Studio Exercise 4 | Matrix

	Toggle switch	Incremental slider	Infinitesimal slider
Sun	Simple shades that can retract on command	Glass panels that tints itself between three-five levels, in response to the harshness of sunlight	Sections/holes in the roof in which the sizes of it can be controlled in order to maintain natural sunlight.
Wind	Separate boards in the roof that can be toggled to remain flat or be lifted on an angle in order to obtain ventilation from the roof and into the house	Louvers that moves inversely following the wind patterns to maximise natural air flow into the shipping container	Panel that changes shape according to the movement of the wind
Rain	Shading panels that retract or extends in response to whether it is raining or not	A roof made up of separate panels that corresponds to the intensity of raindrops by angling itself to allow the water to run down and away from the roof	A wall that responds to the size and intensity of rain by taking imprints of the raindrops

SUN

Infinitesimal: sections/holes in the roof in which the sizes of it can be controlled in order to maintain natural sunlight.

WIND
Toggle: seperate boards in the roof that can be toggled to remain flat or be lifted on an angle in order to obtain ventilation from the outside to the inside of the house.

RAIN
Toggle: shading panels that retract or extends in response to whether it is raining or not.

Project 1 - Final Submission

http://speedy.sh/3qbZu/arch1201-shannylam.zip

Studio Exercise 2 | Clients

Haiti development statistics (pre-earthquake):

• 55 percent of Haitians live on less than $1.25 per day.
• Per capita annual income is $660.
• 58 percent of children are under-nourished.
• 58 percent of the population lacks access to clean water.
• Devastating hurricanes in 2008 affected 800,000 people.
• Deforestation has left the nation with less than two percent forest cover.

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Who has been affected?

• 3,500,000 people were affected by the quake
• 220,000 people estimated to have died
• 300,000+ people were injured

How have they been affected?

• Over 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were destroyed by the earthquake (293,383 in total), 1.5m people became homeless
• 4,000 schools were damaged or destroyed
• 60% of Government and administrative buildings, 80% of schools in Port-au-Prince and 60% of schools in the South and West Departments were destroyed or damaged

What are their needs and vulnerabilities?

• Over 600,000 people left their home area in Port-au-Prince and mostly stayed with host families
• Unrelated to the earthquake but causing aid response challenges was the outbreak of cholera in October 2010. By July 2011 5,899 had died as a result of the outbreak, and 216,000 were infected
• The life expectancy for Haiti is low: 50 years for men and 53 years for women.b
• Haiti has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the Western Hemisphere. One in 50 people are infected.

Are they in an urban or rural location?

• Nearly 79% of Haiti’s people live in rural areas.

What housing existed before the natural disaster? How did it deal with the division of spaces, privacy, security, climate control?

• Due to the country’s existing poverty conditions prior to the earthquake, infrastructure and residential units were inadequate and insufficient in supply
• At the peak of displacement, around 2.3 million people, including 302,000 children, were out of their homes.
• After the earthquake, 604,215 people left Port-au-Prince and the West Department. An estimated 160,000 persons moved from Port-au-Prince to the border area with the Dominican Republic.
• Even before the 2010 earthquake, only 54% of Haitians had access to sanitation facilities (toilets, indoor plumbing, sewer systems). Less than half had a regular source of safe drinking water.j

What are the climatic conditions? Cold climate? Warm, humid climate? Hot, dry climate?

• Haiti is primarily tropical and semiarid in the east. Tropical storms are frequent.

Do those displaced dwellers have cultural or religious traditions which influence their apparel, day to day activities, or social interactions?

• Eighty percent of Haitians are Roman Catholic, 16% are Protestant, and 4% are other. Voodoo is often practiced alongside Christianity.

Sources
http://www.lessonsfromhaiti.org/relief-and-recovery/key-statistics/
http://www.dec.org.uk/haiti-earthquake-facts-and-figures
http://facts.randomhistory.com/haiti-facts.html
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/weather-climate-haiti-12394.html

Studio Exercise 2 | "Home"

Understanding how "home" has changed over time.

The understanding of the term "home" has changed from a physical definition to a more spiritual one over time. The concept of an ideal home changed from people describing a private space/house to a much more dense and complex idea - it is unique to each individual with different factors contributing to the answer. It could involve family, and/or culture, where they feel like they belong and are comfortable and secure, and/or whether they are alone or not. 

Concept of "home"

What determines a home to an individual is a unique and personal experience. Home is somewhere one may feel comfortable, free and secure. This feeling can be found when with specific people, family for example, and/or in a physical, familiar space.

