To design a cabin for Gary Chang following his design principles and the ideas incorporated into the Suitcase House there are a few major points to take into consideration;
• Requirements of the cabin, a place for; sleeping, reflecting, abluting, working, living, dining, and preparing meals
• The major design and functional elements of the suitcase house
• Gary Chang's use of space for multiple things
• Adaptable and changeable living areas
• The needs of an architect in a working area
• Needs of a house in a sub-tropical climate
• Micro climate on site
Site.
First I examined the site where my cabin will go along with where the exemplars would sit according to their original orientation and topography. From these necessities the site plan was started.
The cabin.
From there I brainstormed my initial thoughts about the cabin, how I can overlap the space usage, framing the view of the landscape out the window of his workspace and climate I need to think about.
Plan of the house;
The Suitcase house seperates its functional and living spaces, to interpret this into my design I will seperate his studio and work space from the general living area.
Option A shows the literal translation of the work as a 'functional' space being smaller and under the larger living area. While option B shows gary chang's use of the roof which can be translated into a small office area with an open meeting or reflecting area around it to utilise the roof in my cabin. I have decided that I prefer option B and it's possibilities for a more delightful work space for Gary Chang as well as possibilities for hidden utilities under the living space like in the Suitcase House.
I then had to decide on the layout for the office space, I wanted to keep with the parti of a long rectangular shape, as evident through the Suitcase house. Option A takes advantage of full views and ventilation, B can be built into the western slope to make it more comfortable in the afternoon, C allows movement all around as well as stopping some western sun and mimicking the living space, D catches the then sun at the worst parts of the day, early morning and evening. I have decided that C is the most effective design.
Then the there was issue of how to enter the two spaces. They should act as two separate areas so that the work space could be used as an office situation. Option A helps to differentiate between the main space by continuing to the office as a narrower staircase, B doesn't differentiate the public and private spaces, C provides completely different entrances, separating the space the best, D still brings the clients past the living space while having separate entrances, and E isn't effective because the slope is too great to only have paths.
I then put all these concepts together to begin finalising the design for the cabin.
Climate.
In this site that I have designed, the breeze would run through the valley and up the gently sloping hills. I can catch the breeze nomatter which side of 'Contextual Crescent' I build on, but if I build my cabin on the west of the street, the hill will blocksome of the western sun that would come through if the cabin was on the eastern side. This will ensure the house stays cooler in summer as the sun will stop shining on it earlier in the day. It will also mean the house is cooler in winter so I can use some of Gary Chang's techniques of thermal mass in a large concrete slab to help keep the house warm.
In the tropical climate it is very important to catch all the breezes possible through large openings and strategically placed windows.
Final design.
In response to the Suitcase House, my cabin design incorperates sleek, rectangular, simple spaces that are primarily open with the option to section or close them off. The same window pattern in sets of 3's is used as well as the distinct seperation of spaces, in this case the seperation of work and living. In response to the specific climate the openable walls help create air flow and by building into a western slope the harsher afternoon sun is elimiated from the living space.
Taken from the Suitcase house, the bedroom doesn't have to take up a large area, nor does storage when it's moved under the floorboards using pneumatic hinges.
The design includes walls that run along tracks in the roof, each section of wall is approximately 2m wide and runs ceiling to floor, they can join together to section off strategic rooms in the house or can be tucked away next to the stair case to allow a completely open living area.
This provides room dividing and space defining options for the cabin similar to those in the Suitcase House.
There is great freedom for the user to decide what space planning option is appropriate and how they want to inhabit the space.
Just like the Suitcase House, the cabin provides;
Heat in.
Pleanty of light to live and work in.
The cabin also creates a connection to nature with half the house being surrounded by a verandah. The height of the building and the placement creates a feeling of privacy as the user looks over the surrounding landscape.
The final design incorporates many functions, aesthetics and experiences of the Suitcase house on a smaller scale. It includes all the necessary functions for a small self contained living and working space and responds to environment successfully as well as creating a delightful experience for its user.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
