ANDREW HOCKEY 300337821
Wind W
E
My proposed site sits in the corner of the bay, nestled on a small plateau approximately 27m above the beach. There are steep cliffs behind and in front of the site that provide an element of challenge and excitement.
Jagged rocky cliff faces, rough scoria, and dried-out scrubs and grasses give the site a very harsh and crude atmosphere. The setting is mono-tonal and devoid of any colour besides the sea and sky.
Life
Summary
The site has short scrubby bushes and sharp thorny grasses - no tall trees or lush vegetation. The plateau only seems to be home to insects.
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Te
Kopahau Reserve [site analysis]
harsh, rough, rocky setting inhospitable and unwelcoming barren and lifeless site is on a small plateau, surrounded by steep hills
The Southward-orientated site receives little direct sunlight due to the tall hillside behind it, however the site still receives plenty of daylight with an expansive stretch of sky and ocean to the south.
Conflict The possibility of response to the conflicting elements of my chosen site makes this location special.
Summary
The barren hills and lack of flora suggests that Te Kopahau Reserve is a very windy site - inhospitable and unwelcoming of any comfort-seeking lifeforms.
S
wind rose showing strength and prevalence of wind in the wellington region
[wider site]
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windy, exposed site little direct sunlight minimal noise (besides wind) fresh, but potentially salty air insignificant amount of vegetation and wildlife
Beauty
Access
The site is an example of unrefined, rugged beauty. The juxtaposition of steep, imposing cliffs, and wide expanses of sky and water make the site an awe-inspiring place.
Although the site is flat, it is difficult to access. One must climb up a small rocky trough and tramp up a thin, beaten track to the site.
Users
Texture
Light
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Te Kopahau Reserve bears the brunt of Cook Strait’s worst weather conditions. The reserve is extremely exposed susceptible to Wellington’s worst winds. Although protected from the prevailing Northwesterlies, Te Kopahau is battered with the most severe winds - the strong, cold Southerlies.
Form
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The glamping pod/cabin will provide “the basics” in a elegant and exciting way (beautiful finishes, apertures with deliberate views, a simple kitchenette, an outdoor shower, for example)
the contrast between the rugged land and the silky sky and sea ...extraordinary slopes and gentle plateaus ...the harsh wind and natural opportunities for shelter. ...the inhospitality of the site, and the beauty it offers
An piece of intentional architecture could present interesting solutions / compromises for the above conflicts.
Conclusion + Brief the architecture must... 1. recognise and respect the surrounding landscape, in form and materiality. 2. take advantage of the flat site, but respond to the hills 3. function as an escape from urban life
The views of the architecture while approaching the site will be an important factor to the experience.
The ideal users of this design would be city dwellers, likely in their 5060s, who might enjoy outdoor tramping and are in search of an isolated and beautiful place to relax, in comfort and in solitude.
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4. be a shelter, but only provide the bare necessities 5. reflect the rugged beauty of the surroundings and be a positive addition to the bay.
Inspiration To stimulate design functionally and aesthetically 1. Museum Concept by Jonathan Sousa (fantazie studio) 2. Delta Shelter (Washington state), by Olson Kundig. 3. Eyrie (Kaiwaka, NZ) by Nat Cheshire 4. Boat House (Denmark), by WE
1. Considerations Designing
from a Distance
ONE - Form
TWO - Materiality
Any potential design needs to fit with the lines and shapes of the surrounding landscape. This site has distinct and identifiable lines due to the gradients of the hills.
It is important that the chosen concept includes materials that fit not only with the aesthetic of the surroundings, but the spirit of the landscape (this approach will rule out materials such as plastic, or polished stainless steel etc.).
NATURAL TEXTURES - rough rocks HILL 2
- thorny scrub - thin grasses
HILL 1
- glassy ocean
It would be best to use these angles to dictate the form of the design.
Designing a cabin using the site’s topography and natural features, so as to ensure any design is in balance with its surroundings (especially when seen from afar)
From the entrance to the bay, the design will sit in balance against the landscape
This part of the process needs to satisfy points 1, 2, and 5 of the brief.
