Part A: Archetype Research

Akil Sami House, Dashure, Egypt (Hassan Fathy)

House is an environmental  filter

• The building is built using limestone, which is locally available, thus reducing cost and pollution from transportation, etc (Seragdelin, 2007).

•  The photo above shows wooden screens covering the windows on the external wall of the house. The screens' function is to reduce glare from sunshine entering the interiors and also to reduce the amount of heat and sun entering the interior spaces. Furthermore, as wood absorb moisture, the wooden screen helps bring humidity into the house. This happens when wind blows through the screens into the house and carries with it the vaporized moisture stored by the wooden screen (Naciri, 2007).

• As can be seen from the plan and section drawings of the house above, the walls of the house are very thick, which would help protect the interiors from the extreme sunshine and heat of the outdoors.
• The thick walls also serve as “extensive thermal masses” to “store coolness at night and slowly dissipate it during the day”. This keeps the interiors at a comfortable, cave-like temperature even when the outdoors temperature is uncomfortably high (Naciri, 2007).
• The building’s white colour would help it keep cool in the hot climate of its context, as according to Givoni (1998), “light colours, especially white, reflect the solar radiation and thus reduce the heat gain of the building and its indoor temperatures”.
• The house’s courtyard area allows daylight to enter the house and also helps with ventilating the house (Naciri, 2007).

House is a container of human activities

• The floor plan for the house is very compact in that the rooms are very close together (refer to floor plan drawing above). While the primary purpose for this spatial arrangement is to minimise the amount of exposed wall surface as a way of minimizing sun exposure, the close proximity between rooms gives the sense of a strong relationship between the interior spaces (Naciri, 1997).  
• The thick surrounding walls and window screens create a very private space for the interior spaces and courtyard. In the context in which the building was designed (i.e. for a Middle Eastern client in a Middle Eastern country) a high level of privacy is very desirable and needed especially by the female users of the building (Al-Kodmany, 1999).

House is a delightful experience

• Aesthetically, the building is very sculptural, flowing and organic looking because of its curved forms. The curved forms and the building’s light colour make the building look lighter and softer than it really is when the building material, i.e. limestone, is actually hard and heavy to the touch (Bachelard, 1964).
• The building expresses Islamic architecture through use of design elements such as the pointed arch-shaped doorways and windows and geometrically shaped patterns and forms (Ching, 1994).

Lambert House, Wilston, Queensland, Australia (Russell Hall)

 

House is an environmental  filter

• To cool down the house on hot summer days, the architect has incorporated a turbine on the tower's roof, which draws hot air from the lower levels up to the roof.
• Furthermore, the roof overhangs keep the house shaded from the sun during summer (Australian Institute of Architects, 2010).
• The design incorporates the traditional materials used for Queensland houses, i.e. timber and steel roofing which work well in the local climate. This keeps the house comfortably cool during summer (Australian Government, n.a.).
• The steel sunshades reflect sun away from the house, thus keeping the house cool and comfortable in summer (Australian Institute of Architects, 2010).
• The light building materials lessen the construction cost due to transport. 
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  The building takes up less space due to its vertical nature (Keniger & Hall, 1990).

House is a container of human activities

• The client requested a tower on a hillside, which the architect fulfilled with the design of the five-storey tower.

• Access and circulation through spaces is mainly by way of stairs, seeing that the different spaces are at different levels of the building.
• The bedroom on the fourth floor of the building appears to be the most private room in the building (refer to floor plans above). The fact on that floor there is just the master bedroom (and ablution rooms) enforces its private nature as only the owner of the master bedroom (i.e. owner of the house) would have the authority to use the floor. Other levels of the house seem more open to visitors, especially floors 2 and 3 because of their open plan.

House is a delightful experience

• The architecture style of the building (i.e. the exposed framing) and the materials used, i.e. timber with galvanized steel sunshades, is reminiscent of vernacular Queensland architecture, giving the building a strong sense of connection with the context while also ensuring that the building works well in the local climate (Evans, 2001).

