Final layout and 1:200 model (Wooden Horse)

The concept of wooden hosrse I have taken with my final studio assignment was to be a sea creature captured mid-twist, although not in a literal way, more fragmented. The roof garden also falls into a vertical garden, and the guest room is encased within a timber screen. Unit 7 is empty and is at the bottom of the split-level staircase. Light enters this space through a narrow slit window on the roof. Linda H has allowed around 4m at the North East of her block for a shared garden. Doorway from unit 7 leads into this communal area. The garage has tinted glass walls, in which the pool on the North-eastern end can be viewed. This glass extends to the upper level, which caters for the clients private use with bedroom, bathroom and study. Once again the wrapping window I have used as the 'undefinable line' in my second house design for Equus has been carried through in this design.

Development from Mystery Play to the Wooden Horse

The four square house design problem had allowed me to carry through my design intentions from Equus. The layout was taken from my second house submission and repeated and rotated on the block. The four houses were inkeeping with the compartmentalised concept given for the room placement in the Sea Captain's house.

The development of the wooden horse began with the translation of these compartments to a more shifting series of platforms. The house was intended to be a demonstration on fractured flow.

Analogue Model #1

The Sea Captain lost his parents when he was young, and then it seemed that the family he had made for himself also left. This would have resulted in his fractured personality, so the idea was to illustrate this through shards in the form of the design. The digital model displays material and minor forms (planar shifts etc) for reasons described below. I think when sailing and the sea is thought about the imediate symbols that come to mind are water, sails and the curve of a ship. The initial floor plate is dropplet shaped, and the roof canopy is sail-like. The feature of the design is the tower, (unit 7) which extends the entire height of the building. It also acts as a divider to the open plan house, between bathroom and living. It is the core of the house and provides a solidarity as well as a place to dwell. It is the lonliness and the strength. The bed has its own compartment to the side. Sharp-angled glass sculpture is over the entrance to the house and provides an extra exterior space, whilst bringing fractured light to the interior.

Digital Model #1

Analogue Model #2

The difference between the second model (from digital to analogue) is not dramatic. The Sea Captain is a simple charcater with compartmentalised emotions. The approach taken with this design is therefore simple and compartmentalised. The builing is divided into 4 different sized boxes, the narrower bottom one for the bathroom/laundry areas, the wider bottom 'box' as the kitchen/living area. Empty unit #7 joins these compartments with an open light box at the top. The bed is located in the upper-storey compartment. There are large openings in each of the compartments running off the wall planes for plenty of views out of the building and light in. The exception is the tower in which a view out is not necessary, rather a relection is given by the mirror here. The Captain is an asthmatic so surfaces are clean and non-fibrous in texture. Materials are expressed in the digital model, as are minor forms as they could be easily extrapolated in this medium.

Digital Model #2