D402 Design studio

Project 5: Urban Parasite

An architectural exploration of dwelling and working environments
Frontispiece: Advertisement, Daily Mail issue 18 February 1928, featuring Sunbeam Town

D402 Design Studio

BA (Hons) Architecture

Project 5

2014-15

Introduction
We began the course by questioning the difference between architecture and the mere technical
pursuit of building. This difference is apparent to us all when we consider the phrase "a house is
not a home". What then are the architectural aspects of "home"? Is it possible to design a "home"
for modern life?
Certainly there are many aspects of life such as harmony in the domestic residential unit, financial
stability and economic prospects that do contribute to the idea of a stable "home". The nuclear
family is only one domestic grouping indeed, in modern life there are probably more domestic
groupings than the "ideal" nuclear family. Nevertheless, all notions of "home" recall similar ideals of stability, comfort, privacy and separation from industry, commerce and public entertainment.
The singular most vital issue of a home is the idea of domesticity. Unlike other dwelling spaces,
domestic space is highly personal and deeply oneiric 1. Bachelard would argue that the house is "our
first universe", our recollection of a protected intimacy. The dwelling space differs from the space of
commercial activity, a dwelling space allows for daydreams. Vita activa, or the active life has its
foil: vita contemplativa - the life of the dwelling space. To dwell, is to linger in a space with an idea
of prolonged occupancy.
It is not uncommon to hear that 8 hours of sleep are recommended a day. That is 8 hours out of
24, and by extrapolation, we must spend one third of our lives in a sleeping space of some sort,
typically a "bedroom" in a dwelling. The bedroom is a space of respite from vita activa. The
bedroom is the space of dreams, where consciousness retreats from public life into the most
private of enclaves. It is the one dwelling space where darkness can be desirable.
The dwelling space is also the space of ritual - our most primal human rituals are re-enacted
everyday - the ritual of ablutions and cleansing. The ritual of private renewal and revitalisation is a
particular aspiration for return to the domestic dwelling.
Private life is lived with the concerns of everyday life 2. Public life is lived with the concerns of
Universal life. In the practice of everyday life, we live according to our personal aspirations. The
dwelling space involves areas for cooking, dining, recreation and other aspects of domestic
everyday life. In everyday life, we choose the colour of our bed-linen, and our waking hours. In
Universal life, we share our concerns with our fellow Men. There are many instances in modern life,
where everyday life and universal life have little distance and sometimes come into friction. For
instance, the concerns of interior furnishings made of Brazilian Rosewood or Mahogany, or the use
of Ivory in decoration has the concerns of Universal life. What a house looks like, is an individual
concern, what the house looks like in a street of houses becomes a common concern, and by
extrapolation what the house represents in modern life becomes a universal concern.
The modern dwelling is indeed a bourgeois development. 3 Indeed, the decoration of the interior of a
house is a major concern, as can be seen in the plethora of magazines for both the housebound
and the designer.4 These seek to publish two extremes of an artificial domestic life - that of the
country kitsch and that of the designer chic. Ralph Lauren, Laura Ashley and many others promise
the fabled life of a country squire; whilst the ideal of the designer chic is a shelter that was never a
dwelling5 - Mies van Der Rohe's Barcelona Exhibition Pavilion of 1929.
All of these have some aspect of intimacy and privacy. A house has to be occupied and a dwelling
space lived -in for any idea of domesticity to take root. As architects, we cannot control the
occupancy of a space; our task is to order space so that imagined possibilities can possibly be real.
Part of our challenge then, is the architectural design for a possible home, not just a house. A
space which is inextricably linked with its inhabitant.

1
2
3
4

Bachelard, G

POETICS OF SPACE

de Certeau, M

PRACTICE OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Rybczynski, W

HOME: A SHORT HISTORY OF AN IDEA

For example, House and Garden, Urbis etc.

Heidegger, M
"Building Dwelling thinking", POETRY , LANGUAGE , THOUGHT.
The idea of a house as a dwelling is best argued by Martin Heidegger. It must be noted that he deals with a pastoral situation and not an urban situation.

D402 DESIGN STUDIO

Project 5

Feb/March 2015

D402 Design Studio

BA (Hons) Architecture

Project 5

2014-15

PREAMBLE
This project draws upon all that you have explored to date and adds the consideration of dwelling.
It also requires you to explore notion of mixed use (living and working) together context as a
driving force for your proposals.
There are 3 different project types. Your tutor will have selected one project type for you to
work with.
ARCHITECTURAL CHALLENGE
The architectural challenge is to design a space for your client to live and work.
The 3 different project types are:
1.

A lock keepers cottage. The lock keeper also makes coracles and has a keen interest
in the restoration of old canal boats.
The material you will engage with primarily on this project will be concrete

2.

A house for a mason and stone carver . With a specialist skill in stone detailing, the
mason produces carvings, architectural faade detailing, furniture and a range of other
detailing.
The material you will engage with primarily on this project will be stone

3.

