Isaac Seah ARC361Y1 Portfolio
Isaac Seah ARC361Y1 Portfolio Instructor: Julian Ocampo
This portfolio is a culmination of my efforts to explore a small subset of the design gestures presented by the Villa Stein. Despite its plain facade, the Villa Stein contains various design intricacies which can be observed from the way its program was laid out, its circulation, and the way in which each space was thoughfully differentiated and allocated through mathmatical rigour. Layered on top of geometrical logic was a purposeful and careful allocation of spaces by reimagining the journey through the house. Upon uncovering the various differentiating elements within the house, I honed in on the ideas of separation and differentiation, while encapsulating various secondary elements. Examples of these include the extraction of ‘corbusian curves’ from the villa stein as a basis for geometrical form, placing items based on an expandable grid and providing clarity about the function on different spaces. Referencing what I observed in the Villa Stein, I too, sought to create a space that embraced the ideas of differentiation and separation through massing, circulation, program and geometrical manipulation. On the theme of differentiation, the sparce application of curves as a means of differentiation between spaces in the Villa Stein stood out amongst its other features. This observation would form the basis of my design where spaces were differentiatied based on the geometries observed within them. Additionally, the ‘transitional spaces’ that bridged spaces that were curved and orthogonal in Villa Stein would be reinterpreted as ‘interstitial spaces’ in my final design, taking shape as a roof garden. In some ways, this space is shared by the occupants of the house and the rest of the neighbourhood. With further analysis, I encountered themes regarding balance, structure and the programming of a residential unit. Additionally, exposure to other precedents also provided me with some ideas which could then be layered on top of the features that were extracted from the Villa Stein, emphasizing certain aspects to a greater extent. An example would be the Maison Bordeaux by Rem Koolhaas, where thoughts about “weightless” architecture could further reinforce the ideas regarding seperation, distinction and observing imprints of one solid mass on another. This manifests in the form of the roof garden in my final design, where the garden boundary is marked out by the mass that floats above it, hence containing an imprint form a ‘disconnected’ mass. The themes explored in this project would likely resurface in future design explorations but perhaps with a layer of refinement that is befitting to the various fabrication possibilities of the technological age.
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grid
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Villa Stein Precedent Study
Villa Stein de Monzie, built in the 1920s, is an integral piece of work by Le Corbusier in his illustrious career. The villa is a four-storey building whose form is a deceivingly simple rectilinear volume. However, the features of the villa: its program, façade and siting have all been carefully refined and positioned through the application of various mathematical ratios. Consequently, this provides a certain degree of order, hierarchy of space and a loose guiding principle for Le Corbusier. As with many of Le Corbusier’s work, the villa is a product of his signature manifesto, the Five Points of Architecture. First up, we have Pilotis, where reinforced concrete columns bear the structural load of the building in place of structural walls. From the plan, we observe that a clear grid, akin to that of the Palladio, has been laid down, with load bearing columns evenly distributed throughout the floorplan. The employment of reinforced concrete columns allow for flexible programming of the various floor plans since walls were no longer restrained by those residing above or below them. Thus, a curated user experience is defined by the architect, applying a touch of grandeur in the way the occupants circulate through the building from the entrance to the roof or to the garden behind. Since the structural load of the building mostly resided upon the erected reinforced concrete columns, the façade was no longer load bearing and was free to be designed accordingly. This results in a void in the villa’s elevation when viewed from the back. Finally, the inclusion of strip windows and a small roof garden at the top satisfied Le Corbusier’s other 2 point in the manifesto, allowing from substantial amount of light to enter the building and encouraging a healthy lifestyle at home. In terms of mathematical logic, we observe that the division of program and positioning of the structural columns can be identified to be in a A-B-A-B-A pace, as can be observed from the façade of the villa. Although the building appears to be a product of logic and reasoning, the villa contradicts its own rules with the presence of curved walls throughout the levels. This harkens back to Le Corbusier’s appreciation of purist and cubist paintings and how the role of ornamentation can still be found in such a logically driven piece of architecture. The Villa represents a good balance of ornamentation and function.
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Section A
Section B
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Elevation 1
Elevation 2
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The composition of servant spaces in Villa Stein
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Plan A
North Elevation 1:200
Garden
Dining Hall
Living Room
Terrace
Kitchen Library
Plan A 1:200
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To further emphasise the relationship between the served and servant spaces, the house is broken d connection betweeen the kitchen and dining room. Voids are left within the original building, bu
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down into 2 separate buildings, connected by a single bridge across the second level, extending the ut we also observe that it’s possible to make an entire building by simply using the servant spaces.
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The clear usage of proportions and the division of spaces for specific users in this project indicates the development and expression of the Modulor, a scale of proportions devised by Le Corbusier. In relation to human interaction, the bridge mimics the reaching out of motion of the servant, while the geometry adheres to the a series of rythmic A-B-A-B-A scale of proportions.
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Abstraction of Villa Stein Precedent Study
In the first phase of the project, Villa Stein was observed to provide 2 distinct spatial experiences for its occupants - the owners and the servants of the house. Through separation of the spaces occupied by the owners and the servants, we observed a sufficiently large quantity of space being designed for different purposes encouraging the project to move forward and explore the different forms of differentiation that was implemented to promote such distinction. Leading up to the creation of an abstracted representation of design gestures implemented in the design of Villa Stein, 3 physical models were produced to study the separation of building mass, the planar qualities of interior spaces as well as the circulation routes of the different occupants. From a basic analysis, the abstract model is a series of cursive panels, supported by their thin base as well as an orthorgonal support that touches each of the panels at a single point. In one instance, the cubic support bypasses a cursive panel, not touching it, in order to avoid breaking the logic behind the model. Through a series of sculptural gestures, the seemingly whimsical abstract model pays homage to some of the outstanding design qualities of the Villa Stein.
