Megha Menon Architecture University Design Portfolio (M Arch Riba Part II, MA Urbanism) E: megha.11.menon@gmail.com / M: +919995004510
Contents 01
Project 1 - Palm Edge Hotel & Strip, 2016 Introduction
Design
03 04
19 20 21 22 26 27 28
Introduction to City Morocco & Marrakesh
Marrakesh 05 06
City Analysis Urbanisation
Site 07 08 09 10
Site Analysis Site Plan Site Characteristics Site Concept
Scheme 11 12 13 14
Program Spatial collage Design Process Earth Mound Layout
Roofscape 15 16 17
Three prototypical roof conditions City block roof axonometric Section showing roofscape
Site Plan Rammed Earth & Water reuse Basement & Ground Floor Plan Sections Axonometric Technical Detail Views
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Project 2 - Precedent Study
49
Project 3 - Urban Sustainability Village
Plans
Visuals
Introduction
35 36
48
51 52
Ground Floor Plan First, Second, Third & Attic Floor Plan
Interior View
Introduction to Chichester City Analysis
Sections
Process
37 38
53 54
Long Section Short Section
Design Development Concept
Elevations
Plans
39 40
55 56
Front Elevation Rear Elevation
Ground Floor & First Floor Plan Second Floor & Third Floor Plan
Technical Detail
Sections
41 42
57 58
Detail Section 1:50 Detail 1:20
Long Section 1 Long Section 2
Analysis
Elevations
43 44
59 60
Zoning Sectional Perspective
North Elevation East Elevation
Design Strategy
Visuals
45 46
61 62
Structural Thermal
Exterior View Exterior View
63 64
Interior View Bird’s eye View
Palm Edge Hotel & Strip, Marrakech, 2016 The theme of this year and project was Earth City. As the Medina or old part of Marrakech is made of rammed earth, the brief called for responding to existing conditions with a diverse range of possible materials, structures and forms. A rich heritage, urban transformations, rapid growth, degradation of resources and social inequalities pose challenges to the area but also pose opportunities for the future. The aim was to explore diverse spatial practices to develop a responsive and imaginative proposal, in which public space and buildings can be part of a synergetic urban life. My research area was the Palmeraie, a palm grove in the north of Marrakesh. Urban expansion into arable land and the Palmeraie demands for this area and its residents to be replenished and vitalized as they are presently being misused and neglected. My scheme comprises of a tourist Hotel along with an adjacent Tourist Centre and cafĂŠ, all integrated into a strip of earth mounds that offers varying functions and opportunities. The scheme would be run by park rangers from the local community, bringing in money and employment as well tourists thereby regenerating it. Waste water from the scheme would be used to irrigate the palm land behind it.
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Introduction to City
Marrakesh known as “The City of Four Colors” Upon arriving in Marrakech, it is quickly evident how the city is true to its reputation of being ‘a city of four colors’ - red for its buildings found in the Medina, green for the sprawling green palms on its outskirts, white for its Atlas Mountains and blue for its sunny skies. To me, the vibrance of the red and green stood out the most as Marrakesh’s characteristic colors.
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The city of Marrakesh is the fourth largest city, located in Western Morocco. It is the capital city of the mid-southwestern region of Marrakesh-Safi, located to the north of the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. The region has been inhabited by Berber farmers since Neolithic times, but the actual city was founded in 1062. The red walls of the city, built by Ali ibn Yusuf in 1122–1123, and various buildings constructed in red sandstone during this period, have given the city the nickname of the “Red City” or “Ochre City”.
Tourism is strongly advocated by the reigning Moroccan monarch, Mohammed VI, with the goal of doubling the number of tourists visiting Morocco to 20 million by 2020. The city centre ‘Medina’ of Marrakesh contains the largest ‘souk’ (traditional market) in Morocco, selling everything from Berber carpets to electronics. Crafts employ a significant percentage of the population, who primarily sell their products to tourists.
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City Analysis
River Tensift City Center Urban Green Golf Clubs Palmeraie Main Road Secondary Road Tertiary Road
UNESCO protection over the Medina and Palmeraie To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet atleast one out of ten selection criteria. As per the justification of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites in 1984), the Medina of Marrakesh has been clarified as possessing world heritage status. Besides the Medina and several important buildings and monuments within it, UNESCO protection over Marrakesh also includes its Palmeraie located in the north. The Palmeraie is a large and dense palm grove in the North of Marrakesh that forms a natural boundary for the city. It predominantly contains planted date palms along with some ornamental plants and is irrigated by means of underground water channels and the River Tensift. It is the only palm grove of its kind, north of the High Atlas Mountain Range.
