Cabin design

Cabin - commodity, firmness and delight

The Cabin is made out of timber, glass and concrete. The reason for this is that timber ventilates the house better than concrete (Casa Tolo).

The windows facing east and west can be opened to optimize the ventilation.

The windows facing north have external planes attached to them to keep the summer sun out.

Cabin - diagrams

Casa Tolo - diagrams

Casa Tolo - drawings

C House

Architects: Brian Donovan and Timothy Hill

Location: Coorparoo, Brisbane, QLD

Site area: 1500 m²

Structural systems/elements: concrete construction and timber construction

Materials: Concrete, timber, sandstone, glass

Architectural features: three-storey, board-marked finish concrete, timber-framed wondows, timber battens, stone stairs, timber trellises.

Surrouding features: trees

Project Complete: 1998

This house is built on a steep hill in a suburban area with a view of the city in de distance. The dwelling consists out of rooms with different sizes (both indoor and outdoor) following the climbing terrain, linked by 16 staircases. The idea behind the variety of volume and floor level of the rooms is to reflect the hilly topography into the house. The way the light enters the residence emphasizes the changes conditions throughout the day and year. The pool also adds to this ambiance, it acts as a stream running between the rocks. This total design makes living in this house feels like being outside.

Every level has it’s own realm. The entry plaza, office and pool, communal living floor with the children bedrooms and the private top floor suite.

The reason for the choice of materials is because they are self-finished, grow in age and give a warm and calm feeling to the house.

One of the architects, Brian Donovan, has worked in Japan and is accustomed with the way contemporary Japanese architecture is designed. In the C house we can see some resemblance to Japanese architecture.

References:

The University of Queensland, Australia. North-west elevation, C house, Cooparoo, Brisbane. 2007. http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:11668 (accessed March 1, 2010).

ArchitectureMedia. The domestic ideal.1999. http://www.archmedia.com.au/aa/aaissue.php?article=4&issueid=199905&typeon=2 (accessed March 1, 2010).

Casa Tolo

Architects: Alvaro Leite Siza


Client: Luís Marinho Leite Barbosa da Silva


Location: Lugar das Carvalhinhas - Alvite, freguesia de Cerva, Ribeira da Pena District


Site Area: 1000 m²


Constructed Area: 180 m²


Contractor: Óscar Gouveia


Landscape: Alvaro Leite Siza Vieira


Materials: Concrete, timber, steel and glass

Project Complete: 2005


The house Alvaro Leite Siza designed is a three-bedroom holiday house. It consists of a social bathroom, a living room, a dinning room, a small kitchen with a support washbasin, pantry, and a small outdoor swimming pool.

The main entrance is based on the north side of the house, which stands on the top of the hill. This is purely out of functional reasons because a road leads to this part and it’s possible to park a car. Nonetheless you can still access the residence on the south side from a footpath.

The dwelling is designed as if it part of nature. In order to preserve the trees and natural character of the area he designed a long and narrow home that follows the landscape. It is made out of small linked and interconnected geometrically shaped compartments that follow the natural terrain. Each volume has it’s own elevation and function. Stairs on the interior connects each room. At the same time the exterior stairs follow the same path as the interior ones and connects the interior and the exterior of the house. Consequently the roof works as a path linking the north and south roads together. Some parts of the roof also function as a garden since some parts are covered with grass.

This way of using the roof is inspired by the traditional houses built in the northern regions of the country that has a hilly terrain. All these aspects give a natural movement to the dwelling.

The south façade has a lot of windows, so the interior would get optimal natural light and enjoy a natural view. The shape gives a different experience from the northeast to the southeast. The east side of the house shows the different geometrical volumes and elevation while the west part consists out of the staircase.

The holiday house isn’t just built on top of the hill following its terrain; it is partially buried in the ground, which has a positive thermal effect on the house. Since the house is built in a warm climate, the ground has a nice cooling effect.

The Casa Tolo is built out of concrete, which creates the affect that the building is made out of huge stones.

Paving stones of reinforced concrete are made to create an air space between these and the lot to make the building waterproof. PVC canvases will also waterproof foundations, walls and roofs. The roof is covered with thermal insulation and has anti-slip tiles. Furthermore the exterior doors and windows are in double-painted metal to improve thermal and acoustic insulation.

The non-load bearing walls are made out of cement blocks filled with sand, plastered, coated and painted white in the interiors. The floors, doors and skirting on the inside of the dwelling are made out of wood (except for the bathrooms).

References:

ArchDesign. 2009. http://www.archdaily.com/893/tolo-house-alvaro-leite-siza/ (accessed March 3, 2010).

DAS. 2008. http://www.d-a-s.hr/video-vijesti/421/tolo-house-alvaro-leite-siza/ (accessed March 4, 2010).

DesignBoom. 2008. http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/3668/casa-tolo-by-alvaro-leite-siza-vieira.html (accessed March 2, 2010).