Modular Project
The project explores modularity, urban design and housing with a particular emphasis on sustainable environmental design and a humanistic approach – designing buildings that will both delight and enhance people’s lives.
The modular unit is investigated at the full range of scales – from individual components at the scale of the human hand or small room to repeated building blocks in the context of a masterplan for an urban community.
The project consisted of two phases. Firstly we worked in groups on a masterplan for our site to accommodate for Private Housing, Student Accommodation, a Boarding House and an Education Centre.
The Masterplan developed from an intense charrette day where we worked in our group to sketch out our ideas and compose a masterplan proposal.
A quick collage to express the activity we wanted to create in the private space created between the private housing in our masterplan. Aiming to address the the community aspect to our proposal.
Individual Design - Private Housing
Phase II - Lead on from the masterplan. We now had to work on an individual building from the masterplan and fully design according to the requirements set out in our brief. I worked on the Private Housing which was located at the south side of our site and masterplan. This has to accommodate ten studio flats and 10 two bedroom apartments. The work below shows my final presentation work that explained my scheme.
Development sketches showing my ideas in response to the site and the masterplan. Sketches showing the raised ground level to divide public and private, Organisation in response to the public areas and private area in the masterplan influencing the design of the building as in the facade and the plan. The breaking down of the housing block from the hard public facade into the private space between the housing blocks. The development of the angle in plan to achieve the best solar gains possible. The early signs and sketches trying to express an idea of a lattice form that emerges from the facade of the building into the private communal garden space creating interesting and adaptable spaces for social activity and gardening. This lattice form allows vegetation to grow up it and that creates solar shading.
Site Analysis of Canterbury in general. From the masterplan I looked at the green corridor that followed the River Stour which ran alongside our site. This had a huge impact on how we designed our masterplan as we saw the water edge as a harsh solid boundary to the site. To integrate the site more with the river and to aid the continuation of the green corridor along the river we used reeds in our masterplan which created a softer more welcoming feel to the water boundary.
In my design I really wanted to continue this green corridor in the space between the housing blocks and I wanted to encourage the growth of crops and plants by residents.
Below is site analysis expressing the public routes and my response to these in creating private and public spaces.