Map of the main city of Marrakesh
Golf Courses
Site of Project
Urbanisation -----> Increase in Tourism ----> Creation of Hotels and Golf Resorts
My site is in the west of the Palmeraie. While major development has happened more on the eastern side of the palm groves, the rapid expansion on this arable land has had an interesting ripple effect on surrounding communities on the East.
Marrakesh’s economy is today heavily supported by tourism as it is a center of tourism. Each year the city adds, 5,000 hotel beds. The city’s registered hotel industry represents 25 percent of the entire nation’s tourism capacity. An increasingly common development that can now be seen in Marrakesh is the creation of golf courses along with these hotels to promote tourism. According to Tom Pfeiffer, ‘ Hotels, holiday homes and golf courses are transforming the ancient city into a mass tourism destination, leaving some residents fearing that the development may be too much, too fast. The biggest change is taking place on the edge of town where leisure developments, swimming pools and lush lawns are spreading across the arid terrain.’
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Presently, it appears as though there is a distinct boundary at which the urbanisation into the Palmeraie seems to have halted - creating an edge condition of Green (Palmeraie) versus Building ( Urbanisation).
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Palmeraie: Green land with Plots
Site Analysis
Roads: Main Connections
Buildings: 3 different kinds of
Apartment Blocks: 5 to 6 storey apartments with very distinct and regular street pattern, developer driven structure
settlements in the area
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Informal Community: Irregular building, self built typology, family dwellings of 1-4 floors, roof terraces and courtyards.
Semiformal Community: Regular street pattern and grid, self built or local builders, family dwellings with 2-4 floors, roof terraces and courtyards.
Site Plan Scale 1:2000 Palmeraie Informal Housing Formal Housing Informal Housing Abandoned gated community ‘Buffer strip’ between Palmeraie and Housing School
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Site Characteristics
Section 1:500
View of relationship between Informal homes/workshops and Palmeraie
The Palmeraie behind a ‘boundary of rubbish’
Housing Storage Workshop Pedestrian Street Palmeraie
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As seen in the photograph, the Palmeraie is currently accessible and viewable only behind and boundary of rubbish and waste. This is a result of constant fly-tipping over the years by the surrounding communities, particularly from the ongoing construction work in the formal housing on the left of the informal block.
Site Axonometric Program
Boundary of Rubbish:
Boundary of Rubbish
Plots: GreenGreen Plots
Site Concept 1. Urban Voids: Openings in the informal housing block become areas for squares 2. Green Plots: Areas for palm plantation and agriculture + seating and walkways 3. Buffer Strip: Becomes area of redevelopement with tourist and edge interventions 4. Boundary of Rubbish: Becomes area for sitting, playing and gathering 5. Walkways: Become circulation for the scheme and emphasise Vistas of the Palmaraie 6. Public Spaces 7. Public Spaces in relation with the Palmeraie 8. Community and tourist buildings engaging the community with the Palmeraie 9. Edge Interventions 10. Circulation throughout the scheme creating Vistas of the Palmeraie
Strip: Buffer strip: neglected strip atBuffer Palmeraie edge
Urban Voids / Irrigation + Public:
Walkways: Existing pathway on the green land Urban Voids
Urban Voids/Square:
1.
2.
3.
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6.
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8.
9.
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Walkways:
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Program
Palm Edge Hotel and Strip
Hotel
Tourist Spaces
Amenities
Community Spaces
Single or double bedroom accommodation for visitors
Tourist Centre/ Cafe / Market /
Park Ranger
Seating / Gathering / Playing / Viewing / Animal resting space / Grey Water Reuse
Squares
The proposal also aims to redefine and consolidate the urban edge of the Palmeraie in a simple way that allows in places; an alternate form of tourism as well as usable outdoor space. In doing this, the land is given value as well as purpose which would hopefully secure it from the threat of future urbanisation. In formalising the Palmeraie edge through the above design program, the consideration is also that rubbish would no longer pose a problem as this edge would not be viewed as a dumping space, as it is currently. Tourists DH
Aim of the Scheme Employment Economic Gain Protection for palm land
DH
Identity
Hotel
Tourist Spaces
Workshop/ Shops
Local People DH
Cafe
Market Squares Seating/ Gathering
Sense of Community
Playing
Reuse of Water
Viewing
SWOT Analysis
Animals
Current Situation Expected Improvements
Grey Water Reuse 11
Community Spaces
Spatial collage exploring initial ideas of proposal
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Design Process
Prototype
Taking a typical piece of the informal urban block as an architectural prototype for the new scheme
Pathways connecting the Palmeraie to the urban voids/squares
Existing Pathways
Proposed pathways connecting the Palmeraie to the squares
Context
Arranging the prototype according to the existing site
Vistas into the Palmeraie from the squares
Existing arrival points/vistas Vistas
Modifying the building form to allow vistas of Palmeraie
Proposed main buildings arranged around the entry point vista
Context
Creating the context for the buildings on the Palmeraie using lines of the existing ‘honeycomb’ pattern on site as well as adding more houses onto the urban block to complete it
Existing pattern of the Palmeraie
Using lines of existing pattern as reference for proposed design 13
Proposed building and landscape
