IDA THALLAUG

Student at Aarhus School of Architecture

[idathallaug]

Program

[idathallaug]

1 week to go before Bachelor project hand in

16 days to presentation

[idathallaug]

I have been working on plans, site-plans and a lot of other things simultaneously lately, and realized that the organisation of the inside of the building resembles that of Hershey's characteristic grid with plots mirrored over back alleys.

Also, the visual connection to the nearby abandoned sugar mill is helping me in the design of a new roof for my design. 

[idathallaug]

Reflections on the model

In my design I propose to raise parts of the ground floor to create a threshold between the more private and more public areas. Building it up to create 2 seating levels loosens up the space and invite for casual interaction. It also makes the transition between inside and out more gradual.

Initially, the second stair stopped 10 cm past a column, and my flexible louver facade would be right at the top step. This creates 2 undesired situations:

1) An awkward entry situation through the doors, where you are blocked on the first step by the new facade.

2) Only the lower stair is ideal for seating, which means people standing near you are towering over you while you almost sit on the floor. 

A natural solution would be to extend the whole elevated area to create seating on the top step as well.

There are also a lot of questions arising around the meeting between the old and the new. In my model and the design, I thought about cutting into some of the structure to build a second story and adjust openings. Most of my design is in wood, and touches the existing structure only lightly, so the more I develop on that, the more appropriate it seems to lay my structure lightly on top, not breaking up the existing structure unnecessarily . 

A way to do this is to make a symbolic gap or a shadow gap between old and new materials. 

Example:    Castelvecchio, Carlo Scarpa

There is also a question about how to design for the humid and hot climate, with plenty of rainstorms in parts of the year. Lifting things from the ground can be a solution, as seen here at  Ry Højskole

Another solution seen several places in Cuba addressing storm water are interventions collecting and directing streams of water to bigger pools through indentations in the ground.

[idathallaug]

Section model 1:20

[idathallaug]

Old meets new at Ry Højskole ( av Jesper Danø)

[idathallaug]

Procrastination

Latin: procrastinare, pro-, 'forward', with -crastinus, 'till next day' from "cras", 'tomorrow'

[idathallaug]

I am trying through collage to understand the interplay between the existing materialities and spaces and the materials and spaces I want to introduce.

[idathallaug]

Mid-crit presentation 

[idathallaug]

Inner facade

Palmyra House / Studio Mumbai - this is a great inspiration to me at the moment.

I am also proposing a new inner facade, primarily made from wooden louvers. This facade will be shaded by the new roof and the existing wall, keeping the inner part of the building cool. The new facade can be completely open ore completely closed, and it makes it easy to ventilate. 

The new facade is indicated on the different floors and in section by the pink line.

[idathallaug]

Also inspired by:

TM House / CDM Casas de México

[idathallaug]

Present thoughts about materials, mixing locally sourced, new materials alongside the existing materials on site.

[idathallaug]

I want to create a climate responsive building and have looked at environmental factors on the site, like shading trees, prevailing wind direction and sun-path. 

I am also experimenting with a few grasshopper scripts to see how many hours of sunlight different parts of the building gets at certain times. This is a really nice tool to use to understand how my different shading strategies work as I design.

[idathallaug]

Shading - Ventilated roof structure

I am also proposing a slightly tilted roof on top of the existing building. I want it to shade the interior from the sun and help the natural ventilation. At the moment I want to lift the roof of the facade and make it a somewhat free-standing element. This will make it a shading device and gives space for circulation between itself and the living-units, which will make the sleeping area cooler. 

I am also looking at the possibilities of making a hydroponic green-roof and integrate photo-voltaic system to create energy. 

[idathallaug]

Beginnings of a design proposal Vertical layering

I want to divide the old hotel, into 3 floors. Ground-floor is common space for my start-up lab and community space. 1. floor is the main living area and shared space for the residency apartments and the 2. floor, is built like a Cuban barbacoa, only ¼ of the width of the building, and is meant for sleeping.

[idathallaug]

Influential books at this point in the process

[idathallaug]

Developing the program

Developing the program