• The unusual geometrical form of the tower (it has a dodecagon floor plan), combined with its old appearance makes it look unique and individual.
• The diagonal sunshades “provide a strong geometry in contrast to its vertical structure” (Australian Institute of Architects, 2010).
• The vertical nature of the building as well as its location on a hill provides the building’s occupants with beautiful views of nature as well as the city below (Keniger & Hall, 1990).

References

Al-Kodmany, K. 1999. Residential Visual Privacy: Traditional and Modern Architecture and Urban Design. Journal of Urban Design, 4(3): 283-311. (accessed March 19, 2011, from Informaworld database).

Australian Government. N.a. Australian architecture: Residential architecture and discrete climates. http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/architecture/ (accessed March 19, 2011)

Australian Institute of Architects. Carpenter Hall House. http://www.architecture.com.au/emailnews/national/Heritage/13_QLD-Carpenter-Hall-house-citation-FINAL.pdf (accessed March 10, 2011).

Bachelard, G. 1964. DAB210 Architectural Design 2: Weekly Readings. Queensland University of Technology, Blackboard website. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_63719_1%26url%3D (accessed March 12, 2011).

Ching, F.D.K. 1994. A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Evans, I. & The National Trust of Queensland. 2001. The Queensland House: History and Conservation. Australia: The Flannel Flower Press Pty Ltd.

Givoni, B. 1998. Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MGkArZ_berAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=building+colour+hot+climate&ots=92G0FgKcMZ&sig=v8r-TtgWqnksdsaMBlUTaOThDQU#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed March 11, 2011).

Keniger, M. & R. Hall. 1990. Australian Architects: Rex Addison, Lindsay Clare & Russell Hall. ACT: Australian Institute of Architects.

Naciri, N. 2007. Sustainable features of Vernacular Architecture: A Case Study of Climatic Controls in the Hot-Arid Regions of the Middle Eastern and North African Regions. http://www.solaripedia.com/files/488.pdf (accessed March 17, 2011).

Seragdelin, I. 2007. Hassan Fathy. Alexandria, Egypt: Bibliotheca Alexandria.  http://www.bibalex.org/attachments_en/Publications/Files/hassan_fathy.pdf (accessed March 10, 2011).

Part B: Analysis of Archetype



Architect
Glenn Murcutt

 

http://www.jamestaylorassociates.com.au/cgi-bin/cart/cat.cgi?display=5hd2p96d90&br=Special%20Projects


Pritzker Prize winner Glenn Murcutt was ahead of his time in his sustainable approach to architecture (Canberra Times, 2010). Rather than imposing his designs on a site, he ‘discovers’ them from analyzing the natural conditions of the site itself. For his famous design that is the Marika-Alderton house, he designed a house that would be physically modifiable by the clients to suit the climatic changes of the extreme environment of the Northern territory. He created an architecture that is much like clothing, where layers may be removed or added to suit the current climate and weather (The Hyatt Foundation, 2002).

Exemplar Building Analysis

Marika-Alderton House

The Marika-Alderton house by Glenn Murcutt is a design response to the local environment of the Northern Territory. The resulting building is not only "delightfully comfortable" to live in, but is also sustainable as it has little impact on the environment (Dovey, 2000). Its sustainable and natural design expresses the architect's desire to design buildings which "exist in harmony with nature" (The Hyatt Foundation, 2002).

(http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ihsuanw/ARCH211/1_2_ihsuanw.pdf)

House as an environmental filter

The Marika-Alderton house is adapted to the harsh climate of the Northern Territory, where locals face high heat, insects and seasonal rains and floods. In response to the extreme climatic conditions, the architect has designed a building whose form can be modified to adapt to climatic changes; the outer walls of the house have wooden flaps which can be opened up to form protection against sun and rain (The Hyatt Foundation, 2002). Opening up the flaps fully maximizes ventilation and natural light into the building. This helps to avoid stuffiness and to cool down the interior spaces by allowing airflow into the building which is desirable in the hot climate of the Northern Territory (Canberra Times, 2010). Furthermore, the open nature of the house allows a lot of natural light into the building's interiors, thus reducing the need for artificial lighting during daytime which also contributes towards making the house's design environmentally-friendly.

Metal tubes are installed along the roof to let out hot air, while “vertical fins direct cooling breezes into the living spaces” to cool down the building on hot days (Australian Government, 2010). This design solution cools the living spaces naturally, thus eliminating the need for air-conditioning which makes the building environmentally sustainable. 