PRODUCED PRODUCED BY ANPRODUCED AUTODESK BY AN PRODUCED AUTODESK BY EDUCATIONAL AN AUTODESK BY EDUCATIONAL ANPRODUCT AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTPRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Earth Mound Layout
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Filteration beds Allotments Social/ Playing pits Animal pits PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Scale 1:500
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT 3
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3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Existing green plot pattern on Palmeraie
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3 3 3 3
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Existing pattern of informal housing block 3 3 3 3
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3 4
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3
Hybrid pattern of strip inbetween
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3 3
ss
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3
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3
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
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3 4
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3 3 3
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PRODUCED PRODUCED BY AN PRODUCED AUTODESK BY ANPRODUCED AUTODESK BY EDUCATIONAL AN AUTODESK BY EDUCATIONAL ANPRODUCT AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTPRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Roofscape - Three prototypical roof terrace conditions
Hand rail
Low parapet
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High parapet
City Block Rooftop Axonometric
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Section through typical city block in the Medina showing roofscape
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1 8
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3 5
2
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Site Plan / Scale 1:500 1. Tourist Centre 2. Restaurant 3. Hotel 4. Pump room 5. Earth Mound 6. Community Centre 7. Existing structure reused as animal shed 19
Volume of earth dug out for earth pits (creates) Earth mounds Volume of earth dug out for basement floors of Tourist Centre and Hotel Construction of buildings at and above ground level
Digging earth out to create landscape and basements
Packing this earth back in for construction of buildings
Waste water from Informal housing block and proposed scheme cleaned and used to irrigate palm groves
Sketch of section view of proposal
Rammed Earth & Water Reuse 20
Basement Floor Plan Scale 1:200
Ground Floor Plan Scale 1:200
3 4 3
4
5 2
6 2 7 7 5
1
8
5
11
12
1
9
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12 12 Tourist Centre 1. Stairs leading to ground level 2. Courtyard 3. Cafe 4. Bar 5. Toilet 6. Meeting room 7. Office 8. Help/ service desk Hotel
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10.
Tourist Centre
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1. Tourist Information Centre 2. Foyer 3. Exhibition Space 4. Toilet 5. Stairs leading to basement level
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4 6
11 9 7
Restaurant 12
6. Reception + bar 7. Kitchen 8. Dining area
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9. Ramp connecting basement level to Palmeraie on ground level 10. Courtyard 11. Sitting room 12. Bedroom 13. Foyer 14. Stairs leading to ground floor of Hotel
Hotel 9. Reception 10. Common balcony looking out into Palmeraie 11. Bedroom 12. Store room 13. Stairs to basement level of hotel 21
11 13
Long Section / Scale 1:200
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Long Section / Scale 1:200 Cross Section / Scale 1:200
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A’
B
B’
A
Section A-A’ / Scale 1:200
Section B-B’ / Scale 1:200
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Section through Hotel
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Exploded Axonometric of Hotel
Deflected sunlight
Ventilation
Skylight detail
Reed bed
Social/play
Animals
Earth mounds and their different uses
Rammed earth construction for curved wall
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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
400
462,6
Green Roof -Native Plants -230 mm Native soil growing medium -Root resistant membrane -Drainage panel + Filter fabric -100 mm rigid insulation -Cap sheet -Base Sheet -Primer -Sloping susp. concrete c/w in-slab
150
410
600 300 100
200
150
600
100
150
410 600 300 100
200
100
150
299
441,9
410 600 300 2117,2
Rain screen Insulation
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299
Protective concrete slab Stone/Gravel for drainage
100
150
500
150
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCED BY PRODUCT AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
600
150
100 mm Concrete lintel
Detail of Rammed Earth Wall in Marrakesh
Concrete Floor Slab -65 mm Screed -200 mm Concrete with Mesh -Damp Proof Membrane -50 mm Blinding -200 mm Hardcore
1479,4
299
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
150
1660,6
600
600
Concrete foundation Detail of Rammed Earth Wall in UK PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
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200
100
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Precedent Study - Tapies House, Barcelona, 2014 This was the smaller project of the year in which we were each asked to study an existing building as a precedent. My building was the Tapies House in Barcelona, designed by Jose Antonio Coderch in 1960 for the famous Spanish painter and sculptor Antoni Tapies. The building is a studio cum house standing on a predominantly residential street Carrer de Saragossa and in its place where it stands today could have once been a warehouse building. The information on this House was fairly limited and left me to deduce the function of many of the rooms and interior spaces by studying the photographs, plans and sections that were available.
