STAGGERED LEVEL
INTRODUCTION In relation to the idea of converging solitude and togetherness into a house of hundred people, an archetype was developed based on three precedent studies prior to its site application. Through finding a way to put flexibility and compactness together, the archetype design was framed within a simple geometrical form so that it can be further applied to different locations with additional adjustments. This booklet contains works of three different individuals. After the archetype development, it was applied in three different sites in London and was further developed into three different individual works of architecture. It was about creating an ideal design in relation to the topic of solitude and togetherness and exploring the process of site adaptation afterwards. The content starts with descriptions about the archetype and further leads to the three site applications with captions and drawings.
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The archetype design was about finding a way to put flexibility and compactness together. We have achieved this archetype through the boldness of its materiality and patterns both in the grid system and the waffle slabs, and through the openness of the central space and the terraces that are connected by a flow of movement that does not disturb the overall design essence. It was a base design framed within a perfect geometrical form that could be further applied in different locations through different strategies accordingly.
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Walker Guest House
Terrassenhaus Berlin
Lammas Eco Village
Through the precedent studies, the identity of our archetype has been developed, as creating a sense of community through structural organization that is enclosed within a rigid frame.
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The overall design of archetype is laid within a 3 by 3 meters grid system with concrete columns and waffle slabs. Waffle slab was chosen to enhance the identity of the design not only structurally but also visually, which creates a sense of rigidness and density on every corner of the building.
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The structural element transmits the identity even on the exterior. It becomes the façade itself, expressing the boldness and rigidness all throughout the design.
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Behind this structural definition, the inside creates a twist, revealing flexibility hidden inside the bold design essence.
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The central space, which acts like a living room of a house, are not aligned with the outer platforms. This organization creates double-floor heights on the top and bottom and an overlooking condition.
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This condition creates the sense of community and togetherness in between the thin hallway and the central space throughout all the floors. People would automatically grab the central space visually when they come out of their individual rooms.
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While the shifted floors create a sense of togetherness visually, it also creates a sense of distance since they are not aligned with each other. The openings to the sky in-between them even further enhance the sense of distance between the 2 spaces.
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What act as threshold, not visually but physically in-between them, are the staircases with concrete handrails.
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It acts as a link between the compactness and openness, while transmitting the boldness of the design with concrete handrails. The staircases rotate 90 degrees on every floor, creating a smooth flow of movement within the openness of the center.
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Each floor has a wide opening towards outside. Along with the interior staircases, this open terrace rotates as well.
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Due to the rotating terraces, the design gains this continuous stepped form that connects the roof all the way down from the bottom, creating a fluidity within the bold grid system. While rotating, the terraces are oriented to directly face the staircases, so that when a person enters the central gathering space, the daylight would provide a sense of welcoming.
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22 ㅣ ARCHETYPE
While connecting the terraces, this staircase creates a twist within the rigid square grid system through its unusual orientation. This becomes a highlight in the open terrace as it hints the fluidity within the identity of boldness.
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On the ground level, the interior staircase further extends towards the main entrance to hint the double floor height condition in the middle. While the ground floor is large and flexible enough to have an open dinner with the neighbors, the large staircase brings in the identity of boldness as a highlight of the space.
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As a small detail of the floor plan, the doors of the individual rooms are curved out at 45 degrees so that the corner kitchen can have an efficient opening towards the center without breaking the overall rhythm of the structure.
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28 ㅣ CABLE STREET
What is type? Archetype? It can most simply be defined as a concept which describes a group of objects characterized by the same formal structure. It is neither a spatial diagram nor average of a serial list. It is also a fundamentally based on possibility of group object by certain inherent structural similarities. The design process is a way of bringing the elements of a typology the idea of a formal structure into the precise state that characterizes the single work Cable street was to explore the possible conditions that the archetype as an identity could have potential to varied and adjustments to a new site to rethink about nature and city.
“Engaging with what is in front of us. The Flexibility to discard fixed ideas, and accept what is there, for what it is.” On Freeing Architecture Junya Ishigami CHU HAN TARN ㅣ 29
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Collective OR Loneliness Collective OR OR Loneliness Collective Loneliness
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Opened space from ground floor to the roof. Demonstrating how collective lifestyle and activity may have dominate the opened area.
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COLOPHON The context and design methodology of the book is based on assignments in Syracuse Architecture's London Design Studio program in 2021. We took the design elements from previous studies of precedents and then tried to develop a unique archetype to get a co-living group home for 100 people. The resulting archetype was embedded in three different sites in London (Cable street) to explore the interesting variations of the same archetype in different sites.