Site Analysis - regards to wind, sun direction and noise pollution

Maidstone St View

Kulgun Park Sidewalk - Looking directly onto site

Across Victoria Park Road - looking directly onto site

Angled view from Victoria Park Road - highlighting existing structures and parking

Sidewalk with opposing treeline on Kulgun Park

 

AU10 - St Lucia House - 3 Factors

A house as a Delightful Experience

The aesthetic appeal of the exemplar house was in its traditional and modernist structure. The design enagages with the landscape and synthesises neatly into the surrounding landscape which adds to its aesthetic appeals. The simple materials and structures blur the line between landscape and the interior domestic design through the use of a large glass facade and large open windows. The landscape wraps around the main facade to conceal the surrounding buildings and help with the environmental aspect. The design has created instead of separate rooms, flowing spaces and allow for easy access to individual parts of the house. In addition to this, the sunlight cascades through the tree creating a silhouette of the tree's shadows which fall into the interior space creating shapes and great aesthetic appeal. The simple nature and materials of the design greatly enhances the design unifying the exterior and interior spaces into a seamless  body.

A house as a Container of Human Activity

The house maximises the notion of  function enhancing form. Each space is one of a whole with no space wasted and efficiency an important factor. The design needed to be compact and efficient because the central tree dominates a large majority of the site. This aspect is important and will needed to be incorporated into my cabin design due to the site having measurement restrictions and rules and regulations. Once again the simple materials and simple square and rectangular spaces – no over decorative aspects – enhance the space and flow as an entity. This simplicity is also present throughout the plan and spatial sequencing of functional areas. The design also encourages the use of the exterior spaces such as  balconies, pool area and outdoor campsite by keeping the front facade open and allows human activities to interact with nature. 

A house as a Environmental Filter

The key element in the design revolves around how the user engages with the natural surrounding trees within the space. the design utilises in-side and out-side spatial awareness created by various decks, windows and sliding doors. With that, The careful choice of materials such as laminated wood and plain white plasterboard textures are simple and blends with the landscape, therefore appear to completely integrate with the surroundings. These materials are economical and aesthetic, which allow for delightful, sustainability within the design, as well as natural heating and cooling. The major design of the building is that multitude of windows and open spaces which circulate air around the house and make for adequate ventilation that is both cost effective and temp. effective. The major environmental filter is the three trees the complete and unify the design as one, instead of removing them and losing the valuable tree line. 

AU10 - St Lucia House Design Pictures

Glass Facade from Verandah

Private Reflection area under Main Glass Facade

Interior view - Second Level Dining Space with Open Verandah

North Elevation  at night - Lights Highligh multitude of Glass Openings

Opposite view of dining area - simple finishes and earthern tones

Living and Sleeping Quarters that sit next to front facade

Glass Facade highlights natural environment

North Elevation at daytime - Note simple materials and vegetation

University of Queensland. 2006. UQ eSpace: St Lucia House, RAIA Robin Dods Award for Housing. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:3544 (Accessed March 8, 2011)

AU10 - St Lucia House Design

The St Lucia House located at Hiron Street in Brisbane was designed by Elizabeth Watson-Brown and Peter Skinner for their own family. The design was based off the natural beauty of the site. Brown and Skinner created an aesthetically pleasing building which focused on the central tree that dwarfed a large majority of the site. The architects during their design used spatial sequence to equally create a flow that synthesized with the surrounding landscape. In doing this they created a focus on the central tree on the site and turned the house into a huge glass façade that highlights the wondrous natural light that filters through the tree. The design was recognized winning the RAIA Robin Dods Award for Housing, due to its innovative design and visually stunning aesthetics (Skinner. P, 2004).