Project 1- Habitat
From Site Strategy to Final Model
YEAR 1 -
The initial stage of the project was to create a site strategy that explored the pros and cons of the location, taking into consideration wind direction (and therefore ventilation), the altitude and azimuth of the sun throughout the year, the location of trees, rivers, ravines and undulations on site, access by the desired resident of the building we would be proposing as well as any and all guests freely wandering around site.
Development models made of grey foam were quickly put into the Heliodon, their sun paths scrutinized from all angles throughout the day, and then throughout the year, during the summer and winter solstices and the mid-year equinox.
Any and all findings were assessed and analyzed for my Technology module for this year, with an emphasis on passive heating and cooling, as well as solar gain.
The Studio based portion of the project entitled 'Habitat' explored the creation of a simple lodgings for a renowned artist or sculptor in Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The design had to reflect the artist's style in its materiality, form, colour and site location,
as well as accommodating the necessary workshop space to develop future works and was to act more as a private retreat than a permanent residency, because of the isolated nature of the park's location.
My artist was Sol Lewitt, a sculptor exploring the dissection and mathematical exploration of geometry,
repeating pattern when a shape is subjected to some form of movement, and optical illusion pieces.
The irregular shape of the main building was useful in creating nooks of privacy and storage away from prying eyes still visiting the Sculpture Park, and the orientation of my proposition from the workshop and storage building looked outwards towards the lake and some of his own work displayed on site.
The riverside location also had relatively flat topography which was easier for me to model and emulate in cardboard. This site was also devoid of trees which allowed for less restriction in terms of protected status environmental factors.
In addition to this, the workshop space housed a rotating square roof which upon reflection would be difficult to genuinely consider structurally, but for the first project, the creativity and client-based work was a solid start.
Finally, the abundance of natural light on location was optimized through sky lighting where possible, and mood enhancing relaxing experiences; such as waking up and eating breakfast, within the 'house' portion of the scheme were given the appropriate setting and view over the river allowing for moments of contemplation and mindfulness.
