My Cabin Design

The following are a collection of images displaying my proposed cabin design.

The proposed cabin will sit upon a 24 X 5.5m block in the midst of the Kelvin Grove Urban Village. The site itself is quite long and narrow and a design was constructed to suit. The proposed site is surrounded by a busy road and golf course to the east, expansive parkland to the north and existing development to the South West.

 Floor Plans 1:100

South Elevation 1:100

North Elevation 1:100

As an environmental filter:

The cabin has been positioned with the majority of its windows and openings facing North East. This was done to maximise the amount of natural light possible to enter the building and to engage with the adjacent natural scenery. Just like the Sunrise Beach House, my proposed cabin aims to engage the occupants of the house with the ground level and the surrounding natural environment. Large openings and expansive glass facing in this direction is a direct attempt to ‘bring the outside in’ to create a real connection with the surrounds. The cabin was designed to be specific in nature, relevant to the site and its surrounds yet borrow inspiration from Wilson Architects and the Sunrise Beach house.

South Section 1:100

As a container for human activities:

The separation of public and private spaces was something easily distinguishable in the Sunrise beach house and I have borrowed this concept in my cabin design. As previously stated the aim was to engage at the ground level. To enhance this experience it was decided to station all living areas on the ground level. The positioning of these spaces, separated by a small courtyard, was a specific move to encourage yet also force the client to move through this courtyard and experience the changes in temperature, humidity and to feel the breezes of the surrounding environment. This was to be a timely reminder on the most obvious level and also subconsciously to understand and appreciate the adjacent trees and natural scenery. The South western corner of the cabin was purposely designed to offer privacy from nosey neighbours and to provide relief from the harsh western sun. The study area was specifically placed away from the main living areas so as the client may work undisturbed at peace while his partner relaxes.

Rough Perspective Sketch of Exterior

As a delightful experience:

With the main living areas of the cabin on the ground level, the 1^st floor would provide a change from this open, raw concrete environment. In the bedroom I have implemented a blind system which perforates the light and offers differing spectrums at certain times. It was planned that these more intimate settings would provide a slowing of pace to really appreciate the beauty of the natural light filtering through and the structural integrity of the materials used. The study area has been created to be one full of light, space and cool air. Large windows cover all but the southern wall and offer tranquil views of the green surrounds. The contrasts in the two levels are vast. The ground floor represents the raw, monolithic structures and materials whereas the upper floor represents the refined.

The proposed cabin is elegant, raw, refined and functional in its design. It more importantly will enable the clients to engage with the surrounding environmental beauty whilst still feel the safety and privacy so very desired.

Rough Perspective of Interior/Exterior

Diagramming , Analysis & Site Photography

The following images are a collection of sketch diagrams and notes on particular elements of my chosen exemplar house and some site anysis, mapping and photography...

 Sketches of My Cabin Design as an Environmental Filter

Sketches of Sunrise Beach House as a delightful experience

Sunrise Beach House as a container of Human Activities

Site Map

 Proposed Site

Vistas Facing North from Site

Site Topography

Part B - Selection of Drawings from Chosen Exemplar House - Sunrise Beach House

Ground Floor Plan 1:100

1st Floor Plan 1:100

East Elevation 1:100

 South Section 1:100

Exterior Perspective Sketch

Exemplar House #3 Sunrise Beach House (Wilson Architects)

The Sunrise Beach House set nestled amongst the sand dunes at Sunrise beach on the Sunshine Coast. This beach house avoids the preoccupation with hugging the coastal boundary to maximise sea views; instead a sequence of ocean vignettes are screened and framed against the house and landscape. A number of themes were explored with this project:

• the development of the interior plan as an extension of the broader (borrowed) landscape
• a positive engagement with the ground plane rather than a disconnected elevated living experience
• the modulation of light and views to create constantly shifting visual experiences, and
• the creation of variable strategies for living inside and out under variable exposed conditions.

In this project the landscape, particularly the magnificently placed pandanus trees, creates the place, and the built works, indisputably beautiful as they are, are merely well-crafted places to respectfully dwell within the landscape. Large sliding doors open the structure out onto the internal courtyard/lawn/pool area allowing for beautiful sea breezes and bright natural lighting.