3. Synthesis
[Combining each concept with “Crane” as a base]
2. Concepts
Material Palette
Sections show gradients of the two hills are 40° and 45°
1. CRANE
2. CAVE
A shipping container (or similar structure) is suspended from distressed steel beams, angled in response to the gradient of the hill behind.
Vegetation and earth cover the angled and flat portions of the design to disguise it against the hillside. Entry at either end.
3. BUNKER
4. SCREEN
A clean and flat design that seems to overtly protect its occupants from the outside world. Clad in glass and intentionally rusted steel plates.
A simple angled design is shrouded behind a growing wall of vegetation, supported on a wooden grid system.
4. Progression DEVELOPED CONCEPT
MATERIALITY
This has evolved into a two-part idea 1. Four thick, solid, steel arms jut from the ground and align with the hills 2. Hanging from these arms is a far more transient, temporary form, which houses the functional glamping cabin. The cabin closes off to create two distinct spaces, one for night, one for day.
1x2
proposed floor-plan 1x3
1x4 Crane x Screen uses the wooden screen system to inspire the form of a steel structure (drawn from the crane concept), and the result is a solid, brutalist, steel structure supporting a more transient hanging vessel.
plan
INTERIOR To the left is the interior of Nat Cheshire’s ‘Eyrie’. I would like to include a basic inset kitchen like Cheshire has achieved in his design. I love the black-finished plywood and brass splashback.
Rangitahi
ANDREW HOCKEY 300337821
Rangitahi
This design is a response to the Maori concept of Rangitahi - a transient state of being.
Hanging in the balance is new architecture - an augmented box, clad in glass and
Human Experience The elegant, but sparse (and dark) interior directs human focus to the views outside. The surfaces and fit-out are glamorous: the space makes use of charred timber, toneddown brass detailing and finishes, and clean straight lines.
Services
crane]
weathered timber, shielded by the four arms.
Four giant, rusty steel arms protrude from a plateau, echoing the gradients of surrounding hills with a geometric reply. They hark back to the industrial past of the site, old cranes on an abandoned quarry
1. (stative) be ephemeral, transient, short-lived, fleeting, brief, momentary, temporary.
[the
This guest house, or wharepuni (only occupied for few days at a time) balances the permanent steel arms with an ephemeral, temporary quality. Together, the two components comment on the tendencies of time, and relate to their immediate environment with purpose and with respect.
Details + Tectonics
No electricity The box doesn’t have access to electricity. Solar power would be an option, but there isn’t enough direct sunlight to harness
Gas heating Water is heated by gas, which is kept in cylinders beside the kitchenette and replaced when necessary. The gas cooktop is also an effective way of cooking without electricity.
When the box is disconnected, the rusted steel arms can become a large landscape intervention on the plateau, a commentary on scale and effect of the natural environment on steel.
Programme
GAS
The hanging box, although sheltered and comfortable, will still respond to strong gusts of wind, and give the occupants a more authentic experience of the site.
Connections Water I’ve entertained the idea of collecting water from the ocean, as well as collecting rainwater and storing it in the cranes.
Cladding The box is clad in strips of light timber of varying tones, which should weather to neutral grey colours and help the box blend in with the background.
Ocean collection would require a complex pipe system, whereas a rainwater collection system could work more realistically.
As illustrated in the circulation diagram below, the box provides basic amenities (kitchenette, lavatory) but only two positions for rest (bed and sofa), and little else. This modest fit-out is to encourage interaction with and meditation on the site, and be a “detox” from the occupants’ potentially cluttered lives, as well as incentivise exploration of the reserve and the outside world.
90mm strips
The steel arms hold the box up with a steel cable/pinjoint system illustrated above. This allows the box to sway slightly in the wind, and makes detaching the box easy, either for complete removal, or replacement with a box of a different configuration.
Section angle of arms = parallel to hills
Because of the strain the steel arms are put under, there needs to be some sort of underground support system. The solution is for the steel arms to continue into the ground as piles, in order to support the weight of the box they hold.
outdoor shower system
PHYSICAL MODEL
CIRCULATION DIAGRAM
DOOR
potential water collection system in steel arms
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left elevation
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front elevation
plan (cut at 1800mm)
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