Material, space, detail.
Second year bachelor project 3
spring 2013 (12 weeks)
Project.
A summer house close to the city with connection to nature. The surrounding area is mostly cultivated farmland with small patches of forest. Fragments of old stone walls are scattered around the landscape.
Inspiration.
Prior to this project I was in Beijing and saw the "liyuan library" on the outskirts of the city. It was nestled into the landscape with amazing care, hidden alongside a river. The building was simple, with clean design and a magical facade. Blending beautifully together with nature, it was a welcomed contrast to the sculptural architectural projects of Beijing (that commonly disregard context).
I wanted the design for my project to compliment nature,
Concept.
A horizontal line is drawn from the highest point on the site, using the typography of the area to configure the program. Parts of the house are extruded down from the horizontal line to the ground. The spaces of the house become steps in the landscape, sharing a singular roof. Spatial boundaries are created through height variations, making dividing walls redundant.
A fragmented stone wall runs through / past the main volumes of the house, attempting to blur the line where one thing ends and another begins. It supports parts of the roof and is oriented east. The major volumes of the house are nestled in small patches of birch trees.
The stone wall was a structural problem during this project, it cuts through the climactic envelope of the house and has poor insulating properties.
By constructing it with porous concrete (that has more positive insulating properties), there has to be a layer in-between every stone about 20cm thick to create the desired insulating affect.
Paraphrasing sliding doors and window blinders, in a slightly larger scale, the facade is able to shift depending on light conditions. The plates are made of weathering steel.
The remaining structure is wood, partially resting on the stone wall and a network of pillars.