A house for a taxidermist uses the art to produce fashion and jewellery
pieces
- The material you will engage with primarily on this project will be brick

The challenge is to look beyond conventional ideas of space. Our sense of vision and our sense of
motility is often taken granted until we consider it challenged.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand the basics of dwelling spaces

Understand the various approaches to organising a dwelling space
Understand the meaning of context
Skilfully manipulate volumes and forms
Employ structural principles
Explore the appropriate use of materials
Combine various design skills and express them in drawings and a model
Manage a creative design project involving: organising time and priorities, information
gathering, research, creation, reflection, revision, modification, production of drawings and
model

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
You will need to formulate design ideas early on and work with it. You will need to plan time for
drawing and making a model. You will need to plan time for revising the design. You will need time
to plan for your finished drawings. Project and time management is integral to the practice of
architecture. Discuss your plan with your tutor.
PROCEDURE
On receiving your brief, visit the sites with your tutor and appraise the site contexts around all sites
provided within the brief. Take note of the site conditions, cardinal orientation, frontage, access and
surrounding buildings. Discuss the requirements of the project with your tutor during the visit and
your subsequent tutorial sin the studio.
Discuss your design work programme with your tutor and prepare your sketch designs in time for
tutorials.
D402 DESIGN STUDIO
Project 5

Feb/March 2015

D402 Design Studio

BA (Hons) Architecture

Project 5

2014-15

BRIEF
Your client requires:

One bedroom with attached bathroom

One Kitchen/Dining space
One lounging space
One patio/external space
Storage facilities
Workspace/studio

Public areas

Public Enquiry desk/Display/selling space

Entrance/reception
BRIEF & FICITIOUS SCENARIO
Potential Clients
Together with a given site, you will also be given a client from the list below. You will work to develop a
detailed brief based upon information from the site together with a list of requirements derived from the
client and their associated work. The potential work that your client may encounter is listed above.
Possible Sites:
You will be given a site from the following together with an associated material with which to work.
1. Catacombs (Stone)
2. Tunnel, Snow Hill Station (Brick)
3. Newhall Street, Concrete Jungle (Concrete)
Having being prescribed one site and one client, you will draw from the site history and context in order
to develop further details of the brief and propose a space for your client.
FINAL PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS
Minimum submission requirements:
2 X A1 or 4 X A2 drawings showing:

Location Plan

Site Plan with context

Floor Plans of all floors

2 Sections

2 Elevations

Visualisations (a number of interior and exterior 2 renders must be in Cinema

4D)

Exploded Axo showing structural solution (to include material reference brick,
stone or concrete)

Technical section

Model on an appropriate base, at appropriate scale

Atmospheric Video:

Using I-movie or Windows Media Player you will construct a 3 minute video to communicate
the atmosphere of your proposed building. You may use your perspective sketches,
renderings created in Cinema 4D, Vectorworks or any other CAD or digital media you may
have engaged with throughout the project. You may choose to integrate photos, animations,
videos from the site, sketches or whichever form of media you feel represents the
environment of the site and within your building. Discuss with your tutor the material you
wish to include.

D402 DESIGN STUDIO

Project 5

Feb/March 2015

D402 Design Studio

BA (Hons) Architecture

Project 5

2014-15

Please note that number of orthographic drawings always depends on your design and how
best they express your ideas. You are encouraged to use colour in your drawings, scale of
drawings and models are to be discussed with your tutor.
PROJECT SCHEDULE
Tuesday

17

February

Tutorial

Project 5 Introductory Task

Friday

19

February

Tutorial

Site Visit

Tuesday

24

February

Group Task

Group

FRIDAY

27

February

Tutorial

Tutorial

Tuesday

03

March

Group Task

Group

FRIDAY

06

March

Tutorial

Tutorial

Tuesday

10

March

Group Task

Group

Friday

13

March

Tutorial

Tutorial

Tuesday

17

March

Group Task

Group

Friday

20

March

Review

FINAL PIN UP 9:30am

ASSESSMENT
Assessment criteria include the general aims listed in the Course Information as well as the
learning objectives detailed in the Project Description. The grading scale and procedures for
late submissions are also described in the Course Information.
Criteria
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Design excellence - meaning, representation, dwelling, space

Design excellence - Morphology
Structural sense
Creative/Appropriate Material Usage
Drawing & Craft skills
Understanding of Environmental Filter

7.
8.

Understanding of Ergonomics
Critical Engagement With Project's Issues

D402 DESIGN STUDIO

Project 5

Feb/March 2015

D402 Design Studio

BA (Hons) Architecture

Project 5

2014-15

SUGGESTED REFERENCES:
Ascensio Cerver, F
Bachelard, Gaston
De Certeau, M
Doubilet, Susan
Heidegger, Martin
Perec, Georges
Rybczynski, W
Rykwert, J
Zabalbeascoa, Anatxu

Houses of the World

The Poetics of Space
Practice of Everyday Life
American house now : contemporary
architectural design
Poetry, language, thought
Species of Spaces and other pieces
Home: A Short History of an Idea
The Villa from Ancient to Modern
The House of the Architect

There are many books on houses, from coffee table variety to serious studies. Your tutor can
recommend a few; and you should also be independent enough to look up the library stocks yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM15u-0o7u0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmPpX8QG-hE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiGCPOhKjuc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtu5ulXU-Eg

D402 DESIGN STUDIO

Project 5

Feb/March 2015