Assignment
For this project you will need to design a house for
Santiago Calatrava and his wife and daughter. It will need to include in its
design themes from his previous work, especially his thesis subject on “The
foldability of Space Frames.” The spatial and room requirements are listed
below.
Spatial Requirements
- · Master Bedroom
- · Ensuite
- · Bedroom
- · Guest Room
- · Bathroom
- · Kitchen
- · Dining Room
- · Living Room
- · Workshop
- · Office
Master Bedroom –
This will just need to be a basic master bedroom, nothing of
particular interest about it as it will just need to be a place to sleep.
Possibly with some space to display Calatrava’s artwork.
Ensuite –
The ensuite will connect on to the master bedroom. As with
the master bedroom there is no necessity for any particular design.
Bedroom –
This will be for Calatrava’s daughter. There is no real need
for design in this space either.
Note – By saying
there is no need for design, it is meant that there is no need for a particular
design for the room, but they should still follow the design principles applied
to the rest of the house as a whole.
Note – All bedrooms
should be relatively large, ie. enough space for bookcases, bed, wardrobe,
desk, possible seating as well.
Guest Room – This room also needs no particular design
principles, but should have enough space to house a guest, with sleeping,
working and lounging space, much like a hotel room.
Bathroom – No design needed.
These above spatial areas are the private areas of the
house. Below are the public and semi-public areas (in the case of the workshop
and office) and the public areas will have a central design principle. The main
principle will be that of an “Apple Box”. All the areas will be housed within a
central box and can be open and closed to the area when needed. When they are
put away it can make space for more people (if needed for entertainment
purposes) or for other things, such as display space for a piece of art.
Office – Intended for use by Clatrava’s wife. No design needed.
It will need to be fairly large as his wife is Calatrava’s business manager for
all his offices around the world, so a large amount of documentation and other
things will need to be stored there. Should have a second desk in it for use by
visiting business partners. As stated above, this will not form part of the
central “Apple Box”.
Kitchen – No need for an overly large kitchen. It is a small
family, but should have capacity for entertaining a large number of guests (50
max for large parties).
Dining Room – Space for large dinner parties (12 people).
Living Room – Very large and spacious. The main living area
(couches and TV) should not be part of the “Apple Box” but across a space from
it, so that the other areas can fold out into the space with the main area
always available.
Workshop – This will need to be a large space, with enough room
for person-sized sculptors and other sculptors and paintings as well. As stated
above, it will not form the central “Apple Box”.
The Apple Box
The apple box is a design principle that is based on an apple
box used in film making. It is known as one of the most useful pieces of
equipment on a set, as it is used for anything that needs to propped up or
supported temporarily, such as furniture or light stands, it is used for
levelling camera dolly tracks or for temporary seats, workbenches or
stepladders.
This can be used in a house as box being the central form,
which supports the rooms around it. The best example for this is a youtube
video posted about a tiny apartment which utilises its limited space through an
“apple box”.
Another example of an “apple box”:
Main Architecture
The main architectural theme will follow Calatrava’s work.
The main theme I am after is his skeletal
framework, which is based on the
human skeleton. For example, the Peace Bridge in Calgary, Canada:
And the design for the new PATH Terminal for the World Trade
Centre subway station
