Reflection Design

Design assessments

Energy demands Floor plan developement

Outdoor spaces

Group constellation

On an overall level, we think our design concept works well; we have been able to implement various design strategies that on a theoretically level reduces stress, all of our initial functions are accommodated within the design, the majority of the materials are either reused or naturally produced and both buildings meet the requirements of the low energy class of 2020.

Energy demands have obviously had a big influence on the design. Right from the beginning of the design process we have been aware of limiting the surface areas of the buildings, but due to concurrent simulations in Be18 we have been obliged to decrease the surface area additionally. Fortunately, this initiative seemed to help us ‘tighten up’ the composition of the therapy building and decrease the amount of circulation area.

Regarding the dwellings we did indeed wish for a more sporadic placement of these for ensuring privacy and for creating a shared yard in between the two rows of dwellings (see proposal for second midway critique on p. 79). Due to a high transmission loss we decided to cluster all of the dwellings together into one big volume. We found that the yard could be discarded since it did not have exceptional quality compared to the surrounding nature. Moreover, this did not change the overall composition and expression of the building volume since the displacements of the individual dwellings were kept, as well as the interior organization. Regarding the use of mechanical ventilation this change also eased the pipework, as it induced an opportunity for having one centralized ventilation system providing airing for all of the dwellings. This solution is chosen since we can decrease our need from 12 smaller aggregates to one bigger one, which is presumably both the cheaper, as well the more environmentally friendly solution.

When developing the final floor plans, we have been very concerned about the organization of rooms, circulation systems and solving the modular design strategy. What we have lacked somewhat during this process, has been working actively with sections and 3d views. In an unspoken manner, we have had an approach aiming for almost finalizing the floor plans before experiencing and detailing the rooms. We imagine this being caused by the tight deadline and the fear of ‘wasting time’ developing concepts that are either too unspecific or are to be discarded shortly afterwards. Though, we must emphasize that it is not that we have not done it at all, we are just reflecting on the fact that, we could have done it to a greater extent.

The outdoor spaces are unfortunately not that detailed. We have mostly been working with this on a conceptual level focusing on utilizing diverse interior views, outdoor terraces and pavilions. If we had more time for conducting this project, we would probably detail it more, though one could argue that a gently approach towards the tremendous and wild nature on the site in itself has some quality to it.

The general group constellation offered at Aalborg University for a project like this is not particularly accurate compared to the job market. Being five people, all studying for becoming architects, that must agree on the design on the basis of a flat management structure while furthermore, covering various technical aspects of the building is somewhat conflicting.

REFLECTION DESIGN

Agreeing on architecture can be difficult since there is never just one correct answer. Many aspects of a design can be solved in various ways and the specific perception of atmospheres, senses and arguments can be understood subjectively. Luckily, we - as a group - have mostly been working in agreement, but no doubt, that if we were to carry out the project individually, we would come up with five different design solutions.

The fact that we must focus quite extensively on various technical aspects helps us gaining a basic appreciation of building physics, which is very senseful when studying architecture. Though, many of our technical investigations are very time consuming for us to conduct, since we are not experts. If group constellations instead were made interdisciplinary between relevant educations, then we might have more time emphasizing the architectural details etc., and by cooperating with specialists from other educations, we would still obtain the appreciated aspect of knowledge sharing.