The open planned ground floor living spaces make way for smaller intimate spaces above. It is in these private spaces that Wilsons have really played with modulating and tricking the light through a number of screens, glass and timber hatching systems.

The true delight of this house is really in the way it has harnessed its surrounding environment. With its extensive openings and shifting views, the beach house is not preoccupied with just the ocean. It is also about a connection to the sand and beach vegetation. It is about the weather. It is about these textures and materials that, although sophisticatedly considered and designed, are fundamentally rooted in the senses.

Exemplar House # 2 St Lucia House (Elizabeth Watson Brown Architects with Peter Skinner)

Situated on a 400 square metre site, the St Lucia House is an excellent response to its surrounding natural environment.  With three large trees situated on site, Watson Brown and Skinner have designed the house to capture the essence of the largest of the tree’s, the Poinciana whose branches extend, so it seems, in and through the house. This has a remarkable effect when occupying the house, feeling almost as if you are living amongst the tree itself. The house is essentially one large room with internal spaces designed as openly as possible to maximise air movement . Floor to ceiling windows allow for spectacular amounts of natural light and ventilation. Due to its open nature, the house offers a breezy passageway for natural ventilation to flow through the house.” (Jamil,. 2000).

The St Lucia House combines this large open plan style with complimenting intimate and outdoor areas. Designed for a family with teenage/grown children, Watson Brown and Skinner have managed to create spaces which satisfy all needs, whilst retaining the true delight and purity of the design. The structures ability to engage with the intriguing and ever changing Poinciana tree is the true standout design point.

Exemplar House #1 - Brookes St House (James Russell Architects)

The Brookes St House sits nestled between two heritage listed buildings in the Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Designed by architect James Russell, the house is open in plan combining raw materials to create a tree house like structure with differing residential and commercial zones.  The house seeks to offer refuge from its surroundings and is based around open and central courtyard.

As an environmental filter, this house captures it spectacularly. The house utilizes the surrounding natural environment with the placement of a gorgeous central courtyard bathed in sunlight. This courtyard wraps around three sides whilst the fourth is a combination of both the heritage listed church and stained glass windows.  Russell explains, “‘Inside’ and ‘outside’ are deliberately ambiguous. The external environment is filtered through a series of layers so that harsh extremes are tempered and the occupants are held and nurtured by the building." (Hill. 2006)

Several components of the house such as the sliding glass doors and timber push out window flaps are adaptable, able to respond to the harsh and unpredictable Queensland climate.

 In addition, the Brookes St House fulfils the requirements of a couple with young children.  He has done well to combine public and private spaces in a way that is both functional and visually appealing.  On the ground floor, two living spaces open onto the internal courtyard and are the main public spaces of this house.  Above the living areas are the sleeping areas - the children’s above the playroom, and the parents suspended over the kitchen and lounge. A narrow bridge connects the two bedroom wings and overlooks the grass. Bathrooms and the laundry are concealed in cupboards running along the side of the bridge. To move from element to element and from room to room one has to go outside and then inside thereby being exposed to the heat of summer and the extremes of winter. This strategy was requested by the client as a way of using the weekend house to re-humanise oneself after a week of office work.” (Hill. 2006)

Inhabiting this house is truly a delightful experience. Walls of glass slide away completely at the edges of the living spaces, creating a fluid connection between the grassed and roofed areas. The home uses the richness of natural materials and light as well as the thoughtful and unique planning that has allowed this home to be not only a warm inviting sanctuary but a liveable sculpture. The courtyard, a rich rectangle of lush grass at its centre, abuts the church with a perimeter of concrete and timber planks, its floor level established from the height of the church windows. 1889 ecclesiastical stained-glass from Munich serves as domestic-scaled decoration for the courtyard and playroom, dramatically bathing the house in coloured light when offices in the old church are unpredictably used at night.” (Hampson. 52, 2007)

Welcome

Hi.
This is my blog for DAB 310 - Design Three. This blog aims to share with you my work on project 1, including analysis of several exemplar houses and a design proposal for a cabin.
Thanks and enjoy...