Housing Typology Study ARC 3020 CPP ARC SPRING 2019 Austin Richards Luciana Rahde Jean Olmsted
Case Studies: Baker House - Alvar Aalto Landfair Apartments - Richard Neutra Kanchanjunga Tower - Charles Correa Formosa 1140 - Lorcan O’Herlihy (LOHA)
Baker House - Alvar Aalto Slab Typology
Baker House Architect Alvar Aalto Project Year: 1946 Project Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Cost: MIT Senior Dormitory - $180/year in 1947 Typology: Slab Project Density: 120 dwellings per acre Number of units: 260 Number of unit types: 22 Private outdoor space per dwelling unit: N/A Parking spaces per dwelling: N/A
Plan 1/24’’ = 1’
Elevation 1/24’’ = 1’
Concept/Massing Diagram
service circulation living
Site Plan
Pedestrian and Automobile Relationships nearest parking lot pedestrian access
Circulation and Emergency Exits
Exits
Public vs. Private
public private
Scale Relationship
Materials
masonry concrete
Structural Systems
load bearing walls columns
Unit Organization
Sun Orientation
south facing
Ventilation
east facing
west facing
Livability The Baker House is a MIT dormitory building, built between 1946-1949 and designed by Alvar Aalto. Although the building typology is slab housing, where the building has little width compared to length, Aalto took a different approach by adding curves to the form. The curved aspect maximizes sunlight in the dorm, avoiding north facing rooms. The arrangement of the rooms with oblique angles also avoids direct views of the large avenue where the dorm is located and maximizes the view of the Charles River. Aalto used bricks with different firing times to give texture to the faรงade as well as fitting with the context of the surrounding buildings. Aalto designed 22 different unit types, which allows students to have more options when choosing where to live. The furniture inside the rooms was also custom designed to each individual room. The access to dwellings is given by two large staircases located in the center of the project and two secondary staircases in the perimeter of the building, the hallways single loaded throughout most of the project. The northern part of the project is used almost exclusively for service rooms. The dining pavilion is located on the ground level and serves as a public room where students have social events.
Landfair - Richard Neutra Row Typology
Landfair Apartments Architect: Richard Neutra Project Year: 1937 Project Location: Los Angeles, United States Typology: Row Housing Density: 26 dwellings per acre Number of Units: 7 Number of Unit Types: 2 ??? sqft private outdoor space per unit Parking spaces per dwelling unit: 1.15 Total parking spaces: 8
15
Site Plan at 1/16” = 1’ 0 2 4 8
Unit 1 Plan at 1/8” = 1’ 0 1 2 4
Unit 2 Plan at 1/16” = 1’ 0 2 4 8
Materials Glass Concrete
Concept Row Housing Typology, Parallel Shifting Units
Circulation and Safety Exits
4-car garage
automobile access pedestrian access
Ventilation and Daylighting
west facing windows south facing windows east facing windows north facing windows
load bearing walls
public private
Livability The Landfair Apartments promotes an image of a new modernist lifestyle, and features a elevated style and way of living that was ahead of its time. With the extensive use of glass windows, it is easy to see inwards and thus gauge the personalities of each of the units’ owners, leading to a degree of personalization mostly confined to the realm near the glass facade. The access is provided by footpaths, which emulate the suburban entrance, separating the street from the entrance of the units. Private and common open spaces aredelineated through the footpaths, with a varying degree of privacy depending on which side of the footpath it lies on. Because the spaces flow into one another and follows an open plan, unique spaces can be created according to the specific needs of its occupants. The use of light to open up the space also allows for flexibility on the arrangement of living spaces and furniture. Typologically, it fits into the neighborhood context of Westwood of Los Angeles. The apartments simultaneously integrates the new wave of modernist sensibilities, as well as an appreciation for the American lifestyle and the California climate. -
Kanchanjunga Tower Tower Typology
Kanchanjunga Apartments Architect: Charles Correa Project Year: 1983 Project Location: Mumbai, India Cost: High-income Family Housing Typology: Tower Density: 10.6 dwelling units per acre Number of Units: 32 Number of Unit Types: 4 430 sqft private outdoor space per unit 1.6 Parking spaces per dwelling unit (50 parking spaces total)
Architect: Charles Correa Project Year: 1983 Project Location: Mumbai, India Cost: High-income Family Housing Typology: Tower Density: 10.6 dwelling units per acre Number of Units: 32 Number of Unit Types: 4 430 sqft private outdoor space per unit 1.6 Parking spaces per dwelling unit (50 parking spaces total) Height: 83.8 m / 275 ft Floors Above Ground: 27 Tower GFA: 12,000 m² / 129,167 ft²
ELEVATIONS 1/1250
FLOOR PLAN 1/1250
FLOOR PLAN 1/500
SECTION 1/500
unit type.
site plan.
unit analysis.
Parking Main Entrance Landscape
circulation. Apt.1
Apt.2
Private Communal Open Spaces
A B C D
Kitchen Living Study Bedroom Bathroom Outdoor Space
structural systems.
pedestrians and automobiles.
Automobile Pedestrian
egress. materials.
[concrete]
light and ventilation.
Bedroom Study Living West
East
concept.
site context.
Bedroom Study Living West
East
scalar/typological context.
arabian sea
street and urban context.
