This reading provided a great deal of information in regards to all 3 aspects of design under consideration , particularly the detailed descriptions as to how the space could be transformed to suit the current climate and needs of the occupant.
"The Tugun Residence provides a living space on the beach edge that allows the beach environment to inhabit the house. Its ground floor plan is elevated providing protection and privacy from the street and neighbouring property. Its simple lower plan allow the edges to be fully opened when the weather permits to create an �under the house� feel. Robust materials are used in response to its location and these materials are expressed in an honest fashion. This approach allows the house to capture north east to south east breezes and bring them through the living spaces to the rear of the house. The northern side of the house is dedicated to a circulation spine due to the imminent neighbouring development. Openings at the upper level are sparing and protected for privacy. At the lower level these openings are expansive and protected by the external fence. This approach extends the perceived living areas at the lower level.
The bedrooms are facetted to the south east on the upper level where a response over the existing conditions allow privacy and glimpsed views of the ocean. A simple steel structural system provided large open spaces and allowed the use of concrete and glass to create the external fabric of the building and for the concrete to become the robust edge of the major living spaces. Where exposed to the south east, the concrete is playfully sculpted to create an ambiguous form in the street that responds to its casual beach context. The concrete panels are facetted and varied to achieve the expression. It required a close collaboration of architect, engineer and specialist sub contractor to ensure its shape and balance for lifting along with its resolution at junctions with openings all whilst maintaining the casual and varied form. The glass front is a low maintenance and simple form in deference to the concrete edge."
This reading provided a useful insight into the client and pre construction design considerations, providing some additional background and justification for the final design.
Fairweather Proberts’ Tugun Residence, recently commended by RAIA, was designed for a deadline. The client was involved in the construction industry and had resources on hand to build. To exploit those resources meant expediting the preconstruction process - ensuring the house was as-of-right as a dwelling, without the need for town planning approvals - as well as choosing simple, robust structural methods. With structural steel, concrete panels and glass, this is an honest construction softened by carefully wrought sculptural details.
The site is on the beachfront of Tugun, a quiet(ish) town at the southern extremity of the Gold Coast. With a development on the northern side of the site immanent, the house will lack allday access to this traditional aspect. Instead, it turns to the south and east. To the south, the upper-floor façade is facetted and variegated, its concrete panelling whipped into geometric peaks with small, fissure-like openings inbetween. Balancing and resolving these panels at their junctions required close collaboration between architect, engineer and specialist sub-contractor, its skilled finish combining seaside whimsy with formal clarity.
The upper façades act as first line of defence against the elements. Beneath, the ground level façades are mostly glassed. The upper northern façade, for instance, has only a few openings, protected for privacy; the lower northern façade has wide openings, extending the perceived space in the living areas out as far as the external fence. Beneath the sculpted panels on the southern façade is a system of sliding glass doors - low maintenance and simple forms in deference to the concrete above. The facetted edges of the concrete panels are in fact thickenings that provide a haunch under which the sliding doors can be housed. This gives weather protection without the need for additional flashings and fixings. Right around the house, the solid upper level provides solar protection for the lower living areas, its overhang to the east creating a casual outdoor area overlooking the sea.
The structure reflects the client’s desire to feel part of the beach on good days, and to batten down when the weather requires.
Inside, the effect of a solid structure floating above a lighter structure is to give the lower living areas a cool, under-the-house feel. A large void at the centre of the plan, the major device providing definition to the living spaces, draws filtered light from the southern aspect, including through the upper level fissures. Fresh northeast and south-easterly breezes are drawn through the void to the rear of the house. The void is defined by the flank of the main upstairs bedroom, which is facetted to the south and east where the structure allows for privacy and glimpsed views of the ocean.
The whole house is elevated slightly, for protection and privacy from the street and the neighbouring property. A semi-basement for vehicle and surf equipment was tucked underneath.
The Tugun Residence’s simple steel structural system supports the large internal voids. It allows for concrete and glass to create the external fabric of the building, and for the concrete to become the robust edge of the major living spaces, alternating with plain painted plasterboard. Where possible the structure is expressed as fabric and materials are simply expressed and differentiated.
The house was awarded a state commendation by the RAIA, alongside Fairweather Proberts’ Bay House in Moreton Bay. It was also awarded RAIA House of the Year in the Gold Coast Region. Australian Institute of Architects (2007), Tugun residence; by Fairweather Proberts, available from:<http://www.architecture.com.au/awards_search?option=showaward&entryno=2007040389><(accessed 17/3/11)
Specifier.com (2011), Tugun Residence, available from:<http://www.specifier.com.au/projects/residential/35501/Tugun-Residence.html>(accessed 17/3/11)
No comments:
Post a Comment