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).

Samford House

Architects: Bligh Graham Architects

Project Team: Project architect: Chris Bligh

Location: Pine Rivers, QLD

Constructed Area: 600 m²


Project Complete: 2008

The Stamford house is built in a suburban area on the edge of Samford Village, out looking the bushland. The house consists of three levels, from basement to second floor. The open part of the L-shaped house faces northeast and creates a courtyard with a little pool.

The theme of the house is an “occupied ruin”, that is a part of the city wall and is covered by a robust timber “outback” building. The affect of an “occupied ruin” is created by the incorporated plant life in the way of roof gardens and climbing plants on the walls. The recycled ironbark cladding adds to the “ruin” effect. The idea of the “city wall” comes from the placement of the house; on the edge of the village close to the bushland.

The entry of the house is on the street side by a path leading through a gatehouse, then through the car court and eventually to the portico and the front door. The ground floor doesn't stand on the natural ground level, but is elevated by 800 mm. The reason for this is that the basement needs to have access to natural ventilation and natural lighting. Consequently this elevation of the ground floor gives some more privacy. Furthermore the roof acts as a terrace.

Every level of the house has its own realm. The basement room is the earthy semi-underground (masculine) area, in contrast to the top floor which is the intimate part of the house (feminine) and includes the craftroom and bedroom. This level can also be referred to as an intimate “treehouse”. The ground floor/the living area is neutral; it shows the view into the courtyard garden and the bushland, which creates a connection between the outside and inside. The three realms are connected by a lift with a hidden red interior.

Natural ventilation happens by cool air that’s drawn into the basement and goes up through the central atrium and exits from the motorised clerestory louvers, expelling the warm air.

The main level has reverse veneer, which has external insulation fixed to the core filled blockwork with has a hardest plaster finish. This creates the outstanding thermal mass performance. Furthermore it has a modern mechanical plant, which, among other performance increasing elements, arranges pool heating. In addition to this, this dwelling is also very sustainable because of its use of low power lighting (LED and fluorescent lighting). Moreover a 45-kilolitre rainwater tank and lastly it has a 10 kW solar power station with both battery storage and grid interaction. This combination will actually give the building more power than it will need.

All of this makes the Samford House have a negative environmental impact.

References:

Australian Institute of Architects. 2009. http://www.architecture.com.au/awards search?option=showaward&entryno=2008049051 accessed March 4, 2010).

Bligh Graham Architects. 2007. http://www.specifier.com.au/projects/residential/38633/Bligh-Graham-Architects.html (accessed March 4, 2010).