Studio Exercise 1 | Haiti

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/haiti_01_13/h08_21691403.jpg

http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/Haiti_earthquake(1).jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Haiti_Earthquake_building_damage.jpg

http://www.vosizneias.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ha2.jpg

Studio Exercise 1 | Shipping Container Architecture

Coromandel Bach home, New Zealand.
Designed by Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects

"The residence was conceived as a container home sitting lightly on the land for habitation.An open plan living space forms the majority of the house, with windows across both front and back, flowing casually onto the sand and directly down to the water. Two bedrooms are located either side of the bathroom adjacent to the kitchen. The large fireplace allows winter occupation and the open bathroom and movable bath allows the rituals of showering and bathing to become and experience connected to nature. Concealed glass panels extend out of the walls to close off spaces as required.A series of bi-folding slatted cedar shutters open across the elevations to the living zone. When open these panels provide privacy from the closely located neighbors; when closed the shutters provide shelter from stormy weather, and ensure security when the bach is not in use. Relatively compact, the house is likened to a jewelry box, with highly efficient use of available space and concealed cabinetry throughout. A series of projections and cutouts punctuate the spaces, variously admitting light and capturing specific views.The exterior palette of materials is natural and recessive relating to the colors in the beachfront and the weathered driftwood found there. Inside, splashes of color and dark stained cabinetry provide subtle counterpoints to the hoop pine wall linings and white oiled American oak floors. The rough sawn cedar cladding is judiciously carried through to the interior, extending the effect of the cantilevered folding shutters to the internal elevations, while also providing a balanced contrast to the other more refined linings."

http://www.onekindesign.com/2011/08/21/coromandel-beach-house/
http://www.archdaily.com/226039/coromandel-bach-crosson-clarke-carnachan-architects/

Containers of Hope | San Jose, Costa RicaDesigned by Benjamin Garcia Saxe

"The Peralta family dreamed of living in their fantastic property outside of the city of San Jose, where they could be with their horses and enjoy the natural landscape whilst being 20 minutes away from the city. It was important for me to provide them with the sunrise, the sunset, the spectacular views, and overall try and create a feeling of comfort and home. A roof between the two containers,made from the scrap pieces of metal taken to make the windows, not only creates an internal sensation of openness but also provides a cross ventilation which is surprisingly sufficient enough to never have to turn the air conditioning on.
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
Date of Completion: 2011
Client: Peralta family
Area: Aprox. 100m2
Architecture Team:
Design Director: Benjamin Garcia Saxe
Construction Documentation: Roger Navarro
Builder: Self Built"

http://www.benjamingarciasaxe.com/containers-of-hope/
http://dornob.com/containers-of-hope-cheap-modern-cargo-container-home/#axzz2wMXW4gZw

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Similarities on features
- Both aim to maximise natural lighting from the sun
- Efficiency with spaces and design

Differences in features
Container of Hope

- Two containers
- Staggered along east/west access – provide selective access to natural sunlight and natural cross ventilation
- Raised and tilted scrap metal roof angles to catch indirect daylight – further facilitate passive cooling
- Lofted on stilts

Coromandel Bach House- Open bathroom with movable bath
- Bi-folding slatted cedar shutters open across the elevations to the living zone
- Series of projections and cutouts punctuate the spaces, variously admitting light and capturing specific views

Similarities in design approach- Both aim to connect with nature
- Location in an open area
- Concealed glass panels to close off spaces
- Open internal space
- Simplistic

Differences in design approach
Container of Hope- Use of recyclable shipping containers, and materials in the design

Coromandel Bach House- The intention was to reinterpret the New Zealand building tradition – the crafting of wood – the expression of structure, cladding, lining and joinery in a raw and unique way.

Week 1 | Independent Study

Concept of home extends beyond the simple idea of a building - it affiliates with the memories we hold there.
In my account home is a virtual place, a repository for memories of the lived spaces. It locates lived time and space, particularly intimate familial time and space.
Mallett, S. (2004). Understanding home: a critical review of the literature. The Sociological Review, 52(1), 63.

Rather they assert that people’s personal and familial experiences as
well as significant social change, influence their perceived needs and desires
in relation to house design. Changing patterns of employment, particularly
of wealth, transformations in peoples’ ideas about community, family, even
the good life, all impact on the notion of the ideal home.
Mallett, S. (2004). Understanding home: a critical review of the literature. The Sociological Review, 52(1), 67-68.

Home is secure. Home allows freedom.
"The word refuge not only implies security from the outrages of the outside world but also suggests that this security provides both space and time for the awakening and assertion of identity, which itself is a form of stimulation."
Porteous, J. D. (1976). Home: The territorial core. Geographical Review, 66(4), 386.

The definition of home is ambiguous, unique to each individual.
Home can be singular and/or plural, alienable and/or inalienable, fixed and stable and/or mobile and changing. It can be associated with feelings of comfort, ease intimacy, relaxation and security and/or oppression, tyranny and persecution. It can or can not be associated with family.
Mallett, S. (2004). Understanding home: a critical review of the literature. The Sociological Review, 52(1), 84.

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20ft Shipping Container -

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=df729ac98d5b421db84c0a4b8ad65523