Download Archive SP - Ross School Senior Projects

Ross School - Senior Project 2006-07
Student: Branson Wright
Mentor: Kenneth Sacks
Product
Title: Architectural Philosophy
Description:
(Catalog Entry)
Details:
Materials:
- Basswood
- Balsa wood
- Super Glue
- Super Glue Accelerator (a spray that makes the glue dry quicker)
- Flocking (green powder)
Design: The Design Process consisted of Sketches in my process folio and 3D
renderings on Sketch Up. The Sketch Up Photos couldn’t be included due to the
version. In Addition I also looked at books from the library for ideas.
Images:
Abstract
Architecture, to me, is the combination of some of my strongest talents,
engineering and creativity. My senior project is a community of houses that I designed
that reflect my education at Ross in terms of helping society. Therefore my buildings
focus on solving certain problems in the Hamptons that relate to architecture. Hopefully
by solving these problems now, I will be able to make a difference in the world in the
future.
The Boys Harbor Duke Estate, off of Springy Banks Road in East Hampton, New
York, is for sale. I believe that this place is the ideal location for my Senior Project. I
chose this site because it offers unique areas and spaces, particularly, the large field that
could be used for numerous purposes. Also with new restrictions in clearing, a permit to
clear an area as big as the one on the Duke Estate on a new site would be impossible.
The Duke Estate already has existing clearing for buildings. This is important for me
because I believe the less clearing I need to do the more I am contributing to
environmental conservation.
The land is being sold for around $40 mm. The plan is that the Town of East
Hampton would buy the Duke Estate. Then the Town would sell half of the land (the
waterfront part) to raise the money to fund an affordable housing community on the other
half. Assuming money gained exceeded the cost of the project, the excess funds would
be used to meet other community needs. After the Town buys the land, it will then send
out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for design concepts for the creation of a new affordable
housing community. My senior project is a proposal for that community.
My design proposal consists of four houses that address community issues
through architecture. These issues are affordable housing, Green architecture (building
materials), and a building’s ability to be organic with its environment. Some of these
buildings deal with all these issues at the same time, while others focus principally on one
of these themes. Also, the social structure will be based on the concept of a utopian
society.
The utopian idea appeals to me because values such as equality and unity are
required to make the system work. People do things for each other in order to have things
done for them. This is a good environment for someone who has a low income and can
pay through bartering for the work of others with their own labor. However, the major
utopian idea in my community evolves the energy field. My idea is that the solar panel
units will not be on the houses themselves, instead the field will become a solar panel
field. The field that once harvested energy from campers on holiday will now harvest
energy from solar panel units.
The utopian part is about the efficiency of the panels. Panels on regular house are
stationary and cannot be moved. They are positioned to where the average sunlight hits.
However as seasons change, the arc of the sun changes due to the positioning of the sun.
In order for the community to produce the maximum amount of solar electricity, the
panels must be moved to the most efficient direction. Thus the community must count on
each other for the panels to be most efficient. This efficiency will enable the community
to produce excess electricity, which can be sold for a profit. These profits then can be
used to help support the community.
I developed a concept for one house I called the “Hobbit House”. This building is
based upon my favorite house that I visited while at the Cal Poly Summer Architecture
program, called the “Hay Bale” house. The design is somewhat soothing with its soft
curves and natural grassy top. However, its purpose is much more interesting. First off,
the building is half under ground. This is because the earth will keep the building at a
constant temperature of around 60F degrees, thus, naturally insulating the building and
keeping it warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. Second, it is also made of straw
bales, which is a good insulator and very cost efficient. Third, this house best represents a
buildings ability to be organic with its surroundings.
Hay bale houses have been built since the 1800s and the first one in the U.S. was
in Nebraska. They are now making a huge comeback with their vast advantages. To start,
building a straw bale house costs around 10 dollars per sq foot., as opposed to a stick
wood house with costs around 80 to 100 dollars per sq foot. Straw bale houses also are
more resistant to fire when incased in stucco plaster. Straw bales are so thermally
efficient that utility bills plummet. One test conducted for the federal government that
compared utility bills from conventional wood houses with bills from straw bale homes
found that straw bale homes saved as much as 75 percent on utilities. I have now decided
to propose that all of my homes for the community be built out of straw bale.
I feel that in my final Project, I fulfilled my goals in designing and building
models that express ideas of issues that I wanted to address.
Works Cited
"FAQS About Straw Building." CASBA. 1 Jan. 07
<http://strawbuilding.org/sb/faq/.html>.
ICARUS. "Talk Energy." ICARUS. 20 June 06. 1 Jan. 07
<http://www.talkenergy.com/print/pl?sid=04/06/20/095422
2&op=print>.
International Architecture: Year Book. Mulgrave,
Australia: The Images Group, 2001.
Martinez, Alice. "Straw Bale Construction: an Update."
San Diego Earth Times 18 May 06.
Ruskin, John. The Seven Lamps of Architecture. New
York: Dover,
1989.
Scott, Geoffrey. The Architecture of Humanism. New
York: Norton, 1999.
Community Member (Details)
Name: Dan Rowen
Profession: Architect
Cell #: 1-917-8607006