Week 5-8 - Hand-Made Model Progress

Week 5-6

The room I chose for this project was my bedroom, where I often study. I started with creating a plan and section drawing of my room and a basic paper model at 1:20 scale.

(Please click on image for full resolution.)

To give direction for my iterative models, I identified several issues with the space through a series of diagrams.

Firstly, the window of my room faces towards the back of a hill, where another house is located. That house has a veranda that directly overlooks our backyard and the North-East side of my house.

Diagrams of site plan, my house + backyard section and plan.

This often means I have to take care to lower the blinds to maintain privacy, thus blocking the natural light from entering my room.

Secondly, due to my bedroom facing North-East, a large amount of sunlight is received every morning. This is beneficial for the study area of my room, however it is too bright for the sleeping area.

Therefore, the iterative models will work towards allowing more natural sunlight into the room whilst maintaining privacy and comfort of the sleeping area. The iterative models are in 1:20 scale so they can be conceptual and quickly made to express initial ideas.

Firstly I decided to add and adjust the window openings to allow more sunlight into the study area of the room.

1. Comparing the effect of adding a skylight to the roof and a chamfered skylight. A chamfer skylight can better direct the light towards the study area. Having the skylight angled towards the morning sun also maximises the light that my room receives, and avoids directly facing the afternoon sun.

2. Directing the light to the study space and altering the form more.

Sketches of Form Ideas

Allowing a low window can both improve the privacy of the sleeping space but also allow some reflected sunlight to enter the room.

3. Testing folding forms for a shading screen to maintain privacy inside the room.

Conclusion:

After testing, I decided that the form language of the folded screen and room are too different and not cohesive. I continued to sketch and rethink my design to incorporate the screen design into the architecture for more cohesion.

I decided to incorporate the angles into the roof as well and add a vertical shading that is connected to the roof. The pattern of the shading is inspired by the large tree in my backyard so that the design may be more cohesive with the context.