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.