Project #7, Part 1: Minimal House
Objective
You have been retained by a fine oil painter to design a small artist retreat on the Northern California coast. He is looking ay several properties between Highway One and the ocean, but the all have certain legal restrictions. Budget is no concern, there are certain guidelines, however, that you must follow.
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Legal Restrictions: 1) The house cannot exceed 350 sq.ft. in total habitable (enclosed) floor area. 2) No parking is allowed on the site. |
Guidelines: 1) In spite of the small size he would like the space to feel as large and gracious as possible. 2) You should assume ocean views to the West and access by foot from the East, though the entry can be on any side that you choose. 3) He wants a sunny bright space, and despite popular misconceptions, loves southern sunlight both for painting and living. 4) You must design into your space all the requirements for living and painting. But he is not interested in a conventional home, and would prefer that in your design you think about functions (verbs) sleeping, eating, reading, socializing, bathing etc., rather than rooms (nouns): bedroom, dining room, library, bathroom. |
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Presentation: Build a model to 1/2" scale out of foamcore, museum board, or other white materials. Show window openings and door openings. |
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Design Process
I started with a bubble diagram. A bubble diagram gives a very basic treatment to the areas of activity and their arrangement.
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Because the main views are to the West, I wanted to create as much space
as possible in the Southwest corner for the main functions: live, read,
relax, paint. The Southwest corner gets pretty consistent light throughout
the day -- except for early mornings. I figured the artist is not an early
riser. • I moved the kitchen East, where the is not much of a view. However, the morning sun makes it a pleasant spot to start the day with coffee or breakfast. • I located the sleeping quarters in the Northeast corner -- the darkest spot in the house. • I tacked the bathroom in the corner so it is easily reachable from the sleep area and the living area. |
The bubble diagram turned into an initial draft.
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• I choose an
almost-square of 18 by 20 feet as the base shape. |
The first 3 dimensional sketch.
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• The 3d sketch
shows the varied ceiling elevation. |
A to-scale floor plan refines proportions and elevations.
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• The bathroom
was slightly enlarged |
I just recently purchased Christopher Alexander's book 'A Pattern Language"(the $60 price tag scared me away initially, but it is worth every penny). After I read the book, I discovered that I unknowingly applied a number of patterns in my model:
| Main Entrance (110) | Making the main entrance easily visible and reachable seems obvious for such as small building, but I paid special attention to highlighting the entrance. It is immediately visible from the access path and is accentuated by a separate roof section. |
| Indoor Sunlight (128) | The bedroom is facing East, the kitchen Southeast, the main area is facing Southwest, the porch is on the West end to catch full evening light. |
| Entrance Room (130) | The entrance is carved out of the building square to provide shelter outside. On the inside is a small entrance area. The entrance room, does however open direct view into the main living area. |
| Sleeping to the East (138) | The bedroom is located on the East side of the building, opening up to the rising sun. The bedroom window is elevated in order to keep direct sunlight out of the face. |
| Bed Alcove (188) | Rather than a separate bedroom, the bed is located in an area that is connected to the main room. Due to space considerations, the sleeping alcove is combined with the dressing area. |
| Ceiling Height Variety (190) | The ceiling height in the house varies according to the function of the room. The public area features a 12 ft ceiling while the private sleeping area is only 8 ft tall. Instead of lowering the ceiling, the floor is elevated. |
| Corner Doors (196) | The main entrance into the building and the main room is in the corner. |
| Sunny Counter (199) | The kitchen has an East facing window to let morning sun enter. In the current design, it does not receive Southern light, though. This part of the design could be improved, but I believe the kitchen has sufficient light throughout the day because it opens into to common area. |
Implementation
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I constructed the model in 3/16" foamcore. I used Prismacolor marker on marker paper to create indicate floor materials (hardwood floors in living area, carpet in bedroom, tile in kitchen & entrance) and the position of furniture. I glued the walls into 3 major segments which are assembled with pins. This allows me to disassemble and reassemble the house easily. |
Result
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The finished model
in 1/2" scale. This model has already exterior color on one wall (added
in a later phase). The roof hangs over by 1 ft avoid a showbox look. The overhanging roof also provides shelter in the entrance area. |
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Interior view with furniture. |
Feedback
Based on feedback in the class, I lowered the bathroom ceiling by 2 feet to separate it visually from the living area and to give the building more structure. This change improved the relationship between in interior of the house and the exterior of the house. It also further highlights the fact that the focal point of the building is the living / sleeping area while the kitchen and bathroom are considered auxiliary functions.
One characteristic of the house is the fact that it may be more suitable to living than painting. I will try to correct this with movable furniture in order to allow spaces to be reconfigured according to function.
The house was one of the few designs to provide ample storage space.