St Lucia House - Elizabeth Watson Brown Architects

Photos taken from http://www.elizabethwatsonbrownarchitects.com.au

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(http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv/UQ:163464/Claim_SLHouse.pdf)
Here (above) is a link to a very in-depth analysis of St Lucia House, and its significance as a design.

The main points are as follows:

1) "it is a novel spatial configuration for housing that demonstrates an economically feasible, socially and environmentally sustainable and aesthetically and culturally desirable model of higher density family living for South-East Queensland".
2) "demonstrates a high level of achievement in the art and science of architecture".
3) "exemplify and influence academic, professional and public acceptance of a ‘regional modernist’ theoretical position and its values in Queensland".
4) "exemplify an appropriate model for future research by design within the field of architecture"

Design elements of St Lucia House:

• Allows passive climate control
• - Engagement with the landscape
• - Economical use of materials
• Modernist special sequences that enhance the inside-outside experience
• Design aspects:
• - - Site originally the backyard of an old house 400 square metres.
• - - Three large trees stand in line with one another.
• - - House is a simple orthogonal plan built around these trees.
• - - Eco-plywood and unpainted fiber cement cladding interchanges with full height glass panels
• - - Immensity of the living room is heightened by the stretch of the full height windows
• - - Living room is designed as one large open space: island bench in kitchen used to slightly define areas.
• - - Breezy passageway for extra natural ventilation
• - - Dramatic play of lines
• - - Emphasis on the intersections and connections of the inside and outside

Follow this link for more information -
(http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:l1Obbuj4F7EJ:studentbiennale.com.au/i-cms_file%3Fpage%3D12336/Cubes_May_2009001.pdf+st+lucia+house+elizabeth+watson+brown&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=safari)

The Great (Bamboo) Wall House - Kengo Kumar

Design aspects:

- Formed primarily of glass and Chinese bamboo.

- Built on rolling terrain.

- Bamboo slats can be open and closed to control sunlight.

Modulation:

- of light and shadow

- of physical response to materials,

- of flexibility and specific reactions to specific sites.

- Used wood extensively and innovatively.

“But he is by no means a "wood" architect exclusively; glass, bamboo, stone, plastic, and metal all enter his hands as mundane entities and emerge with heightened identities. As Kuma himself has noted, "The most interesting architectural possibility is living in contact with materials."

“A straight, two-story wall of vertical bamboo forms the main facade, and though it conforms to the undulating ground at its base (like the Great Wall), Kuma sliced it off in a perfectly straight, horizontal line at the top, a sort of tongue-in-cheek critique of its ancestor.”

(http://int.kateigaho.com/mar04/architect-kuma.html)

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- Bamboo wall suggests an easy transfer of light and breeze from one side of the house to the other.

- Light, unfinished, fragile quality.

- Sought to manipulate and dramatize the design possibilities of bamboo.

(http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/0517/environment_1-2.html)

Kenga chose bamboo for its weakness compared to brick and stone

Material creates a meditative atmosphere – “transient and dependent on the changes in the outside weather”

Chose to leave natural conditions of the landscape, and used locally produced materials where possible.

(http://www.materialicious.com/2009/10/kengo-kuma-designs-the-great-bamboo-wall-house-in-china.html)

Here is a link to a video on Youtube about the Bamboo House –

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBoeWBdLOCA)

Chicken Point Cabin - Tom Kundig