For this week’s design I have followed up on including feedback from critique of the previous week into the design/ animation shown. “A house isn’t just a stand alone structure, it needs furniture” said during the critique, from that I began to include the life and elements that you live with, within it. The shape was inspired by the effects and presentation brought by Mediterranean structures.

The South Face  and North Face  are a bit off with some windows; one of the windows would go on the first floor in the bathroom wall, maybe a 2′ x 1′ window not sure about it. On the North face it is not complete fully yet, there are needs of windows on the north curve wall first and second floors. During the critique there was a small debate on on the size of the top floor porch and removal and/or additional porch space to the bedrooms. The East and West facing walls are in need of more windows as well.

 

FEEDBACK DESIGN

This design was also thought out and influenced by another comment from the critique which was “use curves” and to try and find my style of design. After gathering up ideas for the design and continuing in SketchUp, it was often that the schematics or the design of an area would change because I didn’t have all the climatic conditions and the region of the the US that it was located in. I decided that it would be on the coastal region of California because I was browsing Mediterranean architecture which helped influence the design. Using the “Heating, Cooling, Lighting Sustainable Design Methods for Architects” textbook as a resource for the climate of California’s coast.

 

Living Room Area:

Not the final decision for the layout because there were other ideas available but I couldn’t decide which one to go with so I went with a basic, plain and simple layout.

Kitchen:

The primary idea for the kitchen was for it to be round with a centered round island, but I assumed that it would make the home to round and I was running behind on schedule with other parts of the project.

Bathroom- Laundry Section:

I’m aware that the space for the laundry is a bit too small, that’s because it was a late and forgotten installment while I was at the end of the design. The bathroom on the First floor can use another window not to big, and the existing one now is a frosted window (window coating to prevent you from seeing out or others from seeing in. These windows give the room light without allowing neighbors to see into your personal space.) Another idea for windows around the home was to use glass block windows (Windows that distort the image of whatever is on the other side. In addition, they’re easy to clean and maintain.)

 First Floor 1230. 5785 square feet

Second Floor 1741.0231 square feet

Climate Region 17–

The semiarid climate is very mild because of the almost constant cool winds from the ocean. Although these onshore winds bring high humidity, comfort is maintained because of the low temperatures. Occasionally when the wind reverses, hot desert air enters the region. Because this air is dry, comfort is still maintained. There is a sharp increase in temperature and a decrease in humidity as one leaves the coast. Winter temperatures are very moderate and little heating is required. The rain falls mainly in the winter, since there is almost no rain during the summer few plants can grow year round without irrigation. Since sunshine is plentiful all year, solar heating, especially for hot waters very advantageous.

§  Climate Priorities

1.      Open the building to the outdoors since temperatures are comfortable most of the year

2.      Protect from the summer sun

3.      Let the winter sun in

4.      Use natural ventilation for summer cooling

5.      Use thermal mass to reduce day-tonight- temperature swings in the summer

One of the design’s main elements I wanted to include was a natural air ventilation for the summer by including many windows and having the south face of the structure face towards the ocean. In the atmosphere since air movement is influenced by large bodies of water the plan is to use the ocean as an advantage to generate a natural ventilation effect from the ocean breezes. Another element was to make sure that the air flow in the home was smooth and had no interference in its path  transitioning through the floors of the home  and the kitchen. Another main thing was the protection from the sun while enjoying the weather outside with the family.