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Across the different models, the Wooden circulation model provided a strong logical point of origin, where the project can explore more of how much the space was being experienced by the owners of the house. In the creation of the abstract model, the owners’ experience is placed as priority and thus, the curved surfaces should hold a greater visual empahsis.
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Through a series of plan overlays, the project eventually found traction in producing a consistent geometrical trajectory that was mostly curved, adhereing to the cursive metal study model, signifying a luxurious spatial experience enjoyed by the owners of the house. Upon generation of the curved geometries, the project sought to find more emphasis on the spatial qualities of the service components while expressing the utilitarian function of serviced spaces. 19
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24 Macpherson Ave. Site Analysis
24 Macpherson is a unique site that is nestled in the vicinity of Casa Loma. Its most prominent features can be observed from its proximity to the railway and the neighbourhood that surrounds it. Upon analysis, we observe that the railway that runs through the neighbourhood almost appears to act like a physical boundary that splits the city into two, an interstital boundary symbolises the impacts of urban design, the partitioning of spaces and a generalized approach to design. Taking cues from earlier explorations about the separation of spaces and distinguishing spaces using different elements, I observed that 24 Macpherson almost resides in the epicenter of 2 polarizing aspects of the city. The areas south of the railway is a bustling city, charcterized by tall skyscrapers, busy roads and large pedestrian groups. The areas north of the railway is a quiet neighbourhood littered with the presence of large utility facilities, dog walkers, Casa loma and lush greenery. This observation sparked of a curiosity, leading me to create a taxonomy of the different compositon of building typologies on the south and north side of the railway. A careful sampling revealed that a simple railway lead to almost 3 times the amount of commercial buildings to be available, south of the Train track. Additionally, as suspected, the amount of high desnity buildings were much more prominent South side of the railway. Gradually, I would seek to encapsulate these diverging characteristics of the urban fabric into an abstract model that re-created the interstitial space, emblematic of the role of the railway, and two masses, emblematic of the 2 parts of the city. The abstract model would subsequently go through additional refinement using ideas of proportions and geometries retrieved from the villa stein.
North of Train Track Residential
South of Train Track Residential
Commercial
Institutional
Commercial
Institutional
Axonometric Site Diagram
Few People
Low density of cars
High Density of Trees
Lower Buildings
Div
North of Site
Concept Diagram 1 - Difference
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vider
Site Plan 1:500
High density tall buildings
Low density of trees
High density of vehicles and train.
South of Site
e between the 2 sides of the rail corridor.
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High density of people.
Concept Diagram 2 - Threading through the city 28
Concept Diagram 3 - Fitting, separation and proportions. 29
Separation House Fitting Curves
This house is intended for a handicapped engineer and a socialite who enjoys urban gardening. The dynamic between the duo is one of good friends. The house is clearly separated into various layers, with the ground floor as a grand area to cater to guests, the roof deck as a means of gaining a good vantage point of the surrounding area and the top most layer as the most private enclave of the occupants. The first two floors of the house are mostly open, allowing a free programming of the space but also to ensure the area is spacious and comfortable enough for the wheelchair engineer to move around freely. The building acts like a little portal where indivuals are teleported into a new environment, the very moment they walk through the vestibule of the house. To their right they observe an amazing private garden, and just straight ahead, they observe a lovely internal courtyard where sunlight penetrates the glass. The geometrical logic of this building holds a great priority in the allocation of space within the floor plan. Taking primitive corbusian curves from the villa stein, building masses were gradually massaged to form geometrical forms that appear to leave imprints on each floor. On the lower level, service spaces like the kitchen and toilet have been shifted to the peripherals of the space, on the top most level, spaces have been divided by cursive lines to embrace the corbusian curves, enhancing the playful lights that reflect of the cursive glass surface at different times of the day. Across the three layers of the building, most importantly is the influence of the geometry of the layers on each level. By opening and closing selected voids, a geometry is created such that you can clearly see the relationship between the spaces. This goes back to the very point of Villa Stein, where separation and the distinction of spaces can be observed through program, geometry and spatial experience.
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Site Plan
Site Plan 33
Guest Space
Owner Space Drawing inspiration from Villa Stein 34
Service Space
Massing The masses and their footprints on each other 35
Programming Free plan, program defined by current users, most private corner at the top 36
Circulation The Socialite and the Engineer 37
The program for the first and second levels are largely defined by the activity of the people who are occupying the space at anytime. When a party is taking place, the spacious ground floor embraces the crowd but when the space is empty, the internal courtyards provide serene spaces for reflection.
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Ground level 1. Living Room - Gathering Space
4. Washroom
2. Internal Courtyard
5. Storage
3. Kitchen
6. Garden
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1.
2.
+2 Level
1. Hardwood 2. Urban Garden
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Section B - B’
Section A - A’
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2. 1. Section C - C’
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Bedroom (Socialite)
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Movie Room
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Collaboration Zone
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Study (Engineer)
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Bedroom (Engineer)
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+3 Level
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Section A - A’
Section B - B’
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Section C - C’ 44
Street Elevation 45
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fin.
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