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Ground Floor Plan Scale 1:100 1. Garage 2. Entrance Hall 3. Exhibtion space 4. Study workshop 5. Porter Housing 6. Elevator
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4
Attic floor Plan
Third floor Plan
Scale 1:100
Scale 1:100
Third Floor Plan
Attic Plan
1. Covered Terrace/ Play room 2. Living room 3. Stairs to attic 4. Elevator 5. Storage
1. Library 2. Office
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3
3
4
Second Floor Plan
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1. Children’s bedroom 2. Master bedroom 3. Bathroom 4. Bedroom 5. Staircase 6. Elevator 7. Storage
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4
1 5
Second floor Plan Scale 1:100 4
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6
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First Floor Plan
3 5 47 9
2
8
First floor Plan Scale 1:100
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1. Entrance Hall 2. Dining Hall 3. Office 4. Bathroom 5. Elevator 6. Kitchen 7. Bedroom 8. Service room 9. Iron/Laundry room
Section A-A / Scale 1:100
Section AA 1. Garage 2. Entrance Hall 3. Exhibtion 4. Study workshop 5. Service room 6. Living room 7. Garden 8. Bedroom 9. Kids’ bedroom 10. Living room 11. Covered terrace 12. Library
4
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Section B-B / Scale 1:100
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Front Elevation / Scale 1:100
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Rear Elevation / Scale 1:100
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Waterproof membrane Insulation Vapour control layer Screed Concrete roof deck Timber Batten and Plasterboard ceiling
20540
14300
D - Dining & Living Area
10820 Steel beam Wooden louvres Double glazed casement windows
Fibre concrete sheet 7040
Concrete block Insulation Concrete block 3520
0
Detail Section CC’ Scale 1:50
Polished concrete Insulation Concrete (ground bearing slab) DPM Sand binding Hardcore Subsoil
Play Area
Interior Views 41
Double glazed skylight Steel beam to hold roof skylights Steel roof louvres
Detail: Skylight to Wall junction Scale 1:20
Detail: Skylight to Louvres junction Scale 1:10
D
Polished concrete Insulation Concrete (ground bearing slab) DPM
Detail: Concrete wall with cladding to floor junction Scale 1:20
Sand binding Hardcore Subsoil
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Zoning
Second Floor Scale 1:200
Third Floor Scale 1:200
Ground Floor Scale 1:200
Communal (living) spaces
First Floor Scale 1:200
Private spaces - Bedrooms + Service
Workshop/Public spaces
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Attic Scale 1:200
Sectional Perspective showing internal spaces and circulation
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Structural Strategy
Steel Frame Steel frame to support supportskylights skylights
Concrete ConcreteRoof Roof
Adjustable Adjustablewooden WoodenLouvres Louvers
Fibre cement sheet Fibre cement cladding on Steel sheet Cladding on frame Steel frame
Walls between columns made of concrete with brick made cladding, Walls between columns bringing stability tobrick the strucup of concrete with cladding, ture while providing thermal andwhile bringing stability to the structure acoustic insulation providing thermal and acoustic insulation Steelcolumn columngrid gridtotosupport supSteel port building structure building structure
Fibrecement ceFibre ment sheet sheet cladding Cladding
Polished Concrete floor Polished Concrete floor
Adjustable Adjustable Wooden wooden Louvers Louvres Brickexternal external Brick finish finish
WoodenGarage garageDoor door Wooden
Main MainEntrance entrance
Structuraldiagram Axonometric Axonometric showingDiagram the Structure
Structural Plan Structural Plan Scale 1:200 Scale 1:200
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Thermal Strategy
Sun Path
Skylight to allow natural light
Warmer areas Cooler areas Fresh air
Louvres
Library
Fresh air into Workshop & Gallery East
Covered terrace/playroom with ceiling louvres inviting natural air and light
Workshop/Gallery Second floor internal courtyard for natural cooling
West Polished concrete floor Adjustable wooden louvres to admit light and air, also to control the sunlight falling on the building Glass casement window enclosure behind louvres for sound proofing Garage door Main entrance
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This house is focused on inner spaces, in accordance with the needs of the painter Antonio TĂ pies who evidently must have wanted a space that felt both homely and residential as well as open and studio like. The ground floor is largely open plan with the exhibition and workshop spaces while the first, second and third floor contain all the bedrooms and living spaces. Above these is the attic containing the library and an office. Here in this image, I have presented a visual of the exhibtion/workshop area, with its double height and sunlight coming through the double glazed skylight. 47
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