Interdisciplinary Elective


Sem. One 2004 ADB942/944
Dr. Jill Franz and Professor Steffen Lehmann


Inside of Outside: A master class in redefining the 'Australian beach house'


This is the first of a series of annual cross-disciplinary Master Class electives in the Architecture discipline.


Modern Beach House for a Brazilian Graphic Designer at the Sunshine Coast in Marcoola


A specific response to specific place: A single house that is appropriate to its corner location. Develop a detailed interior project for a beach house in scale 1:50 / 1:25.


Re-conceptualising the 'Australian beach house'


Of all architectural forms, houses are the most culturally sensitive to their times, so what could we expect to see in a '21st Century Beach House'? No more imitation of a pseudo-Californian style.


The previous generation of Brisbane architects have reinterpreted again and again the elevated timber 'Queensland house' and explored the expressive potential of its pitched roof and surrounding veranda. Robin Boyd suggested in his book 'Australia's Home' (1952) that serious experiment in domestic design was urgently required, a search for alternatives to the cottage version. Today, unfortunately, the financial ability to commission an architect-designed house in Australia has strongly dissipated for most of the population. In 'Houses for the 21st Century' Philip Goad writes: "Fifty years ago, the simple inexpensive holiday house in timber and fibro-cement sheet was a realistic proposition for the average Australian family. Today, however, the newly commissioned retreat is still possible, but it is a rare privilege. (…) Sun and shadow transforms the Peninsula House by Sean Godsell to solid. But when its flaps are open, and sunlight strikes through its filigree, the house dissolves into that eternally captivating search in Australian architecture, the semi-enclosed outdoor space the ideal place in which to dwell in this country oscillating between permanence and the ephemeral delight of the dappled light of a tree branch overhead."


As a starting point for the project we will discuss two interesting cases:

Site


Vacant land at 79 Marcoola Esplanade, corner Bauhinia Crescent.
Size: 618 sqm.


Marcoola is a beach town that is likely to see rapid change over the next decade. This is why the built context of the neighbourhood is only of secondary importance.


Brief


The house will be occupied by two 40 year old residents, from Friday to Sunday, as a substantial alternative to the city. There must be sufficient space to accommodate guests.


An architects proposal in scale 1:100 (on CD) is the basis of the design exercise. Each student will need to decide how much to deviate from this given starting point.


Are you going to challenge the formal elements of the architects' design?


The client: Each student is supplied with a catalogue of work of the occupant, the Brazilian graphic designer Cida de Aragon. Brazil 's climate is similar to the particular conditions of sub-tropical Queensland, with the ability to live virtually outdoors. All rooms are to be naturally ventilated.


Elements to be included:

The client wishes a 'floating house, elevated above ground with few columns, in exposed concrete with strong contrasting colours, and a ramp that comes down touching the ground in the garden '. Main access to the house should be from Marcoola Esplanade.


Exemplars


Study the houses by Le Corbusier, Rudolf Schindler, Charles and Ray Eames, Oscar Niemeyer, Lina Bo Bardi, Vilanova Artigas, Luis Barragan, Juan O'Gorman, Paul Rudolph, Adalberto Libera, Robin Boyd, Alvaro Siza, Luigi Snozzi, Tadao Ando, Henry Ciriani, Harry Seidler, David Chipperfield, Morphosis/Tom Mayne, Sverre Fehn, Gabriel Poole, Rem Koolhaas, Shigeru Ban, Glenn Murcutt, Kerry Hill, Sean Godsell, Rick Joy, Lindsay Clare, Rex Addison, Richard Kirk, John Wardle, Neil Denari, Kerstin Thompson and others.


Study these houses:



Working method


The task is to take an existing architectural concept for a Beach House and to challenge/question the proposal/the spaces.


It is common practice to be given an architectural proposition in scale 1:100. The interior designer explores their own design development based on the given scheme.


Develop a spatial strategy: how does the spatial sequence evolve from the entry to the movement/circulation upstairs? The house might be split in an active living and a sleeping/resting area, with a patio in-between. The central ramp provides a visual and functional connection between these two parts. Explore airiness and degrees of openness.


Use the entire site as a potential architectural field. Is there a possibility for a new reading of the common front lawn?


The organizational scheme adopted for the beach house should be clearly articulated and readable from the inside and outside. What is the variety of different site arrangements? The small building should respond to orientation and views to the coastal landscape in a carefully considered manner.


Special focus is given to the development of the work at an early stage and the inclusion of comments in the work from the previous meeting. This Elective asks for large-scale design decisions to engage in the question of architectural vocabulary, to develop an individual language and explore the nature of materials.

We are looking for a poetic proposition and spatial experience that establishes a dialogue with the occupants background/own work and the site. The notion of the garden/landscape formation as a way to approach or as an extension of the house is to be explored. We remain focused on the interior and its relationship to the outside.


Not to build 'lightweight' is a way to challenge the common Sunshine Coast culture.


How do you react within such given framework? How do you express the subtle contradictions between brutality and sensuality, heaviness and lightness, misalignment and superimposition?


Develop your own language with openings, transparency, translucency, opacity.


The architect's proposal for discussion: A two-storey box is pushed up on 4 columns above the dense vegetation along the beach. The house reads as a rectangular simple box hovering above the site. Frameless glazing makes the windows flush with the concrete, more a slit than a scale-revealing element. Cantilevering, to resist gravity.


Building regulations/restrictions


Set-back from Marcoola Esplanade: 6,00 m; along Bauhinia Crescent 4,50m set-back. Distance to neighbour: min. 2,00m. Max. building height 8,50 m. Min. floor height of courtyard: 3,85 m AHD (+ 0,20 m). No use of reflective façade panels (near Sunshine Coast airport)


Brazilian / sub tropical elements to consider

Reading (Some literature is available at the Resource Center)

Requirements


Everybody needs to produce at least one very strong and memorable image. This drawing might reveal the effect of day light in space, the atmosphere and the haptic qualities of the surfaces. Think of the setting like theatrical scenery.


The presentation can be experimental and abstract. Models are part of the conceptualization process.How do you chose to communicate with the client?


The drawings should be large scale 1:50 (all plans, elevations, reflected ceiling plan, at least two sections), some parts in 1:25; it is important to develop a series of exquisite details, at least two details, that express the material quality and language you chose. An interior perspective, this could be a sectional perspective, or an axonometric drawing.


A CD of your proposal in digital format is also required.


Participation


Open for Grad Dip (3rd and 4th Year Interior Design) students enrolled in ADP107 Interior Design 7; and for Architecture students (4th, 5th and 6th Year Architecture) ADB 943/ADB944 (Elective 3 and 4).


This Elective is only open to max. 8-10 dedicated students of Interior Design (Years 3 4) and Architecture (Years 4 6), by interview/ invitation only.


Assessment


All students are to attend and present on project presentation deadline dates. All students are expected to attend all presentations and are encouraged to participate in the verbal feedback to peers.


Experiments


The theme of the Beach House may work as a small-scale laboratory, a site for experimenting with the most intimate aspects of living space. Such houses are typically born out of meetings with the future occupant. But also keep in mind the experiments initiated by the great modern architects of the pre-war period that extended the boundaries. The Beach House could be a complete retreat from the city, as 'low-tech', ánti-vernacular', anti-bungalow'.


Schedule


There will be 9 meetings, some with invited guests:

All on-campus meetings will take place on Monday, 6:00-9:00pm, at F204 or F207 in F-Block, Gardens Point Campus.


For more information on this Elective please contact: Dr. Jill Franz j.franz@qut.edu.au, or Professor Steffen Lehmann s.lehmann@qut.edu.au