Livability Kanchanjunga Apartments differs from the typical Western Typologies through its innovative use of sectional displacement and integrationg of the traditional Indian verandas. Where many Western housing separates space by function and characteristic, the spaces in the Kanchanjunga Apartments are open-plan and are only diffrentiated through the difference in its levels. This allows for a high level of phenomenal transparency within the apartment, while still providing the privacy for each unit through its height and the recessedwindows behind the verandas. The differently-sized windows allow for a degree of personalization that is not common in most tower-type housing. Personalization comes from maintaining one’s own terrace with an assortment of plants. Access to dwellings is centralized with 4 elevators and a set of staircase, making circulation as efficient as possible. Private and Common space within each floor is set by the boundaries of the structural and circulation core. The spaces that branch out from the core all result in an effective private space. Because the spaces are open in plan, it allows for a high degree of personalization and adaptibility for each family’s unique needs. It also situates itself naturally within the denseurban context, where many other housing projects are towers as well.
Formosa - Lorcan O’Herlihy Block-Infill Typology
Formosa 1140 Architect: Lorcan O’Herlihy Date: Started in 2008, completed in 2010 Location: West Hollywood, CA, USA Program: 11-Unit Multi-Family Housing and a 4,600 SF Public Park Size: 28,000 SF, Cost: $240 per SF Typology: Block/Infill Project Density: Dwelling Units per Acre, 11 units/0.3 acres = 36.67 Units: 11, Unit Types: 3 Private Outdoor Space per Dwelling Unit: 4,600 SF Public Park and ~1000SF of Private Rooftop Gardens Parking Spaces per Dwelling Unit: 2.2 spaces per unit
Plans at 1/4” = 1’ 0 2 10 20
Typical Upper Floor Unit
Elevation at 1/4” = 1’
Typical Upper Floor Unit Public Park
Subterranean Parking
Section at 1/8” = 1’ 01 5 10
Traditional Courtyard Housing Typology Introverted Open Space
Courtyard Pushed Outside Housing Block
Modified Courtyard Housing Typology Extroverted Open Space
WEHO Vision:
Modified Courtyard Housing Block Infill Contiguous Open Spaces
11 Units, 3 Types 1 Small Street Facing allows for circulation
5 Lower 2-Story vary in orientation
5 Upper Lofts maximize views+light
Private Public
Typical Upper Floor Unit
Natural Ventilation Typical Upper Floor Unit
Typical Upper Floor Unit Public Park
Typical Upper Floor Unit Public Park
Private Subterranean Parking
Subterranean Parking
Human Circulation and Egress Vehicular Circulation
Park-facing Elevation
Materials Diagram
Structural Diagram
Light Red Solid Metal Paneling
Load-Bearing Walls
Dark Red Solid Metal Paneling
Wide Flanges
Perforated Red Metal Paneling Black Metal Paneling Enclosure
Livability Formosa sets itself apart from the typical West Hollywood Housing Block through its’ inversion of the traditional courtyard housing typology into a modified courtyard typology where the courtyard is extroverted and outdoors. Lorcan O’Herlihy envisions the future of West Hollywood and LA housing as a series of contiguous blocks and public parks. At the time of conception, only 1% of the total land area in West Hollywood was dedicated to parks. This need is reflected in the extroverted courtyard concept of the project. Formosa became an icon by fulfilling this need through its public park as well as through its bright red paneling system. It stands in stark contrast to the beige and pastel colored apartments and dingbats that surround it. Interiors of each unit were designed by LOHA as well, although residents are free to re-design and personalize their units to their taste after purchasing. Access to the units is simple, with subterranean parking to elevator/stairs that lead to units as well as direct street entrance to ground level units and elevator/stairs that lead to the upper units. Formosa is an experimental block-infill housing project that addresses West Hollywood’s need for public parts and begins a movement of transformation in the region.
Comparison Baker House is a slab typology with a single-loaded corridor to maximize unit density. With the unique form, there are 22 different unit types which makes the replicability less than desireable. This form, however, maximizes views and light for each unit and provides a unique living experience for each unit type. Landfair Apartments is an expression of the modernist ideology and row typology. Neutra took care to make sure light in each room is fulfilling through the modernist use of glass, also creating a significant degree of transparency in the project. There are two unit types, with 6 being identical and 2 twins which is extremely efficient. The apartments anticipated the growth of the area, and the future context ended up revolving around it. Kanchanjunga Apartments is a tower in the rapidly densifying context of 1980s Mumbai. It mediates needs for climate control and the creation of a luxury lifestyle by using the traditional verandas typology and using variated level shifts to indicate spatial zones for open plan living, setting itself apart from contemporary European examples. Lorcan O’Herlihy’s Formosa 1140 is an attempt at solving two of West Hollywood’s critical issues, housing and public park space. The traditional courtyard typology is inverted or “extraverted” and taken outside where it’s transformed into a public park. It also adresses context in its’ bright red paneling system through which the building appears friendly to the street and inviting to the park. This is contrasted with the black paneling system that covers the private areas and enclosure parts of the project. After Formosa, there have been many more public parks added to the city of West Hollywood, signifying the impact of the project.
Conclusion These typological studies give insight to how we as architects can create different housing types to respond to the varying needs of the residents, urban context, and site conditions. Not one typology is “better� than the other. Each typology has its own advantages and disadvantages, although some types would provide better solutions to specific conditions. As architects, our responsibility is to recognize and utlilize these different typologies so that they may respond to the specific parameters of the projects at hand. The varying densities that each of the different projects face help determine the unique aspects of these projects. These unique characteristics show that no matter how dense you program has to be, there is always an opportunity for creative solutions and innovation.