The House in the rocks

So as i said today's post will be on summer houses, not all summer houses need to be by the ocean, there are some amazing ones placed in the dessert, near rivers and on hills ect...I came across this spectacular house in the Coachella Vally in California, that i hope to visit when i attend the Coachella Festival next year. This festival happens around easter time every year. Where a gathering of people come and dance and camp in the dessert while different artist  perform for 3 days.

Little History of the Architect:
Albert Frey (1903-19980 is one of the most important modern architects of our time! He lived and worked in Palm Springs since 1934. Over a long prolific career, he produced over 200 building designs, including such notable local landmarks as Palm Springs City Hall and the Aerial Tramway Valley Station with John Porter Clark. 


The House on the hills:
The Frey House ll designed by Albert Freys, as this was his second home in Palm springs. It was completed in 1964 and at the time built it was the highest elevation of and residence in the city.Frey took five years to select the site and a year to measure the movement of the sun using a 305cm pole.  “I had a very careful survey made showing the contours and all the rock,” Frey told an interviewer  “Then I put up some strings to see how the design would work out. We then established the levels, and then I had to fit the glass to the rock. The slope of the roof follows the slope of the terrain,” he said. “The contrast between the natural rock and the high tech materials is rather exciting.” After reviewing his plans, the Palm Springs City Hall called his design "crazy " but gave their approval.

Perched in the San Jacinto mountains, Freys house has become a well know landmark. The house looks across the Coachella Valley and was designed to have little impact on the surrounding environment. Measuring only 800sqr feet. The house is compact but yet very functional. The concrete block podium forms the base of the simple steel structure house. It has a steel-frame with large spans of glass and sheathing in paint corrugated metal. A platform. parallel to the road, projects in front of the house and acts as a deck for the pool and as a roof for the carport below. The design includes a flat corrugated- aluminium roof, overhangs to block the summer sun  and sliding glass doors that opens the interior to the exterior. The house has many walls of glass, which showcase the astounding views. The swimming pool and small deck functions as the roof of the carport.

The Upper level features a dinning/work table and the bathroom, while the lower level includes a sitting area,master bedroom and kitchen. Frey then added an additional guest bedroom ( measuring 300 sqr feet) in 1967. Being keenly conscious of nature, Frey choose the colour of his curtains to match the yellow Encilla flowers that bloom each spring in the desert. He also painted the ceiling blue to match the skies.



One of the most famous elements of the property is the incorporation of the large boulder into the design. It protrudes into the house and acts as a diver between the bedroom and living room. By incorporating the boulder into the design, Frey acknowledged our role with nature.

This is one of the first modern homes ever design and to my amazement the simplicity makes the home even more spectacular.

A taste of Summer...

Sitting in the heart of winter, with a blanket on my lap while i sit at my office desk.. I sit and day dream of the warm summer days that are only 4 months away..However four months seems like a long time away, im surprised to say that this year time has flew by so quickly for me.. To think i'm already in my 7th month of interning and after 7 months of waking up everyday to go to work, i'm really waiting patiently for a well deserved holiday.

So i thought i'l spend today's blogs on pretty, extraordinary summer homes that one can only wish of living in one day, but as an architect i can only pray to be  fortunate enough to maybe design and live in one of my projects god willing :)


So first dream house for today is a cute beach house in the coast of Uruguay, This open plan house was designed by  Argentinian architect Martin Gomez. In the beginning Gomez actually didn't want to add any turquoise colour into the structure, but ended up giving in to the client who really wanted to add the playful cabana strips. Which i actually really like as it gives fresh and cheerful personality to the home.

Simple yet easy structure

I came across this architect firm website from France, however everything is in french. I thought il just post the pics as you can get a clear understanding of whats happening. My last few post have been on easy temporary yet sustainable structures. Guess due to my block week, my eye has just been catching temporary structural designs...

hope you like it...

      

Mallee Bush Retreat in Victoria, Australia

Ever thought of staying in a grain silo or a cow shed????

Nearly 20 years ago, the community of Hopetoun, in Victoria, Australia, came together and worked with architect James Brearley to develop tourism infrastructure near the shore of Lake Lascelles. Rather naturally inspired by Australia’s traditional ranching vernacular, including most prominently the distinctive corrugated tin walls of the outback, Brearley drafted a plan for housing that was pieced together in stages, using reclaimed, re purposed, and remodeled farm structures, with the third now complete.

Called the Mallee Bush Retreat, it includes 33 beds in two silos, two (former) cow sheds, stables, two machine sheds, and a limestone grain store. A former shearing shed serves as the communal dining hall, with tables, fireplace, and television. The amenities are minimal, but so is the cost: just $15 Australian a night (about R150). And if cow sheds aren't your thing, you can camp for free along the lake and still use the facilities.

