Tuesday 14 December 2010

Tir nan og.. (Land of Eternal Youth) - House in Kenmore


the site

Kenmore, a small quaint village in the mid Highlands situated at the northern point of Loch Tay. The site is located at the water edge of the loch and offers splendorous views of the Ben Lawers to the West and Kenmore beach to the east. 

(click image to enlarge)


The sight during the colder winter months still seems to offer a warming effect of tranquillity. The picture below is taken from the east passing through the elevated site. The mountainous backdrop displays Ben Lawers and Meall Greigh.





Local access to the site from the eastern approach.
Quiet two lane road with occasional residential traffic.


Western approach to site. 
Narrow single lane road with minimal traffic. 


townscape


(click image to enlarge)
Panoramic view towards Kenmore from the south.




Site/Location Plan with proposed design



Model of site with proposed design


clients

The Artist 
Requirements: Art Studio

The Musician 
Requirements: Music Studio

The Entertainer (and Artist)
Requirements: Place to entertain friends from the South 
(Entertainment Area, Place to play video consoles)


Client Study:






design

The design objective was to create a multifunctional home with spacial fun for the three youthful siblings. All of which require their own space or 'sanctuary'. The simplistic structure is two interlocking rectangles of different material. The Northern side (Fig.1) is of white precast polished concrete reflecting the conformist village's tonal values. This portrays a solid state of disconnection and the power of the design is reinforced by the timber facade overlapping this. When approaching the northern face of the house, there appears to be no openings, creating a barrier from Kenmore. Only after entering the front door are you able to see all the way through the length of the house, seeming almost transparent. The Southern rectangle (Fig.2), structured of lighter materials (timber, steel and glass), reflects the woodlands from the surrounding forestry. My proposal triangulates the recreational rooms within the intertwined core of the home, where all the spacial fun occurs.This triangulated placement also separates the siblings persona from one another. 


(Fig.1)


Gabriela, the heavy metal guitarist, has her bedroom next to the sound studio, located within the northern rectangle. This further emphasises her persona to be detached. Bridget and Harry's bedroom are on the second floor, although, seperated from one another by their en-suit bathrooms. 



(Fig. 2)



(Fig. 3)



Floor Plans
(click on image to enlarge)



Site Plan                                              Ground Floor


 



First Floor                                           Second Floor


 




Sections
(click on image to enlarge)



East Section




North Section



South Section




Long Sections






Elevations
(click on image to enlarge)



East Elevation



East Elevation



South Elevations




More pics to upload soon :)

Friday 10 December 2010

Blast from the past..

Things I remember most about home…

I think it’s accurate to say that we (South Africans) have better storms than the UK. Sometimes enough to scare the living shit out you! But none the less, better.. I used an old Nikon D50 for these, with no tripod, a faulty lens, no photoshop and lightning so fierce that you don’t want to leave the comfort of your bed, so the shots are shakey, out of focus and a bit spotty.
I present… lightning!




These are ironic don’t you think?.. This is behind the apartment building at the beachfront where I used to live before moving to a four walled ice box in Montrose. Makes me wonder why I didn’t study architecture back home..? mmm.. courious..





This one overlooks the southern harbour, taken from a night club.. amazing view is it not? The energy and noise produced from this storm was so powerful your drinks trembled! INSANE! What we need to do, is stop trying to reach another form of life and learn how to harness or reproduce these as renewable energy. A single flash could produce anywhere between 10-120 million volts.




Okay, let me explain with this one.. I was actually positioned in a comfy spot until one of these cracked above my head!





More to be continued..