As I mentioned on my previous post the next stage for me was rectifying the issues that were evident within my model that I presented with. Firstly I looked at the front elevation which I decided to make curve outwards and I added some simple embellishments to give it more shape and portray a more realistic idea of what it would look like if built. The second part proved more difficult as I wanted to take away all of the doors, I began by returning to my original plan of having the staircase come up in the centre of the two structures, this eliminating the door at the back and the disjointed entrance. I then researched a lot into tiny houses and their solutions to bathrooms. Something interesting I came across is pictured below, it is a toilet that actually folds away into a cupboard. I decided to incorporate this idea into my design as then I wouldn’t need a permanent wall to hide its structure. I then experimented with the idea of having a concertina fold down wall, as commonly used inn business buildings as a partition. I did however find this very difficult to model, but it is still my concept for the design.

I completed the model for our final review presentation and took photos of it inside and out with harsh light sources and natural light. These were very useful in assessing the design, its language and how resolved it was. After presenting for the module I then showed the lecturer my model within the 1:20 scale site. After this I was provided with feedback upon the design, many if not all of which I completely agreed with. We discussed how it was a shame that you couldn’t see the effect of the repetitive form as I had closed off a section for the bathroom and had put in sliding doors to separate the spaces. This was an issue I hadn’t managed to successfully resolve throughout the process and something I knew I wanted to change. Another key point we discussed was how flat the front elevation looked. I had experimented with different adornments in my sketchbook but had left the model plain, which I agree did look very flat. I am going to look at these key points and hopefully come to a more resolved conclusion.

I began exploring how the inside of the building would work as I didn’t want to compromise the aesthetic with the functional things that needed to be included. I looked at hiding the everyday needs such as the toilet and the shower within the floor, so that it would be hidden away until use. However I added this into my model and I did not like how it took a lot of height away from the building. I then looked at things such as doorways and ceilings. I tried to use these to contrast the two separate spaces more, I looked at large glass sliding doors to separate them and glass ceilings. I also researched what the minimum size for a bathroom is so I could use the smallest amount of space for it. I found looking at tiny homes to be particularly useful.

I decided on a final shape for my building and drew it in plan. It was basically the same design as my first iteration with a few minor changes to the roofing and walls on the back section. Because of this I decided to do a quick plan in 1:20 scale as I had already drawn it in 1:50 in my sketchbook previously in plan, section and elevation. I then started to work on my model as it was the beginning of the final week of the module.

To further explore the way lighting would enter the building and to discover what atmosphere it would create within I made a model. I started with a simple square model roughly the size of the site. I first cut a large rectangular hole at the front of the building and took photos both in daylight and at night with an artificial light source to see the different effects it would give. As instructed I photographed what inside the building would look like at 9am, 12 noon and 3pm in November. I also took more pictures of further times throughout the day to really explore this further. I then did the same for the triple window design that I liked most from my previous drawing experiment and did the same lighting tests.

As the main focus of my building is arches I decided to do some simple quick sketches of historical buildings. I chose to look at the Colosseum, The Victoria and Albert museum and the Arc de Triomphe. It gave me more of a sense of flow of how arches work in buildings and made me want to make sure mine had the same effect.

I started to explore different ways that light could enter the building. I did this first by drawing different window openings in section. In all of them I opted for a high ceiling as this is such a slim building I wanted to create the feeling of space through height. I looked at which windows looked aesthetically pleasing that would also give an interesting light effect throughout the day. Below are some drawings of windows and of differing lighting effects.