Heron Pond Viewing Blind

In Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary there is such a clever structure hidden so beautifully in the nature reserve which allows you to watvh the birds without distrubing them at all! Designed and built by students from Sam Fox of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University for the Audbon Society and the US Army Corps of Engineers, The spring 2013 digital fabrication project led by Andrew Colopy and Robert Booth of Cobalt Office


The building sits at the south end of Heron Pond, and it is approached via a gravel road that snakes through some farmland. From a distance it looks like a pine cone or some other sort of 'natural' object sitting on the ground, but each step closer reveals the materiality of the construction.





What looks to be a fairly solid object is discovered to be made from thin sheets in brown, gray, blue and red that layer over each other like feathers on a bird. This is an appropriate technique for camouflaging the building into its context, "tricking" birds into not seeing the structure and therefore allowing people inside to watch the birds without fear of scaring them off.The side of the building on the approach from the small parking lot is primarily closed (views above and interior view below), with small cuts allowing natural light and ventilation









Up close the bird blind looks somewhat alien, but from a distance it nestles itself into its pond context

Lots, the inaugural PXSTL installation

Lots, the inaugural PXSTL installation

PXSTL was initiated to explore how small-scale interventions can spur long-term revitalization, and to provide the public with an outdoor space for cultural activity in the heart of the Grand Center neighborhood. The project is supported by an endowment established by Emily Rauh Pulitzer for the Sam Fox School to fund joint projects between the School and the Pulitzer Foundation.


About the Lots:

Lots encourage active audience engagement through temporary construction composed of a platform, canopy and fabric. Lots will serve as a space for outdoor performances, social gatherings and public and education programs in the Grand Center neighborhood of St. Louis.

Located across the street from the Pulitzer building, the Lots structure will be open to the public from May 9 through October 5, 2014, and will be accompanied by a series of curated public programs, including those developed from community proposals.

 I thought this structure was a very cool interacting spot to bring the community together as well as a fun chill out place for the youth on hot summer days, the hammocks make the sails blend in well together as the both have a similar shape. However after doing research, after a recent storm the PXSTL sails weathered faster than expected. Due to this all sails have been taken off while a new set is being fabricated. Hopefully this will not take to long to make as now its just a plain steel structure.

During this year as I said, we have to intern for 10 months, however 4 weeks during this year we attend campus and work on an assignment during the week and hand it in at the end of the week. I find these block weeks really fun as I get to design and being back at campus really makes you appreciate being a student, because working everyday from 8am-4:30pm in a office on Autocad 27/7, working on layouts gets EXTREMELY BORING at times. It makes me worry about the fact that I stopped letting my mind expand on creative designs and thinking out side the box. I definitely experienced  that during our second block week!! I struggled to come out with a concept!!

During our second block week, we had the assignment of "Infecting The City", our task was to build a pop up store/ stage / gallery that interacts with the city vibes of Cape Town. It was a really fun project as it introduced us to the "First Thursday"concept. On the first Thursday of every month, people can explore the art galleries and cultural events of Cape Towns central city till late at night. I really think this event is amazing, during summer time after work, its a great way to network and also explore Cape Towns little treasures! While we did our site visit, I walked around and asked the galleries what they thought about the event, they said its a very vibrant way to get young and old together who are creative in their own little ways. I also found a cute Cafe called Mozart Cafe, which I actually took my friends to that weekend.

But back to the assignment....other than the cool task...my main concern was time  and as many architect wish for,is more TIME!!.

As we only had four days to visit the site, come up with a concept, gets precedent studies, make a model and have a plan, 3D drawing, section, elevation all done by the Friday afternoon as Monday was a public holiday......what a killer, but the rush of it all is actually quite accelerating if you ask me.

However my concept was really cool, I struggled  to express it and I'm sure that will bring my mark down.

My task was to build a presentation pod that exhibits painting done by a urban painter. My concept was to have a structure that was an art piece by itself yet still be able to "frame" my artist work in a funky fresh way, yet letting the structure be sustainable, light and easy to ones eye.

So i came up with a rectangular structure which had one way in and out allowing the structure to have frames in the walls that could hold the artist paintings and have paper that can be recycled, so the artist can interact with the customers and allow them to make their own art piece to. In the centre of the structure was a floating table and the roof was at a slanted angle made out of old frames allowing the artist paintings to sit in the frames. Giving the the illusion of cluttered paintings as a roof .

below are some pictures of my model, and concepts

also for more info on the "First Friday" visit http://www.first-thursdays.co.za/

I used these two pop up stores as precedent studies

My chosen site

My first concept model in a 1:50 scale