‘A House Built in 24 hours’ As a result of
peculiar building regulations in the 1800s, this project proposes a house that
acts as a sundial, where the architecture is designed so that the shadows or
light cast throughout the 24 hours are choreographed to guide the user to the
way it should be built.
ANAFIOTIKA
The
project started off through an investigation into Anafiotika, an oasis of
tranquility located on the foothills of the sacred acropolis hill. Historically
the village started out as a small settlement of skilled workers from the
island of Anafi, who came to Athens in the 1800s to help construct king Otto’s
palace.
In
researching into this strange village, reminiscent of the traditional Greek
island architecture, I found out that there were three fascinating rulings that
were in place in the 1800s, which allowed the Anafi workers to settle in such a
disputed area of land:
1)
If a structure is built between sunset and sunrise, (i.e. overnight) it cannot
be demolished.
2) Any
structure with a roof over the top of it cannot be demolished by the
government.
3)
As long as the structure is built before surise and has a roof over it, the
land the structure is built on also then rightfully belongs to the person who
built it.
Click image to zoom–>
THE PRE-FABRICATED HOUSE
Modular buildings and modular homes generally consist of universal parts (or modules) that are manufactured in a factory and then shipped to a build site where they are assembled into a variety of arrangements. Modular homes can often be added or reduced in size by adding or subtracting certain components or modules. The idea behind modular houses is to increase its flexibility, versatility and functionality of spaces.
The 24 hour
house is an exploration into modular systems with special regards to the
Wikihouse system, the key design concept of the 24 hour house is that the idea
of time resonates through every aspect of the project. The building becomes a
clock, where the instructions are embedded into each piece of the building.
Each piece,
each frame and each joint is questioned and designed in order to adapt and
respond to the environment as well as the sun. The shadows cast on the ground
and the lights cast into the interior tells the construction workers where they
must work on next or how to place a specific piece.
CHOREOGRAPHING THE 24 HOURS
The
challenge of the project is how to choreograph the 24 hours down to the minute
or perhaps even second, efficiently, methodically yet playfully. The concept of
“time” plays a crucial role in this project. The building becomes a live
strructure and constructing it becomes a struggle againt time. From the moment
the truck arrives with the CNC materials to the moment the last screw is put
into place, every detail is questioned. Each hour is carefully designed and
questioned, in order to enhance both the architecture and the efficiency of the
building.
Shadow and
light is imperative in the design and construction process, which makes each
design a very particular building, adapted to existing site and environmental
conditions. The building becomes a sort of sundial, where the shadows or light
cast during the day, will tell the users where to place the next panel or the
next joint. Hence the house becomes a sort of feedback mechanism, a live
structure that leads the users. The light and shadows lead and guide you
towards the way the building should be built.
THE FOUR SEASONS
The idea
behind the 24 hour house is that it will constantly be refined and redeveloped.
The original aim of the project was to design a house within 24 hours during
the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. However, one began
to speculate how the building could be constructed on other days as well, such
as during winter solstice or even spring or autumn. Using the same set of
materials and principle of the system, the building would look completely
different as the angle of the sun differs between summer and winter. Hence the
shadows cast on the ground will also be different. As there will be less daylight,
there will be more reliance on the artificial lighting. Additionally, some
tasks might have to be rearranged in order to fit them into the daylight hours
and others will perhaps be more appropriate for the artificial lighting.