domus

final renders for domus
Western Australia
B3

DOMUS

These are our final poster for the DOMUS project. The basis for the design was harnessing the wind and sun, as well as providing sufficient ventilation in the warmer months. The central fire place acts as a social focal point rather than a means to heat the whole house as during the months June/July, temperatures can drop below 10 degrees at night. This period of time is also when most visitors come to Kakadu due to the weather. Water Sacs are contained underneath the house and the guest section may be closed off when it isn't being used.

Similarly to the Rozak house, we experimented with having 3 different structures connected by decks. the 3 structures would define a guest wing, our wing and a communal wing. We then explored how to orient these to maximise views and the passive cooling solutions that the site had to offer.


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To respond to the environment we thought we would make a feature of the monsoonal rain by forcing the water to dance around the roof planes.
...we explored ways in which this movement of water could be viewed from the buildings interior.

Domus

After the initial development work our group had decided there were different aspects that we wanted to focus elements of our design too. as shown in the diagram above there is a focus towards the east and the south to capture the spectacular sunrise and sunsets of Kakadu. We also considered the topography of the landscape focusing the bedrooms towards a valley in the south west. Last of all this drawing also shows our ideas of using long passages a window at the end to emphasized the vastness of the landscape, creating a view that shoots out to the horizon.


The drawing above shows a more advanced resolution of our design showing the room layout and the first stages of experimenting with a visitors space situated on ground level. Originally the visitors area was to be the section shown in the drawing above that is the furthest north. it was originally due to site restrictions that we thought of rearranging the visitors space that originally worked quite well in keeping the building balanced around the central decked area. However we decided to move the visitors area down stairs to immerse them in the landscape and give them the full environmental experience, as well as give them more privacy from the common areas of the building.


To celebrate the masses of water in monsoon season water became a large part of the design from the initial stages also. The flow over the roofs of the building became a big aspect. Flowing to a central water feature that acts like a hearth.

process drawings for B2

This is the first concept.


the next one moved onto individual sections



This is the section I based the design from




This is one of the final sketches before the finished design

Progress Designs

First Floor



Ground Level


Early Design work, thinking north facing and timber construction
A lot of glass around the front raises the cost and difficulty for unskilled labour, but its needed to maximise north sun, esp during winter.
Seperation between work area and living area, but also the possibility of joining them together.

domus

Design development

Western Australia

Battersea,

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Water Storage

This is the idea I think we were going to go with, pretty interesting concept, sort of like a big water bed that will sit underneath the structure. Called eco-sac, I guess the main pro to this system is that it is easily transportable and easy to install and access.

WATER VAULT

A water storage idea we were looking at for my parents house in melbourne, all the water is burried in the ground, a great space saver, but not sure how easy installation would be? i thought this related to domus as we were tring to figure out the best/ most efficient way to store water.. not sure if the foundations would be suitbale though, much of the ground is rocky and would be difficult to drill.

initial ideas

We decided on using Kakadu as our site. After alot of preliminary discussion and ideas thrown about we have all done some sketches and then merged the best ideas into one design. The main issues we wanted to resolve in the design were: - ability to obtain power (solar) - ability to catch water - ability to provide ventilation - resistance/harness of wind - ability to close off the guest section during times when it isn't being used - a structure which is buildable - a structure which makes sense given the surrounding environment The following are a few of the initial sketches:
The structure will be raised off the ground to provide ventilation will flow through the structure. Louvres allow air movement and a central fireplace creates a focal point and community area in the centre of the building.

Domus

Some initial concepts for domus for B6

B2 Potential Floor plan

Passive Solar Homes

The Laetz Home – Clean, Natural Solar Heating This house has designed to capture and hold heat from the sun. Large windows on the south side of the building allow sunlight into the house and absorb with floor and walls. Also these windows designed to provide summer ventilation. Open large windows in the first floor let fresh air to come in and small windows on top desigend for hot air to go out.

This house by using natural elements created passive solar system in a way that during day they protect inside from the direct sunlight and during night they can provide CO2 to create comfort.

Passive Solar

There are five elements for Passive Solar Home Design. Each performs a seprate function but all five must work together for the design to become successful. 1. Aperutre (collector) 2.Absorber 3.Thermal mass 4.Distribution 5.Control...All their functions can be seen in the picture above.
This picture shows the angle of sunlight in different seasons. It is important to find best orientation of Home which get the best quality of sun during days in different seasons to provide comfort.
Natural winds are the best ways to cool the House during day and night. It needs knowledge about the direction of wind and its power to creat cooling. By putting opening in desigend places this process of ventilation will work perfectly.