The whole building is raised off the ground on stilts, which protects it from flooding and insects (Evans and The National Trust of Queensland, 2001, 28). Raising the house also has the benefit of allowing air to circulate underneath the building, thus cooling the floors and making the house comfortable even in very hot climate.  The spaces between each floorboard allow air to go up to the interior spaces and cool these spaces down. The final result is a building that provides comfortable environment for its users despite the harsh conditions of the natural surrounding environment (Australian Government, 2010) (Canberra Times, 2010).

House as a container of activities

Upon entry into the Marika-Alderton house, users are greeted with the open plan of the kitchen and living area, which are the more public spaces in the house. These public spaces are kept on the east side of the building, which faces the community and is also where users enter the building. Private spaces (bedrooms and ablutions spaces), on the other hand are grouped together on the west side of the building. This ensures the privacy of the bedrooms and bathrooms because this way, they are kept the farthest away from the building’s entrance.

Furthermore, it can be observed from the floor plan that the private spaces appear more closed off with thick walls surrounding each bedroom and washroom. The east side of the building, which is the public space, has an open plan and seems more spacious thus emphasizing the fact that it is meant for use by many people.  

The users may change the degree of privacy in each space by closing or opening the wooden flaps on the walls (Canberra Times, 2010). When all the flaps are opened, the house becomes a public space that is like an open shelter, with only a roof on top and open on all sides to the surrounding natural environment and neighbours. When fully closed, the house becomes a private space, and the absence of glass windows means viewers outside the house may not see what the users inside the house are doing when the flaps are closed (Canberra Times, 2010).

House is a delightful experience

The house utilizes its natural surroundings in creating a delightful experience for its users. Its openness allows unobstructed views from the house to the surrounding environment and makes the interior spaces of the house feel more spacious than it is. When fully opened, the house acts as an open shelter which allows its users to fully experience the natural environment while still being comfortably indoors.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ihsuanw/ARCH211/1_2_ihsuanw.pdf

The building’s natural and lightweight materials, i.e. timber and steel, as well as the absence of glass ensure that the building has a strong connection with the outdoors (Australian Institute of Architects, 2010). Users may experience nature with all of their senses; they may feel the breeze, smell the fresh air and see the unobstructed sights of nature from inside the house. This ensures that the house provides a delightful experience for those who desire a strong connection with nature.   

References

Australian Government. 2010. Modern Australian residential architecture. http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/architecture/modernresidential/ (accessed March 12, 2011).

Australian Institute of Architects. 2010. Nationally Significant 20^th-Century Architecture: Marika-Alderton House. http://www.architecture.com.au/emailnews/national/Heritage/Marika_Residence_NT_amended%5B1%5D.pdf (accessed March 17, 2011).

Canberra Times. 2010. Murcutt’s Grand Idea. The Canberra Times, April 4, 8. (accessed March 6, 2011, from Factiva database)

Dovey, K.  2000. Myth and Media: Constructing Aboriginal Architecture. Journal of Architectural Education, 54(1): 2-6. (accessed March 10, 2011, from JSTOR database).

Evans, I. and The National trust of Queensland. 2001. The Queensland House: History and Conservation. Australia: The Flannel Flower Press Pty Ltd.

The Hyatt Foundation. 2002. The Pritzker Architecture Prize 2002: Presented to Glenn Marcus Murcutt. Jensen & Walker Inc., Los Angeles, California.

Part C: Application of Analysis

Cabin Design

My cabin design drew much inspiration from the Marika-Alderton house, which was the exemplar building analysed for the purpose of this assignment. The cabin design utilizes much of the same design elements that were discovered through analysis to have made the exemplar house an outstanding architectural achievement.

House as an Environmental Filter

The most prominent design elements of the Marika-Alderton house are the wooden flaps, which allowed the house to be completely opened up to achieve optimal ventilation and natural lighting. Taking into account the context in which the cabin is to be built, I have decided that the wooden flaps would work well in the cabin design as it would utilize the pleasant Brisbane climate rather than closing off from it. The wooden flaps on the cabin can be opened up or closed to achieve the desired amount of natural light and ventilation by the users. The absence of glass windows or screens allows maximum airflow for ventilation and natural light to enter the cabin when the wooden flaps are fully opened. The roof overhangs protect the building from summer sun to create a comfortable and pleasant interior experience for the cabin’s users throughout the year.

