Friday, September 16, 2011

Small House #2

This is the second of a series of prototypes for small houses which are designed to fit into a rural setting. House #2 contains four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a study, all contained in a footprint of only 160 square meteres.

The idea is to begin with a typical layout for an apartment and to see what it can develop into as a free standing single family house, while retaining is spatial efficincy. All elements of the design lend themselves to prefabrication. The entire house can be built off site and assembled at an affordable cost.

Of special note in this design is the use of a modified rain screen cladding system, which I have never seen used in exactly this way. I believe it opens the door to an endless variety of creative solutions for the exterior skins of buildings. The system is made up of horizontal strips of wood which are fastened over a waterproof membrane. The final skin is made up of panels consisting of a waterproof wood product such as is made in Finland under the name of "Parklex". One could also use panels with either perforated or applied patterns with built in repeats exactly like large scale fabric prints. The panels are attached to the horizontal backing strips by aluminum rain screen clips which fasten to the back side of the panels and remain invisible to the eye.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Rethinking the Small House


This is the first in a series of small houses I am designing specifically meant to be located in a rural, or very leafy green suburban setting. In addition to crisp edges, nature contains beuatifully sulptural forms, sinuous lines and materials which are warm and pleasing to both the eye and the touch. I am attempting to bring these element into the design of the houses so that they feel part of, and happily nestled into their settings.

This particular house is quite small- about 100 square meters, and has two bedrooms and an open great room containing the kitchen, dining and living areas. It has the same layout and is about the same size as a typical small, two bedroom apartment, with the addition of a spine of floor to ceiling storage which runs the length of the house, and a taller, vaulted ceiling over the living area.

Monday, April 18, 2011

A Round House

I've always wanted to design a round house - so I did! This design is a gift for a friend who lives in Finland, where I think it would fit very well somewhere on the edge of a forest or beside one of the many beautiful lakes there- anywhere with a nice view of the countryside!

The house has two levels, containing 180 square meters of floor area which are raised 3 meters above the ground, to avoid all the snow and to provide covered parking in the winter. The house also has a roof garden and a glass enclosed stair tower.