This house is a microcosm for a community.
Basically, each function of the house is represented by a separate volume with it's own distinct identity.
But the volumes are united with a collective identity by the water and the orientation and views to the central gathering place. They will also be united through material but I haven't got that far yet.
The site is in a subdivision in Markham, which has a large demographic of Chinese individuals. So I took some elements from Fung Shui as a starting point. Mainly the significance of water, and the diagram of all the functions of a home revolving around a central space which represents the earth. It is basically all about achieving harmony. It's become more abstracted as time goes by, but it was an initial inspiration.
The house is designed to be welcoming from the street and the neighbours, offering sightline through to the gathering place. The water element is used to visually pull one towards and through the space.
It's a work in progress... don't judge too harshly.
Nice start! Although... isn't Chinese immigration and domination (??? for lack of better word) of Markham a recent phenomenon though (1990s??)? and if identity is rooted to place.. is it the place and context of the current population? or of its historical value and heritage? im assuming it used to be farmland before urbanization? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI think Rebecca is hitting the nail on the head with her questioning. The problem that emerges in your design work draws the attention to the Chinese Feng Shui and demographic matters rather than the microcosm of a community discussion. As discussed in crits, it may be better to dodge the Feng Shui as it pervades the project altogether. The water, the colors, the doors, and the roof are among various ideas that pervade the culture and the project you are showing needs to step a bit away from this as the notions you had raised earlier in previous crits did not necessarily show up in this work.
ReplyDeleteIf you are to use the "house as community" model, does that imply each unit is a separate living/bedroom area or are they separate rooms. If the latter, then it makes for a strange discussion as the sense of community is diminished by the sense of programmatic separation. I would also stay away from representation through the building and instead try to be focused on your architectural issue first.
Place-making in this instance could come across as heavy-handed and instead perhaps you should think about moving forward with this population while remaining sincere to basic ideals without overt Chinese connections?