Another design element which made the exemplar house successful in terms of being an environmental filter are the metal tubes which are installed along the roof to drive hot air out of the interior spaces. I have decided to incorporate this design element in my cabin design as it would help inhabitants achieve a comfortable living space on hot summer days in Brisbane without having to resort to using artificial cooling systems to cool down the cabin. The installation of the metal tubes would help to achieve a comfortable living space with little to no negative impact on the environment, thus making it a sensible and sustainable structural solution to cool down interior spaces.

Furthermore, the cabin is raised off the ground on metal beams which creates room for air to circulate underneath the cabin to naturally cool down the floorboards. For this structural solution I drew inspiration from the Marika-Alderton house, which is also raised off the ground, as well as traditional Queenslander houses which are local architecture responsive to the local climate. By raising the whole building off the ground, not only does it create space for air circulation under the building, it also helps protect the house during floods. Seeing that a flood happened just recently in Brisbane, I decided that raising the cabin would be both desirable and necessary in this context.

The cabin is a timber and steel construction, which makes the building lightweight. The lightweight choice of materials helps reduce cost and pollution due to transportation of materials to the site for construction and also makes the building easier to construct.

House as a Container of Human Activities

Like in the Marika-Alderton house, the journey through my cabin starts from the public space and ends with the private space. Also like in the exemplar house, there is a clear distinction between the public and private spaces as they are kept on different sides of the building with the public space kept on the west side (where the entrance is) and the private space on the east side. Having the private space the farthest away from the entrance and separated from the public space maximizes its privacy as people are less likely to come across or circulate in the private space unintentionally.

The reason why I have arranged the private spaces to be on the east side is due a taller residential building under construction on the west of the site, with openings facing the site. To minimize view into the private spaces in the cabin and also to reduce noise from construction and residential activities from the neighbouring building, I have decided to place the private spaces on the east side, furthest away from the neighbouring residential building.

To further enhance the public or private qualities of the spaces, I have used open plan for the public space whereas the private spaces, on the other hand, are formed by smaller spaces separated by thick walls. This creates a public space that feels more open and spacious to give the impression of it being an area that is able to house many people at a time whereas the private spaces are smaller and should be used by only a small number of individuals at a time. Access and circulation between the public spaces are easier due to the fact that it is an open plan and all the public spaces are in one area of the cabin only.

As for the private spaces, the bedroom and workspace/study are open plan to make it easier for the client to carry out his job of designing late into the night without having to travel through different spaces to the bedroom to rest. Also, having the workspace within the private space ensures that there is minimal distraction from human circulation or noise to allow for maximum concentration on the client’s work.

House is a Delightful Experience

I have purposely designed certain parts of the cabin where the walls can be fully opened from top to bottom. These walls exist on the northern and eastern facades of the building, as can be seen from the north elevation and section drawings of the cabin. These parts were chosen because of the desirable and appealing views offered from these facades. As the upper as well as the lower parts of the walls can be opened up, these areas become like an open shelter where users may sit on the floorboards and experience the natural surroundings. These areas become the reflecting space, where the clients may sit and reflect while facing the spacious and open views of the surrounding parks.

The open nature of the building allows the clients to experience the natural surrounding with all of their senses, thus giving them delight through their ability to experience and interact with nature while still being comfortably indoors. Much like the Marika-Alderton house, the cabin acts as an open shelter from which users may experience the outdoors while still being protected from sun and rain.

Since the building itself may act as an open structure which lets users fully experience the outdoors, I have decided not to have much outside space (i.e. gardens etc.). The cabin is rectangular in form which expresses the physical form of the site. This was done to make full use of the available space due to the limited amount of land provided by the uniquely small site. The cabin’s open form would be particularly successful in providing a delightful experience within the limited land space because of its strong relationship with the surroundings of the site. The open nature of the cabin utilizes the spacious parks and open land area surrounding the small site to make the interior space feel even more spacious than it is.