The form of my cabin was primarily based on the site and the environmental factors that affect it. The wind and sun dictated the orientation of my site, the views of the nearby park dictated the way in which I was to spatially organise the rooms in the house and by keeping in mind who my client was, I was able to resolve a design into a form that fits the context.
I was toying around with various different basic shapes for my design of this cabin. My exemplar house- Balaam Residence has the appearance of being made with many different regular shapes stuck together. I wanted to achieve something similar to this, but without actually designing seperate shapes.
I began with a cube shape and started cutting parts out based on the sites views and environmental influences. Allowing for light to get in, whilst still being able to remain cool with adequate ventilation from the summer breezes.
As I later found out from my tutor, my exemplar architect utilised a similar technique for designing- By removing and cutting away parts from a shape to come up with a design. I was actually quite happy to hear this as this was very much so how I designed my house, without even realising that my exemplar architect does similar! Surely the fact that I was thinking like my architect is a good sign that my design will suit the Architect!
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| Concept sketch of form of cabin |
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| Another concept sketch that I went on to further develop |
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| Playing with cubes- Sketches I did while at work! |
As I started to reach shapes that were becoming more of a house form I began working on the spatial arrangements of the rooms. I knew that the northern and eastern facades would receive a lot of early morning sun before it gets too hot, as well as have the best views, so it was obvious for me to provide the living areas and sleeping area in this direction.
I worked out the areas of the house that I wanted to be private and the areas that were to be more open. I then moved the spaces around to suit this. I wanted the private spaces to be away from the main living spaces, so keeping them upstairs kept them hidden away.
Dealing with privacy was a large aspect of the Balaam Residence and it was also an issue with my site. People from the park were theoretically able to see in, aswell as people in the multi story residential building to the west. To combat this- I raised the outdoor deck, this meant that with the balastrade on the edge of the deck, it was now fairly high off ground level and people from the park would not be able to see in. After working out the views from the residential building, I changed my design slightly to have the bedroom and reflection space hover over the outdoor deck. This meant that it blocked the line of site from the residential building (Image below)
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| The yellow shows the external areas which are still private from the multi-level residential building. |
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| Balustrade blocking view from outside |
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| Many views looking out, but not many looking in. |
Sunlight acting on the cabin (Before final design was made)
My main living space inside had to be able to interact with the exterior, so I designed that the Northern facade was a large glass sliding door. Allowing the occupant to open up the exterior space with the interior if needed.
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| Living area |
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| Staircase from the North |
