Analysing Part Three

A House is a Delightful Experience

I told a friend of mine, who isn't from a design background, about this concept and he was inspired. he had never though of a building in this way before and said it gave him hope that designers were looking to intellectual backings for what they did. It inspired me to create something here that does fill people with delight.

1) Layering

The Isaacson-Davis House is one that is constantly being called "a suitcase", "a house of layers", "a house that folds and packs" and it does use a variety of layers. The outer shell is a weathered wood, protecting a polished interior, layered with glass and steel, stairs, voids and windows to create an incredibly layered effect.

So in my cabin I tried to create a similar effect, by also layering similar timbers, with glass (and a glass balustrade on the balcony), together with different heights, the use of stairs and void spaces, as is shown below. In addition to this, I have used timber and glass bi-fold doors which open completely onto the deck, in front of which are sliding timber shutters, which can be closed to help protect from the western sun, but which add to the layered effect.

2) Interplay Between Inside and Outside

One of the things that struck me about the house was the fact that from most places, there was a view of the outside, which I have diagrammed below:

The darkest grey areas have no views of outside, while the lgiht grey are partially exposed (by haviing no roof, or a wall missing. The mid-grey areas all ahve a view of outside.

I tried to keep this idea in the cabin I designed, but tried to minimise the darker grey areas.

The only places with no external views are a part of the kitchen interior, a corner of the dining area and the hallway to the bedroom.

3) A Sanctuary

The Beach House at Balnarring acts as a sanctuary for its inhabitants, protecting them from all outside influences. This is achieved by fostering a feeling of seclusion amongst the tress in a relatively remote location, as shown below:

In order to obtain this feeling in the cabin I designed, I also used trees and a remote location on a hilltop to act as a barrier to the outside world.